How to maintain weight?

[Pellegrino]

Hello, I'm losing weight very, very rapidly and I was wondering how best to maintain my weight since a diet recommended for cirrhosis is so very low in fat, high in veggies. Any recommendations for specific food, drink or supplements etc. would be very welcome.

[AyrshireK]

I take it you completely ignored our advice to seek medical help when you were suffering so badly at the weekend. You don't know that you even have cirrhosis at this stage.

Dietary advice would very much depend on your individual diagnosis.

If your weight is dropping off you then you really need specific advice. If you did have cirrhosis with severe weight loss then you wouldn't fill up on veggies. Carbs and protein would be more important but as you've got a previous history of fatty liver you need to get specialist advice.

[Pellegrino in reply to AyrshireK]

I did seek medical advice Katie and I have an urgent CT scan scheduled, thanks for your help over the weekend, it was very welcome. In the meantime I was advised to try and maintain my weight as it is adding to my feeling rather weak and might be exacerbating my breathlessness. Thanks for the dietary advice.

[Mezzlhei8797 in reply to AyrshireK]

Hi, what is the best diet for non-alcoholic fatty liver?i want to loose weight too.

Thank you.

[AyrshireK in reply to Mezzlhei8797]

If you go to the British Liver Trust page on Diet and Liver Disease you should pick up useful tips there. britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

I have no experience with the situation you are in, my hubby got face to face individual expert advice from a liver specialist dietician - in his case he was malnourished and suffering muscle wastage and needed to rebuild muscle and gain weight.

All the best, Katie

[alfredthegreat]

Hi Pellegrino,

Eating little and often is one good way to help maintain weight and strength and muscle.

I don't know what stage of liver disease that you are at but when I was at end stage I was told to aim for 6 small meals a day ( I believe now its 7) and to include plenty of carbs because a poorly liver cannot store energy for more than a couple of hours and that the body will take energy from muscle when there is none stored in the liver. Apparently it's easier for the body to convert energy from muscle than from fat.

For me a small meal could be something like a toasted teacake and a glass of semi skimmed milk, or some cheese and crackers and a piece of fruit, beans on toast, poached egg on toast, cereals and many more small meal choices .Porridge at suppertime topped with fruit gave me plenty of carbs to boost my energy stores to help my body through the night. It's important to include protein too, as in the cheese and the milk and beans, low fat yogurts are good too.

The important thing is little and often, balanced and healthy and don't be worried about having a few treats. In end stage the dietician told me that if I fancied a Chinese take away once a week then that's fine.

There are supplementary drinks that you can get on prescription from your GP too, full of vitamins and nutrients. I had 2 a day, mine were called Ensure plus, there was also one called fortisips.

Hope this information is of some use to you.

Best wishes

Alf

[Pellegrino in reply to alfredthegreat]

That's brilliant Alf, many thanks for taking the time, it's all a bit bewildering...

[alfredthegreat in reply to Pellegrino]

Yes it's a lot to take in whilst getting used to a new way of life.

I'm sure that you will get lots more advice from people on the forum.

We all have each others best interests at heart and it's a very friendly informative forum to be on.

My apologies, a belated welcome to you

[Pellegrino in reply to alfredthegreat]

You're most gracious and most welcome Alf.

Warmest best wishes.

[Roz22 in reply to alfredthegreat]

Has any one got advice on tinned tuna is this ok if you have cirrhosis.alfredthegreat mentioned beans on toast isn't that to much salt. I'm at a loss sometimes with meals my husband often fancies beans on toast but I thought they were a no no hope someone can clarify We are hoping to see a dietician at some point when the present crisis is over.

Thanks to Katie for advice on Skyr yogurts.

Liz

[alfredthegreat in reply to Roz22]

Hi Roz 22.

It's a case of healthy choices .

With beans you can get low salt variety as with butters, low salt or unsalted. Tin fruit, rather in it's own juice than in syrup, etc. There are many healthier versions out there of the food that a lot of us have been used to eating in the past.

It takes some research and some label reading and some getting used to but it's well worth it in the end.

When you get to see a dietician you will be given a list of suggested balanced meals and snacks to incorporate into or use as a menu for daily diet.

I used to have tuna in oil or spring water rather than brine because of the salt content in brine.

Regards

Alf

[Roz22 in reply to alfredthegreat]

Thank you Alf & yes I have tuna in oil I will look out for low salt Beans.

Liz

[Bootandall in reply to alfredthegreat]

Is a teacake sweet or savory? How is it toasted and what else goes on it?

[ThreeSmiles in reply to Bootandall]

For me Boot a teacake is sweet and has proper butter melting on it .......oh my I could eat one or two right now - got to be nice and warm though. 😀👍

[Airret in reply to alfredthegreat]

I have to pipe up and say that the non-punitive tone, not to mention the comprehensive information, is appreciated!

[Hidden]

Hi Pellegrino and welcome

Our diet and liver disease publication has already been shared here for general information, but, If you have a liver condition, there are some special considerations you may need to make in your diet to stay nutritionally well and to help to manage your condition. Some of these are specific to certain liver diseases, others relate to how advanced your liver disease is. We therefore always suggest that people should discuss their specific dietary needs with their own doctors in the first instance.

In addition, if you are experiencing breathlessness we would suggest that needs to be assessed by a doctor as soon as possible.

Warm wishes

Trust1

[Uplight99]

Hi, although I can’t recommend for someone in your position I can tell you what I know about people’s bodies in general.

Everyone’s body has the same basic principles, calories in and calories out.

You need to find out what your calorie maintenances is (the amount of calories you can eat to neither gain or lose weight)

The easiest way to do this is to download an app called MyFitnessPal and log into your daily diary every time you eat something. It has a barcode scanner so it will automatically tell you how many calories you’ve eaten plus the amount of macronutrients is contained in them calories (fat, carbs and protein)

Weigh yourself first thing every morning, after you’ve had a wee and a number two. Keep doing this every morning because you’ll be able to see the pattern emerging. If you wake up the next morning and you’re heavier then you’re most likely eating too much and I would recommend cutting by a couple hundred calories. If you’re dropping weight then I would up your calories by a couple hundred

It seems a bit confusion but you can look into it on the internet to break it down for you

I would recommend a high protein low fat diet. If you’re struggling to get calories in then purchase protein shake, in my protein powder 1 scoop is 20g of protein and only 1 gram of fat

Take what I’m saying with a pinch of salt however and double check with a liver dietician as I’m not aware of what you can/can’t eat.

Veggies are an excellent source of micronutrients but they’re not high in calories whatsoever

[Uplight99]

To add to this, there are many different types of protein. A lot of them are full of sugars so try to avoid these ones. If you’re vegan they also have vegan options available.