Overcoming Prednisone Obesity
Posted , 13 users are following.
I finally forced myself on to the scales after nearly 2 and a half years of total denial and stubborn refusal........ and was horrified to find that I have gained nearly 3 stone since I began taking prednisone at the onset of Pmr. Clearly I have been eating myself into a roly poly Michelin lady..... but 3 stone! I now understand why I look and feel like a beached whale...... so in a couple of hours I have an appointment with a physician / naturopath who will probably put me on a diet of lettuce leaves....... oh well..... maybe I will overcome....or maybe not.... I do so love to eat :-(
0 likes, 70 replies
kathy67492 ricky23486
Posted
Don't know if you are a beef jerky fan...but there are some delicious ones out there to eat for a snack. Also, season chicken wrapped in lettuce leaves and a dipping sauce are delicious....and, of course, mixed nuts are good.
Anhaga kathy67492
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mimi1950 Anhaga
Posted
Sounds delicious..Id make an Asian sauce..soya sauce and vinegar or fish sauce and vinegar.
I think a low carb diet should be protocol for PMR/GCA, it can cure insulin dependent diabetis as well as some kinds of epilepsy. It is considered an anti inflammatory diet, too. Going low carb, Ive noticed, is gong main stream now..it's considered to lower weight, blood pressure, LDL , and glucose
EileenH Anhaga
Posted
Anhaga EileenH
Posted
Oh I don't think that can be right. People can unwittingly pick up so many calories from tasty sauces and stuff that they can undo all the good of giving up cake and cookies, and wonder where they've gone wrong. A calorie is a calorie.
Anhaga mimi1950
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EileenH Anhaga
Posted
What I mean is that if you use cream and yoghurt in making your sauces those non-carb calories are not important.
And no - there is now plenty of reliable evidence that the "a calorie is a calorie" is not so clear cut. It is possible to eat a lot of fat and protein calories and not gain weight while eating a far lower calorie content as carbs causes weight gain.
"There’s no sugar-coating it: All calories are not created equal" in Harvard Health Publications is quite good.
Anhaga EileenH
Posted
You are probably right about that. I was thinking more of the hidden calories which are found in so many unnecessary foods, like sauces. But nowadays things like this don't appeal to me at all so it's a bit of a non issue for me. Even the thought of chicken wrapped in lettuce makes me feel slightly ill but I am a vegetarian!
mimi1950 Anhaga
Posted
Iwas brought up a vegetarian...some religion my mother was trying on at the time...we couldn't eat anything with eyes..then, when I was 18 and my sister was 22, we were invited for 4th of July BBQ at my best friends All American family's home. She knew we were vegetarians and her mom had prepared plenty of food we could have , but they were all trying to talk us into trying the to-die-for southern fried chicken. My sister was the first to fall off the eyes wagon...she said it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted..it took quite a bit of convincing but in the end I did eat the chicken, loved it and secretly ate it from them on till I left home.
So I understand perfectly how just the sound of chicken turns you off...and I'm not sure if I'm just making this up but it seems prednisone can change the way food tastes to you.Ive become a very picky eater since starting.Ive gone off fish and can't even cook it for others without gagging.Now, it's any kind of meat unless it's processed , which I never have in the house, since my daughter, age 29 had stage 2 breast cancer.
My attraction to the chicken wrapped it lettuce is a Chinese dish.I always crave Asian..guess because I passed the first 9 years of my life in Japan.
I live with my OH and an adult son .They are both in great shape, now that they are on a keto diet, my son has lost 15kg and has lowered his BP and colesterol to normal through the low carb diet that I put the house on😂
I cook lots of animal protein for them but lately I can only eat an occasional egg..and mostly manchego cheese, vegetables nuts..coconut in all forms.
Be can combine a low carb diet with a vegetarian life-style but not vegan...I don't know any vegans who don't eat grains, which are inflammatory.
Anhaga mimi1950
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Anhaga
Posted
Or, now that I'm on train of reminiscence, the paper thin rare roast beef we had for Sunday dinner, with roast potatoes, green beans or peas, and yorkshire pudding, and the gravy just meat juices.....
EileenH Anhaga
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ricky23486 kathy67492
Posted
ricky23486 Anhaga
Posted
kathy67492 Anhaga
Posted
Don't need to count calories at all...just avoid all carbs...even fruit (all sugar).
Dipping sauces made with mayonnaise, sour cream, cheese...all the fat you want, but no sugar. You can add soy sauce to the sour cream or mayo for flavoring...or mustard...
EileenH ricky23486
Posted
Beware - your muscles need a protein supply especially when on pred. Although I know vegan diets can make a significant difference I'm far from convinced they are a good thing in PMR when on pred. Myopathy is a risk with steroids - cutting protein must add to that. Or when you say "no animal protein" do you mean just no meat?
However - I hope it helps to make it worth it.
Anhaga kathy67492
Posted
I don't count calories, except to try and get more. Right now I have put on a few of the pounds lost over the year or so. Weight about 106 lb. where I was at diagnosis, and still about 15 lb less than I'd been most of my adult life, post children. Sorry, can't be bothered to convert into either stone or kilos. But it isn't enough, there's nothing to carry me through sickness.
Anhaga ricky23486
Posted
Ricky, I think you should balance your advice from the naturopath with a consultation with a registered dietitian, unless your naturopath happens to also have that qualification. Animal protein can be found in the very helpful foods fish, eggs, cheese, yogurt and kefir, none of which would I completely remove from my diet. Now that I know there are local sources of ethically (kindly) raised animals I wonder why I don't eat meat again, but it's a habit. Also when I gave up meat I definitely felt better. Not that it stopped me a couple of decades later from coming down with PMR!
mimi1950 Anhaga
Posted
"But it isn't enough, there's nothing to carry me through sickness."...that's what the pediatrician used to tell me about my kids' weight!
I remember, as a teenager, there was a young woman in our ballet class who was extremely thin, even for ballet.We would all think of fattening strategies for her to gain weight- it was almost like enjoying all the forbidden goodies ourselves..fantasising 😂...eating a gallon of ice cream directly out of the tub was my contribution..😈
Anhaga mimi1950
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Haha! Problem is none of the fattening foods appeal to me, which is probably just as well because I can't imagine being healthy on a diet of bread and icecream. I put oil on my salads, and eat a fair amount of nuts and root vegetables, the latter of which are apparently no-nos for many. Basically I think as I've got older I've lost interest in food, and all the exercise I do now prevents weight from coming back on.