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Weight loss- help?

charlottevet

charlottevet

Hello all,

Firstly, as of yet I am still un-diagnosed, currently waiting for a letter with my MRI and biopsy results.
Over the past year I have been unwell, I have lost a stone and a half *from 9 stone down to 7 and a half* I am around 5 foot 8, so at the moment i look like a beam pole- its ridiculous.... in addition the dr has advised me to go on a low irritant diet, as I was having bad stomach cramps and diarrhoea with my normal healthy diet. so im no gluten, no dairy no wheat at the moment, and anything high in fat has me running to the bathroom with explosive D, or makes me very nauseous.... as a result getting the weight back on has been an ongoing challenge!

How do you guys maintain your weight?

x
 
Cross-stitch gal

Cross-stitch gal

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Vancouver,
charlottevet said:
Hello all,

How do you guys maintain your weight?

x
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I'm sorry to hear all that you're going through. But, I'm afraid that the secret to maintaining weight is beyond me! It seems like my weight can go up and down like a yo yo. So, I guess the best thing I can do is let you know that you're not alone in this. Sending hugs your way.
 
charlottevet

charlottevet

Cross-stitch gal said:
I'm sorry to hear all that you're going through. But, I'm afraid that the secret to maintaining weight is beyond me! It seems like my weight can go up and down like a yo yo. So, I guess the best thing I can do is let you know that you're not alone in this. Sending hugs your way.
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thank you for the reply - sigh.. i would just like to look and feel healthy again!! Fingers crossed my results show something so they can get on with treating me :thumleft:
 
Cross-stitch gal

Cross-stitch gal

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Vancouver,
No problem. I totally understand where you're going and am here if you need someone to talk to. Glad to see that you've found our Undiagnosed Club! There are quite a few in there who're going through the same thing as well. Xxxx
 
B

Beach

That's how I eat also, avoid dairy along with wheat and other grains. High fiber ruffage foods are an agonizing problem for me additionally. The diet made me thin too, but on the positive it has helped my gut nicely of late.

I have been able to gain weight on the diet by working out at a gym.
 
UnXmas

UnXmas

I probably shouldn't be advising as I have a harder time maintaining weight than anyone, but I do know that overly restrictive diets make it harder to gain. How soon will you be able to tell if eliminating gluten and dairy is helping?

If you can't tolerate much fat, sugar might be the easiest way to get in calories. Do you mind eating much sugar (I know a lot of people here like to stay away from it)? I find high calorie drinks helpful, as it's easier to get liquids down than solids and they don't fill you up as much.
 
UnXmas

UnXmas

hugh said:
It's not about how much you eat, it's about whether or not you are digesting and absorbing it.

This will explain the paleo point of view, and then you can make up your own mind (- first of 4 posts)
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/07/ulcerative-colitis-a-devastating-gut-disease/
This guys diet is easier to follow than paleo (allows white rice) and may be enough
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For some it's about how much you eat. Even when my tests all show no problems with absorbing, I still can't gain. I'm always full, and end up not eating enough.
 
charlottevet

charlottevet

Ive been given some "ensure plus" which I have been trying to drink one a day of, but i find it really hard to get down, anything high fat makes me feel really sick..
ive bumped up my protien with more meat, though have of yet to see if that'll work
 
hornby

hornby

Her charlotte, I wouldnt worry about yout weight. I was 8 st 7 pounds diagnosed. Now im 14 st 4 pounds and trying my hardest to lose a few pounds. Your weight will pick back up when they determine the cause and treat it. :)
 
charlottevet

charlottevet

hornby said:
Her charlotte, I wouldnt worry about yout weight. I was 8 st 7 pounds diagnosed. Now im 14 st 4 pounds and trying my hardest to lose a few pounds. Your weight will pick back up when they determine the cause and treat it. :)
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sigh, i just wish they would get a move on, ive been waiting for mri results for over a month!!! x
 
hornby

hornby

Its a long shitty horrible painful testing path lol you will get there, look at me. Im not on a single pill! :)
 
hornby

hornby

Also just remembered, try asking your gp for sips, its like a high calorie milkshake form of drink! Alot of old people use it who dont or can't eat much!!
 
Trevor

Trevor

For some it's about how much you eat. Even when my tests all show no problems with absorbing, I still can't gain. I'm always full, and end up not eating enough.
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Hormones have a ton to do with weight gain and weight loss.

Getting enough sleep, exercise, sun exposure and not eating 'bad' food will generally improve hormones and allow for weight gain/loss.

