Is wheat an enemy?

haunstar

So I have been hearing about wheat making a big difference in weight loss. (Or rather, not eating wheat.) What has your experience been? Should I try gluten-free??

whierd

Omg kill it!!

trogalicious

So I have been hearing about wheat making a big difference in weight loss. (Or rather, not eating wheat.) What has your experience been? Should I try gluten-free??

no.

chelsifina

Wheat is the enemy only if you have a gluten allergy or some other intestinal sensitivity. Gluten is challenging to our bodies to digest , but not everyone has this issue. I avoid all wheat and grains (I eat paleo) but I had an intestinal infectiion involving parasites, bad bacteria, and a fungus for over 2 years. I got stuff to work out. If you suspect an allergy, you can eliminate all gluten sources for three months, then add it back in. If helps in your weight loss to be without it, or if you experience gastrointestinal distress when you add it back in, then there's your answer. best of luck!

DebbieLyn63

For me personally, cutting out grains has helped tremendously with my pain and inflammation, helping me to stay more active and feel better. Also, I am insulin resistant, so lower carb in general helps with my weight loss.

BattleTaxi

Gluten free or wheat friendly, it's still about portion control, planning, and exercising.

marekdds

I am gluten-free, but not by choice. Would love a good piece of bread. I did lose weight when I gave it up, but probably b/c I ate lower calorie foods and started exercising. It is like anything, don't go crazy with it and you can have wheat.

haunstar

Interesting. Thank you for the responses.

knittnponder

It's BS. I am gluten intolerant and have been gluten free for almost two years. When I went gluten free I didn't magically lose any weight from switching. In fact, I gained a couple of pounds from all the gluten free baking I was doing trying to learn this new way of eating! For some people their intolerance will have them losing a few pounds by making the switch if they are eating similarly but for most of us it doesn't make a difference. I am losing again because I've reigned in the baking but it's still determined by how many calories I'm eating. I did have a piece of gluten free cake today but it was within my parameters.

I went gluten free because I feel like crap when I eat it and have an obvious intolerance. I discovered my intolerance after the family went GF for two of my kids who get migraines and throw up from eating gluten. We cut gluten to see if it would help them, it did and helped me and the other two kids too! My husband still eats gluten outside of the home so we don't know if it'll help him.

bajoyba

My mom and my sister are both gluten intolerant, so they never eat it. Neither of them has lost weight that way. I don't pay much attention to whether or not my food is gluten free unless I'm preparing food to enjoy with them. I have an english muffin for breakfast multiple times a week, and I occasionally have pizza for dinner. I've lost all my weight simply by eating in a calorie deficit.

snazzyjazzy21

No.

haunstar

I really appreciate everyone taking time to answer my question. It sounds like there is a wide range of experiences with this particular topic. I suppose I could also get a test from the doctor at my next physical? For people who have gone gluten free-- do you feel improved sense of well being, ect? (Allergy or Choice?)

elle18287

I have had digestive issues for a long time, so I have been cutting out wheat/gluten for about two weeks. I already feel a little better.
That being said, going gluten free will most likely have no affect on your weight loss. Weight loss is simply calories in, calories out.
Personally, going gluten free has encouraged me to eat healthier foods because gluten is in so many processed items. Eating these healthier foods has given me more energy so I am getting harder work outs in.

snazzyjazzy21

I really appreciate everyone taking time to answer my question. It sounds like there is a wide range of experiences with this particular topic. I suppose I could also get a test from the doctor at my next physical? For people who have gone gluten free-- do you feel improved sense of well being, ect? (Allergy or Choice?)

I'm celiac, so I had no choice in the matter. The only thing cutting gluten out did was remove my symptoms, other than that, I feel exactly the same as I did before my celiac flared up. If I could, I'd go back to eating gluten.

knittnponder

I am so much better gluten free! I have fibromyalgia and cutting the gluten has helped reduce my pain and fatigue. My allergies are not as bad as they used to be either. When I eat gluten I feel like I have the flu; tired, achy, grumpy, can't concentrate and all I want to do is go to sleep. Potatoes effect me the same way.

