Crohn’s / Colitis IBD sufferers

This topic contains 29 replies, has 24 voices, and was last updated by Brad18 8 years, 4 months ago.

Viewing 30 posts - 1 through 30 (of 30 total)

albion

2:59 am
20 Jan 14
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I have just ended week 5 of the fast diet and have managed to lose a whopping 1.2kg in total during this time (pathetic). I have lost a few cm around my torso, but that fluctuates due to bloating normally anyway. I guess I am looking for an excuse for not doing better and was wondering if it has to do with my Crohn’s. Are other IBD sufferers having trouble losing weight with this plan too?

My Chron’s is well under control and I am on minimal medications. I have had no ill effects from doing this diet which is one good thing at least. I find most IBD people I know, especially those with Crohn’s, are generally either borderline obese or borderline anorexic, so I guess we have a poor metabolism to start with.

I need to lose 20kg so 1kg every 5 weeks is not too good. It is so depressing especially when I know I am eating better and less even on non-fast days. I have even started up the regular exercise again. At least I hope it is doing good things biologically and my blood results will be better in the long run.

Amelia12

5:30 pm
27 Jan 14
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Hi sorry for jumping on your post. I have started the 5:2 today & I also have Crohns. I’m taking Azathioprine, Pentasa & Ranitidine & have been in remission for 4 years. I have around 51/2 stone to loose & I do struggle. The only time I’ve ever lost a huge amount of weight was when I was first diagnosed. I think my body hangs onto everything in fear that I’ll loose weight like that again! Having 2 children hasn’t helped either. I’ll let you know how I get on.

albion

5:53 am
28 Jan 14
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Amelia, glad to hear from you – I was beginning to think I was the only one out there. Good luck with the diet, I hope you do well. I have managed to lose a little more weight so I will persist for as long as I can. I am not on steroids either (methotrexate only after years of mab infusions)so that is one thing we both have in out favour – steroids and weight loss are impossible.

nysse

6:58 pm
31 Jan 14
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our experience is that it took us about 3-4 weeks before serius weightlost started. It seems that it’s very inividual how long it takes. We wanted to loose 3-5 kg each. now we are there and we keep on to keep our new weight and even more importend, to stay healthy. Now we follow our master Michael Mosley and do 6:1method 🙂 We started in september and are going to continue. Keep up the spirit.

Biteofthecherry

8:29 pm
1 Feb 14
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Ive IBS D I start Monday so will let you know Maybe if you havent work out your TDEE then minus 3500 calories from your total weekly TDEE then minus 1000 calories from that then with what youve left divide by 5 days and eat that

Mines 1627 calories on non fast days

martha

11:13 am
10 Feb 14
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I have Crohn’s and been doing the 5:2 for about 6 weeks. I dont have a lot to loose, just about a stone and I have lost half of that. What I have found is how great I feel doing this diet. I am finding I have very little “bad” Crohns days doing this. I am at the moment, only on Asacol and the results I am seeing is incredible, I actually feel I am living fairly normally for the first time in years

LauraKE

7:48 pm
13 Feb 14
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I have Ulcerative Proctitis for 4 years now. I started developing symptoms after the birth of my first baby. I have never had a period of remission and so take a daily maintenance dose of Pentasa suppositories. If I come off the medication at all, it comes back very soon and continues to worsen until I take it again. I started the 5:2 diet at the beginning of Nov ’13 and 15 weeks in, I have lost 13 lbs. I have lost 2 inches from both my waist and hips and my BMI has come down from 29 to 27. My husband began this diet in August ’13 and lost 3 stone in 20 weeks and is at his ideal weight. I haven’t seen any improvement in my UP symptoms, the inflammation does not abate, but I definitely have more energy, and am in great form. Family and friends are telling me I look well and I can see it in my complexion myself. And that says a lot considering I have a 4 year old, a 2 year old and twins aged 9 months, so sleep deprivation is the order of every day! I am happy with my slow but steady weight loss. I intend to make this a life long regime so I’m not in any hurry to see the weight come off any faster.

DaniellefromAustralia

2:08 am
16 Mar 14
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Hi Everyone,
I have Crohn’s disease and am on Azathioprine. I have been working with the Low FODMAP diet and Paleo and these have been great for my Crohn’s generally but do not seem to impact on my weight. I had also had the experience, especially with Paleo, that I don’t seem to lose weight in the way that seems typical for others. I was interested to see your post Albion where you said:

“Crohn’s, are generally either borderline obese or borderline anorexic”.

It does make me wonder how diseases of the gut interact with weight loss principles. I am planning to start the 5:2 over the next few weeks. I would be interested in updates from everyone to see how you are all going.

pia

7:03 am
25 Mar 14
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Hi I also have ulcerative colitis, I have lost 0ne stone since jan 14 but know I could have lost more if I had a bit more will power. I am not on any medications and have not been on any for about 2 years, what I have done it taken away all bread, pasta and rice, to much cheese and milk and sweet things and been eating alot of cabbages, broccoli and other green veg with my meals, to me this have work very well to keep it under control. I know it works with me not having food with high carbs in them like bread pasta rice as for when I do have some of them I start to get constipation and if I get constipation I will start to bleed.also I know that green cabbages have something in it that help my bowls, so for you peopler who has this problem maybe you should try and cut out all you high carbs food and sweet things to see if this might help you. On thing other thing I know that to much sugar is not good when you have ulcerative colitis and sugar comes from your carbs, so try and keep your carbs down ad much as you can. Hope this will help some of you.

MichelleJ

3:51 pm
6 May 14
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Hi Albion, I have Crohns and have not long come off steroids, I am about to try again with the Azathioprine as they made me feel so weak…anyways my post is to (like others) encourage you to go on at least for a while longer, I read somewhere on this site that I can take weeks for the body to settle into what it should be doing, I am new to this diet I started yesterday and first thing this morning made sure of how much cals I should be eating according to my TDEE on a feast day, and know I need to tweak my intake to match with my weight as I lose (hopefully) – maybe something needs tweaking – I’m keeping a diary roughly for the next few weeks to see how I do on feast days too then I’ll just monitor the fast days so that if I come to a stand still I might be able to do some detective work and see what’s up. Continue to take your measurements, as I’m sure you know your results may not always be on the scales. All the best I hope your decrease continues the way you want it.

Lunatwinkle36

9:45 pm
31 May 14
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Hi to all would like to thank all that have posted here helped me to decide to do the diet. I have had ulcerative colitis for just over a year and have struggled to loose weight trying other diets. Gave me a clear understanding of my disease with the information provided I’m now hopeful that I will loose weight now and a big thankyou to you all x

ValS

11:37 am
30 Aug 14
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Hi,
I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease in year 2000 and was very ill indeed. I have always been quite small but after all the Prednisolone I gained weight fast and couldn’t seem to shift it although I am quite fit and active.
I was concerned about fasting as I remember my ‘Gastro-Doctor’ saying the gut needs plenty of roughage to work on. However I did try it, have lost all the weight and my digestive system none the worse for the diet. I do take Balzalazide for the Crohns and have done for at least 5 years.
Hope this helps.

wendywoo68

1:20 pm
16 Sep 14
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Hi Amelia, can I ask how you got on/are getting on??
I am similar to you although I have Colitis. Take Azathaiprine,, been in remission for 1 1/2 years and have 2 children.
Would love to know how it worked out for you. I have not started yet. I intend to start on Monday!!

Wendy Lou

12:10 pm
20 Sep 14
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I have UC and my husband has Crohns we have now been in remission and drug free for five years. After my husband was admitted to hospital with a severe attack. He came out of hospital and spent many hours on the internet researching the relationship with food and our bowel disease. We have eliminated all foods that contain sulphites or metabolise into sulphites we no longer consume dairy, yeast, soy, wine, sugar, garlic, onions, cabbage. We feel so much healthier however I myself would like to lose a few pounds as being in my late fifties I am finding it harder to keep the weight off. So will be a challenge to work out what to eat on the fast days but willing to give it a go.

Amelia12

6:43 pm
21 Sep 14
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Hi Wendywoo tbh I’ve not stuck to it and really need to start again! In the beginning, when I was motivated & able to exercise I lost around 7lb. However, for the past month I have been so tired & had a few problems with my stomach so I’ve just been eating whatever, whenever. When I do start again I’ll let you know how I get on

Karaleia

8:45 am
23 Sep 14
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Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Proctitis about eight years ago and had been on a gamut of medications over the years. With that came a lot of weight gain especially after being on the low FODMAPs diet. Ever since then, which was about two years ago the weight would not budge no matter how healthy I was eating or how much exercise I was doing.

