Wieght Loss / Weight Gain

[Elliweim]

Can a person with PBC, regardless of stage, can we lose weight? Does this condition make it difficultvto lose weight do to the digestion issues?

[KimRenee]

Hi, The answer is yes!!! I We can lose weight. I have lost 162 pounds since April 2019. My HEPATOLOGIST suggested I have the surgery for my health. I have PBC with Auto immune hepatitis and Sjogren’s overlap diseases. I was A little skeptical at first, so I tried to lose the weight on my own, and I did lose weight but it was hard to do. I lost 30 pounds on my own from Jan 2018 to April 2018 and it was very hard.. So I went to the Bariatric clinic my Hepatologist referred me to for help. Then Jan 16, 2020 I had gastric sleeve surgery and follow a healthy diet, but far smaller portions. I was referred to a full service Bariatric clinic, Kansas City Bariatric Center in Lenexa Kansas. They are wonderful and thorough.

I don't know if you have autoimmune hepatitis also, but I had to take steroids for a few years with that and I really put it on the weight. Plus a lot of PBC patients tend to be a little overweight. Here's my before and after pics. I'm just so happy to be healthier and able to keep my LFT's almost normal. I will always have Cirrhosis, fatigue and all the other little things we have to deal with our PBC; but physically I feel so much better.

Hope that that helps.

[Elliweim in reply to KimRenee]

I was not able to see your before and after pics. But thank you for your message and congrats!

[butterflyEi]

I believe with PBC we are more susceptible to weight gain however I have lost 20 kilos which has benefitted the liver and reduced the amount of tablets I take.

[Dodo8 in reply to butterflyEi]

That's great! How did you manage to do that? Any advice?

[butterflyEi in reply to Dodo8]

I cut out pasta rice and bread, breakfast is usually porridge with kefir, nuts and seeds or homemade muesli again with natural kefir for good gut health. Lunches are either salad with protein of some sort like tuna or eggs, humus is protein as well which makes up with oil and balsamic a tasty dressing, or homemade soup usually grate a bit of parmesan cheese but no croutons. Dinner is lots of vegetables with chicken, fish or lean meat. After weight loss I have started eating potatoes again as I missed them. Avoid all evident and hidden sugars, I was eating apricots, dates and quite a bit of fruit. When I was told about hidden sugars I cut them back to a minimum. A soup called ribelito which is an Italian peasant soup is delicious. Of course exercise is important and I see from your reply to iagra that you walk, are you well enough and do you raise your heart beat when walking? Good luck hope some of this helpful.

[islandanonymous in reply to butterflyEi]

Your diet is exactly the same as mine! I do have to cut back on fruit a little though...

[iagra]

Yes, absolutely, you can lose weight, if you have enough motivation and determination. I speak of my own experience. Cut out sweets and refined sugars to begin with. Good luck!

[Dodo8 in reply to iagra]

I haven't eaten sweets and refined sugar but I have put on 10 kilos since 2015 and I can't lose any of them. I try hard but I'm still overweight! I eat healthily, walk almost every day an hour or more, do exercises, don' eat fatty food.... What else can I do? What is your recipe?

[iagra in reply to Dodo8]

I've never been on any special diets. Always ate healthy balanced meals, but, counted calories. There are charts that show how many calories a day you can consume to lose weight, for your age. Exercise is very important for overall health, but, not enough to lose weight. My trick was always - no sweets, no food full of carbs, no milk products, except for unsweetened greek yogurt, eating less (feeling a bit hungry is OK), variety of normal healthy foods (veggies, lean meats, eggs, berries, green apples, etc ), moderate excise. Most important to stick with it. Occasionally I would indulge myself in ice-cream or a cinnamon roll, but, these are exceptions. A strong motivation to lose weight, in my opinion, is the most crucial aspect in this. If you have a hard time losing any weight, you might want to check with a nutritionist and your primary doctor for advice.

[Abby_green]

Yes indeed.

[Hidden]

Hi,Yes, we can lose. Like KimRenee I put a lot on with steroids for AIH, since last august I have lost nearly 2 1/2 stone. I have another stone to go and I will be back to my original healthy weight . 😁 xx

[Jacqui0112]

HiyaYes you can! I thought I would never shift the 24lbs I put on when I started taking the pbc medication (plus under active thyroid). Someone recommended intermittent fasting. Oh my goodness! Not only is it supposed to be good for you - I lost all the weight easily. Look it up and research it. Gin Stephens has a good book. I do 20 hours fasting and 4 hours eating (just normal food) when I want to lose weight. Now, to maintain, I start to eat at lunchtime. Maintained weight for 4 months so far. Good luck x