Going Gluten-Free
Since I didn’t particularly know the best way to bring it up, I’ve mentioned on the sly that I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (CD) last week. CD is an autoimmune disorder which causes the body to destroy its own tissues in response to gluten intake.
It starts with destruction of the villi in the small intestine - those little “hairs” which help ferry nutrients to the bloodstream. Due to this destruction, folks with CD are usually either quite thin from malnutrition or, as in my case, rather large due to an enormous appetite that can’t be satiated since the body’s not correctly processing the foods it consumes. The condition also brings with it a whole host of other unpleasant symptoms, including abdominal discomfort and distension, anemia, GI problems, mental confusion, fatigue and joint pain.
The only cure available is to completely eliminate gluten from one’s diet, which is exactly what I’ve been dealing with all week.
Yes, I still have fibromyalgia, but as I’ve learned recently is often concurrent with CD. With fibro, exercise is almost indispensable. With CD, my health depends on eliminating all sources of gluten in my diet. (As a side note, Sarah K. was the first to recognize my symptoms. Hopefully she won’t charge me for the diagnosis!)
To be honest, I felt a flood of relief when I learned of my diagnosis. After three years of feeling increasingly worse with each passing day, and one doctor after another attributing that to everything from depression (um, no) to rheumatoid arthritis (despite negative test results), it was a relief to finally know what the problem was because now I can begin to address it.
In the 9 days since my doctor broke the news — which, frankly, was pretty grim for a foodie like me — I’ve eliminated all forms of gluten from my diet. My husband has been surprisingly supportive, to the point where he actually spent Saturday shopping for gluten-free foods with me at Whole Foods. Thanks to him, most of my pantry and kitchen are now gluten-free, too. The only remaining sources of the stuff are my son’s snacks, and as I learn to cook gluten-free foods I hope to change that, too.
Now, as Atkins- and South Beach-type folks might have guessed, eliminating bread, most chips, tortillas, crackers and cookies from my daily foods has worked mini-wonders on my waistline: I’ve lost 5 pounds! Granted, some of the loss might be due to stopping the CD autoimmune reaction that was causing my entire body to inflame and consume itself in response to gluten intake. But some of it’s due to simple calorie reduction.
And, as we all know:
Weight Loss = Calories In - Calories Burned
I’m not getting nearly as many calories these days, mostly because my freakish appetite (caused by the CD-body’s inability to absorb nutrients in the face of an autoimmune reaction) has diminished. As to the food I am eating, I’m focusing on what I can have, rather than what I can’t because the latter list is long and depressing. I’m eating lean proteins, plenty of salads, brown rice and lots of fruit.
It’s standard dieting fare, really, but I’m finding it surprisingly satisfying. A side salad holds me over throughout lunch. A grilled chicken breast and steamed broccoli leave me stuffed. So, this is what a normal appetite is like, one that’s satiated without popping Orovo. Who knew?
As far as the calories burned, I’ve renewed my commitment to blogging from my treadmill at least part of each day. Hence why the graphic for the site’s new design was so perfect. I’ve added in some weight-bearing exercise, too: push-ups, squats, side lunges and crunches. Not a lot — I plan to increase slowly, rather than burn myself out — but enough to feel proud of myself at the end of each workout.
As far as my fibro symptoms, I’m surprised — and not a little pleased — to tell you that they’ve been non-existent for most of the past week. I’ve had energy. I’ve had seven pain-free days out of nine (the two exceptions being days I got “glutenated” by inadvertent consumption of the nasty stuff). I’ve woken up without an alarm clock in the morning, and I’ve been the one among my family to suggest we go places to do fun things, much to everyone else’s surprise. (Mine, too.)
Left untreated — which means, if I were continuing to consume gluten — CD increases my risk for just about every form of cancer, along with a lot of other serious health complications. In other words, going gluten-free is not an option: it’s a necessity, but so is repairing the damage done to the rest of my body.
On that note, I’ve decided to hold myself a bit more accountable: tracking the foods that I eat religiously, logging the amount of time I spend exercising (and admitting when I blow it off) and posting my weight loss as I progress toward my goal. As a result, you’re going to start to see some new kinds of entries here: food and exercise logs with progress notes. They’re for my benefit, really: I suspect that publicly posting this stuff much the way Jae’s been posting her Wednesday Weigh-Ins will keep me from straying from my weight loss commitment.
And, hey, if the food logs help provide recipe ideas for others with CD or weight to lose, so much the better.
aTags: autoimmune disorder, celiac disease, fibromyalgia, gluten free foods
You know, you are the sixth person I know in as many months who’s been diagnosed with celiac disease (excluding SarahK, whose blog helped me tip off a couple of those people to the possibility of it). I’ve contemplated going gluten free just because most of the stuff doesn’t help with diabetes either.
Glad you’re feeling better, welcome to the journey, and I never mentioned that I love the new design. You’re on a roll!
