Hi after years of being underweight and malnutritioned with Crohn's disease I had a life saving op in 2010 that removed my digestive tract from my ileum to my rectum! In 2021 I had a blockage resulting in another life saving op that took away another 15cm of bowel! From 2010 though I found that food I couldn't eat for over 20 years was suddenly available to me! I still can't eat fruit, veg, salad or a few other things but in all I am now eating! As my weight can attest to! I have ballooned up to 132.9kg! I've tried diets and NHS weight loss tablets but my weight continues to go up! Due to other health issues I have minimal mobility, I can walk slowly for about 30 minutes with the help of a walking stick and my husband (I'm only 46....dreading what the future holds!!) Anyway they have decided my only route to get my weights down, thereby hopefully decreasing my pain levels and increasing my mobility, is to get a gastric band! I'm not happy about more gastric surgery but I need to get a life! So I've jumped through all their hoops.... Therapy and tests that have highlighted other issues like severe sleep apnea (o joys lol) and my final hoop is tier 3 weight management program! Ok I can do this...except I've never calorie counted in my life! I've tried weight watchers (lost the weight but put it on again) slimming world (didn't go back after the first week as the diet couldn't fit in with my food restrictions) slimfast, the dreaded Atkins diet and a few more over the last 13 years but calorie counting is difficult! The food I can eat are all high in calories! Boy is this going to be difficult!! Lol
Any tips from anybody with similar diet issues? If not please tell me how many calories a cup of tea has? Lol The app they suggested to use (myfitness app) has about 100 different opinions on how many 1 cuppa has! It's bad enough that a large black coffee is 2 calories! Best I cut that down to maybe 4 or 5 a day eh??
Thanks for reading!
Good luck to all others trying to lose weight! Xxx
Written by
thefreakyfairy
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Hi thefreakyfairy, and welcome to Weight Loss Support
First of all, congratulations on all the difficulties you’ve overcome, and the hoops you’ve already jumped through.
The benefits of the forum here is that we have lots of different groups to dip into and become a part of, and from within our (very supportive) members, we have people who have limited mobility, and multiple heath issues, so you can link in with people who really understand you.
Two of our very popular groups are the Daily Diary, where members share what their plans are for each day, and the Weekly Weigh In.
We also have a Fit is Fun group for people of all fitness and ability levels, a brand new challenge, Spring into Summer, and a recipe sharing group, Springers’ Specials.
Hi thefreakyfairy . Your situation sounds so challenging. I have Crohns but I am hanging in there, with only minimal hospital admissions. I can understand the problems with eating fruit and veggies (beans lentils nuts etc). I am a vegetarian as well.
Sometimes all I can eat are jelly babies and ginger biscuits.
As with many Crohns people, I find absorption of vitamins and minerals a massive problem and I have to take prescription vitamins. Also as with many Crohns folk I cannot tolerate iron tablets and I have low iron levels.
I eventually got referred to a specialist dietician who could help me make good food choices taking into account my bowel condition, vitamin deficiencies and the need to loose some weight.
Could your GP or specialist refer you to a dietician who could work with you to find an eating plan that would suit you?
There is also a HU Crohns group who might be helpful.
Your information you have is great . I feel the key to this is professional advice . I am privileged not to have ever had to endure the severity of this although hiatus hernia then a 17 month wait for gall bladder removal was enough to make me admire the courage and tenacity of people trying to build a healthy life living with this . I would seek solid medical care and help as a professional can chat one to one with you freaky fairy .
Very sorry to hear of your plight. I had a similar operation for Crohn’s disease with the large intestine being removed and ileum reconnected to rectum but that was in 1967 when I was 30. It took me a long time to recover and after many years I can now eat most things with a few exceptions.
It also took me a long time to gain my weight, health and strength back and I was more or less stable until I contracted PMR a few years ago and had to take steroids. My weight then ballooned.
I, like you, tried all the diet people with little or no success, just too hard to be constantly watching and counting calories all the time.
My best result was using Michael Mosley’s 5:2 diet where you restrict calories on 2 days a week and are fairly careful the rest of the time. This worked well for me and I have shifted most of the excess weight. I suggest you get his book ‘The Fast 800 ‘ by Dr Michael Mosley and give that a go before you do anything as drastic as having a gastric band fitted. My experience of the medical profession regarding weight control is that they are no use at all and hopelessly outdated in advice. Once I researched the subject and took control myself things looked up.
I’ve done tier 3 and had Bariatric surgery (The Sleeve) it’s a long road and lots of hoops to jump through. But nearly 8 stone down and bmi of 45 to 28.
The future is very little food but with my surgery they removed the hunger hormone so you forget about food. Doesn’t mean the head hunger and the cravings disappear.
First few weeks/ months post op I was on 600-800 calories and now 1200-1400 and that will be for life and well as swimming/ gym 5-6 times a week.
Calories in a cuppa tea just best to weigh your milk 100ml of skimmed is 35cals compared to 66cals of whole milk.
If you’re having 5/6 cups of milky coffee a day could easily be 300 calories that you weren’t aware of.
I am finding overeaters anonymous amazing. Lots of people who have lost and kept the weight of for many years gave me enough hope to try it. I have so far lost three stone with out dieting. I have a food plan. I eat four small meals a day, no refined sugar and fruit in between meals if hungry. The obsession with food has lifted. I have stopped binging and thinking about food all the time and I have met some lovely people in the groups which you can go to online at almost any hour of the day or night.
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It works for me
Food combining
5:2 diet 
Give up the YO-YO
Calorie counting and needing help
