Can't eat "healthy" - how to lose weight?

Crohn's Disease Forum

Help Support Crohn's Disease Forum:

Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
105
So if we aren't suppose to eat raw fruits and veggies. How do we ever lose the weight we gain from breads and pastas and the like? I would KILL to be able to snack on some veggies and eat a FRIGGIN SALAD.

I'm not a great cook, if I ever cook veggies, they're usually in a frying pan with oil which is just as unhealthy.

Help me out. I'm tired of gaining all of this unwanted weight.
 
Do you have a stricture or obstruction??
Some veggies cause Ds issues other do not
Did your Gi say to avoid all fruits /veggies ???
You can cook them without oil baked /boil etc
Or use high omega 3 oil like organic canola oil .
Look for clean diet recipes on the web
Lots of veggies /fruit recipes
Easy to make
Zucchini sliced as noodles cooks well in a pan or bake
Avacados with tomato /onion /lemon makes healthy guacomole
Eggs can be scrambled and poured in muffin tins with any type of veggie and baked
If in a rush grab chopped veggies at the store
And sauté in a pan /pour scrambled eggs Over them
Curry dishes veggies plus meat of choice or eggplant
Just need to think outside of potato and meat plus boxes "food"
 
I really like half an avocado with tuna in middle yum drizzle little bit salad dressing on it cause I don't like mayo
Also chicken noodle soup with carrots and I put in a can of green beans and peas to get veggies
I talke,d to someone last night who has crohns he has no prob eating spinach and blueberries
 
I usually cook veggies in a pan with about 1/4 cup or so of water...first bring to a boil...add veggies (I usually have frozen)...let come to a boil again...cover and simmer (low heat) for about 8 minutes for most veggies. Cook longer if you want them softer. I then salt and pepper and usually add some butter to taste. If having with plain rice you can add soy sauce to season instead.

I like to add veggies to scrambled eggs, to rice, or pasta with some Italian dressing.

For me with losing weight it has been more of an issue of portion control and adding in exercise 3-4 days a week minimum.
 
In addition to what's already been suggested, you can also juice fruit & veggies or put them into a smoothie. Juicing removes all the fiber, so you still get the nutrients without the potentially problematic fiber. Just keep in mind that fruit can be high in sugar, so if you do juicing, go for more veggies than fruit. For me, I tend to do an easy breakfast juice sometimes - the bulk of it is carrots, maybe a cucumber, and one apple for sweetness. It's delicious and I think it's pretty healthy.

As for losing weight, it's mainly about calories in vs calories out. As Teeny said, portion control is important. Exercise is great as well, but I've read that for weight loss the emphasis should be about 70% diet and 30% exercise. Meaning, exercise by itself isn't really going to help you lose a lot of weight. You need to mainly focus on diet if your goal is to lose weight. I know it's challenging when you have a lot of food triggers, but it's still totally possible. You might want to look into a calorie tracking app so that you can see how much you're actually eating in a typical day, and then look for ways to reduce your calorie intake bit by bit. You might also want to add in some weight-bearing exercise to build up muscle, because the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Good luck!
 
I too struggle with the waistline; and lettuce and I don't get on too well since my CD Dx. Tomatoes, cucumber and avocado are ok though.
Fortunately I'm ok with cooked vegetables, so my approach is a serving of fairly lean protein (chicken, fish, etc), a small serve of carbs - mostly steamed potatoes, and a large serving of other steamed/microwaved veges... Carrots, beans, zucchini, broccoli, etc - cauliflower is my favourite.


HD
 
I there Asher. I'm sorry to hear you are struggling with your weight. I'm a slightly overweight crohnie myself so I can understand where you are coming from.

The key is to figure out what is working for you and what isn't.

Have you tried an elimination diet before? If not it could be a good starting point to figure out what you can actually eat and tolerate that can help you to lose weight.

You've got some great ideas flowing on this page from other members.
For me, I stick to olive oil and coconut oil in measured amounts. I bake more than I fry. I boil. I personally have never been a fan of raw veggies to begin with so I get creative with my seasonings when I cook veggies to make them taste interesting. My challenge comes from the fact that I can't eat high levels of fiber consistently without my crohn's getting uncomfortable and feeling bloated for days after. So I switch out my fiber levels every other day to bring more balance and comfort.

And yes, calories in v. calories out/portion control is a key component to weight loss. Exercise alone will only do so much to help if you aren't getting a good amount of nutrients to fuel your body. So once you figure out what proteins, grains and veggies work for you and how to cook them to your liking, then you can start to build a reasonably balanced diet based off of that.


There are lots of cool clean eating blogs out there and food blogs for people with chronic illness. If you are unsure of how to cook your meals, google searching some of these kinds of blogs can be a great way to grab ideas that work for you. There's also a section on this forum called Cooking with Crohns where you may find some creative options to get your healthy foods in:

http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

So if we aren't suppose to eat raw fruits and veggies. How do we ever lose the weight we gain from breads and pastas and the like? I would KILL to be able to snack on some veggies and eat a FRIGGIN SALAD.

I'm not a great cook, if I ever cook veggies, they're usually in a frying pan with oil which is just as unhealthy.

Help me out. I'm tired of gaining all of this unwanted weight.
 
oh! Have you ever tried seasoning and roasting your veggies? It's the closest you get to feeling like you are eating raw veggies but still having them more digestible lol.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I look forward to trying some of these suggestions last night I had green beans and they were ok with me
Soohie
 

Latest posts

Back
Top