Help!!!!....I’ve put on 2 stones (28lb) since starting pred ... I just don’t have motivation to stop comfort eating in the evenings and am in a habit of choc biscuits chocolate and ice cream along with a lager or glass of wine a night ! 🙈 the prednisolone fat makes me so depressed I don’t recognise myself anymore 😭 hate it! Where do I start???? My husband has just been diagnosed with lupus so we are both doing the same thing ( comfort eating) so it’s a road to disaster I know.... just don’t have motivation.... I know what to do is cut the carbs ... I just need motivation and help...
Help where do I start?: Help!!!!....I’ve put on... - PMRGCAuk
Help where do I start?
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Tayzee
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Hello there. The hard way but certain way is to not buy the goodies in the first place. It might seem drastic but it sounds like you need to take away the temptation and conflict from the way you are both feeling about your gains and that you both feel you need to comfort eat in the evenings. Do this for a time, survive it and perhaps see if you can reintroduce a bit.
Hi TayzeeI’ll attach my story of how l lost 28lbs last year in 5months - l had a High Hb1Ac Result, one point of Steroid Induced Type2 Diabetes & the threat of diabetes was the proverbial kick l needed!
Allegedly this is Late Spring, you could go for a walk in the evening & change your routine, unfortunately if you carry on comfort eating you will develop Type2 Diabetes & neither of you want that on top of PMR & Lupus.
Wishing you Luck 🍀🍀
MrsN
There is no shortcut to weight loss - and anyone who tell you otherwise is lying. You have already identified that you need to stop snacking and drinking alcohol in the evening.
SnazzyD has wisely suggested not buying the things that you should not be eating; this is easiest if you go shopping when you have eaten, rather than when you are hungry.
Better still, plan your meals for the week - including breakfasts and planned, healthy snacks - and make a shopping list. Either go shopping and buy only what is on the list or, if you really lack self-control, put in an online order and order only what is on the list.
MrsNails has reminded you that as well as PMR and lupus, you and your husband are at risk of type 2 diabetes, and has shared her story. You have taken the difficult step of owning up to your difficulties in a public forum, take that courage and apply it to the way that you are living and the choices that you are making.
Good luck.
• in reply to
Hi Tayzee and Norfolk enchants
What an insightful reply!
Fully agree that you can walk a mile with lots of Tiny steps more successfully than any other method - as long as you're going in the direction!
All the best!
Alps
I would agree with all that has been said. I have cut carbs and also walk about 13,000 steps each day. I did get the motivation as I was diagnosed type 2 a few months after my PMR diagnosis. 6 months later by changing my diet and walking I was in remission. It can be done
Thank you ... I really know what I have to do .... I think I have got in a rut and my go to comfort is food ( carbs and sugary treats) and alcohol ... not a good combination. I am very stressed atm as my husband has just been diagnosed with lupus and has been off work for 8mths .... just had rheumatologist referral that finally gave it a name and a way forward ... he’s now on hydroxychliroquine .... I think I’ve lost me and comfort eating is my way out ( which of course isn’t and makes everything worse) and of course he follows what I do too which doesn’t help either of us.... gonna start Keto and get myself back .... I have to 🤞🏻🤞🏻
I became pre diabetic at one point, and didn't want to add to the problems I already have....I cut my portions first of all.....then lowered carbs after a few weeks....no snacking.....I was 11 st 4 .....now 9 st 12....my appetite became less and less. I often read that the body needs several hours of no food....for me that is evening and nightime...no snacking!.....I really look forward to my breakfast!...it works for me....my DIL has tried keto, she struggled with it and gave up....Good luck.....you can do it!!....
Just want to add that a good way of cutting portion size is to use the 5:2 diet for a short time, it really helped me reassess portion sizes before sorting everything else out once I wasn't getting hungry.Another help is to use a smaller plate - if the plate is full of the same amount of food, you feel more satisfied!
Dinner plates in the 70s were 9 inch diameter - a normal dinner plate can be 12 inches or more now. Very stylish perhaps - but encouraging to pile the plate full ...
