Anyone LOST weight going gf?

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witchtea
witchtea Posts: 10 Member
I have IBS and eating gf has helped my symptoms enormously! But I've heard conflicting things... some people lose weight and others gain. Your perspective?
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  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
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    Personally, I haven't done either, yet. I've pretty much stayed the same weight. I'm not sure if I wasn't eating a deficit and working out if I would be gaining or staying the same, but I feel like I would be gaining. But who knows. I'm going to try and focus on eating more veggies in place of my gf substitutes and rice to keep me full. But I can't give up my gf cereal! I love cereal in the morning. Btw, is that Rachel Brice on your ticker?
  • Guinivere
    Guinivere Posts: 357 Member
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    I've lost weight. It helped me say no to bread, cakes, biscuits, pies, pasties, pastries etc

    I've been exploring alternatives with gf flour but I don't eat refined sugar either and it seems that that is what they load gf food with to make it taste ok. Wish they used xylitol or something so gf wasn't so calorific!

    I've been doing a lot of cooking from scratch at home where I can experiment and control the ingredients.
  • ELEANOR43da
    ELEANOR43da Posts: 166 Member
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    I have IBS also and have tried the GF. I have to say for me I did lose a lot more. I have been unwell for a couple of months and kinda not eating properly or logging much and the pounds are coming back.........GF does help!
  • FitnessPalWorks
    FitnessPalWorks Posts: 1,128 Member
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    Virtually all the weight I have lost has been from simply being GF for the past year.

    Mind you I'm apparently just sensitive and not completely allergic.... I do on occasion eat gluten knowingly but luckily do not have the reactions I used to...

    I'm quite sure that if I cut it out entirely I would lose more but most people GAIN because they use GF substitutes on a regular basis... I just try to eat clean....
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    Virtually all the weight I have lost has been from simply being GF for the past year.

    Mind you I'm apparently just sensitive and not completely allergic.... I do on occasion eat gluten knowingly but luckily do not have the reactions I used to...

    I'm quite sure that if I cut it out entirely I would lose more but most people GAIN because they use GF substitutes on a regular basis... I just try to eat clean....

    Same boat, word for word. :)
  • kms1320
    kms1320 Posts: 599 Member
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    yes, I lost weight faster dropping gluten
  • treefrogkate
    treefrogkate Posts: 13 Member
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    Right after I went GF 7 years ago, I gained a bunch of weight. Considering I wasn't absorbing nutrients properly while I was still eating gluten, it makes sense to me why I would have gained after I stopped essentially poisoning myself.
  • Meikmeika
    Meikmeika Posts: 108 Member
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    So many people think going GF is synonymous with losing weight. I know for me, at first, I lost a little bit of weight b/c I lived off salads and fruit. But when I discovered all the subs I went bonkers so the weight came back on quickly.

    When using subs I have to be more mindful. For instance, I have one slice of toast with breakfast, I will have sandwiches without the bread, I have to hide udi's cookies or I'll eat the whole container, did I mention 1 cookie is like 100 calories?
  • takerbrat
    takerbrat Posts: 81 Member
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    Whether you lose weight or not is dependant on several factors - ie. the quantity and quality of food you eat and your lifestyle (whether you exercise or not and how much exercise you do). This guest post on my MFP blog helps to shed some light on the issue - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/takerbrat/view/to-count-calories-or-not-to-count-calories-that-is-the-question-553891
    I discovered this past August that I have a gluten sensitivity as a result, I have made a conscious choice to go gluten free. I have managed to lose weight because I have monitored my food intake and am consistent with my workout program. Hope this helps, T.
  • ShoshanahM
    ShoshanahM Posts: 50 Member
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    At first, I lost weight because I didn't know what I could eat, and then I lost more while exercising and being on a very tight food budget (mostly ate veggie-lentil curries and rice). Now that I can cook/bake or purchase just about anything I want and exercise has been spottier (also no public transit in my new town and not walking uphill to class every day like I used to), I have gained the pre-gluten free weight back.

    It is not a magic bullet, but if you currently eat a lot of fast or convenience food, you will probably lose weight, since most of that stuff you will no longer be able to eat. But you can still have ice cream, wine, gf beer, and make gf lasagna, fry corn empanadas, fill up on corn spaghetti and order corn chip nachos at restaurants (watch out for gluten in taco-seasoning mixes, though), if you get my drift... Exercise is still very important, as well as cooking homemade, nutritious food, getting your veggies, proteins and whole grains, like quinoa, millet, brown rice, amaranth, buckwheat groats, etc.
  • LynFaith
    LynFaith Posts: 14 Member
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    Being GF didn't help me with weight loss. It wasn't until I eliminated corn, sugar and most animal products (I am vegan + fish/seafood) that I lost weight.
  • MaggieSporleder
    MaggieSporleder Posts: 428 Member
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    I can't say I lost everything due to being Gluten Free, but with that and exercise, I'm down 60 lbs.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Virtually all the weight I have lost has been from simply being GF for the past year.

    Mind you I'm apparently just sensitive and not completely allergic.... I do on occasion eat gluten knowingly but luckily do not have the reactions I used to...

    I'm quite sure that if I cut it out entirely I would lose more but most people GAIN because they use GF substitutes on a regular basis... I just try to eat clean....
    Pretty much this.
  • Healingnutritionsolutions
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    I lost a lot at first, before I found the GF substitutes, because I didn't know what was safe. All I ate was chicken, fish, veggies, potatoes, rice and made a lot of soup. Then I found the breads, muffins, etc and gained it back and a bit more, because I overdid from feeling deprived... now I do better when I avoid binges :) still working on reaching goal weight in a healthy manner.
  • belle_of_the_bar
    belle_of_the_bar Posts: 474 Member
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    I've been GF for 5 1/2 years now. I mostly maintained for the first 2 years, then gained about 20 pounds. Got pregnant and gained 30 while pregnant, and I've lost 46 since my daughter was born. It's totally up to you whether you gain or lose on a GF diet.
  • ksully913
    ksully913 Posts: 16 Member
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    I've been gluten free since about November, and I've probably lost about 10 pounds total. I don't eat substitutes though, I mostly just eat different foods now (more fresh fruits and veggies, less processed food in general).

    I think it all depends on what you eat instead when you make the change.
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    Oh yes. For me I believe it's a wheat allergy of some sort. When I'm exposed to it nowadays I get itchy and gain at least 5+ pounds of ? water that takes a long time to come off. When I first stopped eating gluten I lost about 10 lbs in a month. Every time I try to go back to it I get itchy and gain weight and feel fatigued. Like other posters I also find that eating naturally gf (without the subs) is a great way to cut calories easily
  • coronalime
    coronalime Posts: 583 Member
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    hell no.'
    I subed my gluten food for GF food. I made GF desserts and ate them all. I turned to nuts by the dozens... I went to GF beer instead of regular beer. I ballooned to my highest.. I ran a marathon GF and my highest weight.. Its not gluten and its not running a marathon
  • sowich25
    sowich25 Posts: 70 Member
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    I am also GF yes you can loose weight eating GF because your are not eating the breads. The problem is just like anything else you can find substitues and put the weight right back on. Eat everything in proper portions and you will be fine.
  • fattybumclaire
    fattybumclaire Posts: 91 Member
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    When I first went GF I did put weight on, mainly as I was substituting all of the unhealthy cakes, breads and biscuits that I normally ate with their gf equivalent - most gf processed food contains more calories, fat and sugar than their equivalents as they generally taste like cardboard otherwise. If you choose to eat rice, sweet potatoes etc instead and completely cut out the processed gf food you may find that you start to lose weight. Good luck.