Finding it hard to gain with crohns

hillash

I hope there is someone else in a similar situation, I have not long had surgery so have had about a meter of small bowel removed.
I badly want to gain weight and every now and then I'll track my food just to give myself a guide of what I'm doing what to change and what I can handle.. I snack all day as I can't eat big meals in one sitting but by the end of the day I get to around 1600-1800 calories and I'm soo full, couldn't fit another thing in.. so how the heck am I meant to gain if I physically can't eat enough
Height- 163cm
Weight- 47kilo wanting another 4-5kilos

KindHouston

Keep at it girl! My daughter was recently diagnosed with celiacs, I have had struggles my whole life but still no confirmed diagnoses. Both my daughter and I are athletes but with food restrictions gaining muscle can be challenging. I don't have much helpful advice other than trying supplementing with smoothies, I struggle to eat enough too. I am wanting to bibe vital proteins a try in my smoothies. We follow the autoimmune protocol diet and that has been helpful for healing, maybe give that a look. But I just mainly wanted to encourage you to press on in your fight for health

trigden1991

Calorie dense foods are your friend. Ice cream, peanut butter, chocolate, fatty cuts of meats, etc.

psuLemon

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1

That link has a variety of foods and strategies that can help you get calories up. You have to figure out which ones work with your Chrons and doesn't cause flare ups. Don't forget that you can drink some calories, too. That alone can make it more possible.

comptonelizabeth

The above thread has a great list of calorie dense foods. I have ulcerative colitis and find there are a few foods on there I can't touch (nuts,dried fruit etc)but drinking calories has worked for me. Full fat dairy ,adding oils to food, yoghurt,cheese and ice cream are all great but it depends on what you are able to tolerate without causing flare ups. I found I had to take it slowly as overdoing things would set me back and I'd be unable to eat properly for days. With a shortened bowel you may also have absorption issues and higher calorie needs.

singingflutelady

I also have crohn's and recently had surgery as well (total proctocolectomy with end ileostomy) and trying to gain back the weight I lost from surgery. It's hard when your digestive system is drastically altered!

big_jon_1988

I'm lucky enough to be on Remicade and really have very few symptoms, I'm about 220 on average and fairly musclar. That said when I was flaring up I was struggling not to lose weight, I was lifting at the time 5 days a week and went from 210 to about 175 in 3 months. So I guess the answer is it depends on the state of your disease. If you're in remission or whatever, you're probably in good shape, but if you're flaring up, that's a hard thing to counter. I have a friend who also has Crohn's, and he's also a big guy, so if it helps there is hope.



Best of luck. I'm sorry it came as far as surgery for you. Just keep increasing your calorie intake and lift is my best advice. Also ask your GI about Remicade if you haven't already.