I have only been gluten free for 5 weeks now. I decided to try it because I'm anemic. The low iron really affects my running and a friend with Celiacs suggested that this may also be my problem. I have not been diagnosed by a doctor, but I thought I would try altering my diet to see if I notice some positive changes.

As far as weight goes, I was at my goal weight when I first went gluten free. I have lost 5 more pounds in five weeks. I attribute the loss to not eating desserts or breads, which have been a prominent part of my diet. However, the loss could be due to increasing my running distance.

I feel like it is too soon to see results, but I do feel more energetic lately and overall I feel pretty good.

Has anyone else had success with increasing your iron levels after going gluten free?

My iron levels shot up, and didn't need to. I was in the normal range, and then shot up to way to high!!!! I now fight to lower my iron levels. Give it time, it will happen!

Going gluten-free was one of many changes I needed to make to lose weight. On a friend's recommendation, I went to a new naturopathic doctor who diagnosed my gluten intolerance, anemia, and overall sluggish system. I decided it was time to make some serious changes for my health, and went gluten-free and joined MFP about 6 weeks ago. I've lost 17 pounds so far, and I think it's from not only going G-free, but also because I eat less baked goods and sweets in total, plus getting more exercise. I still need to revise my diet in other ways, but enough changed to make a significant impact. MFP helped me see too that G-free sure ain't calorie-free. I get my iron level checked again in about a month, but I already feel better.

I found I had to lose the grains, and most of the GF substitute junk in order to shed the pounds. I initially lost weight once GF, but then started to gain again. Then I looked what was in my food - urrrgh, lots of sugar, salt, and vegetable oils and gums and binding agents and all sorts. Nutritionally, they suck compared to wheat products (which aren't so great either, particularly if they're refined), but there are a lot of calories in them, so if you're restricting calories but using a lot of these things, you're not getting much nutrition.

GF baking is a treat and I use mostly ground almonds, coconut flour, or occasionally some buckwheat or rice flour. I use potato starch as a thickener for sauces etc. I am 90% grain free, occasionally I have some rice, or GF pasta, but it's very occasional and I nearly always pay for it with bloating and discomfort, but I do have Crohns disease as well as celiac, so my reactions to grains are probably more extreme.

Now on a Primal plan (no grains, legumes, processed food, limited sugar) I can eat far more calories than I used to, I feel full quicker, don't need to snack so much and the inflammation is tons better because I am eating tons of healthy fats, particularly a lot of fish. It can take up to 2 years for celiac damage to heal. One of the other things I quit was alcohol, and that's also making a difference to my waistline.

My weight loss was dramatic.... 7lbs in one week... then I gained a few back testing and eating gluteneeee stuff and reacted. Admittedly, I ate fast food with gluten on purpose... to track it.. and my body's reaction.

I can apparently handle gluten in very small amounts... but a sandwich or spaghetti is something I will pay for 24 hours later.

I am eating totally clean and have dropped 2lbs this week again. It goes in spurts it seems but that's what your body does.

You have to understand, gluten is poison to your body and it needs to heal. Eat as clean as you can. I'm eating cashews, egg whites, plain ground turkey patties, yogurt, applesauce, red pears (omg omg yum!), tangerines, spinach, green beans, salmon (2x a week), avocados.... things like that. Simple. No complicated recipes. My stomach is in "heal mode" and I will probably eat plain like this as long as I can to really, really heal my body. I also take a lot of anti-oxidants and I monitor the fat soluble vitamins and supplements I put in my mouth so I don't do damage there....

I don't kill myself working out and don't have a gym membership like I used to. I have workout DVD's... and I listen to Pandora and when a song comes on with a good beat, I work out during the song doing situps, lifting weights to the beat, and general aerobics. Then I rest... then I do another song, rest, another song.... and it's ramping up my metabolism throughout the day and it seems to be working for ME.

Everyone is different. I feel for you as I suffered for a long time before having a relative get diagnosed with a TOTAL gluten intolerance... and her symptoms were just like mine. Turns out mine isn't AS bad, but still. I have to be careful...

Good luck!

After I was diagnosed and cut out all form of gluten & grains, I lost weight quickly.
I didn't add in any gluten-free baked goods, cereals or pastas. I'm crazy about reading labels and will avoid anything that I suspect has some trace levels of gluten. Fast food is gone, even at restaurants that offer a 'gluten free' menu, it's just too much of a risk for me.

I've been living and eating this way for nearly two years now. I feel amazing, all the symptoms have gone away and it's worth the work that goes into managing what goes into my mouth.

I hope you start to see the weight come off! Good luck in your gluten free adventure. :flowerforyou:

Many people with nutritional deficiencies gain wait after a Celiac diagnosis because they begin absorbing and no longer have the symptoms they had before. Initially I lost weight... just because I couldnt eat pastries, etc., but as soon as I figured out the gluten free goodies I immediately put on weight (Reeses' Peanut Butter cups for example). Once I got my bad habits under control the weight began to come back off. Hang in there and just make sure your calories are nutritious ones!

I gained 30 from making my fave foods GF. Now I am down 71 and I love it. I still make my fave foods just very rarely. Give yourself some time to adjust to the new life.

thank you for starting this thread. It inadvertently clued me in on what has been causing some of my left over celiac issues. After going to cosmetology school, I was taught how awesome Redken is. It never occurred to me that my Redken ringlet 07 that makes my hair fantastic was killing me too. Sure enough, it has wheat in it. As does my hairspray and possibly my shampoo. So I washed in baby shampoo (that is GF) and ordered a gluten free line of products. My rash is already better and I hope my hair will come back now as I lost a lot of it prior to being diagnosed. I will suffer one to 2 weeks of bad hair but it will be worth it. Although my hubby says it will be tough.. he is kidding of course. You would think that after 2 years I would have realized but I did not know that it could be labeled as other things until I did a google search. Be vigilant gluten free people. A little bit hurts a lot.