Can't stop losing weight

[wildrose]

Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes in Nov 2013. Sine then I have tried to control my BS with diet and exercise. Most of the time this is successful and I aim to always have a PPBS of less than 7. Most of the time I achieve this except when trying new foods out.

The thing is when I was diagnosed I wasn't overweight, actually no way near overweight, and through eating better and exercising (I was doing very little before) I have lost around 8kg in 5.5 months. I'm now boarder line under weight and still losing weight. I get around 1500 cals per day, and probably exercise away 150 and struggle to eat more calories without spiking my blood sugar.

So what I want to ask is do any of you have any recommendations on how I can maintain my weight? I think I need to get 1800 cals per day, from good sources and am struggling to work out what these good sources are. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[jack412]

I'm 110kg and sadly I can tell you how to get beefed up. off the top of my head It may be too little fat.
as a pre diabetic, how much carb can you handle at lunch and dinner to get to 8 at 1hr or 7 at 2hr? I'm guessing about 50g should be ok.
then it's maths to work out fat and protein and some meal plans to suit these 'good sources'

 

[AndBreathe]

Wildrose, I'm in the same phase as you, trying to halt weight loss, without rising blood scores or actually gaining any weight. I guess much depends on your ongoing speed of loss, as that will determine how much swing needs to happen to stop the momentum.

For me, I have started to reintroduce some foods I had stopped eating; mainly fruit, and slightly upping the carbs. By and large, I appear better able to tolerate slightly more fruit and carb these days, but I'd rather not have to eat increased carbs to maintain the status quo, so I looked towards a slight increase in protein and likewise fat. Protein will convert to glucose more readily than fat, so that has been a modest increase in portion size, I guess. I'm also eating the crackling-ish rind from pork chops again, which I had forsaken initially, in an effort to tackle elevate cholesterol.

All of that slowed the losses up, but hasn't quite stopped it, but I'm fairly close. I then added a small portion of peanuts, with my lunch, which was always a risk for me, as I can't eat too many nuts, without consequences. That addition stopped the weight loss, BUT eventually triggered the IBS styleeee symptoms, so they've had to go. I'm still considering my next attempt. I'm close, so not losing too much sleep over it.

You could try some of those tactics, or add in a fatty snack? Cheese or nuts?

I prefer not to snack, ever. 57 years of training is hard to break, when one doesn't feel the (hunger) need.........

 

[wildrose]

I'm 110kg and sadly I can tell you how to get beefed up. off the top of my head It may be too little fat.
as a pre diabetic, how much carb can you handle at lunch and dinner to get to 8 at 1hr or 7 at 2hr? I'm guessing about 50g should be ok.
then it's maths to work out fat and protein and some meal plans to suit these 'good sources'

I get around 25-30g carb per meal and that means my BS is less than 7 after 2 hours, although half of this will come something like a slice of high fiber bread and the rest from veg, legumes and fruit. I can eat a little more carb when I know that I will be able to exercise within and hour of eating but when working can't do this.

I think my problem is that I'm not eating enough in relation to my level of exercise and don't know what to do. I have to exercise to control my BS but also can't eat too much otherwise I get BS spikes.

What sort of fats do you recommend? I've already earned squirrel as a nickname due to all the nuts I eat.

 

[AndBreathe]

Well, you could tweak your carbs to facilitate a berries and cream sweet, or a cream(ier) cheese with salad, at lunch? Or adding some double cream to enrich a casserole, or sour cream into chilli or curry. Adding mayo or aioli to salad. (Homemade garlic aioli,.........mmmmmmmm)

You've got me thinking again, which is a good thing.

I'd best have a chat with the chef (OH). I'll be suggesting enriching sauces/gravy I think.

 

[wildrose]

Wildrose, I'm in the same phase as you, trying to halt weight loss, without rising blood scores or actually gaining any weight. I guess much depends on your ongoing speed of loss, as that will determine how much swing needs to happen to stop the momentum.

For me, I have started to reintroduce some foods I had stopped eating; mainly fruit, and slightly upping the carbs. By and large, I appear better able to tolerate slightly more fruit and carb these days, but I'd rather not have to eat increased carbs to maintain the status quo, so I looked towards a slight increase in protein and likewise fat. Protein will convert to glucose more readily than fat, so that has been a modest increase in portion size, I guess. I'm also eating the crackling-ish rind from pork chops again, which I had forsaken initially, in an effort to tackle elevate cholesterol.

