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Posted 9/15/2012 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
During my lastest flare, I have packed on 22 pounds. This was largely due to my having sverely limited my exercise while feeling crappy (no pun intended) and due to my Prednisone-related eating like a hog. I like to say I'm on a "bulking phase". My mom called me fat last night...way to go mom! She should be a motivational speaker...
Posted 9/16/2012 1:37 AM (GMT 0)
hi linden

over the 12 years I've had UC I have been overweight, normal and slightly underweight (my closet has 3 sizes of clothes). Prednisone had nothing to do with my weight but food definitely did even though I never really overate.

What I discovered for my UC is that most carbs are bad especially grains. They put pounds on and hurt my colon. My healing began when I stopped eating wheat products, later I eliminated other grains like rice and corn and then dairy went out for a while along with most fruit and sugar. I eat a Paleo-type diet that my gut likes and in return my body weight is normal and my UC is in remission.

It is not easy at all to eliminate wheat, starchy things like rice and potatoes and high sugar dairy like ice-cream. It's your decision but I suggest you give Paleo a try. I was a vegetarian when I got UC and happy but protein and non-starch veggies got me to remission.

Good luck.

P.S. I soak nuts and then bake them. Great snack food and good protein. Just don't go overboard with them. You can also bake with nut butter and make awesome desserts. Ditto on the "don't go overboard".
Posted 9/16/2012 3:51 PM (GMT 0)
I usually fluctuate between 3 size plateaus. Of course my favorite is a very muscular and fit size 4-6, then I'm comfortable and happy at the size 10, but since I turned 30, I pretty much live at 16-18. Sigh. I know how to eat well, I've done Weight Watchers and lost tons of weight, but when I eat "healthy" food with veggies, I am miserable. I spend so much time on the toilet and have to find a restroom wherever I go. Since that doesn't work well with my 12 hour a day sitting in a chair and unable to get up and go to the restroom all the time, I have been living on lean meat and starches and rocking the size 16 pants to make working less stressful. I have a definite carb belly, but everything else on me is not really that fat.
Now that I'm pregnant, I'm much much larger :) of course. I'm scared to death that my baby might end up having an autoimmune disease (daddy has psoriasis, mommy has UC and Crohn's,) but I digress. I do have a goal to drop all the baby weight and then some after this baby comes.
Another hurdle (or excuse, I know I'm full of them) is that when I get active, no matter what the activity is, I get really really bad reflux. I can't get on a treadmill without throwing up in my mouth constantly whether pregnant or not. it's uncomfortable. No Nexium for my GERD during pregnancy or breast feeding, so I'll see if there are other baby safe options for later down the road. Even the Nexium didn't help with the exercise related reflux :(

So when I eat well and am miserable, I'm 5'5" 125 lbs and a size 4-6
comfortable most of the time 5'5" 145 size 10
fat and happy 5'5" 185 and size 16.
sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. all stats are the same whether I'm fat or thin or pregnant, so I don't feel TOO guilty about being fat, just self-conscious
Pregnant at a whopping 215 lbs starting 3rd trimester.
Posted 9/16/2012 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
My entire life, I have been very petite, usually a 0,2 or a 4 at the highest. When I was on pred, I gained some weight and I feel like I just can't get rid of it. When I flare, I do lose a ton. i don't eat and I poop constantly, that's a recipe for weightloss.
Posted 9/17/2012 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
in a year I have lost 15 pounds of the 20 I put on w/pred and I do muscle training 2x week, cardio class 1hr 1x week and walk 4 to 5 times a week. Pred made me addicted to food and I have not been on crack but it feels whack! Anyhow, try to add more and more exercise (I have gone down 2 sizes) and bulk up meals w/veggies and add fruits and nuts as snacks. Chobani yogurt is one of my faves, it is not like a traditional yogurt. I am going on meal replacement shakes from isagenix for breakfast, they really fill me up and are delish. I'm hopping to drop a few more lbs just making that change. good luck!
Posted 9/18/2012 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
mmmmmriley-I took 40 mg Protonix my entire pregnancy and still take it. Since I was pregnant I just can't get rid of the heartburn yucky feeling. You may want to try a different reflux med sometimes you need to play around and see what works well for you. Gotta be something to help you. :)
Posted 9/18/2012 5:19 PM (GMT 0)
i am one that loses weight ... I lost 25 pounds in 2 weeks with my first UC flare a few years back and the pred did not make me gain either. Now while my UC is still in remission, I got a proctitis flare which I am now managing. I was on pred (no weight gain) and I am still losing weight, ever so slowly. Before this proctitis flare, I lost over 40 pounds in 9 months with diet and exercise (weighed about 170 on 5'5" frame). I am finding it hard to stick with the exercise now though because my joints hurt but I do slog through my cardio but not so much on the strength training. I just switched back from Lialda to Sulfasalazine which at one time helped with that arthritic feeling in the joints. I hope it works for me again :)
Posted 9/29/2012 10:42 PM (GMT 0)
Okay. I have tried working out when healthy. I am on 150 of immuran and I have infections ALL the time. My son usually brings them home from school. I try to walk nightly. I don't eat any restaurant or fast food so no trans fats. I can only eat cooked veggies. I eat rice. Milk has no effect on me at all. I have cut it out for 6 weeks. With no different results. That is the reason for the ice cream. But now I am eating frozen yogurt which is much better for me. The one food that actually helps when my UC acts up is cream of wheat. I live it. I ca t eat oatmeal at all.
I am having a nasty flare up right now after 12 weeks of constipation. I miss eating fresh fruit and I pay dearly when I eat an apple or drink fresh orange juice! I miss going to my garden and pulling out a carrot or picking fresh yellow beans. I am ANGRY at all of this. I have been a size 3 or 4 most of my life. Now I am lucky to get into a 16. I eat what I can. I buy free range meat. I cook everything untill it is mush. Just so I can say I ate something. It is very depressi g when I think about it. So I try not to! Lol. This summer just proved that I can't loose weight. I went on a cleanse for a colonoscopy. So no solid food only water and Lemmon water for 3 days. Before I started I weighed my self. Then the cleanse. The I went back on my scale after EVERYTHING was washed out. I went up 5 lbs. crazy

I want to thank all of you who have posted. I blame myself for the weight. I am trying to do a little of all the advice. Which was give to me in the most caring and honest way. It is nice to know there are people who want to help out there. I get a lot of grief from people who don't understand UC at all. Go to the gym and stop being so lazy! Eat some vegetables and fruit, it's good for you!
Thanks to each one of you who posted a nice note to help me!
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