I'm new to this "Diat" thing, Need all the help I can get (help me plz <3)

[Mishaal]

Hi all, My name is Mishaal 23 Y/o

I've been diagnosed with an autoimmiune dissease called "VKH" about a month ago n since that moment all my life changed..

I'm on a very high dose of steriods (predinidilone to be specific) + other meds; steriods makes u hungry all the time n eat ALOT!! n it increases ur wight alot :\

I knew all that from the beginin so I wanted 2 try hard 2 keep my weight so I've been exercisin daily: 1- walkin n runnin 30-60min
2- Bicycle 30 min
3- diffrent exercises 15 mins

+ stopped ALL FAST FOODS N ALL SOFT DRINKS, n started cookin n eatin at home

I made a MAJOOOOOOOOR MISTAKE which was startin the diet without any food or diat knowledge n that n that fked me up hard (Thats y I'm askin 4 ur help n advice here)

what I thought was a good diet was: bread (was eatin daily 5-15 pieces -.-"""""), lamp beef, chicken breasts, white rice(with no salt no dressin nothin, just boiled water n rice), eggs, all kind of vegtables...

My weight was 50 kg when I was diagnosed 1 month ago and now it's 75kg (I'm 175 cm tall n this is kinda bad )

I knew somethin is wrong so I went on readin online about calories n stuffed n knew a couple of mistakes I did n in order to not be in the same spot again I wrote this thread to ask u is my new plan good or not??

1- STOP EATIN ANY BREAD n put n the BLACKLIST!!! (vrrrry high calarioes @_@")
2- minimize rice to few times a weak
3- eat chicken breast as much as possible
4- minimize the lamp meat to few times a week


hmmmmmmm I think I'm done now n I want ur advices about: 1- is there any advices or red flags what should I eat or avoid (like bread) ?

2- I put vegetables in almost everythin 2 make me feel fulled (always hungry), + I hate vegetables alone (salads), so any advices about dishes I can eat that can make the hunger go away n rn't full of calarois? (taste isn't important as long as it is average)

3- is there any specific exercises to lose weight? or just go run n burn some calories?

4- my diat was almostly dependent on the bread (n almost all my meals), now how can I substitued it?? (I read letus is good for sandwitches), but what about n the mornin with eggs or anythin else?

5-anythin at all on the diet or my subject would be hepfull (my knowledge on diats r -99999%)

thank u all 4 all ur help <3

 

[ogre52]

just find out your base metabolic rate (BMR) do the math and find out how much calories your body burns a day at rest. and do weight lifting your on steroids (not condoning steroids just saying since you have to do them). You should be huge on steroids and then you could probably eat whatever you want. Eat only enough to maintain your weight like 2000 calories shouldn't kill you a day. Or just get into strength training and gradually lift lots of weight so you have to eat a lot to maintain body weight. Those muscle guys eat so much and never gain anything. Steroids could be a gift and not a curse I think!

 

[Llama]

Not the same kind of roids... but counting calories is definitely the way to go when meds are messing with your appetite. Heathy casseroles are a good way to incorperate veg without noticing too much. Do you cook your own meals?

 

[ChefChiTown]

First of all, sorry to hear about the VKH. That's rare. Hopefully you can look past it and just work with what you have now instead of throwing it all away. But, since you're here on the forum I'm guessing you're keeping your spirits up. Good for you.

Second of all, since you're taking steroids you're going to have a higher chance of gaining weight because steroids often make people retain water. To help with that, lower your intake of salt and increase your cardiovascular activities (get your heart rate up so you burn fat). Excess fat often develops in the stomach of people who take a routine dose of steroids, but if you exercise and keep your heart rate in the fat burning zone while doing so you can combat the build up of fat.

Also, talk to your doctor. He/she might be able to prescribe you with a diuretic (medicine that promotes urination and increases your body's ability to get rid of excess water and salt). There could obviously be side effects and/or interaction with the steroid you're taking, so just ask your doctor if that is something that might be safe for you.

Good luck, friend. We're always here to help on WLF.

