How to gain weight without carbs

Valsal

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I was diagnosed with type 2 due to cancer treatment. "cancer drug treatment induced diabetes" I am struggling to hold any weight while sticking yo low Carb diet. Tried usual stuff
 

HSSS

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Added fats whilst lowering carbs? Added more? Perhaps more protein?
 

Muneeb

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In general if you have a calorific surplus, you will gain weight. Fats have more calories per gram than protein or carbs. So eat more fats or proteins, such as nuts as these are very calorie dense.
 

EllieM

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I was diagnosed with type 2 due to cancer treatment. "cancer drug treatment induced diabetes" I am struggling to hold any weight while sticking yo low Carb diet. Tried usual stuff

Just checking that you've definitely got T2 rather than T1 or T3c? As if you're losing weight because of lack of insulin rather than insulin resistance the advice is rather different....
 

Valsal

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Yes definitely Type2 apparently. Tablets were mentioned initially but after hospital admittance, doc carried on with insulin.
I have to have an immunotherapy drug (cancer treatment) every 3 weeks which doesn't help!!
 

derry60

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I thought fats did not cause weight gain, as that is what I have read
 

Bluetit1802

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I thought fats did not cause weight gain, as that is what I have read

It may do if the calorie content is too high.

My personal experience was that after I lost all my excess weight on low carb and needed to gain a few pounds and then maintain I actually reduced my carbs for blood sugar reasons and at the same time seriously upped my fats with extra protein. I vastly increased my egg consumption, started eating cheese that previously had been off the menu, extra cream, increased my mayonnaise and vastly increased my butter. I put those few pounds back on to reach an ideal weight and have maintained for over 4 and a half years. Whilst losing weight I was also calorie counting in addition to carbs, fats and protein amounts. I stuck to about 1200 calories. Once the weight had gone I increased this to 1800 calories with the increased fats and protein. Once stable, I stopped counting. No idea how many calories I eat now but my weight doesn't fluctuate.

If weight gain is needed, it can only come from increasing carbs, fats or protein. There is no other way. Carb increase isn't wise, so it's down to fats and protein.
 

HSSS

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Well if increasing carbs in inadvisable and protein can have some more limited effect on glucose levels it only leaves fats! In keto, and low carb, carbs are eaten to a set limit. Protein is eaten to a goal to protect lean muscle and repair processes. Fats are a lever for satiety and control. Eat fewer and fat from the body is utilised and weight lost. Eat more and that’s what gets used for energy and if in excess stored as weight gain.

What I think gets confused is fat as a nutrient in and of itself gets blamed for obesity rather than considered as a whole picture and in neglect of the role carbs play, especially for diabetics. Too much energy intake for a particular body (and depending on the health status of that particular body) compared to the amounts actually able to be used will lead to gains. What’s tricky is working out what’s going in, what’s being used properly and efficiently, what’s being stored and why. We are not closed loop lab machines. We run multiple systems in sync and they all effect the calculations in ways simple equations can not cope with. Eg CICO is just too simplified and unmeasurable in the real human.
 
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lucylocket61

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Yes definitely Type2 apparently. Tablets were mentioned initially but after hospital admittance, doc carried on with insulin.
I have to have an immunotherapy drug (cancer treatment) every 3 weeks which doesn't help!!
are you a type 2 on insulin? Could you fill in your profile please, and then people replying will know how to tailor their suggestions.
 

Mbaker

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I thought fats did not cause weight gain, as that is what I have read
If you are fat adapted and eat fats, without over doing it, your body will preference burning fat for fuel what you eat and some stored fat. If you over eat fats, this is stored energy so weight will be gained. The worst case scenario is high carbs and high fat. The carbs need to be burned off first, the overflow of this will turn to fat, adding to the fats consumed.

Eating higher protein allows more calories without the associated weight gain (of the top of my head I believe I have cross referenced 300 - 400 calorie leeway). The thermal effect of protein is greatest as the body works harder.
 
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ringi

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It possible thay some slow release carbs (think lentils, beans etc) are needed to allow enough inslin to grain weight.
 

pixie1

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Saturated fats do not effect cholestral levels. Out of interest Archville why do you only eat egg white?
 

