People thought my UC wasn't bad because I was /am fat. I gained 65 lbs from Prednisone that I couldn't loose. I tried all kinds of diets but never lost more than 20 lbs. Maybe some of you also have other autoimmune diseases, like my underachieving thyroid, Hypothyroidism and a host of other ones. 5 years ago I had to get a colonectomy. I lost 85 lbs in around a year. I was still overweight. I've been so sick since the operation that I gained 35 lbs back. It is very depressing. Some of it was due to the antidepressants I've had to take and being inactive. I have peripheral neuropathy in my feet and some days can barely walk. My thyroid has gone ballistic and the dose has changed up and down. My GI at Mayo's says it affects myou GI system negatively. My local doctors just keep testing it every 8 weeks and changing the dosage. I am finally under the care of an Endocrinologist. She is testing every 3 months and stressed that's the minimum before retesting. It's like she is bawling me out when I am the patient! It affects every cell in our bodies so make sure they are testing you, if they haven't. If you are younger the likelihood that they tested you is small. I was first tested and diagnosed at age 37 and am now 60. I also have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndromes, GERD, chronic migraines and so on. 5 months ago I had surgery to divert from my j-pouch to a permanent ileostomy. My j-pouch didn’t make it. It was 5 years of hell. I am able to eat a better diet but my output is too high. Eating to manage our nasty IBD's and all that entails makes it impossible for me to diet. I am not a big eater but look like it. When I went back over 200 lbs I got overly depressed about it. I am just trying to maintain and not gain anymore. I continue to eat as healthy as my body tolerates it. I am constantly fighting dehydration so alcohol went out the door with my colon. I don't miss it. I also quit eating much beef before the surgeries and just have occasional hamburger in casseroles. I don't miss nice steaks either. They are just too hard to digest. I get my fruits and veggies in my morning smoothie. I use a vegetable plant protein powder and almond milk. The only veggies I put in are kale and carrots. I use all kinds of frozen and fresh fruits with frozen blueberries and a banana daily. I mix it up with apples, grapes, frozen mixed fruits and frozen strawberries. I really love my smoothies.
I wrote a book. I was thinking maybe some of you might have other autoimmune diseases that are undetected, like thyroid, and painful syndromes like fibromyalgia. Before my colonectomy my fibromyalgia would flare with my UC flares. Now it is just bad all the time.
My excess weight is around my abdomen, ,the worst place, and I know what you are saying about looking pregnant and being bloated.
Please don't be too hard on yourselves. There are medical reasons factoring into our weight equations. Thanks for letting me join your forum. I don't have Crohn's but relate to many topics here :sign0144: