I have been dealing with prednisone hunger since being diagnosed with pmr. in 2016.
I have gained 15 lbs. in that time and am now trying to take the weight off.
I am really struggling with the hunger prednisone causes. I have lost lbs by taking protein shakes and 1 meal a day. No snacking, no sugar no simple carbs. The hunger on some days is just incredible. I am getting at least 1200 calories a day, some days a little more. I know prednisone affects insulin and that is probably what causes the hunger. I am not diabetic. The last few days have been the worst ever and after 6 weeks of working on this, I lost the battle yesterday. I did eat only good foods but I just couldn't get full. The hunger was just too strong to fight against. Has anyone conquered this type of hunger and if so how are you doing it?
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Linny3
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You are not eating enough! A low carb high fat diet is the way to go. I had a massive stir-fry last night, without noodles for a change, and i was full for hours. I used ground oil to fry it all, had Quorn as i dont eat meat, about 3 or 4 green veg, baby sweetcorn and used a few bits of carrot as the noodles. Don't usually do that but there was carrot spaghetti in the supermarket. I had 2 desserts spoons of peanut butter in ay the end vinegar soy sauce and sesame for flavour along with chinese 5 spice. I have told you that because i have been eating like that for 2 years and have lost over 2stones (i was big to start with). But eating a lot of good veg, fish/meat/quorn or whatever is the best approach. I eat chocolate occasionally and have the odd bag of crisps. Dont starve yourself by having shakes as you need to eat in a way thats sustainable. Low carb high fat is.🌻
Theres a pinned post about low carbs and cals. There are a couple of free website links on it that might help you and a book on carbs. It slow but i find it easy compared to any other eating programme and i have done them all since the 70s. This has just been "eating" not dieting.
I so need to get back on track and eat like this again. Think combination of comfort eating and just feeling too exhausted to think properly led me to weight gain. Been 5months since started Pred and feeling uncomfortable even in my comfy clothes.😕
Its always a state a mind that trips you up. As i said to someone the other day. I was totally honest with myself about how many carbs i ate a day. From that 100% number i cut 75%, then 50%. This took 2 months to drop and weigh was starting to shift. In order to find out what your 100% carb number is go online for a carb counter. Good luck and maybe your time is now as you posted?
Keep a cucumber in the fridge, wrapped in foil, make sure it is all covered. When the pangs come, cut one inch off it..................and eat it and you can keep on repeating this......cucumber is mainly water and some essential minerals.
Oh yes, I know that well; I would cry with hunger because I wouldn’t give in. That was until I learned to stuff my face with only veg between meals or protein which usually meant fat as well. I never worried about fat as part of another food and it was essential with a meal. What I didn’t eat was any bread, pasta, potato, maize, rice, anything made with any type of flour, even wholemeal. Two small glasses of wine a week and 2 pieces of high cocoa dark choc a day. I only ate fruit as a desert and not a snack and once a month would have a bit of cake or something. Nuts were great too. Didn’t put on weight in two years. I also gave up nearly all salt, even hidden salt to stop fluid retention. Now at below 5mg I need some but never add it. I still don’t have carbs with my meals because I forget now but I know that on 2/2.5mg my body still is Preddy when it comes to metabolism.
The advantage of the low carb approach is that you are able to fill up on protein and fats in foods - low cal without such filling options is almost bound to lead to hunger especially if you "eat" shakes. They have nothing to fill you up and within a short time your stomach is empty and rumbling. And the end result is almost always your experience of yesterday.
Its sounds obvious but also no blending veg based soups as it takes longer to be digested if its in lumpy form therefore keeps you fuller longer.
Low carb high fat works for me. Fat and protein keeps me full. I have lost one stone in 6 months despite drinking FAR too much alcohol at weekends. I am eating on average far more than 1600 calories daily...a calorie total which used to mean weight gain for me.
The problem is we have been force fed the mantra ‘low fat’ for so long that when we do low carb most of us keep on with low fat. And that combination is just not sustainable. Hunger kicks in big time.
Think I will add a little more fat to my diet. I already use walnut oil and flaxseed oil but maybe not enough. What kind of fats is everyone thinking is good?
I've been eating low carb and not worrying about fat for the last 2 years, then last blood test my colesterol was high. Doc blamed it on the pred. Would rather not start statins so where now. I mostly eat low LDL, nuts, seeds, olive oil, fish etc but cheese rather than meat and butter on my one slice of toast, must these go? As it is pred causing it rather than diet are statins the only answer?
