Why am I not losing weight or improving bg?

[Robbity]

Maybe try checking too with a low carb nutritional calculator to see recommended carbs/protein/fat percentages for various situations.

Robbity

 

[debbiedoodles]

Oh no I have relied on myfitnesspal for cal count I will check out a few foods for cal content on other sites and compare. Cheers

 

[debbiedoodles]

I am using myfitnesspal and its not always accurate, so may be worth double checking it is calculating your calories coorectly. All the best

Thanks will do x

 

[debbiedoodles]

I also want to mention that I have always done beat with small/ snack sized meals rather than larger. I have never needed more than 1200 cals. Not even sure I eat that many now. I do need to watch the type of fat I eat as well. I do better with plant fats like avocado, mayo, Evoo instead of saturated fats or nut fats. Dairy packs the pounds on me as fast as carbs. It's all a delicate balance but you will find it

Hi Kristin
I think that's exactly it. I am going to reduce my nutty snacks and fats. Infirm honest I can't see how high fat can help any diet. What do you eat for snacks?
Debbie

 

[mfactor]

Calorie creep is very easy.

Yep indeedy, have had this conversation many times with people and have been guilty myself , add all my foods for the day up and come to xxxx calories, then thought about all the odd bits during the day, how much oil used in cooking, more yogurt on that spoon than I thought etc etc, you get the drift, and suddenly you find another 2/300 calories...........

And ,,,,this caused a argument on another thread, but gotta be said , if you eat zero calories you will eventually die, if you eat a few calories more you will still die but it will take longer, eat a few more and longer still...and as you are dying your body will use anything it can to preserve your life , it will eat muscle , fat whatever it needs, and during that time you will become skeletal....... ie lose weight ......

It is a scientific fact, it cant be argued with , any pictures of people who have been starved or from nations suffering from famine show this............

Yes your body will go into starvation mode to keep you alive which often muddies the waters....

So you have a choice, either go below starvation mode levels of calories and you will loose weight but that is a bad choice or just go into a slight calorific deficit and slowly lose weight....

If you are not losing weight, you are out on your BMR or out on how many calories you eat........

 

[Totto]

Yes but some people have a gland that literally sucks the fat out of the atmosphere and deposits it on their body, even when they just eat salad.

It's called the thyroid gland .

 

[SunnyExpat]

no that's the one we've all got

Often much unloved, and often very maligned at times.

 

[specialk]

Hi all
Can anyone help? I am having approx 60/80g carbs from diet overall. I have stayed around 1200 cals and am moderately active walk an hour a day usually. I am not eating any cereal, rice,potatoes, pasta or bread. Hba1c 8.7 which is consistent with readings of 8.1 on average at the moment. Highest was 9.5 in the morning and 7.1 before bed. A typical days diet would be 3 egg scrambled with splash cream, 2 good for you bacon medallions, mushrooms and a tiny bit ketchup, ham or chicken salad with either coleslaw or avocado, chicken or steak with celeriac mash, carrots and sprouts. If hungry later coffee or cocoa with cream some cheese or cottage cheese with one flax/pumpkin crisp bread and poss a piece of fruit. My hair is falling out and I'm not achieving the weight loss or bg I am hoping for. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. I am eating higher fat than normal but understood that this is necessary to stop hunger? I feel so disappointed

Have a look at dietdoctor. com it has really helped me gain understanding. The Obesity Code book is also very helpful and got me on a good track. Don't give up. Take care with having hidden carbs.

 

[AtkinsMo]

Hi there

My first thought is, what is your biggest priority? If I was you (unless you are morbidly obese) my biggest priority would be normalising bg. To do this, at least at the start, you need to cut out the few remaining carby things in your diet - yes, that's the ketchup and the fruit! I might even cut out celeriac mash in the short term. When you get your bg and your weight to where you want it to be, then you can start to introduce other foods slowly, checking for what puts bg back up or causes a weight gain.

