A lot of people have been approaching me lately about “how to go gluten-free” so that they can lose weight. So many, in fact, that I’ve decided to write about it.
The answer to this question is not a simple “yes” or “no”… it really depends. My husband, after eliminating wheat, dairy and sugar from his diet, lost about 20 lbs in the span of a few months. Was it because he stopped eating these foods? Was it because he just started eating whole unprocessed foods exclusively? Or was it a combination of both?
If you are intolerant to wheat or gluten and you’re eating it everyday, chances are your health is not at its peak. The body is really a miraculous thing, but if you are undermining its ability to heal and to be healthy, your body will tell you. Sometimes the language it will choose to speak is weight. Sometimes it will speak to you through your skin (eczema, psoriasis, rash), or through any other number of chronic ailments. So if your body is putting on excessive weight because it is intolerant to wheat or gluten, then yes – adopting a gluten-free diet will probably help you shed some excess pounds.
I suppose what I’m saying is that a gluten-free diet is not a fad diet. It is not a “lose weight quick” diet, and it is not a miracle diet. A gluten-free diet is one of necessity for those who cannot tolerate it. At the same token, a really healthy gluten-free diet often consists of whole, unprocessed foods, and lots of fresh fruits, veggies and whole GF grains – which I think very few of us could go wrong with.
At the end of the day, there really is no quick fix to shedding excess pounds. Eat right (for you), exercise, and reduce your stress. No matter how many magic pills, fad diets or books you try – you’ll never see long term results without committing to this groundwork.
Nice website. Great content. Will be back often. Thanks again for the work you have put in on this blog.
While it may be true to say that you should lose weight with out dieting. This could be just a matter of semantics. What ever you call it you have to make adjustmenats to the way you eat in order to get rid of fat.
Verona – yes I agree that if you anything to change in your life or in the state of your health, you must make changes to your lifestyle. Specifically, a gluten-free diet won’t necessarily help everyone though – it will only really help you if you had an issue with gluten in the first place that was contributing to your weight problem (or if going gluten-free also happened to make you switch from a highly processed refined diet to whole foods).