New- Celiac- tired of failing

rhomor

Hi there,

I am 29 years old and working very hard to get into shape. I grew up in a family with a very unhealthy view on food. We never ate correctly and I am struggling now to learn how to do this right. Anorexia was a common theme in my household though I was never anorexic. According to my dr. and to this site I am not eating enough, so I am working on it now.

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 3 years ago and since then have gained over 40 pounds. By removing the gluten from my diet my body has repaired itself and is now able to actually absorb the foods I am eating, hence the weight gain.

So, these two things coupled with the fact that I am getting older has put me in the unhappy position of wanting to lose weight. I have been unsuccessfully dieting and making lifestyle changes for the past year and a half with no success. Still at the same 150-ish pounds.

I don't eat wheat, barley, rye or potatoes. I just added brown rice back into my diet. I don't processed sugars. I cannot eat cakes, cookies, breads, breaded things, cereals, pastries or any of the good stuff but it does not seem to matter.

Hopefully getting my calories up to 1200/day will help. I was also advised to cut down on the cardio until I can figure out how to up my calories. I was going 30-40 mins a day plus weights M-W-F. Let me know if you disagree.

Thanks for reading. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rhonda

Sarahnats

Hey, lifelong ceoliac here...im 39! Feel free to add me to your friends and maybe we can chat..looking to lose about a stone and started out at 143lb, have lost 5 so far after just under 3 weeks, this site is great for support and encouragement!

JackiBelknap

Hi, Rhonda:

You are not alone. Your story sounds a lot like my own. And many others out there. I also have a very difficult time reaching 1200 calories, and I burn 400-900 calories a day (6 days a week). I work with a personal trainer and had a dietician for a while. I also triad Weight Watchers for 14 weeks. I put on 30lbs at the onset of my celiac despite my dieting and exercise. It was one of my symptoms. I was one of the rare over-absorbers prior to biopsy and diagnosis.

My favorite caloric increase trick is Larabars. They are gluten-free, healthy, and taste great. They give you awesome energy and good fats. I eat half a bar immediately following my weight-training, and I'll eat the other half as a snack later. It adds 240 GOOD calories to your daily log.

I'd recommend seeing a Celiac specialized dietician/nutritionist. My Celiac support group just reported that some Celiacs should not
eat fruits because we store them as fat. others cut out other foods after further testing. We're all different.

I have lost 15 lbs of fat and have gained 5 lbs of muscle (i did a body scan prior to my workout routine this summer). I have lost
12". My advice is to listen to your body. Celiacs are very different. We metabolize differently. I have below average muscle mass from years of belong sick. Therefore I only need 1200 cal a day (when not dieting). The other huge thing for me was to listen to my trainer and dietician and to eat more often! Breakfast is now my favorite meal. I also increased my water intake to 120oz a day.

We Celiacs need to be patient and understanding of our bodies. They are unique, and we have to learn to work WITH them.

Best of luck on your Get-Fit journey,
-Jacki

midwifemomof5

Jacki, thanks for posting. I am celiac too, and only found out two years ago. Pregnancy was the trigger for me and my symptoms came on after my first child was born. I went from around 165-170 to my highest just before I discovered what was wrong with me, which was 270!
I was eating and never quite satisfied. I know now that was because my gut was damaged and I wasn't absorbing, so my body was desperate for nutrients but not getting them.
I was very very sick for such a long time. I suffered daily embarrassment from gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation and vomiting. It was such a nightmare. I tell people when they ask and often they know someone who is "always sick" just like I was. I always steer them to celiac dot org or other websites to learn more, because I would hate to think that others are sick too, just like I was for 15 years!
I'm so glad that I figured it out, and that I'm getting healthy now. I dropped 30lbs with no diet or lifestyle changes, simply from going GF.
But I had a LOT of bad habits and I didn't do anything to change them... about 15 of the 30lbs crept back on and now I'm here, and so glad! I'm on week one. I have cut out soda pop and now that I'm eating 5 small meals a day and never skipping breakfast, I don't have the cravings like I used to... after only one week! Crazy! And I'm focused on drinking water, 120oz is my goal, but so far I have not reached it. I'm getting there!
Thanks again for posting, it was so nice to read what others experience and know I'm not alone in struggling with CD and weight and health.


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luv2runsgf

I also have celiac - LaraBars are fabulous as are Kind Bars (love the almond coconut). I have to really, really watch my calorie intake - a day or two of overindulgence can add 5 or more pounds to my small frame (I am not quite 5'2"). Feel free to add me as a friend.

RunningMam2011

Hi fellow Celiac people! I was diagnosed almost 4 years ago. I had a huge weight loss prior but then once I went gluten free and my body got healthy, I got pregnant (so many years couldn't get pregnant and the Celiac was all to blame) ...gained the weight back and an extra 20 pounds. Now I find it super difficult to lose --and I KNOW the only thing that really works for me is being really vigilant with tracking what I eat (enter MFP!).

Nice to connect with others that are having the same woes. :happy:

Kris

SinginFool

Hi! I'm a recently diagnosed Celiac, just made it 3 months GF. I'm exhausted all the time, and keep losing weight. My brother-in-law is now getting me active again by being my swimming partner at the Y (will be getting my own membership in the New Year), so exercise theoretically help my energy levels. The problem is the amount of time I need to spend sleeping. It's been incredibly frustrating and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. One of the most challenging nuances of living with this diagnosis has been to accept the things I cannot change without a lot of struggle, but to tackle as best I can the things I know I can have some control over. For instance, what I eat, how it's made, and my attitude each day. Not sure if it's because of the stressful holidays this month but I've been a bit emotional the last week or so, and I think some of that is also related to the healing process. This is not to say I don't complain every now and then! My favorite is, "I'm tired of being tired." ;-)

I've recently been given some beautiful GF cookbooks I'm really excited about, and in the meantime I'm learning how to use a breadmaker, cook spaghetti sauce from scratch (LOVE fresh herbs!) and get used to my taste buds changing. First time I had dried cranberries since I was diagnosed, I wish I'd had a camera - what a face!!

I used to always be trying to lose weight. Did Weight Watchers for quite some time, and the irony of this situation is that I now weight less than I did in high school. I just have zero control over how my body digests the generally nutritious food I fuel it with. I'm told it could take up to 2 years for my body to fully recover and to get my energy back. I'm not pleased by that, but I also understand and accept that I was basically poisoning myself for years and, as there is currently no way the medical community can assist my healing process, I just have to let my body do its thing. Problem is, I've chronically low white blood cell counts, a condition known as Luekopenia, which is apparently particularly rare with Celiacs. So it might take my body a bit longer than the average Joe to repair itself. In the meantime, one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, and you do what you can. And that has to be enough!

I don't have all (or even many) answers for Celiac questions (have quite a few myself!) but if you need someone to chat with about the trials and tribulations, check with me. Best wishes.

GFLadyLuck

10 years Gluten Free and am tired again! At first gluten free diet boosted my energy levels but the past few years have been hard! Any advice from fellow Celiacs?

jillsach

I am hearing some of the issues I have had in this thread. I have never heard of a "super-absorber" Celiac, & think it is odd, considering that the sheared off villi which are the tell-tale sign for Celiac, means that you don't get nutrients down in the section where they are absorbed. I am not sure how some of us end of heavy. We're absorbing something. Maybe our metabolisms are damaged along with other systems that the inflammation of Celiac hurts.

I've been Celiac for at least several years before it being discovered about 4 years ago. I've always carried about a dozen to two dozen extra pounds, and have always been a hungry person. I was low energy a lot & I still have intermittent energy issues. I am on thyroid as it was discovered that I am hypothyroid during this and also, I make sure to get B12. I am taking the Methlycobalamine sublingual form in case my gut doesn't have the intrinsic factor necessary to render it useful. I think that they do help. I think it is worse when I forget any of these, so maybe you might want to check your thyroid, your B-12 & folate levels? If you haven't done so, already.

I was on a vitamin formulary called Celiact, that has vitamins, omega3's, calcium, probiotics, L-glutamine, & supposedly everything we need, but it seems to give me pretty wicked gas pains, that I couldn't control for. I have other vitamins and I alternate them with the Celiact. I take fish oils and at least every other day I get a probiotic in me.

I am not sure about my absorption. Except for the rare possible exposure from supposedly GF food when we are traveling or at a wedding or some event where I can not do my own cooking and plausible assurances of GF status have been made, I have been keeping gluten free. My dear dear husband has gone GF in our home environment for me, to make it easier.

Have recently joined Weight Watchers as my weight crept up by 15 pounds, after recovering from a digestive CA about 1 & 1/2 years ago. Before CA and right after, I was on the upper edge of what my weight should be at the time, so I could easily stand to lose 20. I am on week three of WW and see that it is going to take more time in my case for the slow metabolism to relinquish the pounds. Yet it is a lot nicer to lose it slowly and still feel healthy than have chemo & radiation take 15 pounds off of you in the blink of an eye. . . oh yeah, and also all of your hair, and the color in your cheeks.

Anyway GF LadyLuck, hope you are finding your way to energy and everything that you desire.
Lill