The other thing that strikes me is that I only eat as much in quantity as you eat in your main meals, and I'm never hungry, and I guess that is because I embrace the fat. I don't heap on loads of extra fat, but I suspect, for instance, that your 'good for you bacon medallions' are actually low fat, go for proper bacon and fry it in a bit of lard - just like your mother used to! and fry a small tomato in with it too, to replace the ketchup Check out your coleslaw and Mayo, if you are not making your own they are often a source of hidden carbs.

As to the question of why increase fat, it's the hunger satisfying part. You don't need large portions of protein, you are actively avoiding carbs, fat is the one nutrient group that you can eat to satiety with no adverse effect on your bg.

It has been said before, but I will say it again, change your veg to only above ground leafy for, say, a month, eliminate the other obvious carbs, and that will bring your carb count to around 20-30g a day. At that level your BGs will come down, and your weight will start to reduce, you may have a high level of metabolic resistance and need to be as low as 20g to lose. I don't, personally, think it's helpful to count calories at all.

A further thing that will happen, if you go down this route, is that your hunger will reduce, your portion sizes will naturally reduce, without you having to feel like you are 'starving yourself'. I virtually always eat only 2 meals a day, no snacks, no hunger. When I decide to snack it's because I 'fancy' something, rather than to satisfy hunger - yesterday I had a bag of pork scratchings, and particularly delicious they were. Saw my favourite brand in the pub where we'd called in for a glass of red wine, and decided to succumb - not hunger, not craving, just 'a little bit of something you fancy' and 'legal' too.

So, to sum up, the low carb is not working because it's not low enough.

Your hair loss, not too sure about that, the only time I've ever had a good head of hair was each time I was pregnant, my hair has always varied, sometimes I seem to shed a lot, sometimes not so much. Personally I don't worry about it but I don't have any other symptoms of thyroid problems and it's pretty much normal for me.

Good luck.

 

[SunnyExpat]

Hi there

My first thought is, what is your biggest priority? If I was you (unless you are morbidly obese) my biggest priority would be normalising bg. To do this, at least at the start, you need to cut out the few remaining carby things in your diet - yes, that's the ketchup and the fruit! I might even cut out celeriac mash in the short term. When you get your bg and your weight to where you want it to be, then you can start to introduce other foods slowly, checking for what puts bg back up or causes a weight gain.

The other thing that strikes me is that I only eat as much in quantity as you eat in your main meals, and I'm never hungry, and I guess that is because I embrace the fat. I don't heap on loads of extra fat, but I suspect, for instance, that your 'good for you bacon medallions' are actually low fat, go for proper bacon and fry it in a bit of lard - just like your mother used to! and fry a small tomato in with it too, to replace the ketchup Check out your coleslaw and Mayo, if you are not making your own they are often a source of hidden carbs.

As to the question of why increase fat, it's the hunger satisfying part. You don't need large portions of protein, you are actively avoiding carbs, fat is the one nutrient group that you can eat to satiety with no adverse effect on your bg.

It has been said before, but I will say it again, change your veg to only above ground leafy for, say, a month, eliminate the other obvious carbs, and that will bring your carb count to around 20-30g a day. At that level your BGs will come down, and your weight will start to reduce, you may have a high level of metabolic resistance and need to be as low as 20g to lose. I don't, personally, think it's helpful to count calories at all.

A further thing that will happen, if you go down this route, is that your hunger will reduce, your portion sizes will naturally reduce, without you having to feel like you are 'starving yourself'. I virtually always eat only 2 meals a day, no snacks, no hunger. When I decide to snack it's because I 'fancy' something, rather than to satisfy hunger - yesterday I had a bag of pork scratchings, and particularly delicious they were. Saw my favourite brand in the pub where we'd called in for a glass of red wine, and decided to succumb - not hunger, not craving, just 'a little bit of something you fancy' and 'legal' too.

So, to sum up, the low carb is not working because it's not low enough.

