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Not eating wheat - weight loss

Posted , 6 users are following.

Dan_1974
Dan_1974

Hello.

After many months/years of upset digestion and generally feeling under the weather, I eliminated as much wheat from my diet as I could - this was around about four to five weeks ago. Foods such as bread, any kind of pastries, biscuits, cake and wheat based pasta have been pretty much completely cut out. I've started to eat a lot of rice in replacement for pasta but the bread and sweet goods have gone more or less un-noticed and I do feel a lot better in myself.

My intake of fresh vegetables, fish and some meat has increased and I think it's fair to say that the improvement in my digestive system is nothing short of remarkable.

However...I seem to be losing quite a bit of weight. For any normal person I'm sure this wouldn't be that much of an issue but I suffer quite badly from health anxiety and I'm just a little alarmed at how quickly I seem to be slimming down. I'm guessing that it's because a lot of the extra calories have been left out rather than me being seriously ill.

I'm interested to hear whether or not others have noticed weight loss when they have given up wheat/gluten and perhaps what dietary steps have been taken to make sure not too much weight is lost.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

1 like, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • belinda71630
    belinda71630 Dan_1974

    Posted

    Hi Dan, your weight loss is not so much attributed to lack of gluten/wheat, though that is definitely part of it, but also because you have cut down on the total amount of carbohydrates you consume.  By eating more vege/fish/meat and less grain/flour products you will lose any excess weight you may be carrying.  It's not just as simple as less calories but the type of calories.  If you are concerned about losing weight too fast you should increase your intake of good fats, esp. coconut oil.  If you're unfamiliar with the Paleo/Primal food movement and the down-side to eating grains I recommend you start with the website "Mark's Daily Apple" by Mark Sisson.
    • Dan_1974
      Dan_1974 belinda71630

      Posted

      Thanks Belinda. This is what I thought and it's good to know that someone else could see that any weight loss might be due to the changes in eating. It's tricky to keep a lid on the health anxiety so it's equally comforting to hear a logical take on my situation.

      Haven't seen Mark Sisson's material but I will definitely look out for it. Thanks again.

  • MaggieBgood
    MaggieBgood Dan_1974

    Posted

    Hi Dan

    You can buy excellent gluten-free bread and pastas from most supermarkets nowadays.

    • Dan_1974
      Dan_1974 MaggieBgood

      Posted

      Hi Maggie.

      Thank you for this. I've found that a lot of the gluten free bread is OK but only toasted. One or two brands of fresh gluten free rolls are better but it's good to see that those with wheat intolerance (to whatever degree) are starting to be considered in a mainstream market...but there's still a long way to go!

  • linda72460
    linda72460 Dan_1974

    Posted

    The same thing happened to me when I got diagnosed.i dropped 1&half stone.i put It down to not eating so many snacks.i still ate bread,pies and cracker etc but not so randomly.all g/f is so expensive you tend to appreciate it more.
    • exdancer
      exdancer linda72460

      Posted

      The opposite happened to me, I felt so well on a gluten free diet I just piled on the weight, there are so many sugar packed things we CAN eat and I have a very sweet tooth.

      One thing puzzeled me from your first post Dan, you say ' I eliminated as much wheat from my diet as I could' ......... if you are a coeliac you MUST eliminate ALL gluten from your diet (and you can).  Not only wheat, but rye, barley and for some people oats too.  Its not surprising you still get glutened from time to time if you are injesting even the smallest crumb of these ingredients.  Ask to be referred to a dietician.

  • rose77485
    rose77485 Dan_1974

    Posted

    I did the exact same diet a few years ago because of digestion issues and generally feeling bad. I suffered from poor absorption of my food and after 2 weeks on the diet I started to gain weight. My blood sugar was constantly low although I was eating. I paid special attention to eating high fat foods such as avocados and coconut. I also cut out almost all grains but I ate occasional yams, whole grain rice, and corn grits. I also occasionaly drank rice milk which I paired with the occasional granola cereal. I eliminated all processed sugars from my diet and started regular meditation. I was able to gain my weight back and go off of hormonal regulating medication.
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