Help! Dont Understand This!

[Michelle L]

I am naturally thin to begin with and have always wanted to gain weight...so when I found out I had to go gluten free...I figured I would gain weight..since I would be properly absorbing food and not eating things I was allergic to. But, the opposite has happened and i have lost weight..HOW??? i dont understand. I am eating healthy foods (because I have to) constantly...I dont understand why I wouldnt be gaining weight..at least a little.

Has anyone had this happened when they went Gluten-Free? I started in January this year...was about 115...now I am down 5-10 pounds...How was I not losing weight when I was eating all the foods I was allergic to, but now that I am eating foods good for body...im losing weight??? doesnt make sense.

I've been going to a nutritionist..but clearly that isn't working..so I am going to GI doctor soon to get things inside checked out...

-In the meantime...do you think it would be better to eat 3 big meals a day rather than many small ones...ive ususally just been eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner in good size portions..would that slow my metabolism?

and do you think I should eat before bed..would that help?? any advice in the meantime (before I see a doc within the next couple of weeks) would be awesome!

thanks!!! i hate gluten!!!

[Bubba's Mom]

I am naturally thin to begin with and have always wanted to gain weight...so when I found out I had to go gluten free...I figured I would gain weight..since I would be properly absorbing food and not eating things I was allergic to. But, the opposite has happened and i have lost weight..HOW??? i dont understand. I am eating healthy foods (because I have to) constantly...I dont understand why I wouldnt be gaining weight..at least a little.

Has anyone had this happened when they went Gluten-Free? I started in January this year...was about 115...now I am down 5-10 pounds...How was I not losing weight when I was eating all the foods I was allergic to, but now that I am eating foods good for body...im losing weight??? doesnt make sense.

I've been going to a nutritionist..but clearly that isn't working..so I am going to GI doctor soon to get things inside checked out...

-In the meantime...do you think it would be better to eat 3 big meals a day rather than many small ones...ive ususally just been eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner in good size portions..would that slow my metabolism?

and do you think I should eat before bed..would that help?? any advice in the meantime (before I see a doc within the next couple of weeks) would be awesome!

thanks!!! i hate gluten!!!

It's hard to know what shape your intestines were in if you weren't scoped before going gluten-free? If you have flattening of the villi, they won't absorb what you eat.. and you lose weight. It's possible you aren't eating as many carbs too? It takes a while to heal and absorb what you consume.

When in the healing phase I recommend smaller amounts of food..but eat more often. It doesn't strain your digestive system.

If you eat before bed you might get acid reflux? It's best to have your evening snacks an or two before bedtime.

[Michelle L]

It's hard to know what shape your intestines were in if you weren't scoped before going gluten-free? If you have flattening of the villi, they won't absorb what you eat.. and you lose weight. It's possible you aren't eating as many carbs too? It takes a while to heal and absorb what you consume.

When in the healing phase I recommend smaller amounts of food..but eat more often. It doesn't strain your digestive system.

If you eat before bed you might get acid reflux? It's best to have your evening snacks an or two before bedtime.

thanks! do you know if most people's villi usually heal naturally on their own? would a doctor give anything to help them heal?

i wasnt scoped before going gluten free...i started with the nutrition side of it and started eating gluten free... immediately i felt better and have continue to eat gluten free for four months... so I wont be able to know how my intestines were beforehand...

[IrishHeart]

thanks! do you know if most people's villi usually heal naturally on their own? would a doctor give anything to help them heal?

i wasnt scoped before going gluten free...i started with the nutrition side of it and started eating gluten free... immediately i felt better and have continue to eat gluten free for four months... so I wont be able to know how my intestines were beforehand...

Villi heal on their own when the gluten is eliminated from the diet, in the case of celiac disease. There is no other treatment or medicine.

Do you have Celiac?

An endoscopy does not "see" villous atrophy. A biopsy is done to assess villous atrophy.

Because you have been gluten-free for four months, a biopsy for diagnosing celiac disease at this point will render invalid results.

The GI doctor can explain more of this to you.

[Gemini]

I am naturally thin to begin with and have always wanted to gain weight...so when I found out I had to go gluten free...I figured I would gain weight..since I would be properly absorbing food and not eating things I was allergic to. But, the opposite has happened and i have lost weight..HOW??? i dont understand. I am eating healthy foods (because I have to) constantly...I dont understand why I wouldnt be gaining weight..at least a little.

Has anyone had this happened when they went Gluten-Free? I started in January this year...was about 115...now I am down 5-10 pounds...How was I not losing weight when I was eating all the foods I was allergic to, but now that I am eating foods good for body...im losing weight??? doesnt make sense.

I've been going to a nutritionist..but clearly that isn't working..so I am going to GI doctor soon to get things inside checked out...

-In the meantime...do you think it would be better to eat 3 big meals a day rather than many small ones...ive ususally just been eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner in good size portions..would that slow my metabolism?

and do you think I should eat before bed..would that help?? any advice in the meantime (before I see a doc within the next couple of weeks) would be awesome!

thanks!!! i hate gluten!!!

