Finding my way to a gluten-free forum would have been the last thing I would have thought I would do today. I have some sort of scalp folliculitis and began looking around the web for solutions when I ended up at the forum. Someone had success by going gluten free. Then I kept looking around the forum and found interesting stories about people into weightlifting/bodybuilding who regularly had problems gaining weight. While I’m not necessarily suspecting that I have gluten intolerance, I wanted to ask some questions.

First off I must say, that going on a gluten free diet would for me be over the top trauma, to the scale of losing a family member or something. Bread has always been my favorite food, as my mom, dad, myself, and one sister regularly make homemade bread. Then of course there’s pasta, cereal, beer… well, you all know better than I.

So here are my questions:
Should there be some symptoms for gluten intolerance that I should be able to key in on?

For my weightlifting goals (gaining muscle mass/strength) I need to be able to absorb nutrients, and from what I’ve read, gluten-intolerance can inhibit that. If I have been able to gain weight in the past (like going from 135 to 195lbs—even though my muscle gain was not so much), does that show that I don’t have a problem with the absorption? For me it is hard to gain muscle, but easier to gain fat (don’t we all have that?); would this be indicative of bad nutrient absorption? In reality my frustration comes from this perceived inability to gain muscle.

People here talk about changing toaster ovens, cutting boards, etc. etc. to rid themselves of the gluten. Right now I’m just interested in sampling a gluten-free diet for a few weeks to see what effect it has, rather than implementing a life-changing diet. Will it all be futile if I still sometimes ingest trace amounts of gluten, or would that not affect me so much?

For a bodybuilding diet I strive for meals full of protein and complex carbs. Would there be anything wrong with the following diet:
a corn based cereal w/milk, egg beaters
gluten free protein powder (Optimum Nutrition) and some complex carb (can’t be bread anymore)
meat/poultry, rice, veggies (green beans, carrots, broccoli

I would, of course, have these meals various times a day to reach 5-6meals a day.

As hard as it is to keep a bodybuilding diet and have people constantly criticizing me, having both that and a gluten-free diet (especially at restaurants with friends) seems impossible. You all deserve medals of honor for being gluten free!

Welcome!

Some celiacs lose weight, some gain weight so weight gain/loss isn't really an accurate indicator of whether or not you have celiac or poor absorption.

I would guess that if you're gaining weight, but not building muscle that it might be because you are eating too many calories for the amount of lifting you're doing. In other words, you are gaining weight faster than you are building muscle, then the fat you have gained hides the muscle gain.

You might be better off for a time to try to stay at your current weight while working out. Or even lose a few pound so you can start to see the muscle definition.

Also, are you doing enough cardio? It will help to keep the body fat lower.

As far as the gluten-free diet ... if you do not have gluten intolerance, there would be no point in worrying about cutting boards, etc. The reason celiacs get new cutting boards, wooden spoons, etc. is because even a minute amount of gluten will cause an immune reaction.

If you truly think you might have a gluten intolerance, then you would need to be concerned for things like that.

Gluten is a difficult protein to digest. I would guess that anyone would feel somewhat better gluten-free. I know my husband does, and he has no gluten problems.

Your diet looks fine. Most cereals have barley/malt in them, so that will be difficult to find a gluten-free version. There are pre-sweetened cereals like Cocoa Pebbles, that are gluten-free, but that wouldn't work for a bodybuilding diet. You might have better luck finding a hot cereal (Bob's makes a gluten-free hot cereal).

Brown rice is a good complex carb that is gluten-free. Tinkyada Pasta is a pasta made from brown rice. It's very good.

I don't know if you've discoverd the benefits of coconut oil. It's a medium chain fatty acid that's easily absorbed and doesn't just make you fat. In fact, many use it to lose weight/fat. You might Google it. I use lots of coconut oil.

My guess is that you are just getting frustrated at how long it's taking to gain muscle mass. Keep working out ... it's not something that happens overnight. If it were easy, everyone would have a great body!

And, no, I'm not a guy! I've been lifting for years though!

There are so many symptoms that often times it gets overlooked because it doesn't match the classic ones: weight loss, diarrhea, intestinal ones.

For me I had IBS (running to the potty many times a day, cramping), brain fog, fatigue, and terrible gas. It was amazing to me how cutting out dairy and wheat reduced my gas to almost nothing.

If you have been able to gain weight in the past, nutrient absorption may not be the issue. When working to gain muscle, you just need to be very careful about what you eat and how much. if you are gaining more than 2 lbs. a week, it probably is mostly fat. Also, you can add some interval training, which will help limit fat gain without cutting into muscle stores.
Coltrane

I can tell you that in my experience, the seborrhea that I have which is along my hairline and in my scalp, has become almost a non-issue since being gluten-free. My dermatologist hasn't seen it during an active flare, but says that it doesn't have the typical description of dermatitis herpataformis. He did say, however, that he wants to biopsy it during a flare, and also wants to do an antigliadin antibody test at the same time to see if there is any correlation. There is one product -- from Amy's -- that I suspect is the culprit, and I suspect that is from cross-contamination.

Also, it is quite easy to incorporate a celiac diet into a weight lifter's regime. Increased proteins are easy -- chicken, fish, beef, pork, tofu (but some are intolerant to soy, and you have to watch brands). The protein powders are "iffy" -- I'd first check to see if they are gluten-free, then introduce them slowly and only one at a time for about two weeks each to ensure that you aren't having a reaction to a component in it. I used to use a LOT of whey protein, but found that I have some bizarre intolerance to it. With regard to carbs, green vegetables, especially leafy ones, brown rice, Tinkyada (sp? -- I always get it wrong) pasta are all easy. Cereals are a little difficult, so I have glucose control Boost (gluten-free) with blueberries for breakfast. I get protein, some carbs, and those little blueberries are scavenging for my free radicals!

I agree that if you are gaining more than two pounds per week, you are probably gaining fat. In addition, you may be having increased fluid retention, depending upon what you are incorporating into your diet.

With regard to do I know what I'm talking about? (because, quite frankly, everyone is skeptical!) -- the answer is "yes". I used to be a weightlifter, and I'm a licensed physical therapist. That being said, don't forget to add a gentle but very thorough stretching program into your routine daily. Shorter muscles are much less efficient than ones that are at optimum length!

I had IBS for years too. It was mainly in the form of diarrhea and cramping. I learned to cut back the fats I ate, but later realized that a lot of my problem was mental or stress. I don't really struggle with the IBS anymore.

There are specific tests to see about ones nutrient absorption, aren't there? If one were to have a gluten problem would it be just the gluten not getting absorbed, or could one also have problems with other proteins or carbs too?

Celiac causes an immune reaction when gluten is consumed. This reaction damages the lining of the small intestine, which makes it so that nutrients are not absorbed.

I think you may be trying to gain too quickly. Are you working with a personal trainer?