If I eat a food I'm intolerant to will it stop me losing?

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BeautyFromPain
BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been at a plateau since January.
I have upped my calories, down them, I drink a lake of water every day, I work out 6 days a week, I have had my full bloods checked.

I am getting tested at the moment to see if I have a wheat or lactose intolerance... could an intolerance stop me from losing weight if I was still eating that food?

Replies

  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
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    It could bloat you, or make you feel like crap, or increase the amount of water you are retaining, but I really do not think it will stop you from losing weight truly.
  • takingnameskickingbutt
    takingnameskickingbutt Posts: 232 Member
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    Yes, it could stop you.

    I would recomend the book "The Blood Sugar Solution", where Dr. Mark Hyman talks about elimination diets and their benefits.
  • myfitnessval
    myfitnessval Posts: 687 Member
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    as far as i know it shouldnt. I'm lactose intolerant and i still eat/drink one dairy item a day and have been losing.
  • carolemack
    carolemack Posts: 1,276 Member
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    Although all my tests came back negative, it would appear that I have an intolerence to wheat. When I ate a lot lof wheat products I kept gaining a lot of weight, was bloated, and had extreme pains in my stomache. I cut it way back and then I started losing weight, the bloat disappeared and so did the pain. It only takes a couple of weeks to see the effect of cutting it out. Give it a try and see if it works for you.
  • 512cheangela
    512cheangela Posts: 133
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    It is my understanding that certain foods can cause inflammation and/or have negative effect on how your body metabolizes foods. When you get your bloods checked you might want to share that information with a registered dietician and see what kinds of feedback they may have to offer.
  • Redtango76
    Redtango76 Posts: 144
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    I don't know about it actually keeping you from losing fat, but I do know that gluten intolerances can cause inflammation in the body .
  • Eve23
    Eve23 Posts: 2,352 Member
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    I find that it does. Good luck on finding out what is causing you problems.
  • honu18
    honu18 Posts: 294 Member
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    I'm wondering the same thing. I've really just been doing hardcore research on this today. I actually stopped losing and started gaining on eating net 1,200 calories (healthy, balanced, and working out 6 days a week)..along with feeling fatigued, dark circles, having abdominal cramping and bloating, etc. My thyroid & blood was fine, no celiac's, my doctor told me to cut out dairy for a few days, which I did--I don't know if I felt totally better because it takes time..accidentally reintroduced it and am going with a full out re-introduction and then am going to stop in a few days for awhile and see what happens (I revisit the doc on Monday). I honestly think it can. I've heard that it causes your digestive system to be much less efficient so it doesn't digest everything properly and stores it as fat when it really doesn't need to--and your body is expending energy and storing it instead of converting it, which is why you feel so tired and run down. That's just what I've read or what seems to make sense to me. Many people gain weight with intolerances.
  • amanda6393
    amanda6393 Posts: 176 Member
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    Although I don't believe food intolerances directly affect weight loss, I know that before my casein intolerance was finally diagnosed I had absolutely no energy, was bloated and felt like crap all the time. As a result of this I never felt like exercising, as it was hard enough just to get through a work day. I also wasn't absorbing all the necessary nutrients, even though I was eating oodles of healthy food. My body was in a state of constant inflammation.
    Since eliminating both dairy and wheat (my food intolerance tests did not indicate any wheat intolerance but I opted to make the change after reading numerous scientific reports about the dire effects of wheat on the human body and knew it also contributed to my bloating). The only wheat that gets past my lips these days is the occasional beer (rarely) and I imagine it's in my pepper sauce on my steak when I dine out at restaurants every now and then.
    I hope this helps :)
  • ouandi
    ouandi Posts: 135 Member
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    I think it can. I'm starting to think I have a wheat intolerance as I already am lactose intolerant and allergic to egg. I'm very bloated all the time and have huge swings in weight but no total weight loss really to speak of. I also think it could be insulin resistance with makes me have issues with sugar.

