Can't gain weight
Hi All,
I am duel diagnosed with UC and Crohns together. Lucky me.
I have my IBD somewhere under control. No bad flares but scope still shows lots of colon ulcers and inflammation but not bleeding at all. I am only taking Lialda and CBD oil. I cannot gain weight and am about 20 lbs under my goal weight. I eat about 4000-5000 calories a day with zero movement on the scale. My GI says malabsorption but doesn't suggest anything to rectify. I can't tolerate weight gain supps as most just use vegetable oils for calories and they make me sick. My restrictive daily diet is as follows...
No fried foods and can't tolerate any veggies other than lettuce salad.
Breakfast is 2 eggs and 4 pieces of toast.
Lunch is a chicken breast sandwich on honey wheat bread and crackers.
2nd Lunch around 4-5pm is same as first lunch.
Dinner is a steak or chicken (usually steak because I tolerate it well), salad, crackers.
Water with all meals. Butter on toast is my only dairy.
I average about 4000-5000 calories a day but do work 11-12 hrs a day, although not very active at work.
Anyone have this issue where you eat double the calories of a normal person and still have a hard time maintaining weight?
I feel really fortunate I can eat this much but frustrated that I never gain even a pound.
Thanks for any replies and I wish everyone the best. You all are my heroes!
Hi
, thanks so much for reaching out. I can hear what a challenge and frustration this has been for you, not being able to gain weight. You are definitely not alone! Unfortunately living with IBD (or multiple IBDs in your case) there can be the risk of malabsorption and/or challenge of gaining weight. One of our advocates wrote about her challenges with gaining weight in this article I'm linking, https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/living/weight-gain-struggle.
Also, I have to admit, I'm a little surprised that your doctor mentioned malabsorption but then didn't offer any ideas for how to manage that. If you haven't already, I would follow up with them about that. In the meantime, I'm sharing some information about malnutrition. https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/symptoms/complications/malnutrition. That being said, just because someone is experiencing malabsorption doesn't necessarily mean they also are suffering from malnutrition, but it certainly is something to be aware of.
Hopefully some of our community members here can chime in with any similar experiences they have, as I know there are people here who are going through the same thing.
Wishing you a gentle evening. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
