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Weight loss, weight gain?

Just a word of caution from my own personal experience. When my insulin sensitivity sucked I would find that excessive cheese consumption would tend to push my fasting glucose upwards somewhat.
 
Jim Lahey said:
Personally I pay no attention to calories or even make a conscious effort to monitor my macronutrient composition. I have a dietary ethos that I stick to, and my body seems to ensure I get everything I need without me having to overthink the details. Calories do of course matter, but in my opinion not nearly as much as their composition. Most certainly I do not subscribe to the CICO model of weight management.
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Thanks Jim. I get your point. I just wanted to know if low-carb practitioners just don't care about total count of calories they are eating per day and eat until satiated as long as carbs are in range OR have a target calorie count and then manage the components from there.

I think I may have just not thought these things and maybe I am just starving myself by trying to reduce carb grams and not eating enough..... Learning! Learning! Learning!!!
 
Shas3 said:
Thanks Jim. I get your point. I just wanted to know if low-carb practitioners just don't care about total count of calories they are eating per day and eat until satiated as long as carbs are in range OR have a target calorie count and then manage the components from there.

I think I may have just not thought these things and maybe I am just starving myself by trying to reduce carb grams and not eating enough..... Learning! Learning! Learning!!!
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Sure thing. Learning your own body is the key to it all and can take time. Speaking only for myself I completely ignore calories and eat what I want when I want, but that’s not say that other low-carbers don’t benefit from the alternative approach.
 
Shas3 said:
Irian Jaya... that is right... Papua... I forget the details, but there is one separate country called Papua New Guinea, which broke away from Indonesia and then there is a part of Indonesia that is called Papua. One of these two is also called (used to be called?) Irian Jaya - I forget which part.

On the Cheese and Yoghurt, I love them too and I think I just need to increase the quantitates. It is just so unusual for me. I mean, my life was mostly like - Cheese may be a couple of times a week when I have eggs for breakfast OR when we have Italian for dinner.... While I continue the eggs with similar levels of cheese as before, I have stopped eating Italian dinners as usually they are pasta.... So, yes net net my cheese consumption has possibly gone down... not even stable!! Yogurt, yes... but you know how Indians use it - This may sound terribly gross to my western friends, but usually it is Yogurt with Rice and it is plain yogurt.. Not sweet, not flavored. So... With reducing rice, I think I have also reduced yogurt!!

So much change needed to get my calories but not the carbs!!! I think I am learning.... Thanks
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Ah, well Greek yoghurt is very plain too, I eat the full fat version. Then I add low carb berries to give it something extra, for example. So obviously am not sure if they do anything like that in Indonesia.

Yep it’s the western bit of Papua New Guinea where cannibalism is rife. :D OMG
 
I have never taken account of calories per se. It is the source of the calories that is important. Think of fats as fuel rather than calories. To stall weight loss means finding a level of fuel so that reserves (body fat) is kept stable. I too became alarmed when I continued to lose weight beyond what I thought was good for me so I raised healthy fats and also slightly raised protein levels and it has worked for me without any rise in bg levels.

Just as those who feel that if they could only lose that last few pounds/kilos must find the balance and then accept that this is where their body likes to be the same applies to those who lose a little more than is comfortable to them.
 
I would think that at 74kg it is unlikely you are underweight (unless you are very tall indeed)
I think that if you are trying to lose weight, calories are not a useful model, but if you want to stop losing weight then it can be useful to look at how many calories you are eating.
When I switched to Low Carb I lost more weight than I wanted to and was in danger of being underweight. (Down to 60kg, height 1m78cm) I was eating as much as I wanted and continued to lose weight. I looked at how many calories I was taking in and it was around 1500.
I found that eating the sort of food I ate , I needed around 2400 cal to keep a steady weight. To do this, as suggested above, I upped the fat and protein even more. But if I eat only to saiety I will lose weight. I needed to be be aware of the calories to make the mental shift in terms of how much I need to eat.

Once that mental shift was made, and the diet adjusted, I could stop thinking about calories - but for me they were a useful step. Now I weigh myself once a week, and if I am losing weight, I know how to eat a bit more to get back to my stable weight. Doing this I have been a stable weight (within 0.5kg) for 2 years.

I think different people have different approaches, but I is what works for you that matters.
 
Redshank said:
I would think that at 74kg it is unlikely you are underweight (unless you are very tall indeed)
I think that if you are trying to lose weight, calories are not a useful model, but if you want to stop losing weight then it can be useful to look at how many calories you are eating.
When I switched to Low Carb I lost more weight than I wanted to and was in danger of being underweight. (Down to 60kg, height 1m78cm) I was eating as much as I wanted and continued to lose weight. I looked at how many calories I was taking in and it was around 1500.
I found that eating the sort of food I ate , I needed around 2400 cal to keep a steady weight. To do this, as suggested above, I upped the fat and protein even more. But if I eat only to saiety I will lose weight. I needed to be be aware of the calories to make the mental shift in terms of how much I need to eat.