Your hair loss, not too sure about that, the only time I've ever had a good head of hair was each time I was pregnant, my hair has always varied, sometimes I seem to shed a lot, sometimes not so much. Personally I don't worry about it but I don't have any other symptoms of thyroid problems and it's pretty much normal for me.

Good luck.

The op hasn't said they feel particularly hungry.
Both low BG, and weight loss are normally possible.

Has your method got you down to your target weight?

 

[hose1975]

I am due bloods in couple weeks so will get thyroid checked then and other th's as you suggested. Thanks.

Please bear in mind that being somewhere in the 'normal' range with thryoid bloods is NOT the same as being optimal. Many in the thyroid community have learnt this the hard way, myself included. Generally speaking, you want your TSH to be under 1.0 and your free T4 to be in the upper quarter of the range; this is where most people feel good, rather than not quite so ****. If you have any questions about your results I would highly recommend going to healthunlocked.com's Thyroid UK forum (where I'm also a member) as the good folks there are pretty good at advising a course of action. I direct people with blood sugar problems to this site too

 

[Kristin251]

Hi Kristin
I think that's exactly it. I am going to reduce my nutty snacks and fats. Infirm honest I can't see how high fat can help any diet. What do you eat for snacks?
Debbie

BF is one piece deli turkey on a piece of romaine with mustard and mayo at 8 am. Then around 3 I eat about 1-1.5 oz protein, usually salmon tuna or poultry on another lettuce wrap with mayo and a few bites of guac and celery sticks. Dinner around 6:30 and 2 oz protein either on a salad or another wrap, more guac and celery and sometimes a small and full of steamed cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus.
I make a half an avocado into guac in the morning and have a little with lunch and dinner and a little as snacks. If I need more snacks it's a few nuts but I mean a few as in 1 or 2 pecans, or a pinch of pumpkin seeds, 2 macadamia etc. or a few olives or a few bites if celery.
Before bed I usually have a small scoop of peanut butter on a small piece of celery or I don't sleep.
When I was T2 I grazed but this is harder to do with insulin. And then I had a period that I fasted until after noon but I lost a lot of weight then.
My advice to lose weight is to set your daily carb total to 20, protein based on your needs and then fill the rest in with fat. Eating fat isn't going to cause you to lose weight or lower bs but it will allow you to lower carbs and protein to the right amounts that will help bs and still keep you satisfied and fueled. I don't believe there is a set calorie amount for everyone. That's ridiculous. Metabolism, energy spent, etc all play a roll. Just as there is no one diet for everyone, there is no calorie amount. Your body will tell you. The kind of calorie makes a huge difference. For me grains and dairy will pack pounds in no time but olive oil or avocados does nothing. The type of fat matters to me

Have you tried kelp granules for your thyroid? Very high in iodine.

 

[SunnyExpat]

BF is one piece deli turkey on a piece of romaine with mustard and mayo at 8 am. Then around 3 I eat about 1-1.5 oz protein, usually salmon tuna or poultry on another lettuce wrap with mayo and a few bites of guac and celery sticks. Dinner around 6:30 and 2 oz protein either on a salad or another wrap, more guac and celery and sometimes a small and full of steamed cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus.
I make a half an avocado into guac in the morning and have a little with lunch and dinner and a little as snacks. If I need more snacks it's a few nuts but I mean a few as in 1 or 2 pecans, or a pinch of pumpkin seeds, 2 macadamia etc. or a few olives or a few bites if celery.
Before bed I usually have a small scoop of peanut butter on a small piece of celery or I don't sleep.
When I was T2 I grazed but this is harder to do with insulin. And then I had a period that I fasted until after noon but I lost a lot of weight then.
My advice to lose weight is to set your daily carb total to 20, protein based on your needs and then fill the rest in with fat. Eating fat isn't going to cause you to lose weight or lower bs but it will allow you to lower carbs and protein to the right amounts that will help bs and still keep you satisfied and fueled. I don't believe there is a set calorie amount for everyone. That's ridiculous. Metabolism, energy spent, etc all play a roll. Just as there is no one diet for everyone, there is no calorie amount. Your body will tell you. The kind of calorie makes a huge difference. For me grains and dairy will pack pounds in no time but olive oil or avocados does nothing. The type of fat matters to me

Have you tried kelp granules for your thyroid? Very high in iodine.

