Going to See the Dietitian

Yummy Carbonara Pizza from Pizza Express; my current pizza fave! 

So yesterday I went to see the dietitian for the first time. I got referred the last time I was at the hospital as I had lost some weight and they thought it might be useful for me to know what foods to eat to help me gain weight.

So when I got there, it turned out I'd finally managed to put some weight on and I'm now kind of at a weight the consultants are going to be happy with (and I'm definitely happy with it seeing as my BMI is in the normal range!). It was actually really interesting going though as we went through normal things I eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks as well as drinks where I did have to admit that I rarely eat fruit because I hate it but then I was told as long as eat my veg it's okay (though I am going to try and eat some more bananas as I can tolerate them).

So some things I learnt at the dietitian;

• Eating cakes is fine! words you'd never think you'd hear from a dietitian, I know, but as I'm trying to gain/maintain this weight I need to make sure I eat enough calories a day so having a muffin is okay, but I should try healthier snacks too!
• A yoghurt for breakfast isn't enough. Some days, I will just have a yoghurt for breakfast. I think I'm still in the flare mindset where a yoghurt wouldn't make my flares too bad but the problem is it doesn't have enough calories in it so I should have some toast as well or put a banana in it too
• Decaf is the way to go. Anyone who knows me is already well aware I only really drink decaf drinks. Again, it's back to the days of flaring where caffeine would make it worse and also stops you from absorbing iron. Caffeine can also make you dehydrated/give you diarrhoea (lovely, I know) especially if you have an ostomy so I recommend decaf. Plus, it doesn't taste any different, I promise! Let me know in the comments if you'd be interested in a post all on decaf :) 
• Orange Juice is a miracle drink. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration but it's actually pretty cool as apparently if you drink orange juice with a meal, the vitamin C will help you absorb the ferritin (iron) from your meal. Awesome, I know! Now, I am aware that orange juice can make your stoma output a little on the loose side so maybe just try a small glass. I've always been okay so I think I'm going to try and drink more orange juice! 

So there's some things I learnt from going to the dietitian. I found it really useful, plus my dietitian is a specialist in IBD and Stomas so she knew things which could specifically help with thickening up, not causing flares etc. I really wish that I'd been referred when I was diagnosed as I think I might have been able to manage my colitis a bit better if I'd had more information readily available so it might be worth asking your consultant/IBD nurse if you could be referred! 

I hope you found this post useful and let me know in the comments below any IBD/Ostomy food tips you have!