Eating or Not Eating that is the Question
Picture this.. I had spent the first 37 years of my life not knowing what was wrong with my stomach. 17 years ago I went through a
very bad period of stomach cramps and pain that forced me to seek out medical help once more. During what would be a 9 month
period of being sent from one specialist to another, having scopes forced down one end and up another. During that period I decided
that I would find out what foods I could handle and which food I couldn’t. I began my research with raw foods, only easting lettuce,
green veggies and fruits… I soon added can beans, peanuts, potatoes.. Then I added breads and noodles.. I stayed away from meats
all together and ate only what my vegetarian family told me was good for me. During that 9 month period, with a calorie intake of an
average 500 calories a day I went from 125lb to 185lb….
In the years that fallowed, a number of doctors would suggested that I would have less pain and stomach problems, if I would
go on a diet and lose weight. Each time I would leave the doctors office laughing at myself, “ if only they would accept the truth,
they would see how stupid their concept about the cause of weight gain is.” But the world knows that only people that eat too
much, consume to many calories gain weight. People with serious digestive problem lose weight they don’t gain. Like my son is
always saying; “ We will let that be their little secret!” I could not fight this belief did not even try it would have been a waste of time. As a result
of this belief, it took longer than it should have to get a proper diagnoses.
I have in the last five years, asked people with CD and UC if weight loss was a problem for them. I soon came to realize that weight loss and
weight gain were both a symptom of these diseases. While some people, especially men lost weight from having UC, women over 30 when
they began to battle it tended to gain. While some people with CD in the lower intestine lost weight due to diarrhea, people with CD of the
stomach and upper intestine, tended to gain weight. Some would say that the reason that some people gained and other loss has something
to do with the reality that we each struggle with different levels of this disease. Some people tend to have a more serious problem than others.
I don’t believe that is necessarily true! Especially in the face of the fact that when all is said and done, we all tend to eat less when dealing
with both of these diseases. Ands some of us become afraid of eating all together, and thus barely eat enough to keep us a live.
I have come to realize that wither you have gained weight or loss do to your illness, the most important thing that you can do for yourself, is to
focus your attention on getting enough calories in your diet each day for ultimate health . Although, some people believe that calories don’t
matter, they do. If you don’t get enough calories each day, it will effect your whole body in the long run. As any person that has lived in
a land were starvation is a reality if their lives and they will tell you that lack of proper nutrients each day shortens your life span. Lack of
daily calorie intake robs you of energy, weakness your immune system, and cause you to lose muscles mass and bone density resulting
in pain and weakness in your limbs.
But I can’t eat? I feel the same way, each and every day for the last 17 years. And although I can only eat a cup at a time, each
cup is field with nutrition. I don’t waste the energy of my intestinal system of foods that are hard to digest, life beef. I don’t waste
my energy on eating things that have no nutritional value, life cookies and cake. I do eat foods that are easy to digest, weight
I have to blend them up to get them down, or make baby food out of them, I EAT to live!!!! I don’t live to EAT!!!!
I finally reached my caloric goal of 1200 a day, and have lost 30lb in the last four months. So calories do count!!!!!
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