Underweight Need Help Please

[andreikirev]

So I am new to the gluten free and gluten intolerant world... took 4 years of digestion pains amongst other painful symptoms... The worst part has always been the absolute love for food.. but no obvious reasons why i couldnt enjoy a good meal without being in pain... Now that i have just started gluten free I am quickly feeling hopeless on how complicated making a decent meal has become... I know I am new and I need to start simple.. But the facts are that im 128 pounds at 5' 10".... Im underweight pretty badly... I use to be a healthy 160+... I really need to get weight back on... I am going to make my first tour of the grocery store from a gluten free perspective at the beginning of the week. What can you all suggest that will be good for getting on weight but not requiring me to eat so much im making myself sick... I am enjoying the solid painless meals and would like to keep them painless haha

[JNBunnie1]

For now, I would just concentrate on the fact that your meals are painless- yay!

The weight will reappear, and it will seem like magic. When I first went gluten

free, I was so taxed, desperate, and tired, that I ate rice pasta with meat sauce

twice a day for three months. Not much nutrition in that being the only thing I

was eating, but I still gained 15 pounds during that three months completely

not on purpose. It will happen- try to focus on everything NOT sucking right now,

and the weight thing will work itself out! If six months down the road you've seen

no change in your weight gluten free, then it's time to start talking about supplementing

your diet.

[andreikirev]

thank you for that re assurance. I have been so worried about how underweight i am for years now. losing almost 40 pounds and not being able to put it back it back on at any cost was really scary to me and very worrisome to my wife and family. It has greatly limited my ability to work and hurt my pride alot... Ill take your advice and keep eating my repetitive meals. I am eating only fresh hamburger with no bun, potatoes and plain chicken. i have not started adventuring into my options. The pain free meals have me totally ok... I am started to try and figure out the best vitamins for me to seek out to keep myself from having deficiency.

[JNBunnie1]

It is ok to eat vegetables. It is ok to eat fruit. It is ok to eat rice.

These things will help you feel more full, and will help you put

that weight back on.

I know how you feel with being so underweight- it draws a lot

of attention. It will get better! I promise! Eat a carrot!

[foam]

I'm also 5 10 and 120 pounds, I used to be about 150 and was 140 just a couple months ago before I went completely off grains. Eating meat and fat just makes me loose more and more weight compared to grain and cheese and fruits etc. I had become very weak at this weight and sometimes feel I would be better off eating grains just to gain weight.. The problem is that in the long term just does more damage and probably ends up with a terminal problem. I look a bit like I'm dying because I'm so thin and It worries me when I'm out in public a little. But I'm resisting dropping below 120 so that's ok for now. I've had to start on homemade yoghurt which is helping, I've put on 3 pounds is just a few days actually. Might even have enough spare joules soon to start riding my lovely carbon bike again which I haven't had the power to ride lately.

[tarnalberry]

Every whole food in the produce section is your friend! Enjoy the potatoes, but also sweet potatoes, and (this time of year!) butternut squash and onions and beets and chard and kale and lettuce and carrots and broccoli and cauliflower and celery - and all the other fun stuff that is out of season and shipped from somewhere. And the apples and pears and grapefruit and pomegranates and other winter fruits. Don't forget about rice and quinoa and lentils and beans and nuts and seeds and eggs and milk/yogurt (if you do dairy).

There's really a lot of easy to make foods out there!

(tonight's dinner: two cans of beans, cooked in olive oil with onion, carrot, bell pepper, and spinach. add a little bit of cumin and smoked paprika. serve in warmed corn tortillas. I added goat cheese because I can tolerate small quantities of goat dairy, and I added green salsa from trader joe's because I like it. but both of those would be totally optional.)