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Overweight with crohns

Hi there,

I have had crohns for over 25 yrs (diagnosed at 12, small bowel resection, flare up in my esophagus, anemia, arthritis)
When I was younger I was smaller with the disease. I am in an active flare now and I am actually overweight. I am not taking any meds currently. I have to discuss this with my doctor soon but I am trying to avoid meds if possible however the pain is starting to get me down. I am at least 60lbs over weight, Im keeping very little nutrients in my body so Im at a loss. Has anyone else experienced this?
Thank you
 

cmack

Moderator
Staff member
Hi Tina,

I would recommend starting out with brisk walks as a way to help lose weight. See if you can get a friend to join you, it makes it more fun. You should also eat more fruits and cooked vegetables, the darker they are in colour the better they are for you. You will feel full without too many extra calories. Soda is a bad one too, I stick to plain water, try to aim for 2 litres a day minimum. You should drink more water than anything else. I also take 1200mcg of time release B12 and 2000 IU of vitamin D3 every day.

This may be hard while in a flare but just do the best you can, lots of water, more fruits and veggies vitamins etc. If you start slow and do the best you can, I'm sure you will see big results on the bathroom scale within a month. Check out nutritionfacts.org there is a ton of good, doctor approved info for better health. Here is a direct link. https://nutritionfacts.org/


Best wishes,

Chris
 
Weight gain is as simple as calories consumed vs calories burned. When our crohn's is acting up, we are tired and hurting so we become less active, and our "maintenance" calorie level goes down. If we eat more calories than our maintenance amount, we gain weight.

I recommend using a calorie counter app like myfitnesspal to figure out how many calories you're truly eating every day. If you're gaining weight, you're eating more than you think you are. You really have to watch the calories you drink, too! Sugary crap like pop gets absorbed easily even when we're in a flare.

If you need to eat less, but still want to feel full longer, focus on lean proteins and carbohydrates with a better glycemic score (complex carbs like brown rice, oats, sweet potato, etc). This can be tricky with crohn's, though, as the junky carbs actually absorb easier and trigger our symptoms less - and this is where treating your crohn's with a medication may allow you to eat better foods.
 
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