Have you or someone you know started eating gluten-free to lose weight, but without any success? You read this diet could make you lose weight, but it hasn’t been working. Is it another fad or did you just miss something?
Reasons why you did not loSe weight on a gluten-free diet.
“Switching to a gluten-free diet will make you lose weight.” That could totally happen unless you fall into the trap in which most people who didn’t lose weight on a gluten-free diet fell into. If you think that eating a gluten-free diet is just replacing all the junk food by gluten-free ones then you are doing it wrong. Most products that are gluten-free can contain a lot of junk.
Let’s look at ingredients of a brand you can easily find in any store: modified tapioca starch, corn starch, potato starch, canola oil and/or sunflower oil, egg whites, brown rice flour, sugar, tapioca starch, salt, yeast, xanthan gum, glucono-delta-lactone, sodium bicarbonate, modified cellulose, calcium sulfate, enzymes.
If some people might not find anything wrong about those ingredients, to me it is all sugar (from carbs or actual sugar) and bad oil. By looking at ingredients in the back of a package of bread made out of wheat you will get pretty much the same, with gluten.
Replacing everything you currently eat by gluten-free products won’t help you lose weight. You might even gain weight if you think that those are healthier and start eating more of them. Regardless if they are gluten free or not, at the end of the day carbs are transformed into glucose in your body. It will be stored as fat if your body has no use for it. However, your body might not be affected the same way because gluten is missin, which means that if you are intolerant then you will feel better, and might temporarily lose weight if gluten caused bloating.
Can we really lose weight on a gluten-free diet?
We mentioned that replacing gluten containing products by gluten-free products won’t make you lose weight. On the other hand, if you go about it the right way and decide to take all those junk foods out of your diet you might.
If you decide to replace you regular sandwich by lettuce boats or use portobello mushroom as burger buns then I doubt you won’t lose weight. That is usually what people are missing when they say that you won’t lose weight on a gluten-free diet. They forget that some people do start focusing more on whole-foods and quit eating junk.
Remember that eating gluten-free even if you are skipping on junk isn’t a free card to more sugar and calories. By eating more whole-foods you will be more satisfied and full with less calories (unless you eat whole avocados and too much nuts at every meal), but calories are still calories. Make sure your plate is filled with mostly vegetables, some protein, and a serving of whole-food fats.
Tips to transition to a gluten-free diet.
Transitioning to a gluten-free diet can be hard. Most of us are doing it for health reasons regardless if it is because of a disease or for weight-loss. One thing that you have to keep in mind is that you don’t have to give everything up today.
If you are currently trying to give up gluten, I am sure that you are thinking “How am I going to give up bread?” or “What am I going to eat for breakfast?” These questions usually get answered by gluten-free products which replace everything. As we mentioned earlier, these won’t do any good for you, so you will have to find healthier replacement for your favorite foods.
Instead of giving up everything right now, just start by reducing the amount and increase the amount of whole-foods you are eating. It will allow you to keep your favorite foods while slowly getting rid of them. By increasing the amount of whole-foods you are eating, your tastebuds will change, which will be easier to eat even more of them and less of your former favorite foods. After a while, you will see that your favorites don’t taste as good as you thought they were.
If you don’t know how to start on a gluten-free diet here are some examples:
Breakfast:
- Eat one toast instead of two and add eggs, and if vegetables for breakfast isn’t a problem for you then you can make a great omelet.
- You can also keep it simple and make a protein mug cake.
Lunch:
- If you used to eating a sandwich, start by using of slice of bread or asking for an open face sandwich if you order one. Make sure to add a salad to the side to keep you full and satisfied.
- If you feel like it then you can skip the bread all together or find a gluten-free recipe for sandwich bread.
Dinner:
- Is pasta a #1 option for you dinner? What about mixing some zughetti to your regular spaghetti? By decreasing the amount of pasta you are eating and increasing your vegetable intake, you will quickly forget your spaghetti disappeared.
- What if dessert is the only thing that keep you sane after a long day at work? Well, I can tell you that gluten-free dessert recipes aren’t missing online. I would even suggest you find a paleo recipe to stay away from sugar and high-glycemic grain-based flour.
Eating a gluten-free diet will not make you lose weight if you replace all you former junk foods by gluten-free ones. Find whole-foods to replace your old time favorites, if your goal is to lose weight.
