Prednisone and weight loss

Hi all. I have been a member of OH since Mid 2007. I was scheduled to have Gastric RNY surgery in Dec 2007, all a go with insurance and everything, thill the pre-op, and the doctor called and said the insurance wasn't going to cover it. I said what I just spoke to them. (Called them twice a week for 6 months.. insurance that is.)   The doctor sent the final info to insurance for approval, and thats when someone at the insurance company found "their mistake" and said oops. Had you had the surgery we'd of covered it cause it was our mistake for saying it was when it was an exclusion. However no lawyer locally new how to deal with a weight/surgery issue that hadn't taken place yet so it never happened. I was 270lbs at the time.

I've since been diagnosed for 5 years with 4 relapses with a disease called Wegener's Granulomatosis. Majority of the relapses have been the last 2 years. I've now gained more weight and am at 350lbs. I've been off and on Prednisone for the last 4yrs. Had infusions of it and pill form. My latest issue is in Early Nov I started 60mg of Prednisone and now weened down to 5mg, but the told has take its course. I went from 325lbs in Nov to now the 350lbs. I'm miserable, and in so much pain weight wise. My clothes don't fit and I'm so upset. The doctors say there is really nothing to do bu****ch what I eat, and even that is hard cause the prednisone affects my metabolism and doesn't help me metabolise anything. I'm only allowed very low impact exercise and even with walking to break very often. So I'm just so stressed. I want to exercise, I want to lose the weight, but seems like a never happening thing.  In november due to a too fast drop in the prednisone (my fault)  I aquired Cushings Syndrome while on the prednisone. I had this last time I took oral form of Prednisone in 2008, but this time its worse, causing my glucose levels to be very high, and fat displacement.

I did lose 75lbs back in 2005 on South Beach Diet, eliminating sugars and fruits the first two weeks, and no starches/grains. Slowly introducing them back, but still no sugars. It was great, but a boring diet which one taste of (candy or unhealthy food) and I was back to gaining it all back.

Anyone on prednisone have a good outcome on weight loss while taking it, or after coming off of it?? I need motivation and advice, maybe some easy exercises I can do at home that are low impact. They want me on low impact cause I'm on heavy medication for the disease. I just finished an infusion of a chemo type durg and am on a chemo type drug (oral form) and the prednisone, and have muscle weakness.  

Anyone with some ideas or postive feedback, its muchly appriciated. Whats worked for you?
I dislike fish includig tuna. I enjoy beef and chicken.   No allergies other than to some medications.  Thanks.

Wegener's Info:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/wegeners-granulomatosis/DS00833
Cushing's Syndorme Info: http://endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/cushings/cushings.htm

Marge S.

I've done a number of years on prednisone  but not taken it in a while.  I was diagnosed with Lupus back in 1984.........

I had lots of reasons and excuses why my weight continued to balloon even after I was off the meds but bottom line I was out of control!

Here's basically my plan for healthy eating and exercise.  FYI - the best exercise for you and it is low impact is walking.  Go for a walk for 10 mins to start and work your way up to a 60 min walk every day.  BUT, you have to walk fast....you cant walk 1 mile in that 60 mins.  To know you are at a minimum pace you should be able to walk 1 mile in 20 mins.  That's a good marching pace.  Work your way up to it.  When I started I could only walk 10 mins!  But I worked up to doing 90 mins a day (and have since cut back down) and 5 miles a day.   IT CAN BE DONE!

Let me know if you have questions...

*****************************************************************************************

My weight loss journey........

I struggled for years..........MANY years!  I would start a diet, do well for a few days/weeks even months but in the end would give up and gain the weight back and then some.  I did this yo-yo dieting for about 20 years and then just totally gave up and stayed at the same place for about 5 years

I was rather unhappy from the time I was about 14 and then down right miserable starting in my mid 20’s! I NEVER felt pretty, never felt real joy (other than the 30 seconds it took to eat an snickers bar), never felt I deserved anything good, I was never my own priority and I never felt proud of myself.

Finally after being divorced for about 5 or 6 years I decided I wanted to live.  I have no children of my own but I wanted to live not only to see my young nieces and nephews go up, but to finally enjoy my own life.  I did not really "live" life from about 1991-2007; I merely existed.  I worked like crazy to avoid the real issues in my life.
When I decided I wanted to make me my number one priority I got serious about losing weight.  I even told my friends and family that for the next few months or year (whatever it would take) I was going to be selfish and make me my priority. 

It hasn’t been easy!  I NEVER liked to exercise…not even when I was younger.  The only thing close to exercise I ever liked was swimming and riding the bicycle but that was more fun than exercise…I never broke a sweat and never really swam laps, I played around in the pool.

