SCD, malabsorption, over / under weight

[Guest guest]

Here is something I posted more than two years ago to the SCD-LongIsland

list. It might be of interest to newcomers, with all kinds of

malabsorption issues -- whether you are overweight or underweight, SCD

can help normalize things.

At 03:11 PM 7/25/2007, cathycanen@... wrote:

Marilyn!

Hi - I'm Cathy, I have Celiac, and I've been on scd 7 mo. You've

hit on something I've GOT to know more about:

" I had absolutely out of control malabsorption that was resulting in

massive weight gains no matter how little I ate. On SCD, I not only have

eliminated 90% of the obvious gut issues, I've lost 180

pounds. "

Please explain the relationship between weight gain & malabsorption.

Cathy,

Yes, I saw it! <smile>

First of all, understand that doctors and dieticians are LOUSY

consultants when it comes to weight issues, whether it's to lose OR gain.

All of them are firmly convinced that if you just CONTROL yourself, you

can lose/gain weight, as if on command. Yeah, right. Kinda like

" just control yourself " when it comes to urgency with IBS/IBD

or one of the other gut issues we discuss daily here. One of the most

hurtful things any doctor has ever said to me was the b-stard who, when I

failed to lose weight, despite my following his 1000 calorie a day

starvation diet (with lots of " healthy " complex carbs) to the

letter, informed me that " I could lose weight if I wanted to, by

getting a little exercise every day, like pushing myself away from the

table. " In other words, he was sure I was lying when I said I hadn't

cheated.

I've only been on prednisone once, for about 20 days, for a badly

sprained wrist, so I can't begin to comprehend what it must be like to be

on that stuff for months or even years. I came real close to losing my

mind: I was utterly wired, with all kinds of " energy " , but it

was useless energy because I couldn't concentrate on anything for more

than a few seconds. I couldn't unwind at night to sleep. When the

orthopedist refused to listen when I told him I was having major side

effects from the medicine, I walked

out -- NOT an option with all the medical problems many SCDers

have.

It IS possible to lose weight on SCD -- in fact, SCD can normalize your

weight. Since 1 November 2001, I have lost almost a hundred and eighty

pounds, as I said earlier. The folks who were at the Gather in Suffolk in

2002 have seen me, and the passport photo which was taken just before I

started on SCD. The trousers I am currently wearing are too large, and

they

are three sizes smaller than the ones I was wearing.

One thing I've done is reduce the carbs. I find that if I have much at

all in the way of honey or fruit or even the starchier legal veggies, I

don't lose. I also noticed that the starchier or sweeter legal fruits and

vegetables were ones I, at least, did not tolerate at the

beginning.

Elaine had an explanation on here several years ago, and I can't find it

for the life of me, but it made so much sense that I wish someone would

do a study and prove her theory. (I remember her saying that Age 81 was

not the time to be hunting research grants, and etc.) But her theory, as

I remember it, was this: when our guts are screwed up, the bad bacteria

can have a field day on normally indigestible fiber, and can break it

down into easily assimilable fatty acids and things.

So, assume for the moment that I ate a slice of whole wheat bread (which

I wouldn't, since it is illegal). That slice of whole wheat bread has

around 100 calories. But by the time the bad bacteria in my gut get

through with all the fiber in that bread, I may end up absorbing three,

four, five, even six hundred calories from a nominally one hundred

calorie food item. So here I am, famished all the time because I'm not

getting enough nutrients, and yet I'm absorbing thousands of calories

more than I actually ate.

This made soooo much sense to me, and it seems to work.

I am sticking with meats, eggs, cheese and lower-fiber veggies. I do have

a small amount of fruit each day, but I ration it real carefully. I also

ration the nut breads because our almond flour has more fiber in it than

that dastardly Metamucil® junk, and I don't want to give the bad bugs any

more ammo. I seem to do well with fresh green salads, when you reach the

point you can tolerate them, but I do still require cooked veggies. If

you can't handle raw veggies, well steamed zucchini works for

me.