Once that mental shift was made, and the diet adjusted, I could stop thinking about calories - but for me they were a useful step. Now I weigh myself once a week, and if I am losing weight, I know how to eat a bit more to get back to my stable weight. Doing this I have been a stable weight (within 0.5kg) for 2 years.

I think different people have different approaches, but I is what works for you that matters.
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Fantastic.., very clear! Thanks for explaining so well. I need to really look at protein and fat because most of our protein generally comes from lentils and beans which unfortunately are also carb high. I just need to get fish, eggs and dairy into my diet in a more regular and planned way!!! Thanks
 
Redshank said:
I would think that at 74kg it is unlikely you are underweight (unless you are very tall indeed)
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And just to clarify, i am not underweight. In fact as per BMI, just reached below 25, stepping into the healthy range.

I was more intrigued at the speed of weight loss especially once I started on Metformin and Forxiga (i am very sure Forxiga played a big role)
 
Jim Lahey said:
Do cannibals get heart disease if they eat people with high cholesterol? :shifty:
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Wouldn't that just be fatty meat at the end of the day? Depends what health experts you listen to...

Glad you have a plan in mind though @Shas3 and trust me I always say it's how you feel not what the experts say.
 
Caeseji said:
Glad you have a plan in mind though @Shas3 and trust me I always say it's how you feel not what the experts say.
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Thanks.. the plan is all thanks to thoughts and support from this helpful community

Indeed - how one feels and listening to one’s body have been replaced by expert-speak..
 
Shas3 said:
It is funny you should say this... Just the other day, I was looking at my pictures from college days and I thought I was so skinny and I was considered the fat guy in the class!!! And I was wondering, how the hell was that possible. You are so right the benchmarks were so so so different at one time. I think we have just got used to the whole bigger, fatter bodies!! I will try to worry less and still get my doc to do whatever checks he feels are necessary!!! Thanks!!!
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The only thing you don't want to lose at your age is muscle which may have occurred due to your recent injury. When you do get back in the gym your body can gain more muscle but do feed it the extra fat and protein it needs to do so! If you feel unwell or have other symptoms then that is when rapid weight loss should concern you.
Totally agree with the comments about folks getting fatter. Check out images of college fraternity pictures or music festivals up to the mid 70s. And no it wasn't just that lots of people chain smoked.
 
I'm another one that lost all my excess weight and then couldn't stop losing. I also increased my fats and protein, and even though I lowered my carbs at the same time, I stopped losing and have now been stable at my desired weight for 4 and a half years. My fat/protein increase came mainly from cheese, extra eggs, extra butter.
 
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NicoleC1971 said:
The only thing you don't want to lose at your age is muscle which may have occurred due to your recent injury. When you do get back in the gym your body can gain more muscle but do feed it the extra fat and protein it needs to do so! If you feel unwell or have other symptoms then that is when rapid weight loss should concern you.
Totally agree with the comments about folks getting fatter. Check out images of college fraternity pictures or music festivals up to the mid 70s. And no it wasn't just that lots of people chain smoked.
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Thanks. Very true about muscle loss. In fact the leg cast came off yesterday and muscle atrophy is clear... i think gym will start soon... no running yet though...

70s festivals... the chain smokers
 
Bluetit1802 said:
I'm another one that lost all my excess weight and then couldn't stop losing. I also increased my fats and protein, and even though I lowered my carbs at the same time, I stopped losing and have now been stable at my desired weight for 4 and a half years. My fat/protein increase came mainly from cheese, extra eggs, extra butter.
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Great... thanks... yes cheese it will be... with more eggs i guess...
 
Shas3 said:
Thanks.. the plan is all thanks to thoughts and support from this helpful community

Indeed - how one feels and listening to one’s body have been replaced by expert-speak..
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We'll always be right behind you! I'm just glad things are working out.
 
Shas3 said:
Looks like I sure have been..…… I need to up my calories I think to stop the weight loss and yet please the blood glucose meter, which eventually means more protein or fat!! Is there carb-free-sugar-free ice cream... I need to treat myself!!
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Not sure what equipment you can get in Indonesia (please forgive my ignorance!) but if you can, invest in a ice-cream maker. In the UK they don't cost very much. You can then make your own ice-cream. I simply use thick cream and strawberries blended together and put into the ice-cream maker, but you can experiment using yoghurt instead of cream and all sorts of other low carb things - nuts, dark choc chips etc. There will be lots of recipes on the internet but it doesn't have to be complicated!
 
Jim Lahey said:
Just a word of caution from my own personal experience. When my insulin sensitivity sucked I would find that excessive cheese consumption would tend to push my fasting glucose upwards somewhat.
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I find my fasting glucose makes me excessively cheesy......boom boom......I'm here all day folks
 
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