Not happy today

cocobee.2017 said:

Hi

My name is Maria & I am here because I feel like I've lost all hope. I am frustrated. I have tried EVERYTHING to try and lose weight. I am prediabetic, glucose impaired tolerance that makes it harder, if not impossible, for me to lose weight. My appetite is RAVENOUS because of the high blood sugars.

I have tried eating healthy, low carb, Weight Watchers, walking, gym, the dreaded diet, you name it & I've tried it.

I feel like giving up & just let this disease take over my body I don't know what else to do or try.

Sorry this message is really negative. If you've lost weight with diabetes & I need to lose a significant amount, 20kg or more, please tell me how you did it, thank you.

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Hi Maria,

Welcome to the site, we will do out best to help you. I personally lost 25kg in a year having and brought my Hba1C down to 42 from 90 .

I did that through using an LCHF diet, Could you give us an example of your low carb diet please so we can maybe give you some pointers to try?

In the meantime don't despair, you are among freinds. most of us have experienced something along the same lines .

First of all. It is determination.

I can't say that I am an expert, but let me tell you what I did.

I was totally lost when I knew I am diabetic. I cried. I broke down. I am T2. And I was 38. I have a young son, a beautiful wife. I wouldn't want to end my life...just yet.

I started to run. Panted just after 1 km. I was a school swimmer. I didnt give up. I kept on running to my limit daily....I weighed everyday, the needle stood still and didnt move an inch for the first few weeks. after 1 month, I started losing weight, and kept on losing. 6 months later, I was able to run 2.4 km non stop. And I lost 13 kg.

Now I just exercise 30 min... and ran 3 km.

Was 88 kg and now I am 74 kg. I still have a few more to shed off. And I know I can. Slowly.

Balance off with diet.. you can!!!! Trust me.

Do not be anxious, do not be dishearten. You can!! Slowly, but surely. You have a long life ahead!

Trust me! Do not give up!

I just noticed that I have lost 40lb when I found a record of how much I weighed when trying to follow a supposedly cholesterol lowering diet - I was not really trying to lose weight, just to reduce my blood glucose.
I also tried low carb but found that my blood glucose was stable, which is what I wanted, and only noticed the weight loss later. What do you eat now? Can you give us a typical day's menu?

Hello @cocobee.2017 - and Welcome to the Forum .
I am tagging @daisy1 who will post on this Thread some useful information for all new members to the Forum. Have a good read of it and ask all the questions you need.

Start slowly walking and increase it every day. I did a suburban block, then did 2 laps, 3 laps and then the entire suburb. Get some VERY good shoes ... they are worth it. I lost 17 kilos in 3 months

Never give up, you can beat this!

cocobee.2017 said:

Hi everyone. I am in emotional tears from all the kindness you have shown, from one stranger to another. The low carb I tried was basically meat and veg, no fruit, no bread, nothing with flour in it, no potato, but I am addicted to carbs & I have a binge eating disorder. What a great combination of problems I have. I couldn't resist the occasional toast, pasta, sweet potatoes so it is not the diet that has failed me, it is me. I also have osteoarthritis in feet but I do enjoy walking outdoors & would love to do 10,000 steps a day if the pain wasn't so self limiting. I know, I sound like a bunch of excuses don't I. I will pick myself up again and read your advice and do whatever is advised from the people who know and that is you.

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Hello Maria and welcome to the forum.
I just wanted to say that I have mobility problems, too. I can't excercise at all but I managed to lower my blood glucose with diet alone. It wasn't easy at first, I almost gave up a few times especially as I still have sons living at home so all the 'baddies', the biscuits, crisps, bread and pasta etc are still there. Sometimes I swear they are whispering my name!
I am just four months into low carbing and it is already a hell of a lot easier. I no longer crave the carbs I was addicted to, no longer feeling the 'hunger' that the high carb diet promotes. My numbers didn't come down as fast as able bodied people's do but I'm getting there.
One of the hardest parts was stopping the snacking that I used to do. At first I was convinced I would starve to death but with each week it just got easier and at present I don't even have many low carb snacks.
I have lost a little weight which is good but what I have gained is the feeling that I am in control of what I eat,
instead of the sugary carbs being in control.
It is a matter of baby steps.

Hello Maria.
You mention that you have tried all sorts to try and improve things, one thing you haven't mentioned is the psychological angle. I am new to all this having been recently diagnosed T2, and if I'm off base here please forgive me, but you mention an eating disorder. That may be making your dietary efforts so much more difficult. It appears you are fighting on two very difficult fronts and perhaps investigating the psychological aspect may help.
Like everyone else I wish you well. With other people's help and encouragement (both medically and the folk on here) I'm sure you can start to turn things round.

