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How can I increase calories while eating low carb?

miahara

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,019
Location
Tayside
Type of diabetes
Type 3c
Treatment type
Insulin
I know my situation is relatively rare in the diabetic community as most folks are wanting to avoid calorie intake and shed weight.
I on the other hand need to gain weight as I've lost a lot. Weight loss started before I was diagnosed about three years ago, it rose briefly when I started meds (gliclazide) but since then has shown a slow decline. It's now more or less bottomed at at 50 kg (just under 8 stone).
My HbA1c has been rising for the past 8 months, though about 18 months ago I was borderline 'remission'. Last Hba1c was 71 and up from 65. My current FBG tests are in double figures.
My semi-educated gut feeling is that I may be LADA or T1, but after pushing my GP into ordering GAD and C-Peptide tests, she's told me results are 'normal'. However I'm not convinced GP has much clue about diabetes and if the DSN she consulted is the one who delivered the seminar I attended when first diagnosed the opinion of that DSN is very questionable.
I have to admit that my LCHF diet over the past three months has been far too carby, largely as a result of thinking 'why the hell bother' and seeking far too many sweet treats to assuage depression and in the hope of putting on a few kilos.

My apologies for this long post, but I hope someone can come up with suggestions, as I'm rather at a loss as to what to do.

Dave
 
Sorry you are having problems. The only way to get your numbers back on track, so far as I know, is to reduce the carbs and the sweet treats.

Increase your fats and protein intake. Forget about calories.
 
You need to know the actual results of those tests. ‘Normal’just won’t cut it.

Sorry you are going through this.
I think the wrong diagnosuis happens far too often, and if you are LADA then the treatment path should be very different, and you need that information.
 
50 KGS with a rising BS level ? Something's amiss here Dave
 
Could you ask for a referral to hospital?
I am no expert, but something is clearly amiss and needs to be investigated, and your GP seems to be as functional as a confectionery kettle.
 
@miahara - Sounds like there could be a couple of things in play there.

Your low weight isn't necessarily helping you, in that you have no (weight) leeway, in terms of experimentation, but if you have been eating more carbs (in the hope og gaining weight), you may have been clouding and already complex issue with your blood numbers.

However, my take on it, in your shoes, would be to up my fats, probably quite a bit, and try dropping the carbs again, so that if calories matter to you (for some calries do impact on their weight, whereas others find on an LC diet, caloric considerations are less important, aside from getting enough of the blighters!).

I'd also, urgently, be getting a hold of the GAD and C-Peptide test results. "Normal" and "fine" don't cut it with me. When that is said to me, I just hear the words, "Trust me, I'm a Doctor" in my head, but as you say, unless your GP has sought specialist advice, she may be making a blunt judgement, based on the Lab's assessment. The Lab's assessment can only be based on that signle sample, without any of the surrounding context.

Finally, I would also be asking for a specialist referral, and if my GP resisted that on the NHS, I would ask her for a private referral - especially is the "normal" results transpire to be towards the edges of "normality".

A private referral to an Endo doesn't have to mean remortgaging the farm. I have done this (albeit not for a diabetes related issue), where my insurers declared the issue I had/have to be diabets related (despite my records having been marked as Diabetes Resolved for around 3 years at that point - Grrrrr), and the Endo was pretty straightforward in askining if I was insured for the visit or self-funding.

On declaring the self-funding, the Endo wrote to my GP instructing a whole list of blood tests (like 30) he wanted done. I then saw him a couple of weeks later to discuss the results. The initial consultation was around £250, and the follow up around £150, and from there, her asked my GP to refer me to him, specifically, on the NHS.

In your shoes, I would likely consider this money well spent.

I doubt a specialist Endo would even attempt to tell you how to put on weight, as that's noit usually their specialist bag, but it could help you get to the bottom of your type and therefore clarify your treatment options better.

If it transpired you remain a T2, then there is the postential that starting some meds, know to encourage weight gain, in some, might be of benefot to you, even if only over the shorter term.

In the meantime, have you had plenty of general checks, to include things like your general health, and thyroid function? A dodgy thyroid can cause havoc with the metabolism. When my Mother's went a bit hyper, she was like the disappearing woman!

Good luck with it all.
 
When my daughter had a HbA1c done several months ago she was told over the phone results normal when recently she actually got a look at the figures they where 42 in the pre-diabetes range don't trust it when the vague term normal is used get the figures ask for a print out and decide what's best to do based on reliable data.
 
