Before I was diagnosed in Dec. I was gaining wieght even when I would eat very little. I would have to exercise on the eliptical an hour a day and weightlift and eat very little just to stay the same wieght. I notice now that I am gluten-free that I am not as hungry and do not eat as much. I think my body does not think it is starving anymore and my metabolism went back to normal?
HOWEVER, I started exercising 2 weeks ago and I have gained 5 pounds since I started. Do you think my body is not fully healed and exercising trips up my metabolism to think that I am starving again and then I am holding on to calories?
Also, I noticed that my hair started falling out again since I started exercising. I fell out before I was diagnosed and stopped after I stopped eating gluten.

I am so confused. I am eating the same amount as before I started exercising yet I am gaining weight.

Jennifer

Also, I seem to be bloated again. I am eating the same diet as before I started exercising.

Muscle weighs more than fat so the weight gain could be from you gaining muscle. I'd go more on overall body composition and how your clothes fit rather than weight to determin your fitness progress.

I have no idea why your hair would start falling out again. Maybe there's some hidden gluten at your gym somewhere?

Welcome Jennifer. I've been gluten-free for almost five months and my hair just stopped fallng out a month ago. Have you had your iron/thyroid levels checked? As far as weight gain, I could not keep weight ON my body before dx and gained 15 pounds immediately on the diet. And, then became bloated, due to dairy. The bloat from dairy started about one month into the diet and I gave it up for a while - the bloat went away completely.

It takes a while to stabilize, as I am still going through that process myself. Ups and downs. Can take up to a year or more, depending on damage, etc.

Blessings and patience. Keep exercising!

Yep, I would bet money that you are hypothyroid. Hair loss and an inability to lose weight are classic symptoms. It's an easy blood test, and super easy to medicate for--a pill a day.

Have you started taking suppliments with the training?
Hair loss is also a common symptoms of poisioning by trace elements or too much vitamins?

Either way since you are mentioning celiac like symptoms iron inparticular causes D and attacks and degredes the lining of the stomach and digestive tract.

If you are on a healthy diet then multi-vits can be particualrly bad because they contain both very difficult to be poisioned by vitamins like the B complex and C and very toxic ones like D and E and the same for trace elements etc. The weird thing is the symptoms from too little are often similar to too much... and people can think they are still missing out and therefore add even more.

However completely seperately I believe gluten like many toxins is stored away in our bodies in cellulite etc. if we fast or start burning the surrounding fat then we release this stored up toxin (and others)

Jennifer-
I can not recomend Prof. Loren Cordain book The Paleo Diet enough. For many people grains (of almost nay type) legumes and dairy can be very problematic. Hang in there! Sometime things get worse before they get better. Keep tinkering!

Thank you.
I will give it some time and see if it clears up.
When we were trying to diagnose my hair loss and inability to loose wieght I got my thyroid test. One test came back slightly hypo and then the next test was fine...so they told me that my thyroid was probably fine adn the lab maybe made a mistake.

Thank you for your help,
Jennifer

I'd been told for quite a while that my thyroid was fine when I knew something wasn't quite right with it. The tests that most dr's do show some thyroid issues, but ignore others. The tests done by a "regular" doctor came back normal. But I switched to a holistic dr who checked my T4 to T3 conversion (sorry I don't know the name of the test). I am producing enough T4, but my body wasn't converting it to the usable T3. I wouldn't give up my T3 supplement for anything!! I lose weight a lot more easily and I have a ton more energy. If you think it's your thyroid, I'd suggest that you keep looking into it.


Regarding the post of the stored up toxins...that sounds right on the money to me. I go through cycles of that every so often. But each one gets less painful and shorter. Drinking lots of water and getting lots of rest helps your body deal with it too. Here's a link to a short article on "healing crisis" http://curezone.com/art/read.asp?ID=10&db=13&C0=74 There's more detailed info scattered over the internet, but this looks like a good quick overview.

If you had a test that came back slightly hypo, I'd retest. Google Dr. Broda Barnes -- he had a temp. indicator for thyroid that he considered to be more accurate.

I'd also question whether your adrenals might be fatigued. It's closely linked to thyroid, and if they're stressed, then exercise can contribute to fatiguing them, especially as much cardio as your talking about along with weight-lifting. You can google adrenal fatigue and adrenal burnout to see if you think that might be part of the problem. Between the stress from inflammation and life, along with the exercise, that's what happened to me.

This is interesting to hear. It would definitely explain why I have symptoms as I struggle to lose weight. I get discouraged and want to quit because I start feeling better, then start feeling worse. I will just have to hang in there, with the understanding that my body is probably releasing fat-stored toxins.

It may also just be that your muscles are holding on to a bit of fluid. I had that problem when I first started working out, and I have it slightly every time I lay off for a bit then restart. It also can take a while for the body to stabilize itself...for a while you may build muscle faster than you lose fat.

I do also have the problem of losing hair and my tests have always been normal too, but I've never been tested by an alternative type of doctor...always just had the standard (incomplete as I understand most doctors do) stuff they run on annual exams.

gpf -
can you elaborate on this whole vitamin thing?

-Courtney




Dawn,

I have been hypo for 13 years and I KNOW something isn't right. I have for a long time. But my tests always come back normal. Argh!!!! I am thinking that I am on the very LOW end of normal, but this whole T3 thing could make sense, too. Is your T3 supplement specifically adjusted for you, I would imagine?