All of that slowed the losses up, but hasn't quite stopped it, but I'm fairly close. I then added a small portion of peanuts, with my lunch, which was always a risk for me, as I can't eat too many nuts, without consequences. That addition stopped the weight loss, BUT eventually triggered the IBS styleeee symptoms, so they've had to go. I'm still considering my next attempt. I'm close, so not losing too much sleep over it.

You could try some of those tactics, or add in a fatty snack? Cheese or nuts?

I prefer not to snack, ever. 57 years of training is hard to break, when one doesn't feel the (hunger) need.........

Thank for the input. Its nice to know others are in the same boat.

Like you I reduced my fat levels due to mildly elevated cholesterol levels which are back in check but am scared to increase fats too much just in case it elevates my cholesterol again. I eat a lot of nuts and cheese in moderation, and might try increasing my cheese intake.

The thought of pork chops has got my tummy rumbling!

 

[chubbyian]

Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes in Nov 2013. Sine then I have tried to control my BS with diet and exercise. Most of the time this is successful and I aim to always have a PPBS of less than 7. Most of the time I achieve this except when trying new foods out.

The thing is when I was diagnosed I wasn't overweight, actually no way near overweight, and through eating better and exercising (I was doing very little before) I have lost around 8kg in 5.5 months. I'm now boarder line under weight and still losing weight. I get around 1500 cals per day, and probably exercise away 150 and struggle to eat more calories without spiking my blood sugar.

So what I want to ask is do any of you have any recommendations on how I can maintain my weight? I think I need to get 1800 cals per day, from good sources and am struggling to work out what these good sources are. Any ideas?

Thanks

Have you tried snacking on nuts? They are a good source of calories and wit no carbs, (as long as it is not peenuts)

 

[jack412]

fats don't increase your Cholesterol, it's carbs that does it
lots of info in the first link

30g lunch and dinner, is pretty low carb and I would be looking at the LCHF diet
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

do you use something like http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ or http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/

an easy way is to keep eating what you are eating and add 4 tablespoons of healthy fats/oils and such for about 500 cal,
this is easier than it sounds, especially if half of it is 'fat bombs'. deserts and snacks
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/low-carb-recipe-help-suggestions/783398-fat-bombs-da-bomb.html
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=fat bombs &ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=C-JoU4SzMMnC8gfLzICADQ

 

[AndBreathe]

Jack - I don't know about wildrose, but I have no interest in adding dollops of coconut oil to coffee, or the like. That doesn't feel like a good way to live like me. I'm not saying its wrong. It's just not right for me.

I am now comfortable with the fats v cholesterol arguments, but wasn't in my earlier days. As you may agree, this is a journey of increments, with every individual striving to find their personal formula.

In terms of my weight, I'm almost in balance, and am hoping to have maintained my blood scores when next tested, but along with my various scores my body has also changed in its reaction to the various factors in play. I have a feeling that although I may better understand matters I will probably always have to be mindful of required tweaks along the way.

I just hope I can maintain my motivation.

 

[jack412]

no worries AndBreathe, everyone can eat how they want to... what do you think is a good diet with 60g of main meals carbs a day?
I was answering wildrose post #6 who is losing weight
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cant-stop-losing-weight.57774/#post-536437

you need x number of calories a day, you can't be low carb and low fat. it's also questionable whether it's a good idea to load up on protein.

 

[wildrose]

Jack412 - thanks for the links. I have not heard about carbs increasing cholesterol as opposed to fats. I always thought bad fats caused high cholesterol and will look into the literature. I'm going to try adding healthy fats to each meal as you suggested and see were it gets me. My next check it 5 weeks away so I should be able to see the effects on weight, BS and cholesterol.

AndBreathe - regarding motivation, I feel the same. I'm in my mid 20s and never had a thought for diabetes or anything similar, but here I am. I wake up in the morning feeling positive and by night I worry that I'll not be able to keep the diet and exercise up for the rest of my life or worse. Yesterday I stumbled across something along the lines of 'diabetes was a wake up call and I will probably live a longer and healthier life because of it' on another forum. Made me feel better and everything in life needs constant tweaking. Its like household chores, a pain but needs to be done.