I think i will be asked the same question next month at my 3monthly check up. Someone (sorry cant remember who) said her aunt had great success bringing LDL etc down by eating porridge folliwed by an orange every morning. I am stopping my statin once that blood test is done and trying the porridge orange combo. Then i shall see what happens.
That's interesting I've already changed the toast for oats will have to add orange thanks. So far I have only looked at the statins and read the leaflet.
I have been taking them for almost 20yrs since i was dx with type2 diabetes. Tbe first lot (atorvastatin) caused arm pain which i didnt realise until i forgot to order them and my arms stopped hurting that way. After 6 to 8 mths cholesterol went up 2pts so i accepted pravastatin..whuch as far as i know has been ok. But we will see about that too when I stop taking them. I honestly would like to.find a dietary way to sort it. I have been veggie for years and dont often have tbe culprits usually involved ...until past 2 years when so far its not shifted one way or tbe other. The evidence is piling up against their efficacy for women now. I suppose i am.becoming a statin denier as an article said the other day.
I had gone to dr because I was worried about muscle weakness when he told me about the test results. One of the main side effects listed is muscle weakness. Then he says let me know if they make your muscles ache! How am I supposed to know they ache already!
It was jinasc and her cousin who had a stroke years ago and was told by the stroke clinic to try porridge and orange. It is the soluble fibre that does it...
Thanks, I have had a couple of sleeps (even short ones count) since i read it. The threads over the past few days make me dizzy as they whizz past on my phone but its been lively. I keep waiting for a family member to donate an old laptop but they use them until they have crashed and burned.
If it is any consolation it's been a bit hectic on a computer too!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH just spent an afternoon bashing hell out of the hard drives of a couple of VERY old laptops - even WE couldn't make use of them. Not entirely sure how old the UK TV viewing one is ...
I am currently without a GP again as the last one kept saying I'm a ticking time bomb due to my cholesterol.. After a few weeks off the Actemra and my LDL has come down to almost normal.
I have been loving the butter after years of stinky marg type stuff. As long as you mix "good" and "bad" fats it all pans out. Nuts good and i have the occasion raisin with them as a snack. The fat in the nut and fibre in the raisin reduce absorption time of "sugar".
Always full fat yoghurt for me, cream in my porridge and coffee.
Butter, some cream, olive oil, some nuts (pecans and almonds are least carby) fat on meat, oily fish, coconut oil.
To be honest low carb is really difficult unless you increase fat. And because we have for so many decades been told fat is ‘bad’ It is really difficult to change that mindset.
I never believed that myth about fat being bad and have always sought out full fat yogurts (quite difficult until recently, I think the penny is finally dropping), plus butter and cream, streaky bacon etc. These replace the carbs when it comes to feeling satiated. Heaven only knows how you can manage low carb AND low fat!
I was irritated by a TV programme this evening spinning that old tale that ‘fat makes you fat’ while relaying that there is an obesity crisis. Well of course there is when these idiots aren’t advising people to cut carbs!
I look at supermarket trolleys at any time of year now and think "They wonder why they are overweight" (and that is being kind!). It used to be you filled the trolley like that at Xmas and Easter - now it is every week. I don't know about you - but did you "snack" as a child? We had 3 meals, if you didn't eat what was there (and it wasn't that much) there was nothing until the next meal ...
In my recent efforts to shed extra pounds I have found low carb much easier than other approaches - I am not nearly as hungry as with other 'diets' (usually anyway) although it took a bit of determination initially as any such 'big' changes do. I feel inspired however by my Aunt in her 80's who recently lost more than 50 pounds - even though still she caters with delicious desserts (she doesn't herself partake of) for family and social gatherings. She has talked about a 'lifestyle change' - and ultimately this is what works in the longer term and we and our bodies will get accustomed to a new norm over time and hunger will not be such a 'nag'.
I have the same problem and like you I am careful what I eat. My doctor said to me the steroids cause the hunger but it’s what you eat puts on the weight.
