Weight Gain

Lately, it seems like more and more celebrities and professional athletes are openly talking about going gluten free. Whether it’s due to a diagnosis of celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, or simply because they want to get healthy, many of them have noted a weight loss as part of the benefits they’ve been seeing. Then why is it, that so many doctors and specialists will dismiss a diagnosis of celiac disease in a patient simply because the patient is not underweight?

In a recent article by Sonia Kupfer, MD, the belief that people with un-diagnosed celiac disease are all underweight is revealed to  Read More »

Dr. Rodney Ford, pediatrician and author of The Gluten Syndrome, provides us with an excellent and easy-to-follow video that tells us how to know if we need a gluten test.

This short presentation explains which symptoms to look for and tells you the tests you need to to request to find out if gluten is making you sick.

Dr. Ford estimates up to one third of people with chronic diseases are being affected by gluten and sums up why people do not ask to be tested. “We are so used to being sick that we don’t know we’re sick.” People think they have always been this way, so they do not know to ask.

He then establishes a great litmus test to determine who should be tested – “People who are sick, tired or grumpy should be tested.”

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Did you know you can be fat, yet malnourished? In this video, I explain two ways malabsorption and nutrient deficiencies actually make you fat.

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Keeping a slim and trim waistline seems to be an important topic lately. Members of the gluten free elite are trying to find ways to counter-act the effects of a gluten free diet on their weight.

In part one, the subject of will power was broached. Now that we have established that you have such a powerful tool at your disposal, let’s work on how to use it.

Selective Substitutions

Since the problem lies with the super-carbs, that is where you need to start. Put your powers to good use by having three days a week with no gluten free substitutes. Stick to lean meats, fruits and veggies on these days. This is a budget friendly idea as well. Put the savings towards buying that new smaller wardrobe. Read More »

When cruising the gluten free forums, it is not hard to notice that there are a few issues associated with a gluten free diet that come up a lot. One of these issues is a rapidly expanding waistline.

The problem of gluten free weight gain comes from the higher concentration of carbohydrates and sugars found in gluten free foods. One serving of gluten free corn spaghetti has 7 more grams of carbs than the “regular” counterpart. That may not seem like much in terms of numbers, but your thighs can tell the difference.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, many people are beginning to search for a sure fire way to beat the bulge. This is even more challenging when you are already searching to find the gluten free jewels in every party menu. Read More »

“I should look like Brad Pitt.”

Back before I went gluten free, I remember looking in the mirror and saying these exact words to myself.

I was working out 5 to 6 days a week, weight training and cardio, eating “right” but instead of looking good, I looked like a sausage…and it was getting worse.

Now, to be certain I didn’t go gluten free to lose weight, but because I had acid reflux, IBS, anxiety and a host of other problems.

When I asked, my doctor said I didn’t have celiac disease – without testing me.

I started a 100% strict gluten free diet anyway. As the inflammation decreased, I felt worlds better…and I lost weight. What I thought was fat had actually been retained fluid. 25 lbs of it. I haven’t had a dad bod in 12 years, and I don’t miss it a bit.

-John Libonati

Woohoo! Won my age division at a local 5K! This was two months ago at 12 years GF!

I was looking back at old drafts of posts that I’ve written over the years but never published, and I found this rant on the 1200 calorie weight loss myth. Since it’s the last day of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week  and the first day of National Nutrition Month, I figured it would be a good time to share it. (Editor’s note: Originally published March 1, 2014)

Not a week goes by that I don’t see a client who truly believes she/he needs to be following a 1200 calories diet to lose weight or be healthy. It seems to be the #1 nutrition myth.

Despite what the intertubes may say, a 1200 cal diet is not considered standard professional weight loss advice. Honest.There is, of course, plenty of bad advice and/or controversy out there, because that sells. There’s also a whole lot of standard nutrition advice that I heartily disagree with, but that’s another post. Take a  look at Read More »

At 6’2″ and just 165 lbs, Florida State quarterback Clint Trickett was consuming 4,500 calories a day earlier this summer to try to put on weight.

It wasn’t working.

“I had some blood work done, I had a biopsy,” Trickett said during a recent  meeting with Florida State beat writers. “And they said, ‘You have Celiac disease.’ And it started making sense.”

Trickett adopted a gluten-free diet and within a month started to see results.

“You just have to stay away from any kind of breaded food,” Trickett said. “Already I’ve seen two pounds a week gained. I’ve been putting on pounds ever since Read More »

The traditional look of celiac disease was an underweight person. However, a large minority (39%) are now found to be overweight at diagnosis.

A woman with a history of struggling to lose weight is diagnosed with celiac disease. After starting the gluten-free diet she loses 50 lbs in less than a year…seemingly without effort. A middle-aged man who has never had issues with his weight is diagnosed with celiac disease, adopts the gluten-free diet and begins to pack on pounds and doesn’t know why. A young man loses over 20 lbs in less than 3 months and reaches his ideal weight after going gluten-free.

These are true stories – in fact the last one was mine. Read More »