Devastated and want to give up already!

[Jilly986]

Started LCHF on Monday. Weighed myself for first time today and gained a lb. The only carbs I've had have been veggies so how can this be? I felt as if I had lost weight or is this just psychological because I want this so much? I thought it was working. Now I'm sceptical because I haven't even started this 'keto flu'.
I'm 47 years old, 5"2, goal is to lose 27 lbs which isn't really that much.
Maybe LCHF isn't for me

 

[jack412]

hi, how is your bg?, don't stress on the weight, it will happen
http://authoritynutrition.com/15-reasons-not-losing-weight-on-a-low-carb-diet/

 

[fatgirl1965]

Hey, don't be so disheartened, it's been less than a week. Don't really know much about the LCHF diet but I'm sure some of the experts will be along shortly to help you!

 

[Jilly986]

hi, how is your bg?, don't stress on the weight, it will happen
http://authoritynutrition.com/15-reasons-not-losing-weight-on-a-low-carb-diet/

BG has improved significantly. That's the one thing I'm pleased about. Thanks for the link

 

[Jilly986]

BG has improved significantly. That's the one thing I'm pleased about. Thanks for the link

So now I'm really confused. I was advised to eat a lot of cheese because of the high fat content

 

[Daibell]

Hi. It's a bit early to really say how it's going. As I've posted before I never use the term LCHF as it implies stuffing yourself with fat which is not the thing to do. Just reduce the carbs as you have done and increase the fats and proteins to ensure you have enough food for energy and essential ingredients but no more than you are comfortable with. Cheese is fine but don't go mad.

 

[noblehead]

You need to keep in mind that weight can vary from day-to-day so don't beat yourself up about it Jilly.

 

[pavlosn]

Hi Jilly

A couple of suggestions for things to do to help both with weight loss and glycemic control.

Use something like myfitnesspal to keep a food diary and count calories and carbs.

When trying to lose weight it is always best to watch both calories and carbs.

If you are not doing so already consider adding or increasing physical activity such as brisk walking.

Finally please concentrate on the positive look for long term trends not for quick fixes.

You should not be looking for the latest fad diet that will let you lose some many kilograms in so many days. Most of them do not work and if they do the kilos often return when one goes off them.

You are picking up healthier habits that should serve you well long term. Just because one weighing did not show the desired result you should not be thinking of giving up.

Hang in there

Pavlos

 

[sally and james]

@Jilly986 You are "devastated" because you have been on a diet for four and a bit days and it hasn't caused major weight loss? Come on now, Jilly. How accurate are this scales of yours. I find with ours, that you can gain and lose pounds just by leaning in different directions. Also, have you ever noticed how you are a bit heavier when you are due for a "serious" visit to the loo, or have just had a good meal or a pot of tea.

Can I suggest that you don't weigh yourself at all. Forget about weight, and you may find that in a couple of months, your clothes will begin to look too big and friends will notice a change in you. And you have succeeded, you say your BG has improved "significantly". Surely this is a diet working. This is an improvement which will retain your sight/feet/kidneys, stuff the size 10 dress, or whatever you aspire to.
Sally

 

[iHs]

One of the biggest culprits with weight gain is the diameter of the dinner plate. The larger the diameter, the more food is needed to fill it.

 

[Jilly986]

Thank you for your reassurance and encouragement. I have taken the time to re-evaluate what I have been doing. I am managing to keep my blood glucose between 6.5 and 8.8 most of the time. I used to struggle to bring it down to less than 10 so that alone speaks volumes.
Also, I have been 'lost' in the minefield of information about LCHF. It seems I have just been randomly eating foods without much thought to the calories or portion sizes. Most of the time I am not hungry and have no sugar cravings so that too must be a plus. I need something more structured and have just downloaded the '30 day Ketogenic Diet Plan'. I have probably focused on those people who have lost "4lbs in the first week" for example.
I want this to be a way of life for me mot a quick fix. I want my doctor to be wide-eyed in amazement when he sees my next blood results due in November.
I apologise for possibly being over dramatic. I assumed I had lost weight because I felt like I had. The scales will not rule me!

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Also consider the accuracy of home scales. Sometimes I go for a week or two without losing any weight, then one day I'm down 2 pounds. 27 pounds may take a while to lose, which is ok. Really, at this point you should be much more concerned about lowering your blood sugar. However, you will lose weight if you cut down on the total calories. The good thing about LCHF is that if you cut the total calories you will not have hunger cravings.

 

[JTL]

Way to early to be expecting lasting results.
When you start to lose weight in a healthy manner you'll probably find youre weight starts to yo yo.Up down looking good down some more then all back on again and some more.
After about a month you're more likely to notice a downward trend.
Check your BS levels more than your scales.
The more you concentrate on that the more the weight will start to drop off.
Over I forget but about ten weeks now I think ... I've lost around sixteen pounds.