Before my meals I eat celery and drink water, it really does take away the hunger, after my meal I will have an apple. Good luck
I have managed to keep my weight stable, even lost a bit on steroids- I make a big bowl of overnight oats soaked in almond milk- then if am starving during the day eat some of that- also lentil cakes crackers you can buy with peanut butter spread thinly helps if still hungry after supper- even have the odd treat of cake or pizza just cut back for the next meal.I also have quite a lot of fruit- apples and pears are good, tropical fruits not so good
I deeply sympathise as it is so so so hard. For me as soon as I heard the 'weight gain' prognosis on pred I freaked and went cold turkey. No carbs or sugar! Def no salt either. I am vegan so its a bit tough but I eat so much fruit and veg, avocado every day on a piece of german style rye bread with olive oil, brazil, almonds and walnuts every day with sunflower seeds as a pocket snack. I have a store of dark raw chocolate in the fridge and have a few cubes of that if needed and the wonder pukka and macha or tumeric (anti inflammatory) drink (tesco sell it) that I have at night made with coconut, almond or oat milk, its a real comfort drink and good stuff too. I have almond, and coconut soya yogurt in the fridge but also travel and work away from home a lot and may saviiur is little pots of fruit (that I prep myself as the prepared ones in shops can get expensive) and at least 3 apples in my bag at any one time. I am still on 25 mg of pred 10 months into GCA and I have lost 9 llbs BUT it is a battle every day but one I will fight as fat is not an option - the moon face - facial hair and my long hair loss due to also being on methotrexate is bad enough. You can do it!!! I also bruise easily but make sure I treat myself to a good body lotion and after every shower lather myself in it so my body feels and smells nice. As a girlie tip I also got rid of all my 'grey' and ill fitting underwear and treated myself to some matching sets to make me feel nice. It is a little boost every day and tells me 'I deserve it'. Once every three weeks I pop into Tesco where they have a beautician and have my nails done and threading on my lip and chin to get rid of the Pred fuzz.... i figure the money I am saving on not drinking my usual G&T (I find drinking makes me feel sick now on so many drugs) pays for these treats and whilst I am not in love with my moon face look, at least I have little feel nice moments. I have battle all my life with my weight (anorexic, bulimic) so for me its not an option to get fat otherwise the pred depression would take over. You can do it - it is mind over matter and I dont say that lightly as I know how hard it is believe me. Good luck, you can do it. FOD x PS: i do do yoga too which helps as i cant exercise due to ligament damage.
This is pretty much what I am doing.. I eat quite a bit of fruit. but off flour except for one piece of toast now and again. and lots of salad very little dressing. I find lo carb high fat makes me queasy. Plus I love my fruit... Love your idea of the new underwear and some physical treats. My mother put it most simply Back away from the trough! haha. She was a stickler for her weight..Much more so than I but lived to be 98 and was wonderful!
The simple answer Linny is that I don't deal with it!!! I, like you have gained lots of weight since being on the dread pred. Gaining weight was my biggest fear and it's happened ("what a man has greatly feared has come upon him"!). I am vain about my appearance so this has hit me hard. I admire people who have managed to lose weight whilst on pred but I am not sure I can join them. I eat a terrific diet with no processed foods. Fresh fruit and veg from my garden lots of fish caught by family and friends (we are lucky enough to live in beautiful Tasmania surrounded by sea). I have eaten low carb for years to keep the middle age spread away but.....PRED seems to have me beaten. I have constant fatigue so have given up on anything but the most gentle of exercise so this is not helping. All power to you out there who have this weight issue licked and beaten!!
Slimming World is wonderful ! I eat loads of fruit, veg and lean protein . I have a fruit salad , home made vegetable soup and a frittata full of veg permanently in the fridge that I pick on when hunger strikes . ( which is often !) . Also lean protein such as chicken, cooked salmon , prawns and quorn which I grab when I find my head in the fridge . ( which is also often!) I try and keep to low fat and low carbs . I recently bought a soup maker because I was finding all the chopping and veg preparation was tiring and messy . It's a brilliant machine! I sling a few handful of roughly chopped veg , herbs, spices water and a stock cube in and have a delicious soup ready in 20 minutes . It's also makes delicious smoothies with fruit and yogurt that have seen better days .......
I think i have been saved this past autumn because fruit wasnt particular nice. Normally i eat fruit even though i have diabetes ( with support of diabetes nurse). I have only limed oranges and fresh figs since xmas.
I too am struggling with weight🙄 Since starting Pred end of March '18 have gained 20lbs😣... It piled on within first 6 months and has plateaued since with no further gain🤞... GP isn't happy about it! I have found, on busier days, food takes a back seat... But don't always feel up to being busy!... I try to walk most days, sometimes briskly... As we age it's more difficult to lose weight anyway... Tapered by .5 to 7mg today and hope with gradual reduction weight might do the same... Not holding my breath though🙄
I have gained no weight since on prednisone. I don't worry about fat content. Use the "good" fats like olive oil and no hormone (from cows) butter every day. I find a vegetable stir fry, many different organics, satisfying. There is something to the "good" feel of chewing food not drinking it. To-day am eating 4oz. of fresh wild salmon with steamed broccoli and small amount of black rice or quinoa for my main meal. Will have a large, green salad with some walnuts and garbanzo beans in it for other meal. Had a piece and a half of sour bread with butter and vegemite for breakfast. If need a snack during day have raw carrots or sugarless cookies.
