Weight Gain and Emotional Struggles

Just curious if anyone else has actually gained weight as opposed to losing with UC?

Don't get me wrong, I do not want to lose weight caused by a medical condition as I know it is not healthy, but I feel like weight has just piled one me in the last 5-6 months since my diagnosis. The only time I lost weight was when I was first diagnosed and was in the hospital for eight days and being on an only liquid diet for five of those days.

I'll be the first to admit that I do not exercise like I should. My dad is a personal trainer, so much of my life was spent in the gym, and I got so burnt out on it that I began to actually hate exercise. This really wasn't a problem for me, weight-wise until about three years ago. I did the Weight Watcher's thing and had some results, but now, with having UC, I don't think I can even follow Weight Watchers. My diet is so...odd, because what works one day will not another, and for a long time it seemed like only peanut butter toast settled with me.

Anyway, I didn't know if it is my meds, the condition itself, or simply lack of exercise that has made me gain so much weight. I know exercise is good for general overall health, but finding a way to do that when the urge to go can strike me any time and out of nowhere is near of impossible right now. Also, I know not eating doesn't help the UC or one's metabolism, so I definitely make sure I eat.

I may see too focused on the weight gain, but being recently separated, my husband telling me I was too heavy, and that I had too many medical conditions too be desirable to him anymore both physically and emotionally, it has given me a complex about starting over with someone else. I can't imagine meeting someone new and expecting them to find me attractive, sexy, etc. when I have this condition. I guess it kind of feels like, my husband couldn't handle it, didn't want to handle it then why would anyone else? And he left prior to my official diagnosis by the way.

In the last few months, I've really felt the emotional impacts of UC more than I ever have. I am terrified of intimacy and in some ways, even terrified of just being able to live life. I do things, go places, but not without extreme amounts of anxiety and only feel better once I am finally home. I see it though, people see it in my eyes and face. It is even noticeable in pictures I've taken. I see the stress and overall ill health in my face even when I'm smiling. I look back to pics just a year or two ago, and I feel like I look how I feel. I feel like I look in the mirror and don't see me, just the disease.

I don't know if any of this makes any sense. Sorry if I was rambling, but I just had to get it out, and I hope maybe some of you understanding where I am coming from here.

Thanks so much for the advice! I forgot to mention that I do see a counselor every week. He was our marriage counselor but now just counsels me so he is a big help! And I totally agree with you in that I'd rather have the weight and be healthy, but that's just it...I have the weight and am not healthy, so I guess that is why it is all the more frustrating. I didn't think about walking at the mall! Good idea! Thank you so much. And no, I've not tried gluten-free! For whatever reason, I've been resistant at trying it. I don't know why. I guess because I get irked by the people who do it to sound special. I have a friend that does that. She eats all things gluten-free and does so just because it sounds good to her when she asks at a restaurant and because she is on this, "I'm a major fitness freak and people look up to me!" Yes! That is her true attitude, no medical condition in her case. I should try it though. Are there any books or anything to help learning about going gluten-free or is it just a matter of reading food labels?

Are there any books or anything to help learning about going gluten-free or is it just a matter of reading food labels?

Here's a link from the Mayo Clinic about foods that contain gluten
www.mayoclinic.com/health/gluten-free-diet/my01140

The easy gluten-containing foods to identify are baked goods and anything with wheat. Goodbye donuts, in other words and wheat is in a LOT of packaged foods. There are also foods that have gluten hidden in them but I wouldn't worry about them immediately. People with celiac disease have to be concerned about hidden gluten but at this point if you remove the biggest gluten foods you will be able to tell in a week or 2 if your UC symptoms have reduced.

The second food type UC people are intolerant of is dairy. You can try that after trying gluten free.

Food intolerance also has an effect on our emotions as well as our physical bodies. You might start to feel better mentally as well as physically if you are able to identify foods that don't agree with your colon. It took me a long time to figure mine out but it's been very beneficial to making my life better.

Good luck.

