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Low carb isn't working?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MrsA20
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AloeSvea said:
That reply was a cluster-muck up! And I can't fix it, not for want of trying. So my reply is imbedded in the quote. I always what caused those strange entries! Now I know.
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Please delete your post and try again. I am NOT happy at having your words appear to be mine.
 
AloeSvea said:
That reply was a cluster-muck up! And I can't fix it, not for want of trying. So my reply is imbedded in the quote. I always what caused those strange entries! Now I know.
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Go to edit. Delete the words “quote” at either end along with their square brackets and anything inside them.
@AloeSvea
 
JoKalsbeek said:
I have PCOS, so my hormones are a mess and have been since I first started ovulating. Just mentioned it because I know some have trouble, (and not just with weight either) and sometimes, a little HRT helps. *shrug*
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and you do not have to justify it to ANYONE. It really annoys me when people preach to others who may be suffering in an entirely different way to them and may require medication for it. Until you have walked in another's shoes, don't judge. Jo, if you need it you take it. x

Edited to add, if a man started telling us whether we 'needed' HRT or not we'd come down on him like a ton of bricks, I feel the same when another woman does it who just because THEY haven't taken medication seems to feel it's a negative when a woman does. My sister suffered terribly following a hysterectomy and she struggled for months & months with depression and all sorts, she tried HRT and wham, she was back to her normal self. She is a 'only takes medicine when she absolutely needs it' type so she did feel as if she'd failed in some way. Comments from others made her feel so much worse which is why I have a real dislike for judgement. x
 
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Trying to be fair to @AloeSvea i didn’t read it as preaching. More stating that peri and menopause are natural events not sickness/illness/medical conditions in and of themselves

They may or may not come along with symptoms and complications that are self manageable or that need medical assistance. And that self care might well involve a change of diet.

A bit like pregnancy. A natural state that can be straight forward or more complex.
 
lucylocket61 said:
Please delete your post and try again. I am NOT happy at having your words appear to be mine.
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Ha! Thanks for that lucky - bizarrely I didn't understand the 'delete' function - I must have been way more tired than I thought. (I tried to edit it many times and it didn't workI 'Delete' - naturally -worked!) will try again for a makes sense and neat and tidy reply...
 

It more depends on your point of view on medication and the taking of synthetic hormones, perhaps?

I have a non-medication preference, and perspective. Chacun a son gout/Each to his own, and all that.

And diabetes - all the kinds of diabetes - is a complex disease. And our food environments - very complex indeed.

I had polycystic ovaries, and I got type two, so not affected by hormonal imbalance and a very fat gut? Heck no! All I need to do is look at a slice of conventional bread or heaven help me - cake - and I put on fat around my middle, like many many type twos. Even normal weighted I have a big waist and it is extremely sensitive to what I am eating.

Since I changed my diet overnight on diagnosis I have never looked back. I didn't know I was lowering my carbs at first, and totally changing the fats, but that is what I was doing. And - the whole-food 'thing' of course.

What I was and am saying is - the menopause is a natural hormone change, and perimenopause a natural state of hormone fluctuation. It is not a medical condition. There is something that makes many women post menopause hang on to fat storage on their bodies more strongly - Mother Nature may have had a reason for it? I have no idea what is the cause. It may just be as simple as we are past our reproductive stage of life our metabolism slows down and weight gain - on high carbs and bad fats - is practically inevitable?

You do not have a metabolic disease because you are a woman in the first place! It's not about having a woman's hormones. It's about what is causing the metabolic chaos - the food and drink when it comes to insulin resistance based type two. (Is my way of looking at it.)
 
Hi @AloeSvea

I have no problem with your comments about menopause being perfectly normal for half the population, but I always react with exasperation when I see someone saying this
AloeSvea said:

1. Harder to do does not mean you can't do it! There are plenty of slender or normal weighted older women, and I am one, since going low-carb.
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I am genuinely delighted that you have found low carb to work so well for you. Including weight loss and blood glucose control and all the wonderful goodies that a whole range of men and women get from low carbing.
That it brilliant. It is life changing. Such a wonderful thing.

