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Hi everyone. I am 19 months into treatment. When I started, I obviously lost some weight doing the strict diet. It was hard to do, yet lovely at the same time being able to fit into a smaller size without ever having to exercise! Ha! It was like I had to eat just to keep the weight on me. All I did was yoga and walking and I still couldn't maintain weight. As I've been able to work from list 1 up to (now) list 3, I've started gaining weight slowly. I increased my exercise regime and now am at the gym 3-5 days a week, but the weight is creeping on. I'm now past my "ideal" and trending in the opposite direction from where I was. Anyone else deal with this? The funny thing is I'm a health coach and I coach people on this exact issue, but can't seem to decipher what's going on with myself...except for some recent stress which I know is often a culprit. But you would think with all the stress of being sick from IC earlier, I would never have lost weight.
Additionally, after 19 months, I am feeling pretty stuck with my recovery. So many little things have improved (most of them in the first year), but my bladder still burns every time it is full (especially in the early morning hours after sleeping 6 hours). I have left breast pain leading up to my period, frequency, burning after a BM, bumpy, red tongue, NO libido, etc....Matia has me on and off herbs and probiotics all the time and I just feel like we're grasping at straws and not figuring out my body's message. I've felt stuck here for almost a year and all I want is a piece of chocolate or a brownie! I tried making some with agave as a healthier "cheat" at Christmas and I flared like crazy. Weird thing is, months prior to that if I had a small cheat like that I didn't feel much. So in my mind it's gotten worse, not better.
Thanks for reading...if anyone can relate please reply! I haven't been on here in a long time and would love some feedback.
Hi Flygirlsam
Sorry to hear that you have some stress going on (well I suppose beside IC). As for weight gain, I could tell you my own experience briefly. 3-4 years ago, I started to gain weight with this health situation of mine and it kept increase ( lots of bloating, either water retention or fat) even though I used to exercise 3-5 days a week and eating relatively healthy. Last year, when I started work with Matia, my weight kept increasing and interestingly overall I got bigger (I am taller and generally have a bigger body compares to even last year). I was running and doing some other exercises regularly and it seemed to help a bit after 4-5 months but still I was not at my regular weight at all. I am not sure why but Matia said it would get better with time. Eventually I started to have so much pain/burning during & after exercise and I stopped like 4-5 months ago and I put on weight againL Now I don’t have any motivation for exercises as much as I used to. It is frustrating to gain weight when one eats healthy. I started to yoga lately and I reduced the carbs, it seems to help a little bit but still I am very confused myself how come I could put on weight when I eat this healthier. Indeed I asked this to Matia couple of days ago and waiting for her answer.
Also, as for your eating agave and having flare. Were you very strict on your diet and had a cheat one time? To me, if I eat less carb for a while and add it back, I have more bloating. Its like my body just understands what is going on and reacting more. I had done a lot of elimination diets in the past, and I could see that when my body is very very clean and I cheat (with even a little fruit) I would feel the pain right away. Its like the body is very sensitive but immunity is not strong enough to deal with that. At least I would take it as a warning. I don’t know if that makes sense.
Weight
I too lost weight at first and could eat masses and not worry about it, but at the same time I looked ill, and ghostlike. I also used to get very hungry.
Now a year on I can put on weight quite easily, M said this was a good thing as it was a sign of intestines healing in my case. I also look a lot better in my face it think. I feel less hungry than I did a year ago.
So I have cut back on the amounts I eat because I hate to feel big. I find that if I make a loaf of spelt bread, or some rice flour and yogurt biscuits I will just pick at them and the weight just piles back on. So I don't make them anymore and I get all my carbs from potatoes and rice with my meals.
I go to the gym about 2-3 times a week but have found that if I sweat a lot I can feel a bit ill the next day. I assume this is increased die off caused by the sweating. So i gauge my activities by how well I am feeling at the time and what my plans are for the following day.
feeling stuck
Hi Flygirlsam,
I know all about that "stuck" feeling. And each time I felt stuck I would worry that I wasn't going to get any better. But ever so slowly I did improve. In my case, my improvement just inched along. So slowly that I often didn't notice that I was improving. I had to look back at where I was 6-8 months ago and say oh I guess I am getting better. Around the 2 year mark is when I really noticed an improvement in the burning. Not that it was completely gone, but it was less often and less intense. At 3 years it was substantially better. You really do have to look at all of the little things that have improved and focus on that. Those are the signs that things are improving and your bladder will follow.
why?
First time in treatment I had this and I'm sure it's around the corner again... I'm very confused as to why this would happen. After getting better and gaining the lost weight back, I was eating extremely healthily, not overeating, no cheating, and exercising daily but started to gain more weight. Even eating a little nuts/avocado/cheese snack or agave dessert snack would put me over. And it was hard b/c I was hungry! If anyone sees Matia soon and could ask, would be great to hear her take, esp as we don't have the monthly support group anymore.
just curious
I've always wondered what happened to the monthly support groups?
flygirlsam
I can really relate to what you are saying with the whole weight thing. Before seeing Matia, I was eating a relatively healthy diet, but ate pizza, sugar and things like that my whole life, and have not gained too much weight. When I went to see Matia, I was at a low weight for me. 6 months into treatment, I had gained 15 pounds! I never cheated... I felt like I was starving all the time. I was not eating any more food then I had before in my life, and the lack of processed food, and sugar and me still gaining weight still baffles me. Though Matia says this is sign of imbalance. It is just very hard when you are so sick, to be gaining weight. Through this whole time, I still exercised and continue to do so 6-7 days a week, at least 30-60 minutes a day.
I have since lost 5 of those unwanted pounds, but it is very discouraging and was hard to do. Because I feel like to lose the last 10, I have to starve myself. I eat so good! Why I can't lose it I don't know... But for the fact that now I struggle with constipation for the last 8 months EVERY day. I go everyday, but it is never enough and I always feel gross, and not "cleaned" out. Matia says this is part of why I can not lose weight. She also says just to hang in there, and not starve myself because it will change.
This is one of the MOST frustrating parts for me, because in the beginning of treatment I was having at least 2-3 bm's a day... and feeling good as far as that goes, despite my bladder. Now I am always constipated. I only take Magnesium during ovulating a couple times, because that is when the constipation gets really bad. Matia doesn't want me to take it on a regular basis.
Anyway... I am sorry you are dealing with this. I hate feeling diseased, and fat at the same time. I have just reached my year mark, and though have had small improvements, my bladder is almost the same. I am choosing to trust Matia, and trust I will get better, even if it takes much longer then a year.
Take care...
Putting on the poundage
If what you say Matia said is correct, that the weight gain is a sign of imbalance, then I guess we shouldn't be too concerned and in time it should even out. After all, when most of us have the drastic weight loss at the beginning of treatment, we're very concerned, but that's just a sign of imbalance as well, and the weight came back as we got better, so no reason to think it won't happen with the later-in-treatment weight gain.
I'd just like to know why once you're better & back to solid weight, the weight would then pile on in excess, like if you're getting more balanced and stronger, and she's saying the weight gain is a sign of imbalance, then these seem at odds-- why would this happen? But maybe it's just another manifestation of imbalance that comes out, and a completely separate issue from the initial weight loss, even though both are regarding weight.
flygirlsam, I wonder if you
flygirlsam, I wonder if you talked to Matia about weight gain. I asked about this last month, and she had told me that it is a sign of imbalance. Does anyone know, is there any emotions triggering this though?