Thank you everyone for your suggestions and replies. I’m looking for a new GP and will follow up when I find one. I have an appointment with my rheumy in a week and will discuss the weight loss with her. I will get my thyroid checked. There’s also the option of a consultation with a dietician.
What has helped me is keeping track of what I eat with an app for low carb diet. Seems the main problem is dinner. I just poop out when it’s time to make dinner. If I don’t prep stuff earlier by dinner time I just want to sit on the couch and grab the first available thing, usually something with too many carbs. And then don’t eat enough. Stretching the food budget is another problem.
Another consideration is my son who has special dietary needs. Some days I just want to retire from cooking. At 76 haven’t I cook enough? Ha ha. At least I’m grateful for the food we do have and a home with a kitchen where I can cook it.
Diet Doctor is another site where I’ve gotten some good recceipes. Folks on there are mostly struggling with type Il diabetes trying to lower their A1c and following a strict keto diet of 20g of carbs a day which is pretty difficult and restrictive for me!
Seems like I know what to do but a lot of times just don’t have the energy or will to do it.
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Mstiles
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One way of contributing to combatting the "I don't want to cook" (and I really do identify with THAT!!) is to bulk cook every so often and freeze the result if you can't face eating the same thing for a few days!! My problem is that there is very little that I CAN eat and OH WILL eat! I have become the mistress of 20 minute cooking for 2 ...
There are lots of recipe ideas on the internet. They usually have lots of ads but it may at least give you an idea or 2...
I completely understand what you mean about cooking , it was one if my favourite hobbies but now I struggle to cook quite often and don't get the enjoyment from it if I'm achy or Fatigued.
How old is your Son ?
If he has Special Dietary needs maybe it would be a good idea to teach him the basic meals that are good for him , and you , as it will be good for him to learn the things to cook to take care of himself , and also help relieve you of all the burden of cooking.
Both my OH and Daughter have taken over a lot of kitchen duties , or at least get the things from cupboards for me , or do the chopping and preparing and check , stir things and serve up if I am too tired.
They both have busy lives but realise it's important for us all to eat properly and take turns to manage to do it.
Another option I used was making the food during a time in the day when I had more energy , then putting it in to cook or reheat later.
Big pans of stews and soups are good and budget friendly for this sort of cooking , you can get two or three meals from them and just heat servings when you need them , adding more vegetables or serving with a jacket potato or rice.
If you feel up to it make one bulk meal a day , like mince and tomatoes, chicken , mixed beans and veg, that you can turn into other dishes later with other seasonings and sides ,
then freeze or fridge some and eat some.
I don't suggest trying to do lots if dishes on a good day in an old style cooking session , all in one go, because that all or nothing approach often makes you pay for it later.
Don't forget , you are "skinny" not scared of weight gain , so some of the more high fibre slowly digested Low G.I carbs that other people whom want to lose weight remove for a low carb diet you can eat .
You don't want to pile in white carbs or processed foods , but you don't need to be as restricted with carbs as people on a weight loss regime , just selective in the carbs you use.
You can have more fruit , especially bananas and green apples with skin and citrus , brown rice , potato with skins , root vegetables , oats, pulses and beans as part of a balanced plate of food . A plate combining protein and fat and carbs so that you get the calories without the sugar or carb spikes, is better if you need to healthily put on weight ,
It could be that part of the problem for you is that you have cut by your carbs too far by following the app too closely rather than adjusting carb levels in a way that suits your needs.
You can eat more nuts , healthy snacks and protein packed dips .
If you fall underweight , you have no energy reserves in stored fat , you add to your Fatigue doing even simple things.
Being underweight can also cause thyroid like symptoms , extreme tiredness , dizziness, hair loss and skin issues.
That's why seeing the Dietician and explaining your need to put on weight while in Steroids will be helpful , although they can be a bit hit and miss much like physios unless they have knowledge of these issues.
They will at least help you to stop thinking weight restrictive diet and more " Diet for Life"
Thank you so much for all the helpful ideas Blearyeyed. Looking back I think the rising A1c was caused last spring and summer by a combination of things: moving, lots of stress, financial plus family, which caused me to get careless about my diet which caused a flare which resulted in a lot of pain so I didn’t walk as before etc etc.
Then getting maybe too restrictive on carbs causing more weight loss etc.
I have access to an integrative physician and dietary consultation that I will budget for. It would help with trying to plan meals for my son and me. He is 50, he has an ileostomy, Crohn’s disease, and also bouts of gout so he has to watch what he eats. He works two physically demanding jobs so I’ve done most of the cooking.
I know they are not entirely the solution but have you considered the high protein drinks that are available, some of which are low sugar. They are not the entire solution but could boost your protein intake. Also ready meals are worth a consideration for days when you are really tired. Sometimes I think it is better to be realistic about what you actually have the energy to eat and cook.
I thought about this but am completely turned off by the chemicals in them. However I found this, which I can't buy in Canada (apparently it has too much Vitamin D for the health authorities here)
Foil packs have been a life-saver for me, especially during the warmer months when I can throw them on the bbq, and clean up is a snap (just throw away the tinfoil, no dishes). They can also be cooked in an oven.
Here is a link to website that features a variety of foil packs to suit dietary needs/restrictions.
My sister and I found this website and it’s a game changer! Go to
happymoneysaver.com and look up the “15 actually easy freezer meals”. You spend one Sunday getting them all prepped and you have meals for weeks if there’s only two of you as they make six servings each. So delicious and easy! Hugs from California
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~Follow up on temporal artery biopsy & GCA? 
Follow up post weird 'allergic' reaction / dry mouth. 
Follow up with the doctor. Markers down but still in pain 
just a follow up re previous posts on MTX
