Lost Weight At First And Now Have Gained Even More

[OleMissLass]

When I started the gluten-free diet over a year ago I quickly lost about 25 pounds. I looked and felt great and found the diet relatively easy to handle.

In the past few months, though, I am tired all the time and constantly crave carbs like ice cream and cornbread - just because I can have them, I think. My thyroid is regulated (I do have hypothyroidism) and I'm being careful to eat gluten-free, but I've gained back the weight and then some. I'm hungry almost all the time and portion-cutting hasn't really helped.

Any advice? I'm especially frustrated because I'm getting married in 3 months and want to lose weight for the wedding.

[GlutenGladi8or]

Keep in mind that the sugar in ice cream and the sugar in cornbread can take your blood sugar onto an absolute roller coaster ride. On your high point, you are full of energy when that sugar kicks in. But, you feel in the dumps when the roller coaster goes to the much lower point on the track.

Try to eat more "whole" foods throughout the day and preferably something with at least a little bit of protein: 0% Greek yogurt, almonds, all natural turkey, hard boiled egg, low fat cottage cheese, soy milk, etc.

And if you're going to consume any type of sugar, get it from natural sources: Apples, Pears, Grapes, Mango, Blueberries, Raspberries, etc.

And, feel free to snack throughout the day. I actually recommend 7 different eating incidences per day.

If you want to walk down the aisle with pride, "walk" the full sugar and full fat ice cream out to the dumpster. Try dark chocolate to feed that sweet tooth instead.

[krystynycole]

If you want to walk down the aisle with pride, "walk" the full sugar and full fat ice cream out to the dumpster. Try dark chocolate to feed that sweet tooth instead.

I keep squares of dark chocolate and a jar of peanut butter in hand. I usually have one square a night with a touch of pb. It soothes my need for junk food. I find that allowing myself one square a night removes the temptation of going on binges of it. I also do not eat it in the kitchen where I would be tempted to eat more! I wait until I'm in another room to bite into it. For me it's all about tricking my brain into the game!

[Dr. Nick]

Weight gain is a frustrating issue. I have found with my patients that once your digestive system recovers through a gluten-free diet and you learn what carbs you can eat, there is a tendency to eat too many carbs. Carbs taste good, but the tend to make your blood sugar levels flutate widely and as blood sugar levels come down shortly after carb consumption, you feel tired and hungry. You want to eat more, which is why you gain weight. Lean protein and high fiber foods, especially vegetables, along with small portions and frequent meals are the way to stablize blood sugar levels, minimize hunger and lose weight. Obviously, there is a lot more to know. Let me know if I can help. Dr. Nick

[pricklypear1971]

Yep. Gotta lay off the carbs. Lucky for me cake (even gluten-free) makes me feel gross and I'm rapidly losing interest.

I find replacing the carb with something good helps me tremendously. I like the 1 square trick. Going to try that!

[Skylark]

My thyroid is regulated (I do have hypothyroidism) and I'm being careful to eat gluten-free, but I've gained back the weight and then some. I'm hungry almost all the time and portion-cutting hasn't really helped.

Sounds to me like your thyroid isn't as regulated as you think it is. Tired + weight gain = hypothyroid. All our endocrine glands are tied together, so your insulin response may be "off" as well. Unfortunately, many doctors blindly treat hypothyroidism to "normal" TSH instead of looking at your symptoms.