Are you overweight?

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shanbr

Joined
Aug 24, 2010
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are you overweight?

I know it is rare, but it is me. I was 200lbs when diagnosed with with each weight gaining pill, I am now 300.

I can't walk due to how the flairs put water retention in my shins that causes pain when i walk. It is a pain in the bum.

Anyone else overweight with this and if so, what do you do to help fix it?
 
Yes, at the onset of the disease I was 150 now I am 175 even with constant D. I think it is water retention from all of the pred. and nothing I have tried takes the weight off. I also met a man over the weekend that has crohns and he was well over 500lbs.
 
I'n only 10lbs overweight and I don't understand it either cause I have constant D too no matter what I eat. I cut out a lot of sugar but there's no change. I gained the weight after I quit smoking last year so its almost been a year since I quit and I haven't lost a pound. I've honestly thought of picking up smoking again just so I'd lose weight. But I know that isn't the best thing to do. So far I've stated walking more often. Only thing we can do is try to do the exercise we're able to and count our calories. As we get older, it gets harder and harder to get the weight off.
 
I don't get D unless i have milk products, without them I seem to be ok. It's soft, but nothing to make me run. In fact, I can go days without a bowel movement which can't be good.

Thanks for responding.
 
I too am overweight :( Its so depressing! As if constantly being in the bathroom is bad enough I have to be fat too, ugh... Before I got sick I was weighing around 155 now I'm at 188. I have a theory though about all the weight gain. I think since I have diarrhea so much (sometimes as much as 6 or 7 times daily, usually around 4 or 5) my body is going into starvation mode. I think it tries to hold on to any and all calories I do eat because its worried about losing all the nutrients through diarrhea. Just my theory, not actually supported by any research or anything, lol.

But I have an INCREDIBLY hard time losing the weight if I excercise, diet, cut out junk, etc. Nothing works where as before I got sick I really didn't have trouble losing weight at all.
 
I'm 214 pounds (i normally work in kgs). In my last flare I lost a stone a week. This time I have been sick for a year and just recently started losing weight. I have lost 2.5 kgs 5.5 pounds. I find it hard to lose weight now due to the polycystic ovaries syndrome and type 2 diabetes - it means that I am less likely to drop the weight now.
 
i am glad you posted this because i have not yet been diagnosed yet and i went to my first drs appt wed and one comment my dr said to me was your kinda overweight so that is kinda uncommon for crohn's but all the other symptoms are common. So she said she is unsure because i am overweight but i was like that shouldn't be the deciding factor but she said she would still test me. My family is large and i am on mirena which makes you gain weight sometimes so that could be why i am a little overweight too. I weigh around 180 i go up and down usually stay around that number give or take.
 
Emkat8 said:
...I have a theory though about all the weight gain. I think since I have diarrhea so much (sometimes as much as 6 or 7 times daily, usually around 4 or 5) my body is going into starvation mode. I think it tries to hold on to any and all calories I do eat because its worried about losing all the nutrients through diarrhea. Just my theory, not actually supported by any research or anything, lol....
Click to expand...


The funny thing is, there is a bit of research out there that does support this theory!! :) This is why "starvation diets" don't work... the body fights to preserve itself, so it retains fluid and fat as much as it can... slows down the metabolism so takes longer to burn calories... and this in turn explains why we feel tired all the time (well... part of the reason...lol).

The other thing that can happen is, if you have had abdominal surgery, your abdomen will build scars (adhesions) that add physical size to your abdomen, but also cause an increase in weight (more tissue in the body = more mass = more weight)... especially with those of us that are in that 10-20lb overweight range and can't seem to loose it no matter how many situps we do...lol.

And yes, there is also the "OMG-I-am-so-hungry-I-want-to-eat-the-house-and-the-garage-and-the-horse" effect of some of our meds, mostly the steroid ones (ie. prednisone).

So no, you are not alone. One thing you will find with this disease and it's meds is, unfortunately, your weight will bounce up and down many times over the years.... so don't ever throw out or give away any of the clothes you have "grown" out of... they WILL fit again someday! LOL!

Cheers!
 
Before I was diagnosed I weighed 238lb (overweight), then right before my resection and diagnosis I went down to 209 in a matter of 2 weeks, and now 2½ years later I'm 249lb (moderately obese).The healthy weight for a person my height (6'4) is suppose to be around the 200lb mark. Once college starts on Monday, I plan on walking home (1½ miles) every day, that way I'll hopefully start losing weight.

Being on & off the prednisone for nearly 2½ years (probably 20-22 months out of that time) and having pants that range from 38-44, I can truthfully say that prednisone is a WTF medication.
 
im only 45kg (which is about 99 pounds) so I am trying to gain weight :S Im on prednisone to try and control the flare ups and I am eating again which is WONDERFUL!!! but yes prednisone does make you gain weight....most definitely :3
 
I did talk to my doctor about the not being able to loose the weight and he actually upped my calories because he said my body was in starvation mode because I wasn't eating enough. It was really hard for me to eat the calorie amount that he wanted me too which was only 1800 up from about 1200. The first day I puked because it felt like i was gorging myself. So what I ended up doing was buying a protien mix and mixing double the serving amount with a cup of milk so I got about 600 cal just for breakfast without feeling like i was stuffing myself silly. I actually lost about five pounds doing that. then I had to go back on the pred and it all came back. So the starvation mode thing is real. Your matabolism just shuts down to preserve life.
 
Yep, me as well.

I'm about +40 -50 lbs for my height. I'm down to about 30 - 40 after this last week (real bad flare up, worst in a long time) and a little bit of work on my part.

For me, it's been a total change of eating habits. I used to eat before going to bed and snacking in the middle of the night, but not anymore. I've also been trying to avoid greasy foods and the like under the possibility they may be kicking this off occasionally.

Not sure if it's really helping anything all THAT much, but nonetheless any progress is better than none.
 
Hello All,
I am obese I am 330 at 5'6 I've always been overweight. Being sick and overweight really sucks. When I told my family that I was diagnosed with IBD they said that my fat was just squeezing my stomach and that if I lose weight everything will be better. Really!? I have D everyday, I try not to throw up every day. It's hard enough being big in this world right now everyone already stares at you with disgust and then when you're at work and you're coming out of the bathroom and everyone knows it was you in the bathroom making those wonderful bodily noises and then see that you are overweight just think "oh she must of had like six big macs" look. My family also told me that I should get a gastric bypass. I said if I have inflammation in my intestines I don't know if getting a bypass would be a good thing. Right now 7 out of 10 obese people at my work are getting that done. I know I'm rambling but I don't see many posts about being overweight and living with IBD or Crohn's.
 
Yeah me too, struggling with the same... :/ It is really hard to lose the extra weight. When I first got diagnosed I was put on crazy amounts of Solu-Medrol (IV) initially, and then Pred for three months. I gained 7-8 kgs, and I've struggled so much to lose it again... I am pretty sure it must be different for us when we are sick, because it was never a problem before. Is it hormones? Or the starvation-mode thing, perhaps? I asked my doctor about it once, as I was really annoyed it wouldn't come off, but he didn't take me seriously. Anyway, I tried dieting and a lot of excercise for three years, and absolutely no change... Finally got so fed up I gave in and got a personal trainer (puke, that's so snobby!). I've been to 23 sessions so far, and since January I've lost 5 kgs, which is really good. I also monitor what I eat. But I'm actually not sure that it is the PT and the food monitoring that has done it... Could just be chance, or maybe my Crohns has finally decided to stop mocking me and let me shed some kilos...?

I hope you all find a way to lose (or keep) the pounds you want! :) Stay strong! <3
 
I,m a tubby crohns sufferer,been a yo yo dieter currently 4,5 days a week gym addict plus dog walker can,t lose an ounce.the fact of being on 28 pills a day doesn't,t help,well that's my theory my clinic nurse said it's not unusual for cronies to be tubby,very annoying.good luck
 
yes I'm around 25-30lbs overweight. I only had real weight loss with my first flare. I dropped 20-25lbs in month or so.I've always been on the fluffier side.
I've had a few dr's and nurses say things like(your pretty healthy looking for someone with crohn's) it can be really frustrating when I'm living in the bathroom and sick as a dog. But on the up side.. last time I was in the hospital and npo for 5days my body handled the weight loss a little better.So you are not alone:)
 
I was a perfectly healthy weight before diagnosis. Only during my diagnosis was I ever UNDERweight. To begin with I loved that I had to gain weight but then when I was a healthy size no matter what I did the weight wouldnt stop coming im only 162lbs but to me thats more than enough at 5'3 I try relentlessly to exercise but im so fatigued I eat next to nothing I am no longer on pred so I dont get it either... just something else left unexplained by this disease
 
I have speratic weight. By this i mean one month ill look great and weigh relatively normal but sooner rather than later ill gain like 50 pounds. Fkn crohns
 
I was 127lbs at diagnosis.....now 8 months and 30lbs heavier thanks to inactivity and prednisone. And D isn't a huge issue for me most of the time so I'm not losing weight because of that.
 
Guess who's stuck in her employee bathroom and now has to email her boss and let them know theu are late from break cause I'm unable to leave.....me =( thank goodness for internet cell phones!
 
Emkat8 said:
I too am overweight :( Its so depressing! As if constantly being in the bathroom is bad enough I have to be fat too, ugh... Before I got sick I was weighing around 155 now I'm at 188. I have a theory though about all the weight gain. I think since I have diarrhea so much (sometimes as much as 6 or 7 times daily, usually around 4 or 5) my body is going into starvation mode. I think it tries to hold on to any and all calories I do eat because its worried about losing all the nutrients through diarrhea. Just my theory, not actually supported by any research or anything, lol.

But I have an INCREDIBLY hard time losing the weight if I excercise, diet, cut out junk, etc. Nothing works where as before I got sick I really didn't have trouble losing weight at all.
Click to expand...

Starvation mode hols some truth, the lack of calories will drive your insulin resistance through the roof, resulting in everything you eat being stored as fat. Even if you are eating under your daily BMR.

However simply increasing your calories will not fix this issue, more cals, stil high insulin resistance equals even more fat stores. You need to address that issue before doing anything else, obviously difficult with crohns as food can be limited in your choices.

Low GI foods, moderate carb intake, intermitenet fasting diets might be worth investgating, if you can manage that with crohns. Once your insulin sensitivity improves less of the cals you eat will be driven to fat stores and in theory result in the ability to loose fat once you lower calories below your daily BMR.

Are you taking any medication, some meds will screw up your insulin levels. Mine is all over the place at the min after stopping predisone.
 
Yes! I was 118 pounds at diagnosis, I'm 180 now... Thanks to Prednisone and when I feel bad i'm obviously not as active. I got up to 210 during my last flare. Prednisone makes me gain weight VERY quickly. When I am off prednisone I am able to lose a little weight, but I haven't seen under 150 in years :(
What i'm able to eat also probably plays a big part. I eat pretty much all carbs! Bread, pasta, rice, etc. If it's anything else, It either goes right through me, or comes back up.
I WISH I could eat a healthy diet again, I MISS SALAD, hahaha. :)
 
I am totally eating a huge salad, with lots of strawberries and almonds :)
I have always loved fresh fruits and veggies!
 

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