Feel as if I have messed my body up losing weight too fast

[LittleGreyCat]

hi littlegreycat,

I am ending up having eggs for breakfast almost every day even though I don't really want to but I can't seem to have force myself to have anything different. I have also started having weetabix first thing around 7.00 am. I am forcing myself to eat all the carb stuff to keep the calories up but I still don't think it is enough and I'm sure I'm doing myself real harm.

Today I had around 7 am 2 weetabix with green milk

Around 11
Linseed bread with chicken and low fat Mayo
Linseed bread with ham salad
Piece of melon
Low fat yogurt

5pm
2 salmon , 6 small potatoes and mixed bean salad

I am also considering having spaghetti bolognaise with some wholewheat pasta to give me more calories tonight.

What else can I make myself eat
Seems like everything fat that I eat is going on my stomach but coming off my legs. I'm definitely not eating a balanced diet but don't know what I am doing.

You are obviously aware that the food you list is nowhere near LCHF.
You seem to be nearer to the Eatwell Plate with loads of "healthy" carbs.
Others have found that this can increase body fat and give poor blood glucose readings, although every one is different.
What you list seems like a classical weight loss diet for a non-diabetic.

You don't list many of the mainstays of LCHF and if you find yourself incapable of increasing your fats then getting to 80% of your calories from fats sounds a hard task. You may just be unsuited to the LCHF way of eating. Others have found different ways of eating which have worked for them.

As already mentioned, why the low fat mayo? Full fat mayo is a simple thing to use to add more fats. Double cream with your weetabix instead of green milk would also increase your fats. Why the low fat yoghurt? Usually filled with sugars to maintain flavour. You seem to still be eating "diet" foods when LCHF is all about non-diet full fat natural foods. Are you still thinking you are on a diet instead of a different way of eating?

You talk about forcing yourself to eat carbs, ask what else you can make yourself eat. Most people have to focus on stopping themselves from eating foods. So you probably need to address why you don't want to eat carbs or fats. Eating more of almost anything will increase your calories.

What did I eat yesterday?

"Breakfast" was a large cup of strong coffee with a big lump of butter and a lot of double cream.

Brunch was 3 large eggs scrambled in sausage fat (left over from cooking sausages) and a large fried tomato.

Evening meal from the barbie was steak and mixed grilled vegetables. Courgette, yellow pepper, red onion, baby tomatoes, mushrooms.

Desert was fresh blueberries with full fat live natural yoghurt.

Not a purist 80/15/5 mix but heavy on the fats and light on the carbs. Hope this gives you something to compare.

Brunch is often a fry up. 2 eggs, 2 rashers bacon, large tomato, mushrooms. Or a 3 egg omelette with grated full fat mature cheddar. Cooked in a mix of olive oil and butter.

Evening meals are usually chicken, steak or other protein with vegetables.

Works for me but may not work for you.

You still seem to be hung up on eating carbohydrates to increase your weight because you are losing muscle mass. Doing this trades muscle for fat stores which seems the opposite of what you really want. Try focussing on body composition, perhaps, instead of total weight?

Blood pressure; stress and anxiety can raise your blood pressure. Sometimes this is just when it is measured if you are anxious about the result. So raised BP may be a side effect of your obvious worries about your eating and not about the food.

What is your current weight and BMI?
Last time you mentioned it you were borderline overweight.
Has it dropped below the midpoint of "normal"?
The time to start having real concerns is probably when you get close to the "underweight" boundary.
Please remember that when you lose a lot of fat quickly your body shape changes radically and you will look quite different in a lot of areas.
I had to give away most of my favourite clothes when my weight dropped below 12.5 stone because my arms and legs were skinny and my waist and neck measurements dropped.
Went from 38" waist trousers to 34" waist.
XL tops to medium.
42/44" chest to 38/40".

Have you considered where your body naturally stores fat?
Some people store it all over, some mainly in the thighs and buttocks, some mainly around the waist.

I thought I had big, manly, muscular arms. Turns out it was probably mostly fat. I can still lift stuff.

Best of luck!

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Oh, forgot to say.

You are recently diagnosed and still thrashing around trying to make sense of everything.

THIS IS PERFECTLY NORMAL!

It takes most people 6-12 months just to get their heads around what has happened and how to cope. Took me considerably longer.

 

[JRTwalker]

I really can't face eating any more fat, I'm already pretty certain I have messed up my arteries (blood pressure now above 150/90 whereas in January it was 130/80) from eating more carbs, butter and meats and nuts cheese etc to try and gain weight. I'm actually putting more fat on my stomach and losing it on the tops of my legs. I did have nice big footballers thighs but they are dissolving into skinny things that are getting weaker all the time. I will get to the gym tomorrow and start with the resistance training as suggested and hopefully get a grip of what's happening to me.

