Low Carb Diet

I have no experience of the diet type mentioned but what are you looking to achieve ?

A very-low-carb diet is a pretty standard recommendation for pouchitis issues. Strange's question is appropriate, though: what problem are you having?

I'm fat. I want to lose the weight Ive gained since  surgery. And more if possible. It's just so hard. 

And I've used this kind of diet before with good success. 

If you wish to reduce body fat, the consumption of additional protein is not really necessary, although this depends on whether you wish to develop muscle mass.

Depending on your current weight and desired result, you may be able to reduce body fat without actually changing your diet but increase your activity.

Without reducing your food n drink intake and calorie counting, then a strenuous activity such as skipping  (Jump rope) is a good place to start, although this will depend on your current weight, fitness level and whether it's actually practical to perform such an activity.

Reducing food intake (diet) without activity is much more difficult to achieve and maintain as it can take so long to reach the desired goal and also requires a great deal of self control.

Any activity taken up to reduce body fat has to be strenuous to make a difference and the level of activity has to be maintained through out for a set period at a set pace or until safe total exhaustion.

An activity such as Jogging; to be effective, has to be performed at a continuos pace, a pace which has to be maintened through out to make a difference, otherwise, a person can slow to a comfortable pace without realising, which won't be as effective and will defeat the object.

Years ago I tried a regular (not extra) protein (meats, fish, poultry, nuts, seeds, nut butters) diet with carbs coming from veggies and fruits. No starches, no empty calories. Just high quality food whenever I wanted as much as I wanted. Butter and olive oil were used as needed. My pouch loved it. No gas, no distress of any kind. I tried this to see how/if it would affect my pouch. Felt terrific, had lots of energy. Did it for about 3 months. Had to stop because I lost about 20 lbs. and couldn't afford to lose more.

Rose

Hello, Mamaswans.

I am diabetic and was doing really well weight wise and blood sugar-wise before my surgery. Then surgery came and my diet change to mostly starchy food. My weight went up and affected my sugar level. I am back on the "diabetic's" menu, which isle carb, high protein, high vegetable intake. I look at carbohydrate grams on food labels and choose foods that have lowest amount of carbs. When I get tired of counting carbs, I follow another routine taught to diabetics: Divide your plate in half. Fill one half of the plate with vegetables, any kind that you like but not potatoes or corn (pure carbs). Fill the other half of your plate with 1/4 amount of a carb food, and the remaining 1/4 with a protein food. Last night my dinner plate looked like this: Half the plate was grilled rapini and broccoli; 1/4 of the plate was brown rice which has more fibre and nutrients (not white rice because that is all empty carbs); the remaining 1/4 of the plate was roasted chicken. My exercise is only gardening, digging, lifting, bending, dragging tubs of soil, walking around the yard. 

Sometimes I portion my food by having pasta or brown rice that is one cup cooked, or roughly the size of your fist. These are ways I measure and portion my food without counting calories or carbs because that can feel regimented or tedious. I drink lots of water throughout the day. Since last Wednesday I have lost 2.5 pounds. You can do this. Start slowly, be easy on yourself, enjoy your food but watch the portions on your plate. Try for 1 pound loss per week. Don't believe in disappointment. Believe you will do this slowly, and surely.

Feel free to PM me if you want!

That is really the gist of my question... How will it affect my pouch? I have recently (3 weeks) stopped sugar. As in, no sweets. No cookies, cakes, pie, no jelly on toast, no sweet tea (aaargh!!! Super hard on this southern girl!) no candy or whatever. However, if there is hidden sugar in processed foods, I haven't stopped that. But the fast from sugar and sweets was not really a physical reason, but rather a spiritual one, which doesn't need to be gotten into on this forum. Though it was not my direct intention, I thought there would be a related weight loss. Nope. In fact, I'm up 5-7 pounds, which, full disclosure, is more than likely related to my fluid retention which is relentless during these hot and humid Arkansas summers. Anyway... Stopping sugars has not really affected the pouch. I still have watery stools and anal itching and burning rather frequently. But I just generally feel so much better. I have increased activity. I have increased energy. No more sluggish "need" for an afternoon nap. For this cause, I think it's the opportune time to try to get 30 pounds back off. Bottom line (pardon the pun) I wondered if a high protein/low carb diet like I lost 100# on 7 years ago, 4 years prior to my UC diagnosis would have a negative consequence on the pouch. 

I am reading this as I drink my coffee with half and half.  Today is the day I start my ketogenic diet.  Less than 30gm of carb per day.  High protein and fats.  I'll keep you posted.

Hi, Mamaswans.

In my early days after reversal, most of my food was starchy carb foods -- white bread, white rice, pasta. I had those with high protein food such as eggs, baked chicken, fresh fish, steak. Slowly introduced peeled, well cooked vegetables and peeled fruit. Now that my blood glucose is very high because of the past year eating starchy food for my pouch, my pancreas is not working the way it should so I am changing that by using the plate method, now that I can tolerate vegetables and fruit. I still have high protein meals, but cut out refined, simple carb foods (white bread, white rice) and replace with small amounts of complex carbs at every meal.

