Hi everyone, I have a quick question and any help would be really appreciated.

I'm approaching my 1 yr mark for gluten free. I feel great, lots of my energy has come back and the other stuff has slowly gone away. So thankful that I was able to figure out what my problem was.

My only problem now is that I have lost so much weight. I had to quit the milk stuff too !!! and it seems that now I don't consume hardley any fat. My diet consist of fruit, veggies, rice, red meat, poultry, eggs, almond milk. I do make things like banana bread, muffins, etc.

What do I eat to gain this weight back?? I look awful and my family thinks that I'm starving myself, but honestly I eat. Just what do I need to eat to gain this weight back? I want to start exercising and am a bit scared that I will lose more.
Thanks for any help. Patricia

We enjoy almond butter on apples, peanut butter on bananas, cashew butter on celery, etc. Do you like avocados? I like to eat them plain. When I need a quick snack, I often grab a handful of nuts or dried fruit.

Hi Patricia,

Going gluten free meant big weight loss for me too. My body fat is below normal for my height, weight and age now too. I'm actually gluten, corn, dairy and soy, eggs, chicken, and nightshade free these days. But I eat a daily portion of nuts, 1 larabar and plenty of whole foods every day.

I have found sheeps milk yogurt in the health food store and I can have it without any reaction. Yeah! I reacted to goats milk. See if you can find it. It is higher in fat, protein and the calcium is nearly 30% higher than regular yogurt and lower in sugar and sodium. It doesn't taste bad either.

But probably the most significant thing I did was to have my thyroid tested. Prior to that I was on a weight free fall and for a while there it was a little scarry. I had taken thyroid meds for 18 years. The results were such that my medication was cut in half. So it could be a metabolism issue.

Cheers,
Leslie

I do a lot of what Jamie suggests. If that doesn't help, definitely get your thyroid checked. Any symptoms of hyperthyroidism? http://thyroid.about.com/od/symptoms...ptomsrisks.htm

Good luck.

Marilyn

Were part of your initial symptoms before going gf, losing weight?

That would make a difference in how I answer the question.

I sneak nut flours into everything I bake, so every time I make gluten free pancakes and waffles, I add 1/4 - 1/2 Cup of nut flour for every cup of rice. I grind my own nuts (much cheaper).

An easy ratio is
1 C rice (brown or white or blended)
1/2 C nut flour of choice
1/4 C tapioca starch

Or if you use pre mixes like Gifts of Nature, just add the nut flour 1/4 - 1/2 C to each cup of mix.

Also, we use a ton of Thai Kitchen coconut milk! It is great for gluten free baking. So, for example, if I was making pancakes with that flour amount above, I would also mix in
1/2 Cup of coconut milk
1/2 Cup of rice milk
1-2 Eggs
1 tsp baking powder
no sweetener
AND
2 Tablespoons of Oil

By sneaking coconut and nut flours into things, we are getting that extra fat where we need it, and it makes our breakfast meals much more sustaining!
When cooking Bobs gluten free hot cereal, I always add plenty of coconut milk to make it creamy. Coconut goes everywhere in this house!

And cookies we make are half nut flour to half regular GF flour.

I have recipes for all of this online too, if you want to see what we eat.

My mom had been really struggling with gaining weight, but in her case, she wasn't taking in anywhere near enough calories! She was getting thinner and thinner, so she had to make herself eat more. And she eats snacks like Lara Bars (which are nuts and fruit) and she uses a lot of those nuts, avocados, and natural oils, etc. Nut butters too.
You can type in a days worth of food into Fitday.com and see if you are getting enough calories. If you are way under, like my mom, you may need to ramp up the quantity of foods you're eating too!

Good luck!

Hi Sleepingbean,

Thanks for all the great tips. I have been wondering if part of my problem has been that I am not getting enough calories. I will go and post on Fitday.com. Thansk also for your ratio on flours. I wish I could use coconut, but I will lok for something to suffice. Have a great weekend.

Leslie

I use flours other than rice. I use Sorghum, Millet, bean, mixed with corn and tapioca starch -- they are hearty and just have more to them.
You diet sounds great, I went GF and it hasn't helped my weight at all (but I'm also not GS or CD, a few of my kids are).
I would 2nd the suggestion of thyroid. If you are Celiac, the genes involved are also linked to auto-immune thyroid disorders such as Hashimotos and Graves which would cause weight loss.

Electra writes: (but I'm also not GS or CD, a few of my kids are).

How did you find this out? Did you test through Enterolab?

Leslie

Thanks everyone for the great advice.
I was a bit over weight because I was sick, just from inactivity. When I went GF I lost about 10 lbs, which was great, then I stopped the dairy and soy and 15 lbs came off in less then a month. And since then I seem to have sustained that weight, but its way to skinny for me.

I will try adding in nut flours, that sounds good. Coconut milk goes in all my baking, and I just discovered the almond milk. Love that stuff.
I'm going to try to find some of those bars. Thanks again everyone, this is such a wonderful place to come and get good advice. Patricia

Intersting that you all seem to think thyroid, I'm going to see a endocrioligist for thyroid testing again. This seems to be a issue with me, sometimes its up and sometimes it down, maybe something wrong there.