It seems that every week someone somewhere comes up with a new concept to help them lose weight. Whether it’s the Protein Diet, Grapefruit Diet, the Hollywood Diet, the Zone Diet, the South Beach Diet, and the Vegan Diet or, yes, even the Donut Diet, everyone seems to be desperately trying to discover a new way to shed off some extra pounds.
One fad diet is the Gluten Free Diet. A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes the protein gluten. Gluten is found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye, and a cross between wheat and rye called triticale. A gluten-free diet is primarily used to treat celiac disease. Gluten causes inflammation in the small intestines of people with celiac disease. There’s a debate about whether ditching wheat and gluten actually does help you lose weight more easily than simply dieting. Some dietitians say that dropping gluten from your diet means that you’ve got less that you can eat, and therefore are consuming fewer calories overall … which naturally leads to weight loss.
Wheat, however (and not just the gluten protein in wheat) actually augments your appetite, causing you to eat more. Why? Because
wheat contains appetite-stimulating compounds which encourage your body to produce more insulin, a hormone that can cause you to store fat. Something I make sure the beauty queens I coach, know before competition!
But the good news is, there are some ways you can try to maximize your results and your gluten-free weight loss efforts. In fact, there
are many products out there that are gluten-free, even ice cream sandwiches, so you don’t have to sacrifice your favorite delights all
the time for example.
Here are some quick tips that can help you stay slim:
• Avoid processed “gluten-free” foods*
• Watch your total calories
• Eat low-carb, grain-free
• Don’t forget to exercise
• Eliminate breads, pastas and cereals
*Please Note: Generally, gluten free packaged foods are higher in one or more of fat, sugar and salt to help compensate for the texture
and taste difference when gluten is removed.
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