Yes you do need to create a caloric excess or deficit but that alone does not guarantee success.
 
B

Beach

Along with the roll hormones can play with weight gain and loss, and foods eaten, additionally genes can have a significant impact on weight gain and loss. Of late obesity researcher Dr. Guyenet has been writing articles about the roll genes play in packing away the pounds.

As he notes, genes are not destiny though. The first article was particularly fascinating I thought as it brings up a study in which 12 identical male twins are fed in essence the same number of calories each day for 84 days. Each set of twins gained different amounts of weight, with some putting on great amounts of pounds, and others hardly gaining any weight at all.

"The Genetics of Obesity, Part I"

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-genetics-of-obesity-part-i.html

&

"The Genetics of Obesity, Part II"

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-genetics-of-obesity-part-ii.html
 
UnXmas

UnXmas

I still think the amount of calories consumed plays a far larger role in determining weight gain/loss that everything else is not really relevant.

Hormones have a ton to do with weight gain and weight loss.

Getting enough sleep, exercise, sun exposure and not eating 'bad' food will generally improve hormones and allow for weight gain/loss.

Yes you do need to create a caloric excess or deficit but that alone does not guarantee success.
07-01-2013 09:08 AM
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But this is exactly my problem with trying to gain: the times when I've done everything as healthily as I can - sleep, exercise, cutting out processed foods, etc. - it hasn't helped me gain weight at all . Cutting out processed foods made it even harder to gain weight. If I can change all these factors as much as I can, and still find no benefits to my attempts as weight gain, how can they be that relevant?

The only time when something has contributed to my weight more than the amount of calories I consume was when I was not absorbing my food properly, and so lost weight even though I was eating enough calories a day that would have allowed me to gain weight if my digestion had been healthy.
 
UnXmas

UnXmas

Beach said:
Along with the roll hormones can play with weight gain and loss, and foods eaten, additionally genes can have a significant impact on weight gain and loss. Of late obesity researcher Dr. Guyenet has been writing articles about the roll genes play in packing away the pounds.

As he notes, genes are not destiny though. The first article was particularly fascinating I thought as it brings up a study in which 12 identical male twins are fed in essence the same number of calories each day for 84 days. Each set of twins gained different amounts of weight, with some putting on great amounts of pounds, and others hardly gaining any weight at all.

"The Genetics of Obesity, Part I"

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-genetics-of-obesity-part-i.html

&

"The Genetics of Obesity, Part II"

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-genetics-of-obesity-part-ii.html
Click to expand...
I haven't read the articles properly yet - but I will do! - but the experiment on twins reminded me of a documentary I saw some years ago, which aimed to explain how some people seem to be able to stay the same weight whilst eating the same number of calories that caused other people to gain. The conclusion was that some people burn off more calories than others through movement - not what we'd think of as exercise, but small movements such as fidgeting. They found one of the people who didn't gain weight easily had a habit of pacing up and down when talking on the phone, for example.
 
B

Beach

UnXmas said:
I haven't read the articles properly yet - but I will do! - but the experiment on twins reminded me of a documentary I saw some years ago, which aimed to explain how some people seem to be able to stay the same weight whilst eating the same number of calories that caused other people to gain. The conclusion was that some people burn off more calories than others through movement - not what we'd think of as exercise, but small movements such as fidgeting. They found one of the people who didn't gain weight easily had a habit of pacing up and down when talking on the phone, for example.
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Your mention about fidgety people burning more calories, and hence explaining why he/she is thinner certainly goes to the heart of the debate about the role exercise plays in ones body weight. Many say exercise is a good way to control ones weight, while others have found moderate exercise positive for health, but when it comes to weight control a poor method to use. As can be imagined it is a heated debate considering the business of working out.

I know from personal experience working with gym trainers in the past, I've been told that they have come to believe that exercise is a poor way to drop the pounds. One instructor was more open about it, frustrated with it, as he mentioned new clients come to him, often all they want is for him to lead in exercise, expecting big weight loss, yet the loss rarely happened. He will stress a healthy diet as being key to weight loss, but that is often over looked.

As for studies that looked into exercise and weight loss, here is one I recall.

"Study reveals that women need to exercise for 77 hours to lose a kg of fat, and why knowing this can actually help maintain the motivation to exercise"

http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/09/13/...can-help-maintain-the-motivation-to-exercise/
 
UnXmas

UnXmas

Beach said:
Your mention about fidgety people burning more calories, and hence explaining why he/she is thinner certainly goes to the heart of the debate about the role exercise plays in ones body weight. Many say exercise is a good way to control ones weight, while others have found moderate exercise positive for health, but when it comes to weight control a poor method to use. As can be imagined it is a heated debate considering the business of working out.

