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Before I began Remicade IV treatments and other medications for my Crohn's Disease...I was unable to gain weight and would fluctuate between 100 and 115 lbs.  Since I began Remicade four years ago, I have gained about 50 lbs and now weigh about 153 lbs. I am disgusted by the way I look in pictures and can no longer wear half my wardrobe and dread wearing bathing suits. I try to diet, but I am always unsucessful. People say the key to dieting is cutting back on or cutting out carbs. But, carbs is pretty much the only things I can eat that do not trigger flares, pain, and diarrhea. I also cannot eat many greens. Does anyone have any dieting advice? Please?

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

I have tried almost every weight loss fad over the years, and even when I had great success, the weight came back. Finally, I looked into the "math" of weight loss. It is a fact that for every EXTRA 3500 calories you eat over and above what you burn, you will gain one pound. The reverse is also true...for every 3500 calorie deficit, a pound will be lost. There are many tools that can tell you how many calories a day you need to maintain your weight. Once you know that #, if you cut 100 calories a day from your diet, you will lose almost a pound a month. To put that in perspective, thats one banana, or less than a can of pop, or glass of juice! I used to take my XLcoffee at one of the chains with 2 cream, one sugar...165 calories! By switching to milk and gradually cutting out the sugar, my coffee there now has under 60 calories. Say good-bye to a pound. If you drink a lot of juices, try substituing just one glass a day with water. If you drink milk, switching from whole to skim saves about 40-50 calories /cup! Use mustard instead of mayo. By using a combination of these little tricks, I lost 15 pounds over a year before I got UC. I didn't diet drastically, and I did allow myself treats, but I paid special attention to portions and counted my calories daily. If i was being bad with a burger, I had salad instead of fries. I know some of these suggestions may not be possible for everyone due to their UC/CD restrictions, but everyone has an extra 100 calories in their day somewhere that they don't need. Hope this helps someone.

 Reply posted for phbowers.

I've wanted to try zlushies and juicers for a while, since I can eat about 3 fruits and 3 or 4 veggies--but never in a salad, etc.I'm afrid of the fruit slushies becauseof the milk/yogyrt in them--can they be made without them?

Main questions--if my digest, system won't take, say, grapefruit, wouls it be OK in a slushie form?

Thanks--china

 Reply posted for kristyn.

I had similar problems with steroid weight and I think that part of the rapid weight loss when I started a low carbohydrate diet was due to losing retained water. My puffy face and swollen legs disappeared very quickly. The diet also helped to stabilise my blood sugar which helped reduce other steroid side effects.
I would be worried about weight loss too if there wasn't a reason for it but I read a lot  about what to expect before changing my diet. After I started  my doctor asked about the weight loss but she said that as I was looking so much better she was not too worried.
At the beginning I found that thick soups were easy to eat and stopped me from eating carbs if I was hungry and I always ate eggs (scrambled or omlette) for breakfast. I'm sure that the only reason I was able to stick to the diet was that I could eat whenever I was hungry. At the beginning the worst days were when I didn't have suitable food prepared and I didn't feel well enough to do much cooking.
I started one day at a time, not really expecting a difference or thinking that I would be able to keep going, but I couldn't have forgiven myself if I had lost my colon without trying.
I hope this helps a little. It was hearing stories from others using low carb diets that encouraged me to try and it has made a big difference to my health.

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 1998 and at the time was maybe 10 pounds overweight.  After the first round of Prednisone I gained 65 pounds and lost about 1/2.  It seems each time I go on steroids I gain the weight and then can't loose it.  I am now at 285 pounds and can't diet and eat healthy- the only things that don't set offf my Crohn's is carbs.

It is so hard to find any information on this because everything talks about dramatic weight loss- but my doctor say's if your having dramatic weight loss then treatment isn't working.  But gaining all this weight doesn't feel right either.

Sometimes I wish they would take out my colon so I wouldn't have to deal with any of it anymore- but I know that would suck even more.

There is just no upside to this disease and following basic healthy eating isn't always possible.   

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

Sadly Yippie  - finally others who have UC or Crohns that need to actually LOOSE Weight!  DItto, I have never been skinny and this is the larges I have been even when pregnant! yuck

I don't know how to do it, I have so many food allergies that interfere with WW, and other conventional diets.  I love salads & fresh fruits & veggies but they no longer like me. Carbs are ok even they are causing gass and bloating lately...

Like you said you would think for how much time I spend in the bathroom I would be skinny! No I just keep gaining a pound here and there, not even going to admit the #'s , it is bad! The last 2 # I am sure were water weight as I have been retaining & get stomach aches just from plain water lattly too.  I hate it!

I like the instant carnation idea and will have to try them. I think they too are too many calories (and many sweeteners give me issues too).  I wish insurance covered a personal dietary phisicial to help work out a plan. (I am on state ins due to inability to work for the past 2 yrs). I am going to look into the gluten free idea - though really cant afford it.

Sorry I am no help, but you are not alone!

Gwen

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

I am currently on Remicade since relapse after colon resection (I got a 5 year break, it was worth it)!
My problem is that most of the time the only thing I can make myself swallow is carbs! Bread, potatoes, chocolate... and my all-time personal favorite, Carnation Instant Breakfast.  Fortunately for me, I still somehow manage to loose weight!
  To me that is the up side of this disease... Sure, I am overweight sometimes. During those times I'm healthy and can get away with eating pretty much what I want to, so I ENJOY IT!  Because I know, probably sooner rather than later, the dreaded CrohnsMonster will be back for me!  Then it will be back to the color rotation of the jello's and the always wonderful choice between beef or chicken broth!