Daibell

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Hi pixie1,

It is my understanding that saturated fat increase the LDL levels or what I know of as the bad cholesterol.
I am sketchy on the egg yolk because I have read contradictory articles. Some suggest they are OK some suggest they aren't. Most researches I read about give statistics on one egg a day. I eat around 3 eggs a day, so to err on the side of not OK, I avoid the yolks. Egg whites also give me the proteins necessary for my workout.
I've read that the saturated fats you eat only contribute around 15% to your liver's output of cholesterol hence having sat fat should have very little effect. It appears to be your overall diet etc including carbs that drives the liver's output.
 

HSSS

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Hi pixie1,

It is my understanding that saturated fat increase the LDL levels or what I know of as the bad cholesterol.
I am sketchy on the egg yolk because I have read contradictory articles. Some suggest they are OK some suggest they aren't. Most researches I read about give statistics on one egg a day. I eat around 3 eggs a day, so to err on the side of not OK, I avoid the yolks. Egg whites also give me the proteins necessary for my workout.
The egg cholesterol myth was widely debunked 10 yrs ago
 
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pixie1

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Most people's experience is that says do not effect cholestral. It certainly did not effect my cholesterol levels. In fact my Doctor said he never known my blood results to be so good. Silver lining in being diabetic, you learn, that the mantra which NHS give on healthy eating, I in fact incorrect. It makes it hard when people insist carbs Is important, I just want to keep my limb.
Saturated fats are liquid form in room temperature, very difficult to vlog the arteries ere as hydrogenated fats in do
 

Bluetit1802

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Hi pixie1,

It is my understanding that saturated fat increase the LDL levels or what I know of as the bad cholesterol.
I am sketchy on the egg yolk because I have read contradictory articles. Some suggest they are OK some suggest they aren't. Most researches I read about give statistics on one egg a day. I eat around 3 eggs a day, so to err on the side of not OK, I avoid the yolks. Egg whites also give me the proteins necessary for my workout.

But all the goodness is in the yolks.

My understanding is the liver makes our cholesterol as and when it is needed. If we consume dietary cholesterol the liver simply makes a bit less.

I have 3 eggs a day on average, and eat tons of saturated fats from dairy foods. My lipids are perfect. What I don't eat are vegetable fats and seed oils. (except the rapeseed in my mayonnaise but that is compensated for by the omega 3 it contains)
 

Muneeb

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But all the goodness is in the yolks.

My understanding is the liver makes our cholesterol as and when it is needed. If we consume dietary cholesterol the liver simply makes a bit less.

I have 3 eggs a day on average, and eat tons of saturated fats from dairy foods. My lipids are perfect. What I don't eat are vegetable fats and seed oils. (except the rapeseed in my mayonnaise but that is compensated for by the omega 3 it contains)

Yes there's always a lot of conflicting info. But Dr Berg also comments on these "studies" that don't have sufficient control measures for the assessments. He has 4 eggs a day himself and has for over 30 years, he doesn't believe the risks are there for people without preexisting conditions.
 
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ianf0ster

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I think you will find that there are hundreds (possibly thousands) on here who agree that Saturated Fats are actually good (not bad) and that it is Carbs in quantities promoted by government policies which are actually bad - at least for T2 diabetics!
 

Bluetit1802

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Alright, looks like I might be in for an extended research on the egg yolks consumption!
I am T2 about 14 years and also on statins for high cholesterol. I will admit to a certain level of cholesterol-paranoia and confusion on what I should eat. Like I mentioned earlier, I chose to just abstain, because lot of the stuff I read specified eating one egg a day has not effect, but did not comment on 3 or 4!
Thank you guys for the comments, and completely apologize for the thread getting hijacked by the egg yolk discussion.


Maybe instead of extended research on egg yolks you could spend time researching statins and lipids. (Triglycerides, VLDL, LDL, HDL ). There is an excellent thread on these forums with most of the information you need. I am away from home this week with no access to my bookmarks so I can't give you any links, but @bulkbiker or @Guzzler will be able to. You say you have high cholesterol ...... but what is it? What is the breakdown of the lipids that make up the total? Did you know statins raise blood sugar levels, and have actually given non-diabetics Type 2 diabetes?
 
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bulkbiker

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Maybe instead of extended research on egg yolks you could spend time researching statins and lipids. (Triglycerides, VLDL, LDL, HDL ). There is an excellent thread on these forums with most of the information you need. I am away from home this week with no access to my bookmarks so I can't give you any links, but @bulkbiker or @Guzzler will be able to. You say you have high cholesterol ...... but what is it? What is the breakdown of the lipids that make up the total? Did you know statins raise blood sugar levels, and have actually given non-diabetics Type 2 diabetes?
I think this thread may be informative..
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/