    If I was able to I would drop all sugar and wheat but I don't possibly see how without causing major issues with the family. Please keep us posted on what you find out. I'm very curious!
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    I think it can. I'm starting to think I have a wheat intolerance as I already am lactose intolerant and allergic to egg. I'm very bloated all the time and have huge swings in weight but no total weight loss really to speak of. I also think it could be insulin resistance with makes me have issues with sugar.

    If I was able to I would drop all sugar and wheat but I don't possibly see how without causing major issues with the family. Please keep us posted on what you find out. I'm very curious!

    Will let you know! :)
  • Scrimples
    Scrimples Posts: 45
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    Yes! Gluten intolerance can cause weight gain. The damage done by eating gluten when you are intolerant causes your body to poorly digest the foods you are eating. This means that though you are eating your body isn't getting the nutrients it needs. The body then thinks you are being malnourished and this puts you into starvation mode. As the cells in the digestive system die off and new are made they are less healthy and not able to do their job properly. This can cause something called leaky gut where your body begins to attack other foods that you wouldn't normally react to. This causes food cravings, as your body feels starved, and prompts overeating as well. They call this the wealthy way to starve. The cycle of this goes on and on. You might want to be checked for vitamin deficiencies if you haven't already.

    ETA: I just went through a dx of gluten, dairy, and egg intolerance. My doctor is incredible at educating her patients about these things.
  • taramaureen
    taramaureen Posts: 569 Member
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    Absoloutly! I'm gluten intolerant (Celiac's), and when I eat gluten I gain quickly and feel like crap to boot.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    Yes! Gluten intolerance can cause weight gain. The damage done by eating gluten when you are intolerant causes your body to poorly digest the foods you are eating. This means that though you are eating your body isn't getting the nutrients it needs. The body then thinks you are being malnourished and this puts you into starvation mode. As the cells in the digestive system die off and new are made they are less healthy and not able to do their job properly. This can cause something called leaky gut where your body begins to attack other foods that you wouldn't normally react to. This causes food cravings, as your body feels starved, and prompts overeating as well. They call this the wealthy way to starve. The cycle of this goes on and on. You might want to be checked for vitamin deficiencies if you haven't already.

    ETA: I just went through a dx of gluten, dairy, and egg intolerance. My doctor is incredible at educating her patients about these things.
    Wow, thanks for this! :) Best detail
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    Yes! Gluten intolerance can cause weight gain. The damage done by eating gluten when you are intolerant causes your body to poorly digest the foods you are eating. This means that though you are eating your body isn't getting the nutrients it needs. The body then thinks you are being malnourished and this puts you into starvation mode. As the cells in the digestive system die off and new are made they are less healthy and not able to do their job properly. This can cause something called leaky gut where your body begins to attack other foods that you wouldn't normally react to. This causes food cravings, as your body feels starved, and prompts overeating as well. They call this the wealthy way to starve. The cycle of this goes on and on. You might want to be checked for vitamin deficiencies if you haven't already.

    ETA: I just went through a dx of gluten, dairy, and egg intolerance. My doctor is incredible at educating her patients about these things.
    Wow, thanks for this! :) Best detail

    The flip side of this coin is if you have celiacs disease (which my aunt does) then the damage to your intestines eventually makes it so you are barely getting any nutrients at all, so you start to lose the weight (because you're not getting any calories at all). Basically, it turns you into an anorexic, regardless of how much you eat, even if your body tried to hold onto all the weight.

    Any other food intolerance could lead to holding onto weight. I've found that I have a lot of food allergies (I'll be getting tested next week), and I tried out a variation on the elimination diet. Long story short: I lost 10lbs in the first week, and another 7 lbs over the next two weeks. I was still eating the same amount, and not exercising any more. All I did was change my diet to a relatively hypo-allergenic diet.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    Options
    Yes! Gluten intolerance can cause weight gain. The damage done by eating gluten when you are intolerant causes your body to poorly digest the foods you are eating. This means that though you are eating your body isn't getting the nutrients it needs. The body then thinks you are being malnourished and this puts you into starvation mode. As the cells in the digestive system die off and new are made they are less healthy and not able to do their job properly. This can cause something called leaky gut where your body begins to attack other foods that you wouldn't normally react to. This causes food cravings, as your body feels starved, and prompts overeating as well. They call this the wealthy way to starve. The cycle of this goes on and on. You might want to be checked for vitamin deficiencies if you haven't already.

