I was wondering if anyone else has had weight issues. I mean the stereo typical coeliac is thin. Not myself, I've really been putting on weight so I decided to try and loose a bit. I've been dieting for about a month and tried to keep to about 1200 calories a day. This is not always achieved but I'm definitely eating much less than I used to. I've barely lost any weight at all, and I can't understand it. If I loose a couple of kg's one day and have a packet of crisps it's as if all the weight goes back on.
My niece is also coeliac and recently saw a consultant. She has been trying to diet too, and the consultant told her that some coeliacs do find it really hard to loose weight no matter what your diet or what exercise you do.
Does anyone else have this problem or can confirm it?
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RodeoJoe
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Yes I have this problem, even worse if I am stressed I pile on weight even though I'm not eating any differently. I don't eat any processed foods so it's not that but I do eat rice and rice noodles so I'm going to try doing a low carb paleo type eating plan on a 5:2 see if that helps.
I had trouble too. Before I was diagnosed couldn't shift a pound however healthily I ate & regardless of the excercise I do, which I do a fair bit. After cutting out gluten, lost a stone over a period of 6 months or so without trying, then couldn't shift any more. Only seemed to shift a further stone very slowly, when I did an auto immune paleo diet to establish what else was bothering me.
Still on a restricted diet re food choices but much better than it was but as soon as I start having above what my body seems to be able to tolerate, then the weight creeps up again,it's a difficult balance for some of us.
Just think that if certain foods bother us, the body goes into an inflammatory protective mode & for some that means holding onto weight, for others it means losing weight,the body is such a complex thing, a huge chemistry set & I reckon we only know a tiny bit about it!!
Thanks. I'm going to stop the processed weight watchers meals and see how that goes. Perhaps fresh fish/chicken and vegetables.
The less I have to think about meals the easier I find dieting. I pretty much don't mind sticking to the same thing every day as long as it's convenient and tastes ok.
I do have the odd , meal out here and there, and I often break from the diet at the weekends.
I was stick-thin all my life until diagnosed nearly 5 years ago at age 52. Then I became much more ill on a gluten free diet and only put on half a stone. Finally, I managed to get my gut to heal with Buteyko breathing, NLP, and eventually B12 and other things which nobody had suggested taking (if only those dieticians knew about nutrition). Now, I put on weight steadily and so easily that I have a completely different body and am always trying to limit my calorie intake. I am truly shocked at how little 'normal' people can eat before piling on the pounds! I used to eat like a horse and never put on weight.
When I was young, I ate candy bars, soda, a whole pizza for lunch. Doughnuts for breakfast and pasta for dinner. I was thin. I was pretty active too. People were jealous of all could eat and still look great. Now I'm 46 and stopped eating gluten so I seem to absorb every calorie. Dairy makes me bloated and heavy now. It was designed to help baby cows triple their weight after all. I found that a plant based diet, fruit, veggies, nuts, rice and potatoes, quinoa with small amounts of tofu and occasional seafood helps me stay slim, healthy and energetic. I avoid meat, dairy as well as gluten and hard to digest foods. You may need to take digestive enzymes if you want to eat that stuff. Especially if you are over 30 years old
Recent news items suggest that the main reason people put on weight is because the modern diet is high carb and low fat. I can confirm that from my experience, just under a year ago I started the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) which is like the Paleo diet on steroids. Within 3 months I had lost 2 stone, and 4 inches off my waist, and despite now eating quite large meals daily, I have not put on a single pound, despite eating at least 5 times a day (3 main meals plus snacks of fruit, nuts and muffins). I think the Paleo diet will help someone in this regard as it eliminates many grains, but the SCD really cuts out all the starchy carbs, grains and processed sugars that promote weight gain. I use the SCD out of necessity because I react to so many things, but I would recommend it as a way of losing weight, and then perhaps move more to the Paleo approach once an ideal weight is reached. One thing I would advise is steer clear of the Free From aisle, that stuff will pile the weight on!
Avoiding starches can't hurt. Also, a few years ago a doctor told me the best way to lose weight was to avoid potatoes and bread. Perhaps that is a good starting point. Next I would avoid as many processed sugars as possible. If that doesn't give you what you are wanting, I would try the SCD for a month. I know when I was having health issues even after going GF, I seemed to be giving up something at least twice a week. No matter what I tried it never seemed to help until I tried the SCD. Now I feel the best I have felt for 5 years. Can't recommend it highly enough.
Well, among the things I avoid are items with potato starch and modified maize starch added. Well worth avoiding I think. I was advised by a nutritionist (before I found the SCD) that just avoiding carbs was dangerous as they are essential to our bodies. What the SCD does is eliminate the complex carbs that are difficult to digest, which is why they get converted to fat in our system. The simple carbs are more easily digested, and hence are more healthy. Some of the SCD approach is also in the FODMAP diet, so perhaps worth reading about what that recommends avoiding.
