I have been lurking around here since January and am not having much success, though I must admit I am not putting my all into the BSD. I am taking Prednisolone for PMR and I wonder whether I am falling back on the excuse that the meds are stopping me tackling my huge weight problem. On my last visit to the doc told me that my blood sugars were raised but he thinks this, and my weight gain are due to the steroids! I told him I was startingthe BSD and, as expected, didn’t know anything about it. However he did say to give it a go but didnt think I would do well on the diet. He knows I am upset about my weight gain and I was determined to lose a lot of weight and show him the result on my next visit. Well, that is tomorrow and I will have to confess that I have only lost 5 lbs!

I would like to know if anybody has lost weight whilst taking Prednisolone as this may encourage me to try a bit harder and stp making excuses!

Hi Busybee,
First of all welcome, and congratulations on your achievements so far. A 5lb loss is still a good result 🙂
There are a couple of members who have medical conditions that just might require steroids at times. Hopefully they’ll see your thread and advise you.
The prednisolone will make it a bit harder for you to manage your appetite at first. As you’ve discovered it certainly makes you feel hungry. You can still do this and lose weight. We will support you through it. After a surprisingly short time your appetite and carb cravings will be under control.
You might well end up being a pioneer and help other sufferers to manage their PMR through better diet.There is increasing evidence into the role that nutrition plays in managing these nasty inflammatory conditions.
Maybe for the first couple of weeks you could try counting your carb intake but not your calories. Ease your way into the fast 800.
Try and get the maximum amount of food for 50g carb or less per day. So lots of leafy green veg and salads, make sure you add fats and oils, cheese, oily fish ( oily fish is supposed to help inflammatory conditions too), to satisfy the hungry steroid monster. Keep your fluid intake up as this will help curb your appetite too.
Steroids can increase your blood sugar levels, so even more important that you get on top of this now. Every pound you lose will benefit your health; both your PMR, your general well being and your sense of self esteem 🙂
You can do it! Just have a quick browse through some of the other threads for inspiration, and you’ll see how many of us there are who are winning the battle. All the best…. Can’t wait for you to post your achievements over the coming weeks.

After over two and a half years, I am now free of PMR!
I have been off the dreaded steroids for over a month with no return of any symptoms, and hope this will continue. I feel so much better and am so lucky that the horrible condition has burnt itself out.

Now I can’t blame the drugs for my slow weight loss and need to get on with the job to get my BMI/ weight down and improve my general health.
X B

Busy bee that’s brilliant!!!!!

Great encouragement from Cherrianne too.

I am currently on 30mg of preds as well as insulin ( coz the preds raised my sugars) so understand what difficulties lie ahead but am getting my mojo in place and hope to start losing weight. I have done lchf before successfully so it can be done – hope you stay free from the Meds and ur health continues to improve…o I found some info somewhere that said sugary foods contribute to the inflammation so a very good reason ( for me) to def go cold turkey this week…..

Good luck 1060smp.
I managed to lose two stone over the past few months whilst gradually reducing the steroids and funnily enough wasn’t hungry – I just self sabotage and keep falling off the wagon!
X B

Nicely done, Busybee, nicely done:)

Thanks for your support Marsie.
X B

Hello everyone, newbie here. I ‘m on the lovely (not) prednisolone and have been for 7 years. I’m yet again tapering down ( awaiting an adrenal test as well) I have been told I am pre-diabetic but as no diabetes in the family, I think this is due to the steroids.
I have been very poorly but am now recovering and while i was poorly I lost weight but now I am on the mend the recovery has meant I have put on weight on my thighs ! of all places and backside .
My question is will the fast 800 help lose weight from this area as I don’t have a tummy .I’m two days in to trying this way of eating but finding 800 cals very difficult despite drinking plenty , what little sleep I had is up the shoot because of hunger .
Am I going at this too fast , should I just cut carbs ( don’t eat bread anyway or potatoes either ) and not worry about 800 cals?
I ‘m asking for diet advice not medical so don’t worry.

Thanks for reading this
Balletmum71

Hi Balletmum71, this is a very old posting – 2017 – so you probably won’t get any answers. You might want to post in one of the regular threads like the so many weeks to Christmas, or one month, November, where there are regular poster going through all sorts of things.

I would say that possibly the pre-diabetes has nothing to do with the medication unless you know that prednisolone can cause diabetes. I have checked a list on the NHS site and this is not a side effect. You don’t have to have diabetes in the family to become subject to it. I hear so many people say exactly that – why me, we don’t have diabetes in the family, or in my case, why me I am not overweight. It just so happens that I do have it in the family, my mother but I could have avoided it if I had known about this diet before. I know the prednisolone causes weight gain and you will be fighting a battle but you say you are going to be tapering off this might be the ideal time to tackle the weight.

Don’t worry too much about the 800 calories, you could try 1000 but the most important thing is the carbs. There is no rush, take it at your own pace. Unfortunately, there is no way to spot diet i.e. thighs and you just have to be grateful for whatever you get. Although exercise might help.

Hope I have been able to cover your questions but do join us on other threads that are current. (Except to ones marked as reported – these are scam posts) Just look at the dates of the last posters.