Anyone Not Gain Weight?

[hunter6009]

Ok- just upfront I will say "I know I know, I need to stay gluten-free for my long-term health". I will and I am. However, I never attributed my weight loss to celiac. I felt I lost the majority of it before I had symptoms by working out (which is something I never did before until I had my first child). After my son was born, I weighed 140. Not big by any means, but more than I had weighed in my lifetime and more than I was comfortable with. I was wearing size 10's and 12's and that just wasn't me. Most of my life I was an 8. So I started exercising and went to a size 6. I felt great! Then we moved and I started getting symptoms of celiac. I continued to exercise but with the help of celiac, I was now a size 4, but sometimes even a 2. Size 4-6 looks healthy for me and I have an entire closet full of business clothes in this size. Plus I get very down when I gain weight. This diet will be extremely difficult for me b/c my symptoms didn't alter my life. Meaning if there weren't possible long-term complications from continuing to eat gluten during my life, my symptoms would never be bad enough for me to do so. I occasionally would get GI issues, but very rarely. My biggest complaint would have been fatigue.

So lately I've felt pretty lousy and have stopped going to the gym. I need a quick dose of motivation to get me back into the groove, but so far it hasn't happened. I'll get there, but have also been enjoying my time off! In the meantime, I've been diagnosed with celiac disease and I keep reading how people gain weight. I can't afford to gain weight (new clothes) nor do I want to! That would be a double whack in the face to me- go on a diet which thus far I have been less than thrilled with and then get fat on top of it! Gee...fun!

Please tell me there are those of you out there that haven't gained weight once going gluten-free.

By the way, I'm not the type to eat junk. I won't be substituting donuts, cakes, etc with gluten-free versions. I also hope to do my first triathalon next year, so praying praying that this will keep me in shape, too! Assuming I can make myself get back into working out consistently....ugh!

[tictax707]

one non-weight gainer here. I think it's really about sensibility and balance. Part of the weight gain may be psychological - since we are so restricted we may overindulge when we find good substitutes. And a lot of the stuff available to us that tastes really good, is (just like the gluten-laden counterparts) filled with fat & sugar.

Another card in your favor is that you mentioned the upcoming triathlon. YAY!! As a fellow triathlete - I am very excited for you. I think that is really the secret, is to keep busy. Maybe your body is still adjusting to the gluten-free changes so you are feeling unmotivated. Enjoy your time off! If you know you will get back into it, your motivation will come back in time. It sounds like you will really be ok, *especially* since you are not a junk food addict!

PS - which triathlon are you thinking of doing?? And, yes, the triathlons will get you into fantastic shape - must more so than if you only did one of the sports. !!!

[gifree]

Ok- just upfront I will say "I know I know, I need to stay gluten-free for my long-term health". I will and I am. However, I never attributed my weight loss to celiac. I felt I lost the majority of it before I had symptoms by working out (which is something I never did before until I had my first child). After my son was born, I weighed 140. Not big by any means, but more than I had weighed in my lifetime and more than I was comfortable with. I was wearing size 10's and 12's and that just wasn't me. Most of my life I was an 8. So I started exercising and went to a size 6. I felt great! Then we moved and I started getting symptoms of celiac. I continued to exercise but with the help of celiac, I was now a size 4, but sometimes even a 2. Size 4-6 looks healthy for me and I have an entire closet full of business clothes in this size. Plus I get very down when I gain weight. This diet will be extremely difficult for me b/c my symptoms didn't alter my life. Meaning if there weren't possible long-term complications from continuing to eat gluten during my life, my symptoms would never be bad enough for me to do so. I occasionally would get GI issues, but very rarely. My biggest complaint would have been fatigue.

So lately I've felt pretty lousy and have stopped going to the gym. I need a quick dose of motivation to get me back into the groove, but so far it hasn't happened. I'll get there, but have also been enjoying my time off! In the meantime, I've been diagnosed with celiac disease and I keep reading how people gain weight. I can't afford to gain weight (new clothes) nor do I want to! That would be a double whack in the face to me- go on a diet which thus far I have been less than thrilled with and then get fat on top of it! Gee...fun!

Please tell me there are those of you out there that haven't gained weight once going gluten-free.

By the way, I'm not the type to eat junk. I won't be substituting donuts, cakes, etc with gluten-free versions. I also hope to do my first triathalon next year, so praying praying that this will keep me in shape, too! Assuming I can make myself get back into working out consistently....ugh!