In about 2 years I have gained about 40+ pounds with 20 of that in the last 6months. I recently went from a lot of walking to a desk job... The only good thing about gaining the weight is I have gained in my boobs and the Hubby is in love with them lol.

I think that a lot of my weight gain is due to being so physically drained. I hate to exercise and have to push myself to do it, but a lot of the time I feel so bad that it is the last thing that I want to do. Its hard enough to keep up with the housework let alone making myself workout for 30 min when all I want to do is crash.

I go a long time without buying new clothes cause that little voice in the back of my head thinks Hmmmm....maybe I will get serious and drop a size soon. Then the rational part comes in and says just accept it and by the jeans. I want to loose the weight and dont feel good with where I am at, but Im putting the rest of me first and dont want to push myself to a point that Im exhausted. I will take it day by day and when I feel up to a quick workout I do it, but if I dont Im not stressing over it.

Your ex-husband sounds like a giant jerk for saying those things...He did not deserve you. It will get better and the right man is out there. My symptoms started about a year and a half before my husband and I were married. He went through a lot with me. Our bedroom life for almost a year was next to nothing, but he stuck in there with me. I joke that I knew it was true love from that alone :)

Im around a size 16 now. For Valentines Day, my friends and I had a Boudoir photo shoot for our spouse. It was an experience. There were six of us ranging from a size 2 up to 20. I have to say though, the bigger girls photo's looked just as hot as the skinny ones. All of us have good parts of our bodies....you just have to play them up.

No matter how you look, there is something that a man will find HOT about you. He is out there and when your ready you will find a good one that will love and worship your body and accept your medical conditions. True love is not based on your figure or how healthy that you are!

apirateskiss - I am so sorry your ex was such a jerk! Now you can find someone better for you.

I share your pain with weight gain, I felt like the only person with this disease that actually gains weight! I had always been active, working out, skiing, hiking etc. until 4 years ago.

I just began with a personal trainer and as they explained to me, no one diet works for anyone, no one work out does.

I went to therapy a couple of times to deal with some personal issues and found it a great help.

Also, if you hate working out try finding a sport. In Boston they have the ski and sports club for singles, my boss used to go to that and did a bunch of cool things and met new people.

It can be hard working out while sick, walking used to make me have to poo extra bad when I was really flaring. Even mildly flaring I had to go at least once, so I gave up. But the good thing is that I am making a commitment to myself to lead a healthy lifestyle, little by little.

you can do it!

Thank you all for your replies; it really helps more than you know.

Yes, I had a lot of things pretty much happen all at once, so needless to say it has been emotional struggle, then physical struggle, then emotional struggle, then physical struggle, and so on and do forth. I definitely think working out at home will be the best thing for now, but I must admit, and some of you will know exactly what I mean, because you've said it, but when I am home and am so tired and so drained, all I want to do is lie in bed. I am in Culinary school fives hours a day, five days a week, so by the time I get home I'm dead from being on my feet all day, and I don't want to do much BEFORE school, because then I will be drained. I can say though that I somehow managed to keep Perfect Attendance for this past semester even during some of the worst days of my flare, and that was a HUGE accomplishment for me.

I'm trying to pay more attention to my diet, and am trying to slowly go gluten-free. This is only my second day of it, and I can't say I see much difference...perhaps a little, but two days is probably a little too soon to tell, and I'm sure I am not perfect at eating all gluten-free just yet, because I hear gluten is in things that you wouldn't think. I've also cut out all liquids besides water, and it seems to help with the rumbling gas that I was having with soda. I know soda is probably not the best thing, but sometimes I get so nauseated, I like to have Sprite or Ginger Ale to ease my stomach. I've cut caffeine out completely and I think, unfortunately, that is one of my big triggers. It's rough trying to figure out what does and doesn't effect me badly, because I swear what works one day doesn't another and vice versa.

As far as the weight gain, I'm hoping going gluten-free and maybe doing some light exercise here at home will help me see some results. I can't push myself....not yet..my body just won't allow it, and I think it best to listen to my body, so I don't do more bad than good.