I have read your thread with much interest and sincerely hope that you can get some answers to the challenges you are facing. I know we are all different and respond differently to trying to tackle BG levels but I would have to say that you seem to have things happening that are not in my non-clinical opinion, directly related to LCHF. I would also endorse much of the advice given so far from others on this thread.
In terms of achieving rapid reduction in BG/HbA1c and weight, I think my numbers show a far more dramatic change in short time yet I don't seem to have encountered too many issues so far. (HbA1c was 100 in Oct16 and then 37 three months later - weight loss 38kg so far since Oct16).
All I have done is to remove as much Carbohydrate from my diet as is reasonably possible (I would say I consume around 40g per day) and to balance with more eggs, nuts, fish, chicken, yogurt etc but without deliberately seeking higher fats.
I have been lucky so far and tried hard not to allow my condition to control me or the lifestyle I lead.
In terms of muscle loss - yes I have felt there has been some in my upper body but maybe I didn't have great muscle content anyway but it was masked by the fat I've now lost? My lower body is more defined than before but here I am benefiting from 1hrs exercise per day from power walking and now some cycling added.
Is my metabolism harmed? Well yes I think it was already damaged from the years of yo-yo dieting on the eat well plan where I've trained my body over the years to survive on less daily calories than I should have and led a sedentary lifestyle. I wouldn't say that LCHF diet has made things any worse and if I can with introducing more protein & exercise I would want to repair this if possible without increasing weight or BG.
My only side effect I've seen is some fatigue - to be expected I would think but I am interested in learning what links T2DB with Fibromyalgia Syndrome because I would probably tick some of the boxes through self-diagnosis - always dangerous thing to do I know.
Good luck and please keep posting!

Edit - and btw - my blood pressure and cholesterol have similarly reduced within normal range so don't assume that all fats will clog your arteries!

 

[lindisfel]

I now understand why my specialist called lchf a fad diet. He means a diet not compatible for some nor sanctioned by the nhs?

It is not a fad diet for some of us Ickyhun. Those of us who have Reactive Hypoglyceamia have no option but maintain a low carb good fats diet. I don't think the guy who started this thread has ever had a balanced low carb good fats diet from his comments on food intake, he obviously is lacking nutrients, most probably potassium.
regards Derek

 

[lindisfel]

@determined45yearold i read this entire thread and joined this group to reply specifically to you. I'm really sorry for what you're experiencing. On top of that it's obvious that the other members mean well but don't understand what you're experiencing.

I found this thread because I've had a similar experience on a very low carb diet to get some fast fat loss and to reign in my ha1c levels. I accomplished both goals by losing 13lbs and getting my Ha1c levels below pre-diabetic levels.

However, I've also been dealing with some nasty side effects. High anxiety levels like I'm "on" something, heart palpitations that have lead to sleepless nights and an intolerance for exercise that raises my heart rate to much (approaching anaerobic levels). Before all this recent nonsense, I've been working out hard for The past 24 years or so.

Went to the doctor and he told me something similar t what you were told about anxiety. So I get where you're at.

I've been able to reign in and reverse many of the symptoms but I'm still having issues returning to exercise. Even a 30-45 minute walk can bring on the palpitations again.

First thing I want to tell you is that low-carb, high-fat diets aren't for everyone. There are plenty of people who have ended up with reactions like ours--heart palpitations, high blood pressure, anxiety, panic attacks, lightheadeness, etc. Just google low carb Keto heart palpitations and many stories come up.

I'm going to share what I did to reverse things but I also want to say that I'm not a doctor so do your due diligence and listen to your body if something doesn't feel right. I do have a degree in biology, have been in the fitness industry for over 18 years and host a podcast where I speak to medical doctors, nutritionists, etc on a regular basis. Unfortunately, medical and nutrition professionals well versed in this stuff are difficult to find as I've been actively searching.

First thing is that you gotta stop this diet. I'm hypothesizing that your magnesium and potassium levels may be too low and your sodium may be too high. That may be the cause of the high blood pressure. Tingling in your extremities is a sign of hypokalemia (low potassium). Did you have your blood and urine electrolytes checked? I would experiment with taking an electrolyte replacement supplement as that may make you feel better right away. Just watch the sodium levels as high sodium intake may make your blood pressure worse. Keep tracking your blood pressure to see how you respond. Lyteshow or salt stick would be two examples of electrolyte replacements. That would be a relatively safe option to see if it helps. If you drink plain water it will just go right through you potentially even making the problem worse

Another important thing to mention is that low carbohydrate intake can raise cortisol (stress hormone) levels. That may be at work here as well. I would slowly start adding in carbs like potatoes and sweet potatoes (good sources of postassium) and focus on eating plenty of green leafy vegetables (good sources of magnesium). Even if you started eating 150-200 g carbs per day , that's still on the low side. Just start slowly.

I know that's heresy to say these days -- especially for diabetics. But the most current research suggests that diabetes is caused by overeating--and there's nothing magical about whole food carbs that causes diabetes. It's eating too many calories and behaving too much body fat.