I gather everyone's body and diet are different. I was always in good to very shape, but over the past few years, started to put on a bit of weight -- married, work, kid, etc. I no longer had the energy nor drive to make it to the gym. Since my diagnosis, 6-months ago, I've actually lost a fair amount of weight. Admittedly, I also haven't felt that great, so have been trying different diets and definitely eating less, no longer late at night, etc. I might be in for a rude awakening when my body heals, but so far, like I said, have lost a good bit of weight -- which I suspect is also attributed to a well balanced/healthy diet. FYI: I attend a local support group, mostly comprised of older (than me) folks (i'm in my 30s) and I can definitively say that they're no heavier, if not a bit lighter, than the average American...for what it's worth.

[ravenwoodglass]

I was the heaviest I ever have been before diagnosis although a lot of it was fluid. The first couple months on the diet I went from a size 12 to 16 to a 4. That was eight years ago and I am holding steady at a size 2 to 4 which is a normal weight for someone my height. I do put on a few pounds in the winter when I am less actice but not enough for me to have concerns about it. Not all of us gain weight and many of the folks who do were seriously underweight before they went on the diet.

[Fire Fairy]

Ok- just upfront I will say "I know I know, I need to stay gluten-free for my long-term health". I will and I am. However, I never attributed my weight loss to celiac. I felt I lost the majority of it before I had symptoms by working out (which is something I never did before until I had my first child). After my son was born, I weighed 140. Not big by any means, but more than I had weighed in my lifetime and more than I was comfortable with. I was wearing size 10's and 12's and that just wasn't me. Most of my life I was an 8. So I started exercising and went to a size 6. I felt great! Then we moved and I started getting symptoms of celiac. I continued to exercise but with the help of celiac, I was now a size 4, but sometimes even a 2. Size 4-6 looks healthy for me and I have an entire closet full of business clothes in this size. Plus I get very down when I gain weight. This diet will be extremely difficult for me b/c my symptoms didn't alter my life. Meaning if there weren't possible long-term complications from continuing to eat gluten during my life, my symptoms would never be bad enough for me to do so. I occasionally would get GI issues, but very rarely. My biggest complaint would have been fatigue.

So lately I've felt pretty lousy and have stopped going to the gym. I need a quick dose of motivation to get me back into the groove, but so far it hasn't happened. I'll get there, but have also been enjoying my time off! In the meantime, I've been diagnosed with celiac disease and I keep reading how people gain weight. I can't afford to gain weight (new clothes) nor do I want to! That would be a double whack in the face to me- go on a diet which thus far I have been less than thrilled with and then get fat on top of it! Gee...fun!

Please tell me there are those of you out there that haven't gained weight once going gluten-free.

By the way, I'm not the type to eat junk. I won't be substituting donuts, cakes, etc with gluten-free versions. I also hope to do my first triathalon next year, so praying praying that this will keep me in shape, too! Assuming I can make myself get back into working out consistently....ugh!

I'm 36, before I was diagnosed one month ago I weighed 171 now I weight 153. I was always a size 8 (ages 14-26) until about nine years ago when I suddenly dropped to a size 2 then I gained to a size 12 then I dropped to a size 4 then I gained to a size 14. I used to walk all the time but since I started getting sick I've been less active, now I finally feel like moving again.

From what I understand underweight people will gain on the gluten-free diet and overweight people will lose. Of course I only know what I've read in the past month as I'd never heard of Gluten Intolerance until I was diagnosed.

[K8ling]

I haven't! I weigh 161right now and am 6'1". Usually I weigh 157 but finals are getting to me diet wise.

[Skylark]

My weight didn't change at all when I went gluten-free. I lost some bloating at my stomach but that's about it. I did gain some recently while I was hypothyroid but that's pretty normal.

[rainer83]

I was overweight about 4 years ago, went to the gym, lost 55lbs, and that's when I started noticing how sick I was getting. I had stopped going to the gym, but I wasn't gaining any weight. 3 years in a row, my weight had stayed the same. Only once did I manage to put on ten pounds, and that was something I did on purpose to see if I could do it, but it took forever. I did P90X over the summer and haven't worked out in 3 months since and managed to stay the same weight that was my end result after the 90 days was up. I honestly think my celiacs has played a huge part in not easily gaining weight.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I lost weight, but I had gained a lot when I was really sick and so I had it to lose. I still have some to lose but I'm not stressing out about it. The most important thing is to be healthy no matter what your weight does. I think a lot of people's bodies normalize once they eliminate the gluten.

