Can't stop losing weight

[75Bedford]

Looking for a bit of advice please. Have been doing LCHF for 6 months now and reduced my Hba1c back to normal level (34) from pre diabetic (43) and reached what I thought was a good weight (8 Stone) but can't stop losing weight even though I have increased the amount of food I am eating (I now weigh 7st 5lb and don't want to lose any more). Have been to the doctor and had all sorts of blood tests which all came back normal. GP has suggested upping my calories again.

I am 5ft and aged 62 and keep my carb levels at 40g a day. I have had a a nodule on my thyroid for 12 years causing a slightly overactive thyroid but receiving no treatment other than beta blockers to help with palpitations, my thyroid function test (think it is was just the TSH test that was done) came back as normal.

My main question is should I just increase the amount of fat that I eat and try to increase my weight again to a suitable level or have more in depth thyroid tests which are very expensive (GP refused further tests).


Thanks in advance
Rose

 

[AndBreathe]

Looking for a bit of advice please. Have been doing LCHF for 6 months now and reduced my Hba1c back to normal level (34) from pre diabetic (43) and reached what I thought was a good weight (8 Stone) but can't stop losing weight even though I have increased the amount of food I am eating (I now weigh 7st 5lb and don't want to lose any more). Have been to the doctor and had all sorts of blood tests which all came back normal. GP has suggested upping my calories again.

I am 5ft and aged 62 and keep my carb levels at 40g a day. I have had a a nodule on my thyroid for 12 years causing a slightly overactive thyroid but receiving no treatment other than beta blockers to help with palpitations, my thyroid function test (think it is was just the TSH test that was done) came back as normal.

My main question is should I just increase the amount of fat that I eat and try to increase my weight again to a suitable level or have more in depth thyroid tests which are very expensive (GP refused further tests).


Thanks in advance
Rose

Been there, done that (well the weight loss part anyway) and have now been stable for a couple of years. We're about the same weight, but I'm about 3" taller than you and just a couple of years younger.

When I wanted to slow up and stop my weight loss, I firstly just ate a bit more of everything - didn't work. So, I then upped my cheese at lunchtime, then ate more nuts (or the other way around first - can't recall!). Then, Eureka!, my weight stabilised.

It's a bit of a challenge when trying to keep the carbs down (I'm not as low as you on those) , but it can be done, by some trial and error. I know @Bluetit1802 also had the challenge, and eventually cracked it too by, in her case, I think, upping her fats.

When you're doing this, I would urge you to only change one thing at a time, and give it a couple of weeks to impact, or not. Should you need to try more than one thing, I would suggest you add whatever you decide to add next in addition to what you were already doing.

If you haven't before do a food diary through this stage, coupled with blood readings, so that you can identify what made the difference. When you have stabilised, you will then be able to replicate the amount of fat, protein or whatever you need to include by having a wider variety of foods. Without the record keeping, in my view, it's hard to know what we did, never mind replicate it.

As I say, it's a bit of a puzzle. Many people just seem to plateau without too much effort, but not us, eh!?!

Good luck with it all.

 

[75Bedford]

Been there, done that (well the weight loss part anyway) and have now been stable for a couple of years. We're about the same weight, but I'm about 3" taller than you and just a couple of years younger.

When I wanted to slow up and stop my weight loss, I firstly just ate a bit more of everything - didn't work. So, I then upped my cheese at lunchtime, then ate more nuts (or the other way around first - can't recall!). Then, Eureka!, my weight stabilised.

It's a bit of a challenge when trying to keep the carbs down (I'm not as low as you on those) , but it can be done, by some trial and error. I know @Bluetit1802 also had the challenge, and eventually cracked it too by, in her case, I think, upping her fats.

When you're doing this, I would urge you to only change one thing at a time, and give it a couple of weeks to impact, or not. Should you need to try more than one thing, I would suggest you add whatever you decide to add next in addition to what you were already doing.

If you haven't before do a food diary through this stage, coupled with blood readings, so that you can identify what made the difference. When you have stabilised, you will then be able to replicate the amount of fat, protein or whatever you need to include by having a wider variety of foods. Without the record keeping, in my view, it's hard to know what we did, never mind replicate it.

As I say, it's a bit of a puzzle. Many people just seem to plateau without too much effort, but not us, eh!?!

Good luck with it all.

