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LCHF diet to help you lose weight, not diabetes

@dianagrace You have highlighted a very interesting point with regard to rheumatoid arthritis,
I do not believe this post has done the LCHF diet any harm, just allowed members views,
The way you have explained how the LCHF diet helps you on this post , can only be good for all members,new or old.
Having the fear of being castigated is justified, but only from a very small minded bully type members.

I have been told I know nothing about LCHF and are only stirring things up, (if only they new)
 
Thank you @izzzi . It seems to me that this thread has gone full circle and I hope comes to a natural end, finishing on a positive note.
 
Thank you for the recommendations, sadly this is a game I have played for nearly 8 years. I gained weight (100lbs) when I was prescribed Rosiglitazone, made so much easier by being prescribed Citilapram because I was anxious about gaining weight. It's fair to say that I used to believe everything the GP told me in those days and I'm angry with myself for being so daft.
I started to lose weight when I had to stop Rosiglitazone (liver function was deteriorating), but sadly started to gain again when prescribed Gliclazide because my HbA1c was going up. I then lost weight again when I lowered my carb to about 80gms a day, I was then able to stop taking Gliclazide and Januvia and Atorvastatin and managed to lose some more. Then I went on holiday, lost another 3 kgs came back and then nothing. My weight will go up and down over a range of 6 kgs, sometimes gaining or losing as much as 2 kgs a day, so obviously fluid retention and constipation caused by taking pain killers.

This is the result of my October efforts, yes I do weight myself a lot, because I can cope emotionally with the constant ups and downs. Sadly, the numbers are in kgs. Green numbers are losing, red numbers are gaining.
I don't think upping my fluid intake is too good an idea, I can put away several pints of water as it is and that means I spend the night getting up maybe 3 or 4 times to go to the bathroom. I have recently upped my calorie intake and it's difficult to see what effect it has except I feel bloated and uncomfortable. I can't go back to carbs to increase calories because I'd end up on all the medication again and that really would be counter productive. I have tried increasing my exercise but I just end up in more pain.
The problem is that my Krebs Cycle is broken, even my GP smiles when I tell her that my metabolism is broke, because she doesn't have a clue, not that I'm blaming her, the G stands for General after all.
As for starvation mode, weight loss will slow down on very low calorie intake, but it shouldn't stop all together, sadly even in these days, people who don't eat enough just keep fading away.
I'm frustrated by the last 6 months but it makes me realise that my weight problems have always been weight problems, not eating problems. Even the psychiatrist and dietician that I was sent to had to agree with me on that, still at least that's another box ticked for my GP.
I'm going to see a Kinesiologist who has helped me in the past. Sort of mind over matter, the suggestion being that it's my mind that's preventing more loss. I'll let you now how that goes. I can fully appreciate that the vast majority of people will think I'm mad, which is fine, none of us are perfect. LOL
 
too much protein can stop you losing weight.. <70g
too little fat? are you out of the low range where your body shuts down a bit, say 1400-1800 cal
or you go hard core on newcastle at 800 cal
 
@graj0 That is so interesting, Will you have the same Kinesiologist that you last saw. Your GP also sounds great simply because she is honest with you and you make her smile.( good Doctor/Patient relationship)
You might be mad yet the nicest mad person to know.
I think taking your weight each day is quite clever, as you can easily summarize in weeks, certain days, etc; and for reference.
best of luck with the Kinesiogist.
 
jack412 said:
too much protein can stop you losing weight.. <70g
too little fat? are you out of the low range where your body shuts down a bit, say 1400-1800 cal
or you go hard core on newcastle at 800 cal
Click to expand...
Interesting points. Because I can check in my rather clever bit of software called weight by date (http://www.weightbydate.com/ - bit of advertising for them) I can see that when I have tried increasing my fat by eating more dairy and red meat, I also increase my protein well over RDA while still keeping fat below RDA (no winning). Calorie intake tends to be about a thousand but with days where I cry out for something like Ryvita or maybe some toast with my poached egg on Saturdays and the calories might go up to 1200. I'm fairly happy with quantity in that I don't feel hungry. If I go really low, I also get very hungry and that's when I most inclined to "cheat". As you can imagine, tweaking one component can be tricky without tweaking something else, not impossible though.
 
Unfortunately the Kinesiologist I saw last time (also my reflexologist) has moved to Scotland. It is the most surprising thing in that I did lose about 5kgs in a month basically by repeating almost mantra like that it's OK to have a happy healthy metabolism. I'm more than happy for people to have a good laugh, it is crazy, shame it's not working now, so I've been thinking another visit to someone else. Just in case you may not be familiar with the process, they ask questions but you say nothing, you just raise your arm and they will try to push it down and that will tell them yes or no (I forget which way round it is). I even tried to trick them and found that I couldn't move my arm, and that really is the weirdest thing that I have ever experienced.
I try not to upset my GP, because I've had some **** ones in the past, similar to some of the doctors I hear about on this and other forums. I've moved twice in 5 years without moving house and now my doctor is further away from my home than before, probably not ideal when I reach my 80s (IF?).
Izzi, you're very kind, I can only say that at my age I've learned to try and be philosophical about a lot of things. y health has been a major concern for a number of years and I might tend to get very smug that I've found a much better way of doing things, rather than follow my old doctor/dietician's advice.
The daily weight thing is something I was told not to do by dieticians, as you say, it allows me to see exactly what's going on. My weight goes up and down so much that on a weekly basis I might think it was fat going on and off. This way I know that water has a bigger part to play although fat gain/loss might be in there somewhere. I do get weighed on a machine that's supposed to sort out muscle and fat, but I'm not totally convinced.
Thanks for your wishes.
 
I would add olive oil coconut oil butter and keep your protein under 70g, RDA about 55-60g for a male, the fats stop you from being hungry. thats why people like and can do LCHF...they don't break the lock off the fridge
 
When I was first diagnosed with T2 diabetes I was told to eat between 7 portions of bread a day. At the time I was off bread, preferring crackers. 3 crackers equalled 1 portion. So that means I had to eat 21 crackers a day!!! I thought that was crackers itself!!! I put myself on a LCHF diet and lost nearly 6 stone. I no longer needed daytime insulin or Byetta. However, I was put on Gliclazide and Lantus, which have the side effect of weight gain. And, yes, this has happened. However I still keep to the same LCHF eating plan and it certainly has lowered my blood glucose readings. But we're all different and this type of diet doesn't suit everybody.
 
No but it suits a lot of us! Well done you!
 
I had a leaflet from my diabetic nurse telling me to eat bread,rice,pasta or potatoes at every meal. I have been eating these things but just a very small amount as my allowed carbs of 40 g a day. I have decided to ditch the no fat yogurts and dressing and just use normal ones as they have less sugar. Have i got the right idea now?
 

Sounds good to me.
 
I am so glad that this forum exists been very helpful. To be told you have diabetes over the phone by receptinist, one 5 minuite appointment with dn told to loose weight, take tablets and come back in 3 months with just a leaflet that has been no help at all. I felt very alone but determined to kick this thing into shape. Thanks all .
 
Welcome to the forum. I know how hard it can be. Hopefully @daisy will be along soon to give you some great information. Meanwhile ask any questions you have. I agree cutting carbs is the best way to go
 
alliebee said:
Welcome to the forum. I know how hard it can be. Hopefully @daisy will be along soon to give you some great information. Meanwhile ask any questions you have. I agree cutting carbs is the best way to go
Click to expand...

Hello airsair and welcome to the forum. Here is the information which we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you like and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 100,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
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