How Gluten Free Helps Me Lose Weight

In the past four months I have lost 35 pounds. Sounds amazing, right? I wish I could say it was diet and exercise but the truth is I lost 21 pounds of it in one day. That's what happens when you give birth to a 10lb 4oz baby and a giant placenta.

So, now your wondering what's the deal with the title. Well, I did return to my pre-pregnancy weight pretty quickly and have even lost a few more on top of that. I credit this weight lose to my gluten free diet.

Unfortunately, it's more of a correlation than a causation. To explain I need to give you some background info on how I became gluten free.

I first cut out gluten products when I had just finished college. I had some pretty serious digestive health problems* and was taking a variety of medications. I was sick pretty much all the time. At the time my husband and I had only been dating for a few month but he encouraged me to make some diet changes, specifically cutting out dairy and gluten.

In the time following these diet changes there was a significant difference in my health. I stopped taking my medications and was sick less and less frequently. It was very difficult for me to dramatically change my eating habits. Most of my life I had lived off of bread, pasta, and cheese but the results were so obvious even I could not ignore them.

I was doing pretty good my diet until I got pregnant with my daughter. What can I say? The cravings got to me and I wanted gluten. I managed to keep dairy out for the most part but pasta called to me. I managed not to have many problems adding gluten back into my diet. I thought I was cured! This was not the case. Evidently, pregnancy has odd effects on the body including limiting allergic immune responses.

After the birth I knew I should pick back up on gluten free but I decided to put it off for a little longer. In fact, my first meal after she was born was french toast! I continued to put my diet changes off again and again until eventually I stopped trying to convince myself to do it. After a while, as you can imagine, I began having health problem again and I put on a few extra pounds. I would complain endlessly (my husband will vouch for this) but didn't want to make any effort to change.

 It wasn't until my aunt, to whom I am very close, went gluten free that I decided there needed to be a change. I was pregnant with my son and suffering from digestive issues a lot. This pregnancy did not mask my problems as the first one did. I was sick and tired of being well, sick and tired. I was in pain a lot, lethargic, bloated and all around grumpy from my discomfort and this was on top of being pregnant! To make matters worse my daughter, a toddler now, was also experiencing some negative effects from gluten.

I decided enough was enough and ditched the gluten (again). I threw out the bread (it was just the heels anyway), ate all the cookies (didn't want them to go to waste), and donated my pasta (OK, I probably could have done this with the cookies too...). It took some time but I feel better. Expect for the day(s) that I visit my mom and eat flour cheese enchiladas which are the best but leave me a sick mess for a week following. Sooo good, but so bad. :(

OK, so maybe you didn't need that whole story to understand what I meant about correlation/causation stuff. But this really is relative. The thing about eating gluten free is it makes me eat a lot healthier. All the really tasty, fattening delicious foods have gluten in them. Twinkies. Cookies. Fried....anything. Yes, I could buy the products that are made with gluten free flour but I don't like them as well and they tend to be expensive. Also, the really convenient food has gluten in it. Frozen burritos, sandwiches, a bowl of cereal all have gluten! I don't want to take the time to cook myself a meal. Cooking isn't my favorite pastime, so one meal a day is enough to slave over the stove for. For breakfast and lunch I end up eating a lot of eggs, peanut butter on rice cakes, raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, and hummus with corn chips. Basically, the things in my home I do not have to cook.

So, I've lost a few pounds. It's not exactly cutting out gluten products that has caused this but being gluten free has triggered other habits that help maintain a healthy weight:

I don't eat fast food as often because it's mostly gluten products.
I eat healthier foods because the majority of bad foods have gluten in them.
I eat less because I don't like food preparation or cooking and both are required for most gluten free meals.

I know, I've made all of you so excited to be gluten free! It is interesting though, that being gluten free coincides with so many other healthy habits. I don't think this is mere chance. I personally am delighted with the results of being gluten free. I only wish I had chosen to do it sooner.

*FYI: Gluten intolerance is often misdiagnosed as Crohn's, colitis, IBS, and many other digestive diseases and conditions.