Weight gain

[mustcarryon]

Weight gain

How can you keep your weight down when you are taking steroids. Although i have a healthy diet i have put so much weight on. Any ideas/

MCO

[MrsNails]

Hi, have a look at my Post from August this year.....

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Koalajane]

I would suggest that you cut your carbs down. After my PMR diagnosis I gained another diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and went on a low carb high fat diet. I lost over 3 stone and put my diabetes into remission.

Good luck

[SnazzyD]

Low carb! It depends on the person. Mrs Nails’s post above gives lots of detail about her approach. From the start I had to cut out all pasta, rice, potato, bread, all flours, sugar, maize, etc. A standard healthy diet was not enough. Lots of good fats, especially plant based oils helped to feel sated and a lot of protein for my disappearing muscles too. The other thing is to watch salt with Pred. At high doses any salt at all, even hidden salt, made my face puff up so my eyelids felt heavy. I was able to introduce some carbs back but now I just don’t notice these carbs missing most of the time.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It depends what you regard as a healthy diet: most recommendations these days still include a relatively large amount of carbs - and when you are on corticosteroids it is carbs that count most. Pred changes the way your body processes carbohydrate and it is important to cut processed carbs and added sugar as much as possible. This also helps reduce the risk of developing steroid-induced diabetes.

How much you need to cut carbs depends on you - Snazzy and I both have to cut our carb intake to 20g a day in order to lose weight, it is a lot easier to maintain your weight though. But at that level - one apple or one banana takes you over the 20g mark without any carbs in other foods such as dairy and vegetables. I eat no bread, cakes, biscuits - except a small portion as a treat very occasionally. I eat lots of cheese, fish and meat (I say lots, portion control is also important, 4-6oz is a large portion of meat or fish for me), loads of salad leaves, cucumber and moderate tomatoes, dressed with olive oil and vinegar, and above ground vegetables and small amounts of root veg.

I eat lunch (a large bowl of salad usually) and dinner (fish or meat and roast veggies of all sorts) and have 2 mugs of tea for breakfast. I am rarely hungry so don't need snacks. I lost 35lb PMR and pred related weight after starting eating like that and although I have gained some back I don't have any sign of moonface or midriff bulge.

I find this site

dietdoctor.com/

gives good, easy to understand info about what to eat and what to avoid and also has recipes and meal suggestions, all free. You don't need to join.

[Bro-]

I also have a healthy diet and started 60 mg 9 days ago -I’m watching my salt and sugar intake eating a lot of vegetables and protein but my face is starting to bloat and bra strap is so tight !! I’m counting calories now but cutting good carbs in my opinion is not a good idea. - our bodies need nutrition right now from all Whole Foods and fiber . Hoping this slight calorie deficit will work I’ve also went from working out 5 days a week to sedentary - hoping to at least walk when I feel better. Are you more hungry on them?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Bro-]

Unfortunately the pred makes carbohydrate a problem. We dont say NO carbs, we say LOW carb and it is your choice what sort of carbs you choose but if you eat a lot, you are more likely to gain weight and deposit fat because of the pred. I think a lot of people will tell you that calorie counting rarely helps - particularly if you are using low fat foods as so many have added sugar to replace the flavour the fat brings.

[Bro- in reply to PMRpro]

So eating carbs healthy carbs like oatmeal and and brown rice are a problem on Pred?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Bro-]

They may do if you have a weight problem and are eating more carbohydrate than you personally can deal with. Snazzy and I have to get very low to lose weight, maintaining it is easier but we need to get to 20g carbs for success. Lots of people do well with maybe 50g carbs per day.

A bowl of porridge/oatmeal made with milk can easily be 30+g carbs (40g oats and 300ml milk is 38g carbs), not sure how big a portion of brown rice is, but 1 cup of cooked rice is 50+g carbs, Then you have to add the carbs in any vegetables, dairy products or other carb-contianing foods you eat. Each may not be much but they all add up and things like fruit add up very quickly: one apple or one banana can be well over 20g carbs each.

[Yellowbluebell]

Low carb diet. I didnt follow one from my diagnosis and my fridge became my best friend but I put on over two stone in about 6 months. I have now stopped a lot of carbs and sugar and midnight snacking and lost a stone. This has been help by my reducing pred dose as well. Dont try to cut all carbs just reduce. YBB