I want to lose weight!!!!!

Hi everyone, hope you are all OK.  My problem is I want soooo much to lose weight, and I don't know how.  These last months I am finally in remission, and of course that means I eat all the time! My bigger problem is sweets, I like them so much.  Anyway I have gained approx. 10 kilos, which i HAVE to lose, if I want to show up in the beach this summer!!  Normally, I would just eat my salads and raw fruits, and within 3-4 months I would be gorgeous!!  But I cannot eat that stuff anymore.....  How can I replace salads and fruits without starving?  I have to forget about bread, butter, chocolate, french fries, pizza, coca cola, beer.....    I feel sad already!!!!!  The only way to do this is to increase smoking, which is NOT a good idea....

Any ideas please?

Thanks

Christina

P.S. I'm not on pred, and haven't been for the last one and a half year, so my extra weight is caused only by eating all the time.....

I eat more protein. And when you eat carbs, eat them with protein. I also have one day a week, where I don't watch what I eat, that way I don't feel like I am depriving myself. :)

Thanks for all your replies!!!!! 

Vidoska: I realise that I must quit smoking, but why all the rest? Just because I have CD, doesn't mean that these foods bother me at all, on the contrary now that I am in remission, I can eat whatever I want!!

Christina

Look at junk food as being the sure thing that will cause you to flare, it's all perspective and they actually can and do exacerbate IBD symptoms so stop dancing with the devil...easier said than done, I know because I used to be addicted to sugar and junk, but putting it into perspective made it easy for me to give it up...if you eat crap, you'll feel crap, no energy and everything eles negative to follow...there is not a single benefit to ingesting any of those things...I am now very satisfied to eat fruit when I get sweet cravings and I have to say, now that I no longer eat/drink junk I have a very balanced everything, my mind, my energy, ect....I don't even really get "cravings" anymore, likely because I eat fruit and veggies everyday so no more cravings for junk. Instead of drinking a coke, make yourself a healthy fruit smoothy with yogurt, banana (or any fruit(s) and 100% pure juice with NO SUGAR added...it takes time to wean off of junk but it can be done and you'll be amazed at how much better you'll feel mentally and physically.

And you will lose weight fairly quickly if you cut the junk out, drink alot of water and exercise at least 4 days a week for an hour...you likely won't lose weight from food avoidance alone, but everyone is different...muscle strengthening for CDers is very important since we tend to lose a little more muscle mass than healthy people...and we need weight bearing exercise regularly for our bones because we're prone to osteo.

It boils down to perspective :)

I recommend the South Beach Diet book. There are three phases. The first is pretty low carb but the premise is that you maintain a low glycemic index at all times so you don't have the blood sugar spike and crash making you feel even more hungry. Its all about getting protein and fiber and whole grains in proportion to your sugars and carbs. It is a very very easy diet. Lots of fish and chicken, and steak, and eggs, bacon etc.

Wow I am shocked that people can eat sweets, whole grains, eggs, bacon, fruit juice, fruit, veggies, beer, coke (especially coke zero!), tomato sause, beans, butter, french fries, pizza, and you can exercise for an hour four days a week! I could not do any of that because I would need a transfusion if I did that, but I sure hope that I can get back to being able to do that!

First before I give any advice I would like to know what your current weight, height, age, and fitness level is? The reaon why those foods should be limited because the ones you listed cause inflamation.

i;m sorry i havent read if someone already suggested it but what about exercise? i wanted to lose weight during/after the prednisone, and i just did a bit of cardio for a very short while (i'm not really the excercise type), n e way, the weight came off and now i'm in the process of trying to gain...wish i could b in ur shoes...lol. guess we all want what we dont have huh?

Perhaps it might help to change your mindset, so that you think less about depriving yourself, and more about treating yourself to different foods, now that your Crohn's is settling.

You said that you can't eat fruit - are there any fruits that work for you? It is summer here, and I am managing to beat the ice cream / chocolate cravings by indulging in mangos. They make a really special, luscious dessert, and because I feel as if I'm treating myself, I don't feel deprived. Where I used to drink chocolate (soy) milk for energy, I now treat myself to a banana whizzed in soy milk and frozen into a slush, and I find I'm enjoying that more than the chocolate. Again, it helps that I feel as if I'm having a treat - I look forward to it all morning.

If you really can't do without the taste of chocolate, you might like to experiment with flavoured teas. It's possible to buy a chocolate flavoured tea, and drinking some can get rid of the chocolate cravings for a while. And if that's not enough, perhaps you could try drinking fat-free milk with some Milo or chocolate Quik. That way, you get the chocolate and the sugar, but much less fat.

For (relavively) guilt-free French fries, have you tried low-fat oven baked chips?

Butter - have you tried substituting it for margarine, or that "I can't believe it's not butter" stuff? You could also try "treating" yourself to sandwiches spread with mashed avocado. Again, I think you're less likely to feel deprived if you can indulge yourself in some other way.

I know you worry about your weight, but it may be that your body needs to be this size now. It may want to build up a buffer of fat reserves so it has something to burn if you become ill later. And really, it may be better to be a slightly pudgy healthy person than emaciated and sick. I know you miss the way you were before the Crohn's, but it might just be easier to embrace the way you look now and aim to live healthily, rather than to be slim. Such an attitude will automatically change your dietary choices, but it's much easier on your self-esteem.

Be nice to yourself, Athensgirl. Crohn's is hard enough on self-esteem without you beating yourself up while you're well.

I.

It seems to me that you aren't too far overweight. I, on the other hand am carrying one and a half extra people's weight on my body. I am morbidly obese. As of February 15, I started a high protien diet through Curves. It is a weight management program for women. I don't know if you have them in Greece or not, but I have been told that they are world wide. They do have a web site, but you have to pay for the service. It is a 30 minute workout at least three times a week joined with changing your eating habits. In my first two weeks I lost 13 pounds. I haven't been able to lose much more because I have been cheating on the diet. :( I am continuing to work at sticking to it. If I mess up, I start again the next day. I have been taking a class through this program. The class started Feb.15. I have been learning to eat better, but I am a complulsive eater. (It really hurts when I am having a flare up and eat because I am mad or sad.) The diet is only 6weeks. It is to teach me to eat better foods. Once the 6 weeks is up, I try to stay eating healthier foods on a regular basis, but I have to diet for only 3 days a month to maintain the proper weight. There are 3 phases to the diet. I will diet longer then most people in my class because I have more to lose, but once I reach my goal, I too will be on the 3 days a month diet. This will maintain my goal weight. Good Luck, but don't be too hard on yourself. It isn't easy. Just keep trying to maintain a healthy weight, not a magazine model's weight. Did you know that Italy is trying to ban models who are an unhealthy weight? I just read that in some research I read for school last week. They have to meet the world wide body index or they are not allowed to be in the photo shoot. It is an attempt to stop or at least curb eating disorders in Italy.

If you're really scared about the bananas, you could start by scraping out the teeny seeds inside, and just eating the "outer" fruit... without the stringy bits, of course. And pureeing it might help.

You could also try stewing the bananas; that might help.

Good luck!

I.

I too am in the same position as you Athens. I have always been able to lose weight whenever I needed to fit into a dress or was planning to go to the beach/summer coming up and all. I was diagnosed 2 yrs ago and have gained about 10 lbs now. I would gain and lose, gain and lose and i'm at the gain part of my ups and downs and want to lose 10 lbs. I am in remission now and will be trying some of the suggestions here. Peel the fruit, smoothies, lighter dinners. My husband won't be too bappy about this but he can eat anything and still lose weight. I haven't had much energy since I was diagnosed and figure that's why I gained. But I would walk a lot and try to swim when it's warm and lose the weight right down again. I'm not up the 10 lbs and being in remission hope that I could try some fruit and veggies and hopefully lose the weight if not a few more pounds now that summer is almost here. Good Luck to you! It's hard to say no to an ice cold beer or a cigarette but I gave everything up when I was diagnosed. Food, alcohol, cigarettes. . .it was hard but I feel very much better. I now do have the ocassional drink but not much.