Protein?

[CGally81]

While looking up celebrities with celiac disease, I found that a particular football player had his energy sapped from him by his celiac. Poor guy... I know all about the whole loss of energy problem firsthand!

But that particular article mentioned that Celiac is "a disease which saps protein from the body". That's wayyy too much of an oversimplification, but that caught my eye.

Is that the case? I'm in the "hungry all the time" phase of recovery, and I'm wondering, would protein help me more? Should I load up on protein, and that could help the hunger go away faster?

Anyone know the answer, or have direct experience? I'm tired of having to eat ~4000 calories a day (it used to be over 5000, or even 5500 when it started!) to avoid feeling fatigued and shaky.

Furthermore, I remember reading a comment by a vegan who temporarily started eating animal protein because not having it wasn't helping her hunger at all. Only when she started eating "complete" proteins (the protein from some fruits and vegetables is not the same as that from meat) did her hunger start to recede.

[Ahorsesoul]

The only way you will know is to add protein to your diet.

I crave and dream about protein if I don't eat it on a regular basis. After testing, a nutritionist asked me if I ate red meat. I of course figured she was going to tell me to cut down my red meat intake. Instead she told me my tests indicated I needed to eat more. I feel so much better now. So for me, my body needs the protein intake. I was a vegetarian for a few years, felt like crap. Now I know why.

[Jestgar]

What are you eating instead of protein? If it's a lot of starchy carbs, then yes, protein will help.

[CGally81]

The only way you will know is to add protein to your diet.

I crave and dream about protein if I don't eat it on a regular basis. After testing, a nutritionist asked me if I ate red meat. I of course figured she was going to tell me to cut down my red meat intake. Instead she told me my tests indicated I needed to eat more. I feel so much better now. So for me, my body needs the protein intake. I was a vegetarian for a few years, felt like crap. Now I know why.

Good point. The human body needs 3 macronutrients: protein, fat and carbohydrates. By and large, many people get too much fat and carbohydrates. Especially carbohydrates.

Most of my foods have little fat in them. Bananas. Gluten-free Chex. Brown rice.

My amount of protein hasn't changed much since before I got Celiac symptoms, except the problem is that my snack foods tend to be carbohydrate foods. I should up the protein in my breakfast, lunch and dinner. And try tuna fish as an evening snack, or afternoon snack on weekends.

What are you eating instead of protein? If it's a lot of starchy carbs, then yes, protein will help.

Tuna fish sometimes with breakfast, and sometimes not (depending on how much time I have). I should definitely wake up a little earlier and have it EVERY day.

Chicken with lunch.

Chicken or hamburger with dinner.

But everything else, including my snacks, and the rest of those 3 meals, is carbs. So yes, I definitely need more protein. I'm going to probably have tuna fish as a snack more often. I also make very large patties for my burgers (I eat only the patty, of course! Even before I got Celiac symptoms, I never really liked hamburgers in buns!). I'll try upping the protein. And eating more fruits that contain protein (i.e. avocados) rather than ones that don't.

[Jestgar]

skip the rice. skip the chex. skip the fruit.

go with veggies and protein for a while.

[missy'smom]

Protein helps keep blood sugar on a even keel longer. Carbs bring you up and then crashing down in a short time. Fats help slow the rate at which carbs are converted to glucose. So, if you want to crash and burn quickly, eat low-fat carby stuff. Sustained energy-moderate fat and protein, moderate portions or slower digested carbs-think whole grains. Be sure to start you day with protein and add some to snack. From a blood sugar standpoint, most vegetarian sources of protein count as carbs, not protein. Meat is the best to help balance blood sugar. I used to be a semi-vegetarian most of my life but my body demands that I be a carnivore now.

[txplowgirl]

When I first started this adventure I was hungry all the time then I started adding in more meat. I've noticed that if I skip a day or so my hunger pains get worse. Also a side note. The gluten free chex bother a lot of people including me. My hunger would seem to get worse after a bowl. Since I quit eating the chex and added more meat my hunger pains have really gone bye bye.

[Lynayah]

I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all the posts on this thread -- very interesting. I hope even more folks will post here. Thank you for the topic.

[Roda]

I start my morning off with eggs of some sort. Good protein source. If I eat cereal I am hungry all day. I don't do well if I skip breakfast.

[CGally81]

Excellent replies, everyone!! I think I'm learning a lot here. I thought I was lacking in protein and fat compared to my carbs, but now I see that I really should turn towards more protein sources. I've added peanut butter (which is more a healthy fat source than a protein source, but it contains both), and I intend to eat more tuna fish. Dinner included a giant hamburger patty... but maybe it should have been even bigger!

This is all great information. I do feel like my hunger is getting somewhat better since adding the peanut butter starting Sunday or so, so I'm going to keep up the protein.

[missy'smom]

Glad you're feeling better already. Fats do help satisfy. Avacados are a good source. Roda's right, eggs are a good protein source too.

[CGally81]

When I first started this adventure I was hungry all the time then I started adding in more meat. I've noticed that if I skip a day or so my hunger pains get worse. Also a side note. The gluten free chex bother a lot of people including me. My hunger would seem to get worse after a bowl. Since I quit eating the chex and added more meat my hunger pains have really gone bye bye.

How bad was your hunger before you added the meat (like, how often did you have to eat, or how many calories did you eat a day if you counted calories), and how long did it take for the hunger to really go away after you added more meat?

I'm eating like 4000 calories a day. If I don't, well, I feel horrible. You know, being unable to focus due to hunger, or shaky, or even a hunger headache, that sort of thing. I was eating maybe 6000 a day when I first started, and getting super hungry every hour, but now it's more manageable, but still way too high.

So what was your experience like?

Or anyone else here who also saw their constant hunger decrease after adding in more meat - what were your experiences like?