A Newbie

[jodi2010]

Hello all. my name is Jodi I am a 40 yrs old and just diagnosed with celiacs in December..i was, like probably many of you misdiagnosed for years with anything and everything they could come up with until i found a wonderful Dr, who, lucky for me had another Dr in his practice who was a celiac.. After hearing my laundry list of symptoms--he gave me a simple blood test. ALL these years and all it took was a blood test. Anyway i am on the road to recovery but still batlle daily to find what i can eat. I am also hypoglycemic so i really have to watch the sugar. My main problem now is just gaining weight. And there are times that i can feel that i am getting sick but honestly cannot figure out what i have eaten that caused it. I am very careful and try to stick to whole foods ( no one told me i needed a second job to buy gluten free foods..lol) Anyway if any of you have any suggestions for being able to gain weight i would appreciate it. I also seem to have a really hard time building muscle even though i workout a few times a week.

[runningcrazy]

Welcome Jodi!

I would suggest eating more carbs(rice is cheap and easy!) and more nuts. Things like peanut or nut butters are good, or just snacking on nuts throughout the day.

To add to the muscle, simple things like doing pushups, squats, lunges when you wake up and before going to bed could make a small difference. Good luck and welcome here!

[Skylark]

Hi and welcome. If Wheatfreedude doesn't catch this thread, you might PM him. He's a gluten-free bodybuilder who might be able to help with muscle gain ideas. He had a recent post recommending hard boiled eggs for easy, cheap gluten-free protein.

You totally don't need a second job for gluten-free foods. Just stay away from all the overpriced specialty foods pretending to be gluten foods. Rice and potatoes are dirt cheap, produce and meats no different than before you were diagnosed. I love doing gluten-free bean soups from bags of dried beans. For hypoglycemia, I find brown rice and sweet potatoes better than white rice and white potatoes. Nuts are great (avoid dry roasted) and have some protein and healthy oils. If you can eat dairy cheese is rich and has some protein.

[vbecton]

Hello all. my name is Jodi I am a 40 yrs old and just diagnosed with celiacs in December..i was, like probably many of you misdiagnosed for years with anything and everything they could come up with until i found a wonderful Dr, who, lucky for me had another Dr in his practice who was a celiac.. After hearing my laundry list of symptoms--he gave me a simple blood test. ALL these years and all it took was a blood test. Anyway i am on the road to recovery but still batlle daily to find what i can eat. I am also hypoglycemic so i really have to watch the sugar. My main problem now is just gaining weight. And there are times that i can feel that i am getting sick but honestly cannot figure out what i have eaten that caused it. I am very careful and try to stick to whole foods ( no one told me i needed a second job to buy gluten free foods..lol) Anyway if any of you have any suggestions for being able to gain weight i would appreciate it. I also seem to have a really hard time building muscle even though i workout a few times a week.

You sound much like me. Misdiagnosed for 20 years and a severe hypoglycemic. All the doctors thought I would be diabetic in a matter of months, or a year with the severity of my low blood sugar (as it can eventually break your insulin functions). How much protein are you consuming in a day? I had to significantly increase my protein from 80 to 120++g at least per day. My doctor found that I don't absorb protein correctly, so in order to keep my blood sugar lows in control, I had to bring my protein way up. But, either way, protein is the key to keeping your blood sugar up. I eat 6 meals per day including 2 protein shakes. In fact, most hypoglycemics don't do well with carbs. A baked potato used to send me to the floor shaking. Now, after being gluten free for 3 months, I can tolerate a small bits of potato and rice without my blood sugar plummeting.

I agree with Skylark, contact Wheatfreedude. He's got great easy advice on muscle building and eating for muscle building. I was an elite marathon runner for years and I thought I knew about weight training. WRONG. I knew about cardio weight sets, not about muscle building. Look up the fitness section of this forum. Here's one thread about building muscle And another about protein: I'm consuming about 3000 calories per day and still seem to drop weight. So, I can't help you on that. I think mine is a malabsorption issue.

Good luck, this forum has loads of info and helpful people

[jodi2010]

thank you all so much for the helpful hints and encouragement. There are days i get very frustrated but i am starting to learn more and more how to deal with all this and become more educated as i go along. So very glad to have found this site:)

[bluebonnet]

you will find so much support on this site!! if you like avocado spread that on a rice cracker with some pico de gallo or throw it in a salad. you will likely see a major improvement in your hypoglycemia (i did!). and as that comes, the weight will too because your intestines will be able to do their job once healed. good luck and welcome!