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Losing the battle for low carbing

E

Ehlana

Active Member
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I have been trying very hard to low carb this week and I wondered if anyone else has had the same problems with the side effects. I am still taking my metform SR (should I be?) 2 g per day and cutting out bread, pasta, rice and supplementing them with vegetables. I have increased the amount of fat I have been eating and reduced the amount of fruit as well.

If I am perfectly honest this is making me feel terrible - I feel light headed, really bad headaches and zero energy. Is this normal and should I stick it out for a bit longer? Or should I reduce the amount of metformin I am taking and see if that helps.

All suggestions welcome - I have tried other diets without success as I suffer from PCOS as well.

Oh BTW my last HB1c last week was 6.2 and I have been struggling to get above 7 after meals with this diet.
 
Hi Ehlana

It is not unusual for people to feel like you do when first starting low carb - headaches etc, sometimes bad breath. It's like a de-tox as your body gets used to fewer carbs, and shouldn't last too long. Some people call it "atkins 'flu". Once you get through this phase - which should be very soon - you'll start feeling much better, sleeping well, and you'll get your energy back.

How much plain water are you drinking? You should try to have at least 2 litres over the course of a day, in addition to whatever else (tea, coffee etc) that you drink. This will help with the headaches etc. I'm mostly at home, so I fill a 2-litre jug first thing in the morning and drink it over the day. That way I know how much I've had.

Stick with the metformin. It doesn't cause hypos, and it should not be affecting the way you feel. I take 3 x 500mg on the plain Met every day, and have no problems with it.

Hang on in there! :D

Viv 8)
 
Ehlana said:
Oh BTW my last HB1c last week was 6.2 and I have been struggling to get above 7 after meals with this diet.
Click to expand...

That's the point though! You don't WANT to get above 7 if you can help it! Your HbA1c at 6.2 was good, but keep your post meal levels below 7 and you'll see an improvement on that.
 
Thanks for your support.

Low carbing is quite a switch for me - I tried to keep to the diet advised when I was first diagnosed and it was terrible! Low GI is ok and I did manage successfully get my levels into single figures by following it - but I struggle to lose weight and I thought that low carbing may kick start my weight loss again.

I wondered if I was eating enough really - especially fat. The only changes I have made there is to put cream in my coffee and start to use butter instead of low fat spread. It is very difficult to get your head out of the "low fat is best" brain washing when you have been heavy for a while.

Well I will keep at it and increase my snacking for a bit I think!
 
Oh and thanks for the tip about drinking more - I have a water bottle at home and I am going to bring that to work tomorrow and fill it up.
 
Have you looked at Viv's Modified Atkins Diet on the Sticky Thread section? That gives you a basic list of the foods you can eat on a diet of 25g of carb or less. If you're eating along these lines you should lose weight.

If you go for the bit of breakfast cereal or the oatcakes/crispbreads that puts your carbs up a bit. As long as you stick to the limits you should still lose weight.

Do carry on! The results should motivate you if nothing else :D

Viv 8)
 
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