[Mama Melissa]

i had 2 children then decided to exercise in the spring all the way threw to sept had lost a good 20 lbs then my symptoms got worse not to shortly after that got the celiac diagnosis and went on the gluten-free diet its now been 2 1/2 months i see some improvement but not nearly 100% and i am at my skinniest im 5'7 135 i cannot gain weight for anything i kind of hope that changes:(

[i-geek]

I had lost enough weight via diet and exercise to go from a size 6 to a 4 the summer before celiac kicked in full-steam. My weight hasn't changed at all in the past 11 months of eating gluten-free (106 lbs at 5'0"), but I've been doing more resistance training and have dropped down to a size 2 pant. The fact that I'm not bloated anymore helps too. I'm not much of a sweets eater so I'm not particularly tempted by the gluten-free goodies. We try to eat a balanced diet of as many whole foods cooked at home as possible.

[summerteeth]

I actually lost weight - and fast. I had always been really skinny, but in the 6 months before diagnosis I gained 40lbs (up to 155 lbs - I am 5'6"). Then when I was diagnosed, I lost about 20 lbs really quickly. Since, I have still been losing steadily and am now at a healthy 123. I think I have clothes that range from size 2 to size 12...

[hunter6009]

So good to hear! It's nice to know there are others out there that didn't gain a ton of weight! You read all these articles about celiac people going gluten-free and then gaining a ton of weight, it just scared me! I like being fit and healthy and don't want to have to combat age, food, and now a special diet on top of that to maintain! Age and Food are enough to work off and stay fit and healthy!

I made it to the gym today- baby steps back. When I get in the full-swing I'll be going 5-6 times a week doing something. It's been about 6 months, but I have to get my butt moving if I actually want to do a triathalon!

@ticktax707 I will probably do a sprint distance @ Eagle Creek in Indy. My DH did it as his first tri and it looks doable. I could probably do it today (although I might fall over doing so) but with training it should be a breeze. 500m swim and flat surfaces are my kind of first tri! My DH is my inspiration. He's doing the Louisville IronMan this year, so lots of training in our house!! What about you? I see you also do them! Fun!

Thanks again for all the advice and words of encouragement!

[kayo]

I didn't notice any significant weight loss after going gluten-free but that's likely because I still had an undiagnosed soy intolerance and SIBO at that time. I'll be soy free a year this coming Dec (oh, tomorrow!) and I've healed from the SIBO treatments. Since healing from the SIBO I have lost a significant amount of weight and inflammation. Since I had so many health issues this past year and my weight was up and down comparing my current weight to what my weight was this time last year I'm down 12 lbs. That's without trying or exercising or dieting (other than sticking to gluten-free/lf/sf and low FODMAP diet). I might fluctuate an ounce or two a day (normal) whereas this time last year my weight would fluctuate 6-8 lbs day to day. I had to have pants in 3 sizes and keep sweatpants on hand for the really bad days. My stomach could puff out 4-6 inches day to day. Now it's fairly stable and I have little to no bloating. I am wearing my lowest sized pants and gave the largest to goodwill, confident that I won't need them anymore.

[sb2178]

well, i'm about 15 lbs lighter than I was one year ago. Current weight is about what I was as a freshman in high school. gluten-free for 6 months, and only regained a little weight after the losses this spring, but generally feeling healthy and able to do things like run or bike so I'm okay with it. I think. Unless I lose more weight!

[VioletBlue]

I stopped gaining weight when I went gluten-free. For me that was a big deal as I'd been steadily gaining weight for a couple years and nothing seems to change that. So to not gain anymore was great.

I started actually loosing weight once I went soy free, but that's a whole nother story.

[India]

I haven't gained weight since going gluten-free in January - my hospital doctor said I would but I haven't. I lost weight trying an elimination diet over summer but I'm now back at my usual 120lb.

Please remember that sticking to your gluten-free diet stops you doing all kinds of unseen damage to your health. I have various symptoms but finding out that I have an unseen symptom - low bone density - really got to me. Apparently, weight-bearing exercise will help improve this, so perhaps I should join a gym too

Good luck to you!

[AnnaR]

I was slowly and steadily gaining before my diagnosis, in 3 months on a gluten free diet I've lost 19 pounds and 2 pant sizes and the gluten-free diet is the only change I've made. I no longer have food cravings, not even for sugar but I have eaten my fair share of gluten-free sweets when i feel deprived by the restrictions.

[Marz]

I guess it depends on your metabolism and genes. I didn't gain weight, and I'm actually trying to put on a few KGs to be a bit healthier!

I think as long as you eat more healthy foods like veges, fruit, meats, eggs - and less of the very carby substitutions, gluten-free baked goods, you should be fine.

I think the danger comes in with eating lots of gluten-free junk food out of frustration at not being able to eat gluten