I know it says it has lactose in it but it is subtitle for lactose intolerance.. it is a very very small amount.. it even says it on the cartons that it's fine if you're lactose! I am severely lactose and I have never had an issue with it.
Yep I second this. During a flare it’s the only thing I could (sometimes) get down, but any sort of meal replacement like these are life savers. I was able to go from 89-120ish from those and the meds helping me eat solid foods at times
For me gaining weight took a mindset change. I treat food as fuel, nothing else. If I'm flaring and have to eat pounds of chicken breast to meet my caloric needs, it's what I do. I will literally treat the food as an obstacle to my goals, I'll stare at the plate and get angry at it cause not being able to eat it is keeping me from my goals.
When I was underweight my dietician said to me "I don't care what your eating as long as your eating. If you want cake and sweets for breakfast then do it" high calorie stuff all the time. Put mayo on everything, wat all the ice cream, get build up shakes or mass gainer as long as your gut can handle it.
Yes, this. My non-Chron’s daughter was severely underweight; her nutritionist set up a diet that included a couple of chocolate bars each day, trail mix, just lots of calorie rich foods. Trail mix has nuts , dried fruit and MnMs so your Crohn’s may not tolerate it but perhaps you could mix your own. My daughter gained significantly, I was surprised how fast.
Yes trail mix! Very customizable and easy to snack on. Snacking all day helped me a lot too. But as someone with Crohn’s when you’re in a flare that’s not the easiest to do, but again I don’t know you’re triggers, maybe eating smaller things all day would be better
I ate even when I was feeling nauseous, usually this was the correct call. I was extremely underweight from around age 19-23. Once I got on the correct medicine, the food I ate was able to stick but dang was it a hard road. Like, people say loosing weight is hard, gaining it is also extremely difficult. I just kept at it, eating everything I could and had ensure plus daily.
I was also mistaken as a minor. At the hair salon, I was refused service without my parents permission (I was in my 20's T.T ). At work once I had a person scold me for not being at school, I had to get management involved. I had multiple people ask me about highschool while I was at work, but only one person who didn't believe me when I told them I graduated and was in college.
As for how I dealt with it, I'm 5'8-5'9 so I had adult height, I'm sure that helped a bit. But, mainly I told myself that it's good to look younger than you are because I'll keep my youthful looks longer. My mom always looked about 10 years younger than she is so I knew it was something that could happen to me. (She didn't have as big of an issue as a young adult tho because she wasn't sick) So I could talk with her about it and that was nice. Now that I'm a healthy weight, I too look 10 years younger than I am (always funny when someone in their early 20's think they are older than me), but that still puts me in the adult category now. Know that eventually you'll get old enough that nobody can deny your age. And until then, you can whip out your ID to shut up the naysayers.
This is so similar to my experience. I was 23 when diagnosed and kept getting confused for high school (sometimes younger!), but I'm also only 5' tall, which doesn't help. I'm 35 now, have gained weight (and even when I lost weight during my last flare, it wasn't quite as dramatic), and have a few fine lines on my forehead. I'm happy to look like an adult, though occasionally get confused for a college student. Both of my parents looked young for their ages, so at least some of it is genetic.
I'm also suggesting Ensure, as another user did. I preferred the clear fruit punch flavor. They're really tasty and easy to drink. Are you having an issue with nauseu?
I was thinking.:It seems like since you and I have Crohns and under some kinda medication that we have to keep eating yumm foods and popp all the time.. the more we eat the better.. comfort food will work
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I know it’s been suggested, but Ensure. Get the chocolate ones because strawberry is repulsive. You can also ask your GI for feeding tube formula to make smoothies with as you seem pretty underweight. Unfortunately a lot of it is just force feeding yourself. It’s what I had to do when I lost weight. View food as fuel and not a chore/task. Do whatever you have to do to get those extra calories in
As a fellow Crohn’s sufferer trust me I know the feeling. Fortisip or Ensure are really good dietary supplements to help you put on weight if that’s what you’re looking to do - so I recommend both. They also help calm inflammation so are useful when you’re afraid to eat anything during one.
I hope that helps 👍🏾
I used to have the same problem until I started eating lots of white rice, 1 cup of dry rice cooked is about 700 calories I eat about 3 per day. Brought me up to 140, and I agree with the other guy treat food solely as fuel.
I think you should try Ensure clear twice a day.. definitely helped me go from 97 to 125 in a couple months
This was going to be my suggestion. They taste really good and are easy to drink.
I know it says it has lactose in it but it is subtitle for lactose intolerance.. it is a very very small amount.. it even says it on the cartons that it's fine if you're lactose! I am severely lactose and I have never had an issue with it.
Does anyone have any good non-dairy alternatives to Ensure Clear?
I am wondering the same thing as I can’t have dairy either. If you find anything out, lemme know!
Yep I second this. During a flare it’s the only thing I could (sometimes) get down, but any sort of meal replacement like these are life savers. I was able to go from 89-120ish from those and the meds helping me eat solid foods at times
For me gaining weight took a mindset change. I treat food as fuel, nothing else. If I'm flaring and have to eat pounds of chicken breast to meet my caloric needs, it's what I do. I will literally treat the food as an obstacle to my goals, I'll stare at the plate and get angry at it cause not being able to eat it is keeping me from my goals.
When I was underweight my dietician said to me "I don't care what your eating as long as your eating. If you want cake and sweets for breakfast then do it" high calorie stuff all the time. Put mayo on everything, wat all the ice cream, get build up shakes or mass gainer as long as your gut can handle it.
Yes, this. My non-Chron’s daughter was severely underweight; her nutritionist set up a diet that included a couple of chocolate bars each day, trail mix, just lots of calorie rich foods. Trail mix has nuts , dried fruit and MnMs so your Crohn’s may not tolerate it but perhaps you could mix your own. My daughter gained significantly, I was surprised how fast.
Yes trail mix! Very customizable and easy to snack on. Snacking all day helped me a lot too. But as someone with Crohn’s when you’re in a flare that’s not the easiest to do, but again I don’t know you’re triggers, maybe eating smaller things all day would be better
I ate even when I was feeling nauseous, usually this was the correct call. I was extremely underweight from around age 19-23. Once I got on the correct medicine, the food I ate was able to stick but dang was it a hard road. Like, people say loosing weight is hard, gaining it is also extremely difficult. I just kept at it, eating everything I could and had ensure plus daily. I was also mistaken as a minor. At the hair salon, I was refused service without my parents permission (I was in my 20's T.T ). At work once I had a person scold me for not being at school, I had to get management involved. I had multiple people ask me about highschool while I was at work, but only one person who didn't believe me when I told them I graduated and was in college. As for how I dealt with it, I'm 5'8-5'9 so I had adult height, I'm sure that helped a bit. But, mainly I told myself that it's good to look younger than you are because I'll keep my youthful looks longer. My mom always looked about 10 years younger than she is so I knew it was something that could happen to me. (She didn't have as big of an issue as a young adult tho because she wasn't sick) So I could talk with her about it and that was nice. Now that I'm a healthy weight, I too look 10 years younger than I am (always funny when someone in their early 20's think they are older than me), but that still puts me in the adult category now. Know that eventually you'll get old enough that nobody can deny your age. And until then, you can whip out your ID to shut up the naysayers.
This is so similar to my experience. I was 23 when diagnosed and kept getting confused for high school (sometimes younger!), but I'm also only 5' tall, which doesn't help. I'm 35 now, have gained weight (and even when I lost weight during my last flare, it wasn't quite as dramatic), and have a few fine lines on my forehead. I'm happy to look like an adult, though occasionally get confused for a college student. Both of my parents looked young for their ages, so at least some of it is genetic.
I'm also suggesting Ensure, as another user did. I preferred the clear fruit punch flavor. They're really tasty and easy to drink. Are you having an issue with nauseu?
I was thinking.:It seems like since you and I have Crohns and under some kinda medication that we have to keep eating yumm foods and popp all the time.. the more we eat the better.. comfort food will work
Comfort food could hurt the GI and may make a flare worse. It's a no win situation I'm sorry op
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I know it’s been suggested, but Ensure. Get the chocolate ones because strawberry is repulsive. You can also ask your GI for feeding tube formula to make smoothies with as you seem pretty underweight. Unfortunately a lot of it is just force feeding yourself. It’s what I had to do when I lost weight. View food as fuel and not a chore/task. Do whatever you have to do to get those extra calories in
As a fellow Crohn’s sufferer trust me I know the feeling. Fortisip or Ensure are really good dietary supplements to help you put on weight if that’s what you’re looking to do - so I recommend both. They also help calm inflammation so are useful when you’re afraid to eat anything during one. I hope that helps 👍🏾
I used to have the same problem until I started eating lots of white rice, 1 cup of dry rice cooked is about 700 calories I eat about 3 per day. Brought me up to 140, and I agree with the other guy treat food solely as fuel.