I've been blogging on gluten-free topics for a while now and never really knew that a lot of people actually gain weight when they go gluten-free. In fact, when I started thinking about it, I realized that almost everyone we know that is also gluten-free still struggles with being overweight.
When we made the switch to gluten-free, we were already almost 100% off of processed foods. Ironically, the only processed foods we did eat were gluten-based products - whole wheat organic bread, organic steal cut oats, whole wheat organic pasta, whole wheat flours for baking and organic crackers.
For me, the switch to gluten-free never included gluten-free processed foods. Why? They are just so darn expensive! Not to mention the fact that the ingredients list still looks like a science experiment for the most part. What about gluten-free baking? We make gluten-free pancakes or pizza once in a while (maybe once every 1-2 months), or gluten-free french bread a couple times a year, and of course we make birthday cakes, but other then that, we don't eat it. Why? Did I mention they are just so darn expensive? Call me cheap, but I've got a budget to keep and all the organic gluten-free flour ingredients are expensive - and I make my own flour from scratch! I do that so I know it is organic because most gluten-free flours are not. In addition, Michael's stomach is pretty much grain intolerant, so rice-based flours aren't the most easily digested for him.
Back to the point of my blog. When we went gluten-free, we lost weight. A lot. I was down from 140 pounds to 125 pounds within a couple months and didn't even exercise at the time! I'm now up to 130 pounds because I've been exercising for many months now and put a good 10 pounds of muscle on. The point? To go gluten-free does not mean going from wheat-a-tarians to starch or grain-a-tarians. Yes, it's not a real word, but you get the point. A REAL-food based diet is a way of living that entails consuming fruits, vegetables, good-sourced meats and dairy products with very minimal grain, if any at all.
Just because the label says gluten-free does not mean it's healthy! If you want to go gluten-free for the health benefits, including what will probably be weight loss, then really go gluten-free and not the commercialized version of gluten-free - eat a REAL-food based diet and you will not only feel the difference, but for most people, you will see a difference too!
