Training & Crohn's Disease

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi Team,

Yesterday, I was all but confirmed to have Crohn’s Disease by an NHS IBD Consultant (subject to an MRI scan in 6 weeks, but I have still received a daily prescription of Budesonide and an information pack on Crohn’s & Colitis due to the results of other tests and medical examinations).

After graduating, applying and starting a new job, waiting for IBD referral appointments and other stressors with contributed to a flare up, I took a step back from training to manage my condition more carefully (especially since it’s hard to train with a sore stomach and a diet of just one meal of chicken breast and rice for a month). All of this led to a 10kg weight drop to 60kg at 181cm.

My questions revolves around getting back into training, getting strong and putting back on the weight I lost.

  1. Now that I’m on a course of corticosteroids, should I expect this to affect my training and how so?
  2. Given my condition, should I be mindful of bracing with heavy weights?
  3. What’s the best way for me to gain my weight back? My concern is that my very low calorie intake may need a drastic increase to match the energy expended from my office work, let alone three training session a week. Also I don’t know what nutritional deficiencies I need to consider due to my medication.
  4. Have any of you trained clients with Crohn’s or another IBD?

Thanks for your time guys and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

2

Hey Buck,

Thanks for the post and I hope you’re otherwise well. For your questions:

  1. Not necessarily, no.
  2. I would brace without regard for anything you listed here.
  3. You probably would be best served by working with a professional. We, and others, offer this service. While the medications are relatively low risk for nutrient deficiencies, the medical condition itself increases your risk. You should have been referred to a dietician given your diagnosis to work on getting adequate nutrition from an energy and micronutrient standpoint. This is not something we can do via a forum post, however.
  4. Yes, we have! In general, you’ll be able to train normally and get all the gainzZz when the condition itself is well-managed.

-Jordan

1 Like
3

Hi Jordan,

Thanks for the reply, all your answer are very helpful - I’ll chase up to see what dietician services I can get access to here and get back to a good baseline!

Also would it make sense for me to run the Beginner Template now or run something a little less intensive?

4

I think if you haven’t been exercising, the Beginner Template would be a great place to start.