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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 12/30/2010 12:34 AM (GMT 0)

HI everyone!

I am a 20 yr. old diagnoses with CD 5 years.Iwas on and off prednisone,several times hospitalized and a frequent doctor's visitor.At this point I take humira and 6 mp which is tolerable but i was left with one side affect "overweight".When i bumped into this website it struck my eyes right away it is wonderful to see how people help each other with any situation. Does anybody have a setup diet plan,exactly what to eat each meal, since vegetables I can't eat,tried dieting many times always ending with stomach cramps,i do excersize alot,but nothing seems to be moving and im off pred. for 4 months.

Is there anyone which is struggling like me and have any suggestion please post!!

Posted 12/30/2010 4:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hey wecome to Healing Well. You're right it is a very caring community -- you'll find lots of good advice and support here.

I'm also a crohnie with weight issues, the only time I ever lose weight is when I'm flaring. I don't have a diet per se other than you need to keep track and figure out what you can/can't eat. It can take a while for the pred weight to go away -- unfortunately. Just eat as healthy as your gut will permit and keep on exercising as you are able. And don't lose hope, you're body needs to adjust to being off the steroids.

take care
Posted 12/31/2010 12:07 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your advice. I did try keeping track on my diet, but it somehow didn't work. I did realize wanting to lose weight and CD are some how contradicting. Would you have any suggestions of healthy food which digest easy?
Posted 12/31/2010 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
I've been overweight my entire life.  The only time I lose weight is when I'm flaring.  I've tried multiple times to lose weight by following weight watchers but once I lost about 20-30 pounds I would get a horrible flare.  I assume it was because I was eating lots of fruits and veggies.  Last time I was on pred I gained about 50 pounds in 3 months, that was over a year ago and I haven't lost any of the weight. =/
Posted 12/31/2010 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
I took pred my first flare (7 years ago) and gained 20 pounds in 2 weeks. I went off the pred after several weeks and continued to gain weight until I had gained 100 pounds in 11 months. I went into remission after that. Now this year I finally made the choice to get the weight off (still in remission) and have lost 75 pounds, then my CD flared back up a month ago. It's like the disease doesn't want me to be thin. It's frustrating. Now I'm flaring and the best foods for my gut (pasta, mainly) is bad for my diet. Most Crohnies lose weight in a flare, but a few of us gain. I just try to limit my portions and use low-fat options when available.
Posted 12/31/2010 5:24 AM (GMT 0)
Would you be able to give me a run down of your daily food schedule so i could have ideas how to go about my diet. flares can happen anytime i'm not worried for one right now. I just want to be my old self, and lose the 32 lbs I gain. People are trying to tell me "eat healthy". I hope you understend i can't eat fish and meat the entire day, fruits ad veggies are not an option. What i kind odf different ideas di you have for 'healthy food'?

Please reply! I keep on gaining I need a stop (not a flare). 

Post Edited (teenw/cd) : 12/31/2010 2:08:56 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/6/2011 3:37 AM (GMT 0)
I gained 40lbs since I was on prednisone I'm off 6 months already, but still having a huge appetite I tried going i diet, once I start eating vegetables I become constipated. after every weekend, party, holiday and celebration I start a strict diet for 2 days but it usually fails.....cuz' fruits and vegetables won't agree with me... I try excersizing but nothing seems to shed my Lbs.... any advice or link to website were I can find a diet for a crohns patient wanting to lose weight?????
PLEASE POST!
Posted 1/6/2011 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
teenw/cd -

Here's what I eat in a day (btw, you don't say if you're male or female, so I'm going to assume that you're a young woman and need about 1800 calories/day to MAINTAIN your weight).

Breakfast - oat & honey granola w/lactose free, fat free, calcium enriched milk. 4oz calcium enriched OJ. Tea w/a bit of cream.

Lunch - typically I have a sandwich or salad or frozen meal (like Amy's tofu lasagna) which is about 300 calories. Then I have a piece of fruit and a small bit of chocolate.

