Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hi there,

Welcome!
I just wanted to say that I am sorry you are going through this, and hopefully you will find some helpful information here on this site. For diet and weightloss, this site has a lot of info but there is also a lot on the weight issue on the Eating for IBS board as well.

What sort of IBS do you have? What are your symptoms? Are you on the diet? Other than birth control, are there any other medications that you are currently taking?

Birth control can be tricky, I think. Have you tried different ones or just the same one? If you've only been on one, you might want to talk to your doctor about switching to one that is less likely to cause weight gain or to make it harder to lose weight. I asked about other medications because if you are on any anti-anxiety or depression meds, those can also make it harder to lose weight.

That being said, there are still plenty of ways to get healthy.
Like everyone else asked, are you on the diet? The good thing about sticking to the IBS diet is that eliminate all high-fat foods, alcohol, dairy.. lots of stuff that should be cut down anyway if you are trying to lose weight.

The other most important thing for losing weight and for maintaining your IBS effectively is exercise. Are you on any sort of exercise program or anything at the moment? If not, I think that would be an excellent place to start. Even trying to increase your activity by small amounts every day will boost your metabolism and help your body out in all sorts of ways. Gentle exercises like yoga are especially effective for IBS management, and can be really helpful in losing weight without being overly strenuous so that might be a good place to start. You'll want to increase your cardio as well, though, to burn off calories and fat.

Like Linz said, check out Shell's link at the top of this board's page and read her story. She has done AWESOME losing weight while keeping her tummy happy with IBS-friendly meals.

Good luck!
--Steph

--------------------
~~I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell-I know right now you can't tell~~Matchbox 20
IBS-D,pain.

Print Remind Me Notify Moderator