Thanks for your help AndBreathe. I do log my food on my fitnesspal app just to keep an eye on carb levels and am still monitoring my sugar levels. Will try upping my fats for a couple of weeks and see how that goes. Not a great lover of cheese but will try and eat more meals where its "hidden" and can't be really tasted lol.

Thanks again x

 

[AndBreathe]

Thanks for your help AndBreathe. I do log my food on my fitnesspal app just to keep an eye on carb levels and am still monitoring my sugar levels. Will try upping my fats for a couple of weeks and see how that goes. Not a great lover of cheese but will try and eat more meals where its "hidden" and can't be really tasted lol.

Thanks again x

When I was upping the fat, I did it in "doses" of mini Babybel cheese, so that I was consistent in my approach.

If you're not keen on cheese, you could add (more) butter to veg, or up the oily fish (with all that wonderful omega 3) or add (more) olive oil to salads for the omega 6). I can be really easy to add fats, without too much bulk or taste, but do measure it, if calories matter to you.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi @75Bedford

Yes, I had exactly your problem. On low carb my weight just fell off me without really much effort. I initially aimed to reduce to 9st. 7lbs but ended up almost a stone less than that. It took a lot of trial and error to stop losing, gain a couple of pounds, and maintain. I managed it and have maintained for almost 2 years now.

I had never eaten cheese before (always thought I hated it) but fired the bullet and started to add it to my lunch menu, plus I bumped up my egg consumption quite a lot, mixing them with real mayo, and returned to my old habit of a glass of red in the evenings. I did not increase my carbs at all, in fact I decided to lower them to help my BS. It was all a fine balance, and wasn't easy.

I dislike the Babybel cheese but discovered that the Red Leicester my husband eats was rather nice dipped in some mayo, and mild.

Hope this helps.

 

[75Bedford]

Thank you AndBreath and Bluetit. You've both given me some very good tips to try out. Don't mind milder cheeses in some recipes so will experiment with a few others. Onwards and upwards (hopefully).

 

[chalup]

You could also try fat bombs which pack a lot of calories into a bite sized treat that can be either sweet or savory as you prefer. There is also bulletproof coffee which sounds kind of gross to me but many people swear by it (I am not a coffee drinker so....)

 

[Jo123]

I had exactly the same problem and I am a bit cautious of high fat because my cholesterol went up, including my trigs.
So I was not keen on increasing my sat fats. So I increased my extra Virgin Olive oil, avos, nuts, unsweetened peanut butter, etc., this worked and my weight stabilised. Now it is not an issue as I can eat a few more carbs without issue, (I went hard core low carb in the beginning), I can eat more 'healthy' fat foods without feeling sick, I am exercising less due to normal age related aches and pains (walk instead of run).
Also I think having a low but healthy BMI (19.5) also contributed to being able to tolerate a few more carbs. Although my waist measurement is still classes as too high!!! I had a normal BMI when diagnosed prediabetic.

 

[AtkinsMo]

You might like to do some research on Iodine. Dr David Brownstein is the man, his Iodine book may give you some good information. I never say to people 'take Iodine' because it is much more controversial than most supplements, but it may help you.

I think that this is the YouTube video that I first watched some years ago that convinced me to include Iodine in my supplement regime. (I had recently had friends with thyroid, breast and ovarian cancer and was looking for any nutritional links and came across Iodine.)

It is a bit complicated, the book sets out the regime.

You could also consider supplementing with Magnesium to help with palpitations. Magnesium oil is absorbed through the skin, I use Magnesium Chloride flakes in the bath, which gives a lovely relaxing bath with the bonus of soft skin.

 

[Pinkorchid]

I have the same problem but my weight loss is down to Metformin and low appetite. When I started on it I was doing moderate carbs and fat had good BG levels and my weight was where I wanted it to be about 81/2 stone. I had a good appetite and enjoyed my food then I started on the Metformin and almost at once my appetite just plummeted and I started to loose weight that I didn't need to...they do say thats why it can help with weight loss because it can supress appetite. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be hungry I was just making myself eat. Well from 1000g of SR Metformin twice a day I went to 500g twice a day now my doctor has told me to reduce to 500g once a day and said if my appetite does not come back to a reasonable level she will take me off it altogether and try something else. My appetite is slightly better so hopefully my weight will stabilise now and I would like to get back to where I was. I don't like high fat foods so don't eat red meat or to much dairy and increasing those is not an option for me so I just have good oils, avocados and a few nuts

 

[75Bedford]

Thanks everyone for all your replies and great suggestions for me to try out. Chalup the fatballs sound interesting, will search the site for a recipe, Haven't had nut butter for quite a while but love it so thats a good one for me to have with perhaps some celery or if carbs allow on half a lidl protein roll. Already eat nuts but a few more won't harm

 

[GeoffersTaylor]

I find that an extra dollop of good mayo onto a meal serves as an extra hit of fat calories without being a chore to eat.

