A Month Into Low Carbing

[copey399]

So ... I know it's still early days but although my BS is now averaging the 6s as opposed to the 8-11s when I was first diagnosed I don't seem to be having the important weight loss like others have reported. I was really pleased with my reduced BS and saw that as a positive sign that my next blood test would show that I had reversed the diabetes until I watched a video presentation explaining how the sugar levels were only a symptom of Diabetes and that the problem lies really in getting the liver and pancreas to start using the fat stores for energy which is more significant than low numbers. Correct me if I haven't got that right though but it was something like that and seemed to make sense at the time so I got a bit despondent about the lack of further weight loss.

Not a single cake, pastry, biscuit, or anything has passed my lips. We went out yesterday on the spur of the moment and only took a flask whereas if I'd planned I could have taken something LC-friendly. Unfortunately it was a country fair type thing and the refreshment tent was full of stuff I couldn't have (sandwiches and cakes) but they did find me a small ham salad (cereal bowl size) for which I was grateful. I sat and watched the friends we met up with eating bread rolls, jam and cream scones, lemon meringue pie and all sorts of deliciously tempting stuff but I resisted all the "go on, one won't hurt you" comments so I do have the willpower.

I started off at 12st 8lbs (79kg I think) and I knocked off the 8lbs in the first couple of weeks which was probably water anyway, so now stuck at 76kg and not shifting. I'm only 5ft3 so that's much too much for my height and it's all round my midriff where it didn't oughta be. I have thin legs and thighs so I look like a toffee apple on a stick I have no waistline any more, just look permanently pregnant.

I constantly refer to my list of can and can't have veggies etc. (me and cauliflower are best buddies) and I cook with olive oil and butter now,have full fat yogurts and snack on a few almonds and pistachios.

I don't really know what else I can do. I know exercise is an issue as I have back, hip and knee problems which make even short walks painful but I do push myself through the pain barrier to do what I can.

As you can see from my signature, I'm not currently on any meds as I just felt sick all the time on Metformin and when I told the DN this she said she'd talk to the doctor and the next thing I was rung up by receptionist and told to collect a prescription for Gliclazide and a testing meter. No instructions as to how I was supposed to use the testing meter but when I read that Gliclazide can cause hypos I guessed that was why I got it and decided I wasn't going down that road either so I joined up here instead.

I wish I'd kept my last blood test results so I had all the information you all have about HBA1C etc. but I stupidly threw it away.

One of the plusthings is that the awful embarrassing flatulance problem I'd suffered with for ages seems to have gone- yay! Unfortunately still having the migraines and I've got one now, out of the blue so can't see what I'm typing. Probably just as well as I have gone on long enough. It's handy being a touch typist as I can type "blind" lol.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings. xxxx Any comments gratefully received.

 

[Gezzabelle]

Aww sorry to hear you feel down about how things are going....it must be very frustrating for you to not see any significant weight loss after so much effort. How low have you dropped your carb intake? On the plus side not being quite so flatulent has to be a good thing

 

[satindoll]

Hi copey399, I have a little sit and pedal machine, in that I sit in my comfy char and pedal the machine, you can buy them from various places Amazon, Ideal world etc.
My advice would be don't waste your money on a really cheap one as they fall apart in a very short time and are so noisy, the one I have has different resistance levels and means I can do a bit of exercise without putting a strain on the hips, back and knees and do it whilst reading, browsing the web, looking at this site or even watching the telly

 

[Bluetit1802]

Well done on getting those levels down, that is excellent.

Are you drinking enough water? This is important for everyone, but doubly so for folk that low carb, and also make sure you add some salt to your meals - also important for low carbers. You may find your headaches are down to dehydration. They often are.

You can get a copy of your blood test print outs if you ring the surgery. They will give you one.

Try not to worry about sticking on the weight loss front. It happens. Maybe you are still eating too much portion-wise? If it continues not to shift maybe a few less calories?

 

[Mongolia]

Well done on excellent drop in BS levels; keeping these steady and within 'normal' range I think should be your main focus. When I switched to LCHF a month after diagnosis I did find that weight dropped rapidly. However this has really plateaued and I have only lost 4kg since April which, like you, I found somewhat disheartening. But at my dietician appointment the other week she was really pleased with this slow rather than rapid weight loss which is sustainable and as a result of a change in eating habit for life rather than a quick fix diet. She has set me the target of losing another kg a month for the next 8 months to take me down to 66kg. This feels like an achievable target so I'm not going to panic at not losing a stack of weight each month. BMI is now out of the obese range and into the over weight category - still a way to go but slow and steady is beginning to feel ok. I am learning what size portion is big enough to fill me up (ie not covering the whole plate!) and that if I'm not hungry it isn't compulsory to eat food just because it is 'food time'. Stick with it and remember it is a marathon, not a sprint!

