6/5/07 When I was diagnosed celiac in 1999, I weighed less than I did when I was in high school. I welcomed the first ten pound gain and ignored the next twenty pounds. Eventually I realized I had a problem: It was critical that I lose weight.  I needed a simple weight loss plan; my gluten free diet was complicated enough. If I could not be both slim and gluten free, my celiac diet would have to take precedence.

  My first reaction as a celiac and a food blogger was to search on-line and one of my earliest discoveries was that I had swallowed a myth. 39% of all newly-diagnosed celiacs are overweight or obese. If that surprises you as much as it did me, check out this article from Celiac.Com as well as the articles linked to it that explain this phoenomenon.

  I soon realized that I was looking for a silver bullet. The gluten free diet transformed my life and made me fee like a “new man” in less than a week. The weight loss programs that claim to do that are fraudulent, dangerous, and/or nothing more than short-term fixes.

  I did an internet search on the word “common sense”. I needed a simple and straightforward diet. I found a useful article from University of Maryland and one from the federal government. Here’s a link to another government document that is rather long but certainly worth the effort to wade through it.

  Most of what I read advised me not to avoid obsessing over food.  Yeah, Right!!!  How was I to accomplish that? There were few if any specific suggestions. When I was first diagnosed, I was told ignore everything else I knew about dieting and concentrate on finding gluten free food. I think that’s good advice. After seven years, I’m finally getting that aspect of my life under control! The good news here is that a weight loss diet can be simpler — no one is asking us to try to eliminate all calories. There are no issues like cross contamination or hidden calories.

  I also read a great deal about portion control. Click here to read a similar article. Consuming less food is esssential if one is to lose weight.  As the only celiac in my house, I am tempted to “eat the whole thing”. I justify my behavior by pointing out that most celiac friendly food gets stale very quickly. From now on, I intend to repackage celiac food in small quantities and put at least some of those packages in the freezer. I’ve already discovered that gluten free bread lasts much longer that way.