My O H tells everyone he gets 2/3rds and I eat a 1/3rd!.....but he never gains weight....he walks a lot in the early mornings....lucky him.....lately on which is normally a busy road...a tawny owl looking down at him from a tree....and this morning saw two hedgehogs!...we don't live far from the city or a university!........sorry to digress....
Plate size IS important. I have found that.
I still need a big plate - or the salad leaves fall off!
I also have a big plate for lunch most days, but it's filled full of salad and more salad, and a couple of hard boiled eggs. The thing I'm a bit concerned about, though, is my home-made mayonnaise. I do tend to have too much of that, I think.
That's the joy of low carb - proper mayo is allowed and very filling.
I like mayo too. I've tried mixing it 50/50 with soya yoghurt to cut down the calories.
If you are doing low carb, then the calories in properly made mayo are immaterial but adding soya yogurt will increase the carb count, not that much but the carbs in everything do eventually add up.
Thanks. I'm not doing 'low carbs' - just watching the calories.
It was a general comment - because you wouldn't use the yoghurt approach in low carb or (especially) keto.
Thanks again. The plain 'no sugars' soya yogurt I eat has zero carbs and sugar which I find useful for keeping calories down when mixed with mayo.
I feel keto is too extreme for me. Low carb high fat suits me.
PMRproAmbassador
I've replied to you on the other thread about keto but I just want to say that it is probably not a good idea to switch from your current eating patterns to keto or even very low carb overnight - you will probaly feel quite unwell and that might be enough to put you off continuing which isn't really the idea.
One lady said she wrote down what carbs she ate and cut it by a quarter for the first couple of weeks, then another quarter every couple of weeks until she was down to a quarter of the starting amount. That way you don't miss it as much so it is easier to adjust to. Drastic diets don't work when the change is so great you are unhappy and missing your established pattern of eating.
It's already been said - not buying the carby treats in the first place is a good start. If it isn't there, you can't eat or drink it. Keeping an honest food diary is also a good idea - especially if you do one with the old eating pattern first. Do shopping once a week if that works - less opportunity to give in to temptation! It is easy to work out the carbs in foods now - packaged foods often list the carb content but banning processed foods is one way to cut the hidden carbs in them. You wouldn't believe where added sugar hides, never mind the obvious carbs of biscuits and icecream! I found a recipe for bolognaise sauce on a low carb website once - he added sugar to it! It wasn't much BUT - my bolognaise sauce is olive oil and onions, lean minced beef and tomato passata and a lot of herbs. NO sugar. ...
Thanks for the sound advice l will bear it in mind 👍🏻
• in reply toTayzee
Hi Tayzee. So sorry to hear of your struggles. Really understand having gone down a similar path. Husband has COPD and has been gradually deteriorating alongside me with PMR and acute sensitivity to Pred. Its been hard with neither one really able to strengthen or encourage the other. In amongst all the brill advice given by everyone else regarding food, diet, exercise etc I just want to touch on the emotions that are driving the comfort eating. It is so important to focus on your mental wellbeing and find the friend on the inside who will draw you to value yourself and so take care of yourself physically. Mindfulness or meditation is a great way to quietly pause and find fresh inner strength and hope. One day at a time, becoming more aware of the emotions that trigger the need for comfort will help you to change the habits. Finding real relaxation techniques will help you feel better from inside out and strengthen you. Take good care. Things will get better.
Oh I am sorry. But your husband can help so much as you could diet/eat together. I’m fortunate that my husband is a brilliant cook. We plan our week’s menus together around what is coming in the veg box and then shop locally for just what we need fresh. Cupboards are generally full of staples. So planning and eating the same food together really helps us. Unfortunately he prefers red wine while I have white. So that means opening two bottles!