_noob_

I had a bunch of GI issues when I STOPPED eating grains and gluten.

I feel a LOT better when I eat grains.

ndj1979

what is kind of like darth vader in star wars...the dark side of the force...

ndj1979

cutting carbs does not make you lose weight...

eating in a calorie deficit makes you lose weight..

You could of ran a search and found about a million topics on this...

kkerri

I am trying gluten free/paleo, but only because I have an autoimmune issue and am giving it a shot. I am not going to the extremes that someone with celiac would need to go to, but am cutting out obvious sources of gluten. I do think my energy levels are better, but I will need to do it for months to see if it helps the autoimmune stuff. We'll see. I miss pizza ;-)

kkerri

I don't think it helps weight loss, although I have lost some weight (mostly because there isn't much to snack on and I don't like meat enough to overeat it).

Mokey41

I really appreciate everyone taking time to answer my question. It sounds like there is a wide range of experiences with this particular topic. I suppose I could also get a test from the doctor at my next physical? For people who have gone gluten free-- do you feel improved sense of well being, ect? (Allergy or Choice?)

Are you experiencing symptoms of an intolerance or Celiac's? Diarrhea, cramping, bloating, vomiting? If not you probably don't have an issue. Just cutting out wheat won't cause you to lose weight unless you cut calories at the same time.

Missjulesdid

If you suspect that you might have an intolerance then it might be worth it to give an elimination diet a try and see how you feel being wheat/gluten free. I am NOT celiac but I don't tolerate wheat well.. I seem to do ok with trace amounts of gluten/wheat.. BUT when wheat was a regular part of my diet I could barely make it through a 7 hour shift at work my knees ached so bad. Also I couldn't even close my hands all the way and I did not have full range of motion in my fingers/wrists. I also was on daily synthroid for hypoactive thyroid. I was tired all the time. I did not have "tummy troubles" from wheat, my issues were with inflammation. Since giving up wheat, 90% of my joint issues are resolved... and 100% of the joint/range of motion problems in my hands were resolved. I feel like a normal energized person.... and I have been removed from my thyroid medication. (thankfully, my actual thyroid was not damaged, I had such inflammation that my body couldn't properly use the hormones that my thyroid was producing so it kept screaming for more, but there doesn't seem to be any malfunction of my actual thyroid which is why my condition was reversible.. The vast majority of people NEVER see thyroid conditions reversed... Just throwing that out there so people don't get their hopes up that going off wheat will cure their hypothyroidism)

I don't CARE if people think that I'm just "following a fad" or whatever, I know that my beloved wheat products were causing real harm to my body... As far as a corelation between going wheat free and weight loss, That I don't know... I mean Not being able to eat wheat HAS saved me a few calories when I've HAD to turn down certain things that I might otherwise have splurged on, but I don't think it's enough to make a difference. I will say that I'm able to be a lot more active now.. When I was eating wheat I'd come straight home from work and soak in the tub then put up my legs and cry from the pain... Now I get out of work and go for a four mile walk, or go to zumba class!

mandimuscles

I recently discovered after many trips to the drs and being sick for literally about an entire year straight that I can't have gluten. Looking back, I've always had issues and it explains a LOT for me. I've now been totally gluten free for 6 weeks. I lost 7lbs the first week solely in swelling/inflammation weight. Since then the scale has barely moved. I can see a change in my body, for sure, but the scale doesn't reflect the million times healthier diet I'm on. I make basically everything myself from scratch now vs eating out almost every day, that has been discouraging since I've made a major lifestyle change, but I know I'm doing the right thing. If you don't have any issues with gluten, my best advice is to moderate. I'm a HUGE advocate of everything in moderation. But no need to avoid totally, let me tell you, it's a royal pain in the *kitten* and it probably won't help hugely with weight loss on the scale. Hope that helps!

unFATuated

Wheat is only an enemy if you have an allergy or intolerance. I found I was often feeling ill after eating things with wheat in (but not other gluten) so I try to keep consumption of bread, pasta, baked goods etc to a minimum and I do feel better. I do find weight-loss easier when I do keep it mostly out of my diet, but that's probably because I also had a tendency to overdo it on foods containing wheat.