 

[copey399]

Aww sorry to hear you feel down about how things are going....it must be very frustrating for you to not see any significant weight loss after so much effort. How low have you dropped your carb intake? On the plus side not being quite so flatulent has to be a good thing

Hi Gezzabelle x Thank you, yes I do feel impatient to see the weight drop a bit quicker as I don't think I could lower my carb intake any further than I have already. If I'd had this much willpower on a normal diet I think I would have lost more so I assume it's the HF that is preventing it but I know it's an important part of the diet. Is it possible to overdo the fat element? i.e frying already fatty bacon in more fat (olive oil or butter).

 

[copey399]

Hi copey399, I have a little sit and pedal machine, in that I sit in my comfy char and pedal the machine, you can buy them from various places Amazon, Ideal world etc.
My advice would be don't waste your money on a really cheap one as they fall apart in a very short time and are so noisy, the one I have has different resistance levels and means I can do a bit of exercise without putting a strain on the hips, back and knees and do it whilst reading, browsing the web, looking at this site or even watching the telly

Hi Satindoll x That sounds like a good idea. I have dug out my air walker thingy and am trying to do that when I can but can't keep it up too long.

 

[copey399]

Well done on getting those levels down, that is excellent.

Are you drinking enough water? This is important for everyone, but doubly so for folk that low carb, and also make sure you add some salt to your meals - also important for low carbers. You may find your headaches are down to dehydration. They often are.

You can get a copy of your blood test print outs if you ring the surgery. They will give you one.

Try not to worry about sticking on the weight loss front. It happens. Maybe you are still eating too much portion-wise? If it continues not to shift maybe a few less calories?

Hi Bluetit. Thank you x I think water is a bit of a problem as I hate the stuff but I'm certainly drinking more than I used to but probably not as much as I should. Good idea to ring the surgery for my blood test print outs. Not sure how obliging they'll be but no harm in asking. I don't think my portion size is too much. I've never been a one for piling up my plate as I find I get full quite quickly. I think I arrived at this weight more by too much of the wrong type of food. I really hate cooking so it was always something on toast or a sandwich and often a ready meal instead of cooking from scratch but I've mended my ways on that front ..lol.

 

[copey399]

Well done on excellent drop in BS levels; keeping these steady and within 'normal' range I think should be your main focus. When I switched to LCHF a month after diagnosis I did find that weight dropped rapidly. However this has really plateaued and I have only lost 4kg since April which, like you, I found somewhat disheartening. But at my dietician appointment the other week she was really pleased with this slow rather than rapid weight loss which is sustainable and as a result of a change in eating habit for life rather than a quick fix diet. She has set me the target of losing another kg a month for the next 8 months to take me down to 66kg. This feels like an achievable target so I'm not going to panic at not losing a stack of weight each month. BMI is now out of the obese range and into the over weight category - still a way to go but slow and steady is beginning to feel ok. I am learning what size portion is big enough to fill me up (ie not covering the whole plate!) and that if I'm not hungry it isn't compulsory to eat food just because it is 'food time'. Stick with it and remember it is a marathon, not a sprint!

Hi Mongolia x Thank you x It is encouraging to see the BS coming down and I know I will just have to stick at it and not get so impatient. I don't have much of an appetite in the mornings but was forcing myself to have 3 meals a day as I thought this was necessary for success but I'm slipping back to having "brunch" sometimes. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi Gezzabelle x Thank you, yes I do feel impatient to see the weight drop a bit quicker as I don't think I could lower my carb intake any further than I have already. If I'd had this much willpower on a normal diet I think I would have lost more so I assume it's the HF that is preventing it but I know it's an important part of the diet. Is it possible to overdo the fat element? i.e frying already fatty bacon in more fat (olive oil or butter).

When I started reducing my carbs, I didn't consider raising my fat intake, as I neither wanted to nor found it a palatable option.

I would say it could be worth trying things like dry frying your bacon and see how you go. It's important not to get too hungry, or that encourages indiscretions, but I do know several of us, in our own sweet ways, only increased our fat intake when we were looking for a means of stabilising our weight-loss, once we were near or at our target weights.

Worth trying, perhaps?

 

[copey399]

When I started reducing my carbs, I didn't consider raising my fat intake, as I neither wanted to nor found it a palatable option.

I would say it could be worth trying things like dry frying your bacon and see how you go. It's important not to get too hungry, or that encourages indiscretions, but I do know several of us, in our own sweet ways, only increased our fat intake when we were looking for a means of stabilising our weight-loss, once we were near or at our target weights.

Worth trying, perhaps?

Oh that's interesting as I do find the high fat element harder than the low carb bit. I've never been a great fan of fatty food, not for health reasons but because I just don't like things like the fat on a loin chop or bacon or loads of butter on bread but because of the things I've read I thought the high fat was essential for the diet to work so I've been adding it all over the place. I might try a week of not so high fat then and see if the weight loss happens.

