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Mega melt down today... Does the LCHF diet work?

NannyPoppins

Active Member
Messages
41
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello... so I've had a mega melt down today as I hopped on the scales this morning and BOOM... 1 stone weight gain since May #Arghhh... not again!!!

I'm on insulin 60units (total) and 3000mg metformin tablets per day. I'm now weighing 12st 3lb and my nurse just simply says "it's ok, every diabetic is different" Tbh this just does not help... I'm scared of this weight gain and of how rapid it jumped on me with out my say so. I'm sure I'm on high dosages too but no help from my diabetic nurse. Feel so lost

Anyone in the simular boat?
 
I also dislike the "we're all different" label. We're not all different, we all do not tolerate carbs well. How we manage that will differ so I prefer the term "variations on a theme"
LCHF is not something that everyone can stick with, nor will it work for everyone. What I will say though is if you stick with it, the success rate is far higher than any other diet reported here. It will mean you will need less insulin so bear this in mind if you do decide to give it a try. Ultimately, what have you got to lose
 
Some people would say I'm not doing LCHF right because I aim for about 100g of carbs a day. But even this amount of carbs is still better than what I was eating before, of course. And eating full fat options as much as I need to avoid cravings seems to make it all doable. I feel so much better without that heavy feeling in my stomach and abdomen.

Are you carb-counting for variable insulin doses with each meal?
 
I think I will try it but I know I'll struggle. I live on snacks and was always told to eat ever 2 hours to maintain good levels. So life style become snacking instead of eating good meals. My appetite is so up and down that sometimes I can not eat anything for the hole day or other times I'll non stop eat till I feel sick. I am bad with my food

When I got put on metformin by my GP, I was also told to only eat 20g of carbs per day. But no one explained what metformin did so... you can imagine what happen... hypo's (bad ones) all day, every day. I went from taking 110-120 units per day to pretty much 30-40 units per day plus 1000mg metformin. In my head I could understand the drastic change and my blood levels went crazy. I just couldnt control it and felt so confused... I soon started eating carbs again and now I'm noticing the weight creeping up plus my insulin is 60units per day and 3000mg metformin.

I have not done this DAFNE course that people talk about but I've been diabetic for 17years so I kind of know what foods do what to my bloods. Its all guess work though and I still get it wrong sometimes.

I feel like I've been under a rock (prob my own fault)
 
I thought the maximum metformin dose was 2550 (3 x 850mg). In the first instance I'd query your dosage with the Dr because that could be affecting your appetite. I'm like you in that I do tend to graze some days. You just have to make sure you graze on the right stuff. Doing the lower, not ultra low because I just couldn't, I've seen results,with my BS readings to ones that overall I'm pretty happy with but no weight loss, not an ounce. I know weight gain is common with insulin use so if you can get that down it might help the weight.
 
I liked your post NannyPoppins because it was like reading about myself.
I'm currently trying lchf diet but I think I'm constantly making the same mistake over and over again. Too much protein and not enough fat. I get the munchies about 3-4pm and then my sugar goes up and up.
I hope you don't mind but I also need the same help as you.
I feel I'm being threatened with bariatric surgery as I am obese.
My cravings for sugary foods has mostly gone but they run alongside high sugar levels. More sugar in my blood the more I crave it. I guess the answer is to get my sugars lower and keep highs at bay.
This lchf diet hasn't reflected on my scales but I haven't added either.
The more insulin I take the more I weigh. The more stressed I get the more my sugars stay high.
I've tried upping my exercise routine and all it's done is put me off altogether.
I know I need to be more physical with exercise I enjoy. I walk alot and push a heavy toddler buggy everywhere I go.
My 2yr old is my second child but due to bad control I'm finding the whole experience very very stressful. Having a broken husband right now doesn't help either.
When I was single and commuted to London my sugars were great and metformin worked for me. Not now.
I cannot wait til my circumstances are different to have good control again and less weight on. I was obese then too. Looking at pictures I only looked 6lb lighter. Being 8 stone overweight I look no different!!!
 
I've had a melt down last week... really hit me how being overweight has affected my life. I need to change. I want to start LCHF, but me and diets have never really worked... I'm too lazy to read about how they work but am determined to make an effort this time! I also need to take more exercise. I've got a paid for year gym membership but I've not been yet. I'm not much of a gym bunny but I do love swimming, I just lack confidence when it comes to going alone!
 
Blue Twist I can guarantee you once you've got in the pool you'll wish you'd returned to swimming sooner. I was dreading it but I noticed I gained respect from the staff for making the effort. Anyone who has a negative opinion of their body image will always struggle to make that step. I found once I did it a few times I was reminded that nothing bad would happen. I love it. I'm 8 stone overweight but I felt free of my weight in the water.
Don't let others prejudices stop you from being happy!
 
@ickihun . That is a brilliant post! Excellent! You are absolutely right!

I had always enjoyed swimming but had only ever swam occasionally , a couple of lengths and had never had a gym etc membership in my life! A few months after I retired my son got me a spa day and I enjoyed the swim. I joined a local hotel gym with pool for a months trial. That was 20 months ago. I love it. I may be overweight and. I may only swim one stroke but who cares. I try to swim between 40 mins and an hour as often as I can. If you enjoy it and it's the best exercise for you then go for it!
 