Comment by jae on July 23, 2008 at 9:05 amI think (or at least hope) doctors are finally starting to screen for it earlier, rather than later after they’ve exhausted all other possibilities.
My new MD suggested it as one of the first possibilities based on nothing more than listening to the various physical problems I’ve been having. The same problems, incidentally, which I’d been describing to my old MD. You know, the one who prescribed me an anti-depressant to which I was allergic… then didn’t diagnose that allergic reaction for nearly 3 months.
Comment by Chubby Mommy on July 23, 2008 at 9:55 amI’m so glad you were finally diagnosed correctly, and that the new eating habits are working.
Also, love the new design!
No charge for the free medical guessing. 
I’m really glad for you (on the relief/diagnosis side). As you know, I was never diagnosed with fibro (or celiac for that matter), but our symptoms were so similar, so it was probably only a matter of time before the fibro diagnosis. And all of my fibro-ish symptoms disappeared the day after I stopped eating gluten (the first time — the second time, it took cutting out gluten and dairy and now corn and eggs for the most part. If I have to give up potatoes, y’all can just kill me). It’s amazing how sudden you start to feel better, right? You were the only other person I knew who had the horrible foot pain that I had, and I remember what a relief it was when I could wear something other than flip-flops again. I’m so glad you’re getting un-inflamed (exflamed?). My symptoms quit the very next day, and I can definitely tell when I’ve been glutened (only it’s a little murkier now, because I have to try to figure out if it was gluten or dairy or eggs or corn or something new…).
And knowing how much you cook and love doing it, I know it will be no time at all before you don’t miss gluten a single bit (except for the convenience of it). The only thing I miss now is cheese, and thank goodness you don’t have the dairy problem so far.
And thanks, you’ve inspired me to get off my butt and do a series I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.
Re: doctors screening earlier. Some are finally recognizing it, but not usually the older doctors who are nearing retirement. Is your new doctor younger? I’m trying to collect only recent grads for my new doctors, because they tend to be more in tune with the gut stuff.
And of course, you know if you need any celiac advice or recommendations, I’m all about over-helping. 
@ Amanda - Thank you. I like the new design, too! Then again, I’m a bit biased. ;).
@SarahK - Yep, the new doc is a young family practitioner. I liked her attitude of “let’s first try to see if it’s something that can be treated by simple dietary changes” instead of prescribing me pill after pill, like my body is some kind of a dart board and we’re shooting for a prescription that works.
And you’re right: the symptoms started clearing up almost the very next day. Likewise, they return almost instantaneously if I’m “glutenated”.
Now, if you happen to have a great GF baking mix that doesn’t involve potato starch (the one thing I forgot to buy at Whole Foods), I’d love to take a gander at it.
Comment by Chubby Mommy on July 23, 2008 at 1:39 pm*waves hand in air*
Im 99.9 percent gluten free as well!
I LOVE Kays Naturals.
seen em?
Comment by MizFit on July 24, 2008 at 7:23 am
on how long it will last? And can someone tell me what over/under means?). It starts today and will probably be erratic and happen on whichever day I remember to do it. I’ve wanted to do this for a while to help out newly diagnosed celiacs (like Kate, who I’m sure does not need my help, kitchen queen that she is) and/or bored old hat celiacs. Anyway, it’s my gluten-free menu for the week. You’ll notice several menu items that will pop in almost every week and sometimes twice a week (I
I love the new design! It’s good to hear how well you’re feeling. I just saw this blog mentioned somewhere- she has a daughter with celiac disease so alot of her recipes are gluten free http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Congrats on the weight loss
No, I hadn’t until you mentioned them. Just looked them up and, wow, they sound good! Next time I’m at Whole Foods I’ll see if I can find ‘em. Thanks!
Comment by Chubby Mommy on July 24, 2008 at 1:36 pmI do sincerely hope that my problem is not celiac disease and from the symptoms you mention, I think it is not.
To give up wheat… I love Cream of Wheat. I only have it about once a month or so because I also love it with butter, sugar, and cream. Yes, I could probably leave out the Cream of Wheat…
Still more blood tests and diagnostics to come. I may have to give up cream of wheat. We’ll see after the hernia repair is done. A frickin’ hernia causing most of my stomach pain… can you believe it?
After having researched the side-effects of bariatric surgery, why yes, I can believe it. I’m just grateful it’s merely a hernia.
As I contemplate going back for a gastric bypass, I will certainly take into consideration a gluten free diet. Anything is better than a knife.
Comment by Donna B. on July 24, 2008 at 10:05 pmA hernia? Oh, man. After seeing my husband suffer through one I can believe it’s causing that kind of pain. Most miserable he’s ever been. I sure hope you get yours repaired soon!
If you do end up going gluten-free, consider swapping Cream of Rice for your beloved hot cereal. Tastes pretty similar, if you ask me, especially once it’s topped with butter, milk and sugar.
Uh-oh. I’m hungry.
Comment by Chubby Mommy on July 25, 2008 at 7:12 am
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