I’m sure there are others out there with diverticulosis. I have not been able to eat anything raw or nuts or with skin for years. So I gained a ton of weight but now have been slowly taking it off. I’m just eating less and having no sweets.
So sorry to hear that. I can empathise as I have struggled all along. I’ve gone from being someone who could very well control my weight to an absolute greedy guts. It’s like I have no control over my appetite. Or my actions. I tried low carb. It works well for me. I love cheese. Chicken and meat. Not to mention Atkins bars. Can also say I find low carb has taken away my back pain.
The person who said you aren't eating enough is right. There is something about liquids, as in your protein shakes, which does not satisfy hunger the way chewing solid food does. This is physiological, you need to chew your food, not drink it,.
Eating the kinds of foods mentioned by all these wonderful fellow passengers on this journey will help you. I'm a big fan of salad - the kind made with veggies like kale and cabbage and cauliflower and broccoli, lots of chewing, with a tasty simple dressing - I now add a little fermented veg (beet kraut, mmmm, and pretty too) and its juice, and olive oil, maybe salt and pepper. You are on the right track with protein, but get it in a solid form so your brain and stomach know you've actually consumed it.
Agree totally Heron - I also like a big bowl of crunchy greens and all kinds of (above ground) veg to chew and chew - at least that way you FEEL like you have eaten - and I make a delish low carb mayonnaise with Avocado and Olive Oil, lime juice, mustard and an egg yolk - easy to make and so good for you !! Lots of easy examples are online to make such simple dressings. I have been slowly but now steadily losing weight for the last few weeks having this kind of meal for dinner with a small amount of fish or chicken protein and I have not felt hungry often at all.
I use a recipe similar to below - but limes are as good as lemons if you prefer (I do tastier) - I usually use 2 tsps Dijon (low carb) mustard - and you can easily leave out the salt - I prefer cracked black pepper myself. Also if you wish you can add some finely chopped garlic or chillies if that is to your taste. With these variations it is unique really each time. i did purchase one of those Stick Mixers (quite cheap) as it works well for mayo and some other things. I just beat the egg yolk and other ingredients and then drizzle in the oils - sometimes more or less each of avocado or olive. This is a very delicious recipe - easy to make lasts in the fridge a few days only due to raw egg yolk and so is worth making fresh a lot - perfect over raw veg salads as well as fish etc - hope you enjoy !!
HOMEMADE 5-MINUTE PALEO & KETO MAYONNAISE
PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
1 egg yolk
2-4 teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed (use larger amount for a lemony mayo)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon water
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Add egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard, salt and water to a medium bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.
Whisking constantly (you can use the whisk attachment in your immersion blender!), drizzle in a few drops of your oil at a time. Your mixture should be opaque, with all the oil incorporating into the mixture. Once your mixture emulsifies (i.e. begins to thicken), you can increase the speed of oil a tad into a small stream rather than drop by drop. Keep whisking and adding in the oil until a rich and thick mayo emerges (always best to go slower the first time around!).
Keep stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for about 3-4 days.
RECIPE NOTES
Please note that one batch yields about 1 cup (i.e. 16 tablespoons!).
Nutrition Facts
Homemade 5-Minute Paleo & Keto Mayonnaise
Amount Per Serving(1 tablespoon)
Calories 94 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 15%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 12mg 4%
Sodium 40mg 2%
Vitamin A 0.3%
Vitamin C 0.3%
Calcium 0.1%
Iron 0.3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Thanks Rimmy, I’ll be making this! I make all my salad dressings from scratch, as I find the commercial ones here in the US just taste like chemicals to me. Lots of my homemade dressings have a mayo base, and I will enjoy using this on its own, as well as in my other dressings .
It can happen if you get very processed stuff where they add sugars - I've read lots of labels and the cheaper it is (here anyway in OZ) usually the higher the carbs. So I took to making my own as we have such excellent 'organic' eggs and I could use ingredients to tweak the flavour as I suggested to Ciar.
Just looked on google - get it now! But as far as I'm concerned mayo is eggs, olive oil and mustard powder - no carbs anywhere there.
I saw a "low carb bolognaise sauce" on a low carb site some years ago - WHY would you put sugar in bol sauce????? If you cook it a lot longer the tomatoes aren't bitter...