I am currently on Methotrexate with folic acid and the IBD is in remission, which is good news after so many years of trial and error medication. Obviously the medications do not help in maintaining a proper weight and our lazy bowels are prime for bloating. In saying this however, I have been doing the 5:2 diet for about four weeks now and have lost two kilos so far therefore it is working. I am also feeling a lot more energetic and exercising more too. I see this as a part of life now and not as a diet (I don’t like that word). I believe it’s helped in reducing bloating and inflammation in the bowel, which is a good thing. I hope others have had the same sort of effect. I would be interested in hearing others stories.

Thanks for reading!

loosegoose

8:02 am
25 Dec 15
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Hi everyone – I am an Aussie woman with Ulcerative Colitis and am starting the 5:2 Fast Diet tomorrow (Boxing Day). I also follow the Specified Carbohydrate Diet (although i regularly fall off the wagon) and currently have few UC symptoms but do still get high levels of inflammation.I want to reduce my inflammation and also loose 10 kilos over the next six months and also improve my fitness by taking up some HIT exercise. I am looking forward to seeing how the fast diet improves my life. 🙂

Goddina

12:26 pm
27 Dec 15
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Hi Albion,

Great post. I’m in a similar situation! Great to see so many IBDers trying this out. Looking forward to hearing more about how everyone gets on.

I’d love to hear research on fasting and IBD. Perhaps we could do our own… Like Nora in LA as described in the book…

JodiSF

9:35 am
8 Feb 16
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Hi Albion

I suffer from Ulcerative colitis and have about 2.5 to 3 stone to lose. I have been on the diet for a week and seen a good result of 4 pounds or 2kg off.
I am currently in remission and only taking Asacol tablets. My only issue is now I am having a bit of trouble passing regular stools (quite the opposite to the usual UC issues.

Albion I hope the weight loss improves for you and everyone on the link.
Great to see other people with the disease giving this a try. Good luck everyone

JodiSF

9:42 am
8 Feb 16
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Also I am relieved to see other UC sufferers overweight I always thought you were typically slim from the disease and didnt understand why I wasn’t and why I struggle so much to lose the weight.

emz333

2:40 pm
10 Feb 16
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I’m a crohns sufferer on Azathioprine in my just finishing my 3rd week. I have struggled to lose weight for a while and have been slowly gaining since I started to get better. I lost 4lb in the first week and have put a pound back on since then. I feel so much healthier since starting this diet and am hoping for a little more loss soon. I’m definitely feeling a lot less hungry on my fasting days now and my mood is better. Still get very cold on these days.

Wotsthis

8:37 pm
6 Apr 16
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Hi everyone – I’m just going through various testing for Crohns having suffered symptoms on and off for over 20 or more years. I always thought sufferers were super skinny so couldn’t be me.
I tried diet on my own about 18 months ago and managed to lose 10lbs combined with exercise. I felt loads better for a while but then had a flare up and slipped into old ways and have put half of weight back on along with feeling tired and demotivated. Looking to get going again and get some support 🙂

angela13

8:36 am
25 Apr 16
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I suffer with Crohns Disease and have done so for the last 32 years, I’m not currently on any medication and manage my diet very well, but I’m desperate to loose about 4 stone, which I gained years ago whilst on steroids, then children. It was enlightening to read the comments above, because it doesn’t matter what diet I do and stick to it religiously, I cannot loose much weight. I am hoping this 5:2 diet will be the answer. I am starting today and feeling positive reading your comments. Thanks for the support. Watch this space!

Kay65

2:30 am
29 May 16
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Im new here and will be interested to know how you all are getting on as I have had IBD for years and am currently undergoing tests for symptom changes. I know what foods I should avoid but then struggle to combine that with weight loss, paticularly as I have zero will power most of the time!
Kay

ValS

9:20 am
29 May 16
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I don’t worry too much about food for my Crohns. The specialist chappie wasn’t sure that it would make a lot of difference. He just said to eat plenty of bulk food to give the gut something to work on. However after coming off prednisalone it was very difficult to shift
the extra weight. I ventured on to the 5-2 diet, along with my husband in Sept 2013. I am happy to say that the weight slowly disappeared and after a few months I weighed 8st 130z which was too much to lose really as I always felt cold. Then I developed a 2nd dose of breast cancer in May 2014, so what with the operation and radio-therapy, I was careful what I ate but didn’t follow the 5-2 regime for obvious reasons. I needed to recuperate.
From September 2014 I have been taking Tamoxifen and in spite of going back on the 5-2 diet, my weight has risen to 9.5 stone. I have come off the Tamoxifen for 6 months to see if I feel better as the side effects are a bit depressing. I am back on the 5-2 diet so hope to get down a few pounds.
My advise is to follow the 5-2 diet but with caution. If you have any flare-ups come off it straight away and seek help. I am happy to say that since coming off the prednisalone and taking Balzalazide I have no more problems—-touch wood.The 5-2 diet did not upset me in any way. Regards Val

ValS

9:25 am
29 May 16
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Nice to know that I’m not the only one that feels the cold more. Regards Val

Matrika

5:33 pm
29 May 16
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I don’t have IBD but IBS and on a FODMAP diet. Very hard for me to lose weight. I am wondering if it is something particularly to do with our gut biota that is causing the weight problems for those of us with colon issues. I had a major battle last year with an antibiotic resistant gut infection…have taken truckloads of probiotics and got over that but haven’t really ever recovered to be totally pain free and it seems MUCH harder now for me to lose weight than it ever was before.

keeptrying

7:10 pm
29 May 16
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hi
I just wanted to say a few things

I have ibs, and suspected crohns

I found the fd worked well for me but caused havoc with reflux issues

I am now following the bsd – as in higher fibre/protein and low carb
where the carbs are mostly vegetables and very very very little sugar
and basically gluten free

I thought it would be a disaster and would upset my stomach endlessly – but it doesn’t seem to be doing that at the moment

I don’t know if it would help any of you but it may

pia

8:26 pm
29 May 16
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Hi all,

I found if I dont have much sugar in my diet I am alright. I also found to much cheese in my diet is no good. I take starflower oil, evening primrose, zinc and cod liver oil +omega 3 and a multi vitamin. I use pentasa suppositories when I got a flare up. I find stress can also start me of with a flare up. I had ulcerative colitis now for nearly 10 years but are self medicated as my consultant told me I am doing what works for me works right for me. I also found that this website is very useful. http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/p/beginners-guide/ I made the yougart on there and use honey and almonds nuts when eating it I make it full fat as is best that way and less sugar. Remember full fat food got less or no sugar in it which is best as you dont feed the bacteria in you guts the sugar which can give you flare ups. Best to go back to basics in food and see what gives you flare up. On this website you will see how to do that and still lose weight. Hope this will help you, but remember we all got different gut issues so what works for some might not work for you. Any questions ask away happy to try and help.

Brad18

4:41 am
12 Aug 16
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PLEASE READ THROUGH Hi all, firstly, in no way am I a medical professional. I do however have Ulcerative Pan-Colitis. After 2 years of medication and flare ups I found a a Hormone specialist who had been treating people with UC and Chron’s. What he explained to me was that there were a lot of misconceptions in the medical field regarding these diseases. Its impossible for me to explain in detail what he told me but the basics of it (more so UC as thats my condition) is that its caused by a gene mutation. This mutation happens around the conception stage and no diet, exercise or lifestyle choices could have made any difference. All us sufferers were destined to develop this disease before we were even born. I’m not offering advice, merely telling you what he told me to do. He told me to take a tablet called Folinic acid, its spelled correctly incase you think I meant Folic acid. Folinic acid essentially for lack of a better explanation cocoons this mutated gene, essentially shutting it off, this then stops the mucus production in your gastrointestinal tract from becoming over active, which is where the problems begin. Imagine your bowel lining having little pockets that cause waste to only flow in 1 direction, when these pockets get filled with the excess mucus they kind of get jammed open, allowing bad bacteria to enter and get stuck. This causes ulcers, irritation and all the other nasty side effects. Anyway, as I said, i’m not a MD or any way affiliated with Pharma companies but I’ve been on these tablets for 4 years with no symptoms of UC what so ever, I have regular BM’s with a regular consistency. Google folinic acid and read up on it for yourself!