Did I teach my body to behave like this?

[daisyduck]

After being diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome 2 years ago, I'm convinced that I've done this to myself.
I'm wondering if any of you have been "lifetime dieters" like me. I've followed all the advice over the years.. low fat and low calorie. I've tried the cabbage diet. slim fast. calorie counting etc etc etc.. I must have spent half my life on about 1000 cals a day! I even went vegetarian for 2 years.. and put on 2 stones ! All these diets eventually resulted in more weight gain.

For example. I methodically wrote down everything I ate over a period of 3 months, at no time did I go over 1200 calories ( the "Slimming magazine recommended" amount for me at the time )

First month .. loss of 10 lbs .. yippee!
Second month.... Stayed the same .. .. boo !
Third month ... 4 lb weight gain.... Bugga !!

Do you think we teach our bodies to survive on less food ?

I am so thankful to have discovered this forum and the wonders of LCHF. I have lost 2 stones.. still one to go but not stressing about that, and the wonder is, I can maintain this weight easily and hardly ever feel hungry. My fatty liver has gone, My cholesterol has lowered and I keep my daytime BG in the 4.5 to 7.5 range. I'm working on the overnight fasting level as that's usually my highest reading of the day. Why didn't I know about this years ago !

 

[SamCNatty]

My mother is a serial dieter, her weight has always yo-yo'ed up and down the same 20 odd Kg( 4 stone) and I always felt there was no point as without dieting I have the same figure.
I have been recently diagnosed and my mother is still pre diabetes so maybe all those diets helped her. Her mother was diagnosed T2 diabetic in her 70's a dieter with more severe weight issues and multiple health issues.
There is no crystal ball only hindsight we can pass on to the next generations

 

[chalup]

I don't think you have done this to yourself. I think you have been given the wrong information from sources you were supposed to be able to trust. My story sounds very similar to yours including gaining weight on 1200 calories per day and being accused of cheating. I have also lost my gallbladder due to extremely low fat dieting and that will cause me issues for the rest of my life. I am very glad you have found what works for you, your fasting number will lower with time and it sounds like you are doing fantastic.

 

[Brunneria]

Yup. The advice we get is soooo wrong, and we want it to work so hard... and every carb laden extra pound just makes us more desperate.

The thing is, when we (those of us who are so carb sensitive that Weight Watchers fails) see the standard advice fail, it is nearly impossible to overcome the crushing judgement of friends, family, co-workers and medical professions to turn to something like low carb higher fat. All the blather about cholesterol, fat makes you fat, eat less, move more, all calories are equal, there are 3,500 cals in a pound of fat... yada yada... nonsense all of it. But it is believed by so many, it has the weight of the 10 commandments, doesn't it?

Thank heavens for Atkins starting the slow revolution in the public eye, and for all those marvellous pioneers, like Bernstein, Noakes and Kraft. And this forum, of course.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

There is no point in beating yourself up about it and feeling guilty. We have all followed bad advice in our time but our motive was to improve our health. I am sure that when people learn what high carb diets do to them they will follow the advice to stop doing that also just as you did.

We are all learning.