Exactly WHY add sugar to this sauce and LOTS of things !!?? Interestingly after trying low carb foods I am more aware of how much food contains completely 'unnecessary' sugars - pickles, sauces, soups - lots of 'savoury' things you'd never even associate with high sugar. Reading labels and ingredients has become an interesting 'preoccupation' which is quite helpful initially anyway as it means now I have a completely revamped shopping list - knowing which brands for the few processed things I am still prepared to buy ...
They sugar and salt a lot of things because they have reduced fat content and are trying to boost the "taste satisfaction". I wouldn't think of putting sugar to make any sauce i make but still trying to find a solution for a sweet and sour sauce which i do like.
Yes that's a hard one - I used to like that too. i do however like 'tart' flavours like lime and lemon which i squeeze on almost everything - eg. eggs and veg - which are good for the vitamin C and uptaking iron. I'd do that anyway as I love the flavour of citrus (in small quantities) a lot !!
Thanks. I tried a fresh pineapple recipe that was similar and couldnt eat it lol. I may have gone rogue with the recipe as that was when i wasnt feeling great and didnt want to throw a whole pineapple to the mice and birds in the woods. I will try again as theres not a lot if ingredients in that one. I saw something on youtube where they showed you how you should portion a pineapple and i wanted to try it. You use your finger to grab the knotty outside bit and it supposedly you can pull a finger sized but out in a tidy clean way with no chopping. Couldnt get the strength in fingers so sweet and sour yuck made.
Here the technique. I never knew pineapple is a berry. The advert before the v short video is a pain!!
don't cope . thing is even though I've now reduced to 3mg (sometimes 2.75 mg or 2.5mg) my hunger is stilll not abating. I went OK for first 6 mths, since then..next two years its escalting as aI taper!
Might sound a bit weird but have you had thrush at all? The only time now i get cravings is when my gut and other places get the fungal infection. After many years of diabetes i know its thrush i get.Theres no polite way to put this, your waste matter will look like it has very thin ribbons in it that look a bit like tissue. Just a thought. When i get that bad i take an anti thrush tablet and within a few days that craving - especially for carbs disapates. I try and eat probiotic foods to build up.good flora but the spikes in blood sugar won't help.
Hi linny3, I am glad I am not the only one with this problem. I have also had this same problem, and gained all the weight. I am hungry and craving sweet stuff all of the time. Before I never even use to like sweet stuff. I Work 9 hrs a day which is standing and physical work. There doesn't seem to be anyway I can lose this weight, it makes you feel very down. Nothing fits and now have even got a fat Face. Sorry for the moaning, but any suggestions that work. Thank God for this forum and help, as rheumatologist is no help at all
I have always had a sweet tooth but this gets to be insane. However, this hunger is just hunger not really a craving. I am so happy to have lost 17lbs and down a size, but the hunger persists. I am eating very good and I feel better than I have in a very long time. Who wouldn't when not carrying around a 17 lb weight. I can only dream about how I will feel after dropping another 17lbs. I was hoping someone found a magic pill to eliminate the hunger. I guess no one has found one. I am thinking about trying an appetite suppressant. I hesitate because in the past I have found that they are not good for me.
Good luck in your pmr journey.
I found this keto recipe for dough/pastry. I am not keto myself but its low carb for those of you who like dough/pastry meals. I havent tried it but have made crackers with gram flour which were lower in carb - higher in protein.
Hi my name is Dave i had transplant 1 year ago and im type 1 diabetic for 36 years the prednisone make me hungry 15 minutes after a big meal m eating like a pig drinking at least 3-4 litres a day peeing like a horse and im having a very hard time gaing weight? I gain then i lose ? I cant keep it on me. I was 48 kilos 98 lbs after transplant and im only 113 lbs now. 😝 my nurses told me it takes time but a year of eating everything in site where does it go?💪🙏😝
As i am sure you know after all tbese years as T1, it sounds like the pred is causing hyperglycaemia. Hence hunger, thirst, peeing and losing weight. You need to see your diabetes nurse/clinic/gp as your insulin probably needs adjusting.i have added a link to diabetes organisation that has a pdf file you can download.
We don't have a lot of expertise about transplants and type 1 diabetes as we have auto immune conditions, PMR/GCA that we take pred for. You may get better advice on a diabetes forum.
Hi no not ar all took 4 months to get this appointment but as i said my dietician works with doctors team and she can adjust my dose which she has a few days ago so where working together thanks for advice ill keep u posted i think where on the wright track😝
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