I have read alot of posts on this site about cutting carbs, sweets, alcohol etc. To help maintain or lose weight while taking Pred.
Here is my dilema and I am just about at my wits end! I am currently on 7.5 mg of Pred. Diagnosed with PMR in September 2017, suspect I have had it since March 2017.
I have a gluten allergy (not severe, but feel sick and itchy if I eat to much). Therefore, i keep away from gluten filled things. With the exception of pizza once a month and low carb tortillas a couple of times a month I stay away from breads, pasta, anything wheat etc.
I stay away from fast food anything with a high fat content (butter, deep fried things) with no gall bladder high fat foods just go right through me.
Above that, I have food sensitivities that if I indulge I am in the bathroom on the toilet (enough of that) along with that is stomach pains, cramping and is no fun.
So food sensitivites are: acidic foods, berries, oranges, lemon, tomatoes, sauces. Can't eat marinades, salad dressings, anything with MSG, or maltodextrin. Anything with sulfites bothers me.
These days I mostly consist on turkey, ham some cheeses, fresh grapes, melon, bananas, watermelon, blueberries, cherries, meat and vegies and oatmeal. I can have small amounts of cashews, almonds and pistachios. But peanuts are a no-no. I have hummus with carrots, cucumbers.
I don't eat cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts due to gas and bloating. I eat pretty much any other vegetable.
I have to limit dairy so I don't get bloated and have belly cramping and pain.
I endulge in one 12 oz can of diet coke a day ( a girl can't give up everything )
I have 1 cup of coffee a day with 2 tablespoons of cinnamon/vanilla creamer. I drink some tea, hot and cold, though its not a go to drink for me.
The rest of the time it is water to drink.
My availability of foods that don't cause pain or make me nauseaous continues to dwindle the older I get. Going out to eat is a joke, there are so many additives in foods these days.
So my intent and question after all this is how can I lose weight? I have been at this weight for over a year. I need to lose at least 50 pounds, but 65 would be better. I am healthy other than the PMR. No high blood pressure, no other meds (except my anti-depressant & Pred). I sleep a minimum of 8 hours a night. I have been exercising through yard work, house work (up and down stairs for laundry etc), walking some.
I am 56 years old and my family has a tendency to be over weight.
If anyone has any suggestions or ideas that could help me. I am just so depressed about this. I am trying to do all the right things but they don't seem to help.
I appreciate any suggestions.
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Sunnyd7
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knew I would have to at least try and stop it progressing.....I have lost a stone in weight which has surprised me and others, but hope obviously it is working what I am doing......
I react like you to many foods (and meds) so basically I eat, meat/fish/salads/nuts,/ eggs limited fruit.......and have tinker ed with getting the right cereal for breakfast......I cook lunch/evening meal......can't face cooking in mornings! I don't add sauces or dressings, and will say bloating (from carbs) has gone. My go to snack every day is almonds (getting difficult to find!)
Losing weight especially on preds is not easy but not impossible. I have just lost 2.5 stone on Slimming World. I eat what I can of the ‘free’ foods but avoid carbs - it’s taken me a year. And I had to be honest with myself- although I was on steroids I was eating too much of the wrong things - or I would not have been over weight.
Hmm, tricky. I’m the same, no gluten, only dairy is milk in 3 cups of tea. Since a few months ago brassica veg send my guts into turmoil. No sugar, no sweeteners, no salt (fluid retention). Anyway, simple things first. Have you done a food diary for a couple of typical weeks recording everything that passes the lips? I assume you’ve been checked for diabetes. Did you gain the weight while ill before Pred started, before you think PMR started, after Pred? Can you pinpoint where things might have gone awry with your diet then?
No I have not been checked for diabetes. The last blood sugar reading I had was 100 (without fasting) that been consistent throighout my life. Between 96-100.
I have had the weight on for a while, even before my PMR diagnosis. I was eating terribly in the past. But the last 2 years have cleaned up my eating and getting away from to much pop/soda. Most of my weight gain has been from stress eating, comfort foods, carbs and sweets. And lack of exercise.
Oh yes I have kept a food diary amd was shocked to see the carbs in things. My diary tells me that i only eat an average of 900-1000 calories a day. It seems when I do increase the calories it is because I have fell off my good eating routine and endulged in something not as good for me.
I think your problem could well be that on such a low calorie ordinary diet your body has gone into starvation mode.
Try to work out about how much carbohydrate you are eating if you can. To lose weight you need to be down to under 50g useable carbs - you can find out all about low carb on various sites, Dietdoctor is very good with simple illustrations to see what is good and what less less good. Once you cut the carbs you can eat more of other things - I won't go into the details here. The site explains it well.
