Will I Gain Weight?

[Nick K]

Hello fellow celiacs,

My name is Nick (I'm new here), I'm 22 years old, my weight is 120 LBS (under weight) and i was diagnosed with celiac disease back in February (Iv been gluten free since then).

Iv been skinny all my life and Iv been trying to gain weight for about 5-6 years now and i never could put on the weight no matter how much i ate or worked out due to all of the side effects (mainly constant diarrhea) before i was diagnosed and now i know why.

Iv been gluten free since i was diagnosed 6 months ago, i eat 4 meals a day, i have a very good diet, i workout 4-5 times a week push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, no weights yet but im starting this week, and i dont seam to be gaining any weight.

so my question is will i gain weight while diagnosed with celiac disease?

any comments and/or pointers will be great help.

Thank you!

[Newbee]

I've heard some people gain weight after being on a gluten free diet and others lose weight. From what I've heard it sounds like people change so that they are more average instead of extreme in their weight. So if you are underweight there is a good chance that being gluten free will help you gain weight. Good luck!

[krystynycole]

Agreed. It can go either way. I have actually stayed the same with my weight.

[GlutenGladi8or]

Hi Nick:

There IS a tried and true way of adding lean muscle to your body after being diagnosed. And the answer is protein, protein and protein. Well, don't over do it. Just try and include LEAN protein into your breakfasts, lunches and dinners. If you want to bulk like I have over the past 2 years, you'll probably want it to be about 30-40% of the plate that you fill. Just don't go over 4 ounces per serving of lean meats/eggs/dairy/seafood.

The beautiful thing is that you have new villas that are hungry for the protein and nutrients that will now be absorbed.

You'll be fine, you just need to re-think how you eat. Once you've accomplished that, I'll help you look at your work out schedule. That's the second most important thing about putting on muscle.

Number one is diet.

Good luck and keep us posted.

The Gluten Gladiator

[Nick K]

Hi Nick:

There IS a tried and true way of adding lean muscle to your body after being diagnosed. And the answer is protein, protein and protein. Well, don't over do it. Just try and include LEAN protein into your breakfasts, lunches and dinners. If you want to bulk like I have over the past 2 years, you'll probably want it to be about 30-40% of the plate that you fill. Just don't go over 4 ounces per serving of lean meats/eggs/dairy/seafood.

The beautiful thing is that you have new villas that are hungry for the protein and nutrients that will now be absorbed.

You'll be fine, you just need to re-think how you eat. Once you've accomplished that, I'll help you look at your work out schedule. That's the second most important thing about putting on muscle.

Number one is diet.

Good luck and keep us posted.

The Gluten Gladiator

Hi GG,

First off, thank you for the post.

I was being kinda vague in the post, my goal was to get some fat and once i got about 10 lbs then ill start lifting and use that fat to help build muscle, but for 6 months (since i was diagnosed) i haven't gained any thing(1), so now im going to change tactics and start to lift. (1)should i give it more time and see maybe i will gain that fat within a few more months or just start lifting?

My diet was and still is:

Breakfast; 1-2 eggs, 2 pieces of gluten-free bread with cream cheese on both (sometimes i add a few slices of hard cheese), cup of OJ and my multivitamins(just started taking them last week).

Brunch; tuna salad with lots of mayo and a whole avocado.

Lunch; meats(beef, chicken, fish, etc..) and side dish (potatoes, rice, gluten-free pasta, salads, etc..).

Dinner; 2-3 bowls of gluten-free chex cereal with regular whole milk.

Others; a few snacks in between meals (fruits, candy bars, ice cream, used to drink protein shakes but no results of weight gain so i stopped), i drink 2-3 liters of water a day.

That's basically my diet, as you see i have protein and fat and to me it looks like an all in one diet, but please let me know what you think and if i should add or take off something, anything will be much appreciated.

Thanks again.

[GlutenGladi8or]

Hi GG,

First off, thank you for the post.

I was being kinda vague in the post, my goal was to get some fat and once i got about 10 lbs then ill start lifting and use that fat to help build muscle, but for 6 months (since i was diagnosed) i haven't gained any thing(1), so now im going to change tactics and start to lift. (1)should i give it more time and see maybe i will gain that fat within a few more months or just start lifting?

My diet was and still is:

Breakfast; 1-2 eggs, 2 pieces of gluten-free bread with cream cheese on both (sometimes i add a few slices of hard cheese), cup of OJ and my multivitamins(just started taking them last week).

Brunch; tuna salad with lots of mayo and a whole avocado.

Lunch; meats(beef, chicken, fish, etc..) and side dish (potatoes, rice, gluten-free pasta, salads, etc..).

Dinner; 2-3 bowls of gluten-free chex cereal with regular whole milk.

Others; a few snacks in between meals (fruits, candy bars, ice cream, used to drink protein shakes but no results of weight gain so i stopped), i drink 2-3 liters of water a day.

That's basically my diet, as you see i have protein and fat and to me it looks like an all in one diet, but please let me know what you think and if i should add or take off something, anything will be much appreciated.

Thanks again.

You are VERY smart to add fat, as many people don't know that you need fat to build muscle. But, you probably need to eat a little cleaner (drop the candy bars, and ice cream for starters)

BREAKFAST:

Go down to 1 slice of gluten-free bread and add a LEAN chicken sausage or turkey patty.

DINNER:

Drop the cereal and hit up a higher protein center-of-the-plate item that's lean (Pork chop, beef flank steak, turkey/chicken breast, pork tenderloin, seafood filet, 90/10 ground beef). Add fresh veggies/fruit and a gluten-free side (quinoa, brown rice, etc.)

BEFORE BED:

More protein! Either a bowl of low fat cottage cheese, a hard boiled egg, or even 0% Greek yogurt. Remember, you re-build muscle when you're sleeping. Stoke those engines before you hit the hay!

Keep resilient and keep us posted. You'll put on muscle... it just takes time and commitment.

The Gluten Gladiator