If you don't have any negative reactions to it there's no point going wheat or gluten-free. However, it is important to include other wholegrains and of course keep everything in moderation.

melsinct

Wheat is only an enemy if you have an allergy or intolerance...If you don't have any negative reactions to it there's no point going wheat or gluten-free.

This.

I am not sure when everyone became a special snowflake and developed gluten intolerance/allergy/Celiacs. The vast majority of the population can eat gluten with no issues.Equate it to a peanut allergy- it doesn't affect most of us but it can be real trouble for that small minority that truly has an issue.

Wildflower0106

Wheat is only an enemy if you have an allergy or intolerance...If you don't have any negative reactions to it there's no point going wheat or gluten-free.

This.

I am not sure when everyone became a special snowflake and developed gluten intolerance/allergy/Celiacs. The vast majority of the population can eat gluten with no issues.Equate it to a peanut allergy- it doesn't affect most of us but it can be real trouble for that small minority that truly has an issue.

It is trendy to be gluten free... that is all I can figure. Not knocking those who yave an actual medical problem, but suddenly everyone is jumping on the gluten free bus without even knowing for sure if they actually need to...

alisonlynn1976

Gluten intolerance is a real thing, but it's rare. It just happens to be trendy right now for people to self-diagnose it. In any event, personal anecdote ---> I eat wheat, and I am successfully losing weight.

Missjulesdid

Gluten intolerance is a real thing, but it's rare. It just happens to be trendy right now for people to self-diagnose it. In any event, personal anecdote ---> I eat wheat, and I am successfully losing weight.

Meh, I self diagnosed mine through an elimination diet.. I was hoping that if my problems were dietary that the issue would be DAIRY.. I was horrified when through the process of a CONTROLLED elimination diet that the issue was with wheat. I mean, I used to make homemade flour tortillas almost daily, I ate couscous for BREAKFAST.. I LOVED my wheat. My doctor says there's no reason for me to go through the testing process since in order to do that I'd have to start eating wheat again AND the tests do not always reveal a positive for all intolerences to every protein in wheat anyway. Not everyone who cannot tolerate wheat has a problem with the GLUTEN. Not everyone who has a problem with wheat has celiacs.

shannashannabobana

So I have been hearing about wheat making a big difference in weight loss. (Or rather, not eating wheat.) What has your experience been? Should I try gluten-free??

It helped me break a plateau. I can't say whether it's because wheat is inherently bad or if it's simply that cutting out wheat means cutting out a lot of processed foods (also doing primal/paleoish).

Either way, it won't hurt you to try it if you're interested. I don't think gluten free will do much for you weight wise if all you do is buy all the 'gluten free' junk food, though. I have mostly switched out bread and pasta for veggies and potatoes (and meat!) with the occasional bit of rice.

[for the record, I haven't cut it out entirely. I just try to 'minimize' it - and don't plan meals around it. That doesn't mean I don't have the occasional piece of bread or pasta]

bcattoes

So I have been hearing about wheat making a big difference in weight loss. (Or rather, not eating wheat.) What has your experience been? Should I try gluten-free??

If you have some reason to believe you are gluten sensitive or intollerant, you might want to try it. But unless you have symptoms (bloating, GI distress, etc.) only when eating something with gluten, then no.

I eat wheat several days a week with no problems.

kkerri

I don't think eliminating something that may cause a problem means you are hopping into "special snowflake" category. I have very bad vitiligo so I am trying it. *shrug* If it helps great, if it doesn't, no harm no foul. There is evidence of a connection between gluten and some autoimmune disorders. I am also trying to watch soy for the same reason. People who have autoimmune issues or joint inflammation may benefit from it.