Frustrated-trying to gain weight

lporter229

I am not really sure what I am looking for here. I guess I am hoping that somebody will read this and have some type of similar experience or some good advice for something I haven't thought of before. Just feeling a little desperate, I guess.

Let me start by saying this is not your typical "I am trying to bulk" or "I just can't eat that many calories" situation. I have Crohn's disease. If you do not know, it's an inflammatory bowel disease,which, when in a flare, causes your food to pretty much go right through you with little or no calorie or nutrient adsorption. Because of a recent flare, which is currently moderately under control with prednisone, I have found myself about 8 pounds under my ideal weight (I am 42 yr old female, 5'0 tall, 97 lbs...I like to be around 105 and those 8 lbs make a very big difference on someone my size).

I have been eating well over 2000 calories a day and am still dropping weight. I have a calorie goal set at 2200, but I really just try and eat whatever I can. I know that part of the problem is that I run and am not willing to give that up. It is pretty much what keeps me going mentally these days. I also strength train to try and preserve as much muscle as I can. I have already cancelled my marathon training for this spring because I knew I could not get the nutrition required to sustain the training. I have scaled back my running, currently averaging 25-30 miles per week. Like I said, the Crohn's thing is mostly under control (a few bad days here and there, but the prednisone really helps me to be able to eat). My calculated BMR is 1155. Is it possible that my TDEE is really that high and that is why I am still losing weight?

If you have anything to offer, my food diary is open. It is honest and accurate to the best of my ability. A few other things to note: I am gluten free because of the Crohn's. If your advice is to eat bigger portions, it's not likely going to happen. I eat a lot for my size. Additionally, my colon is very narrowed from years and years of scar tissue build up, so there's not a huge surplus of room in there, if you know what I mean. Finally, I am advised to stay away from things like seeds and nuts because they are very rough on an ulcerated digestive tract. I do eat them some,probably more than I should, but I definitely can't do a lot.


Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for the help.

lporter229

Bump

bcattoes

I wish I had some help to offer, but the best I can do is a random response to get your post back to the top of the board. :flowerforyou:

tchell99

I wish I had *the* answer for you. Nutritionists and Dr's seem to be of limited assistance, but mostly because the research is so limited and the considerable variability on "what works" across different Crohnies. What we do know is that because food passes so quickly (esp during flares) you not only lose weight, but you also aren't getting the nutrients from the foods you ingest.

Disclaimers above aside, for the immediate weight loss problem maybe you don't eat "more" in terms of larger portions, but instead focus on higher caloric foods with good nutrients? Peanut butter (I think the butter is less disruptive to the system than whole nuts/seeds?), avocado, cheese, lean meats, olive oil, etc.? Hope you get this under control soon and I am here if you want to talk.

The_Enginerd

Your protein goal is 138 grams/day, but given your small size, you can get away with quite a bit less. If you are under 100 lbs, 80-85 grams should be enough to meat your dietary needs. There isn't anything necessarily wrong or harmful with eating more at the level you are eating at, but protein is filling and you are having trouble eating enough. Getting more of your calories from carbs and fats should make it easier to eat more.

Looking over what you are eating, you could replace the 2% milk with whole, and add in more chocolate at night. That's calorie dense and tasty, so an easy way to up your calories.

And running that much and having the issues you have, yes, your TDEE could easily be that high.

lporter229

Thanks for all of your replies...very helpful.

@tchell- I feel like I eat a good bit of those things now, maybe I do need to try and add more. Too much peanut butter makes me sick sometimes. Really not sure why. And you are right, doctors really don't have a clue when it comes to nutrition. Mine tells me to drink as many Carnation Instant Breakfast drinks as I can. End of advice from him. Oh well, he does a pretty good job otherwise, so I will let it go...

@enginerd- I may have been misguided in my thinking, but I try to eat a lot of protein to preserve my lean muscle. I am scared of losing too much of it. But what you say makes sense. Another part of why I eat so much of these protein dense food is that they seem to have the best effect on my digestive system. I think I need to get over the notion that sitting down with a bag of Reeses peanut butter cups is a bad thing.