I know from personal experience working with gym trainers in the past, I've been told that they have come to believe that exercise is a poor way to drop the pounds. One instructor was more open about it, frustrated with it, as he mentioned new clients come to him, often all they want is for him to lead in exercise, expecting big weight loss, yet the loss rarely happened. He will stress a healthy diet as being key to weight loss, but that is often over looked.

As for studies that looked into exercise and weight loss, here is one I recall.

"Study reveals that women need to exercise for 77 hours to lose a kg of fat, and why knowing this can actually help maintain the motivation to exercise"

http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/09/13/...can-help-maintain-the-motivation-to-exercise/
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I agree with you on this - (I don't think my post above was clear - the documentary I saw didn't convince me). I think the number of calories burned during exercise is too small to matter that much compared to the number of calories eaten, excepting perhaps super-fit athletes training many hours of strenuous exercise every day. I know that I lost weight while on bed rest for weeks after surgery.

So again, I think it's the number of calories eaten that's by far the most important.
 
UnXmas

UnXmas

From the first article:

Other papers from the same study showed that genes have a strong influence on the amount of food it takes to feel full, how likely it is that the sensation of fullness will terminate a meal, the perception of palatability, how much influence palatability has on calorie intake, cognitive dietary restraint, and almost every other measurable characteristic.
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I guess this is what I'd assumed affects weight gain as far as genes are concerned - appetite, enjoyment of food, etc. - which are also influenced by environmental/social factors. These factors determine how many calories a person consumes, which then determines their weight.

Even after minimizing variability in half of the energy balance equation (energy in), there remained large differences in the amount of weight and fat people gained. Some were able to effortlessly "burn off" most of the excess calories.

However, weight gain within pairs of twins was much more similar than weight gain between pairs of twins. In fact, even the distribution of the gain was far more similar within pairs than between them. If one twin gained 15 lbs around the midsection, the other usually gained about the same amount of weight, and in the same place.
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I haven't read the article thoroughly, so apologies if this was mentioned, but is this article saying the experiment didn't try to ensure that the people were all doing the same amount of exercise? So the ones who gained more could have been less active? Also did it not take into account how much each person weighed to start with? So if some were very fat, some muscular, and some thin at the start, that could that have affected the rate at which they gained?

Sorry I think I'm confusing myself, and probably taking this thread too far off topic. :p

So to get back to charlottevet 's question, I still think it's the case that although the amount of activity you do influences your weight, and so if you're trying to gain it's better not to exercise too much, it still basically comes down to how many calories you eat, and making sure you're absorbing what you're eating. If there's any way you can help with the symptoms that are affecting your body's ability to absorb or affecting your appetite, you should focus your treatment on doing so.

Apart from that, I think the best thing you can do to help you gain is to eat the foods that most appeal to you (as long as you're certain they don't worsen your symptoms and your overall diet includes all the nutrients you need).

Eating little and often helps me as it avoids making you overly full and your overall calorie intake should be higher than eating a couple of big meals.

I also find liquids go down easier than solids, so high calorie drinks like meal replacement supplements and fruit juices can be useful. These also provide a lot of vitamins, so you don't have to worry about eating so many vegetables, which are low calorie and can be difficult to digest. I also like hot chocolate and milkshakes (if you're ok with dairy - maybe you can make them with soy milk if you're avoiding dairy?).

I honestly think worrying about things like hormones and eliminating too many foods unnecessarily whilst trying to follow rigid diets isn't helpful when gaining weight is your priority.
 
B

Beach

UnXmas said:
From the first article:



I guess this is what I'd assumed affects weight gain as far as genes are concerned - appetite, enjoyment of food, etc. - which are also influenced by environmental/social factors. These factors determine how many calories a person consumes, which then determines their weight.



I haven't read the article thoroughly, so apologies if this was mentioned, but is this article saying the experiment didn't try to ensure that the people were all doing the same amount of exercise? So the ones who gained more could have been less active? Also did it not take into account how much each person weighed to start with? So if some were very fat, some muscular, and some thin at the start, that could that have affected the rate at which they gained?

