# How many ensures can ur body handle?



## karma_hunden (Feb 6, 2010)

*how many ensures can ur body handle?*

A day...I lost 40lbs while I was at the hospital. Docotr said it would take 5 months to gain them back, and its being 15 days and I have already gained 25lbs!!my body is just askin me for food every hour...cuz I need it. And in between meals, I drink an Ensure...about 3-5 a day.

But I wanna get more calories to gain those pounds quicker...how many Ensure can my body handle. Because to be honest. They taste good and their liquid quantity isn't really much, so I can chug like 3 ensure and feel alright and not full. I'm aware each one is around 250-350 calories...doctor said every 3000 calories equals a gained pound.


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## imisspopcorn (Feb 6, 2010)

I have no idea.....I can't drink those things......You are only on 5mg of Prednisone? Prednisone usually makes me stuff my face, and gain the weight back....


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## karma_hunden (Feb 6, 2010)

I'm on a 10mg does in the morning and 5mg afternoon for a week, then it goes down to 5mg monring 5mg afternoon for another week, then just 5mg daily for 15 days then I switch to pentansa or whatever its called.


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## uab grad student (Feb 6, 2010)

I don't like the taste of ensure (I drink Boost high protein drinks instead) but I'd say as long as you stick with the caloric intake recommended by your doc you aren't overdoing it.


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## Jennjenn (Feb 6, 2010)

I used to drink the boost with protein or just the regular boost when I needed to gain back weight mine was a slow process after my surgeries but it came back not all of it but most. If you gained back 25 already in 15 days you will gain the rest back shortly if you continue to eat healthy and drink the ensure. Its not good overnight to gain it back (not healthy) thats why your doctor said 5 months....


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## Rob (Feb 6, 2010)

Yea I'd start slowin it up a bit

more worrying about puttin healthy weight on (muscle etc) than jus fat
its easy too get into a routine an jus chug on the weight then ya worse off


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## Fog Ducker (Feb 7, 2010)

Be careful with too many of those thing, they are made from soy and soy has been shown to do bad thing to your body in high dosages, like guys having too much estrogen and growing boobs!


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## Rob (Feb 7, 2010)

Be careful with too many of those thing, they are made from soy and soy has been shown to do bad thing to your body in high dosages, like guys having too much estrogen and growing boobs!


Maybe that's what they need inthe dissapearing boob thread?


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## Rob (Feb 7, 2010)

Well I was actually bein a bit serious there
with all the medication we have too take perhaps their estrogen levels or hormones hav been effected??

I'm no dr so i wouldn't know
I do know they mention extra facial hair so somethin with the hormone levels could be astray
perhaps there is a blood test (yea I know moe needles sorry) that can be done an maybe a possible solution?


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## kenny (Feb 7, 2010)

Depends on the type but five a day generally fills all the daily requirements to 100% based on the bottle. 

I cut back to three a day toward the end of my 3 month long liquid/soft food diet. I was so sick of them it was not funny. But I bought a big pail of Sports supplement stuff and a bag of Carnation instant breakfast to bulk up with. Cost a heck of a lot less and was easy to mix into the other foods like soup, mashed potato/squash or what-have-you. I tried cooking with Ensure as per their website and just about barfed 

btw I thin the ensure is cutting into your Lactase thingy but not so sure how all that works still.


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## Peaches (Feb 7, 2010)

I'm wondering about the vitamins they add to those things?  I haven't read the back in a while - but you don't want to overload on fat soluble vitamins - NOT good for you.

And I would slow down on the weight gain as well - like MBH said, you don't want to over shoot.  And to much all at once probably does a number on your body that isn't good.  I'm sure someone can come in here and set me straight - but just doesn't seem "healthy" unless you are adding muscle as well.  I'm also wondering about the glycemic index of those drinks - constant spikes = not good.


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## rygon (Feb 7, 2010)

I think rapid weight gain is just as bad as crash dieting. May get results quicker but hard to sustain and is also a shock to your body. Best doing it slowly where your not forcing high calorie intake


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## forum contributor (Feb 7, 2010)

Hey Karma. 

Have you tried Boost Plus? I have some in my fridge and just checked the label. While Ensure has only has 250 calories, the Boost Plus has 360. Maybe that might help?


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## MINI Cooper (Feb 8, 2010)

0.

Those things make me vomit.


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## BWS1982 (Feb 10, 2010)

Ensure plus didn't have Soy when I bought them 2 years ago, I *think* it was whey protein, but it could have been something else (gluten, rice, etc..) I just know I wouldn't have bought them if there was soy. There was 11 grams of protein per can, I read those cans every day (analytical person) just for something to look at each morning on disability while I sat on the toilet and that was "breakfast"...I always look for and avoid soy, and the ones by me had no soy at the time (although I usually bought the Equate brand at Osco, which is "identical" to Ensure Plus, no lactose, more calories and protein)

And your doctor is wrong about two things: it's 3500 calories that makes a pound for the body, not 3000....and there is not a set pace you regain weight back, it's individual. That's like him/her trying to predict how fast you'd lose 40 pounds, it varies from person to person and it's going to depend on how your body deals with the situation. It was a brief and acute loss, so it will most likely be a quick bounce back, as you've experienced. There's no "rule" that it'll take x months to regain it, too many factors and the best thing he/she can do is estimate what would be "typical" or what would be viewed as "healthy"...

You can become dehydrated and be down 10 pounds, and rehydrate back up again to your initial weight, all in 48-72 hours under the right circumstance, it's too equivocal for such "standards"...


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## Crohn's 35 (Feb 10, 2010)

Ha, I saw Benson's post, so I too got my magnifier and read that there is soy.  I have read on here that soy is bad for men but what about women of all ages?  I don't drink alot of it, lately none or if I am getting a burning gut I drink one.  

What does soy do bad for women??


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## BWS1982 (Feb 11, 2010)

The Equate ones I bought never had it. I'm due to pick up more Imuran (long story, I shouldn't even be taking it if I start LDN, but the timing was thrown off for certain reasons). I think it was milk protein or whey concentrate or even rice/gluten or some combo, I just remember sitting and reading those things...I'll check out the Equate ones again since it's been 2 years like I said, see if it's still the same (they say "compare to Ensure Plus" on the cans, so I figured, due to the history and requirements of that claim, that that traditionally means it's identical, who knows)...That's where I always bought them before, usually for $5.99 or $6.99, depending on sales, for a six pack. I was even considering buying them again to let my bowels rest for some of the day, as there's no lactose either, etc..and they tasted good enough.

We shall see.


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## KiwiJo (Feb 11, 2010)

Hi there

I thought Id jump in with the little I know about soy, and why it can be bad for women, particularly those of us with crohn's. This will be brief and may raise more questions, so I reccomend if you are intested to do some research of your own. try googling Estrogen Dominance".
Soy does promote estrogen. it is often reccomended for women who are going into menopause (when natural estrogen levels drop). if your estrogen is not low to begin with (and in most western cultures it isnt low because our diets/ lifestyles are high in estrogen promoting factors such as soy and plastic food wraps/containers) you can bring about a physiological state known as estrogen dominance if you have too much soy in your diet. This occurs when the balance between estrogen and progesterone in the body is incorrect, not necessarily that there is more estrogen than progesterone. I could explain this further, but it would just get complicated and each indiviual is different. but, for example in me, my estrogen (90) is very low, but my progesterone has to be very high (200) before my symptoms of estrogen dominance are under control.

Estrogen can be very toxic and harsh on the digestive system. this is why many women with Crohn's notice that their symptoms become worse at the end of their cycle and then for the first few days. I think if you talked to most women, even those without Crohn's, they would tell you they get tummy upsets around that time. I had my worst flare ever when I first started being treated for hormone imbalance and my doctor reccomended that I take estrogen. It didnt take long for us to figure out that Im very sensitive to estrogen and I can function quite well without supplementing it, but that i need to be on the highest dose of progesterone (which incidently metabolises in to cortisol which is your body's natural anti-inflamatory steroid).

Anyways, i hope that makes sense

jo


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## Misty-Eyed (Feb 11, 2010)

Sometimes I get put on them for 6 weeks where I'm ONLY allowed to drink them and eat nothing. Then I'm supposed to drink 6 cartons a day. It was great when I was living at uni because it meant I didn't have to spend anyway money on food for 6 weeks. They were 330 calories each.

I did the most stupid thing though when I was on them once. I knew that my intake was highly regulated and I had control over my calorie intake each day so I cut myself back to 2 cartons each day in the hope of losing some weight. I then caught a stomach bug and was badly ill. Taught myself a harsh lesson there!


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## nogutsnoglory (Feb 11, 2010)

I never had an ensure binge drinking contest but I can easily have 3-4 a day and I think that should be fine.


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## Swirl (Feb 11, 2010)

Soy can be bad for anyone. Depends on the person. All that ensure a day is nasty. Eat, forget about supplements. That would actually give me the runs.


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## nogutsnoglory (Feb 11, 2010)

Swirl I didn't even realize till I picked up my Ensure just now.  I thought it was whey protein.  Soy is healthy if organic and non-manipulated but clearly thats not whats in these bottles.


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