To be successful I knew I had to get serious about exercising.  I got up a little earlier in the morning so I could do my walk before going to work and at night I didn’t go out much because I was doing my nightly routine (either cardio or weight lifting depending on the day of the week).

It's been slow, sometimes painfully slow, but I have lost just shy of 165 lbs and I am just less than 5 lbs from my goal (I hit my original goal but then decided I wanted to lose another 15). 

It can be done with healthy eating and exercise.  Seriously if I (at 51) could start and be successful, anyone can!

My Diet and Exercise.  There is no way to get around the exercise part!  I've been a life long dieter and it never stuck...........finally about 18 months ago I changed my attitude towards food and started eating healthy and exercising daily (except on Saturdays, my free day every week).  

I started slow with the exercise and built my way up. At first I could only walk 10 mins on the treadmill, then 20....now I walk/run a minimum of 40 in the morning.  Even when I was working I would get up early so I could walk (at that time I did not run so I walked 60 mins every morning).  Weight lifting is VERY important...it builds muscle and muscle burns calories even when you are sitting doing nothing.  I feel best on days I do my 40 min walk/run in the morning and then when I add another 40 min walk in the evening.  I basicly follow the "Body for Life" exercise program....easy to learn and stick with.  Cardio every morning before breakfast, weight lifting 3 nights a week and the other nights another round of cardio.

For my food - at first I weighed my portions till I got used to knowing what a 4oz piece of meat looked like (turns out I used to eat more like 6-8oz at each meal), and measuring pasta/rice/potatoes was an eye opener for me too. 

 

At first I ate about 1,700-1,800 cals but as I lost weight I dropped to about 1,500 and now eat around 1,200 (never more).  A body weighing 250+ lbs needs more calories (energy) than the body weighing 200 lbs or 150 lbs so as you lose weight you have to cut back on calories....I used the general rule that I cut calories after every 50 lbs lost.  NOT a drastic cut, just enough to keep losing.  To be successful I had to remember - bottom line….it’s calories in and calories burned that matters.  I have a daily budget of calories and I choose to spend them wisely.   I don't think of this as a "diet" in the traditional sense, for me it's my way of life, it’s my new norm and will never end.

• I eat at least 5 times a day....... protein powder, breakfast (a healthy oatmeal mix I make) , lunch, snack, dinner (on days I'm doing weight lifting I add another protein powder before the workout). I use EAS Whey Protein Powder....it is NOT a meal replacement it is pure protein.  I try to get 80-100 grams of protein every day to lose weight. 

• I eat LOTS AND LOTS of fresh veg (at least 3 full servings a day).  Most of the veg I eat is raw or a quick sauté/stir-fry (crisp), with a little olive oil.
• I eat fresh fruit.....1 apple every day and either an orange, or 1/4 cantaloupe or 20 grapes, maybe a banana…depends what is in season and what is in the house
• I tend to eat more "whole and organic" foods, very little processed foods.  I make my own yogurt (yummy), eat lots of raw veg or flash cooked (keeping lots of crunch and color).  We squeeze our own orange juice (I recently moved to Florida so I feel obligated to squeeze OJ...lol). 
• I broil, bake, or grill most of my meats and fish....occasionally I will brown chicken or fish in a little olive oil but not too much and not very often.
• When eating lunch or dinner I eat the protein and veg first and then if I still have room I eat the carbs......it helps me to not over eat.
• I eat a high amount of protein (80-100 gr a day)
• I eat from EVERY food group....do not eliminate any group.
• I eat healthy carbs......oatmeal for breakfast every morning (except my free day), bulgur wheat once or twice a week, pasta once a week.  I don't eat much bread which was very difficult for me for the first 9 months.  I do have bread once in a while just not everyday and it's usually a whole wheat bread (on my free day it's Italian bread toasted along with my eggs).  I had a bagel for the first time last month.
• Snacks are healthy ones.......1 tbls peanut butter (Smuckers natural creamy) w/ a little strawberry jam on a rice cake or Wasa cracker or slice of low cal whole wheat bread.  OR - 1 plain granola bar (they come 2 in pack, I eat only 1), or 1 tbls peanut butter spread on a banana.  Lately I’ve had 1 hard boiled egg for snack a couple days during the week….great source of protein!
• No cookies, cakes, pies.......okay, I think I had 4 small pieces of baklava (my favorite), 1 slice of pecan pie, and maybe 3 or 4 cookies during the past year.  Seriously, this was not easy but after a while I stopped looking for them.
• No chips......I love potato chips and cheese doodles but have done all I can to avoid them..........recently I had a small bag with my lunch sandwich from Quiznos or Subway but it was the first time in about a year and it was on my Free Day.
• If I know a food is a dangerous one for me (like chips or butter) I do not bring it in the house.  The only time I did was when I was entertaining and I knew others would want them….BUT, I made them take all the leftovers home with them.  My friends’ kid loved that.
• I recently cut out sugar and artificial sweeteners.  Since Feb 1, 2009 I have not had any sweetener in my tea or coffee.....I am amazed I was able to do this.  It's taken a good 2 months to get somewhat used to it and only the other day I added a pkg of Splender to a cup of tea and hated it...it was way too sweet!!!
• Portion control.  It took me a looooooong time to figure out that even too much salad is not a good thing!  Every food has calories.
• I make sure I incorporate some good fats (olive oil, flaxseed oil) into my diet every day!  
• I eat more fish and chicken/turkey during the week and try to limit red meat to about twice a week. 
• The other thing I really changed was I eliminated butter (which I used to love) and I only eat cheese once a week (I used to eat it just about every day).
• I only weigh myself once a week (every Saturday morning)...okay sometimes I cheat and hop on the scale in the middle of the week but it's pretty rare that I do that.
• I write down EVERYTHING I eat/drink....I mean EVERYTHING...if I add 6 raisins to my oatmeal I write it down.  I actually build a small excel file that I use to track my food, cals, protein, fat, fiber, carbs every day.
• Drinking PLENTY of water is a must!  At my heaviest I drank about 15 cups a day....now I drink about 9 most days and sometimes 12.  Again the heavier the body the more water it needs so since I'm so close to my final goal I've cut back to a more normal amount of water.

 

I allow myself 1 free day (Saturday), I can eat/drink anything I want BUT I still do so within reason.....I don’t really watch the calories that day but I don’t go crazy either….it seems to work out that I normally take in an extra 250 cals that day but like I said I do not go crazy……..like I don't eat butter on my free day,  but I will have 1 or 2 small piece of chocolate at night, or 2 slices of pizza for lunch or maybe a nice piece of lasagna for dinner, sometimes I have margarita night and make spicy shrimp tacos and drink a couple margaritas…....something different but not out of control.

Alcohol slows downs the metabolism.  When I first started I would have a drink or two on my free day but after a while I decided it wasn't worth the calories so I hardly had anything during the last 6 months or so.......trust me there have been days that I have had a few drinks but it's not a weekly thing.  Maybe when I'm at goal and maintaining successfully for a while I'll add in a glass of red wine a couple nights a week....it's healthy

The reward for doing this……I’m healthier today at 52 than I was in my 30’s.  I’m happier and for the first time in my life I feel truly proud of myself!

Hey Marge, the links didn't go through so I had to do my own search.  This is the link for the Wegener's-granulomatosis.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/wegeners-granulomatosis/DS0 0833/DSECTION=coping-and-support

I had never heard of such a thing so I read all of it.  DAYUM!  Here's your "Poor Baby".  You sure have been through the ringer girl.

I think the place you may need to start as far as diet is dealing with your high glucose level.  I know you said you got bored with no sugar, but seriously, it's the worst crap to put in your body while your body can still take the abuse, but in your case it's pure poison.  Now I do know about the Cushing's disease cuz it's very similar to what I have....PCOS, and I had to be tested for it before I got my diagnosis.  If your body is producing too much cortisol combined with the prednisone causing you to gain, you are going to have to take drastic measures if you are ever going to get the weight off.  My suggestion would be to eat as clean and as close to nature as possible.  Processed foods with all of the fat, additives, bad carbs and sodium in them are only going to make your condition worse.  Do you cook at all?  If so, then I suggest you get all of your groceries as fresh as possible or frozen when fresh is not available.  Fresh fruits and vegetables need to be the mainstay of your diet with small amounts of meat or other sources of protein like nuts, seafood, or peanut butter made from ground peanuts.  Eat bread sparingly and make sure that it is whole wheat, hopefully stone ground wheat and sugar free.  And to make sure you don't worsen your condition, make sure to stay away from bacon, ham, hot dogs, or deli meats that contain nitrates.  Salads are delicious with EVOO(extra virgin olive oil) and garlic vinegar! 

Hopefully, some of the other ladies here who eat clean can give you some more pointers.  As for exercise, when my sister had her knee replacement surgery and couldn't move much, I had her doing arm exercises while she sat in the chair.  Let me know if you need more details.  Also, a recumbent cycle or one of those pedal thingies that you can use sitting in a chair is also very low impact. 

Now that you have the prednisone down to five percent is a great time to get started on getting this weight off of your body.  Hollah back if you have more questions, we will try and do everything to keep you motivated and informed.  I hope this all goes well for you,

Mary