The problem is even when they give you the figures for your GAD and C Peptide tests, the reference ranges only indicate 'normal' or 'abnormal'. Nobody seems able to explain anything beyond that and I don't even know if they can. I can look at my C Peptide number and I can see it sits towards the lower end of normal and the Consultant says 'You're still producing insulin, who knows exactly how much'. My point is, even if Miahara gets the actual numbers, will he be any the wiser? It's a bit like the other blood test results, they can fall within 'normal' but you sit there wondering why it's at the lower end one month and the higher end the next and somewhere inbetween the next.
 

In my experience (OK, not with these specific tests), there is usually still an assay norm, even if it is pretty vague, less than or more than. There simply has to be a threashold, whether not expressed to Miahara, else what's the point of the tes, if there is no metric against which to judge normality or otherwise.

If the Doc doesn't know the range, she can surely find it out. Also in my personal experience, often the medics get far more context and even test (results) than they requested, or feed back to us. I found this out when I was challenging some antibody and hormone results for myself.
 
Hi @miahara

I am in the same position as you with weight loss, my problem being how to sustain not lose. On diagnosis I was 8 stone 3ibs which is well within the healthy parameters. When I began eating low carb the weight began to fall off me at a worrying rate and within about a month to six weeks I was 7 stone 6ibs. I just needed to eat a lot, and I mean a lot of natural fat! At first I was worried that I would push my cholesterol up (already a bit high). But as you can see from the results below it is now very low despite the increase in fat. Everyday I make sure I have the following - very thick grass fed butter on low carb toast, very thick double cream on low carb berries with chocolate 'granola' which contains pumpkin and sunflower seeds and almonds-all high in fat I try and eat olives with lunch and or full fat pate, sometimes avocados. I'm also a big fan of eggs, cheese, cream cheese and high percentage chocolate. Once I'd switched the weight loss stopped and now hovers around 7stone 10lbs. It takes a lot of planning to make sure I have all there things in, and if I drop a few pounds if I don't keep the high fat bit up for a couple of days.

My main mistake was not to realise that if the calories from cutting carbs are reduced you have to replace them with something! Feel a lot better on this type of diet. Why not join the thread What have you eaten today? in Food and Nutrition/ Low Carb Diet Forum, which is full of recipe ideas as well as what other site members eat ?

Good luck! (sorry if I'm preaching to the converted)!
 
I am similar a skinny type 2 and I eat a similar menu but I add full fat yoghurt double cream lots of nuts and avocados every day,butter on all my veg .I enjoy my food and find this way of eating becomes second nature .I also enjoy a glass or 2 of red wine at weekend
Carol
 
My sincere thanks to ALL who have taken the time to reply you've provided some useful advice and comments.
My plans at present are to get back onto LCHF properly and stop indulging in the odd sweet treat as I've been indulging far too often recently. I'll give the extra dose of gliclazide another month to see if it is starting to help and then go to see my GP armed with a whole heap of questions that have been suggested in your replies.
Thanks again to you all.

Dave
 
Hi. It sounds like you may well be LADA. My c-peptide tests done privately showed I was 1.19 in a 'normal' range 1.1 to 4.4. Now a GP might say I was in the normal range when it's obvious I was right down the bottom and since my injected insulin needs have increased in recent years I would now be below the normal range. So, yes, get your actual results. Many medics assume GAD tests have to be positive to prove T1 but that just isn't true and even NICE indicates that in their diabetes guidelines.
 
Hi @miahara - Dave

In addition to @Carty’s good suggestions, I also eat these...

Add 1 tbsp olive oil (120 cals) or mayonnaise (90 cals) wherever possible (I avoid commercial salad dressings as they often include sugar)

Olives (if you enjoy the taste) easily 100 cals a portion

Peanut butter or other nut butters (90 cals for each tbsp)

Boursin or similar soft cheese (about 70 cals tbsp)

The problem with the last two is what to serve with - cucumber slices doesn’t cut it for me. My current favourite is GG Scandinavian Crispbread (from H&B or Amazon) at 2.9g carbs per cracker, plus another 31 cals.

In addition, at this time of year especially, there are plenty of interesting cheeses to choose. (I’m not a big fan of cheese, but where I can, I’ll grate some cheddar and melt it into my food for another 80 cals or so.)

Enjoy and Happy Christmas
 
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