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hello everyone, new around here.  i was just recently diagnosed with crohn's as of march 7th.  i am 29yo and a VERY active female with two very physical jobs along with the fact that i play a very physically demanding sport.

i guess i'm basically just looking for some pointers as to how to keep my energy up as well as what to eat on game days now that i have oodles of dietary restrictions.

being deathly allergic to all tree nuts(meaning peanuts are a-ok) since birth makes getting plenty of protein a bit of a challenge.  in addition to that i'm on all sorts of restrictions.  currently i'm on a no meat(fish is ok), no dairy('cept cheese), no caffeine, no fried or spicey foods, no whole grains, no alcohol(!!!), low sodium, low fiber, low sugar diet.  i lost most of the weight i have since feb 28th(212 lbs then to today's 180) in about 2.5 weeks which lead to me being hospitalized for about a week. 

seemingly this all just came out of nowhere.  as i look back i realize that too much dairy always sort of made me sick, coffee did too.  spicey food would have me ill for hours!  i have a very busy and fantastic life and would like to keep that up.  being athletic is very important to me.  any help at all would be mucho appreciated!

ugh...

also, does anyone else experience severe muscle aches?  my neck, back, arms, legs, all feel very tight and sore just to move.  i used to be able to work out for 2-2.5 hours 5 or 6 days a week.  now i just don't know...

 Reply posted for shawcago.

Diagnosed in 05. Now that I think back I've probably had CD for 10+ years. What I have experienced is trial and error. You will soon find out what your body will tolerate. I was so bummed when I got diagnosed but you know what it's not so bad. You will adjust and your life will be great. This is just a speed bump. One tip that is like a security blanket for me is always knowing where the clean restrooms are. Good luck.

 Reply posted for shawcago.

Hi there, I understand just what you are going through. I was diagnosed at 19, I was very very active. One thing you might think about is your body may be cramping due to lack of electrolights. Having a limited diet can be challenging, for me eating lots of carbs and protein. There are excellent dairy replacement options, if you eat potatos there is a non dairy topper that's pretty good.  Best of luck.

 Reply posted for sueymac.

I started drinking pure carrot juice and v-8, and eating hummus with pita bread.  This has done alot for me nutritionally.

 Reply posted for shawcago.

I am also very active.  Up until about 3 weeks ago my husband and I were mountain biking 3-4 days a week and beating the crap out of ourselves (well, mainly me).  I was also riding my son to school on a trail-a-bike 5 miles there and 5 miles back a few days a week.  Unfortunately,  with this current flare I feel weak and my endurance is totally gone.  I can't even think about doing those things.  BUT, I know this is only temporary.  As soon as we get it back under control it won't be hard to get back into it.  I was diagnosed 10 years ago and I'm 37 now.  You can absolutely keep up your sports but you've got to let your body rest during the bad times and get back into remission.  Good luck!  We're planning a mountain biking trip to Whistler, Canada in July, so I have until then to get healthy a back out there.

 Reply posted for shawcago.

You caught my eye with the playing sports topic!  I am the mother of an 18 yr old swimmer with Crohn's.  He's 18, swims a few miles a day--man that boy can eat and is hungry all of the time!  We used to let him eat lots of spaghetti, home made bread, ice-cream, cereal, etc...no longer!

Yeah, your diet restrictions are..uh, restricting!  So almond flour is out...but you can eat peanuts and peanut butter.  The low fiber is hard as is the no grain.  I guess you can eat eggs or egg whites?  Canned, no sugar pears...well cooked veggies.  Supposedly farm-raised salmon can be an inflammatory food, so go for the wild atlantic salmon.  I wish I could find/talk to a trained dietician who was experienced with a wide variety of crohnnies.  You need calories and nutrition...some food that will keep you on the go!

Do you have a Trader Joe's near you?  You might find something you can eat after browsing each section very slowly and carefully.

Keep us updated!  Glad to hear you are so active!

S