Lactose Intolerance

Hello! I'm new to dealing with Lactose Intolerance within the last year, and am finding this problem is completely throwing my diet/exercise/body image/weight/etcs....

Instead of losing weight because I can't eat dairy and because I spend a lot of time sick,  I've put on 10 more pounds. I've finally found many lactose free foods that I can now eat, but  I'm still holding out at the higher end of weight.

I've pretty much stopped excercising, because half of the time  I don't feel well from the complications of consuming hidden dairys OR I  hurt myself because I'm no longer fit and then can't excercise.

I wonder if anyone else is living with this situation, has dealt with similar problems, and if you've figured out a way to eat foods that dont make you sick but help with weight loss/maintenance!!!

Weight loss or gain always comes down to consuming fewer or more calories than you burn up.   If you've got a problem with a particular type of food then it's out of the picture and you have to make sure you don't replace it with more calories of something else.  If you can't exercise much then your weight-control all comes down to your calorie intake.  

And if you're struggling with 'hidden dairy' so much that you're getting ill frequently then you will have to take a more radical approach to your food choices and go for a much 'cleaner' diet.... ie. one where you physically prepare your food from scratch rather than eating anything ready-made or bought outside the home - including 'lactose-free' foods.   Food companies and food outlets are not motivated to look after your wellbeing the way you are.    I would say that a little extra time spent on cooking is worth it if you're not sick all the time.

So those are my two suggestions.  From now on prepare everything you eat or drink from scratch so that you reduce the amount of time you're sick and so that you can be more active.   Plan your meals ahead of time so that you're sure you're getting the right number of calories and a good nutritional balance.

NB.... If you do the above and you're still getting sick frequently then go back to your doctor for advice.  It could be that your health problems are not solely due to problems with lactose.