Snack - sometimes a granola bar, sometimes some pretzels or potato chips. Greek yogurt (oikos is my favorite) is a great protein filled snack.

Dinner - pasta or rice, protein of choice, salad or cooked green vegetable, fruit salad.

That's it. I've taken this plan down to 1500 calories/day just by reducing portions. If I get hungry between meals and I'm serious about keeping the weight off I drink a lot of water. If I'm flaring I cannot eat everything on this list and my portions get very small, but I do generally eat 3 meals a day. I have been choosing foods that are low or no gluten to keep that controlled, and I only ever use lactose free milk.
Posted 1/6/2011 10:26 PM (GMT 0)

I went from 205 to 158 in the last 6 to 8 months by sticking to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This is a diet designed to help us Crohnies.

You can gain or lose weight on this diet. I said to myself, if I have to be very strict with what I eat I might as well choose lower calorie options.

Some people think I have a hollow leg with the amount of food I eat. This is a typical day for me

 

Breakfast

Homemade yogurt with cooked and frozen apples with cinnamon

 

Lunch

Chicken cacciatore

 

Dinner

Soup, maybe a cheese and pickle course, chicken curry, and more yogurt and fruit.

 

 

The food is super healthy and tastes great. But there is no sugar, potatoes, rice, grain and lots of other stuff.

You really have to want to do this to be successful. For example, For Christmas dinner I usually have turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, pies, cookies…. This year I had squash fries, turkey and homemade cranberry dressing.  When I took the family out for Italian to our favorite restaurant, I ate before we left and just had water and lemon.

 

For me, SCD is super healthy, took me to the weight I wanted, great tasting food, I think is making my guts feel between good and great, is a pain sometimes to stick with it but if things keep going as they are now, something I will do forever (or at least until a cure is found for this DD). This might be an option for your consideration

Dave

Posted 1/6/2011 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you Kazbern and dfdavedf, you seem to be very helpful.
I'm sorry Kazbern but who if not a female would just want to be skinny and lose weight?I guess you assumption was correct!Did your diet help you lose weight?
Posted 1/6/2011 11:54 PM (GMT 0)
I have recently started pureeing veggies and adding them to foods that are safe for me. For example I add pureed green beans to chili, or pureed broccoli to a baked potato.

I would like to lose about 30 pounds as well, but I've obstructed when trying typical diets because they usually have far too much fruits, veggies, and fiber, which my body can't handle.

I can tolerate shakes like Slim fast, but only once a day or they give me too much D.

Like you said, it's a contradiction...eating too healthy lands me in the hospital. I've tried to accept myself as I am and now my goal is to "sneak" healthier foods into my diet by pureeing them and I don't seem to have symptoms by doing that. My hope is that in time I can gradually get to eating healthier foods and lose weight slowly.

I also am trying to exercise more, though I suffer from a lot of fatigue so that also makes it hard.

Good luck to you! Please let us know if you find something that works. I'd appreciate any ideas you might have.
Posted 1/7/2011 12:28 AM (GMT 0)
Losing weight is mainly about calorie control. Exercise helps, but isn't nearly as important to losing weight as people think it is. That's because basically you have to do an awful lot of exercise to burn up a significant amount of calories from it.

You don't need to eat certain types of food to lose weight either. You could lose weight on donuts and chips alone, as long as you burn more calories than you consume. Such a diet would be dreadfully unhealthy and you'd be starving due to the tiny portions, so it's not exactly recommended. But a similar principle applies to everything that you eat and drink (liquid calories count just as much as solid ones). Work out how many calories you need a day to lose weight, then work out a calorie-controlled diet based around foods you can eat. Carbohydrates are not, by themselves, all that fattening. It's what people add to them that tend to pile on the calories: rich, creamy sauces, dressings, etc. Salads can be just as unhealthy and fattening as a hamburger due to the dressings that are slathered on.

In a nutshell: have your carbs. Just be very sparing with the sauces, and don't eat mountains of them either. Weighing helps here. I know it's boring, but it's very easy to bung in far too much pasta or rice into the pan if you don't.