 

[jack412]

as you can't eat more than 30g of carbs before bumping against the good BG level, your choice is either meds to let you eat more carbs or use fats to make up the calorie short fall.
you may infact be in nutritional ketosis without the added fat to buffer it and using body fat. It may be the reason you are losing weight
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=nutritional ketosis&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=bP1oU-CAFMzC8gek0YDgBw

cholesterol and fat
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=cholesterol myth fat&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=UP9oU8fJMsnC8gfLzICADQ

I don't want to scare you and it isn't indicated but..
I just saw you are in your mid 20's, you need to keep an eye out for misdiagnosis and you are on the way to T1 instead. at the moment you BG is good so it isn't a worry, but keep it in mind if your BG goes up and stays up and the Dr can do special blood tests

 

[wildrose]

as you can't eat more than 30g of carbs before bumping against the good BG level, your choice is either meds to let you eat more carbs or use fats to make up the calorie short fall.
you may infact be in nutritional ketosis without the added fat to buffer it and using body fat. It may be the reason you are losing weight
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=nutritional ketosis&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=bP1oU-CAFMzC8gek0YDgBw

cholesterol and fat
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=cholesterol myth fat&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=UP9oU8fJMsnC8gfLzICADQ

I just saw you are in your mid 20's, you need to keep an eye out for misdiagnosis and you are on the way to T1 instead. at the moment you BG is good so it isn't a worry, but keep it in mind if your BG goes up and stays up and the Dr can do special blood tests

Yes, I'm keeping an eye on BS just in case it it T1. Fingers crossed it is not.

 

[jack412]

The odds are it will be fine, it was only to mention it to you and you were already aware. so it's all good.

 

[Brunneria]

If you are still looking for suggestions on raising fat, there are some things I can think of that may help, without leaving you feeling too heavy/greasy.

Avocados - on toast, in smoothies, as guacamole, in soup, baked with egg, as well as the inevitable salad

Hummus - better made yourself, because you know what's in it!

Taramasalata - again, only home made, and you can minimise the bread content

Supplement with omega 3 (and 6) oils. This may not help you put on weight, but it helps just about everything else!

Montignac has a theory (and most of his theories are borne out by my experience!) that it is neither the fat, nor the carbs which add weight. Rather it is the combination of both in a single meal. It is something to do with fat deposits only being laid down when insulin is present, and insulin is only present in enough quantities, when carbs are eaten.

So he suggests separating carb meals by at least 4 hours from fat meals. It works as a weight loss technique. So presumably it works (in reverse) as a weight GAIN technique.

Although, I would be very careful to select healthy fats (no processed, no hydrogenated, no trans fats, only good oils and butter, etc.) or you will be back in the cholesterol zone that Jack talks about.

 

[ShellyC23]

I'm having a similar problem, I've lost 3kg this year and now weigh 54kg which is underweight for my 5ft 5ins.
If I eat more it increases my BG levels and I avoid snacking in the evening as my partner needs to LOSE around 12kg. Whatever I eat he will also eat so in order to stop him gaining any more weight I'm eating less snacks, eg cheese.
Any ideas on how to get round this would be appreciated.


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[jack412]

as a t1.5, do the opposite to all the dieters, eat more carbs and wack yourself with more insulin. but make sure you are getting enough fats in your diet before you go down the carb path
re hubby, hide food around the house so you can sneak a bit when he's not looking

 

[wildrose]

I'm having a similar problem, I've lost 3kg this year and now weigh 54kg which is underweight for my 5ft 5ins.
If I eat more it increases my BG levels and I avoid snacking in the evening as my partner needs to LOSE around 12kg. Whatever I eat he will also eat so in order to stop him gaining any more weight I'm eating less snacks, eg cheese.
Any ideas on how to get round this would be appreciated.


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Bit of a late reply but I noticed that you said you avoid snacking in the evening because your partner is around. Why not try to increase your fat intake (good fats of course) during the day when your partner is not there? Obvious answer but might be your best chance to pack in some extra calories.

I seem to have stabilised on my weight and am now at 52 kg, although I thought that at 54 and 53, but fingers crossed this time. What I do is eat nuts with each of my meals and as snacks. In the morning I'll have a few Brazil nuts and a handful of walnuts. I do the same with other nuts throughout the day and snack on pistachios in between. I'm also very liberal with olive oil when cooking, even if something is grilled it is drizzled with oil.

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