Weight loss after steroids

[Tumsie]

Hi y'all, does anybody know of a good food plan/diet I could use to shed off the steroid kilos?

I've put on about 10kilos over 5 weeks of steroids. Thanks

[immisceo]

There are a lot of theories and very little evidence about exclusion diets and MS. The jury is still very much out. Generally, what we're advised is to simply eat healthily as Alex does, the same as would benefit everybody. It may not effect our MS directly, but it will help keep the rest of our bodies running as well as possible.

[Tumsie]

Are there any particular food groups that you've cut out which have specifically helped your MS symptoms as well?

[HVAC]

Moderately limiting calories is the best way. A balanced diet. I use the peripheral of the grocery store produce, meat, and dairy. I eat six small meals a day.

Alex

[Tumsie]

Thanks guys. I had to take them orally as the diagnosis was done abroad and I couldn't be admited for the 5 day intravenous course due to finances (don't have international medical cover) and I needed next of kin by my side

[essdipity]

I can't imagine taking steroids for all that time, and can't believe it's healthy or even effective, assuming a fairly low dose. I hope it was done under a doctor's close supervision. There's a good Health Page on this topic, for those who haven't seen it.

But anyway, I think one problem a great many MSers face is weight gain, even in the absence of steroids. That's because fatigue is such a problem for us, and it's hard to exercise and burn calories if we're barely functioning as it is. If we have some kind of disability, particularly in walking, etc., this gets worse. Yet somehow our appetites don't know that. Boo.

I'm trying to be real about my limitations, meaning at least some exercise (while trying to get myself back to the gym in this frigid weather), portion control, and an honest look at caloric input. This has meant cutting out almost all wine, but a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do.

ess

[immisceo]

Usually it's not much of an issue for MS patients in that we usually aren't treated with long-term low dose steroids, just short term (3-5 days), high-dose blitzes. Our gain is typically more water weight. However, the appetite stimulating properties of the longer-term track is fairly well discussed in medical literature and research.

If your use of them is not on-going, it's likely as "simple" as monitoring what you eat and adding more movement while combining that with patience and stick-to-it-iveness. "Simple" because obviously that's a lot easier said than done!

But you'll find a lot of us here are in this mode all the time anyway (or try to be) as monitoring your diet and exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health overall, which has the knock-on effect of putting you in the best postion to deal with whatever MS might throw out way. There are a good few free websites and apps (if you have a smart phone) that make it really easy to track your caloric intake. I find this really helpful (especially the apps that have a built in barcode scanner, like MyFitnessPal) as if I'm not paying attention, my portions can get out of control and I wonder why my trousers got tight! Sure enough, I get back on the tracking wagon and lo and behold, I'm consuming 50% more than I should! No mystery there, then!

Also, pedometres these days can be a really cost-effective way to hit movement targets for the day and challenge yourself even on days when things like a genuine workout might be off the cards.

All the best. I can imagine that kind of rapid gain would be very distressing. I'd make sure to keep your doctor in the loop if it seems that the gain is not halted coming off the steroids. They might want to eliminate other potential causes.

We do have a couple of fitness allstars in our midst, for the record. Both kwerendorf (Kyle) and MaxtheCat (Tammy) have lost good bits of weight since being diagnosed!