The max dose is 3000mg. Insulin can cause weight gain if it's not used in the optimum way. This is explained here:
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/15478720.php
 
Hi there, I had been trying to lose weight off and on for years using low fat diet and calorie counting. Because of the type two diabetes all I got was hunger and steady weight gain, then I would lose heart and think "why bother?" Since finding this forum 2 wks ago I've started low carb high fat diet and found it REALLY easy. I'm never hungry and I've lost 9lbs and within 3 days of starting diet had normalised BG levels. If someone told me this would happen 3 wks ago - I wouldn't have believed them. Please consider just going for it - if I can do it, after all the disappointment of many diet failures, so can you. XX
 
Try this:- LCHF
. I would just like to let you all know a system that works. If you eat 20 grams of carbs per day for three days and then on the fourth day women should eat 40 grams of carbs and men should eat 60 grams of carbs, I call this the high carb day, then for the next four days eat 20 grams of carbs per day then have the high carb day i.e. women should eat 40 grams of carbs and men should eat 60 grams of carbs then for three days eat 20 grams of carbs just keep repeating three days on the low carb then the fourth day the high carb day as above then the four days low carb then the high carb. The great thing about this system is it fools your body into using your fat stores for fuel. The advantage is you don't get hungry as you can eat as much as you like of foods with no carbs i.e. meat, fish, cheese, etc. If you get the Collins Little Gem Carb Counting book it lists loads of foods with their carb values. The additional info you need in the Collins book also lists the net carb value of foods so for instance nuts have fibre so they have a nil value of net carbs for the diet point of view. You will have to check with your diabetes advisers as to if you have to include the insulin for those items just to be safe. I have lost a stone in six weeks. If you get hungry it is well worth drinking water and as I say you can eat nuts etc. You need to drink water for your body to convert your fat store into energy. My wife is also doing this diet but struggled to loose any weight initially as she has recently been diagnosed with thyroid problems and has to take tablets for that but now the tablets are working the diet is working. Before that she just kept putting weight on even though she was cutting down on her food. At least when she was following the low carb high carb diet she wasn't putting the weight on. It is important to make sure you do eat the 20 grams of carbs per day to keep your body in working order. The difficult thing is working out the different meals with the reduced amount of carbs. If after the three or four days i.e. on the high carb day you have way over the 40 or 60 grams of carbs you can get light headed I guess it's a sugar rush so be careful. I hope this helps you people trying to loose weight. Some people report because their bodies switch from using the food they normally eat to using their body fat for food and fuel they have more energy. As with all diets if you can increase the amount of exercise you do this helps you burn more fat off more quickly. I sit and work at a computer all day so don’t get enough exercise. At lunch time I saw up my firewood this is a win win as I then get a bit of exercise and I get a nice pile of fire wood and chopped logs for the fire. This is easier for me as I work from home. Another thing I now do is more regularly walk to the shops to buy our food rather than driving etc. Glass of red wine on this diet is low carb a whiskey is no carbs. Cheers!
 

Thank you. I am going to make an effort in the next week.
 

Thank you. I will give it a go. And a mega well done for getting started!
 
is this carbs total or just the sugar component . a simple bowl of branflakes is 20g carbs which would exclude anything else all day.
 
I'm going to be stricter with carbs as I've noticed they've crept up a bit. No sugary carbs but I've had a few breaded proteins and they all add up.
So... handful of peanuts and cup of diet lemonade to start the day.
An omlette with mackerel and peas for lunch I think. I wont be skimping as the more satisfied I am the less deprived I feel.
We are all with you BlueTwist. X
 
NannyPoppins said:
I think I will try it but I know I'll struggle. I live on snacks and was always told to eat ever 2 hours to maintain good levels. So life style become snacking instead of eating good meals.
Click to expand...

Snacking can make it hard to keep track of how much you're eating.

LCHF is fairly reliable but it's not foolproof (please excuse the turn of phrase I don't mean to say you're any fool).

You also say: "I soon started eating carbs again and now I'm noticing the weight creeping up plus my insulin is 60 units per day"

Depending on how many carbs you're having, this could be another factor in the weight gain.

As a type 2 on insulin, the key thing is to reduce dependency on insulin. At the moment, you're injecting as much insulin as someone who doesn't produce any insulin would be, plus you're also most likely making a fair amount of your own insulin.

The more insulin you take, the more resistant to it you will become.

For more on this look at the video of researcher Dr Fung on this thread:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/dr-jason-fung-videos.59050/
 
Hi... im type 1 so i dont produce my own insulin at all. Is it very different from someone who is type 2 that takes insulin also?

I've never been told to watch the carbs but only the sugar in carbs really but if I take insulin to cover it doesn't really matter. I've not been on the DAFNE course either. I eat so much fruit and snacks that it's quite obvious now why I'm on high dose and gaining weight. I've only worked it out since reading things on this forum.
 
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