 

[Llama]

Whooops... sorry, I was half-asleep already when I posted previously so I forgot to add: Welcome to the forum! Auto-immune diseases suck badly and corticosteroids are the biggest two-edged sword in medicine... I wish you all the best with your journey, plus everything Chef just said.

 

[Mishaal]

just find out your base metabolic rate (BMR) do the math and find out how much calories your body burns a day at rest. and do weight lifting your on steroids (not condoning steroids just saying since you have to do them). You should be huge on steroids and then you could probably eat whatever you want. Eat only enough to maintain your weight like 2000 calories shouldn't kill you a day. Or just get into strength training and gradually lift lots of weight so you have to eat a lot to maintain body weight. Those muscle guys eat so much and never gain anything. Steroids could be a gift and not a curse I think!

Agree, I think the key thing in the diet is calculatin ur calories n knowin ur intake, gonna start doin that now...

n about the body buildin, hmmmmmmmmmm Im not a big fan cuz I only wanna stop gainin weight now (not interested n body buildin) but thnx anyway <3

Not the same kind of roids... but counting calories is definitely the way to go when meds are messing with your appetite. Heathy casseroles are a good way to incorperate veg without noticing too much. Do you cook your own meals?

yeah I cock my own meals n home, but I'm new to this cookin thing (Only cook simple dishes), dunno how to cook any casseroles , r they healthy n easy 2 make? if yes tell me the way plz it'll be a huge help (wanna know all the stomach fillin low calories meals I can make, taste ain't important..)

First of all, sorry to hear about the VKH. That's rare. Hopefully you can look past it and just work with what you have now instead of throwing it all away. But, since you're here on the forum I'm guessing you're keeping your spirits up. Good for you.

Second of all, since you're taking steroids you're going to have a higher chance of gaining weight because steroids often make people retain water. To help with that, lower your intake of salt and increase your cardiovascular activities (get your heart rate up so you burn fat). Excess fat often develops in the stomach of people who take a routine dose of steroids, but if you exercise and keep your heart rate in the fat burning zone while doing so you can combat the build up of fat.

Also, talk to your doctor. He/she might be able to prescribe you with a diuretic (medicine that promotes urination and increases your body's ability to get rid of excess water and salt). There could obviously be side effects and/or interaction with the steroid you're taking, so just ask your doctor if that is something that might be safe for you.

Good luck, friend. We're always here to help on WLF.

yeah it's a rare disease n without any causes... (nobody knows for sure how does it come), but anyway what happened heppened,,, I'm tryin 2 be positive n live my life )

about the exercise thing, I was actually goin 2 stop doin that cuz I was burnin like 100 or 200 calories max/day, n it takes one or two hours to do that. It'll be easier just to skip the 200 calorie snack instead of exercisin...

n about talkin 2 my doc, I'm a 6th year med student n been workin n the hospital for years, n I do know about meds n thier side effect..
don't think a diuretic is a good idea cuz the predinidelone (steroids) I'm takin on a high dose already promte frequent urination...

I do tend to drink ALOTTTT of water, also cuz of the meds (makes my mouth dry) + I try to drink 500 ml of water before any meal to fill my stomack a little bit (sometimes I drink 1 or 2 litters durin a meal; before n durin n after), so drinkin alot of water is one of the things I'm doin 2 try managin my hunger ^.^"

last thing I wanna ask u somethin guys, I've heard that salt isn't good 4 diat (don't put salt n ur rice or anythin), is that true? should I minimize usin salt or stoppin it? (I have no problem doin that I just don't wanna do it if there is no effect or use for skippn it)

 

[Mishaal]

Whooops... sorry, I was half-asleep already when I posted previously so I forgot to add: Welcome to the forum! Auto-immune diseases suck badly and corticosteroids are the biggest two-edged sword in medicine... I wish you all the best with your journey, plus everything Chef just said.

lol, thnx bro..

they do suck n they rn't even a supposed 2 be called a "treatment", cuz they rn't treatin anythin, they don't treat the cuz, the mutation, the t cells, the the disease, NOTHIN!!!!!!