Trouble is, the moment people start announcing absolutes like you did in the quoted text above, they actually do themselves and low carbing a terrible disservice.

No, it isn’t easy for everyone.
No, it doesn’t automatically lead to weight loss.
No it doesn’t guarantee that all menopausal women can go skipping off into a lean, fit old age.

The reality is that it works that way for a lot of people - but not everyone.
It is often harder for women than men for a lot of reasons, sometimes to do with muscle mass and fat mass ratios, sometimes due to a variety of hormone issues not just menopause.

Personally, I am absolutely delighted that @MrsA20 is losing weight, and I am really rooting for that to continue, especially if she irons out any beginner’s wrinkles in her low carbing. I hope it continues, and that she achieves both excellent bg control and loss of all the weight she wishes to lose.

But I firmly believe that telling anyone that something is definitely going to work for them if they work hard enough at it, without knowing their full medical history is very inappropriate.
 
Thank you for saying this.
 
I'm another who finds absolutes unhelpful. The human body is a very complex thing and what works for one person may not work for another and in particular may not work the same way for another.

What I like particularly about this forum is the help and support that is generally given to everyone. Another thing I like is the posts from people who don't have that 'magic fix' while low carb ing- by which I mean they either haven't lost all the weight they would like, haven't felt hugely energetic or still struggle with the desire for sweet things. There are several people whose posts I always read because of these factors. They are so amazing because they continue with low carb or keto despite some of these factors. They have helped me a lot particularly when I started. they inspire me greatly.

I have a lot more weight to lose- but am aware that I may not lose it all I may never be a 'normally weighted older woman' and that is okay. My first priority is my blood sugar levels and after that my fitness and after that my weight. Does that mean I wouldn't like some magic fix - no. I've needed hormone replacement at the start of my menopause due to mental health issues. I've been on anti- depressants also at different times. I am just grateful we live in a world were these are available. I'm also happy to live in a world with doctors and surgeons.

We are all here to help ourselves and each other to do the best we can. And the best we can is actually pretty amazing- we have many people here who have done what medical science thought was not possible- type 2 doesn't have to be progressive. We have some amazing people giving support and advice to type 1s- generally this site shows the best of humanity

@MrsA2 - good luck on your journey and stick around. We can all learn from each other.
 
VashtiB said:
I've needed hormone replacement at the start of my menopause due to mental health issues.
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Thank you for mentioning this. I feel the effects of menopause on mental health are not highlighted enough.
 
I'm back again after buying a monitor. Only 4 days in to using it so far but am really pleased to say my highest has been 7.2 and my lowest 5.2 with an average of 6.1
Was really interested to try a small glass of white wine tonight to find my before dinner was 6.0 and 2 hours after was 5.2!!! I will be very interested to see tomorrow's waking one.

I didn't eat any oats for the first 3 days but tried a half portion this morning. Before breakfast was 5.2 and 2 hours after was 7.2. In those 2 hours I had done an hour of moderate yoga as well.

But I'm still not losing weight.. today I ate:
Breakfast 15g of oats with half apple and 50g of Greek full fat yoghurt made as overnight oats
Lunch salad of lettuce cucumber 4 cherry toms, small I piece of leftover vegetable frittata and 20g of brie. Half a pear
4pm had 5 Brazil nuts
dinner was chicken stir fry with bean shoots, carrots, cabbage. Sauce was coconut milk and spices. I used 2 chicken breasts between 3 adults with the other 2 having bigger portions than me.
Had 1 small glass of white wine mixed 50 50 with soda water
I did one yoga class and worked in the garden for 2 hours

Where am I going wrong?
 

I would say that your breakfast may be scuppering your entire day.
Though your oats and apple are not large amounts of carbs, they front load your day, and insulin resistance is often highest early in the day.
How about trying egg or bacon, or both? Or just coffee with cream? Or ham and cheese?

also, frankly, are you eating enough? Half a chicken breast, 50g yog and a small piece of frittata is unlikely to give you your protein requirements.

