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I was diagnosed with UC at age 15 and had my 2 j-pouch surgeries at age 16.  I am now 26 years old, and 10 years later, I have had little to no success at losing weight and keeping it off.  I am about 5'9" and currently weigh 240 lbs.

I've tried almost every diet imaginable, exercise, etc and nothing seems to work.  I've had blood work done and my thyroid seems to be fine, although hypothyroidism does run in my family as my mother and Grandmother both have it.  The only thing that made me really lose weight was when I took Adderall for ADD, but as soon as I came off of it, the weight piled right back on.

I feel like perhaps it has something to do with the j-pouch or the fact that I was on steroids at such a young age for over a year.  I remember in 10th grade when I was 15 I weighed 160 pounds.  A few weeks after starting Prednisone and I was up to 227, moonface and all.  I just find that I am constantly hungry, and when I try to "diet" I feel lightheaded like I need to be eating more (and I usually end up doing just that).

If anyone has any input or suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.  I'm so frustrated, I am almost at the point of considering bariatric surgery.

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If you're always feeling hungry especially not long after eating a meal, then you could actually be craving electrolytes, especially potassium. 

Due to my many episodes of dehydration, my Doctors believe my mind confuses the feeling of thirst with hunger, therefore I eat because I believe I'm feeling hungry, when in fact I'm actually thirsty and my electrolyte levels are dropping.

Taking Prednisone will most definately increase your appietite, it did mine; it also somehow causes the body to retain fat and water, I pilled on the pounds when prescribed Prednisone.

Otherwise, maintaining an ideal weight to height ratio is a balance of consuming a suffictent amount of healthy foods, which matches your level of activity,

There's no need to buy low calorie diet food but just cut out the high calorie foods, such as doughnuts, cream cakes, ice cream, fatty oily beef burgers and the likes.

Also, reduce portions size of the food served; lots of people don't realise that the size of portions served and ate is actually double or even triple the recommended serving for that of one person..

If sitting around most of  the time, then more food is being ate than burnt off, therefore the pounds begin to pile on.

There is no real need to hit the gym, although that depends on the desired end result but just reduce the food intake and increase activity; walking more, even parking the car further away from the shops can actually make a difference, especially when done at every given opportunity; however, only when food intake is reduced to match the level activity.

There are lots of dieters; who, after a workout or a run, will devour a tub of ice cream or a box of doughnuts and wonder why they are not losing weight.

 

Last edited by Former Member

Hi Kharma,

Well, you have answered your own question in your 1st paragraph...you have tried every diet. Your body has an inner thermostat, it is naturally regulated to burn the food that you eat as energy for all of your bodily functions, to feed your muscles and brain. When you go on a diet, you start to lose weight quickly then you stabilize and it becomes impossible because you lower your thermostat...so you give up. 

Then you go on another diet. Same thing except that you need to eat less to lose weight. Then you stabilize again and stop again and the circle continues...your body gets used to eating less and less and functions on a lower metabolism...you have thus reset your thermostat on low.

There are basically 2 ways to kick up that thermostat naturally.

First is to do more. The more you move, exercise, walk, and stay active the higher your thermostat goes...it burns more calories as you move and as a bonus it builds muscle tissue which burns more calories than fat too...even just resting, so the effect lasts beyond the exercise period.

The second is eat better food. Not less. 

Eat more healthy protein and less fat (fish & chicken as opposed to fatty meats). More wholegrains and less white. More healthy fats (olive oil and butter as opposed to margarine), no prepackaged, commercial foods that are full of sugars, fats and salt...

Natural and homemade do wonders for your body. Increase your activity level and decrease your sitting time. Get a yoga ball and roll around on it while watching tv, walk around the shopping mall before shopping, do all of the aisles of the grocery store twice before shopping, park at the other end of the parking lot and carry your groceries (if you can) to the car...you do not need 6 hrs in the gym to lose weight but an easy way to kick up your activity level with doing anything special.

Swim. Swim. Swim (your body will love you!).

It is a very long race to dominate your body. It is not a sprint. Take it very slowly, and do NOT diet. Just eat healthy foods, often (3 meals and 2 snacks/day) and double your water intake. Sip ice water, not sodas. No diet soft drinks or foods with fake sugar (your pancreas hates them).

You will see that you will retrain your body and slowly but surely you will lose the weight.

Good luck

Sharon

Just wanted to give everyone an update since it's been a while - I was prescribed the weight loss drug Saxenda that is administered via injection.  It's something you do at home yourself via a pen needle.  It's the same exact drug as the diabetic medication Victoza (liraglutide), but the pen comes in a higher dose and it's marketed under a different name as a weight loss drug.

