Will I ever eat the way I used to??

[BLM]

Hey guys, Im interested to know how many people are able to eat normally after your flare goes away?? Ive never been diagnosed so in the past when I would flare, I would go on liquids until flare was over.....and then resume my normal life. I would go right back to eating all my favs.....chocolate, ice cream, cheese, vegies, all fruits....ect. Now Im diagnosed and this is the worse flare ever. My question is....how many of you can eat normally while not sick?? Or does everyone live on a moderated diet even when well.
Thanks Guys~

 

[MapleLeafGirl]

Mine is moderated even when well. I have a stricture so I have to be very careful not to get a blockage. I pretty much follow a permanent low residue diet but I cheat a lot more when I am feeling well.

 

[dreamintwilight]

I agree with Kelly. I am still somewhat of a newbie to Crohn's, as I was only diagnosed this past February, but I also have a stricture and have been sticking with a mostly low residue diet. I had been feeling really good after my diagnosis once I started on Humir and I think I was too quick to try so many new foods because 2 months later I ended up in the hospital with a partial obstruction. So, I've decided to stick with low-res until I feel a lot better for a longer period of time. And even then I'll experiment with new foods conservatively.

I think I wouldn't be brave enough to try some foods from my "normal" diet (before diagnosis) until I was told by my GI I was in remission.

 

[kenny]

I am about 6 months post op and am really exploring food again in a serious way. My main concern is I do not trigger another episode or cancel out the effects of medication by causing inflammation in my gut.

But yea BBQ ribs and corn on the cob for me last night! Only 1 lb of ribs and a single cob though. Not exactly the 2 lbs of ribs with chillipeppers in the sauce and 3 cobs of days gone by!

 

[Crohns08]

When I'm in a flare I can eat almost anything. The one thing I'll probably never be able to eat again though is ground beef. Maybe a steak. I haven't really tested that yet, and I'm kind of afraid to, to be honest.

 

[ameslouise]

I don't even let myself go there. People ask me, "Will you ever eat steak/chicken/wings/cheese/whatever again?" I can't even think about that. I can only think about today and focus on how I need to eat right now that is best for my health.

It's much easier if I don't think - "Someday I can have cheese again." Sure I miss it, but I can't pine over it and hope for the day.

It's like an alcoholic taking it "one day at a time."

 

[Regular Joe]

I'm with Amy (probably because I am a sober alcoholic).

With this disease, anymore I no longer have a little bit of a clue what "normal eating" could be. I couldn't tell you if I'll ever eat the way I used to, because the "way I used to eat" is a moving target that wanders all over the place.

This is one thing that is starting to annoy me. It's actually "me" that's annoying me. I have this "appetite switch" that shuts off more often than stays on. It was on maybe 4 days ago for an evening, and I buldozed through some fruit salad until I felt "full". It seems like the switch has been off ever since.

But my mind and perception, what I see, is not connected to my appetite or digestive system. For crying out loud, I went to lunch today with the "mini-meal" idea. I went "small" for sure, and I "splurged" with a slice of apple pie.

Fine and dandy, right? Wrong. I have maybe 4-5 bites of the small cottage cheese and egg salad, and that level of "satisfied hunger" clicks on. When I say 4-5 bites, I mean maybe 2 ounces at most. Then I had 2 teaspoons of the apple pie which was outstanding, and anything more was going to put me into "uncomfortable".

I had a bowl of cereal this morning pretty early, and a yogurt. I can't eat anything more. It's just shut down for some reason. I'm not sick or in pain. I did have cramps this morning, and one regular then one D movement.

I also noticed that looming smaller belt notch that I've been in between for two weeks, has become the new size over the past 3 days. That tells me since I started Entocort, I've lost maybe 10 lbs, and I had appetite maybe 3 days per week over the past month.

So I'm losing weight again, and it's greater than 3lbs a week, which, according to Weight Watchers, is "out of range" for normal healthy weight loss. But I haven't been trying to lose weight! I've been out to 2 restaurants seemingly ravished. 4 bites later, it's all gone, and food goes home in a box. Today's lunch goes home in a box.

Should I just go ahead and start putting no more than say 5 bites of food in my serving dish instead of a "fist"?

I'm really alongside you Bev, I don't know what the hell is going on? My stomach tells me "you're hungry", my eyes tell "fist size" meal, then my stomach says, "Oh, just kidding, 4 bites is all we need."

Can anyone shed more light on this?

 

[Rebecca85]

I don't know why your appetite switches off, but maybe you could try high-calorie drinks to stop the weight coming off so much. Or carry small snacks around with you everywhere, and whenever you remember have one small bite (even if you're not feeling hungry, perhaps you could get just one bite down, and then those 'just one bites' would add up over the day).

Or have a wider selection of foods available, since you said you managed 2 spoons of apple pie after you felt full from the salad, how about making meals with lots of different courses, again if you have 'just one bite' of each it will all add up.

Hope you figure something out soon!