    ETA: I just went through a dx of gluten, dairy, and egg intolerance. My doctor is incredible at educating her patients about these things.
    Wow, thanks for this! :) Best detail

    The flip side of this coin is if you have celiacs disease (which my aunt does) then the damage to your intestines eventually makes it so you are barely getting any nutrients at all, so you start to lose the weight (because you're not getting any calories at all). Basically, it turns you into an anorexic, regardless of how much you eat, even if your body tried to hold onto all the weight.

    Any other food intolerance could lead to holding onto weight. I've found that I have a lot of food allergies (I'll be getting tested next week), and I tried out a variation on the elimination diet. Long story short: I lost 10lbs in the first week, and another 7 lbs over the next two weeks. I was still eating the same amount, and not exercising any more. All I did was change my diet to a relatively hypo-allergenic diet.

    Nice work scaring the crap out of me :/ But thanks for the information!
    Do you know if there's anything I could do about seeing how I digest/if I digest nutrients still after eating these foods for so long? A test or something?
  • taramaureen
    taramaureen Posts: 569 Member
    Options
    Yes! Gluten intolerance can cause weight gain. The damage done by eating gluten when you are intolerant causes your body to poorly digest the foods you are eating. This means that though you are eating your body isn't getting the nutrients it needs. The body then thinks you are being malnourished and this puts you into starvation mode. As the cells in the digestive system die off and new are made they are less healthy and not able to do their job properly. This can cause something called leaky gut where your body begins to attack other foods that you wouldn't normally react to. This causes food cravings, as your body feels starved, and prompts overeating as well. They call this the wealthy way to starve. The cycle of this goes on and on. You might want to be checked for vitamin deficiencies if you haven't already.

    ETA: I just went through a dx of gluten, dairy, and egg intolerance. My doctor is incredible at educating her patients about these things.
    Wow, thanks for this! :) Best detail

    The flip side of this coin is if you have celiacs disease (which my aunt does) then the damage to your intestines eventually makes it so you are barely getting any nutrients at all, so you start to lose the weight (because you're not getting any calories at all). Basically, it turns you into an anorexic, regardless of how much you eat, even if your body tried to hold onto all the weight.

    Any other food intolerance could lead to holding onto weight. I've found that I have a lot of food allergies (I'll be getting tested next week), and I tried out a variation on the elimination diet. Long story short: I lost 10lbs in the first week, and another 7 lbs over the next two weeks. I was still eating the same amount, and not exercising any more. All I did was change my diet to a relatively hypo-allergenic diet.

    Nice work scaring the crap out of me :/ But thanks for the information!
    Do you know if there's anything I could do about seeing how I digest/if I digest nutrients still after eating these foods for so long? A test or something?

    There's a test to see what kind of damage has happened to your intestines if it is Celiac. It's an upper GI endoscopy w/ biopsy. And it's a PITA. I just had my third to check on the progression of my healing. Luckily if you have the disease and stop eating gluten your intestines heal themselves.
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
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    You could always just go gluten free for a month to see what happens. It wouldn't hurt but you'll see that a lot of gluten free breads and such are VERY high in calories. Rice is the easiest to insert into your diet. The breads - watch the portions - tricky. If after a month you feel nothing, then bring it back in and see what happens and eliminate something else.

    I have a wheat allergy and I'm finally going cold turkey and I can usually tell within a week a big difference and within a month - HUGE difference. I recently tied the idea that the wheat was maybe causing me weight gain which is why I finally convinced my self to do without.
  • DaniKenmir
    DaniKenmir Posts: 387 Member
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    I'm lactose intollerant and I just take lacteeeze before I drink milk, a little bit if fine but if I have a glass of milk I can't move all day, the lacteeze is perfect!
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    My findings is = haven't had lactose for the past 2 weeks, and have lost 2 kgs in this time whilst eating the same amount of calories I did before so I believe it stopped me from losing.

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