Hello cocobee, and welcome. It really is the pits of hell, isn't it? I have been with you at the beginning and am still working through it now.
I was diagnosed t2 in june, started off on entirely the wrong diet, finally found this place, jason fung and lchf.
I was 101kgs in march. Now 77kgs. Still have more to go for my height.
Firstly, let me tell you it is not about will power, character or lack of effort. Addiction to carbs is like any other addiction and can be even harder to overcome. Harder because we have to eat. How can you stop being addicted to something you have to have or you will just die?
And I am a comfort and binge eater. I get some bad news? I can cope all day but I would be up in the middle of the night eating stuff I dont even like because I just HAD to have it. Crisps, cake even baby snacks( my son, his wife and child live with us at the moment) if it wasnt nailed down I would eat it. If it was nailed down I would just chew around it. I am not making a joke of it, its just that I felt I really had to have it or I would explode.

Then came t2d and I realised I had a choice. I could take ever increasing amounts of drugs and eventually start to lose my sight, toes and both my legs or I could do something about it. I decided I quite like looking at the world and it is the fear of losing my sight that was my biggest motivation.

I cannot say what would work for you. We are all different and what works for one will probably not work for another. But this is what I did.

Found out everything I could about the longer term consequences of t2d. If it was a quick clean death I might have made a different decision, but its not. Its messy and protracted. I didnt want that.

Investigated all the various diets, approaches and methods to deal with the consequences and how to avoid them.
Made a pros and cons list of a, not doing anything and b, trying to tackle this via diet or pills.

In the end I decided to use metformin and diet.

I have gone lchf, and have read jason fungs website and the dietdoctor. (Thank you, bulkbiker)

I try and keep to below 30grms of carbs a day. I know lots of people have more and for me this wasnt a weight loss thing but because I know that I will just want more and more carbs if I just have a few. I also went cold turkey. Just got up one day and didnt eat any for a week. One of the toughest things I have ever done. But easier for me than going down bit by bit. But I know other people find it easier that way.

My long meandering point is this. You can do this. Its not something that is wrong with you that makes you want to eat all the time. It is simple (or rather, very complex) biology. Give yourself one week. Take a week and go for it. Decide which approach is the right one for you and do it for one week.

Good luck with it all.

4 years ago I started off at 16 stone 5 pounds (BMI: 37.3), I now weigh 9 stone 0 pounds (BMI: 20.3). I have been steady at this weight for the past 2 years. I eat low carb (approx. 30 gm/day) and do intermittent fasting - eating 3 meals within an 8 hour window and fasting the remaining 16 hours of the day. I did have a period of rapid weight loss of 18 pounds over a very short period due to acute illness. This rapid weight loss did seem to make a big difference to my metabolism (it probably cleared my liver and pancreas of a lot of excess fat) in that by using the same strategy described above, the weight loss accelerated to 2 pounds per week. Now, I watch the scale to make sure that I do not lose more weight!

What has really worked as a motivator for me is eating to the meter - it gives me a positive feedback loop in 2 hours. The goal is to focus on glucose levels, not on the need to lose weight. Before I started eating to the meter, I had tried many diets. They always failed for me because I had so much weight to lose and, when the focus is on weight loss, success is measured very slowly - over weeks and months. Every weight loss diet I had ever tried was basically an exercise in failure for me. Now, I just have to be successful 2 hours after each meal and I can measure my success 2 hours after eating!

As long as my post-prandial sugars were decent, the weight loss happened for me. It has not always been easy, but I have found that the frequent positive reinforcement the meter gives really, really helps.

You can do this! The support on this forum is wonderful!

Hi Maria

I don't really feel qualified to advise you but having read your story and the replies I have the following thoughts/comments.

Like others I have lost a number of kilograms through a combination of diet (reducing carbohydrates although perhaps not to the extent that some others have) and exercise (walking every morning an increasing amount until these days my walks are at least 5km).

Like others weight loss though welcome was not my prime objective, controlling my glucose levels was. Weight loss just happened as a result. At the moment I probably need to find a way to stop losing weight while not affecting my ability to control my sugars.

Like others I followed "eating to my meter": checking my glucose level before and two hours after each meal end through trial and error teaching myself to only have that quantity of carbs that allows my after meal count to be within 2 mmol of my before count. This was important in providing positive reinforcement and thus increasing my motivation.

Managing your expectations and setting yourself small manageable targets is important in order not to lose heart at the sheer immensity of the overall task or at the first setback. Nothing is plain sailing and you need to persevere.

The reason I started by saying I do not feel qualified to advise you is because you mentioned binge eating. To my knowledge that is something that is emotional/psychological in nature that perhaps needs professional help in order to deal with the underlying cause.

This forum will provide plenty of support and examples of people that have lost a lot of weight. But this forum is not made up of professional psychologists and you may also need to consider seeking support from one in order to deal with the binge eating

I hope I have not been too discouraging. That was not my intention. My intention was to ensure that you realize that although losing 20kg can be done, it is a big ask and not to be discouraged. You need to break it down to more manageable parts

I wish you every success in your efforts to stay healthy.

pavlosn said:

Hi Maria

I don't really feel qualified to advise you but having read your story and the replies I have the following thoughts/comments.

Like others I have lost a number of kilograms through a combination of diet (reducing carbohydrates although perhaps not to the extent that some others have) and exercise (walking every morning an increasing amount until these days my walks are at least 5km).

Like others weight loss though welcome was not my prime objective, controlling my glucose levels was. Weight loss just happened as a result. At the moment I probably need to find a way to stop losing weight while not affecting my ability to control my sugars.

Like others I followed "eating to my meter": checking my glucose level before and two hours after each meal end through trial and error teaching myself to only have that quantity of carbs that allows my after meal count to be within 2 mmol of my before count. This was important in providing positive reinforcement and thus increasing my motivation.

Managing your expectations and setting yourself small manageable targets is important in order not to lose heart at the sheer immensity of the overall task or at the first setback. Nothing is plain sailing and you need to persevere.

The reason I started by saying I do not feel qualified to advise you is because you mentioned binge eating. To my knowledge that is something that is emotional/psychological in nature that perhaps needs professional help in order to deal with the underlying cause.

This forum will provide plenty of support and examples of people that have lost a lot of weight. But this forum is not made up of professional psychologists and you may also need to consider seeking support from one in order to deal with the binge eating

I hope I have not been too discouraging. That was not my intention. My intention was to ensure that you realize that although losing 20kg can be done, it is a big ask and not to be discouraged. You need to break it down to more manageable parts

I wish you every success in your efforts to stay healthy.

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Hi @pavlosn
How are you today? Hope all went well for you

Hello maria. I am glad you have found some help here. One thing I would suggest is getting your meter as soon as possible. As all the others have said controlling our blood sugar is the most important thing. The weight loss is good and it certainly helps but control is important. If you can, get it sooner rather than later.
Also have a strategy in place for when you start. I was amazed at " keto flu". Read jason fung and dietdoctor and google keto flu.
Have a look at supplements. Depending on how you decide to do this you might want vitamins etc.
Any other health problems? If so you might need to discuss this with your hcp.
Also let your nearest and dearest know that you might be a bit snappy for a few days. I will always be grateful to my husband for not beating me to death with a shovel.
Once you have read everything then pick a day and go for it. As I have already said wwhat worked for me might not work for you, but you will not know until you try.
Last thing. Make a note of all your measurements. Not just weight but waist line as well. This is an important indicator and I didnt do it at the start.

The binge eating is hard. Once we take that away how will we deal with a bad day? Its not easy and I have no answer. At the moment i stop myself eating by remembering I dont want to go blind. I am not sure how well that will work in the long term, but its ok for now.

Let us know when you intend to start and keep in touch. You can pm me if you like. X

Just adding my mite of encouragement to the stories.

My worst weight was 18 stone 9 pounds. "You don't deserve to be as healthy as you are." one charming doctor informed me. I shrugged my shoulders and carried on living life as I'd always done, eating the supposedly healthy carb heavy meals which were put in front of me, whatever I liked when opportunity presented, and whilst always relatively active in the working day, never so by choice at other times.

Fast forwards a couple of decades - and the sudden unlooked for loss of 4 stone or so (25 kg) highlighting all was not well and the T2 diagnosis just over two years ago.

Since then, cutting portion sizes and meds did the trick initially, then switching to LCHF when the blood sugars started creeping up again, did the next couple of stone and the next long, good blood sugars plateau for several months. Then the creep up began again.

On a very bad day, both work-wise, and with sheer frustration that no matter how careful I was with food, the bloods were staying up, so I stomped bad-temperedly halfway home. (Mile and a bit!) I was hot, sweaty and out of breath, but noticed the bloods came down, so decided to keep it up. Gradually, I've increased the walking to at least 10/15 minutes after every meal, but more often an hour when possible, as it really helps, but have probably hit the level of walking I can realistically sustain, (8 - 10 miles a day most days) so am bracing myself for taking advantage of the free access to the gym at work to see if that will be the next stage of exercise needed. So, some more intense targeted exercise, but still with regular walking. I've lost another 4 - 5 (25 - 28 kg) in this two years. Currently a stable 9 stone 7 pounds, (60 kg) and have been for a good few months now.

It's all been gradual, slow, and I now accept there will always be tweaks along the way. Just when you think you've found what works, it doesn't! But, you keep trying, and finding the next way. (At the moment, I'm resigned to that being meds changes and possibly the gym!!)

Support from here is invaluable, a good DSN is worth their weight in gold, and I try not to get frustrated with my GP who thinks I'm not doing enough with diet and exercise.(It's fair to say what I'm currently doing does not seem to be helping - but it is most certainly not lack of effort or weak-willed me around cakes, chocolate, carbs of any kind. I've not had a real cake since February! The meter readings were too horrendous to repeat that one.)

Oh, and a recovering binge eater, who is always mindful of potential relapses - the last one was way too much fat which was about to go out of date, and my frugal side couldn't bear to throw it away, in the last month, and reminded me it can always happen. But, I don't beat myself up about it anymore - tomorrow is always another day, and one relapse is just that. I reminded myself my deal with myself was to make something to freeze with about to go out of date food for the next "Help Japes Eat up her Freezer Contents" party. Popular in Japes' world...