In your place I would cut all the oats and fruit, and replace them with more protein and a little more fat.

It feels weird to eat plenty when dieting, but there is really no need to be hungry or skimp on portions when low carbing.
 
I agree with @Brunneria -you really don't need to go hungry but you need to reduce the carbs.

Going very low carb- less than 20grams a day I have lost weight without counting calories. I have coffee with double cream, I eat cheese and also meat and fish.

I've lost more than 25 kilos without weighing any food- just eat very low carb food. I don't eat any fruit as carbs in half a pear would probably be more than my usual amount of carbs. The meter reading showed that with the yoga you were only just able to keep within the rise of 2 in 2 hours.

If I eat breakfast it is commonly something like bacon and eggs. I don't eat it most days as I'm not as hungry now I don't eat many carbs. I usually just have a couple of coffees with cream.

Chicken of itself has very few or no carbs so eat as much as you want so that you are not hungry. It was a really diifcult mindset for me to overcome- calories are much less important than carbs- once you reduce the carbs enough your body will actually start telling you that you are not as hungry. Very strange for me- I think more usual for those without the genetic predisposition to this intolerance for carbs.

Good luck.
 
Thank you both. I will try that.
After I fell off the wagon yesterday with chocolate I have resolved today to fast until lunch time (did an exercise class first) then have a bigger more satisfying Lunch
of cheese omelette (2 eggs) followed with yoghurt, flax seeds and berries. Dinner is chicken, celeraic chips and cabbage.
My levels have gone 6.2 fasting 6.4 before lunch 6.7 after and 6.8 before tea (but I tested late and had started eating)
I'm assuming the chocolate is still working its way through
 
You lose more weight at the beginning of diet change (low carb) and then you lose less. Most people plateau and can't lose more. Yet, you need to make sure there are no hidden carbs, no stress or anxiety. When stress hormones rise they raise insulin levels, this stalls weight loss. High insulin levels block fat burning (= weight loss). Too much dietary protein raises insulin levels as does mixing carbs and dietary fats.
 
Here is the link to the presentation of Dr Ken Berry. It might be helpful.
 

Hi Brunneria, I didn't mean it to be an "absolute", just a bit of inspirational, or rooting for it, as you put it. Quite so.

My bad for the bad communication.

Me of all people does not believe in absolutes re diabetes (as someone who has tried the newcastle-ish diet twice for instance). (Obviously unsuccessfully!!)

And I actually never talk about an old age for me - my fasting blood glucose is way too high! I'm very open about the ten years off 'thing', much to many people's discomfort. But I have the word quite strongly too, from life insurance underwriters, so. Well.

And I was hoping to say that I have a perspective of no medication when I can help it, and that would explain my focus on nutrition and what one eats and drinks.

What I was hoping to communicate, and my bad for not doing it successfully is, that being a woman does not mean that you cannot be normal weighted in ones menopause, even with sick fat cells (and boy do I have sick fat cells!).

And, that weight loss is not possible without a focus on the food you eat and what you drink. Not about absolutes - just that I have talked to far too many folks recently who talk about weight loss and not realise they have to overhaul what they eat. It's not even about physical activity in my humble opinion.

I am intrigued that we live in a world that hugely seems to talk about what you eat and drink affecting ones cardiovascular health, and ones physical activity affecting ones weight when it seems to me obvious that it is the exact opposite. So that is just what I have been thinking about.

I have no doubt, if we were all in a cafe and seeing body language, and you could have me up on my mis-communication immediately you would know instantly that I am not about absolutes.

No skipping going on here y'all. I am very sorry that it sounded like that is what I was saying.
 
Your weight loss is great!. We all lose weight at different speeds so i wouldn't worry about it. I lose quickly then slowly as it tends to level off after a few weeks.

And, unpopular opinion here, low carb isn't all its cracked up to be. Its not guaranteed to suit everyone equally and some people simply thrive better on more or less carbs.

But I think you are doing brilliantly!.
 
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