Hunger and pred

Help! i'm a student, i cannot afford to feed myself the vast quantities im needing to eat now im on pred. Anyone got any tips? I have tried really hard to just go without, but its impossible to get to sleep when i'm so hungry, and i just wake up if i actually do get to sleep, and with my lungs being so cross at the moment sleep is hard enough as it is. I cant even eat 'little and often' i can eat 'lots, all the time!' but that doesnt help financially at all. I am trying to cut my steriod dose down but this is going to take quite a while and i am actually going mad! any advice would be really appreciated! Sophs x

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Hi Sophs,

Eating on a student budget can be very tricky indeed, and even more so when you are as hungry as you sound! I have a few tips from when I was skint that hopefully should help you stretch your budget and help you feel fuller whilst still eating healthily.

Broth mix - full of beans lentils and pulses, comes dried in a bag from the supermarket and is as cheap as chips. You can add this to soups, stews and broths to really thicken them out. Soups and broths are amazing as a between meal snack.

Rice - buy from your local Asian supermarket, it is so much cheaper and you can again add it to soups etc to bulk them out.

Stores like Aldi and Lidl are great for cheap store-cupboard basics such as baked beans, soups, frozen meals, in fact pretty much anything.

Have something filling for breakfast such as porridge which you can but by the pillowcase-full quite cheaply which will fill you up for longer.I make my porridge with water and chuck a few raisins in it, no need for expensive milk.

Quorn mince, or supermarket vegetarian mince is cheaper per pound/kg than real mince and when you cook meals with it you can hardly tell it's not real meat.

Buy fruit and veg from your nearest market, it means getting up early one day a week but it's cheaper than the shops, don't be shy- ask for a discount. While we're on the subject of discounts, scan the local and magazines for coupons.

Bulk buy veg, most of it can be frozen after a little prep and be chucked straight into a pan from the freezer, just google how to freeze it.

I take my friend food shopping a week and often we go halvsies on 2for1 offers, only the ones we need though!

I hope this has helped, I remember my insatiable appetite when I was on steroids! Good luck with your studies,

Vivvy

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My fave thats cheap and filling is pasta and soup, (own brand pasta is like 30p and own brand soup 30p)

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yeah, i'm eating a lot of pasta! trying to work out if its bad for me though! deffo cant exercise at the moment, i'm not at all controlled! and i really dont want to put on a load of weight that'll only make my breathing worse. Hoping that as my dose reduces i'll stop feeling so hungry, before i end up eating my flatmates!

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be warned if you eat every time you are pred hungry, you will pile on weight! The tablets might make you feel hungry but your body doesnt need the additional calories. If you cant ignore it, pick low calorie, low fat snacks..

Lynda

[Janna123]

Have you tried celery?

It's relatively cheap, filling, and burns more calories than it gives you!

Also buy value products.

I'm a student too, living of nothing half the time

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Where you can, try having wholemeal/wholewheat bread and pasta. It shouldn't cost any more and keeps you full for longer - I always used to get hungry again fairly quickly with white bread and pasta.

Celery is a good idea!

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what sorts of foods are you eating?

foods which keep you full longer may be helpful, I can't think of anything off the top of my head apart from porridge/oatmeal.

what's your eating routine like now?

would it be possible to get something small to eat just before you go to bed?

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Have a glass of water or other drink when you feel hungry, once I've done that I usually don't feel so hungry. Also, when you do eat have a drink too, to help fill you up.

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I'm managing to stay sane with three meals a day and then some soup and toast or pasta at about midnight! its inconvenient, and i'm hungry all the time, just try to keep myself as busy as possible to distract myself. and i'm drinking when i'm hungry too. just done the 'big' weekly shop and got a few snacking things that are healthy, fruit and nuts and stuff so that i can have nibbles when i'm getting desperate, and spent a little more to get healthier versions, hopefully that should help me minimize calorie intake! still managing to reduce pred so hopefully the hunger will start subsiding! i also drink protein shakes sometimes which really helps, apparently protein helps us feel full! if anyone else is struggling! x

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Hi,

When I got on a course of Steriods I would put on weight and as soon as I finished the course i lost it again. I believe it was just water retension. But when I was on them for a long period (on and off for 3 months and now as the doctor put it, I got this 'Bad Fat'

There is apparently (correct me if I am wrong) two types of fat - Brown Fat and 'Bad Fat' Bad fat is the kind that is located around the waist and increases your chances of Diabetes and increases hunger, I am now hungry all the time

I would (from experience) try and continue to eat what you usually would (if not a little healthier)and drink plenty of water. (again, you might find that you get water retension, but it should go within a few days)

Hope this helps

Jen