How to keep off/lose weight while on increased steroids?

[Sandy1212]

Hello everyone!

I posted on my home forum (Lupusuk) about this and I was advised by one of your members to come to this forum and ask about tips on keeping off/losing weight on increased steroids? I hope it is okay that I am posting here! I am currently on 20mg.

Any advice is welcomed!

[jinasc]

Sent you a PM.

[Sandy1212 in reply to jinasc]

thanks I will check my PM now!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

As I said over there - cut your carbs! That removes both simple carbs/sugar and salt at one go. Salt with pred can make fluid retention a problem - it all addes weight.

If you can't face going almost cold turkey then start with reducing by a quarter, then to half and then to a quarter if you feel comfortable.

Avoid all processed carbs - baked goods are obvious but most processed foods have a lot of added sugar and salt. Look at the labels of flavoured yoghurts for example - and then a plain one! Greek yogs are a good option, good ones are so creamy you don't need sugar and you can add a few berries which are relatively low in sugar. Bananas, apples and grapes in particular should be avoided, and root veg. But salads and above ground veg are relatively low in carbs and that means you can eat lots to fill up. You don't need to worry about looking for low fat products, they almost always have added sugar for flavour so are a real no-no.

Plenty of protein, fish, meat, eggs, and moderate fat for flavour and for stopping you feeling hungry. And once you take the sugar and simple carbs out you should feel a lot less hungry because you don't get the swings in blood sugar which are what cause the cravings. Some of us also use TRE (time restricted eating) but you don't have to.

[Sandy1212 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PMRpro! And thank you for taking the time to send more details on your advice! I will definitely be taking your advice and doing my best to cut down on carbs/sugar. What other fruits apart from berries would you recommend?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Sandy1212]

Look on the dietdoctor link I gave you - there are picture guides that show how much carb there is in various fruits and vegetables and everything else.

dietdoctor.com/low-carb/vis...

But it all comes down to size - an average supermarket apple here is enormous but using a few slices would be OK to enliven a yoghurt.

[Sandy1212 in reply to PMRpro]

I am having a quick look now, will do a better look later. Already it has been helpful!

[Mary63]

Forget calorie counting and low fat, and go for low carb. diet doctor.com gives some good ideas, and you can get the basic version for free. It is difficult at first to change the habits of a lifetime, but I promise that if you have moderate levels of good fats in your diet you won’t feel hungry, at least far less hungry than on low calorie, low fat diet.I have lost 22lbs on low carb, and now am in the normal BMI range.

[Sandy1212 in reply to Mary63]

Thank you Mary63!