Choose whole foods, ie., food that is not processed, food that is as close to its natural state as possible. Go to your local Whole Foods store and wander around, look at their items and browse the labels. You'll learn what a whole food is very quickly. I eat a sprouted grain bread by Silver Hills Bakery called The Little Big Bread. It's low in carbs, high in fiber and whole grains. I have one slice (7 grams of complex carbs) with organic almond butter (organic has no added sugar or salt).  Little Big Bread is made thinner. It tastes very good and is really crunchy when toasted. Lunch or dinner I'll have brown rice, or brown basmati rice instead of highly processed white rice that I ate in early post reversal days. Try to stay away from processed foods that come prepackaged or any instant food,min stand rice or potatoes. TV dinners, frozen foods, instant meals have lots of sodium (water retention) and fat. Try to avoid diet foods. When they remove the fat to make it a diet food, they add salt and sugar to make up the flavour. Instant bags of oatmeal is pure sugar, but steel cut oatmeal is in its natural unrefined state. You need to cook it, but it's loaded with fiber, is a complex carb so it is slower to turn to sugar in your blood. If you have a small rice cooker or a tiny slow cooker you can cook steel cut oatmeal in it. Or make overnight oats in the fridge (Google to see how easy) and you'll have fast breakfast in the morning. Top with blueberries if you can tolerate blueberries, or Greek yogurt or banana and sprinkle cinnamon -- plain, pure cinnamon, not the one with sugar. Or half a cantaloupe if you can tolerate. 

Try slowly cutting way back on the processed food over the next few weeks. Along with your great sugar cuts, you might find good results in your output when you cut back instant or processed foods. You already feel a difference from no sugar! If you are having processed instant food for lunch and dinner, maybe start having it only for lunch when you have time left in the day to burn some of it off. Keep dinner to whole foods that you have to cook. Baked chicken with sweet potato and wilted spinach?  Maybe make a batch of a favourite food in a slow cooker and freeze it, remembering the fist portioning, or plate dividing method. The only frozen food I'll have is frozen vegetables. Quick 2 minutes in the microwave or steamed and I have green vegetables with lunch or dinner. Spoon some pesto over it, really good. It will be a slow road but when you see improvement in your output and some weight starting to come off, you will be really motivated. My very high blood sugar sure motivated me! 

Jaypea:  Months ago I found a good organic soy creamer by a company called Wildwood. In 1 tablespoon it has only 1 gr of carb. But aside from that it makes my morning coffee taste excellent! We are never without it in the fridge!

Thank you everyone for your input. I will take it all into consideration! Would love to hear, Jaypea, how the Keto thing goes!

I have a hard time with fresh veggies. Have to cook the foo out of them and chew them to water or else they are difficult to pass. And the gas!! But I am willing to try just about anything to get this weight off. I felt terrific after my first surgery. Just getting the diseased colon out made everything better and at that point I was 39 pounds lighter than now. I would love to get back to that weight and good feeling all at the same time!

thanks again!

Hi mamaswan,

Back when they made my K pouch in 79 we got no guidelines, no information and no dietary assistance. It was hit and miss and it took me 10 years to figure out how to eat to keep my pouch happy.

In the 90's I discovered that high protein and low carb was the best way to go. More or less vegetables according to the season and my pouches mood as well as Its condition. I would eat a lot of fish and chicken, very little diary and almost no whites...no white flour, sugar, milk or fats...olive oil instead of butter, whole grains instead of white and refined ...it has worked well for the last 25+ yrs...whenever I fall off of the wagon I gain weight...like now...but as soon as I pick it up again the weight peels off...my final rule is that you do not drink your calories. Water and black coffee or tea, home made lemonade or iced tea...no sugar and only Stevia as an artificial sweetener.

I do drink 100% juice in the mornings...

Sharon

Another problem I have is with "whole grains". It seems the closer to the grain, the more itching it causes. And when the itching comes, the burning is directly behind. 

I wish the j-pouch was something that was the same for everyone and that someone would write a list - Always eat..., Never eat..., need to lose? Eat this... need to gain, Eat this.

But the nature of the medical beast is that every case is different and what works for one may not work for another. As my PCP said once, "That's why we call it 'practicing' medicine."

Thanks again, all, for your input. Developments this week have me putting any drastic weight loss efforts on hold for right now. I now have a ruptured right bicep and am facing surgery for that. I'm not going to make any significant changes to my diet until I have that at least nearly resolved. 

Thanks again!

I have been on a low carb diet and it's absolutely fine on my pouch.  I do eat heathy carbs like  sweet potatoes and fresh fruit,  but stay away from all the refined white sugary ones, rice, white breads and pasta.  I have had no issues and feel so good fueling my body with healthy nutrition.  I follow the 21 day fix diet along with daily exercise and feel great!  Good luck to you!!! ❤️

UPDATE:

I am in Day 7 of the Keto diet (thanks Jaypea!)

I feel FANTASTIC!! No burning at all and only occasional itching - not daily as before. The peripheral edema is resolved. I have lost 11# of ugly water weight! I have a lot more energy and I'm not hungry! I don't feel sluggish or bloated! 

I will keep you posted as I go. Things get better every day!

Low carb--avoiding white foods and sugars should not negatively effect the pouch.  I am always and forever on a modified low carb diet.  I do eat fruits and veggies, not much meat.  Chicken maybe once a week, fish once or twice a week, red meat maybe once a month.  I eat eggs, cheeses, fruits and veggies, yogurt. Lots of water, tea, coffee.  I too do it for weight control, ever since menopause if I eat sugar or "white foods" I gain weight immediately.  I am also gluten due to celiac so that makes it a little easier and more important.