Weight, Food & MS

Like many people I have struggled with my weight as it has fluctuated so much over the years and then add my mate MS into the equation and it all changes again depending on the frequency of relapses. I wouldn’t say I’m obsessive with my weight but I do like to weigh myself every month. Unfortunately during lockdown my self control went out the window, I found myself getting really down when I couldn’t go out and we didn’t even have a garden I could sit in. The only way I seemed to be able to perk myself up was inside a chocolate bar. Chocolate became my new best friend. Yes I had access to all the nutrition information produced by the Chilterns MS Centre (I can call it that at the moment, but don’t get me started that’s an entirely separate blog) but that did not make me happy.

 

Back in 2017 at the beginning of the year I weighed an astonishing 12stone 4lbs (79kg) but just nine months later I was in hospital having had a major relapse, I was in there for just over five weeks. Once home my relationship with food took a nose dive, I really wasn’t interested and ate very little. In 2018 my district nurse was visiting me regularly and trying to encourage me to eat more it was at this time they discovered whilst I was in hospital I had picked up a pressure ulcer. This in itself also didn’t help with my opinion of myself. I finally started going back to the Chilterns MS Centre (CMSC) where I was weighed and to my horror I was now 7stone 9lbs. Now I needed to put on weight.

 

Once again my daily food routine changed and hubby had to extend his repertoire of recipes. Carefully and gradually I started to put the weight back on, I was told by my physio I needed to be about 9stone. All was going swimmingly until September 2019 when I had my emergency laparotomy and my diet had to change again. There were certain foods that I was recommended not to eat and was even given a list of foods that caused wind, blockage and odour!

 

Confined now to an electric wheelchair plus taking medication that not only makes me put on weight but also heightened fatigue levels, I needed to work out what to do now I couldn’t get any exercise. 

Mmm I have just glanced at my watch, it’s 12.20pm and all this discussion of food is making me feel hungry, I will continue this post in a while!

 

Having had my lunch: 6 water biscuits with butter and marmite, a small packet of baked crisps and an Activia yoghurt I am ready to continue. For those of you that think why is there is no fruit I have had for breakfast as well as my scrambled egg a large fruit smoothie.

Moving on to the current month I am now back to wanting to lose weight again, currently I weigh 11stone 6lbs (72.5kg) but unfortunately due to the changes at the CMSC I will no longer be receiving one to one treatment on a fortnightly basis and therefore will not have access to the weighing scales. I shall have to rely on my clothes becoming looser to know if I have lost weight. I certainly need to lose a further stone in weight before I start to feel good about myself.

 

Hubby has said he doesn’t want me to start calorie counting again because I tend to get obsessed so my only option is to reduce the portion sizes. Together hubby and I decided to eat salads which we started in May and continue to do but that in itself comes at a price because we are spending on average an extra £75 a month. In the winter time we are making a meal for four people last three nights and hubby always cooks from scratch.

 “What to do, that is the question”?

Can you help? I do not have the self motivation to abide by a strict diet, as I have previously said certain food are banned because the interfere with my stoma plus I am quite a fussy eater. This all makes for quite a difficult life.

 I don’t know what to do. It would make such a difference if I liked beans and pulses but sadly I don’t. Oh and my saliva glands have packed up working due to my MS so I drink about three litres of water a day.I long for the days when I could do this and not worry.