Weight gain with pmr

[Freya32]

Help,Put on 6 kilos in 10 weeks of prednisolone.

How do i get it off quickly. Just drink water? Just have one meal of veg only?

Fruit diet?

Would an appetite depressing pill help.?

All suggestions welcomed.

Thank you.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Actually the weight gain is more likely due to Pred (common side effect) unless you have become a lot more inactive since PMR.

There are plenty of related posts -see either on right of screen or below posts depending what device you are using…

Or read this from the FAQs-

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

Cut carbs, none of your other suggestions are particularly helpful….

[Freya32 in reply to DorsetLady]

Many thanks DorsetLady.Found those posts very helpful.

Indeed you have helped me through this pmr andI am verygrateful.

[Koalajane]

I had started to cut carbs after diagnosis and a few months later was encouraged to cut further when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I lost over 3 stone in weight and walk a lot more. I put my type 2 into remission 5 months later and that was 6 years ago. Still keeping my carbs down and finding it easy.

The main problem was my clothes were too big and I had to buy clothes of a smaller size!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

No, no and no! You've probably been unlucky with the time of year and the sort of things we eat!

Cut your carbs drastically - especially processed carbs and added sugar. You won't get it off as quickly as it went on although cutting processed foods and salt should achieve a bit fairly soon, carbs and salt don't mix well with pred and result in fluid retention.

It is something we recommend over and over again - have you read the FAQs? They really are worth it for newcomers. Pred changes how your body metabolises carbs and too many carbs just end up being deposited as fat in the usual places: around your midriff, around your face and the back of your neck.

This website is a good basic introduction:

dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods

Just remember there is no cheating - it all adds up. Fruit is no longer entirely a healthy option - lots of sugar hiding in them. Keep a food diary and weigh food, use google to work out the carbs. I believe  piglette has an app that helps.

[piglette]

re PMRPro’s post, I use MyNetDiary which also gives you information on your vitamin and nutrition intake as I am a nutrition nerd. The basic version is free at mynetdiary.com/ I find it really useful. You can use as much or as little of the app as you want. It also is helpful in reminding me what I need to buy. The trouble with steroids is that you carry on eating the same diet as you did before and you put on weight while before you did not.

[agingfeminist]

I found it made an enormous (!!) difference cutting out all flour products (even if wholegrain): goodbye bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits, crackers. No rice, no potatoes. NO sugar (also no sweeteners...they can also cause diabetes)

Go for low sugar fruits (berries not bananas. no fruit juices)

I found this easier than weighing stuff...

Fats are fine and of course all forms of animal and vegetable protein essential.

beans and lentils seem to be ok for me.

Dairy good for the calcium.

Keep diet as varied as possible.

Bon appetit

[Freya32 in reply to agingfeminist]

Thank you,Every suggestion valuable....yes will cut carbs and see how we go.

Today ....one small yoghurt for breakfast at 10 am, duck breast , and cauliflower and spinach, for lunch at 2 , lots of lemon water, in between, tea will be a little piece of cheese,a small oat biscuit, a kiwi and raspberries at 4.

....i have selotaped the biscuit tin , eaten all the chocs, not opened the turkish delight or the four nougat bars and will give the five bars of dark choc to son.

Bedtime one cup hot chocolate, half water half milk with tumeric and cinnamon and a little honey to sweeten.

Toast and marmalade or potatoes will be the hardest to give up. And chocolate.

Cannot do calorie counting.

Never done a diet in my life... never been overweight til now.65 kilos.

Exercise....feed the birds, from the front door ,and potter.

Son says" at your age you can eat what you like".....but not on pred it seems.

To all those making new resolutions...i wish you good luck.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Freya32]

Hold onto the dark chocolate - a couple of squares can be a treat to look forward to ….

More likely to manage rest of diet if you have an occasional treat to lighten the soul..

[Freya32 in reply to DorsetLady]

Yes, you are right...but it never stops at one or two squares....is all or nothing. Same with biscuits.Dark choc very good for one...85%

First day is a real setback.

Two glasses water... , cup of rooibos tea, bio yoghurt 125gr 188 cals. then the pred.. so far so good.

Then the hiccough.

3 slices of cooked bacon offered by daughter... and instead of saying no thank you I say yes please an d find the last slice of bread....having fed the robins the rest of loaf.... butter it and pop the bacon in...down the hatch.

Not a very good start.

And its only 10.39.am on the first day....oh deary me.

But tomorrow is a new day...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Freya32]

The joy of low carb is you don't have anything to count once you know what has carbs and what doesn't. That bacon was fine - had you added a fried egg! The slice of bread - not so good!

But don't go the whole hog on carbs overnight, the first week, cut carbs by a quarter. The next week another quarter, the next another quarter, When I say keep a diary and weigh/calculate, that is to see honestly WHERE you are getting carbs because you rarely realise how much you are eating otherwise. Most people are shocked.

[Freya32 in reply to PMRpro]

Yes, Very good advice.

Thank you.

And yes I did think of having a fried egg with it but then I knew I would want the bread fried too.

Usually have boiled eggs or poached.

I think today is a miss day all round...