I've lost about 35 pounds within the last year, most of it thanks to this drug.  It helped decrease my appetite significantly, though I am worried about taking it long term as it can cause pancreatitis and some studies have even shown taking the maximum dose can possible cause pancreatic cancer down the road (which my Grandmother had).

The interesting thing is that I stopped taking this drug in November when I ended up in the hospital with a virus.  I decided I would take some time off of it, and start it again after the new year.  I stopped taking it mid-November and ate like crap around the holidays.  When I went back on the scale in January, I only gained back about 3 pounds!

I truly believe this drug has reset my metabolism.  I started again in January and have lost another 12-13 pounds since.  I stopped it again a couple weeks ago and plan on starting again after I have my pouch issues I'm currently having sorted out.  I only want to lose another 15 pounds and then I will be happy.

This drug is expensive and it took a lot of work to get it covered by my insurance, but I'm glad it helped.  

According to Saxenda, the drug regulates the appetite, therefore when administered it's suppresses your appetite, thus you're eating less and now you're seeing the results.

Less food consumed, with some form of regular activity will normally results in weight loss unless a medical condition prevents this or maybe complicates matters.

 

Last edited by Former Member

Hello,

 

After reading Sharon's response she hit the nail on the head.  Only thing that I could add, but be careful and do it gradually is juicing.  Its a specific juicer called alcoi and it separates the waste and nutrition.  The goal is to not have empty calories, so I've noticed by juicing in small amounts it fills me up faster and receive the best nutrition.  

Before my surgery I used to be a body builder and model.  Do not take any supplements from vitamin shoppe or gnc.  Seek towards pure vitamins found in fruits, veggies, and teas.  When you buy those high priced supplements all you doing is purshcasing expensive pee.  Also, I encourage you to try certain hot teas for hunger.  Have it posted meals and it allows your belly to digest better.

I hope this helps and remember your not trying to lose weight for appearance, but to heal your insides.

Good luck, Love JP

Eating to match the level of activity should of hit the nail on the head.

Juicers, suppliments and appetite suppressants is falling for the hype.

Even eating junk food which matches the level of activity can maintain an acceptable level of bodyweight; not ideal and certainly unhealthy I know but its still acheivable; by not over endulging, although I'm certainly NOT recommending this.

The more a person eats or drinks, especially beers and takeways just before bed, sleeping for 8 or 9 hours; thats 8 or 9 hours of inactivity which isn't ideal and will add to the overall weight gain, especially when continuing to eat throughout the day and without increasing activity.

Yes, replacing meals with a healthy juiced combination of fruits etc will assist with weight loss but it's not the only option and personally, with a J pouch, suffering from UC or Crohn's, it's not ideal.

When feeling hungry, especially after a meal, either drink a glass of water or maybe a healthy, low sugar, no adder sugar fruit drink or eat a apple or a banana.

 

LIGuy11 posted:

I was diagnosed with UC at age 15 and had my 2 j-pouch surgeries at age 16.  I am now 26 years old, and 10 years later, I have had little to no success at losing weight and keeping it off.  I am about 5'9" and currently weigh 240 lbs.

I've tried almost every diet imaginable, exercise, etc and nothing seems to work.  I've had blood work done and my thyroid seems to be fine, although hypothyroidism does run in my family as my mother and Grandmother both have it.  The only thing that made me really lose weight was when I took Adderall for ADD, but as soon as I came off of it, the weight piled right back on.

I feel like perhaps it has something to do with the j-pouch or the fact that I was on steroids at such a young age for over a year.  I remember in 10th grade when I was 15 I weighed 160 pounds.  A few weeks after starting Prednisone and I was up to 227, moonface and all.  I just find that I am constantly hungry, and when I try to "diet" I feel lightheaded like I need to be eating more (and I usually end up doing just that).

If anyone has any input or suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.  I'm so frustrated, I am almost at the point of considering bariatric surgery.

have you tried the NEW KETO diet, everyone is trying no carbs or sugar??

I am going to add something here...and please do not take it the wrong way...I am no doctor or medical professional but I do know one thing...your body never forgets...anything. Anything that you do to it, good or bad, it will remember somewhere on a cellular level, a muscular level or in any other part of your body. Too much sun in your youth? Freckles or worse, skin cancer.

Too sedentary in your middle years? Atrophy of muscles, weight gain around the butt and belly, slowed metabolism.

Not enough bouncing and physical activity as you age? Your bones will let you know that they hate you by demineralizing and not rebuilding themselves.

So, taking a drug when you are overweight, which is not a disease but a condition, can boomerang back at you. Please be careful. They may not have any really long term studies on how non-diabetics handle it in the long-run.

I would be wary.