It's a totally different approach and probably takes a bit of getting used to. But it does work for most people.
Thank you I will check Dietdoctor. I am always a tad confused when having "to low" a calories intake puts a body in starvation mode. But then there are diets out there that want you to eat 500-800 calories a day. Perhaps it because it is a short term thing or there is a supplement like optifast or another meal replacement???
My OH and I decided we are embarking on the Keto eating plan. So I will see how that goes. Again, thank you for your responses I do appreciate it!
It is a long term thing - in the short term you will lose weight on a low calorie diet but it will level out eventaully. That is how the 5:2 diet works - the low calorie intervals are single days and inbetween your body realises no it is not being starved!
The keto concept is a totally different approach - the body is forced to burn fat, the stuff you want rid of, and otherwise you can eat a "normal" amount of calories so your body doesn't switch on starvation mode.
All the best - and having a buddy does help a lot!
You are clocking up considerable amounts of carbs in the fruit you are eating - healthy sugar possibly, in terms of weight loss, still carbs.
Not that you want too much dairy as it does have carbs (except hard cheese) but have you tried lactose free products? I don't know how easy it is to obtain where you live - where I live it is in every tiny corner shop now!
I assume you have discussed it with your doctors? The Newcastle University diet has been shown to achieve considerable weight loss in diabetics - and reverse Type 2 diabetes. But weight loss is weight loss, whatever reason you have to do it.
This link is to their site with information for both patients and clinicians. Maybe a chat with your doctor might lead to a pathway for you? It is 8 weeks of really restricted eating and then a tailored plan - 2 months isn't long when you see results. Once the weight starts to come off, it is so encouraging to keep going.
Snazzy's suggestion of a food diary is very useful - because you would be surprised what you eat without thinking about it. My own diet is predominately fish/meat/poultry accompanied by leafy salads or veggies in some shape or form, often roast as it is quick and easy and very tasty. I actually started using the 5:2 diet which re-educated me in terms of portion sizes - and within a few weeks my appetite had reduced noticeably and I was no longer hungry until shortly before the next meal was due. I now eat low carb - and eat no breakfast so fast from 8pm until about 1.15pm. Yes I occasionally feel hungry but that isn't a bad thing, we all had hunger pangs between meals when I was a child but there wasn't a wide selection of snacks - and usually a low/no calorie drink (tea with lemon or milk or water) or walking away and finding something to do means that half an hour later I have forgotten I was hungry.
Yes I am aware and concerned about the carbs in my fruit, but i wanted to get some fruit in. I usually eat it after dinner. Or I will have turkey, cheese and some fruit. My daughter works for a high end gourmet market that sells a variety of hard cheeses, goat milk and sheeps milk cheeses.
My doctor says "well you are taking pred" and to walk more. I will be seeing him next week so I am going to push harder. Thank you for the link, i will read that and also the 5:2 plan.
I too do not eat breakfast. I eat lunch about 1:00pm. And dinner about 7pm.
Lactose free products I have not tried.
I have been monitoring every morsel I put in my mouth, worrying about what is in my food when we go out for over 5 years so I am worn down with all this thinking.
Yep he is a younger doctor, still in the phase of I can eat whatever I without worry want and exercise for hours if I want. I remember when I was like that 20 years ago.
He is a really good doctor, he was the first to really listen to me and to prescribe Pred and send me to the Rheum. He has been very good at following up with me on how I feel making sure I uave my Prednisone etc. I think he just feels exercise is my answer. Which we now know food intake is more the answer.
I’m sorry you’re having so much difficulty with allergies to certain foods and gluten issues—especially while dealing with illness— not easy.
I’m curious, and wonder if your antidepressant has something to do with your weight gain and trouble losing? When I was on an antidepressant, I gained 30lbs in three years— on top of already needing to lose 20+
At the time, I gradually weaned myself off of my antidepressant and worked hard on losing the weight. It took time. First I did Weight Watchers, then lost the rest doing my own version of low carb, with exercise (just walking). Fast forward ten years, and I’ve put some weight back on. Mostly because of being depressed about not being well, so I turned to food. Also, after starting a low dose of prednisone in February, I gained a quick 10+ lbs. So, I’m back to Weight Watchers and lost about 8lbs in 6 weeks (while still on prednisone). The program has made me very accountable. For me, accountability is key; however, that’s me, and I can’t speak for others. One thing is certain; it is very difficult navigating illness, medications, and weight loss. Don’t lose heart. You will find what works for you.
