Belly fat

[Mikeila]

Hello again.I need your advice please.I'very been trying to loose some weight but no matter what I'm doing it seems very difficult to get rid of my belly. I exercise, eating healthy but doesn't work.Is something caracteristic for coeliac to have a belly?Any advices of what I can eat or exercise's I can do?Thanks

[BasM]

Same here. I am gaining a pound or so a month and this has been going on. I havent changed my eating and I do walk. My thyroid test was a 6.5 or so but I was not given any meds. Will do another test next month. Meanwhile my shirts are getting tighter. I wonder if i took some meds for under active thyroid if this would help. I am also tired a lot more.

[whispers60 in reply to BasM]

BasM with tsh at that level you should be on medication, can you start your own thread with test results and ranges then advice can be given to you ( had a quick look at your profile page but can't see if you are in the UK) and the good people on here will give you the advice you need

[HLAB35]

Gluten Free Society may help you.

The tutorial on exercise is very good. glutenfreesociety.org/video...

[Mikeila in reply to HLAB35]

Thank you

[MidnightBlue]

Are you managing to lose weight overall? There are things you can do to build muscle, which will tone your belly area. The plank is good, also sit ups etc. losing weight is a slow process, and you need to be optimally medicated otherwise if is an uphill battle.

[Mikeila in reply to MidnightBlue]

Thanks.What do you mean by optimally medicated ?You mean motivated?

[MidnightBlue in reply to Mikeila]

I mean on enough thyroxine. If your t3 levels are low you are likely to gain weight even if you eat little and exercise. Edit - I have just looked back at your post and seen you are not on thyroxine yet. That most likely is the reason you are having trouble losing weight.

Second edit- actually, that was someone else! Are you on Medication?

[Mikeila in reply to MidnightBlue]

Nope.They told me that my thyroid is fine.

[Issy]

Look at the "Wheat Belly" blog - facebook and internet...

[Mikeila in reply to Issy]

Thank you

[greygoose]

If your T3 is not optimal, you shouldn't be 'trying' to lose weight at all. Low calorie diets will negatively impact your conversion, making you more hypo, and put on more weight.

Exercise uses up your T3, which you cannot easily replace, making you more hypo and put on more weight.

Do you have copies of your blood test results to share with us - with the ranges? That will give us a better idea of what's going on with you.

[JOLLYDOLLY]

Unfortunately, belly fat is quite normal When I was a child (I was born with the condition), they used to call it "pot belly" and evidently it is and can be a classic symptom - not everyone gets it or is prone to it, but if you do tend to carry extra weight, that seems to be the place it goes I wonder if it relates to muscle tone??? That is something that perhaps someone else might know. I hope you get the results you want though, if you do, please let me know your secret.

Take care

[humanbean]

I have read that belly fat is often associated with having high cortisol levels. It certainly fits for me.

This link investigated the problem :

citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewd...

[Mikeila in reply to humanbean]

I tried to ask my GP to check my cortisol level and he said that they don't check it?I've been under a lot of stress for the past 3 years or so but I'm not sure if there is a connection between this two?

[humanbean in reply to Mikeila]

You don't know if there is a connection between stress and cortisol? Or stress and belly fat? Or cortisol and belly fat? Sorry, I'm confused.

I know that a GP would never check cortisol for someone who has a problem with belly fat or being overweight generally. They would just assume the person concerned ate too much and tell them to eat less.

[Mikeila in reply to humanbean]

Between stress and belly fat😊Well I'm 1.69 with 70kg

[humanbean in reply to Mikeila]

jillianmichaels.com/fit/los...

prevention.com/weight-loss/...

livestrong.com/article/1825...

There are loads of links available connecting stress, cortisol and fat.

If you want to test your cortisol, but your doctor won't test it for you, then you could do a cortisol saliva test privately :

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

gdx.net/uk/product/adrenal-...

[Mikeila in reply to humanbean]

Thank you

[Eddie83]

I assume you are completely gluten-free. Avoid carbs, including other grains, and esp. those that are processed (e.g. white rice). Have you treated your thyroid, such that your FT4 is now in-range, and your FT3 is in the upper half of the range?

[Mikeila in reply to Eddie83]

Thank you.Yes, I've been completely GF for 12 years now and I never had problems with my thyroid according to the blood tests.I think I'm eating to much bread tho😊

[ChristinaT]

I know an underactive thyroid and high cortisol levels can cause belly fat (as mentioned by others also). Insulin resistance/diabetes is another cause. Grains and carbs can be problematic for some people and food intolerances in general. SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) can cause abdominal bloating (not certain if it causes belly fat). This frequently gets misdiagnosed with IBS, and can be caused by prolonged use of antibiotics, but it also seems affect those with coexisting Gastro issues (coeliac disease, crohns) it also can be caused by meds used for low stomach acid. Just stating any possible underlying causes incase you think it could be something causing it. I myself have difficulty it trying to get rid of my belly, but there is something I did a while back which worked after approx 6/8 weeks.

I would eat main meals and stopped snacking. It my case it was lunch and tea (don't eat breakfast) I would eat my meals the same time each day, and there was 5/6 hour gap between my first and last meal. It was more to do with my working hours and my allocated lunch break until I got home. (And by the way I ate what I wanted (apart from take away food/fast food but I would eat large meals) bit difficult to do at first but after a couple of days I eased into it. And for whatever reason after 6/8 weeks I started losing my belly fat. Within a further fortnight I couldn't beleive how flat it was! And this was over xmas too!

Anyway that's what worked for me.

[Mikeila in reply to ChristinaT]

Thank you.I better do some tests then for intestinal microbiome.