Gluten free diet and weight gain

[wilteddandelion]

I was told on Monday, rather out of the blue, that I am coeliac. I'm totally in shock about it and really struggling with the idea of going gluten-free; it's really expensive, and I'm especially worried I will gain weight? I would rather die than get bigger. Can anyone who's gone gf advise, did you gain weight and what did you do to mitigate it? Weight loss hasn't been a symptom.
Thanks

I did but because I was having constant diarrhoea.

I don’t use the free from replacements as they are expensive and mostly awful.

yeah they have a texture like cardboard to me 😅 is there anything you can do to not gain weight?

I did it.

The trick is to alter your diet to eat naturally GF foods rather than free from replicas which are ultra processed. I went from sandwiches for lunch to baked potatoes, falafel salad or sushi (careful though because soy sauce has gluten).

The one exception I make is that I usually have a bit of GF bread around because it is nice to have some toast occasionally.

I have gradually taught myself how to bake GF as well. Becky Excell has a great website with GF recipes. I also have the River Cottage GF cookbook which has been very helpful for experimenting with different GF flours.

It's daunting initially but you'll feel so much better once you cut the gluten out.

OP I don't know why you think gluten free should automatically equal weight gain.
You just eat real foods - nothing processed. And - as previous poster has said - avoid all fake foods.

You can eat really, really well and very healthily. Lots of fresh fruit and veg, eggs, dairy, meat, fish. Lentils, chickpeas, beans. Real cheese - not spread - if you like it, butter or olive oil. Real live yoghurt - nothing with thickeners etc added. Cream. You can't eat bread, but you can eat potatoes, rice, maize (sweetcorn), quinoa, buckwheat etc etc.... You can make excellent buckwheat flour pancakes, and polenta-based dishes. Cheap and easy. You can eat nuts and many crisps (just check the label). And olives. And seeds.

There are many websites with gluten-free recipes for bread etc, though I don't like most of those. Look at a specialist websites such as Freee-foods.co.uk for gluten free grains and flours. (You can use gluten-free flour or just plain cornflour for sauces etc.) Cook stir-fries, omelettes, baked salmon, roast meat (if you like that), casseroles etc etc . Just avoid flour-based sauces. You can buy excellent gluten-free bean-based pastas, such as: https://explorecuisine.com/en-uk/products/black-bean-spaghetti

You can eat plain dark chocolate and many kinds of sweets (not that those are recommended) and Nigella has several really excellent recipes for gluten-free cakes. They are delish: https://www.nigella.com/recipes/gluten-free

Best of luck.

Why would you gain weight?

unless you change your diet to the extent you’re eating three times as much cutting out gluten shouldn’t increase your calorie load?

dc is gluten free and their diet is much better now. Fewer biscuits, bread and pasta, more rice, fruit and chicken. Less processed food as well as that tends to contain allergens.

A lot of medical info sites I've looked at have said it can happen as the gut heals and you get more nutrients from foods.

Gut healing must be a good thing. You can absorb more nutrients and also things such as vitamins. All that should make you feel much, much better. So just eat as healthily and sensibly as you can - lots of veg, some fruit, and varied sources of healthy fats and protein. Moderate carbs.

Is it just the soy sauce that has the wheat inside it? I've been avoiding sushi for almost a year now because I wasn't sure if it was also in the actual sushi itself.

Yes you will get more nutrients from food. I found that after starting a gluten free diet after diagnosis I had so much more energy I was able to exercise properly and have never been fitter.

You can turn it into a positive and should feel so much better and more able to live a healthy lifestyle.

The difficulties I have found are that some gluten free replacements are more calorific so be careful with bread.

I also sometimes find i eat too much if someone has gone to the trouble of making or buying something just for me as it feels rude not to. I do try to limit this by asking people not to over cater for me.

I'm on a gluten free diet. I eat gf granola for breakfast, salad for lunch, and usually avoid bread completely. Also pastry etc. It's not hard once you get used to it and I love my diet (lots of veg, beans, some fish and cheese) and I've lost weight :)

Being coeliac causes many people to lose a lot of weight and be underweight as they stop absorbing nutrients. These people are likely to gain weight when their gut is healed as they start absorbing nutrients again.

If you are not currently underweight then this won't apply to you unless you start eating too much. Gluten free foods are not intrinsically more fattening than their gluten filled counterparts.

If you're so terrified of gaining a few pounds, go ahead and keep on making yourself ill. Can't you see how irrational you're being?

I e probably gained all of a pound, on average, in the 16 months since I cut out gluten. That's probably because I no longer completely avoid cakes and biscuits because they made me feel dreadful. OTOH, I had to take in some of my waist bands because I no longer look heavily pregnant all the time due to bloating.

Depends on the sushi. Some of the fillings have wheat in. Some of the Tesco ones are OK, apparently.

what's the worst thing that could happen if I didn't completely cut out gluten?

What's the worst thing that could happen if I do?

Sorry for the 'dumb' questions....being diagnosed was a 3 minute phone call with a doctor from my gp surgery i've never met before, and being told to cut out all gluten completely. I feel really lost. Ended up in tears in Sainsbury's.
The coelic uk website has been quite useful though.

Get a rice cooker. You can use brown rice if you are concerned about fibre.

Just forget about bread. GF varieties are not good and full of weird ingredients that could probably lead to weight gain. Anything you would put in a sandwich you can put on plain rice cakes.

GF pasta is very good.

Or focus on lower carb meals.

Weight gain can happen because many gluten free processed foods have added sugar.
just stick to rice / potatoes/ vegetables/ sweet potatoes … more whole food substitutions and don’t overdo the gluten free breads and waffles etc, and you’ll be fine!

I have been shedding weight since going gf, and I feel so much better -

I lost a lot of weight, and felt much better.
rice, potatoes, quinoa, rice noodles are all naturally gluten free, plus oats (some have traces of gluten so buy wisely). Tamari is gluten free instead of soy sauce.

nb falafel is often wheat based for whoever posted that.

my mother said exactly these words to me earlier 😂**

I gained weight in fact I almost doubled my weight once I was gluten free. I'm now maintaining an BMI of 23. Because I was 5 1/2 stones when I was diagnosed in my thirties. Weight gain is good if you've suffered dramatic weight loss.
so I doubt it will affect you much. Just keep off the GF cakes and biscuits