The bread (with rye and seeds) is 127 k per slice but 18g of carbs...so a lot of carbs.

Have never bothered with calorie counting...but maybe time to start.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Freya32]

Honestly - carbs are what are the problem with pred and much easier to count.

[Freya32]

Today is a write off, Daughter is cooking pork with roasties etc and crackling tonight.maybe Yorkshires

So have not cooked anything.

Will start again tomorrow.

Wil lkeep a notebook.

Will cut the carbs.

Time for some lunch..maybe a pice of cheese and an apple..

[sampete]

You really made me smile 😊 Yes this is me with diets. I'll just eat this and start tomorrow 🤣 Good luck.

[Freya32 in reply to sampete]

Hi sampete,Thank you.

Good luck is not what i need but will power and buckets of it .

Today.

Saved in one way ...then disaster.

Roast pork delicicious, crackling ditto and no roasties or yorkshire but runner bean ( our own, organic, frozen ) ratatouille. With tomatoes in. lovely.

Very good diet wise

And a kiwi after.

Watching tv, saw the biscuit tin. Just one chocolate biscuit...but its never just one is it...?

Ah well tomorrow is another day.

Breakfast will be half a slice of toast with mashed avocado and a poached egg ,

Dinner ,the duck breast with veg and for tea small

slice of cheese and some celery. No oat cake.

Job done.

Resealed the biscuit tin.

See all it takes is will power.

Old folk do not need much food after all.

Why does predinsolone cause this increased appetite?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Freya32]

Part of it is that it triggers the liver to release random spikes of glucose into the blood from the body's stores in muscle and the liver. That in turn triggers the production of lots of insulin in expectation of a meal arriving which sends the blood glucose level crashing to too low a level - and THAT makes you crave carbs to bring the blood sugar level back up again.And THAT starts the process of again and you get into a rollercoaster of ups and downs of the blood sugar level. Too much insulin around then stores excess glucose as fat - and under the influence of the pred it is in the usual places: around your midriff, back of your neck and around your face.

[Freya32 in reply to PMRpro]

That makes sense.So what is to be done?

Is it better to eat little and often rather than just two or at most three times a day ?

Do notcare about the moon face (fast merging into neck), so much but the tum is just getting in my way .

No cannot exercise or walk till ground dries.

Roll on Spring.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Freya32]

Depends - but what tends to happen is that by eating little and often you actually end up eating more which obviously doesn't help. By eating little and often you possibly send the blood glucose level higher at times - quite a few on here also use time restricted eating, where you only eat in (say) an 8 hour window and fast for the other 16 hours. Cutting carbs and TRE or intermittent fasting which it is also called are both good for reducing the risk of developing pred-induced diabetes.

[Freya32 in reply to PMRpro]

It's just daily disaster,Now 62kilos . No not lost any but weight ,in underwear ,62 k

Diet....what diet ?Yesterday a write off.

Today, breakfast low fat yoghurt, piece of toast and grapefruit marmalade. Cup of tea. 10 am.

More biscuits, (nearly finished the pack so no more till next week.)with Cup of coffee .11

Today out to lunch, ....pork and real crackling, only one potato and veg, cauli and cabbage,one Yorkshire, gravy, and an icecream for pudding. A Tia Maria and cup of hot chocolate.

Friend had sticky toffee pud and clotted cream. No alcohol as she was driving.

Exercise ...walk across the carpark, ditto back.

Couldn't walk by sea as too windy and cold. Tide high.

Tea

Homemade mushroom and celery soup.

No bread.

Cup of tea.

Got blood test tomorrow

Plusses..

Did not go into pasty shop or cake shop.

Did not buy any chocolate.

Tomorrow is another day.

I do fast...last meal usually about 4 pm and breakfast 10.am.

That's 16 hours.

No diabetes in my family ever.

Only in sons in law.

.

[Freya32]

Further update,Doing very well now goodies all gone.

Two meals a day at 10 am and 5/6 pm.

Yesterday's tea was brocoli, smallish jacked potato ,cheese and lots of butter. Good cholesterol

And raspberries and two squares of dark choc.

Tea tonight will be piece of salmon and peas. No potatoes.

And a kiwi. Or banana.

Blood test showed high cholesterol 8.8

Familial.

Even the 53 Yr old has it.

Only drinks in between with maybe some fruit.

All it needs is will power.....so they say.

Dr. cut me down to two 5mg pred a day.

No can do, so still taking 3.

Condition still considered acute so no repeat prescription.

All aches pains gone or eased except one night that awful kidney pain that comes in waves... and goes on all night impervious to painkillers except oramorph ..from time I had pyelonephritis.

What a blessing I didn't throw that old bottle out as found a teaspoonful dreg ....oh the relief.

Anyway apart from that all good....

No longer get up 5 and more times to pee.

Slept from 11 to 9 this morning. All arthritis pain gone.

Hands not right yet ; left one freezing and not very good but right one getting better all the time. Unless I drop the 5 mg.

Need some I gr tabs.

And eyes...Still sore despite the drops, and don't see so well

Will try and see optician.

So take heart all the newly diagnosed.

Miracles still happen.