it simply lowers ur body immunity n fks up all ur body just inorder to prevent ur body from attackin itself, u r doin NOTHINNNNN to treat the disease it self XD

yeah there is plan, n yeah some ppl can taper the steriods sown after some years but as I said it ain't a fkin treatment, n the big problem is that u know that, u know that ur meds r fkin u up n u still take them daily, cuz simply u have no other choice...

thnx anyway I'm just replyin to the "twe edged sword med" it's a fkin one edge that is fkin u up n u r the one stappin urself with it every fkin day,,

but u have 2 do it, u have no other choice...

the only thing u can do is try as much as possible to manage the side effect (appetite, weight gain, depression, insomnia, DM, HTN, osteoporosis, n tons of other stuff...

 

[Llama]

I used to visit another weight loss forum (back in the stone age... or so it feels) and we had a lady who was on high-dose steroids. She struggled mightily for a while but she did end up getting her weight under control (I´d try and find a link but it was in German), so maybe there´s some comfort in that?
The salt thing is (as Chef said) all about water. If you are retaining water, easing up on salt consumption is definitely helpful. Body needs around 6 grams a day if I remember correctly, and that´s way less than what most of us are eating. It doesn´t influence how much fat your body stores, of course, but swollen legs and a bloated abdomen are no more fun when caused by water than by fat. I agree with the exercise suggestion, by the way, because if your energy level allows you can easily burn 600 kcal in an hour on cardio and around 400 (correct me if I´m wrong, I´m using my own numbers here because I´m about the same size and weight as you) on weight training. Weights have the additional benefit of growing muscle instead of fat and even if you don´t want to get larger those muscles will help you burn more calories even while resting/sleeping/going about your normal business. Also: you need to train a LOT to become visibly heavier from muscle mass, especially if you start out with a layer of unwanted fat, so don´t worry about that. More important if you anticipate being on these meds for an indefinite amount of time is that weight training helps you build up/retain bone mass. And working out in general is proven to help with lighter types of depression, difficulty sleeping and a whole slew of other problems.

About the recipes: google is your friend. I like this http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/healthy-casseroles but only use it when you have an add blocker activated because it´s a devil for pop-ups. Seek out things that freeze well if you have a freezer, that way you can cook ahead in bigger batches, portion things off and store them until needed.

 

[Mishaal]

I used to visit another weight loss forum (back in the stone age... or so it feels) and we had a lady who was on high-dose steroids. She struggled mightily for a while but she did end up getting her weight under control (I´d try and find a link but it was in German), so maybe there´s some comfort in that?
The salt thing is (as Chef said) all about water. If you are retaining water, easing up on salt consumption is definitely helpful. Body needs around 6 grams a day if I remember correctly, and that´s way less than what most of us are eating. It doesn´t influence how much fat your body stores, of course, but swollen legs and a bloated abdomen are no more fun when caused by water than by fat. I agree with the exercise suggestion, by the way, because if your energy level allows you can easily burn 600 kcal in an hour on cardio and around 400 (correct me if I´m wrong, I´m using my own numbers here because I´m about the same size and weight as you) on weight training. Weights have the additional benefit of growing muscle instead of fat and even if you don´t want to get larger those muscles will help you burn more calories even while resting/sleeping/going about your normal business. Also: you need to train a LOT to become visibly heavier from muscle mass, especially if you start out with a layer of unwanted fat, so don´t worry about that. More important if you anticipate being on these meds for an indefinite amount of time is that weight training helps you build up/retain bone mass. And working out in general is proven to help with lighter types of depression, difficulty sleeping and a whole slew of other problems.