In terms of a diet plan, try to base it as much as possible around foods that you already eat and like, but either less of it or with the fattening parts of it removed. Simple example would be a cheese omelette with 3 eggs. You can scrap the cheese, use lesser amounts of a stronger cheese, use 2 eggs instead of 3 - that kind of thing. I think that's better than forcing yourself to eat 'heatlhy' foods that you basically have no interest in.

(I'm not overweight now, but I used to be and have been on a diet in the past. I joined Weight Watchers, which is another approach worth considering.)
Posted 1/7/2011 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
teen w/cd, my weight is normal and always has been. As I've aged I've put on a few pounds, and a few years ago I determined to lose 10 lb (mostly to keep my bra size in check, LOL). I was able to drop about 7 lb but then it got too hard. And over the last few years most of them came back. On my last flare (this past summer/fall) I lost those same 7 lb, but now they're back again. I guess I'm just destined to be "curvy," as they say.

From the perspective I have now, 30 years after my teens, I am very happy with the way I look and really don't mind the curves.  I will also say that having CD has made it really impossible for me to overeat at any one meal.  The dangerous thing for me re: calorie control is snacking non-stop throughout the day.  If I keep that in check the scale stays where I want it.
Posted 1/7/2011 2:52 AM (GMT 0)
I have the same issue as you. All the information you read talks about losing weight as a sympton of CD. Not me....I would love to lose weight, but nothing happening there. I thought it was strange myself, but...nice to know I am not the only one.

I always find myself waking in the wee early morning hours with stomach ache, and the only thing I found that worked is Ensure or Carnation instant breakfast. I find neither hurts me and am using them as a meal replacement to try to help with the weight issue.

I find the exercising to be the hardest because I am so lethargic, and any long time movement makes me so very tired. So the only way I can see to help is to lower caloric intake for myself.

Like most, raw fruit and veggies are not so good for me, and sometimes even cooked they are a problem. I find though that the fruit and veggie bars you can get at the grocery don't seem to bother me...haven't figured out why.

Like NiceCupofTea says, just keep the portions smaller. I find it also helps me to have more like 5 or 6 tiny eats during a day. Keeps me from too much overeating, and keeps my pain down.

I guess the main thing I would say to you is to be sure that you are losing the weight for the right reasons. To be healthy is the only reason for trying to lose weight. Not everyone is cut out to be a size 6, and in fact, there have been studies that show actually that being 10-15% over your BMI is actually healthier for you. If you are too skinny, your body has to fight harder to keep you healthy and when you get sick, you don't have much in the reserves. Something to think about.

Preaching done.......hope you get the information you need and the results you want......
Posted 1/7/2011 10:34 AM (GMT 0)
I am dealing with the weight gain now since I have been on pred for 2 months now. Starting at 60mg and holding steady at 20. My insurance is putting up a fight for me to get my remacade treaments so I have to stay on the pred until I csn do that. I gained 13 lbs so far. It is really doing a number on me. I would like to try the SCD but I dont have the strnght right now to do all that cooking. My husband is deployed and I have 3 kids. I have no energy from being sick. Any ideas for easier recipes than I have found for the SCD?
Posted 1/7/2011 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lady
I really reduce the work by having the right equipment. I use really big stock type pots and make at least 5 to 10 meals if I make one. I have a seperate freezer and a bunch of individual serving containers. I never cut anything that I can run through the food proccessor. This includes all vegs. It takes me about 5 minutes to deal with 2 or 3 celery vs a long time and a sore arm from cutting.
Alos do not forget about slow cooking. For example - throw some herbs, rough cut veg, cheap roast of beef or lamb, tomatoe juice and garlic into the slow cooker. Come back in 8 hours and eat. Once you try it a couple of times it tastes great.
Bottom line, always use equipment instead of your energy, make lots and freeze, and simple flavours done right can taste great and are supper healthy

Let me know if I can help
Dave
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