Gluten free weight loss (or weight gain?)

That is not to say that cutting out refined flour products from a normal diet is a bad thing. By reducing the amount of these foods that you eat, you may well lose weight. But by substituting gluten-free products for their equivalent wheat versions, your chances of weight loss will diminish.

What happens when you go gluten free?

However, like me, you may have found that you continue to put on weight and in fact end up dreading to stand on the scales. There are a number of reasons for this happening.

Firstly, after having undergone a period of starvation your body will tend to hold on to any excess calories that it is given in case the same thing happens again. This is stored as body fat.

Secondly, it can be difficult emotionally to watch others enjoying goodies that you are now no longer allowed. It can be very tempting to placate yourself by finding something that you ARE allowed to eat as a substitute. Personally, my "treat" used to be chocolate bars. So if somebody else had a slice of cake with their morning coffee, I would chomp through a bar of chocolate in its place. Did I need those calories? Of course not, but it helped to alleviate the feeling of loss. It is hard to go without entirely!

Could we exchange that slice of cake for a version that is gluten free? Weight loss may be more difficult if we do, as the calories for the substitute may well be higher. I just checked my kitchen cupboard and found that 100g of my husband's shop purchased cake contains 360 calories whereas my alternative contains 369 for the same amount. Not much difference, but it all adds up.

Baking your own gf substitutes

Let's look at different types of flour then. Normal white all purpose wheat flour has 364 calories per 100g, and whole wheat is a little better at 339.

The basic flour used on a gluten free diet is brown rice flour, which has 357 calories for the same amount. Sounds good so far! But it is rare to cook with rice flour alone, as baked products tend to be gritty. You would normally mix in at least one or two other flours. How about potato flour, another common ingredient in my kitchen. Oops, now the calorie count goes up to 394 per 100g. If we used soya flour instead that is even higher with 400 calories. And if we substitute ground almonds the chances of gluten free weight loss go out the window! It has a massive 540 calories per 100g!

Maybe baking our own cake isn't the solution to gluten free weight loss.

Of course the other temptation if you bake your own cakes and breads is to eat the whole thing before it goes stale. When you have paid extra for the ingredients and taken the time to cook it, wasting any leftovers is difficult to come to terms with.

And where you may be satisfied with one slice of shop bought bread, when you take your own out of the oven and enjoy that delicious smell, it can be almost impossible to resist eating a warm slice spread with butter straight away. Uh oh! Extra calories.

How can you achieve gluten free weight loss?

If you are overweight to start with, or find yourself continuing to gain weight on this diet, then changing your eating habits to a lower carbohydrate or low GI plan can work wonders.

Eating naturally gluten free products, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains such as millet or quinoa, meat, fish and minimal dairy can help tremendously with your gluten free weight loss plan.

Of course not everyone will be prepared to do this! You may have, like me, gained much too much weight and visited the doctor for a magic solution, only to be told that you are also teetering on the edge of Type 2 diabetes before you even consider it.

That first week may be very difficult! But as your body gets used to the new foods you are eating, your tastebuds will change and you will begin to feel better. The weight will drop, your energy levels will rise, your pocket book will benefit and you may wonder why you have never done it before.

At the time of writing this I have been following this new eating plan for three months and I have already lost 52 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I feel better than I have in years!

I found an e-book that helped me, online. It is written by Debbie Johnson (who also wrote Think Yourself Thin) and gives recipes that are gluten free, low GI, organic and delicious!. Many of them were offered in her own restaurant The Golden Chalice. You can Click Here! to find out more or even buy your own copy.

If you have experienced issues with gluten free weight loss or gain, why not tell your story by using the form below? You may be able to help others in the process. Tell us what worked for you, or just ask for advice or support.

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Gluten Free foods

check the list of gluten free foods