Michelle...I was always the skinny Celiac and ended up weighing 97 pounds at diagnosis. It was 6 months before I started to gain any weight at all. However, I have topped out at 110-112 and have not been able to gain any more weight but here's why.....I eat a mainly whole foods diet and you don't gain a whole lot of weight eating fruits, veggies and protein. The carbs are what make people gain. I also exercise hard, at the gym with a trainer, twice a week and the rest of the time I rarely am sitting. I am always on the go.

For food, I eat 3 squares a day and 3 snacks. I eat right before going to bed. Eating healthy, more often, will boost metabolism. It's when you go longer between meals that it slows metabolism down. I also weight train and that is a real calorie burner. I kind of like the fact that I can eat whatever I want and not worry about too much weight gain. I noticed that once I started becoming very active again, I needed to eat more.

I don't know how active you are but 4 months on the gluten-free diet is not long enough because you aren't going to be healed in such a short span of time. I would try and eat more gluten-free bread because that stuff is fattening and will help. Peanut butter, dried fruit or any other calorie dense foods will help. If you can tolerate dairy,

try milkshakes. I make protein shakes with almond milk and they are very filling.

It may take awhile but all of a sudden, you'll start to gain. Just go for the calorie dense stuff and eat whenever you like!

[Michelle L]

Michelle...I was always the skinny Celiac and ended up weighing 97 pounds at diagnosis. It was 6 months before I started to gain any weight at all. However, I have topped out at 110-112 and have not been able to gain any more weight but here's why.....I eat a mainly whole foods diet and you don't gain a whole lot of weight eating fruits, veggies and protein. The carbs are what make people gain. I also exercise hard, at the gym with a trainer, twice a week and the rest of the time I rarely am sitting. I am always on the go.

For food, I eat 3 squares a day and 3 snacks. I eat right before going to bed. Eating healthy, more often, will boost metabolism. It's when you go longer between meals that it slows metabolism down. I also weight train and that is a real calorie burner. I kind of like the fact that I can eat whatever I want and not worry about too much weight gain. I noticed that once I started becoming very active again, I needed to eat more.

I don't know how active you are but 4 months on the gluten-free diet is not long enough because you aren't going to be healed in such a short span of time. I would try and eat more gluten-free bread because that stuff is fattening and will help. Peanut butter, dried fruit or any other calorie dense foods will help. If you can tolerate dairy,

try milkshakes. I make protein shakes with almond milk and they are very filling.

It may take awhile but all of a sudden, you'll start to gain. Just go for the calorie dense stuff and eat whenever you like!

thanks!! ahh i really want milkshakes..but I am still somewhat sensitive so I am laying off the dairy...maybe one once in a while I might try....and i was also thinking of trying gluten free protein shakes..i guess kinda similar to the milkshakes idea...they have a bunch of calories....

i just want to make sure that everything is going well on the inside of my body...because I was doing good the first two months..and then all of sudden starting dropping weight the last two....

[peaches987]

thanks!! ahh i really want milkshakes..but I am still somewhat sensitive so I am laying off the dairy...maybe one once in a while I might try....and i was also thinking of trying gluten free protein shakes..i guess kinda similar to the milkshakes idea...they have a bunch of calories....

i just want to make sure that everything is going well on the inside of my body...because I was doing good the first two months..and then all of sudden starting dropping weight the last two....

Michelle, thank you for your post because seriously, this is my life right now. I've been diagnosed celiac for 11 months now. 9 of those eleven months I maintained my weight perfectly fine--although I should say I think I was eating more than my usual amount. I was severely anemic before diagnosis and probably really malnourished and so when I first was diagnosed and went gluten free, I was suddenly hungry ALL the time. I probably ate twice as much as I usually do, plus cookies and ice cream, and didn't gain an ounce but didn't lose it either.

Now, suddenly from March to April I lost 8 pounds. I have NO idea how it happened, I don't exercise, and was pretty freaked out about it because as with you I am not big to begin with. I was 118 to 120 before and now I am 111-ish. It really upsets me. I went out and bought ice cream and chocolate bars, and I try to eat at least one sugar a day, but unfortunately (or not) all the rest of my food is SUPER healthy. I don't know about you, but I've noticed most Gluten Free food to be very low fat. So it's high fiber cereal for breakfast, a sandwhich for lunch and stirfry for dinner, plus yogurt and nuts to snack on. I keep telling myself "you will not be able to gain weight eating edame beans and yogurt!" but it's hard for me to know how to supplement by diet with higher fat foods. I hate being this thin though. I recently talked to my doctor about this, and he said I'm still in the safe zone in terms of weight so he's not too worried, but if I really wanted, I could try drinking 'an instant breakfast' shake on top of my 3 meals a day. It's an extra 300 calories per meal. Hopefully it will work! Dr also said don't weigh yourself every day because that will stress you out. Good luck gaining weight!