Sorry I think I'm confusing myself, and probably taking this thread too far off topic. :p

So to get back to charlottevet 's question, I still think it's the case that although the amount of activity you do influences your weight, and so if you're trying to gain it's better not to exercise too much, it still basically comes down to how many calories you eat, and making sure you're absorbing what you're eating. If there's any way you can help with the symptoms that are affecting your body's ability to absorb or affecting your appetite, you should focus your treatment on doing so.

Apart from that, I think the best thing you can do to help you gain is to eat the foods that most appeal to you (as long as you're certain they don't worsen your symptoms and your overall diet includes all the nutrients you need).

Eating little and often helps me as it avoids making you overly full and your overall calorie intake should be higher than eating a couple of big meals.

I also find liquids go down easier than solids, so high calorie drinks like meal replacement supplements and fruit juices can be useful. These also provide a lot of vitamins, so you don't have to worry about eating so many vegetables, which are low calorie and can be difficult to digest. I also like hot chocolate and milkshakes (if you're ok with dairy - maybe you can make them with soy milk if you're avoiding dairy?).

I honestly think worrying about things like hormones and eliminating too many foods unnecessarily whilst trying to follow rigid diets isn't helpful when gaining weight is your priority.
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I believe the part you are confused on is the opening mention in the first study article. There it is mentioned that the researchers figured out how many calories each twin needed in order to maintain weight - then added 1000 more calories to the diet. That would seem to indicate that exercise amounts performed by each twin was brought into the equation.

From that the study found that each set of twins compared to other twins gained weight with significant differences in amount gained, and body placement of the fat onto the body. The differences between the twins though was little, with the two often gaining the same amount of weight in the same locations. The study is indicating that genes play a large roll in how our body uses the different foods we eat.
 
charlottevet

charlottevet

i was talking to my dietician today, she gave me a 30 min consult, and we discussed my symptoms lately - nausea and upper stomach bloating and when they seemed to be happening, she has begun to suspect that i might be slightly soya intolerant, as i seem to get nausea and stomach bloating after consuming soya milk, although I CAN eat soya based yoghurt and be absolutely fine!! Though the alpro vanilla soya milk... she thinks this might be causing my upper intestinal issues!

Has anyone else struggled with soya milk?
 
B

Beach

I tend to avoid soya milk, don't care much for the taste. I have noticed though that soy sauce will often cause me stomach duress. I doubt what I experience is an allergy. Likely it is the typical gassy problems experienced with soy and other beans i suspect.

I used to reside near a researcher that worked on the stomach problems soy can cause. Nice lady, always pleasant to talk with, but a bit on the eccentric side I always thought. When she found out I had a stomach condition, she seemed to often enjoy going into great detail about the problems soya can cause and why. She and her father were the discover of the protein(s) in soy that causes stomach woes. I wish I could say I listened well and took notes on what was said, but typically I did a lot of nodding and and that sounds "interesting" saying. I suppose we all have our claims to fame in life.

Good luck. Hope the soy trial testing goes well! Soy is a common allergen it is thought. I guess too if sensitive to soy, decent chance peanuts and other legumes can be issues also - at least from what I've read. Your dietician probably brought this up.
 
K

Kaylajax

I have been battling with weight for years. After talking to my GI doctor abt weight gain options he prescribed me remeron. This drug is an anti-anxiety medicine that increases your appetite. I have gained over 10 pounds within the last 3 months and I look much healthier. I only take the drug now once or twice a week to maintain my weight. Also there are drugs that you can take to stop the nausea. I hope this helps.
 
E

enfilade

I've always had trouble keeping weight on anyway, my metabolism is through the roof. Crohns has just made it all the more complicated.

I'm always told meat is a good way to add weight, as well as potatoes, rice and things which are naturally very starchy. I think they're all quite effective at doing so.

Also, non-diet fizzy drink also adds weight, I'm always hearing from people how they put on weight when they have so much of it. I can't really do that though as I think it buggers me up. Caffiene doesn't do me any good either.

Finally, the highest weight I've ever been was following a month where I had about 5 dominos pizzas lol. So I reckon that is my last ditch desperate plan if I am in need of adding on some pounds (that's while losing pounds from my wallet cos they're a rip off).
 
Tracey1788

Tracey1788

Hi There

I have recently been diagnosed and am having further tests (MRE and Capsule Endoscopy) to ascertain if I have UC or Crohns. My symptoms to date have not included bleeding or weightloss.I also have late onset at age 52.

I have maintained my weight by drinking Lucozade on the days im not well enough to eat.

You can get high calorific drinks on prescription called Fortisip or Skandishake in various flavours, might be worth asking your GP

Good luck with your weight gain xx
 
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