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

Try SCD, one day at a time. If you start very gently - soup, meat and well cooked carrot, applesauce and SCD yoghurt cheese with honey if you crave something sweet - it should not trigger worse symptoms.

I was overweight, ill and couldn't pass a shop without buying a bar of chocolate. Once I took the first step my weight dropped dramatically, my head cleared and after the initial tiredness my energy returned.Before starting I thought that I needed bland carbs when I was feeling ill. I overcame sugar cravings (and helped reduce too much weight loss) in the first months by eating SCD French cream with fruit puree and honey.

Good luck

 Reply posted for Chinacat.

 Try a juicer...  I use a 'Jack La Lane Juicer' I can have a salad in liquid form now.  Any kind I like it's amazing and tastes great.  Try it its fun to throw all that fiber away knowing it would hurt if you had to digest it !!!  Fun and easy

Phyllis

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

I've been on and off prednisone for years - when I was younger I gained a lot of weight on the pred, so this time around I'm really watching what I eat and I haven't gained any additional weight.

Here are two things that I think have helped keep my weight stable:

1. Eating low-sodium. This keeps my face from puffing up while on the pred. I don't eat food items that have more than 200mg of sodium per serving (goodbye, conveinent prepackaged food!), so the stuff I eat tends to be more healthful - yogurt, low-sodium tuna, rice cakes, low-sodium peanut butter, turkey burgers, swiss cheese, bananas, etc. (I don't eat veggies right now... they make me bloat up even worse than "normal"!) Knowing that I have a sodium limit for the day keeps me from eating if I'm not really hungry... well, most of the time, anyway

2. Eating oatmeal. Plain "Quick Cooking Oatmeal" is incredibly filling. I don't add sugar (took me a bit to get used to this!). I can tolerate canned fruit so I'll sometimes add canned pears. Cinnamon is good in it, too. If I get that "I'm totally starving" feeling I'll nuke a bowl of oatmeal for a snack. It takes two minutes and a serving has only about 150 calories.

(And exercise really helps, too, like other posters have said)

 Reply posted for hillslife.

I think thats the most unfair part of this nasty disease--I am not losing any weight!  I did initially, but how can you go on Weight Watchers, or even eat a balanced diet?  I know exacty what I can and cannot eat-and trust me I don'tcare if I never se peanut butter again!  I'm going to try some more yogure, and fruit juices, but there's eally nothing to repace a salad--except a vitamin pill.

Would love suggestions!  New Here- and a little desperate--

china

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

i feel your pain...i was on prednisone for three months and gained 20lbs! i thought the weight was all in my face but as it turns out, its also a side effect of pred so no only did i gain weight in the rest of my body but i looked like a friggin chipmonk! i normally weigh 120lbs. but now i'm up to 145 :( before i had my last flare i was a pretty avid runner so i'm taking that back up as well as lifting wieghts. and i echo what you guys are saying about its hard to lose weight when you cant really eat healthy... :( nothing i can suggest, just know you're not alone...

 Reply posted for changeiscertain.

It is kind of wierd that as much time as I spend in the bathroom (at least 15-20 times a day) you would think I would be a stick and weigh very little - but NO - I need to lose weight also and the prednisone doesn't help....

If we have to suffer with this disease, the only fair thing would be to make us skinny and shapely too!!!

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

I hear ya!  Lots of people would like to drop a few lbs, but I ask of you, stop fixating over a #.   Really, life is too short to get yourself down about what a silly scale says.

There is no quick fix, but there are some things you can do w/o spending a ton of $ to help you along.   The first thing I do is use smaller dinner plates.   Our country as a whole has increased their caloric intake tremenously over the years and is now suffering as one of the most obese in the nation.   So, out with the large plates, in with the smaller.   Next, whenever you are out and about running errands, park far from everyone else.   You get two benefits there.....first, your car doesn't get dinged by careless people and second, you get to move it.  That little bit adds up day after day.

I'm not sure of your physical abilities, but there are lots of good workout videos....far more to choose from than the 80's with Jane Fonda.   Even if you can't do the entire video, who says you can't divvy it up into 2 or even 3 workouts???    Eventually you will see your muscle tone increase and you'll start feeling better.    Every little bit helps.    Don't get discouraged, just set short-term/realistic goals and go for it!

I hope this helps you a little.....toss the scale.

Be well

Lizzies Mom

 Reply posted for jmkearns22.

hey jm.  i really wish i had some good advice.  i don't, but i just wanted you to know you're not alone.  i've been on prednisone for a little over 4 months and have gained over 20 lbs.  and if i'm not mistaken most of it is in my face :-/  i'm already a big girl so i didn't really have much wiggle room to begin with as far as gaining weight is concerned.  but it doesn't seem like my guts will tolerate anything healthy.  no raw fruits or veggies or nuts or dairy or whole grains.  sounds like the exact opposite of a healthy diet.  i'm on imuran now and waiting to see if it "kicks in" and if it does and i can say goodbye to prednisone i'm hoping to at least get rid of the moonface.  and ideally i'll be able to introduce some fruits and veggies into my diet that aren't so fully cooked that they no longer have nutrients.  i guess the only advice i can even think of is to make sure you get some form of exercise if possible.  good luck