Being Obese

[conway]

does every one with celiacs disease loose weight?ive gained loads

over the last 2 years .

Tanya.

[psawyer]

While weight loss is a common symptom (I lost 65 pounds), some people gain weight while eating gluten. This can lead to misdagnosis, as many doctors wrongly believe that fat people can't have celiac disease.

[Jestgar]

I gained about 40 pounds on gluten. When I went gluten-free it all went away.

[luvs2eat]

I was a fairly normal weight when I found out I have celiac disease. I was diagnosed very quickly ... only 2 months after symptoms (unrelenting diarrhea) showed up. I GAINED about 40 lbs. after going gluten free!! It's my own fault... I made up for all the things I could no longer eat by eating way too much of what I COULD eat!

I'm dieting now ... rather, I'm eating less but really well ... lean proteins, lots more veggies and fruit, and less bread/carbs. I've been carrying that extra 40 lbs for WAY too long!!

[GFinDC]

It could be you have healed and are absorbing more nutrients /calories than before going gluten-free. So you could have weight gain from that aspect also.

some people suggest the body can go into hording mode when certain nutrients are lacking also.

[Roda]

I was a little overweight before diagnosis but lost 10 lb in the month before my biopsy. I think it was nerves. I gained the 10 lb back and then some more. I am now trying to follow the south beach way of living with modifications for gluten free. I am now able to tolerate exercise and have been working out with the ea sports active. My husband bought it for me as an early birthday present. It has been a blast and I look forward to using it every day or so. I am hopeful the combination will help me tone up and loose some needed weight. Since starting the south beach diet the end of Sept. 09, I lost 13 lbs but gained a few back over the holidays. I'm still down 10 though and got back on the wagon and now exercising.

[PiperMum]

While weight loss is a common symptom (I lost 65 pounds), some people gain weight while eating gluten. This can lead to misdagnosis, as many doctors wrongly believe that fat people can't have celiac disease.

You have NO IDEA how elated I am to see this in writing on this thread, over and over! I am 5' currently weighing in at 204 and have been ashamed that while I even worked at CURVES, which I initially joined to get stronger and lose weight, I GAINED OVER 25 POUNDS IN 2 YEARS! I was diagnosed officially with celiac March 1, having been incorrectly diagnosed 11 years ago with candida overgrowth and resulting wheat intolerance. (Couldn't seem to convince them that I still didn't feel good.) I gave up on doctors in general at that point, and didn't go back until last October (a 4 year gap.) Not having insurance doesn't help.

I have a further issue: the weight gain has triggered diabetes2. I got the lovely news yesterday. I truly need support, if anyone else has had this happen! I have a blood sugar checking device and learned how to use it today. Beyond that... HELP! Mentioning it here, but unless I find a particular thread already started addressing this, I intend to start a new one.

[sandsurfgirl]

My OB thought I had celiac 8 years ago. Sent me to a GI doctor and he said there was no way I could have celiac disease because I was about 25 pounds overweight. He talked me out of even the blood test! That jerk could have saved me 7 years of suffering, two horrific pregnancies and a baby born a month early.

Yes celiacs can be overweight! I went to a doctor very knowledgable about celiac and he said that actually overweight celiacs are thriving better than underweight ones. Our body is hoarding to save nutrients.

I have lost about 20 pounds since going gluten free 1 1/2 years ago. That's very slow weight loss and I'm meeting with a nutritionist to help me lose the rest quicker. But still I have been losing.

Misdiagnosis because of being normal or overweight is a real travesty and I wish doctors would get educated on this.

[Michaelv]

My OB thought I had celiac 8 years ago. Sent me to a GI doctor and he said there was no way I could have celiac disease because I was about 25 pounds overweight. He talked me out of even the blood test! That jerk could have saved me 7 years of suffering, two horrific pregnancies and a baby born a month early.

Yes celiacs can be overweight! I went to a doctor very knowledgable about celiac and he said that actually overweight celiacs are thriving better than underweight ones. Our body is hoarding to save nutrients.

I have lost about 20 pounds since going gluten free 1 1/2 years ago. That's very slow weight loss and I'm meeting with a nutritionist to help me lose the rest quicker. But still I have been losing.

Misdiagnosis because of being normal or overweight is a real travesty and I wish doctors would get educated on this.

That was a painful and a very sad story

To be honest the best cure for such a situation would probably be to smack that GI "doctor" in the nose with a really tough fist. Anyway, I can only relate to you partly i.e. I have a looong experience with "doctors" knowing less than me about e.g. condition A or how to react when condition B affects A etc. I've had "doctors" tell me that to identify if you have other allergies on top of celiac the best thing to do would be to put me in hospital and essentially feed me random foods and "see how your body reacts". Funny thing is, the nurses feeding you WILL gluten you and aren't very educated on the matter either.

Ok moving on with the topic.

Before celiac I weighted 220lb and had great abs (also aimed to be a pro athlete). However, the celiac thing had other ideas. Within 6 months of receiving the news, I've not only lost 46lb of muscle, I've quickly started getting fat. What was actually happening was this:

1) My body didn't absorb enough protein to maintain muscle mass so eventually the muscles 'turned' into fat.

2) Sugars are absorbed easily and fat rarely skips through i.e. you WILL absorb most of the fat you eat.

3) I couldn't make my body use the body fat because that required cutting out carbs which didn't help since the protein didn't get digested anyway and made me weaker and fatter due to the original problem.

After losing most of the muscles I worked years for(and getting fatter while still dieting) I just have one tip for people who are trying to fight obesity and fat loss:

When it comes to calories and fat loss it is often better to eat that large and tasty bowl of chocolate ice cream before bed than a 'healthy' pasta salad with potatoes and mayo. I find this ironic but true.

I'm not sure why I typed this, somewhat incoherent and, hardly justified, post. However, I do hope that some of it will be of some use to someone

[psawyer]

... fat rarely skips through i.e. you WILL absorb most of the fat you eat.

Actually, one of the classic symptoms of celiac disease is the malabsorption of fat. Stools that float due to undigested fat are often indicative of celiac disease.