Eliminate Wheat and Lose Weight?

[caninepawprints]

In First magazine, there is an article about wheat, and they cite a book called “Wheat Belly.” It goes on to talk about how wheat is the cause of many people's obesity, which, they said, is very similar to a “beer belly.” By eliminating wheat from their diet and doing nothing else, people are able to effortlessly lose weight. They go on to talk a lot about how wheat has changed over the years, and how in the 1970's, it was genetically engineered to be a hardier crop. This, in turn, changed its appearance and the effect it has on those who consume it. Not only do people put on weight, but they may notice health problems arise; such as lethargy, depression, joint swelling, and other things. By eliminating wheat, people's hunger pangs supposedly turn into a gentle reminder that it might be time to eat rather than a sharp, intense need to eat food NOW.

It made me think about my own diet. I've been interested in trying a Paleo Diet for quite some time, but it's so restrictive that I wasn't able to take the plunge. Eliminating wheat from my diet, but not other Paleo-unfriendly items, might be a good starting point. So I decided to try an experiment. This weekend, I'll come up with a menu that doesn't include wheat. I'll check my weight before and after (because some people talked about their shock at having a 5-pound weight loss from the first day or two) and see how I feel emotionally and physically.

I'll post my results here. In the meantime, I would love to hear comments and suggestions from other people, both negative and positive.

[Zylos]

No one eats straight wheat. Many breads and grain products are made with "enriched wheat flour" which is not whole wheat. Whole wheat is rich in fiber (good for digestion, good for weight loss), however enriched wheat flour is not.

Additionally many bread products, and products containing wheat or "wheat" also contain HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) which is shown to have some bad effects on the body including weight gain, and it would not be unreasonable to assert that that was the culprit in the weight gain from the study and not the wheat itself. Even if it is not the culprit there are still many other ingredients in gain products that could be the problem.

If you don't link the study it's impossible to tell how legitimate it may or may not be.

[Osyrus]

No, I do not believe this is true, my sister has Celiac (Which means she Can't eat wheat, is allergic), and it has not caused weight loss.

---------- Post added 2012-11-08 at 06:29 PM ----------

That being said though, eating too much wheat is unhealthy, so reducing it isn't a bad thing!

And you would be surprised how many things have wheat in them nowadays...it's, excuse my French, fucking ridiculous.

I also have Celiac, for me this was completely true. I was diagnosed about four years ago.

I lost 10lbs by not eating wheat over the course of about 6 weeks. This is a significant amount of weight for me because I am 5'6" and was about 125lbs at the time.
I was not working out really at all.

Being Celiac you have to eliminate almost all processed foods and you can not really eat out- this includes all fast food.

On a side note, I have kept the weight off and then some. Im down to 120lbs and I am building a nice amount of muscle mass - through good diet and exercise


On an emotional side....its tough. Ill admit it. I feel like death when i come in contact but sometimes cakes and pies and muffins....smell so yummy. Luckily my guy is tends to go gluten free with me, he knows I tend to struggle with it

[jbhasban]

I also have Celiac, for me this was completely true. I was diagnosed about four years ago.

I lost 10lbs by not eating wheat over the course of about 6 weeks. This is a significant amount of weight for me because I am 5'6" and was about 125lbs at the time.
I was not working out really at all.

Being Celiac you have to eliminate almost all processed foods and you can not really eat out- this includes all fast food.

On a side note, I have kept the weight off and then some. Im down to 120lbs and I am building a nice amount of muscle mass - through good diet and exercise


On an emotional side....its tough. Ill admit it. I feel like death when i come in contact but sometimes cakes and pies and muffins....smell so yummy. Luckily my guy is tends to go gluten free with me, he knows I tend to struggle with it

Holy shit, you don't eat bread, cakes, and other high calorie foods and you lose weight?!? Next you are going to tell me not drinking soda also makes you lose weight! What? Eating butter makes you gain weight? AMAZING.

Seriously, anyone who thinks any particular food makes you gain weight is a moron. Anyone who thinks any particular food will make you lose weight is trying to sell you something.

BTW, the first 5-10 lbs you lose is water weight. When you reduce your calorie intake and stop eating grains, your body stores less water. You may even lose half an inch to an inch on your waist or so in the first few days. It isn't permanent.

[Decagon]

Also, eliminating food causes you to lose weight.

To my knowledge, not eating wheat is a bad thing, especially considering that wheat is in a very large amount of items. I always thought that eating healthy and intelligently made you gain/lose weight based on what you need, maybe I'm wrong though.