About the recipes: google is your friend. I like this http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/healthy-casseroles but only use it when you have an add blocker activated because it´s a devil for pop-ups. Seek out things that freeze well if you have a freezer, that way you can cook ahead in bigger batches, portion things off and store them until needed.

agree with u it's somethin u have 2 accept n live with it ur whole life <3

k I think I'll minimize or cuz the salt totally (just n case)

about the exercise, I have a treadmill cardio machine that doesnt show any numbers (so I don't know how many calories I burn), but I read about "zero to 10 in 30" treadmill cardio exercise that claims it burns 500 calories n a half hour (not sure but I'm gonna try it now), I also have a bicycle exersicin machine that only burns around 30-50 calories n a half hour (gonna skip it n focus on the cardio treadmill n diet now), not a big fan of liftin weights...

thnx for the cookin link, added it 2 my fav list n gonna check it out 4 sure <3

 

[Cate]

Hi Mishaal & welcome to the forum. LaMa & Chef have given you some good advice, but I will add my bit about salt.
So much salt is in processed food in particular that it is a good idea to cut it down. I have an enlarged ascending aorta & my cardio said the best advice he could give me was to cut down my salt considerably, which I did. My BP came right down & he was really pleased, but surprised. He wasn't surprised that it had. He was surprised that I had taken notice. Apparently he tells all his med students that that is the best advice they can give their patients. Not many people take his advice & the next thing is they're needing open-heart surgery.
I think it's a good idea to incorporate exercise in your daily routine for lots of reasons, other than weight-loss.It makes you feel better all 'round. Walk whenever you can, take the stairs when you can....just fit little things into your day. They all add up.
Cheers, Cate.

 

[ogre52]

yah they aren't the steroids that increase your muscle mass which I realized just now. However, they do increase metabolism which causes hunger to increase, much like the medications that I am on. Depakote and Risperdal both increase hunger and therefor you gain a lot of weight on them. I gained 80 pounds in 6 months when I first started my medications. I have been dealing with weight gain for 5 years now and I finally decided to do something about it. After I take my medications I am extremely hungry for a few hours even deep into my diet, which the hunger is made worse since I don't eat that much. I conquered my hunger though and it only lasts an hour or so these days right after the medication takes affect everyday. I did this by reducing my calories each day (started at like 3500 a day cuz I wasn't dieting and gaining weight still) I cut to 1500 and that was hard for a few weeks. After a month or so I didn't notice hunger at all anymore. You just have to trick your body into accepting that there isn't any food and therefor it will stop whining eventually. I have lost 40 pounds in 2 months and I swear you can do it too, just keep to a number of calories that will have you losing weight (like 1800 or something) and you will get used to it! You can even cut further than this if you want to cut weight faster. Don't go crazy with it though you will get sick if you go below 1200 or so daily. I don't get sick below this but I have got sick before. If you haven't gained much weight because you have decided to diet and exercise as soon as you knew you would gain weight than you should be fine! it's possible to lose significant amounts of weight even on medications that doom you to weight gain (theoretically). You should be fine dude! Just keep your calories down (my fitness pal is a great app that counts your calories and even projects weight loss for you). That, and exercise, and you should not only keep weight down but lose weight if you need to as well. Increased metabolism can, like I was saying before, be a blessing and not a curse. Just don't give in to your hunger cravings and soon they will subside. If they don't, than eat! Just don't go over 2000 calories, if your hungry after 2000 calories that's where the willpower kicks in, DO NOT GO ABOVE 2000 you do not need it! Your body can't cut calories all at once though. this is why obese people can't stop eating so much. Because they don't take it gradually. If your at 3000-4000 a day (which you might be since your just starting dealing with steroids) Than only cut to 2500 or so, Or even more if your really obese or take in way too many calories. Don't force yourself and pretty soon in a month or a couple months even you will not even want to eat and realize that the hunger is just your body thinking it needs food when it really doesn't. You will feel like a boss just knowing you are in control of the hunger and not your body. WILL POWER MAN. I did it, and so can you. 3500 cal to 2500 cal to 2000 to 1800 to 1500. Or something like that. If it's not possible for you than maybe I can get back to you. Message me!

 

[ogre52]

also the drugs I'm on increase HGH in the blood which way be why It's so easy for me to lose weight. Corticol steroids actually decrease HGH they say so maybe you'll have a bit harder time. It could be negligible, but just a compare and contrast and maybe a little warning on my part. In the post above where I said if your really obese (because of increased BMR) or Eating way too many calories I meant cut only about 500 to 1000 below what your eating or 500 to 1000 below what your BMR is at a time. Whatever comes first.