Atomic habits by James clear is a great book with lots of ideas and hints - one of which is making good habits easy - so don’t buy chocolate, ice cream etc but do put healthy snacks in an obvious place -definitely worth a read I think
Hi. It’s definitely hard to do but well worth it health wise. Pre PMR I lost 3st on the Michael Mosley fast800 diet. As said in a recent post on here. I don’t know much about PMR being new to this but loosing that weight after a diabetes scare meant I have been at my healthiest and fittest for decades (am 63). If you do fall offThe wagon (we are all human) it’s the one day at a time approach. Don’t give up completely be gentle with yourself and start again the next day. That was new to me and I keep doing it and I have been firmly in green zone of bmi chart for over 6 months now so it’s sticking. Wishing you and your husband so much luck with this. And support here if you need it.
It is really hard as the condition makes you less able to exercise and steroids do cause weight gain. I also put on 2 stone and was already 2 stone more than I was prior to PMR (it took a year to diagnose). The turning point for me was fear of diabetes and extra risk from Covid with a higher BMI. It was during the lockdown March 2020 and not going out and into shops really helped as I just ordered healthier foods. I also restricted eating to between 10am and 6pm each day and found I was not snacking in the evening. I also followed Michael Moseleys 800 6 days a week and had one day of normal eating. I did this for 12 weeks (GP was happy for to follow this) and I lost 3 stone. I have continued to eat between 10 and 6 and have 2 days on 800 and eat Mediterranean diet the rest of the time. I do have blips and then go back to a few days on 800. I did notice that the change in diet was having a positive effect on my symptoms and over Christmas when I had a couple of weeks of alcohol and sugary treats I had a flair up of symptoms. I also do exercise as much as the condition allows me and I find this makes me feel better
I was in your boat ! piled on 2 stone before i knew it, This is one of the horrible side affects of Pred ! At first i just ate all the time . The more i ate the more desperate i became. anyway, i have not been well and was startingto lose weight, then my pred was lowered and you dont become as hungry. I then knew this was a good time to start, nothing drastic ,cut out snacking and chocalate, ive now lost 11lbs in about 3 weeks . Give it a go you will feel much better for it " Good Luck.
I’m relating to this and finding a lot of the comments really interesting, especially about developing other problems on top of PMR with over eating. That’s alarming. I lost almost 3 stone last year, between July and October, and felt great for it. I was doing long dog walks every day, cycling too. Threw out my entire wardrobe of jeans, shirts and t-shirts! Then I developed sore muscles through October and November. December and January were terrible, and finally diagnosed with PMR end of January. Since starting on Prednisolone I’ve put 2 stone back on and it’s not through hunger, it’s just comfort eating, back on the snacking I had managed to stop, back on the too-large portions. Motivation gone.
So I’m needing to rediscover the control I had over my eating and get the weight off again. It’ll probably be harder to do this time, especially when my walks are a lot shorter and I’m not cycling, but reading some of the replies here has made me realise I have to do it. PMR is bad enough without feeling miserable about putting the weight back on, or ending up developing diabetes!
Easy to say this but I know from my previous success that you have to work really hard at first to get into the right frame of mind for weight loss. A brain train that some fruit is just as tasty and satisfying as a couple of chocolate biscuits! Be tough with yourself. Then it gradually gets easier once the weight starts to go, and you have regular healthy shoppings.
Good luck. We’ll all be with you.
So true BrawScot! I also am feeling that I've lost some motivation and need to get back on the wagon. I did lose a stone and a half in summer of 2019, but have regained half a stone. So hard isn't it. But all the comments on here are motivating me. Thanks to you and everyone else.
Yes I agree you have to be in the right mindset to start tackling your weight problems. As PMRpro has said before have realistic expectations & once you reach them, you are able to keep going!
It can be done! To all the above I would add: 3 meals per day at same time. Eat in a calm place and chew slowly. No snacking between meals. Cut way back on salt and sugar. Start every meal with a big raw fresh salad. Drink enough water. Weigh yourself weekly, at the same time (i.e. after morning shower). It's not easy- I was always hungry, always thinking of food so there will be slip ups. But just get back on track each time without feeling bad about yourself.