I am a good 20lbs overweight. My weight gain is much more due to bad food choices than anything else. I am active, very active compared to the average 60yr old North American woman...but I mistreated my body in my youth and now my metabolism just doesn't react like most people's. 

I eat healthily and walk 5miles minimum daily plus I work out 2xs/2hrs/week. Not enough to counteract my stupidity...but I am mostly healthy. So I will keep my 20 and avoid doing anything more dangerous to myself.

It is not worth it...

Sharon

 

 

LIGuy11 posted:

I was diagnosed with UC at age 15 and had my 2 j-pouch surgeries at age 16.  I am now 26 years old, and 10 years later, I have had little to no success at losing weight and keeping it off.  I am about 5'9" and currently weigh 240 lbs.

I've tried almost every diet imaginable, exercise, etc and nothing seems to work.  I've had blood work done and my thyroid seems to be fine, although hypothyroidism does run in my family as my mother and Grandmother both have it.  The only thing that made me really lose weight was when I took Adderall for ADD, but as soon as I came off of it, the weight piled right back on.

I feel like perhaps it has something to do with the j-pouch or the fact that I was on steroids at such a young age for over a year.  I remember in 10th grade when I was 15 I weighed 160 pounds.  A few weeks after starting Prednisone and I was up to 227, moonface and all.  I just find that I am constantly hungry, and when I try to "diet" I feel lightheaded like I need to be eating more (and I usually end up doing just that).

If anyone has any input or suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.  I'm so frustrated, I am almost at the point of considering bariatric surgery.

I have same concern I have gained weight and I have a swollen tummy. I don't understand why because I don't eat that much. I have a question to all persons with a j pouch. How often do you go restroom and does anyone has incontinence when going to sleep? 

strange posted:

If you're always feeling hungry especially not long after eating a meal, then you could actually be craving electrolytes, especially potassium. 

Due to my many episodes of dehydration, my Doctors believe my mind confuses the feeling of thirst with hunger, therefore I eat because I believe I'm feeling hungry, when in fact I'm actually thirsty and my electrolyte levels are dropping.

Taking Prednisone will most definately increase your appietite, it did mine; it also somehow causes the body to retain fat and water, I pilled on the pounds when prescribed Prednisone.

Otherwise, maintaining an ideal weight to height ratio is a balance of consuming a suffictent amount of healthy foods, which matches your level of activity,

There's no need to buy low calorie diet food but just cut out the high calorie foods, such as doughnuts, cream cakes, ice cream, fatty oily beef burgers and the likes.

Also, reduce portions size of the food served; lots of people don't realise that the size of portions served and ate is actually double or even triple the recommended serving for that of one person..

If sitting around most of  the time, then more food is being ate than burnt off, therefore the pounds begin to pile on.

There is no real need to hit the gym, although that depends on the desired end result but just reduce the food intake and increase activity; walking more, even parking the car further away from the shops can actually make a difference, especially when done at every given opportunity; however, only when food intake is reduced to match the level activity.

There are lots of dieters; who, after a workout or a run, will devour a tub of ice cream or a box of doughnuts and wonder why they are not losing weight.

 

Coming back to this thread...I do notice that I am ALWAYS thirsty.  I can literally drink all day and I will never feel hydrated.  I've been drinking a lot of G2 Gatorade lately (less sugar) to get my electrolytes in.  I have a hard time drinking water only, which is why I opt for Gatorade and things like diet soda (I know, probably not smart).  There are times when I crave water though.

I recently bought these dissolvable electrolyte tablets called Nuun to put in my water.  

Do you think a Potassium supplement might help?

Drinking all day and still not feeling hydrated is more than likely another medical issue; I believe the symptoms of diabetes is excessive thirst, craving water and never feeling hydrated.

Symptoms of a potassium deficiency Is normally fatigue rather than a feeling of thirst; potassium supplements won’t do any harm, as long as taken within reason; normally excess potassium is excreted via the kidneys.

It’s probably easier to maintain a good potassium level via your diet, such as Milk, Cheese, Eggs, Bananas, Baked Potatoes, Fish, Tomatoes and most leafy green vegetables.

Last edited by Former Member

I tried an experiment last week. I had gotten my bloodwork back and it wasn't great but not horrible either. My thyroid isn't great but only subclinical.

So I figured that I needed a good kick in the butt. I made a huge pot of veggie soup with soup bones and then blended it. (Took the bones out first).

I ate mostly the soup along with Greek yoghurt for 3 days, a little fruit but 0 carbs then spent the week eating mostly veggies and protein...

Yup... it works. Less intake, more output. Walked miles and ate balanced regular meals. No junk, no breads,  cakes or pastries.

Result? 3lbs down and a tighter tummy. 

So, it works... no secret, no drugs, no expensive gimmicks. 

Sharon

 

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