1) You can be fat & have coeliac disease - you're basically suffering from nutrient deficiencies & they can manifest differently
2) You're starving yourself on a 1200 calorie/day diet. Your body is freaking out and holding onto every fat store you have because it thinks you're in a famine.
Try focusing your diet on lots of veggies & healthy fats (avocado, coconut, olive), don't calorie count, avoid packaged/processed foods and see if that makes a difference. You need to give your body LOTS of good nutrients so that it can absorb at least some of them. Eventually, as your gut heals (or is less-tortured) it will do a better job at nutrient absorption. Good luck!
eat as much fresh foods as you can, meat, fish, (not fried)keep off processed foods i make my own soups (i bought a soup maker,best thing since sliced bread) Glutenfree food are quite high in fat. I have now lost weight through eating fresh food fish and lean meat. hope this was helpful,good luck
Have you had your GP check you for thyroid disease. Many people with Coeliac Disease have an under-active thyroid. Otherwise known as Hashimoto's Disease. If your thyroid is under-active this could account for the weight gain.
Sympathise big time! I have such difficulty losing weight and have posted about this in the past. I don't have a big appetite and eat little - no processed food, mainly fish/meat vegetables and salad. I decided to give Michael Mosley 5:2 a try some time ago and lost a couple of pounds then put it on again the next day. Now doing his diabetes diet of 800 cals a day and 5:2 once a week. Lost nothing! This is a scientific based diet and considered healthy and successful so I am struggling. I have asked my doctor to help but they can't do anything and think I am healthy and all tests are negative. I wish someone could investigate why some of us are affected in this way and how to address it. I had thought of contacting Michael Mosley to ask his advice!
Glad I'm not the only one. I'm also on immunosuppressants for unrelated issues, I don't think they help with weight.
I was eating weight watchers processed meals so I've swapped that for chicken and vegetables so I can be sure there are no additives. I'm hoping I'll get results from that.
The Blood sugar diet is very low carb. In fact I eat minimal carbs in as much as I don't eat potatoes, bread, rice etc., and try to eat green veg. I also don't eat much fruit either. I will see if there is a help page -thank you for that advice.
I really don't understand why I don't lose weight especially as I am mega active e.g. daily swimming, cycling etc. When I have watched those TV programmes where people have lost weight by changing their diet I can see why there has been a dramatic successful weight. Usually the candidates have been eating a load of dodgy food ++. Changing their habits will reduce their weight. But for me there is little change at all. However, I have read that being stressed affects weight loss because of the release of cortisol. GPs obviously don't specialise in everything and concentrate on primary care priorities. But it would be good if one in my practice had a dietary interest!
Hi again, Having trawled around the net, I've come across these interesting articles. Although I have tried a very low carb diet I found that I do better on a moderately low carb diet, mostly root veg.
Perhaps the success, or not, of the low carb diet depends on your initial metabolic state. It is recommended if you have metabolic syndrome, or are pre-diabetic and, as you said, if you have been eating rubbish it's likely to be successful. Might not be appropriate for you?
If what you are doing isn't working, try experimenting?
Thank you very much for this info Penel it seems most interesting. I have skim read it but will read it in detail later. I have eaten healthy stuff most of my adult life - apart from the odd weekend relapses! I never ate much bread as it has made me ill for decades. Neither did I eat too much processed food. But have certainly been able to control my weight until I discovered I had gluten problems. And the weight crept on ... bit like Rodeojoe says you lose the weight then have something to eat and undo all the good work!
Penel I have now read the pieces again and I think it makes sense that not all diets work for everyone. Digestive problems are so complicated with many influencing factors aren't they? I wish the article had said what alternative diet would be good for me! I will have to research something new!
Now there is an interesting thing! A couple of years ago in desperation I contacted a nutritionist. I am risking something here and I hope I am not offending anyone but I am a cynic about the industry. However, this person was wonderful and really got what I was saying. I did this test where I had to drink bicarbonate of soda and time any reaction. The nutritionist was convinced I had SIBO (Small intestine Bacterial Overgrowth?) and suggested some treatment (hence my cynicism as this is where I part company with nutritionalist). We discussed alternatives which I wanted to discuss with my GP as one was taking an antibiotic to get rid of the bacteria. Well my GP, who I also rate as 9/10 had not heard of SIBO. We had a discussion and she looked up the private cost of an appropriate anti-biotic and was not convinced this was the right treatment. I have to agree neither did I. But I never followed it up as I discovered Michael Mosley! But maybe this SIBO might be worth investigating further again.
Hi rodeojoe patricia here I cud honesty say I dont no anyone with coeliac disease to gain weight lose weight yes 100 percent how does that happen I would giv anything to put gud weight on I stick to a gluten free diet but I just dont gain any weight on I dont lose it just dont gain it my doctor sed am not in any danger but I don't like what I see in the mirror but I dont let this evil pathogen disease beat me so be safe patricia
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