Tell me about it, I am 2 stone heavier. But to stop any move weight gain , I have just reduced portion size. I have kept all my favourite food and drinks and treats but having less . We buy less so it’s not in the cupboards. After a month I had lost 8 lbs. and a daily walk is a must for all PMR sufferers. Good luck
I need to lose weight too and am trying to gather the motivation and discipline but one easy step is: don't drink during the week - only drink Fri-SundayAlso, eat supper and then do not eat after that. If I need something sweet after supper I will go for a piece of fruit or yogurt. The more carbs you eat, the more you crave.
Good luck - you can do it esp as it gets warmer.
Alcohol always gives me the munchies so that may be something to cut down. ice cream and chocolate biscuits high in calories so don't buy them.
Don't think of yourself being on a diet or you will give up. Losing weight is hard but keeping it off is harder. If you are able go for walks that will also help to reduce your weight .
Good luck
Have you posted two questions on the same subject please? I’ve just typed a long answer on your other post!
Different questions which for thee and me required similar answers ...
Yes. I’m really busy today and didn’t have time to answer again but wanted to explain I had answered the other post! Haven’t needed to copy and paste on here before! Must go, more to do! S x
I’ve been trying to find my other post and I can’t 🤷🏼♀️ Is there a way of seeing all the posts we’ve written or searching a persons posts plz? I am interested in all replies that people have written and they are very much appreciated so I would like to try and find yours too 🤞🏻 Thanks X
Click on your avatar at the top right of the page or a post - and go to the profile page. All your posts and replies are listed there.
Hi! I wondered if something had happened! You got some good replies to the other post, too, so hope you gain access to it, I see PMRPro is helping you! If you don’t get access I’m happy to copy and paste my reply but other replies are better I think. Good luck with the technology and the diet! S x
Hello, Tayzee. You'll get oodles of encouragement from this site, as I'm experiencing right now. People are so HELPFUL, and encouraging. The one thing that will really help is not buying the stuff in the first place. If you can just get past either that aisle in the shop, or that urge to go out and buy chocolate, and just not have it and the biscuits in the house, that's a really good first step. Best of luck!
Hi Tayzee. I can really identify. I always maintained that I wouldn’t get on the low carb Keto bandwagon, that it was a fad and a healthy Mediterranean diet was best but after a bad flare, increased pred and landing up in the “danger” zone for diabetes 2 I decided I had to be more drastic. Nothing fancy, I cut out all bread, rice, pasta, the common carbs. No sweets, biscuits etc. I find it fairly easy because I like steak and veg, bacon and eggs etc. And I am not hungry and I have lost 17 lbs in six months. For me the key is something to look forward to. I have a cheat night every week when I have pasta, fish and chips etc. I occasionally have a small palmful of rice with a curry. I have two squares of dark chocolate at night and a handful of nuts. I prepare in advance hard boiled eggs for breakfast, veggie sticks always ready in the fridge and a big smile on my face when the scale and HbA1c is kind to me. You can do it!! I do very little exercise as I am struggling physically but I have bought a fit bit with a goal of 2000 steps a day. Baby steps.
Really helpful advice and encouragement from people on this wonderful site. I’d just like to add that, for me, boredom is a real enemy in terms of eating when I shouldn’t! I find it helps to keep my hands and mind busy with something so maybe it might help to indulge in a hobby or find a new one. Good luck x
Set short term goals for yourself.... one week with no carbs or no sugar ... not both and DONT even bring it in the house ..that’s what I do and my husband supports this and I have lost 18 pounds .Once in a while I buy something sweet from a drive thru and once a month after my blood work for sugar( been on Prednisone for 2 years) I treat myself to a piece of cake or pie . I am now at goal weight and will just monitor and not Be quite so strict..you have to enjoy life right ....oh yeah never eat after your last evening meal... good luck
hi. I know your frustration. I gained about the same and felt alot of anxiety. been on Pred for 1 year. last fall, i slowed down the treat food, esp sugar and carbs, been 6 months on intermittent fasting and for me this has helped control weight. had to suffer the swelling and moon face side effects of pred but by controlling diet i can keep those attacks down. now have lost about 7 lb and feeling better, still tired but am more careful what i eat and avoid binging on sugar and carb foods. can hardly weight to lose the next 20-30lb
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