-Courtney

I agree with gfp about the supplements - B12 in particular. From what I've read Celiacs tend to get low on that, and I think the symptoms do fit.

Dawn,

I have been hypo for 13 years and I KNOW something isn't right. I have for a long time. But my tests always come back normal. Argh!!!! I am thinking that I am on the very LOW end of normal, but this whole T3 thing could make sense, too. Is your T3 supplement specifically adjusted for you, I would imagine?

-Courtney
[/quote]

My first dose was very small and then it was tested again so we increased it a bit...so yes it will be adjusted until those tests (and my symptoms) are within range. And it is a natural rather than a synthetic hormone...have to go to a compounding pharmacy for it.

Don't be surprised if, when you begin to take the thyroid medication, you lose MORE hair. When your levels begin to rise, THAT is when you'll lose your hair . . . .

I agree with the temperature thing . . . also heart rate is a very good indicator. My temp (at its lowest) when I was hypothyroid was 96.0. No wonder I was cold! My heart rate was also VERY slow -- 45-50 BPM. And at that point I was NOT aerobically fit.

Another thing you may want to consider is "hyperinsulinemia". It is a reason that a lot of pear-shaped women suddenly begin to develop "belly fat", and have marked difficulty losing weight. Another STRONG indicator of it is polycystic ovary disease (or syndrome -- whichever the MD calls it.) This isn't where you have one or two cysts. It is where, literally, the cysts look like a strand of pearls surrounding your ovaries, often with grape-like clusters hanging from them, as well. The reason for this is, as you consume more carbohydrates, the insulin receptors on your cells start becoming desensitized to the insulin that you're pumping out. Think of it as -- if I were to hit you in the arm once, it would hurt! If I did it a few more times, it would hurt, but you wouldn't feel it quite as much. If I KEPT ON hitting you on the arm, eventually you wouldn't even recognize that you were being hit. Stupid analogy, but you get the picture . . . So, the cells (particularly fat cells) just don't recognize the insulin . . . so your body just pumps out more and more. Your blood vessels, your kidneys and your ovaries DON'T become desensitized to the insulin . . . that's when damage can occur. The kicker is that this is the percursor to Type II Diabetes. The trick is to catch it before it converts.

I know that for me, personally, when I started the gluten-free diet, I increased my carb count tremendously!

Just another two cents to throw in. . . .

Good luck to you. I hope you can get some definitive results.

Hugs,
Lynne

This is just an idea of mine.... it makes sense since the body stores other toxins away like this but I'm just making 2+2=5 ... however I don't see any evidence that gluten is not stored ...



Like most things vitamins and minerals are toxic in large amounts, there is a point where you are not getting enough, just right and too much (a bit like goldilocks and porridge ) and ultimately a dose which will kill you.

Usually the amount to kill you is a lot more than the amount that will make you ill which is again more than the amount which will be just right .... however these limits change for each vitamin and mineral.

Certain trace elements which are often added as minerals have a much lower tolerance than others...that is a tiny amount is necassary but take a bit more and it starts acting as a toxin.

Depending where you live and what you eat then the body can already be getting enough or even too much of certain trace elements naturally from vegetables grown in the soil or in the water so supplimenting pushes it into the toxic area. The USGS publishes free maps of danger areas btw. however I have yet to meet a MD that knows about them...

Many celiacs were previously maladsorbing so they may have been under the limit when tested hence they may be supplimenting
Many celiacs here eat healthier than the average person already in terms of fresh foods....

Put the two of these together and its easy to see that over supplimentation is a potential danger when going gluten-free and eating natural foods if you continue adding the same multi-vitamin/mineral suppliment ....

That's really interesting. I never would've thought of that...
Thanks

- Courtney

As a personal fitness trainer... I can probably give you some insight... please keep in mind that this is all off the top of my head... and not to be construed as medical advice... Anyway... our bodies require energy to perform all sorts of tasks... even sleeping... and we all must take in a certain amount of calories and nutrients to ensure that our bodies have the proper fuel to perform on a daily basis... and when we exercise... we require more fuel than we normally would if we were sedentary... so to try and answer your question... here is my theory (barring any medical conditions such as thyroid, etc.):
First... You're not taking in enough nutrients... so your body is holding onto what you are taking in...
Muscle does weigh 6 times more than fat... in fact... one of my clients had gained two pounds in 21 days of being on her new program... but had lost 8.63 inches and went down in her bodyfat... I tell all of my clients to go more by how they feel and look than what the scale says... however... in your situation a 5 pound gain in two weeks seems like too much too fast to be a significant muscle gain... You said that your hair loss started back up when you started lifting again... this detail also makes me wonder about the whole whether or not you're taking in enough nutrients theory... our hair requires nutrients just as the rest of our bodies... but when the body is compromised by things like thyroid, celiac's, etc... our body seems to know that our hair is not necessary in the function in life... so it brings the nutrients to where it's needed most and our hair seems to pay the price... definitely go get thyroid testing (have them test your thyroid antibodies as well) and rule out other metabolic issues... I would also see if your insurance covers nutrition and find a nutritionist... lastly... check with your gym to see if they offer personal training as apart of the membership... the gym I work for offers this to their members with no additional fees... a personal trainer can take your information and try to work with that to help you build a program just for you... hope this helps