Contrary to all the popular wisdom about losing weight, FAT is your

friend. Fat makes you feel full, so you stop eating. Fat tells your body

that there is enough food available, you don't have to stuff in

everything in sight to guard against a famine. Fat tells your body it's

OK to let go of some of those reserves it is building for potential

famine.

Now, eating too MUCH fat can be a problem. Fat has nine calories per

gram, while protein and carbohydrate each have four calories per

gram.

But just as an example, pre-SCD, I used to eat two or three cups of

commercial low-fat yogurt, with fruit, and I would still be hungry, even

after consuming about 700 calories in milk, sugar, etc. (We won't discuss

what all that sugar and lactose and all was probably doing to my

gut.)

But a half-cup portion of full-fat half & half cream yogurt, by

itself, no fruit, no honey has around 280 calories, and I'm completely

satisfied by it -- and, moreover, don't go looking for munchies.

One of the things which has amazed me about SCD is that I now have an

appestat for the first time since I was on the Pill in the mid-70s. I can

be eating away on something, and all of a sudden, " Click! " and

I am no longer hungry, and the food doesn't even look or smell

good.

Another thing which appears to help is upping the amount of CoQ10

(CoEnzyme Q10) which I take. CoQ10 is good for the heart, good for energy

levels, and all sorts of things. It is not prescription, it is not part

of the SCD protocol, and it is expensive, so may

not be an option for many people. It was a royal pain to find a CoQ10

which doesn't appear to have illegals in it -- most of them use RICE

FLOUR, for ghu's sake!

I purchased, and use, the FitDay program from Fitday.Com -- you can add

SCD recipes and ingredients to it. I don't worry about how much I eat. I

worry about how much I expend. Since I can record my activity levels and

what I eat, I can keep track of where my calorie balance is. And yes, I

can have three cheese bread sticks with butter for an evening snack, IF I

have done an hour of tai chi and taken the fur kids for a long hour's

walk. If I haven't, then I better either get off my duff and go walk

those dachshunds, or I better not have the snack. To lose a pound a week,

I need to have an average balance of 500 calories less than my exercise

level.

Someone who is underweight could use the FitDay program to track

nutrition, calories, and exercise, and aim for having a balance of

several hundred calories over their exercise level.

However -- SCD illegals, even the tiniest amounts, can do you in. One of

the things which I longed for after six years on SCD was the dread

ch---l--e. In January this year (2007), I purchased some Lindt 85%

c-c-a and tested myself on a mere 20 grams, 2 small squares. There was no

problem with diarrhea or gas or cramping... I thought I was home free. I

rationed this delectable item, allowing myself a mere 20 grams of it a

week.

I stopped losing weight, even though my exercise and calorie balances

were correct. Apparently, even after six years, I haven't completely

starved out all the bad bacteria, just put some of them to sleep, and

when I put the illegal down there, some of them " woke up " and

went to work. I eliminated the illegal, and within two weeks, I began

losing weight again.

Eating illegals would be a very BAD way to gain weight, even if you think

you are underweight. The illegals will maintain a state of malabsorption

and ill-health, as opposed to normalizing your weight. The SCD way may

take longer than you want to, but it's a healthy way.

I do want to make things VERY clear: SCD is not about weight gain or

weight loss for aesthetic purposes. It's about healing our guts so that

we can have a NORMAL weight for us. When your weight is not normal,

whether you are too thin or two fat, it's clearly a sign of a problem in

the system.

I was profoundly obese; now I am merely obese: I have quite a ways to go

before I am merely overweight, but I look and feel so much better that it

is astounding. Even though I didn't chart things over my lovely vacation

to Ohio, New York State, and Toronto, I didn't have any gut issues -- and

I didn't gain any weight!

<g> I had WAYYYY too much fruit and honey over my parents' 62nd

anniversary celebration last weekend, though: now to get back on my

meats, eggs, yogurt, veggies, nuts and cheeses!

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund