I have appreciated this forum and was interested to see that the UK NHS has a low carb support offering. I am in BC, Canada and have become very frustrated by the complete lack of support available to me here for a low carb approach. I have now lost 50 lbs, lowered my HA1c from 6.4 in May 2025 to 6.0 in Dec 2025 and have lowered my BP and gone off two BP meds, all since June 1, 2025. I want to relay some info here in case it may help others.
I became obese 30 years ago after having contracted Giardiasis; I gained 90 lbs in 1.5 yrs, stopping the weight gain after seeing an allergist who prescribed an elimination diet to determine foods I was sensitive to. This helped and I lost 50 of those lbs over two years using low calorie dieting and exercising up to 20 hrs/wk. I stayed that weight for over a decade, lived an active lifestyle but could not seem to lower my weight. Then I went into menopause and regained that 50 lbs plus some. I knew I had to solve this problem because I didnt feel I had the energy to workout like I did in the past to lose weight. I started by reading Gary Taubes' Good calories, bad calories, some years ago. I have since read all his books - I highly recommend them. I attended two different weight management clinics here, but they only offer
lifestyle mngt, meds and surgery. I had side effects from Ozempic and didnt feel surgery was a solution. So I searched out all Taubes's references I could. I realized that the calories in/out model did not make sense and I am a great example of this - always an active person but always fat or obese. So tired of the opportunities lost and the shaming in our society due to the weight. Anyhow - I also took a dietician-written course on FODMAP sensitivity and Celiac - understanding these issues were key for me, as if you eat low carb but are reacting to some healthy but FODMAP-containing foods, you may get confusing results, as I had when I had tried clean eating, atkins/eades low carb, paleo, AI Paleo, etc. (dairy milk, milk alternatives and many veggies contain FODMAPs). Then I read books by Dr Eric Westman and Dr.s Volek and Phinney. That gave me the details and enough support to go low carb on my own. I did 6 months on ~ 125 g/day, losing 5 lb/ month. Then I read some more and dropped down to under 30 g/day and have continued to lose, 5+ lbs/month. Finding one's path to health should not be this difficult. The absense of medical establishment support for low carb here in canada is shameful in my opinion. I have 70-80 more lbs to lose and hope to get back to recreational activities that I always struggled to get strong enough for in the past with all that weight. Thank-you for this forum. I hope my story may help others.
I became obese 30 years ago after having contracted Giardiasis; I gained 90 lbs in 1.5 yrs, stopping the weight gain after seeing an allergist who prescribed an elimination diet to determine foods I was sensitive to. This helped and I lost 50 of those lbs over two years using low calorie dieting and exercising up to 20 hrs/wk. I stayed that weight for over a decade, lived an active lifestyle but could not seem to lower my weight. Then I went into menopause and regained that 50 lbs plus some. I knew I had to solve this problem because I didnt feel I had the energy to workout like I did in the past to lose weight. I started by reading Gary Taubes' Good calories, bad calories, some years ago. I have since read all his books - I highly recommend them. I attended two different weight management clinics here, but they only offer
lifestyle mngt, meds and surgery. I had side effects from Ozempic and didnt feel surgery was a solution. So I searched out all Taubes's references I could. I realized that the calories in/out model did not make sense and I am a great example of this - always an active person but always fat or obese. So tired of the opportunities lost and the shaming in our society due to the weight. Anyhow - I also took a dietician-written course on FODMAP sensitivity and Celiac - understanding these issues were key for me, as if you eat low carb but are reacting to some healthy but FODMAP-containing foods, you may get confusing results, as I had when I had tried clean eating, atkins/eades low carb, paleo, AI Paleo, etc. (dairy milk, milk alternatives and many veggies contain FODMAPs). Then I read books by Dr Eric Westman and Dr.s Volek and Phinney. That gave me the details and enough support to go low carb on my own. I did 6 months on ~ 125 g/day, losing 5 lb/ month. Then I read some more and dropped down to under 30 g/day and have continued to lose, 5+ lbs/month. Finding one's path to health should not be this difficult. The absense of medical establishment support for low carb here in canada is shameful in my opinion. I have 70-80 more lbs to lose and hope to get back to recreational activities that I always struggled to get strong enough for in the past with all that weight. Thank-you for this forum. I hope my story may help others.