@bcattoes-:flowerforyou:

AliceDark

How long have you been eating between 2000 and 2200? I'm heavier than you are (126 now -- yay bulking!) but don't do any cardio, and I didn't start gaining until I hit 2100 daily. I sat at 2000 for two months, thinking that was a ton of food, and didn't really gain anything there. It's totally possible that, with your running, your TDEE is much higher than you'd think.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't they sometimes recommend a higher calorie intake for Crohn's patients anyway due to the risk of malnutrition? Your "weight gain" target might just be higher than expected anyway.

If you tolerate dairy, I'd definitely second the suggestion to replace your 2% milk with whole, or even do a mix of whole milk and half-and-half or heavy cream, especially if you're using it for protein shakes. Could you add more butter, olive oil or avocado? Sitting down with a bag of Reeses peanut butter cups sounds like an excellent idea!

lporter229

How long have you been eating between 2000 and 2200? I'm heavier than you are (126 now -- yay bulking!) but don't do any cardio, and I didn't start gaining until I hit 2100 daily. I sat at 2000 for two months, thinking that was a ton of food, and didn't really gain anything there. It's totally possible that, with your running, your TDEE is much higher than you'd think.

I think you may be right. I am so used to seeing all of these women on here eating very low calories and complaining about not losing weight it makes me think that my TDEE can't possibly be that high. In reality, I think that TDEE is actually more of a range rather than an absolute number. I think your body tend to adapt your metabolism to neither gain or lose weight. Maybe I really am burning that many calories. Thanks for the response.

The_Enginerd

How long have you been eating between 2000 and 2200? I'm heavier than you are (126 now -- yay bulking!) but don't do any cardio, and I didn't start gaining until I hit 2100 daily. I sat at 2000 for two months, thinking that was a ton of food, and didn't really gain anything there. It's totally possible that, with your running, your TDEE is much higher than you'd think.

I think you may be right. I am so used to seeing all of these women on here eating very low calories and complaining about not losing weight it makes me think that my TDEE can't possibly be that high. In reality, I think that TDEE is actually more of a range rather than an absolute number. I think your body tend to adapt your metabolism to neither gain or lose weight. Maybe I really am burning that many calories. Thanks for the response.

Based on the experiences of those trying to bulk, I would say this quite true. There seems to be a 200-300 calorie range where you neither lose nor gain.

lacaro1

I am not a doctor or anything, but you could try focusing your macronutrients on the high(er) carb side.
Carbs are much more easily digested as they are broken down by enzymes in your mouth and stomach, thus easily absorbed and it would not put a strain on your colon!
In contrast, it takes quite some work for the bowel to digest fats, so high fat to gain weight might not be counterproductive.

chiccam

Have you talked with your Doctor about the continued weight loss? Maybe the answer isn't in your diet, maybe a slight increase in Prednisone is warranted to control the inflammation.

JoRocka

How long have you been eating between 2000 and 2200? I'm heavier than you are (126 now -- yay bulking!) but don't do any cardio, and I didn't start gaining until I hit 2100 daily. I sat at 2000 for two months, thinking that was a ton of food, and didn't really gain anything there. It's totally possible that, with your running, your TDEE is much higher than you'd think.

I think you may be right. I am so used to seeing all of these women on here eating very low calories and complaining about not losing weight it makes me think that my TDEE can't possibly be that high. In reality, I think that TDEE is actually more of a range rather than an absolute number. I think your body tend to adapt your metabolism to neither gain or lose weight. Maybe I really am burning that many calories. Thanks for the response.

You are absolutely right. it's a RANGE- and it's a moving target- as you lose or gain- the number will go up or down- so as you lose- you must drop your target goal- as you gain- you must up your target goal.

a lot of people really struggle with being honest with themselves- and the reality is you don't know what they are doing- what size they are and what they are giving up- and if they really ARE hitting such low numbers- so comparing to other people is an effort of futility and bound to make you crazy!

