Low Carb Diet

I'm still trying to lose the 15kg I put on during the last round of prednisone. So I've been doing a low carb diet which is helping with the weight loss. My question is whether it's sensible to continue with this diet now that I'm back on prednisone. My UC symptoms have just about cleared up and I hope to start tapering soon. I'm not feeling crash hot though, kind of light headed and always starving. Not sure whether this is just the diet or the effects of prednisone. Also I've read that calcium and potassium can become depleted whilst taking prednisone and I don't want to make it worse with the diet. However the good thing about the diet is that I have to avoid a lot of grains like bread etc and I think that does help with the UC. Any thoughts or experiences? I'm so desperate not to put on the 5kgs I've just worked so hard to get off.

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40 years young

my kidney doc told me that low carb (meaning refined carbs) wheat pasta's are ok, etc. low sugar will help me keep of the pounds and I am also doing a low salt and low fat

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Beth, 31

There's nothing wrong with using a low carb diet while on pred, although the pred munchies may make it difficult to stick with it. Light-headedness and hunger are normal when transitioning to a low carb diet. Try eating more frequent, smaller meals... six small meals/snacks instead of three large ones. You may also want to increase your intake of healthy fats - Udo's, flax, fish, olive, nut butters - to compensate for the low carbs and help keep your calorie count up.

Eating a grain-free diet is very helpful for healing UC, in my experience. Check out the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, if you haven't already.

http://www.scdiet.org

Sandi,

I just started a low carb diet.  Not a crash course but laying off most breads and pastas.  I did this in my younger days and it works.  The diet can get really boring after an extended time but the results are a good kick start to a more moderate diet and exercise program.  Good luck.

Thanks for your responses. I did try the SCD for about 10 days while I was really bad with bleeding and diahorreah and I think it helped. I pretty much only ate chicken soup and farmers cheese the whole time. I've ordered the book and will think about going on the diet longer term once I've read it.

There are also some really good products such as the Atkins Baking Mix (great for pancakes). There is a company called EMPOWER that makes low carb products including bread mixes, cake mixes, wraps, sauces etc. They are great for helping you stick to a low carb diet as they add variety to your menu. But a word of warning. I'm pretty sure the bread mix either brought on or contributed to my recent UC flare. The flare started about 2 weeks after starting to eat the bread. My sister also has UC and it worsened rapidly once she started eating the bread. I think it's because it's made of really high fibre stuff like psyllium husk and flaxseeds. So now I just use the wraps and sauces and steer clear of the other products. The Atkins baking mix has been okay.

This is the only time I've ever thought that my diet was a cause of my UC, nothing has ever bothered me before.

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40 years young

I've lost over 50 pounds on a low calorie and very low fat diet. The good thing about that is you are able to keep it off and you get to have the pasta's and the carbs that people tend to crave. As far as I've noticed in my relatively new experience with Crohn's what sets me off is fat more then anything so this is also convenient to me. My doctor pretty much said the same thing..avoid fat and that will help alot. I had tried the no or low carb thing before and , in my experience , the lightheadedness and weakness you're feeling is the lack of carbs you're getting in because that's how I always felt. If you can handle eating carbs with your UC and want to lose the weight I suggest a very very low fat diet , exercise 3-4 times a week , and drink at least a gallon of water a day. Just a suggestion again but I'm down 50 pounds since May. :) Good luck with both of the issues though..keep us updated .

Be aware alot (if not all) of low carb sweet treats are sweetened with sugar alcohols which can be very irritating to an inflamed gut. Watch out for syrups, candy and protein or meal replacement bars like Atkin's bars.

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Diagnosed with ulcerative colitis spring 1999