I agree entirely with there being no set calorie amount everyone.
But there certainly is an individual limit, and once you go below it, you lose weight if you go above it, you gain weight.
And for many, our bodies don't tell us. Years of practice at overeating tricks the bodies response, and whether it's carbs, protein or fat, it's very very easy to keep eating past the point the body requires.
Hence the need for a watchful eye on calorie intake, and even the success a vlcd has in resetting the body to understand how little food it actually needs.
Sometimes you need to feel hungry, to actually remember what it's like not to.

 

[Totto]

no that's the one we've all got

You are right. It's called malfunctioning thyroid gland.

 

[SunnyExpat]

You are right. It's called malfunctioning thyroid gland.

Nah, mine does it's stuff.
You can't diagnose everyone as having problems due to thyroid.
Worth getting checked, but don't simply dismiss everything else out of hand.

Didn't you self-diagnose yours as thyroid, and self medicate?

 

[zand]

Nah, mine does it's stuff.
You can't diagnose everyone as having problems due to thyroid.
Worth getting checked, but don't simply dismiss everything else out of hand.

Didn't you self-diagnose yours as thyroid, and self medicate?

I remember @Totto talking about how she treated her thyroid, but that was a long time ago @SunnyExpat , before you joined here I'm sure. Or have you mentioned it more recently as well Totto, did I miss something?

 

[Totto]

I remember @Totto talking about how she treated her thyroid, but that was a long time ago @SunnyExpat , before you joined here I'm sure. Or have you mentioned it more recently as well Totto, did I miss something?

Now I can't see what SunnyExpat posted but I've posted a bit of advice on thyroid here and there. Thyroid problems are very common in women and also in diabetes, so I'm sure I'm not alone in suffering from the combination.
The problem with thyroid test ranges are that they are (supposedly) normal for a population but not for the individual. Thus there there is a host of tired, fat, constipated, depressed people with high LDL and low libido and if they happen to be women it's deemed normal. Makes me mad, it does.

 

[Kristin251]

I agree entirely with there being no set calorie amount everyone.
But there certainly is an individual limit, and once you go below it, you lose weight if you go above it, you gain weight.
And for many, our bodies don't tell us. Years of practice at overeating tricks the bodies response, and whether it's carbs, protein or fat, it's very very easy to keep eating past the point the body requires.
Hence the need for a watchful eye on calorie intake, and even the success a vlcd has in resetting the body to understand how little food it actually needs.
Sometimes you need to feel hungry, to actually remember what it's like not to.

I agree with all this. It takes time to figure out. When I look at my plate is can seem as if there's nothing on it but it ends up being amazingly satisfying. I have never needed lots of calories and when I eat too much food it exasperates everything. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach and I try to keep that in mind. Portion control also does great things for bs

 

[zand]

Now I can't see what SunnyExpat posted but I've posted a bit of advice on thyroid here and there. Thyroid problems are very common in women and also in diabetes, so I'm sure I'm not alone in suffering from the combination.
The problem with thyroid test ranges are that they are (supposedly) normal for a population but not for the individual. Thus there there is a host of tired, fat, constipated, depressed people with high LDL and low libido and if they happen to be women it's deemed normal. Makes me mad, it does.

Yes I totally agree with you and it is so horrible when you are suffering and there's no help. You helped me with this issue a couple of years ago. Thank you so much.

 

[SunnyExpat]

I remember @Totto talking about how she treated her thyroid, but that was a long time ago @SunnyExpat , before you joined here I'm sure. Or have you mentioned it more recently as well Totto, did I miss something?

It's not a hard thing to find.
Everyone's life history is on here somewhere.

All you need to do is have a quick look.