 

[Jo123]

What Andbreathe said! When I joined the forum it was just low carb, not high fat. I only increased the fats to stop the weight loss. And only the 'healthy' fats at that.

 

[copey399]

What Andbreathe said! When I joined the forum it was just low carb, not high fat. I only increased the fats to stop the weight loss. And only the 'healthy' fats at that.

Thanks Jo, I definitely think I may have been overdoing the high fat bit and felt compelled to add a knob of butter to things I'd never dream of putting it on so definitely going to rein it in now and see if the weight drops off. Fingers crossed.

 

[AndBreathe]

Oh that's interesting as I do find the high fat element harder than the low carb bit. I've never been a great fan of fatty food, not for health reasons but because I just don't like things like the fat on a loin chop or bacon or loads of butter on bread but because of the things I've read I thought the high fat was essential for the diet to work so I've been adding it all over the place. I might try a week of not so high fat then and see if the weight loss happens.

The fat helps with two thing; satisfying any hunger pangs and feeling satisfied more qiuckly (2 things I'd say) and making up a potential calorific deficit, so do listen to your body. There's no point trimming it too much and finding yourself gnawing table legs!

If I got hungry, I'd have a little (and I mean a little) cheese, or a couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt.

You might find it helps a bit.

 

[Gezzabelle]

Hi Gezzabelle x Thank you, yes I do feel impatient to see the weight drop a bit quicker as I don't think I could lower my carb intake any further than I have already. If I'd had this much willpower on a normal diet I think I would have lost more so I assume it's the HF that is preventing it but I know it's an important part of the diet. Is it possible to overdo the fat element? i.e frying already fatty bacon in more fat (olive oil or butter).

I don't add too much fat...I eat low carb (less than 50g a day) and use butter to fry food ...eat bacon, cheese and have whole milk in coffee...also eat avocado 3 or 4 times a week but that's about it. I have the old issue ingrained in me that fat is bad for us etc and so don't over use it. It does seem to work on the LFHC diet though so it shouldn't be making that much difference unless of course you are eating more than you can burn as you can't exercise enough. I don't overdo the exercise either so keep my fat intake down. I have to eat some fat though to STOP the weight loss as the low carb has a big effect.

 

[britishpub]

Personally I do not deliberately eat High Fat, but I am less worried about eating Fat than the standard "Low-Fat" dogma would have you.

There is no reason to load up on Fats, especially if you want to lose weight, and I often eat 2% or even 0% Fat Greek Yoghurt rather than the full fat versions and I don't notice any real difference in satiety.

 

[copey399]

@AndBreathe and @Gezzabelle and @britishpub

Yes definitely food for thought (excuse the pun). I think you may have figured out why I'm not getting the weight loss I expected. It's a bit of a relief to know that I don't have to keep adding fat to be honest. I have found that some foods have turned on me with the added fat. I don't find hunger a problem as I was always a 2 meals a day person (just the wrong type of meals) and had to force breakfast down early on so I could get in lunch and dinner without them running into each other believing that 3 meals a day was essential for success..lol.

 

[Gezzabelle]

@AndBreathe and @Gezzabelle and @britishpub

Yes definitely food for thought (excuse the pun). I think you may have figured out why I'm not getting the weight loss I expected. It's a bit of a relief to know that I don't have to keep adding fat to be honest. I have found that some foods have turned on me with the added fat. I don't find hunger a problem as I was always a 2 meals a day person (just the wrong type of meals) and had to force breakfast down early on so I could get in lunch and dinner without them running into each other believing that 3 meals a day was essential for success..lol.

Hope it helps....add some fat but only as much as you feel is right for you. That with lower carbs should see the weight come down.

 

[GeoffersTaylor]

As I understand it (I've been LCHF for just a week so obviously I'm an expert!!) the idea is to reduce your carbs as much as you feel that you can, then calculate your protein requirement (roughly a gramme per KG of bodyweight - more if you want to become like Arnold Schwarzenegger) - then every other calorie comes from yummy fats.

I agree with the others - "slowly slowly catchee monkey". Persevere, keep up the good work, don't kid yourself about what you're eating (that "After eight" wafer mint is nearly 40 calories and 7g carbs), don't beat yourself up about a bad day and you'll make progress.

 

[Alzebra]

You've had lots of good advice, I just wanted to add a big congratulations on losing 8lbs in one month and reducing your BG by so much as well. Having looked at your BMI I see you aren't clinically obese which might explain why you aren't seeing the more extreme weight loss some of us have seen - when you have less to lose overall it WILL come off slower.
I think you've done incredibly well, and have reduced the risk of complications very successfully. Don't see "reversing" your diabetes as the only worthwhile outcome here, the changes you've made already are fantastic