Food Cravings

Are you on prednisone, by any chance? Pred tends to give you really weird cravings.

I'm a big foodie too, and absolutely hate the food restrictions. I hate having to scrutinize every menu I order from...I got dinner yesterday with friends in Newark's Ironbound section (known for really awesome portuguese food if you're not familiar with North Jersey) and it's like...crap, all the lanches sandwiches have corn on them and I feel awkward special ordering things. Or, shepherd's pie from an Irish place and having to pick out all the peas.

Have you tried eating soups? I find they're a great way to have something flavorful while still eating low residue and healthy. Any veggies get cooked really well and it's easy to make stuff you can eat. Also, it's a waste of veggie ends and animal bones and tendons to NOT make stock from them!!!

For veggies, I find staying away from seeds, skins and certain cruciferous veggies really helps. Squashes (butternut, spaghetti, pumpkin), root veggies (carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes), and leafy greens all seem pretty safe and I haven't had issues with them. I love my veggies too, and hated my meals before I learned to work them into a low residue diet. Also. Oatmeal. A lot of us UCers do really well on it. I miss beans though.

Hah, I know what you mean. For me, some lentil stew essentially means "Sorry, nobody else gets in the bathroom tomorrow morning!"

Ah it's torture just to read..... beans......lentils......salads.......chickpeas how I miss all of those things! It's horrible how much you crave the things that you can't have!!!! oh and things like stuffed mushrooms yum! one of the worst things for me is garlic - it totally sets me off I have to make sure there's no garlic in things when I go out to restaurants which usually means no nice italian sauces etc!

Here's one version Lynn: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low-residue-diet/MY00745 You will have to experiment a bit though. At the bottom of my flare I was eating essentially rice and a little chicken. Now I am tolerating a little bit of the other stuff on the list but am not yet up to veggies or juices. I also avoid lactose while flaring. :o)

I am on raw food diet, so I know all about food cravings unfortunately. I think the best way to get around cravings is really try and destruct the cravings into the 5 basic tastes(sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami). You should be able to find an alternative that satisfies that craving. Sometimes you just have to think about it a little and really analyze what you have been eating and why your body wants it. If you are craving something fatty try avocado on a salad instead. Salty foods may be more difficult, but greens definitely help with that. Or make a smoothie and but some greens it that way it is easier to digest.

The first few months I was on Prednisone I ate like never before. Even as a teenager I never ate like that. I would eat a huge meal and still not feel full. I'd eat dinner and an hour or two later I'd be back in the kitchen making a sandwich. Now I am down to 10/5mgs a day and the appetite is finally starting to diminish...

I have gained over 20lbs in the last year as a result. I felt horrible, to be hungry on top of that was just not an option! Now that I appear to be getting better, I have to start finding ways to lose the weight...

this thread reads like a foreign language to me, I just don't limit my diet at all. I avoid fried foods, & I tend to eat what most would consider "healthy" (i.e.- not much processed stuff, no fast food, little to no red meat) but I pretty much did that before being diagnosed. I guess I drink less too. Thing is, Old Hat, all those ethnic Indian dishes- they're loaded with great anti-inflammatory spices, I'd think you could eat them fine???? I know personally, when I eat Indian I feel great, all the well-cooked veggies with turmeric, curry, ginger, etc. I eat beans often, usually with rice. I need the fiber, constipation can be a problem. Well I'm sorry for you all- I always thought that limiting my diet so much would be one of the main reasons to have surgery, to me, eating a certain diet (low-residue/ SCD, etc) for life is no way to live at all. But hey, if you think it's working..... who am I to say?

Turmeric is fine, Eva, but ginger & black pepper bother my colon. Even the ginger in pumpkin pie spice can be too much. I think it's because my colon mucosa has thinned from having UC over 3 decades. But I mainly follow low residue diet when flaring; otherwise I eat some veggies everyday + blueberries, too. I need to be cautious about nuts & avoid seeds. Just as well-- keeps me from pigging out on natural roast cashews! / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

I hear where you're coming from, ack- I wish I had the weight gain issue! I think the last time my weight increased was when I took pretty high pred doses, which thankfully was years ago. I wonder sometimes, when people post about foods that aren't "allowed", etc, who exactly is saying the food in question isn't allowed? If it's yourself, from personal experience, that's one thing- but I fear too many just randomly state fibrous foods, veggies, nuts, etc. aren't allowed, when there's really no scientific basis for it. Lately I've been eating a lot of ginger, I've heard it's "good" for digestion. It doesn't bother me, whether I use it for cooking, or tea, but a dozen gingersnaps may cause some issues.... or the ginger martini I had with my sushi dinner last night! I wonder if your colon mucosa does thin, over time with UC- it'd make sense, no doubt. I can't say I've noticed any cravings while flaring, except for peaches- one time I was just getting over a horrible flare, hadn't eaten really anything in about 10 days, barely drinking water, etc. And the first thing I ate was a big bowl of local peaches, skinned & sliced up... they were SO good, to this day I find myself trying to recreate that meal whenever peaches come into season. So sweet, cold, juicy, etc. I'm hungry now!

My powers of association are too strong lol, when I'd eat something while flaring, then poop, I wouldn't want the food anymore. It wasn't the food's fault I pooped but it's just the connection my brain made. When I was flaring badly with the flu alone at home all I could stand up long enough to cook was ramen noodles. Then I almost passed out and didn't eat them again (even though I was still waiting for the water to boil) until years later XD