 

[JTL]

Devastated ... after three days on a diet ... might be a bit of an over reaction?

 

[lizdeluz]

Try not to worry. Stick with LCHF, eat enough saturated fat in butter, cheese, cream, full-fat Greek yoghurt to offset your much-reduced carbs intake. Above all, though, concentrate on trying to keep blood sugar levels between 5 and 7. Don't bother weighing yourself for a while: soon you'll notice your clothes are getting too big for you! Give it at least a month for this to start to happen. Try not to give up on the LCHF - it's more than likely to work for you, so put in some extra time on researching the foods you will include, and enjoy the new recipes and the fact they're going to do you good.

 

[izzzi]

Well done @Jily986 It is great that your BG levels have improved.
I am coming from a different angle regarding your weight.
We all know about adjusting what you eat to keep control of your BG levels.
However what you are worried or concerned with is meeting a a weight balance that suits you.( that is stress on its own )
Firstly ensure your scales are accurate, weigh yourself each day then take a weekly average.( you may be up one day then lower the next day etc; )
The point I am making is sharing BG readings with weight readings in a view for you to gain satisfactory results and not waiting weeks to to find out it is not the result you need.
Whatever you do make it simple and enjoyable

The strange thing for me is that Doctors and Nurses are not very helpful compared to many LCHF people on this forum, yet I am on a vegan type diet which works for me. I do not like the word high fat but it is working for so many.

 

[Tweetypie]

Hi Jilly,
I would also say that less than a week is too soon to see results. Most importantly you say your levels have improved - that's the most important thing. One thing I would like to add, is to suggest a book called the Diabetes Miracle by Diane Kress (I found out about this book from Brunneria and really wanted to try it as I was suffering from dawn phenomenom). I wish I had found this when I was first diagnosed cause I've been following it for about a week and I've seen really great results. I don't need to lose much weight, so I've been focussing on my levels and I'm very impressed. Prior to this I was following low carb high fat, which works but the principles in this book are slightly different. She talks mainly about the liver's role in diabetes and if you don't feed your body enough of the right things, your liver will intervene and actually make you gain weight - it's very interesting! One of the key things is to eat an hour within waking and an hour within sleeping and I've found this really helpful. I also learnt something really useful about alcohol. I always thought that alcohol helps with morning readings but have realised this could have been my downfall. If I have more than 1 glass (you are allowed 5 fl ounces on the plan), it actually causes dawn phenomenom. There is a piece about this in the book and it's really interesting.
Also, exercise is very important, just walking to start with.
Hope you find this helpful, look forward to reading your progress x

 

[Tweetypie]

Sorry, I have just read your profile to see you are type 1 on insulin. The book I mentioned is targeted at type 2, but I'm sure you could benefit from a lot of the principles with guidance from your doctor. I am still an advocate of LCHF so stick at it as it sounds like your doing well, don't give up and just keep finding out what works according to your levels and insulin regime.
All the best

 

[Mud Island Dweller]

l do not weigh myself do NOT weigh. Go onto amazon and look up Bodyfat Caliper. These are much better. You will get instructions with them but you pinch yourself in various places (instructions explain where and how very easy though) and do a calculation for fat content at each place. This you can do on a whenever basis it will show the IMPORTANT thing the fat content and how it is being affected.

Your weight will go up and down, if you take up exercise you will think yu are gaining but you are not muscle weighs more than fat but fat takes up more space. Also amount of water drunk and retained/peed out will also make a difference as will monthlys and food fluid content.

There problem with weight/weighing is conditioning as we have been conditioned like pavloves dogs on nhs diet. There is much better ways but there is a total obsession with weight which is causing a lot of problems including anorexia and other eating disorders. Take a look at yourself ... because your weight has gone up you are giving up on LCHF that if you do it correctly will save your life, you have already said your glucose is coming down well. If you measure your body fat then you KNOW if your low carb high fat diet is working.
I have gone from 28% body fat at xmas to 12.5% about 2 months ago when l was last measured.

Before those who wont use it and insist on weighing themselves yap on l know it is external body fat but as you won't do the internal without a scan it is the most important measurement.

 

[alliebee]

Hi Jilly. I'm Three weeks into low carbing and like you found I had put some weight on..after all the advice from these splendid people on this forum I knuckled down. Started drinking lots more water and low and behold I'm losing now . I think our bodies need a little time to adapt. I realised my protein intake was a little on the large size too...keep heart...like you my bg readings are already so much better. Good luck