<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hello to all,

I want to thank all the kind people who took the time to respond. I was
suprised at the number of responses, it really meant a lot to me. I kept all
the responses and in going back and reading the rules of this group I
learned that I can offer to send you all a copy of all the responses. I will
be happy to do that if someone would be so kind as to explain how that is
actually done. ( thanks in advance). Well I am going to make this short and
to the point.  Many people male and female said that they have a weight
problem. Most agreed that it had something to do with our slow metabolism.
Some reported weight gain when they ate hidden gluten and it came off with
they got back on track. Some mentioned that we often feel tired and tend not
to get enough exercise:as well as our flour having more calories per cup or
per baked item than wheat flour. Anna stated that " she felt more hungry
than she ever felt before CD. She also stated that she craved certian foods
now that she did not before. I can identify with that and feel the same way-
the most important food I find I need each day is protein and I revieved a
number who stated the same thing. It seems that now that we are on this diet
we need to be as mind full of calories and fat as the rest of the world is.
This is not much fun on our already restricted diet- but unfortunatuly it is
still good sound advice.  Greg has a great wealth of information about this
topic and he states that " 60% of us have a weight problem  2/3 are
underweight and 1/3 overweight . And that he believes the inflammation
process that occurs in our intestines is to blame for much of the weight
gain and edema. His research has led him to this conclusion " inflammation
causes nitric oxide excess which inhibits ones metabolism. Also, inflamation
is a stress riser, which causes the adrenal glands to produce
corticosteroids which one might see as " moon face" or bloated stomach". In
addition, the adrenal glands cause the digestive system to shut down, making
it hard to lose weight. In response to the edema, most said  it goes away
pretty quickly when on a GF diet. Katie said , that in about 48 hours for
the first bit of improvement, and more slowly over about 2 weeks. I agree
with that because since I first wrote- I have lost approx. 3 lbs in 2 weeks
in just water. So I see hope in site with this. Another said they had lost
between 10-15lbs in water when they were gluten free.I was so happy to know
I am not alone with this battle of the bulge/water I have often thought I
was just even more weird than most. Thanks to you all!! I will keep all
responses for next two weeks. Tracy L. Donnelly. Hope this summary helps -
it did lift my spirits.