Hi,
I am just wondering if a person stops losing weight when the D stops. Last June when I went in for an annual exam I had lost 9 lbs since being diagnosed with LC in 2010. Now - I see I have lost an additional 8 lbs.
I have strictly followed unprocessed GF/DF/SF diet for 4 months. I still go 4 to 5 times a day which is a huge improvement from what it was.
Just wondering - Will I stop losing weight when the D stops?
Any comments are appreciated.
Thank you.
Paula
Weight Loss
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humbird753
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 1014
- Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:44 pm
- Location: Wisconsin
Weight Loss
Paula
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
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Christine.
- Gentoo Penguin
- Posts: 260
- Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 1:15 pm
Paula,
When the D stops, you will gain or maintain your current weight, depending on your activity and nutritional level. After losing 45 pounds, I was afraid to step on the scale, knowing that I'd see another pound lost. But now that my D has stopped, and even though I am eating the same types of food, i am gaining back a few pounds. On an average, on a weekly basis, I gain and lose 3 pounds, so it looks like I am maintaining. Once the inflammation goes down, your absorption rate of nutrients rise, hence the weight gain.
Mandy
When the D stops, you will gain or maintain your current weight, depending on your activity and nutritional level. After losing 45 pounds, I was afraid to step on the scale, knowing that I'd see another pound lost. But now that my D has stopped, and even though I am eating the same types of food, i am gaining back a few pounds. On an average, on a weekly basis, I gain and lose 3 pounds, so it looks like I am maintaining. Once the inflammation goes down, your absorption rate of nutrients rise, hence the weight gain.
Mandy
Hi Paula,
Your BMs should return to normal much sooner than your intestines can heal, but at some point, yes, as Chris and Mandy posted, your intestines will heal enough that your malabsorption problem should fade away, and, (assuming that your calorie intake is adequate), you should stop losing weight, and gain weight, instead.
Many people gain weight as a side effect of Entocort, but since you are not taking it, your normal metabolism will return as your intestines heal. Since you've been on the diet for 4 months, at this point, you should be getting closer to the day when "Norman" will show up.
Tex
Your BMs should return to normal much sooner than your intestines can heal, but at some point, yes, as Chris and Mandy posted, your intestines will heal enough that your malabsorption problem should fade away, and, (assuming that your calorie intake is adequate), you should stop losing weight, and gain weight, instead.
Many people gain weight as a side effect of Entocort, but since you are not taking it, your normal metabolism will return as your intestines heal. Since you've been on the diet for 4 months, at this point, you should be getting closer to the day when "Norman" will show up.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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humbird753
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 1014
- Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:44 pm
- Location: Wisconsin
Thank you all for your comments.
Since last year's annual exam (June 2011) I have totally avoided the scale, but yesterday I got brave enough to get on it. I spent most of the day crying when I saw I had lost that much more weight. It is spring in Wisconsin and I am finding as usual since my LC that my clothes are too big (again). I am trying to act and look normal and hopefully be able to keep my job, but it is hard at times. When I first got on this forum and found out I would be spending a lot of time in my kitchen cooking, and also reading a lot, I comment that those were the two things I didn't like (cooking and reading). Well - another thing that I dont' like is shopping - and I find I will have to get out there to find something to wear that makes me look presentable since I am on the front line when greeting and working with clients where I work.
I know I have a lot to be thankful for - finding this forum, and also starting the GF/DF/SF diet which in time will help me reach remission. I guess I lose my patience with it sometimes.
Thanks again for your support.
Tex - thank you for letting me know that "Norman" may be visiting me in the possible near future.
Since last year's annual exam (June 2011) I have totally avoided the scale, but yesterday I got brave enough to get on it. I spent most of the day crying when I saw I had lost that much more weight. It is spring in Wisconsin and I am finding as usual since my LC that my clothes are too big (again). I am trying to act and look normal and hopefully be able to keep my job, but it is hard at times. When I first got on this forum and found out I would be spending a lot of time in my kitchen cooking, and also reading a lot, I comment that those were the two things I didn't like (cooking and reading). Well - another thing that I dont' like is shopping - and I find I will have to get out there to find something to wear that makes me look presentable since I am on the front line when greeting and working with clients where I work.
I know I have a lot to be thankful for - finding this forum, and also starting the GF/DF/SF diet which in time will help me reach remission. I guess I lose my patience with it sometimes.
Thanks again for your support.
Tex - thank you for letting me know that "Norman" may be visiting me in the possible near future.
Paula
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
Paula, I don't post much, but just wanted to let you know that your weight stabilization will come in time. I went gluten/dairy/soy free in September of 2009 and had pretty good response to the diet, in terms of getting rid of the D, getting my energy back, etc. My weight had dropped to about 114 lbs, and I'm 5'5". I've never been heavy, weighing about 130 lbs at my heaviest. But I just couldn't seem to put on weight. I had to make a real effort to even maintain my weight with extra snacks and high calorie meals. I would very slowly put on a few pounds, but then if I missed a meal, or was on vacation and didn't eat as much because of the problems with restaurant meals, the hard-won weight would slip right off again. The good news was that I wasn't losing, but I was frustrated with just barely maintaining. I was weighing myself daily and obsessing over my weight, which I know wasn't mentally healthy. Then about 2 months ago, over 2 years since I cut out my intolerances, all of a sudden I'm putting on weight. It's almost like a switch flipped! I actually saw 123 lbs on the scale the other day, and realized that I need to start paying attention to not eating as much. A week can go by and I realize that I haven't weighed myself. I don't stress about how much I'm eating, and have really cut back on my snacks, so the weight gain goes along with many fewer calories!
My analysis is that it just took a long time for my gut to heal enough that I started to absorb more nutrients. I will say that the weight gain started shortly after I decided to start taking L-glutamine supplement, based on some positive reports here on the Forum, as it is supposed to promote the health of the lining of the gut. So whether it was coincidence, or the combination of length of time healing and the L-glutamine, I've reached another stage of healing. I really hope that it doesn't take as long for you, as we are all different, but I just wanted to let you know that the weight stabilization and subsequent gain can take a lot longer than you think it should, so don't think that something is wrong with your progress. You will get there in time! As Tex keeps saying, it can take several years for the gut to heal, and I'm yet another example!
Rosie
My analysis is that it just took a long time for my gut to heal enough that I started to absorb more nutrients. I will say that the weight gain started shortly after I decided to start taking L-glutamine supplement, based on some positive reports here on the Forum, as it is supposed to promote the health of the lining of the gut. So whether it was coincidence, or the combination of length of time healing and the L-glutamine, I've reached another stage of healing. I really hope that it doesn't take as long for you, as we are all different, but I just wanted to let you know that the weight stabilization and subsequent gain can take a lot longer than you think it should, so don't think that something is wrong with your progress. You will get there in time! As Tex keeps saying, it can take several years for the gut to heal, and I'm yet another example!
Rosie
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time………Thomas Edison
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humbird753
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 1014
- Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:44 pm
- Location: Wisconsin
Rosie - thank you for your comments. One question - how do we eat a high-calorie meal when on a GF/DF/SF diet?
I have read a bit on and off about the L-glutamine. I may consider that.
Paula
I have read a bit on and off about the L-glutamine. I may consider that.
Paula
Paula
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
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Deanna in CO
- Adélie Penguin
- Posts: 220
- Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 2:16 pm
- Location: Colorado
Paula,
I'm still in a very similar place to where you are. I initially went gluten- and sugar-free right after Thanksgiving 2011, dairy-free right after Christmas, and soy- and egg-free around the first of February. I'm seeing some minor improvement some of the time, but still no Norman or anywhere near. I was already tiny before I started the diet; today I weigh barely over 100 pounds and can't seem to gain more than 5 pounds, which I promptly lose again within a few days.
However, I have learned how to put together a fairly high- calorie diet even with all the restrictions. The key is to increase the amount of fat in your diet. Avocadoes - eat a half or even a whole one every day. Almonds and other nuts - eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup each day (be sure you eat the raw kind or roasted with salt only - many others have additional ingredients). Almond butter - you can eat it with celery if you can tolerate that, or on a salt-only rice cake. Also, Justin's makes a maple almond butter sweetened with a tiny amount of maple sugar, packaged in a squeeze pack you can easily carry with you - containing 200 calories - it's a great portable snack if you can tolerate almonds. Also, discover the many different kinds of oils: coconut, walnut, olive, and others, and use them freely in cooking. A favorite breakfast I just discovered includes a cooked sweet potato, sliced and fried in coconut oil along with a banana cut in half lengthwise, topped with pecans also toasted in coconut oil, with a bit of pure maple syrup - mmm! Coconut milk makes a good fat source too; I've tried 1/2 cup with 1/2 cup almond milk in a blueberry-banana smoothie and it's delicious though the fresh berries sometimes seem to give me trouble - but if you can find any fruith you can tolerate, you can make one too. If you do that, use the canned coconut milk as it is much higher in calories - you can also add rice protein powder to make it more nutritious. A smoothie made this way, if you can figure out a fruit to eat it with, packs a whopping 550-600 calories. Add a cooked potato, cut up and fried in grapeseed or safflower oil, or an egg if you can eat one, or almond butter on a rice cake or gluten-free bread or pancake, and you're over 700 calories just for breakfast.
If you can tolerate them, try potato chips or sweet potato chips (Terra Sweets'nBeets are good). Eat at least three meals and two good snacks per day (200 calories per snack is achievable with nuts or avocado or chips). My nutritionist also recommended having 1/2 cup of applesauce each day (applesauce is cooked soft); Treetop organic avoids the pesticides from apples grown in other countries as well as any kind of waxes that might contain casein or soy; it's not a lot of calories but I have that as a third snack at bedtime. With all that, if I work at it, I can put together an 1800-2000 calorie day without too much difficulty. It still scares me a bit to eat that many calories; I'm afraid someday I'll actually start to gain and then I won't be able to stop. But for now, you may as well enjoy eating those things you can; there are few enough yummy things.
I'm still in a very similar place to where you are. I initially went gluten- and sugar-free right after Thanksgiving 2011, dairy-free right after Christmas, and soy- and egg-free around the first of February. I'm seeing some minor improvement some of the time, but still no Norman or anywhere near. I was already tiny before I started the diet; today I weigh barely over 100 pounds and can't seem to gain more than 5 pounds, which I promptly lose again within a few days.
However, I have learned how to put together a fairly high- calorie diet even with all the restrictions. The key is to increase the amount of fat in your diet. Avocadoes - eat a half or even a whole one every day. Almonds and other nuts - eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup each day (be sure you eat the raw kind or roasted with salt only - many others have additional ingredients). Almond butter - you can eat it with celery if you can tolerate that, or on a salt-only rice cake. Also, Justin's makes a maple almond butter sweetened with a tiny amount of maple sugar, packaged in a squeeze pack you can easily carry with you - containing 200 calories - it's a great portable snack if you can tolerate almonds. Also, discover the many different kinds of oils: coconut, walnut, olive, and others, and use them freely in cooking. A favorite breakfast I just discovered includes a cooked sweet potato, sliced and fried in coconut oil along with a banana cut in half lengthwise, topped with pecans also toasted in coconut oil, with a bit of pure maple syrup - mmm! Coconut milk makes a good fat source too; I've tried 1/2 cup with 1/2 cup almond milk in a blueberry-banana smoothie and it's delicious though the fresh berries sometimes seem to give me trouble - but if you can find any fruith you can tolerate, you can make one too. If you do that, use the canned coconut milk as it is much higher in calories - you can also add rice protein powder to make it more nutritious. A smoothie made this way, if you can figure out a fruit to eat it with, packs a whopping 550-600 calories. Add a cooked potato, cut up and fried in grapeseed or safflower oil, or an egg if you can eat one, or almond butter on a rice cake or gluten-free bread or pancake, and you're over 700 calories just for breakfast.
If you can tolerate them, try potato chips or sweet potato chips (Terra Sweets'nBeets are good). Eat at least three meals and two good snacks per day (200 calories per snack is achievable with nuts or avocado or chips). My nutritionist also recommended having 1/2 cup of applesauce each day (applesauce is cooked soft); Treetop organic avoids the pesticides from apples grown in other countries as well as any kind of waxes that might contain casein or soy; it's not a lot of calories but I have that as a third snack at bedtime. With all that, if I work at it, I can put together an 1800-2000 calorie day without too much difficulty. It still scares me a bit to eat that many calories; I'm afraid someday I'll actually start to gain and then I won't be able to stop. But for now, you may as well enjoy eating those things you can; there are few enough yummy things.
Hi Paula,
I find myself like you worrying about the weight. I try to avoid my scale as I know I have lost some weight but am hoping since I have only recently (within 6 weeks) gotten serious about eliminating gluten, dairy, and soy that it may take some time for my intestines to heal and then I should see weight gain. I also understand your work issue and trying to hold it together without people knowing how you really feel. I am a teacher and my colleagues just don't understand why I can't just eat anything I want. Having the energy to work with my students all day can be daunting at times but I try to find the enjoyment in watching them learn to help get through the rough days. I really just wanted to say hang in there and you aren't alone with your frustration. It will get better for both of us.
God Bless,
Sondra
I find myself like you worrying about the weight. I try to avoid my scale as I know I have lost some weight but am hoping since I have only recently (within 6 weeks) gotten serious about eliminating gluten, dairy, and soy that it may take some time for my intestines to heal and then I should see weight gain. I also understand your work issue and trying to hold it together without people knowing how you really feel. I am a teacher and my colleagues just don't understand why I can't just eat anything I want. Having the energy to work with my students all day can be daunting at times but I try to find the enjoyment in watching them learn to help get through the rough days. I really just wanted to say hang in there and you aren't alone with your frustration. It will get better for both of us.
God Bless,
Sondra
Please consider rescuing a dog from your local shelter today.
Paula, I'm basically repeating what others have said but like you my weight was coming off at 2, even 3 pounds per week. Then it eventually slowed to 1 pound a week. After a 24 pound loss I stopped losing and stabilized for several weeks, all while decreasing Entocort. If I caught a cold I'd drop weight again quickly. Eventually I would stabilize. Finally, last week I weighed and I had gained 3 pounds and I have more energy so now I feel I am absorbing nutrients. I was diagnosed in August 2011, just got off Entocort in mid January, so it really does take time for all this to happen. Like others have said I looked for ways to increase calories, cooking my chicken in olive oil, etc. I have not been successful eating fried stuff like potato chips-- the grease just gets to me and I don't digest it well (which was true for me even before LC). But nut butters like almond butter have been a very good thing.
So like everyone else, I'd say you are probably experiencing what the rest of us are and it will slow down. The worst part is that feeling that you are not in control of what is happening.
I kinda resisted shopping too-- it felt like I was giving in to the illness and frankly I looked gaunt-- until it just became necessary. Then I finally decided there was no point in fighting it. I was just going to have to 'go with it' so I shopped and tried a few styles I wouldn't have otherwise. It wasn't all bad. Now it's spring and my warm weather clothes from last year don't fit so again I thought "this is where I'm at and I may as well accept it'. I feel much better about myself and I know I look better for having picked up some outfits that fit. It was worth the effort.
Hang in there.
Carol
So like everyone else, I'd say you are probably experiencing what the rest of us are and it will slow down. The worst part is that feeling that you are not in control of what is happening.
I kinda resisted shopping too-- it felt like I was giving in to the illness and frankly I looked gaunt-- until it just became necessary. Then I finally decided there was no point in fighting it. I was just going to have to 'go with it' so I shopped and tried a few styles I wouldn't have otherwise. It wasn't all bad. Now it's spring and my warm weather clothes from last year don't fit so again I thought "this is where I'm at and I may as well accept it'. I feel much better about myself and I know I look better for having picked up some outfits that fit. It was worth the effort.
Hang in there.
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Hi Paula,
Also forgot to mention you can drizzle your cooked veggies with olive oil kind of like a topper when you get ready to eat. The Sicilians do this in Italy. I also cook/drizzle all of my fish generously with olive oil and also my grass fed beef burgers and bison burgers are smeared with olive oil b/f cooking. The grass fed beef and bison is so lean it needs some more fats. I also ate a fair amount of the shredded hash browns that you buy in the packets in the refrigerator section from grocery store. I think I cooked that in coconut oil and towards the end of cooking a would drizzle the pan and contents generously with olive oil. I ate a fair amount of chips...maybe not the best choice with WD but as you heal more you can try. Zizzle turned me on to the uncured bacon as I could not tolerate regular bacon. When I find it I'll typically buy 7 packs at a time and throw it in the freezer. I never eat less than four strips at a sitting.
It's expensive and you definitely don't want to burn it because of the price but it is one of my best discoveries. Some of this I was not eating till I was further along in healing but if something does not work now you can retry down the road. Brandy
Also forgot to mention you can drizzle your cooked veggies with olive oil kind of like a topper when you get ready to eat. The Sicilians do this in Italy. I also cook/drizzle all of my fish generously with olive oil and also my grass fed beef burgers and bison burgers are smeared with olive oil b/f cooking. The grass fed beef and bison is so lean it needs some more fats. I also ate a fair amount of the shredded hash browns that you buy in the packets in the refrigerator section from grocery store. I think I cooked that in coconut oil and towards the end of cooking a would drizzle the pan and contents generously with olive oil. I ate a fair amount of chips...maybe not the best choice with WD but as you heal more you can try. Zizzle turned me on to the uncured bacon as I could not tolerate regular bacon. When I find it I'll typically buy 7 packs at a time and throw it in the freezer. I never eat less than four strips at a sitting.
It's expensive and you definitely don't want to burn it because of the price but it is one of my best discoveries. Some of this I was not eating till I was further along in healing but if something does not work now you can retry down the road. Brandy
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humbird753
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 1014
- Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:44 pm
- Location: Wisconsin
Deanna, Sondra, Carol and Brandy - thank you very much for your recommendations on types of foods that can add calories to my existing diet.
Is it possible that most of this past weight loss is due to eating GF/DF/SF and I have had less fat/calorie intake?
I will be getting a CBC and other blood tests within 6 weeks to determine if I am still absorbing nutrients. I was last fall.
Thanks again. I will be trying most if not all of the recommendations to see if I can tolerate them and if they will help me add a few lbs.
Paula
Is it possible that most of this past weight loss is due to eating GF/DF/SF and I have had less fat/calorie intake?
I will be getting a CBC and other blood tests within 6 weeks to determine if I am still absorbing nutrients. I was last fall.
Thanks again. I will be trying most if not all of the recommendations to see if I can tolerate them and if they will help me add a few lbs.
Paula
Paula
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
"You'll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's learning to dance in the rain."
Paula,
Remember that when we cut out products that contain gluten, dairy, soy, etc., unless we add enough safe items to our diet, that contain an equivalent amount of calories, we effectively end up with a lower-calorie diet, whether we realize it or not. Many/most of the foods that contain gluten, dairy, and/or soy, are high-calorie foods. In fact, when you think about it, cutting out these ingredients effectively eliminates most deserts. Right?
Tex
Remember that when we cut out products that contain gluten, dairy, soy, etc., unless we add enough safe items to our diet, that contain an equivalent amount of calories, we effectively end up with a lower-calorie diet, whether we realize it or not. Many/most of the foods that contain gluten, dairy, and/or soy, are high-calorie foods. In fact, when you think about it, cutting out these ingredients effectively eliminates most deserts. Right?
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Paula,
I would agree with Tex that we are consuming less calories and certainly no deserts so it would make sense that weight loss would occur on that basis alone. I do try to use as much olive oil as I can when cooking and as Brandy mentioned, the shredded hash browns (ore-Ida are gf I think) are great for something other than a baked potato. I think potato chips still cause me gas so I don't eat those as much. If you can tolerate them, the lays are gf.
Take care,
Sondra
I would agree with Tex that we are consuming less calories and certainly no deserts so it would make sense that weight loss would occur on that basis alone. I do try to use as much olive oil as I can when cooking and as Brandy mentioned, the shredded hash browns (ore-Ida are gf I think) are great for something other than a baked potato. I think potato chips still cause me gas so I don't eat those as much. If you can tolerate them, the lays are gf.
Take care,
Sondra
Please consider rescuing a dog from your local shelter today.