 

[carty]

I have been a skinny since diagnosis of diabetes and really struggled to put weight on .I am gaining gradually while still keeping my BGS level I eat an avocado every day and I eat full fat yoghurt with Jersey double cream and a handful of walnuts or almonds as a pud almost every evening ,these I have added to my usual diet with cheese and butter coconut oil to cook with
CAROL

 

[Kristin251]

I find that an extra dollop of good mayo onto a meal serves as an extra hit of fat calories without being a chore to eat.

Never a bad meal with mayo! Or avocado!

 

[Bluetit1802]

I'm another mayo fan.

 

[Kristin251]

I'm another mayo fan.

I make creamy salad dressings with a mayo base. Stir in mustard, horseradish or hot sauce and thin with water or lemon juice. Still better than store bought taste and ingredients
I found a mayo that is non GMO canola, dairy, gluten and egg free. Tastes better than any other mayo too.
Ingredients are non GMO canola, water, distilled white vinegar. 2% or less sugar salt spice Modified food starch, pea protein lemon juice concentrate fruit and veg juice for color and calcium disodium as preservative.
10 fat zero carb. I could eat it all day long.

 

[dawnmc]

Shouldn't say this, but you are so lucky. I think I could be starving to death and still weigh 12 st. I cant get any weight off even on less than 10% carbs.

 

[AtkinsMo]

I struggle a bit with mayo. Always used to make my own with EV Olive Oil, lemon juice and egg yolks with a bit of mustard, but since I had food poisoning (not linked to my Mayo, undercooked chicken at a friend's house) I just don't fancy raw eggs! Suppose I'm just frightened of a re-occurrence (I was really poorly for a week). Before I just thought I was strong and healthy and if I got salmonella (for instance) I'd get over it.

But now I don't fancy my raw eggs and I don't eat seed oils or commercial sauces, bit of a beggar really as I miss it. Maybe I just need to toughen up and get over it!

 

[Kristin251]

I struggle a bit with mayo. Always used to make my own with EV Olive Oil, lemon juice and egg yolks with a bit of mustard, but since I had food poisoning (not linked to my Mayo, undercooked chicken at a friend's house) I just don't fancy raw eggs! Suppose I'm just frightened of a re-occurrence (I was really poorly for a week). Before I just thought I was strong and healthy and if I got salmonella (for instance) I'd get over it.

But now I don't fancy my raw eggs and I don't eat seed oils or commercial sauces, bit of a beggar really as I miss it. Maybe I just need to toughen up and get over it!

I used to make my own too but Evoo was too bitter so used almond, walnut and various other oils with just 1/3 Evoo but same thing. The raw egg started bothering me. Even soft boiled or over easy with the yolk runny. I loved them but they started nauseating me. I didn't eat eggs for two years. Now I eat one or two a week but they need to be cooked. Scrambled, hard boiled or omelets.

Mayo is about the only processed food I eat and I've always been a mayo junky. Won't do soy or other oils but I figure the non GMO part is worth something toward quality. All the health food stores sell it, not that it means it's healthy but I gotta have something lol. Evoo doesn't satisfy like mayo. And it does help bs like mayo. I eat it for BF on my turkey lettuce wrap and I use it to dip veggies in but most lunch and dinners are Evoo. I had my cholesterol done a few months ago and was wondering what it would be with this mayo and the addition of one avocado a day and it was the best I can ever remember so that put my mind at rest a bit. My diet is 80% fat but I limit saturated fats. Needing to limit carbs to less than 20 and moderate my protein my list of foods is very limited. There's something wrong with every food. There is no perfect food and mayo makes me happy sometimes. I feel like Im Cheating haha. Gotta feel that way once in awhile. I guess if mayo is the worst food I eat I'm ok with it. It's not sugar or carbs and keeps my bs very flat.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I am afraid I am too lazy to make my own, and I enjoy Hellman's Real Mayo, so I'll stick to it.