Losing Weight With AS

With you 100% here! I have such a hard time eating regularly and when I do my body reacts in any number of unpleasant and unpredictable ways. So I avoid eating. Working theory from my new dietician is that I don't eat enough so my body is storing the weight. 'Starvation mode' they call it, which is ironic because I definitely do not look like I am starving haha. Anyways, the dietician suggested eating small meals more frequently and setting an alarm on my phone to remind me to eat. It's helping my energy levels throughout the day and I'm not getting as many gut issues after eating. Could be worth a try? Small meals are anything from a piece of fruit to a couple of nuts to a sandwich, depending on my mood.


I agree though that less weight feels better. Since gaining so much I've noticed my symptoms worsen and can't wait to get it off.

Whelp…the butt naked truth, I eat almost nothing… :/… I teach elementary school so my days are long and nonstop. (Basically a full workout too, lol) Eating is not easy on my body; it usually lays me out, bloated and fatigued, even if I eat the “right” things. So, based on how I process food, my body just doesn’t have an appetite for most of the day. I naturally fast, eating my first meal after work. It’s tough though. Sometimes I feel really lethargic and gross from low blood sugar. *I do drink loads of water during the day.* Lately, I have been trying to build in a snack of dried salmon (prepackaged) in the middle of my work day, which seems to be ok. All in all, my body fat is very low (which can be concerning at times), but for the most part has plateaued and been pretty consistent (for the past 8 of 10 years of living with AS symptoms). The truth for me is that less weight feels better on my body, and not eating gives my body a break. Still trying to work out family holidays/meals and better daily habits… although, lol, not eating is one of my most exploited practices..
please know that this is not a message to encourage habits of not eating or withholding, yet simply (& finally) saying my truth out loud. Thank you for listening. Open to suggestions or thoughts..

, I tried a low starch diet. No potatoes, rice or pasta. Gave up sugar(that was hard). I lost 21 pounds last year. Now my AS had progressed and in more pain. So hoping I can maintain that weight loss. I only take muscle relaxer and NSAIDs for pain.

PattiB
I'm in the advanced stages of AS and I have stomach issues from a different problem. I have to eat very small meals. I don't like meat so I try to find things that are good for me. My biggest problem is remembering to eat. I'm very slow in the morning, I have meds to take before I eat, I feed my service dog, take him out, have a cup of tea and by then I've completely forgotten about breakfast and start on my work out.


I will be 70 this year and my friends have told me they eat less since they have gotten older but my doctor doesn't want me to lose any more weight.


On bad days I have to do my work outs in stages. I'll do a rep of one exercise take a break then on to the next. It may take all day, but I exercised my entire life and I think that it's the one thing that has kept me going. I can't take biologics like most AS patients because of another medical problem so I just kind of have to deal with it. I just joined this group and it nice to have a place to discuss different symptoms.