[lordsgamer315]

I have not had confirmation, but based on symptoms, and research, my wife and I think that I have cialics as well (possibly one of my kids as well) and have switched to a gluten free diet, which gets rid of anything wheat related (and other things), and I have to say that I have the opposite effect. I have weighed 120lbs for the past 6 years. Turned 25 today, and so far with being on this new diet for around three weeks, with nothing else changing (work load, house duties, etc.) I have already gained ~5 pounds.

With some research we found that the gluten in wheat flours, and other things, actually effect everybody, not just those with cialics. and it effects the, differently. Some it stops them from losing weight, others like myself, are stopped from gaining it. So stop eating wheat = lose weight? No, more like stop eating Wheat (and other sources of gluten) = healthier life (pending other things you are doing to yourself).

[Deleted]

Holy shit, you don't eat bread, cakes, and other high calorie foods and you lose weight?!? Next you are going to tell me not drinking soda also makes you lose weight! What? Eating butter makes you gain weight? AMAZING.

Seriously, anyone who thinks any particular food makes you gain weight is a moron. Anyone who thinks any particular food will make you lose weight is trying to sell you something.

BTW, the first 5-10 lbs you lose is water weight. When you reduce your calorie intake and stop eating grains, your body stores less water. You may even lose half an inch to an inch on your waist or so in the first few days. It isn't permanent.

Ok, if I had a choice between Butter and Margerine - I'd pick butter everytime - Margerine is 1 Molecule away from Plastic.

Particular foods DO make you gain weight. Cheese, Bread, Pasta all makes you gain weight. Particular foods Do make you lose weight: Eggs, chillis, celery, brocolli, etc....

Losing weight is 75% nutrition 25% exercise so it stands to reason that certain food groups will aid weight loss. Or just ignore the science and do a shit ton of bicep curls and crunches. I don't care.

[Osyrus]

Holy shit, you don't eat bread, cakes, and other high calorie foods and you lose weight?!? Next you are going to tell me not drinking soda also makes you lose weight! What? Eating butter makes you gain weight? AMAZING.

Seriously, anyone who thinks any particular food makes you gain weight is a moron. Anyone who thinks any particular food will make you lose weight is trying to sell you something.

BTW, the first 5-10 lbs you lose is water weight. When you reduce your calorie intake and stop eating grains, your body stores less water. You may even lose half an inch to an inch on your waist or so in the first few days. It isn't permanent.

thanks for ripping on me and for not getting what i was saying.

Let me rephrase for clarification for the body builder in the room. I lost the weight specifically because i stopped eating wheat. I rarely ate processed foods, cakes/pies/muffins, and fast food before hand. I had limited my gluten intake before I went completely. The gastroenterologists were unsure originally what was wrong and they restricted by diet for 6 months before hand.
WTF did i stop eating? Mutligrain bread, mutligrain pasta, lunch meat, no beer, and some odd sauces (like soy sauce)

It was permanent I stayed that weight for two years before i began running/yoga/strength training - as i stated it was MY experience.

Being a celiac effects bodies different like with most autoimmune diseases.

My regular MD and the 5 different gastroenterologists said that MY weight loss was specifically from not eating gluten.

[caninepawprints]

Thanks for the comments! It gives me some things to think about. I don't have celiac disease, and I suspect that the participants of the diet featured in the article lost weight because they were eating healthier overall, not just from eliminating wheat. When I started thinking about a wheat-free menu, I realized a lot of what I was selecting were healthier choices overall just because I knew the products don't have wheat in them. For example, breakfast would be orange juice (I juice my own oranges), eggs, and grapefruit. Lunch would be a salad with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and possibly ham and/or turkey. Dinner would be a meat and vegetable and mashed potatoes (my kids love those!). An afternoon snack would be popcorn (there's no wheat in it, it's corn). Overall, that's pretty healthy menu choices and much healthier than how I tend to eat most days. So just by eliminating wheat, I'm actually doing so much more with my diet that's putting me on a healthier track.

But as I said, it's just an experiment to see if the article was right or just trying to sell this guys' book.

[mvaliz]

Eliminate Wheat is the same as saying "eliminate carbs".

Wheat is a primary source of Carbs.

Reducing Wheat intake in your diet would help, but it's not the cure-all... especially with so many corn-based products on the shelves these days.

[Varabently]

No, I do not believe this is true, my sister has Celiac (Which means she Can't eat wheat, is allergic), and it has not caused weight loss.

---------- Post added 2012-11-08 at 06:29 PM ----------

That being said though, eating too much wheat is unhealthy, so reducing it isn't a bad thing!

And you would be surprised how many things have wheat in them nowadays...it's, excuse my French, fucking ridiculous.

That's not much of an argument unfortunately. There's plenty of foods that don't have wheat that can make you fat. See: ice cream and steak.

edit: I guess I should be constructive here also. Any carb that is not complex like sugar is going to make you fat. they are easier to break down and digest and are more calorie dense. That combination, ease of digestion and calorie density are what makes foods unhealthy. enriched wheat and sugar are two examples. Oil is another, but it's less calorie dense (since it's liquid) and harder to digest.

This is why vegetables are so healthy. They are not calorie dense, meaning they are larger and take up more stomach space. Simultaneously, they are harder to digest because they are solids and planty. Planty meaning their cell structure is more complex and thus takes more work to break down. Eat vegeatables and less sugar/fat/bread and you will lose weight. It's really not complicated, but it does require lifestyle changes that most people won't do. It's easier to be fat.

[Torgent]

Holy shit, you don't eat bread, cakes, and other high calorie foods and you lose weight?!? Next you are going to tell me not drinking soda also makes you lose weight! What? Eating butter makes you gain weight? AMAZING.

Seriously, anyone who thinks any particular food makes you gain weight is a moron. Anyone who thinks any particular food will make you lose weight is trying to sell you something.

BTW, the first 5-10 lbs you lose is water weight. When you reduce your calorie intake and stop eating grains, your body stores less water. You may even lose half an inch to an inch on your waist or so in the first few days. It isn't permanent.

Your lack of knowledge of the human body and biology is astounding. Certain foods are more calorie dense, so yes, particular foods do make you gain weight. Certain foods are stored easier as fat due to their components (proteins, fats, carbohydrates).

The first 5-10 lbs you lose is NOT water weight. Your caloric intake doesn't directly impact water storage, other factors do. The first 5-10 lbs is commonly fat as your body is getting used to the new input. Water weight can be gained and lost within a day, has nothing to do with caloric intake. It has to do with water intake, sodium intake, and your personal body.

[jbhasban]

Your lack of knowledge of the human body and biology is astounding. Certain foods are more calorie dense, so yes, particular foods do make you gain weight. Certain foods are stored easier as fat due to their components (proteins, fats, carbohydrates).

The first 5-10 lbs you lose is NOT water weight. Your caloric intake doesn't directly impact water storage, other factors do. The first 5-10 lbs is commonly fat as your body is getting used to the new input. Water weight can be gained and lost within a day, has nothing to do with caloric intake. It has to do with water intake, sodium intake, and your personal body.

Horse shit.

http://4chanfit.wikia.com/wiki/Harsh...heet_%28WIP%29

---------- Post added 2012-11-09 at 03:10 AM ----------

thanks for ripping on me and for not getting what i was saying.

Let me rephrase for clarification for the body builder in the room. I lost the weight specifically because i stopped eating wheat. I rarely ate processed foods, cakes/pies/muffins, and fast food before hand. I had limited my gluten intake before I went completely. The gastroenterologists were unsure originally what was wrong and they restricted by diet for 6 months before hand.
WTF did i stop eating? Mutligrain bread, mutligrain pasta, lunch meat, no beer, and some odd sauces (like soy sauce)

It was permanent I stayed that weight for two years before i began running/yoga/strength training - as i stated it was MY experience.

Being a celiac effects bodies different like with most autoimmune diseases.

My regular MD and the 5 different gastroenterologists said that MY weight loss was specifically from not eating gluten.

I am pretty sure that if you ate nothing but potatoes (3-5k calories) all day you would gain weight.

[Sunseeker]

Wanna know how to diet?

Meat. Veggies. GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND EXERCISE!!!!!!

I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with several severe allergies. She cannot eat corn-products, wheat-products, soy-products, or milk-products. Se takes dance on a regular basis and was in great shape before, but she's lost even more weight now. She basically lives on meat and veggies, and in those cases, mostly carrots, cucumber, and celery.

But you can eat all the meat and celery you want and still be a fat-ass. The key is to EXERCISE. I don't care what you cut out of your diet, if you aren't exercising, you won't lose weight.

[Elegiac]

Don't eliminate wheat, but reduce it as well as other cereals and sugars. Humans have genetically inbuilt tolerances for carbs; losing weight is as simple as finding yours and sticking to it. It may be some carbs, it may be no carbs.

[Spectral]

The book is nonsense and the author is a quack. I looked into it extensively, actually exchanged some posts with the author of the book/blog, and decided that the man just wants to make a buck.

To be clear, if you cut wheat, you're likely to shed some pounds. It's not any sort of magic shortcut, it's just the nature of the beast that slicing out a fairly non-filling carb is going to help people that enjoy proteinacious foods shed weight more easily. That said, I really, really love foods with wheat, eat them quite regularly, and I'm presently 5'8.5", 140 pounds, and ~11.5% body fat. If wheat is what made people fat, I'd be royally screwed... I am not.

[Elegiac]

The book is nonsense and the author is a quack. I looked into it extensively, actually exchanged some posts with the author of the book/blog, and decided that the man just wants to make a buck.

To be clear, if you cut wheat, you're likely to shed some pounds. It's not any sort of magic shortcut, it's just the nature of the beast that slicing out a fairly non-filling carb is going to help people that enjoy proteinacious foods shed weight more easily. That said, I really, really love foods with wheat, eat them quite regularly, and I'm presently 5'8.5", 140 pounds, and ~11.5% body fat. If wheat is what made people fat, I'd be royally screwed... I am not.

Instead of that book, which I agree is quackery, I recommend Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes.

[Afrospinach]

In First magazine, there is an article about wheat, and they cite a book called “Wheat Belly.” It goes on to talk about how wheat is the cause of many people's obesity, which, they said, is very similar to a “beer belly.” By eliminating wheat from their diet and doing nothing else, people are able to effortlessly lose weight. They go on to talk a lot about how wheat has changed over the years, and how in the 1970's, it was genetically engineered to be a hardier crop. This, in turn, changed its appearance and the effect it has on those who consume it. Not only do people put on weight, but they may notice health problems arise; such as lethargy, depression, joint swelling, and other things. By eliminating wheat, people's hunger pangs supposedly turn into a gentle reminder that it might be time to eat rather than a sharp, intense need to eat food NOW.

It made me think about my own diet. I've been interested in trying a Paleo Diet for quite some time, but it's so restrictive that I wasn't able to take the plunge. Eliminating wheat from my diet, but not other Paleo-unfriendly items, might be a good starting point. So I decided to try an experiment. This weekend, I'll come up with a menu that doesn't include wheat. I'll check my weight before and after (because some people talked about their shock at having a 5-pound weight loss from the first day or two) and see how I feel emotionally and physically.

I'll post my results here. In the meantime, I would love to hear comments and suggestions from other people, both negative and positive.

A good friend of mine has had all sorts of issues with chronic fatigue and what not, and is probably a celiac. Part of the process has been dropping wheat, during which time he lost maybe 30 kgs in just a few months while on a diet that consisted of mainly raw cashew nuts(up to 1kg per day and these are 50% fat) and chicken(a whole one in total, every day). There is definitely something about wheat.

Don't eliminate wheat, but reduce it as well as other cereals and sugars. Humans have genetically inbuilt tolerances for carbs; losing weight is as simple as finding yours and sticking to it. It may be some carbs, it may be no carbs.

This is pretty much the final word in dieting, find what works for you because you are unique.

[Letmesleep]

No, I do not believe this is true, my sister has Celiac (Which means she Can't eat wheat, is allergic), and it has not caused weight loss.

---------- Post added 2012-11-08 at 06:29 PM ----------

That being said though, eating too much wheat is unhealthy, so reducing it isn't a bad thing!

And you would be surprised how many things have wheat in them nowadays...it's, excuse my French, fucking ridiculous.

Pretty much nailed it. Everything said here is correct. Having Celiac myself, you learn to live without wheat after awhile and it's not so bad; it's when you have more allergies than gluten that you start having problems finding things to eat. On the weight gain side, there are indeed some people whose bodies just don't process wheat well and tend to gain extra due to it. This however, is not a weight loss solution. It may help, but the pounds aren't going to drop off because you ditched one food ingredient. If only it were that simple, right?

To anyone who think they might have Celiac: you don't have to guess. Does your stomach feel like it's literally on fire when you eat certain things? No? You don't have Celiac then. When you have Celiac disease, gluten literally damages your system, so if there's no pain, you probably don't have Celiac. If there is, you might want to get tested. Celiac disease is essentially a worse form of a gluten allergy. 3% of people who have a gluten allergy have Celiac, though that's what I was told when I was diagnosed. The numbers may be different now.

[Ssith]

the only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you expend, or remove a part of your body.

there is no magic food, no magic potion, no magic drink. anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit.