Help with belly fat

[cecilialynn]

hello , i have had 3 surgeries in the same place ,straight up my belly area. So its a few mths later and i am wondering if any one out there can help with info on losing alot of belly fat!!!. I am fairly thin otherwise but have this belly fat which i cannot seem to get rid of. Im 50 yrs old and i have to buy loose clothes because if they r too tight then i look pregnant Cant wear any tight jeans ,just leggings because it still hurts to wear anything tight around my gut. All those nice clothes out there and i cant wear them. :boring: Any solutions would be great. Thanks.

 

[Terriernut]

I'd like to hear it too! I'm a whopping 106lbs. And any and all fat is right in the lower middle.

I'm seeing lipo in my future!

 

[cecilialynn]

OH my gosh Terriernut , i'm a 155lbs now ,i am 5'9" but being on preds hasnt helped either. I too will ask for Liposuction maybe for Xmas...lol. Seriously though it's depressing trying to figure out how to rid it!!!!

 

[Terriernut]

I've cut carbs, yadayada, nothing helps. Can't do Pilates or yoga core exercises because of parastomal hernia. I look 8 months preggers. :redface:

 

[cecilialynn]

HMMM I havnt cut enough of the carbs out, I still eat alot of the BRAT foods. I cant do those forms of exercises either just because of the many surgeries and scar tissue etc. Just lifting things sometimes brings on pain. ugh!!! Hahaha i look about 6-7 mths preggers. Keep saying i'm gonna go to the maternity shop for clothes:mad2::frown: Hopefully someone will help us and find a solution for this problem. Keeping fingers crossed.

 

[Jennifer]

Swimming should help or even walking (or sit on the couch and flail your arms and legs for a half hour), anything that will get your heart rate up. Are you still on the Prednisone cecilialynn? Obviously getting off of that will help.

Crohn's under control for both of you? Another thing that would help but I know that takes time and you've both already had surgery.

With the BRAT diet can you try to substitute the toast with some form of protein (like chicken breast of white fish)? Rice is ok but cutting out white breads should help some along with consuming more protein. Protein helps you feel fuller longer. Check out the Low Residue diet http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Low-Residue-Diet. Its similar to the BRAT diet but gives much more info than bananas, rice, applesauce and toast (my God its all carbs ). The BRAT diet is mainly for when you're in a really bad flare and are having a hard time holding food down. I used to do both diets when I was younger.

 

[cecilialynn]

Good morning Crabby, I am being weened off the preds. Its been 1.5 yrs since i've been on them . I am now down to 14 mg i drop 1 mg per wk. And i actually eat more than the brat foods. My bad i should have stated that. I actually eat alot of fish and chicken for my suppers along with cooked carrots and lots of penut butter actually stopped eating white bread and now am eating oatmeal brown bread. Maybe im not flailing my arms and legs enough ...lol. That was funny i must say!!!!. My crohns seems to be under control for now . I take 125 mg of Imuran per day. seems to be working.I also take probiotics every 2nd day there are 10 billion active cells in it. I don't have a colon anymore so i am not even sure if i need to be taking them. Otherwise i thank you for your info. and yes i will get out walking more and will for sure flail my arms and legs way more often . Thanks again. Hope you feel great !

 

[Terriernut]

Cecilia I know the pred will cause alot of that belly fat! First thing the surgeon did when she saw my skinny body with a santa belly was ask how much pred I was on. Unfortunately...I'm not on pred, and havent been for a long time! So you see....you have an excuse at least! I dont!

Crabby...you are funny!!!! I walk (no swimming with Stan) But still the belly. The surgeon said I needed a tummy tuck! (thanks said I,...are you paying for that I asked??!)

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I'm in this club too. I'm currently about 136 lbs and in remission, no surgeries, but I was on Entocort for 7 months. Before Entocort, I was really ill and the weight was falling off of me and I dropped down to about 115 lbs (I'm 5 foot 8 so that was borderline scary skinny). While on Entocort, I was able to put my weight back on and then some (got up to about 145 lbs), but the weight didn't come back to the same areas - it seemed to all congregate in my tummy! I also have some bloating issues, I seem to bloat out as the day progresses, which only exacerbates my tummy looking huge and gross. And the sad part is, I *do* work out my core. I lift weights 3x per week and I always do the abs machine, and I try to hold the plank position for 60 seconds too. I'm sure I have a nice 6 pack underneath the flab and the bloat! I'm guilty of eating a lot of carbs too though so that's probably part of it. Still, it's been over a year since I came off of Entocort and I still have this stubborn tummy flab, it's pretty frustrating. I'm lifting weights so I'm getting nice arm & leg muscles, my shoulders and back are coming along nicely too... but my gut is just gross, ha ha. Let me know if you guys find any solutions because I have no idea how to get rid of this stubborn flab!

 

[Jennifer]

It takes time Cat especially as we get older (being 30 I've noticed that weight doesn't fall off as quickly as it used to).

cecilialynn, since you're still on the Pred do you tend to stay away from salty foods and drinks? They'll help you bloat more for sure. Don't want bloating under our cleverly hidden uber 6 packs in case of zombie attacks as Cat mentioned.

Food for thought, have you guys had your liver and blood sugar tested lately? I know my mom dealt with weight for a long time and always looked pregnant until her doctors finally figured out why. She had a fatty liver (most likely from medication over the years since she doesn't drink alcohol or anything) and Type 2 Diabetes. Her blood sugar was over 400. Since then she lost a lot of weight and still seems to have some belly fat going on but its significantly less. I'm sure as more time passes it should look even better (she's 55). Make sure you rule out other possibilities even if the Crohn's baby belly is fairly common.

 

[shamrock15]

It may not be something you can address dietarily. Me - male, currently about 170 pounds, up from about 150 last year. The 170 is good for me. Since my first surgery, the abdomen to either side of the bottom of the scar has always been a bit on the puffy side. I can actually feel a difference in the flesh there compared to other parts of my bowel. If I lose weight for any reason, it never comes out of there. Hopefully though your case is a little different and you are able to lose it.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks Crabby, those are good points. Yes, I am over 30 (I turn 33 in a few months) so I know I won't necessarily have the same cute little flat tummy I had in my 20s. But, I've been lifting weights 3x per week for over a year now, so I would hope that some of this stubborn belly fat would go away already! It's frustrating to work out all the time and see results everywhere but my belly, so maybe you're right, maybe something else is going on.

About the fatty liver thing - do you know if fatty liver would be seen on CT/MRI/ultrasound, or is that just a blood test thing? I ask because when I had an abdominal CT a couple years ago, they found "nodules" on my liver. So they sent me for an MRI to get a better look, and I was diagnosed with focal nodular hyperplasia - it was explained to me that they are basically benign tumors on my liver, and I have 4 of them. They're not causing any symptoms and not related to my IBD, so we are just going to periodically check on them. Nothing needs to be done unless they grow to a certain size, if that happens I'll probably need surgery to remove them. I had an ultrasound on them last year to check up on them, and at that time the largest one was between 2 and 3 cm (I was told if it grows larger than 8 cm then it's surgery time). But as far as I know, that's the only thing going on with my liver, and I don't think benign tumors would be in any way related to stubborn belly fat.

 

[Jennifer]

Here's info on the different types of fatty livers. This seems interesting, "Recent studies show that an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine and other changes in the intestine may be associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Some researchers now suspect this may play a role in the progression of NAFLD to NASH." http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/fatty-liver-disease

Says it would possibly show up as slightly enlarged during an abdominal ultrasound (blood work and biopsies are possible too).

 

[Terriernut]

Very interesting indeed Crabby!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks Crabby, that's helpful info! Since we're keeping an eye on my liver anyway, I'll make a note to ask about this stuff at my next appointment. I'm guessing since the ultrasound didn't see anything amiss (besides the hyperplasias of course) that I probably don't have fatty liver, but it's still worth asking about to be sure.

 

[Jennifer]

Those are just two (diabetes and fatty liver) things that can cause water retention in that area (and throughout the rest of the body such as the feet and ankles with diabetes) so there are probably others as well. Those are the only ones I've seen personally though.

 

[Gunter]

Does all with Crohn's get this belly fat? or is it only in the case of certain individuals?
I saw some videos of people with crohn's, they seem to be having flat stomachs unless otherwise they don't really have crohns.

 

[ronroush7]

Does all with Crohn's get this belly fat? or is it only in the case of certain individuals?
I saw some videos of people with crohn's, they seem to be having flat stomachs unless otherwise they don't really have crohns.

I think prednisone contributes to the belly fat.

 

[Christi]

Pred does cuase belly fat but in my case except for the pred my stomach swells alot

 

[shaunbern2001]

Aerobic exercise might be good because you can take it as quickly/slowly as you like. That'll be walking, jogging, swimming - all the things that will raise your heart rate. Anaerobic exercise will help build you muscles and strengthen your bones. That'll be anything that involves resistance training - lifting weights, etc.
Important to remember that it takes about 6 weeks of exercise before there is a noticeable difference in your body. So perseverance is the key. Small steps.