Oddly enough my anti-depressant is one where weight loss is listed as a side effect. What?! I know, it threw me for a loop. The other thung my antidepressabt does is take away my appetite completely and it has also altered my tastebuds. I cannot look at or eat some of the foods I use to love without feeling sick to my stomach. Things like cottage cheese, some cheeses, roast beef (lunch meat), not a whole roast. And others.
So I just have to feed myself because I know I need too. I have been thinking about weight watchers, do you go online or attend meetings?
Because I need the accountability aspect, I attend meetings. There's nothing like stepping on a scale in front of someone to keep it real. Food is my addiction, so I have to treat it as such. The support of other WW members, like here, is beneficial— a judgment free zone.
Morning Sunny, I could almost tick most of what you`ve written. Though, I can`t eat foods with spice and hot chillies in. I can eat veggies by the barrow load. Poultry and meat. Caffine is a pest, Tap water gives me the cramps unless there`s juice in it. Without trying, I`m losing weight. I`m forecast to finish my plan by December coming. Fingers crossed I don`t need preds after that.
Like you I like flavorful foods, but I leave the hot stuff up to my husband. He like Ghost peppers and that sort of hot stuff. I wish you all the luck in getting off the Pred in December! And thank you for your response.
Sunnyd7, commiserations. Have added 23 lbs since January which I put down to the Pred and of course a poor hi-carb diet. I have had pre-PMR success with what is called the hospital diet ( did include a lot of toast so perhaps not a good pred mix ) and the 5-2 fasting diet. I have now decided to mix the 5-2 fasting and a low-carb regimen. My only problem sticking to this will be a trip to Ecuador for the most of July. I expect plantains will feature high on the menu.
I love plantains! To bad they are so starchy. I read about the 5:2 fasting diet. My husband and I talked about it and we are going to try the Keto way of eating. (Notice I didnt say diet).
Have a great time in Ecuador! Thank you for your response.
It is fairly simple...eating smaller portions of the same food will produce the desired effect...you already have a restricted diet...so don't restrict it further...just reduce your portion sizes..
Hmmm well that is a thought. Perhaps I will try that at dinner. I usually dont eat breakfast, have 2 eggs scrambled or hard boiled or cheese for a snack, if I do snack. Lunch is usually some turkey and ham lunch meat all natural, low sodium) about four slices each, a couple of slices of cheese and a bit of fruit. Dinner is generally some kind of meat and vegies. I do eat a larger portion of meat than your standard deck of cards. And sometimes double up the helping of vegies. I mostly eat peas, carrots, green beans, butter beans.
My husband and I are starting the Keto way of eating so we will see how that gores. Thank you for your response.
I was on a high dose of Prednisolone and my rheumatologist told me I could eat the foods that I wanted but not to exceed 1,000 calories a day. In order to achieve that I could not eat all the foods that I wanted, however the weight dropped off of me. It was difficult when I went out to a restaurant, so you allow yourself one or two days a week when you can be a bit more flexible on the 1,000 calories. Just don't go mad !!!
Currently I am cutting out as many carbs as I can and this has helped me lose a bit more weight. I have a lactose & gluten intolerance so have to avoid many foods as it will otherwise spark my Trimethylaminuria. So I know what you are going through.
Thanks! Yes going out to eat is very difficult for me. Oh if only I could eat 1,000 calories a day. My average is 800-900 per day. And you are right it depends on what sort of calories you are putting in. 200 calories from a candy bar are alot different than 200 calories in cheese. Good luck with your weight loss journey. My husband and I have decided we are going to try the Keto way of eating.
I was diagnosed with PMR and diabetes Easter last year. Since then, in spite of being on Pred, I have lost 9 stone and the diabetes has gone. The latter does not have to be the life long progessive degenerative disease it is made out to be in most cases. Excessive weight can be symptomatic of too much insulin.
I strongly recommend that you read what Jason Fung (a Canadian qualified doctor who has specialised in nephrology - kidneys) in his 3 books - start with The Obesity Code. With his helpful books and a careful balance of dietary supplements (suggest you also look at Sarah Myhill's book Sustainable Medicine), I think I have probably fared better during this time than many other sufferers here on the forum - might just be good luck, but I like to think I have contributed to my (so far) positive fortune with my efforts.
There are many food stuffs you have mentioned, which you might be better off without for the time being if you wish to be successful with your aim.
My Pred is down during this time from 15 mg Easter 2017 to 2.5 as I write. At the moment I am not hurting, aching or feeling fatigued at all. Will go down another .5 next week. I declined all other medication which the GP tried to force on me last Easter.
The medical establishment, pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers are pedling a great deal of misinformation about what is healthy based on arbitrary "expert" opinion and several key historic studies have been swept under the carpet. It's scandalous. This is my bete noir and it makes me very cross! I'm sorry I don't have time to go into it here - I have to go and teach. The information is out there - go seek if you're interested.
Good luck, Sunny....looking forward to hearing about your progress!
I have a feeling a may have lit the blue touch paper now so if anyone wishes to shoot me down in flames - carry on!
Thank you so much for yout response and heartfelt honest opinion. I would have to agree with what you said about pharma and food manufactorers after all it is a business. I just try to do my research from various angles until i feel like I have a true, or as true as I can find information. Have always been interested in the naturopathic way of doing things.
I don't take any meds unless I absolutely have to.
I look forward to reading the 2 books you have listed here. Knowledge is power!
Hi, I have also gained weight on steroids. Not too much, but still upsetting. I have decided that I will only eat carbs at the weekends. Such as bread (which I love). During the week it is just protein and vegetables. I am lucky that I do not have food sensitivities. I do walk with my dog almost every day and do Pilates. I’ve even found now after all this time that I prefer to eat the way I do during the week. You might try this and see how it goes. (I forgot one thing, I do eat oatmeal for breakfast, though with raisins and sliced almonds) and no sugar. Also have you tried soy milk, or some of the other milks that are not cows milk, if you are lactose intolerant?
The trouble with that is that when you eliminate most of the carbs your body uses a different sort of metabolism - it gets into what is called a ketogenic state and then uses fat to produce energy so you lose the weight. If you eat a load of carbs all at once over the weekend it may get you totally out of the ketogenic state and it takes a few days to get back - just in time for the next weekend.
Well since I have a gluten insensitivity most of my carbs come from fruit. And the once a month low carb tortilla or pizza. My husband and I have decided to eat the keto way so we will see how that goes. Thank you for your response.
Maybe add in more varieties of humus (Lima bea, black bean) and more veg with that (celery, radish, red pepper....), olives..... over time your guts may get happier about digesting the veg and start wanting that over other foods. Good luck with it!
Sunnyd7, I am a 80 years young, taking 7 mg Prednisone. Gained 20-25 lbs on Prednisone, but with reducing carbs, the amount I eat and exercise I have lost all the weight I gained. Good luck, think positive. ☺️
In my journey with this dopey disease I have lost, from my heaviest, over 100 lbs. But before you get too excited, I got there in a very weird way - and that may give you some hints as to how you can help.
First, I went on strict Clint Paddison, before I had the specific diagnosis of PMR, and I found living on brown rice and sweet potatoes for almost six months gave me such vegan-veggie fatigue that I just became anorexic and didn't want to eat anything ever again. Food was no longer comforting or tasty - it was just food and I had to force myself to get it down.
I went on prednisone and I kept on losing, though. Why? Because my stomach had shrunk back to a normal size after having been obese for over 10 years. As another respondent said, it's about portion size.
Which brings me to your soda once a day - cut that out right now. What carbonated beverages do is bloat your stomach to a bigger size, and then you feel like you need more food. It's like stretching a rubber band many times until suddenly it doesn't hold its shape anymore. If water doesn't have flavor for you (I hate drinking water), then try to flavor water with the fruit juice - fruit juice has magnesium and potassium, too, so it's good for you in small amounts.
Other things I learned along the way - dairy sucks. Dairy is inflammatory to adult humans. We are not baby cows. No more cheese of any sort. If you're worried about calcium, dairy is actually a rotten way to get calcium because it's not absorbed as well from dairy as it is when you get it from spinach or other foods. For me, nightshade can be a problem - eggplant is sometimes okay, but tomato sauce is a huge problem.
Mostly I try to stick to a plant-based diet for just "regular" eating, and then if I go out with friends and we're in a place where there are more choices, I avoid dairy but now I can handle chicken and fish. Eggs? Death. I have no idea why. Even poached. Which really annoys me, because I love eggs.
My next experiment is with ghee, because all of the solids are cleared out of the butter and it's supposed to be okay for PMR. My friend is a nutritionist, and she says I've naturally gravitated toward the 'candida' diet if that helps.
But the key to the weight loss is definitely portions. I was eating a ton of rice noodles at one point, still losing weight, and they have a ton of carbs in them. But wheat? Forget it.
Last thing - get an electronic scale that shows you your BMI. If you watch the BMI number you'll be able to see how much of your weight is water and how much is muscle - I've lost a ton of muscle since getting this stupid thing called PMR. If I gain "weight" and the BMI also goes up, then I can tell I'm just retaining water, and if I wait a few hours I can see it go back down again.
Call me thick if you like but how on earth does something that measures your weight when you step on it calculate BMI, body fat % and water% ?. If I stand on the scales and it gives me a BMI of X, then I drink 3 litres of water and get back on, what parameters are used by the scales to detect that the extra weight is water and not fat or undigested food?. Is there some way you set these scales to your sex, height, age etc?.
By the way. If these scales can really work all that out simply by me stepping on to them, I'm getting some.
They don't really and aren't accurate - but are sold as doing what they theoretically should be able to do. All sorts of things will affect the track of the electric signals that should do the bioelectrical impedance analysis.
It can be done accurately - but with far more sophisticated techniques. Which, of course, are more expensive...
Well, I guess if I need to get scales I might as well get a pair of these. I will take into account the inaccuracy and concentrate on the weight factor as my guide.
Agree with PMRpro and Livestrong. I worked with someone who was 4'11" according to the BMI index to be at her best weight she had to weigh somewhere between 89-96 pounds. I am 5'3 and they want me to weigh 138 - 143 on a chart I looked at. 150 is a very healthy looking weight for me. I don't want to disappear when I turn sideways.
Also read that it doesn't take into account your muscle mass.
I figure it I feel good, look good to me and feel healthy than that is enough.
Loads of advice here, but I'm just going to throw two more things into the mix. Did you know that when you drink sugar free soda the body still thinks it's getting sweet stuff and pours insulin into your system? It is not a good thing and maybe you should rethink your liking for it? But hold that thought because I may have a solution contained in my second point. Fermented foods may help you improve your gut health which will in turn help you to metabolize foods better and maybe even help you feel better. If you are not used to them, please introduce them very slowly and in small amounts (like a tablespoon) so your gut doesn't rebel. You can slowly enjoy more in both quantity and variety. Fermented foods include yoghurt, of course, and fermented milk, kefir, but also some cheese, as well as a large variety of fermented vegetables. Sauerkraut is the most well known, but even it comes in many forms and we have a local farmer who makes kraut with other vegetables, like beets, seaweed, turmeric, carrots and so forth. There's kimchi, curtido, and other things.
And, what you've been waiting for all your life but didn't know it: kombucha. Fermented tea. I recently had some which tasted exactly like ginger ale. The local producer experiments with all sorts of ingredients, different fruits and herbs, and I have liked every one of them. Again you would need to introduce it slowly, maybe only a couple of ounces at first.
Thank you! I saw something about fermented foods but didn't get into it to deeply. Also have been wanting to try Kombucha. So maybe I will try the Kombucha first. I like a website named draxe.com. He is all about healing through food, herbs and using essential oils for things like natural deodorant, body wash, facial moisturizer. He talks about fermented foods and leaky gut syndrome, that is where I first heard about fermented foods. Kombucha here I come!!!
I am 77 and was diagnosed with PMR about 2 and a half years ago. I started on 15mg preds and over the last year slowly reduced my intake down to 1mg. Bad news my PMR returned and my ESR level higher than when I first was diagnosed so I am back on 15mg preds for 10 days and gradually reducing again!
I put on a lot of weight (partly due to increased hunger and minimal exercise due to stiffness etc.) I made a concerted effort to lose weight by counting every calorie I consumed during the day and night to max. 1000 cals. Managed to shed 31lbs since end Feb this year. Still need to lose another 20 lbs at least if possible but it's getting harder.
I have discovered a subs. rice, past and noodles which are only 9 cals per 100g serving made from organic Konjac flour and Organic Oat fibre. It is zero carbs gluten free, wheat free and sugar free you can obtain it on the internet or Holland and Barrett. Maybe that will help you. Let me know. Good luck!
It never went away! The pred only manages the symptoms of an underlying ongoing autoimmune disorder that makes your immune system attack your body as if it were foreign - that creates inflammation which is counteracted by the pred. If you reduce the pred dose too far, the inflammation mounts up again and you are back where you started. Since you got to 1mg before it resurfaced you probably will only need a very low dose to manage it successfully long term, well under 5mg. The underlying cause of what we call PMR continues for an average of about 6 years - anything from 2 years up and 75% of patients need up to 6 years to get off pred.
Low calorie eating may help lose pred-associated weight for a time - but your body realises it is being deprived, thinks it is in a starvation situation and starts to conserve its stocks of fat and weight-loss stops. Low CARB on the other hand means you are eating enough for the body to think it is in a land of milk and honey - but it has to use the fat stores to make energy and so the fat stores are used up. The pred cushions on midriff, face and back of the neck melt away - and so do other areas where fat is hiding.
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