Becoming a little obsessed

[ianf0ster]

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After my diagnosis, I thought that if I don't have health, then I've got nothing. The low-carb, ketogenic way of eating may well kill me, as some people say, but I'll die healthy, rather than live a fat, unhealthy life with all the complications that diabetes can bring.

I've been a bit obsessive about my weight loss. If I could count on losing 2lbs a week, I could at least know where I'd be by Christmas, or by next June. But it seems to be in the lap of the gods. Another thing I was a bit obsessive about was eating, or not eating. I can easily go from 7pm one night till midday the next day without being remotely hungry. Is this ketosis, I'd wonder? I did get some ketostix but they don't seem to tell me anything. And I did briefly toy with the idea of a blood ketone meter, but given my record at wasting blood glucose strips that would be prove to be quite expensive.

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Just how do those 'some people' tell you that eating low carb/ketogenic will kill you I wonder?
I would expect that most of them will say that it will make you fatter than before for a start - well that's already proved false, hasn't it?
Then they might say your Cholesterol will go through the roof. which it's unlikely to, since you aren't a lean Type 2 (who are most likely to have a rise in LDL in addition to the comforting rise in HDL and drop in triglycerides).
Or perhaps they will mention 'rabbit starvation' because of eating too much protein - but that only applies if you don't eat fat in addition to eating low/no carb.

Be confident that you know more about what suit's your body than the critics do!

Measuring ketones with dip sticks only told me that I may be in very mild ketosis. But later I heard that by that point I was probably already fairly well fat adapted and so using the ketones efficiently, and so there weren't excess ketones being excreted from my body to be detected.

So long as you are losing weight(even if less than 1lb per week) don't be concerned. You really don't want the problems which come with trying (or succeeding) in losing it too fast:
Reduced Metabolic Rate (= starvation mode), dietary rebound, loose skin, blurred vision due to large fast blood glucose changes in your eyes !
The NHS and health services in most countries advise losing weight sustainably at a rate of between around 1lb to 2lbs per week for a reason. They get many things wrong, but on some things about weight loss they are actually correct.

 

[IanBish]

Just how do those 'some people' tell you that eating low carb/ketogenic will kill you I wonder?

Be confident that you know more about what suit's your body than the critics do!

So long as you are losing weight(even if less than 1lb per week) don't be concerned. You really don't want the problems which come with trying (or succeeding) in losing it too fast:
Reduced Metabolic Rate (= starvation mode), dietary rebound, loose skin, blurred vision due to large fast blood glucose changes in your eyes !
The NHS and health services in most countries advise losing weight sustainably at a rate of between around 1lb to 2lbs per week for a reason. They get many things wrong, but on some things about weight loss they are actually correct.

The dreaded YouTube influencers mainly. For every video extolling the virtues of a low carb/ketogenic diet, there seems to be one saying that saturated fat will clog your arteries, too much protein will kill your kidneys, and eating low carb will cause your body to eat your muscles and you'll waste away.

I've averaged 1-2lbs per week, and I know that's healthy. I've had none of the things that you mention. So for now, I'll just carry on, listening to my body.

 

[carol43]

I just ordered some XL shirts, which was a lot easier that ordering the CGM. I was wearing XXXL shirts, now wearing XXL, so hopefully the XLs will fit me in a couple of weeks. I'll let the forum know how I get on with said CGM.

Thanks to you both for the encouragement. For lunch I had corned beef and mackerel, so I won't test that. And I feel that the scales will be kind to me tomorrow. So that's two things less to obsess about.

When I was losing weight, 5 stone, I found that charity shops were the best bet rather than keep buying new clothes that will be too big in future.

 

[IanBish]

When I was losing weight, 5 stone, I found that charity shops were the best bet rather than keep buying new clothes that will be too big in future.

I've ordered them now (they weren't expensive). But that's a good point.

 

[Paul_]

If I could count on losing 2lbs a week, I could at least know where I'd be by Christmas, or by next June.

It's important to try not to compare yourself to others, everyone has different factors influencing weight loss. Take me for example, yes I've had some significant losses, but my starting point in the journey was from a position of having an entire other person's weight to lose and an entirely sedentary life. I was literally twice as heavy as my ideal weight, so when this extent of "abnormal" excess weight is present, it's actually somewhat easier to lose weight to start with - providing you can maintain the diet and exercise needed.

The 1-2lbs a week you're losing is a great rate to lose weight and most importantly, as Ian pointed out, is a healthy rate that avoids many unwanted complications.

The dreaded YouTube influencers mainly. For every video extolling the virtues of a low carb/ketogenic diet, there seems to be one saying that saturated fat will clog your arteries, too much protein will kill your kidneys, and eating low carb will cause your body to eat your muscles and you'll waste away.

This is the main reason this forum jumped out at me. No one here ever prescribes or diagnoses, everyone approaches their posts from a "I'm definitely not a doctor" persepective. It's refreshing.

When I started looking for an alternative to NHS Eat Well, I googled "diabetes remission". I quickly found myself disappearing down the YouTube and Reddit rabbit holes, with every rando going offering their "expert" opinion, and all selling the dream of whatever their particular agenda is. Worse still, they oversell potential benefits and talk down alternatives without any scientific basis to do so, all to get ad-click revenue and likes, so those in need end up disillusioned. Everyone seems to think they're a doctor on these platforms. They're poisonous.

There isn't a perfect diet. We've had a million different scientific takes on what constitutes a healthy diet, or what we should or shouldn't eat, in the last 50 years. If the experts with PhD qualifications aren't sure and can't agree, you can bet your life that some halfwit on YouTube or Reddit definitely doesn't know - no matter how much they insist they do.

 

[IanBish]

It's important to try not to compare yourself to others, everyone has different factors influencing weight loss.

The 1-2lbs a week you're losing is a great rate to lose weight and most importantly, as Ian pointed out, is a healthy rate that avoids many unwanted complications.

Yes, I get that. We're all different with different physiologies and different metabolisms. I lost 2.5lbs this week, but that's above average for me.

I quickly found myself disappearing down the YouTube and Reddit rabbit holes, with every rando going offering their "expert" opinion, and all selling the dream of whatever their particular agenda is. Worse still, they oversell potential benefits and talk down alternatives without any scientific basis to do so, all to get ad-click revenue and likes, so those in need end up disillusioned. Everyone seems to think they're a doctor on these platforms. They're poisonous.

I try not to go down the rabbit hole. I tend to listen to Dr Sarah Hallberg (RIP), Dr David Unwin, Dr Ken Berry and Dr Ben Bickman, among a few others. They give me a bit of inspiration when I'm wobbling a bit.