The long and short of it is in all honesty if you aren't gaining- you aren't eating a enough. I know it's hard with limitations- but you'll have to find a way to fit it in- find your favorite 'junk food' and load up on that- self made smoothies? might be time to look at mass gainers. Try to balance your macro's out- but at some point- you just aren't going to make it on pure chicken and broccoli!

macelmer

So as a fellow Crohnie, who is struggling to gain weight as well, I have found that no matter how much I eat, I do not gain weight. I think it is due to both the absorption issues of my damaged intestines and the fact that when flaring, food takes the express lane out of my body. Even when I am not flaring, my symptoms do not go away, they only lessen, so I feel this is the real reason I have a hard time gaining weight.

To offset this, I try to eat a snack every two- three hours and designate a calorie total for each meal. This way I fill up that meal period with safe foods to offset the total. For example, 550 calories for dinner -- ham and swiss cheese sandwich on wheat bread with spicy mustard, glass of coke, 10 green olives, and chips put me really close to the 550. (I really do not worry about eating" junk" food or red meats because my body does not absorb most of it and I take a drug called Colestid, that is really a cholesterol lowering drug, but I use it to control diarrhea.) The only time I gain is when I am on prednisone, like last summer I put on 50 lbs because I was plowing through 3000-4000 cal/day. Now I am lucky if I can stuff in 1950.

I looked at your diary and I am impressed. I think that if you are not gaining weight with the foods that you are eating, then perhaps it is the flare and disease that is hindering your progress.

I use MFP as a food diary to see what works and what doesn't on a weekly basis. I should also note, that due to a injury I lead a mostly sedentary life-style. I walk around at work and on the weekends, but I do not exercise like most folks do.

The above is just my "two-cents" from living with this disease.

ChampCrucial

As a few have said. You need to eat more and there is a range to actually maintain your weight. My 2 cents is mixing your diet and eating foods that are complex carbs such as potatoes, pretzels, and rice. I believe this disease inflames your digestive track so I would recommend soaking whatever you eat in calorie rich drinks when you eat such as whole milk as someone suggested earlier. I would also suggest protein shakes that have a mix of the different digesting-speed proteins. I mix bodyfortresswhey with EAS lean. I get some fast acting protein from the body fortress and a little casein from the EAS.

Hope this helps and always check with your Doctor and see what they think and if it is safe for you! Message me if this works

MissLeelooDallas

So as a fellow Crohnie, who is struggling to gain weight as well, I have found that no matter how much I eat, I do not gain weight. I think it is due to both the absorption issues of my damaged intestines and the fact that when flaring, food takes the express lane out of my body. Even when I am not flaring, my symptoms do not go away, they only lessen, so I feel this is the real reason I have a hard time gaining weight.

My husband has suffered from Crohn's for 4 years now and his older sister has for 6 years. Both of them have trouble keeping weight on, so I understand your troubles from witnessing it every day. Once they put my husband on Humira twice a month, his body started letting him digest more food (or at least it didn't cause him as much intestinal troubles- he suffers from ulcers there). In the last 3 months, he's put on a much needed 25lbs and a good part of that was changing his diet. He eats around 3000-3500 calories a day (he's 5'9" and his current weight is 150). He drinks a protein powder shake twice a day for a big boost and really loads up on high fat/high protein foods when he can (he also wants to start bulking now). I think the protein shakes are a huge part of how he was able to get calories digested, but that's just want I gather from watching the changes he's going through.

I hope you are able to get back to where you're happy/healthy!

MissLeelooDallas

One more thing (on the whole milk note), my husband cannot digest whole milk at all. It means a very, very bad day for him. The Crohn's has made him semi-lactose intolerant and he usually ends up losing other precious calories he's trying to digest when he gives into a craving for milk or ice cream.

lporter229

One more thing (on the whole milk note), my husband cannot digest whole milk at all. It means a very, very bad day for him. The Crohn's has made him semi-lactose intolerant and he usually ends up losing other precious calories he's trying to digest when he gives into a craving for milk or ice cream.

I can't do whole milk either. I only recently have started doing 2%. It used to bother me as well. I am not sure what changed, but I still can't stomach the whole milk.

This week, my weight is up 2 lbs. It may not be true gain, but at least it is not headed in the downward direction as it had been every day. I have been running a lot less because I have a possible stress fracture in my foot (thanks for that, prednisone) and I have been eating really well (really, thank for that prednisone).

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who responded to this thread. Lots of great advice!