Weight gain

[Ruby1960]

Hi. Does anyone have any problems with weight gain? I hear a lot about people losing weight but mine just keeps going up! I walk everyday with my dogs and aim to do over 10,000 steps each day. Although I’m not on a strict weight loss diet I do try to eat healthy meals. I have gained a stone since Christmas and still continue to gain a pound or 2 every week. My BMI is 29, so not obese but am conscious that I need to watch my weight.

[Aotea2012]

Has the weight gain come on suddenly or has it been a slow increase? Have you changed your diet in any way - other than the usual Xmas splurge? It may just be a combination of winter diet, slightly less exercise and the odd biscuit with your coffee which might not be noticeable but mount up. The obvious concern is ascites which does cause a sudden weight gain, but if you’re feeling otherwise well and your last scan didn’t show up anything, then it’s probably a good sign. I know I lost a lot of weight very suddenly. I was very sick with an infection and then also had cirrhosis diagnosed in hospital. I lost muscle mass and took off about 3 stone in a few months. My appetite was shot so really struggled to get my normal calorie load and with an unstable liver was not in a good place. With diet supplements and a careful diet I started to improve. My muscle mass increased and so did my weight. I have put on weight but not dramatically and now look and feel well. My dietician told me that weight gain is a good thing with cirrhosis, as long as it’s not ascites obviously, as it shows that nutritionally the body is improving. Muscle mass loss and weight loss are common so muscle and weight improvement are both positives. Muscles weigh more, so it’s inevitable that the scales go up. I do try to keep an eye on my weight as I want to keep at a good BMI so it is a carefully balanced healthy diet for me...but I’m only human so do sometimes treat myself. Pancakes were yesterday’s thing!

[Ruby1960 in reply to Aotea2012]

Thanks for your reply. It’s so confusing. I’m told on the one hand that being overweight is bad, but so is weight loss! I will just have to watch my diet more carefully.

[Aotea2012 in reply to Ruby1960]

Yes I know. I got really confused. I remember telling my dietician that it was all double dutch. She explained that there isn’t one diet for cirrhosis but variations on a theme depending on where the disease was on the continuum. Decompensated symptoms call for high calories and high protein. The liver cannot store when it’s unstable so small high calorie meals many times a day. Low on salt and sugar, but it’s essentially get as much in as you can. Then as things improve and liver function stabilises then it’s a balanced healthy diet with a lot of protein to maintain muscle mass and enough food to maintain weight at a healthy BMI. Sugar is tough for the liver so reducing it in the diet is a good idea. My dietician is pretty sensible and goes along the lines of everything in moderation and listen to your body. If your losing weight then up your carbs, if your gaining weight then reduce them, but make sure the protein level is high. I try to get 70 to 90g of protein a day. Two chicken breasts gives me about 55g, pint of milk 15g, beans on toast 15g. So you can see it’s not hard to get to that level. Couple that with a nice salad, a decent sauce for the chicken, a baked spud and some fruit with your milky cereal for breakfast and it’s not a difficult way to eat.

[Ruby1960 in reply to Aotea2012]

You make it sound easy haha. Had my check up last week, face to face for the 1st time in almost 2 years! Was told my liver is stable (at the moment), so I will try the high protein, low calorie diet. Take care.

[Ncbirdwatcher]

Hi Ruby, Have u had ur sugar checked lately some types of liver disease have sugar resistance just a thought. Cheryle

[Hidden]

Hi Ruby,

It may be a good idea to discuss your weight gain with your own specialist team or hospital registered dietitian to investigate matters in detail.

[David_Jack]

There are many people facing the same problems as you. Actually my weight had also increased but even after trying a lot, I could not get rid of the fat. And I am becoming fat. If anyone has any solution please let me know.