Weightloss - too much too quickly?

[Ian in Cheltenham]

Hi! I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago (have altready posted in 'newly diagnosed'). I'm still getting my head around it and all the information (much of it contradicting) which seems to float around about diabetes.
I was told on diagnosis that by losing weight and getting fitter would put off going on meds and I've thrown myself into both. I've cut down drastically on what I use to eat and keeping carbs lowish and having modest amount of protein and more green veg. I have an apple as an occasional treat! On dagnosis I was around 20 st and have now lost 18lbs (I appreciate a lot of this may be water). My concern is that is too much too quickly - however it has a great effect on my blood sugar levels which have hovered between 5 and 5.8 over the last few days. Should I gradually move towards a 'sensible' balanced diet or stick with what I am doing? I do feel a little light headed but that could be just me being anxious about this (and life in general!), Should I be concerned about ketosis?
Ian
PS to give you an idea of what I'm eating breakfast: 2 med scrambled eggs and 2 small trimmed of fat pieces of bacon, half a food doctor pitta, Lunch: ham or other protein, dinner: stir fry and fish or chicken half a pitta with low cheese spread. All interspersed by lots of cups of tea.

 

[viviennem]

Hi, Ian in Cheltenham

Your weight loss of 18lbs is very large, but is typical of someone very overweight going on to a low-carb diet. The first time I did Atkins I weighed 20 stone, and lost 15lbs in the first 2 weeks. What an incentive to keep going! .

You'll find the weight loss will slow down - in your third and fourth weeks you will probably lose between 2lb and 4lb per week, or you may even not lose anything for a week. Don't lose heart - keep going.

The diet I use - Viv's Modified Atkins Diet - is a sticky thread at the top of the Low-carb Diet Forum under Food and Nutrition on the Board Index. It's based on - well, it almost is - the Atkins Induction phase, and while he suggests it as a two-week kick-start, I've stayed on it for 18 months, with occasional breaks for treats, birthdays, Christmas, with no ill effects whatsoever. The diet as posted gives you 20g - 30g carb per day, and it has lots of vegetables, salad etc so you get all your vitamins and minerals. No need to count anything - just eat the allowed foods.

If you want to add in extra carbs - low GI, for instance - decrease the fat as your carbs go higher.

You will go into ketosis (fat burning) which is not the same thing at all as ketoacidosis. You can buy a tub of ketostix to test your urine at any high street chemist - if they go too dark increase your carb intake a bit. If you feel ill, start vomiting and have high ketone readings on the stick - go to A&E immediately! but it has never happened to me, ever, on this diet - and I've done it twice, 18 months each time.

Not only will your blood sugars improve, but your blood pressure and cholesterol will too! I'm just about to come off BP meds, for instance - GP says I can whenever I want, as long as I visit the practice nurse every 2 weeks to have it checked.

The diet doesn't suit everyone, but if you're happy on it, it really works. Have a look at it and see what you think.

So don't worry about your initial weight loss - it's typical of going straight on to a very low carb diet, and you'll settle on a steady weight loss very soon.

Good luck!

VIv 8)

 

[pianoman]

Great advice already from Viv.

One consideration of how fast weight comes off may have to do with how much excess fat mass a person has to lose in the first place. When I started my own diet over 3 years ago -- it is still the way I eat today -- I dropped 25lbs in the first 2 months before it levelled off to a slower rate.

My diet (which simply means what I eat) is very similar to Viv's although it may not be right for you... check it out and see what you think.. we each have to find our own way. I am not concerned about naturally occurring fats, I avoid grains, sugars and starches while eating my fill of satisfying, real, whole food.

Another consideration for me was to find something that is sustainable over the long term... no point in going too "gung ho", getting burned out and potentially giving up. I am in this for a long and healthy life, so I think tortoise rather than hare

 

[wiflib]

The other thing to consider with a rapid, controlled weight loss is gall bladder pain. I don't have a link to hand but I'm sure Google would come up with it.

I went from 19st to 14 st in 6 months and ended up in A&E with intense pain. I still have my gall bladder though and intend to keep it too. No problems since and I'm now 3lbs off the 12st mark.

wiflib

 

[phoenix]

The other thing to consider with a rapid, controlled weight loss is gall bladder pain. I don't have a link to hand but I'm sure Google would come up with it.

I went from 19st to 14 st in 6 months and ended up in A&E with intense pain. I still have my gall bladder though and intend to keep it too. No problems since and I'm now 3lbs off the 12st mark.

wiflib

The possible problem with gallstones came up in several places when I was looking up something about very low calorie diets

The most common serious side effect seen with VLCDs is gallstone formation. Gallstones, which frequently develop in obese people (especially women), are even more common during rapid weight loss. The reason for this may be that rapid weight loss appears to decrease the gallbladder's ability to contract bile. But, it is unclear whether VLCDs directly cause gallstones or whether the amount of weight loss is responsible for the formation of gallstones

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/ ... ekey=42600

 

[Ian in Cheltenham]

Thanks for your responses and encouragement.

I had a call from a doctor to say my liver enzymes were up so I will perhaps slow down my weightloss (though its doing that anyway) as I read rapid weight loss can increase problems with fatty liver. It's sod's law that while trying to deal with one problem I exacerbate another! Incidentally, blood sugar levels over the last week have not got higher than 5.8 (meal + 2 hours) and often lower. So a reasonable result there.

IaN

 

[Rolf]

If you want to reduce the weight of the body more quickly than you should do some cardio exercises and also eat good quality food and drink plenty of water daily.