Low carb diets are known to cause a diuretic effect I.e. increased urine production and loss of water. The effect is called the naturiesis of fasting. This can cause electrolyte imbalances like I mentioned above and dehydration. Dehydration is another factor that increases cortisol--more anxiety and feeling terrible. So when you start eating carbs again you will start to reverse this effect.

I would also make sure you're eating enough protein. You say that you're losing muscle. That's definitely not a good thing. Shooting for 0.8g per lb or 1.7g per kg every day will help stop that. Getting some Greek yogurt will help you get more potassium in naturally.

As far as managing your diabetes, which how I h you eat, I would recommend finding a doctor who specializes in treating diabetes with diet. What I can tell you to do is to is to try eating 12 calories per lb (or 26 calories per kg I believe).

Then figure out how much protein you're going to eat. Protein is 4 calories per gram and as I mentioned above, shoot for 1.7g per kg per day.

Then bump up your carbs to around 150-200g per day--which is still on the low side. Carbs are 4 calories per gram.

So after you have your protein per day and carbs per day, the remaining calories will come from fat. Getting your fat mostly from mono-unsaturated sources like avocados and olive oil as well as nuts and seeds is best. But having some naturally occurring saturated fat is ok too.

So what I've given you is a blueprint to eat a more sane and balanced diet that will help you to start reverse some of the symptoms you're feeling.

And find a doctor who understands the situation that you're in and won't resort to intellectual laziness and chalk it up to anxiety.

I hope this was helpful and I hope you feel better. I'm in reaching out to some very smart doctors and nutrition experts who may be able to shed more light. When I learn more I'll post again.

The problem with your advice is that this guy needs a one to one with a guru he trusts. You have advised to increase carbs! He gets up at 7am and has two weetibix when he already has probably had a liver dump! Now what will that do to his B.G? Weetibix is just just sugar in disguise! The way things are going if he cannot get a handle on extremes he will finish up on insulin and thats not a get out jail free card in T2D! regards D.

 

[lindisfel]

Hi phonic, you seem to have missed the word "probably" ! And have skated over the recommendations from of the sports expert, for Determined 45yearold to eat more than 200 grams of carb/day. Most T2D's who don't want to be locked into meds would find that difficult. D

How do you know he is suffering from morning highs or had a liver dump that put him well out of range(We all have liver dumps to keep blood sugar from going too low)? Why would he finish up on insulin? At the start Type 2s and pre-diabetics are producing way too much due to increasing insulin resistance, therefore the focus should be on reversing the resistance so the insulin can work better.

Two weetabix is only 26g of carbohydrate(even though I would not recommend or eat it, as it's processed and not natural), so any issue with high after meal readings could be resolved quickly by exercising for 12-20 minutes 1 hour after eating to increase insulin sensitivity and mop up any excess glucose. But it's not an overnight fix, and takes a lot of dedication, and commitment in order to see results.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Usual rider that what works for one person may not work for everyone.

For example some T2s still have a fully functioning pancreas and reversing insulin resistance can reverse diabetes.

Others may have a partially functioning pancreas and so will always need to manage their carbohydrate intake.

Speaking as a T2 who is six foot tall and around 12 stone in weight, just losing fat isn't always a magic cure.

 

[bulkbiker]

I was never aiming to cut out carbohydrates, as that would lead to nutrition deficiency

All those "essential" carbs eh?

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Yes, this week I’m testing myself again as I did over Christmas to see if my body can cope with my upcoming holiday. Had 82g carbs for breakfast and got 5.0mmol. Yesterday was the highest of the week, at about 300g, and got 4.5 this morning. Yesterday was 4.7. I guess I’m ready for my holiday.

One thing I’ve noticed switching from low to high carb is that the body does not like the sudden increase, and takes about 2-3 days to fully adjust, and the reason why you should never have a glucose tolerance test when on low carb, as the glucose reading will be much higher than normal and give a false result.

This could be the reason why some people think they have messed their body up or diabetes is progressing when doing very low carb for a while and then eating a higher carb meal and seeing a much higher reading than they had with the same meal before the diet change.

I think the point being made is that there are no essential nutrients in carbohydrates.

It may be essential to your personal enjoyment to be able to eat carbohydrates when on holiday, but your body doesn't need them to stay healthy.

 

[Brunneria]

So eating fruit and vegetables are of no nutritional value?

Fruit and vegetables have lots of nutrition (vitamins and minerals), but the carbohydrates they contain are not essential.
A human can survive indefinitely and healthily with no carbs in their diet.
They do need minerals and vitamins, and they may get them from fruit and vegetables, but they don't need the carbs that come along with the minerals and vitamins.

 

[Vidgren]

Lchf is not for everyone. My wife who is bipolar gets depressed eating lchf. Has tried it two times with the same result. She is not diabetic or anything just wanting to lose some weight. Low cal is working better for her.

Not saying you are bipolar but it can mess with your head also.

For me lchf works great.