Please help me understand

I'm wondering if I'm retaining water again? It doesn't look like it from looking at my feet and ankles, but I gained 2,4 kgs since May 29th, and am well and truly annoyed. Could it be that LCHF is doing me bad rather than good? My BS is fine, but in the long run it will be better if I lose weight, I know from experience.
So many contradicting instructions. I'm 57 and well past my menopause, which often means it gets harder to lose weight. In that situation Dietdoctor says to eat less fat and to watch my calories to obtain weight loss, but I eat next to nothing! I woke up at 3am. My husband was snoring, a gull was screaming and so was my tummy - from hunger. I'd had a decent LCHF meal at around 8pm, so I shouldn't be hungry, but I was. Another theory ... Sometimes it's as if eating a decent meal wakes up those hunger pangs. Am I the only one experiencing that? It's now 6:49pm, and I haven't eaten anything since last night at 3AM, apart from a handful of pork rinds.
So to sum up I've been advised to eat less fat, watch the carbs and don't eat too much protein as your body might turn it into glucose. So what's left? Sorry for venting my frustrations. I wish someone would abduct me to a free LCHF camp and keep me there for a month.
Yesterdays food intake as an example. I'm not good at calculating nutritions, but I try to go as low carb as possible.
Morning: 4 mugs of tea with a tiny amount of cream.
Lunch: 2 x oopsie bread with thinly spread feta cheese.
Evening: One medium size portion of minced beef cooked with tinned, chopped tomates, tomato pure, artichokes and courgettes. Sauce made with cream and cream cheese with a little added shredded cheddar. Unfortunately I fell asleep before taking a post prandial.
At 3AM I had to eat a small helping of the same meal to quench the hunger, and didn't go to bed til about 6AM. Woke up at 9:30 am, my BG, which probably wasn't an FBG, was a reasonable 5.3, so it can't have been too carby. This is the first time I've ever eaten in the middle of the night.

Bluetit1802 said:

Is there a reason you are eating so little? Sometimes it can be counter productive. I would be hungry if that were all I ate. There isn't much sign of a decent amount of fat or protein.

Starvation mode strikes me as a possibility, whereby your body thinks you are starving so holds on to as much of your body fat as it can.

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Thanks Bluetit, but I'd have thought I get protein from the oopies (eggs and cheese) and from the minced meat. Fat and protein from cream cheese, cheddar and cream, no?

Ok, so if my body's gone into starvation mode I understand why I don't lose weight, but why do I gain weight? Is that really possible? And if I have to watch carbs, fat and protein intake, and I forgot to mention that I have to watch my calorie intake too, that would explain why I go into starvation mode. Small wonder I'm baffled, right?

zand said:

Are you drinking enough water? I don't lose weight unless I drink at least 2 litres water a day as well as cups of tea.

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I drink somewhere in between 1 and 2 litres per day, so could be guilty, but I'm just not thirsty like I was when my BGs were sky high.

Bluetit1802 said:

Why do you have to watch fat and protein intake? Both are extremely important for our well being. Carbs we can do without, but the fewer carbs we eat the more fat we need, and protein is essential for growth and repair. From what you said you ate, I would be ravenous - and I am NEVER hungry.
How many calories are you eating?

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I read this about fat intake https://www.dietdoctor.com/top-tips-lose-weight-low-carb-women-40 2nd paragraph, and I've often read in here that under some circumstances protein can turn into glucose. That I should only eat ...was it 10-15 g. per kg body weight?
I'm just not good at calculating nutrition, so I've no idea of my intake, but it can't be much. Under 1500/day, I would think. Actually way below.

Guzzler said:

We are all different. I find that if relax on fat intake I lose weight. I recently raised my level of protein to try to add some weight, it didn't work but by! I have noticed my skin and hair look stupendous. We have to find our own levels of what works for us and while DD is a fabulous source of info we must remember, as always, we are individual and not all of will react in exactly the same way.

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It's just takes ages to find the balance that suits each individual.

Guzzler said:

You are doing your best, don't give up because eventually everything will fall into place.

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Thanks for those kind words. I really was frustrated this morning, but thankfully a complete stranger on twitter gave me the best laugh I've had in ages. That helped And then there are you, Zand and Bluetit wanting to help too! I feel better now.

banshee71 said:

i had to increase my fat to lose weight and really tighten up on my carbs, I also found i lose weight better if my fat comes more from butter and lard than from cheeses, if i make a mince and tomato meal i add a good table spoon of butter on top of whatever fat i've browned the mince with. I personally have to watch the cheeses, maybe the casein in it. I only use hard cheese like chedder now,

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Finding the right balance is really hard scientific work, isn't it? I do eat lots of cheese. Different kinds, brie, cheddar, cream cheese as well as full fat Greek youghurt and cream in my tea. I'm sure that's where I get almost all of my fat from, so maybe you're right. All these contain lots of protein too, so I could be overdoing that part.
The thing is that I find it very hard to add even more regular fat to my meals. I'm not being shy with my butter. I'm sure I'm using more when cooking than most 'normal eaters' would, but if I add any more I'm sure I'll feel sick. I know there are people in here who can eat a slice of cold butter spiced with something or other, but I can't stomack the thought of it, literally speaking, and I'm not thinking along old fashioned low fat lines.
I see that you're about 10 years my junior. I don't know if you've ever attempted losing weight when you were younger, but is it harder for you to lose weight nowadays?

banshee71 said:

Since i upped my fat intake i find i'm never hungry and my portions have shrunk so i eat a lot less protein and carbs that has happened without me even consciously trying. I was nervous about increasing my fat, but it seems to work, i don't wake up hollow anymore.

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I wish I could find my way to eating like that, but like I mentioned further up, menopausal and post-menopausal women are advised to eat a little less fat and watch their calorie intake. Less than what?

banshee71 said:

I think you have to find the right combo of fat carbs and proteins that work for you. For me my calories really do need to come mostly from fat. my carbs are nearly all green veggies apart from the odd few that come from dairy, as i use double cream in my hot drinks and hard cheeses to garnish meat and veggies.

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I know you're right. I have to find that combo. You've given me LCHF food for thought. Thanks I believe I've seen a thread on how to add more fat to your food, or an article or something. Will see if I can find it again.

Bluetit1802 said:

Oily fish is a good way. I like tinned wild salmon, and eat 3 of the small tins each week. It is full of goodness, plenty of essential nutrients in addition to the fat, and loads of omega 3 (very heart healthy). I tend to have it at lunch times with mayo, some cherry toms, and either a boiled egg or cheese, and maybe a pickled onion.

Avocado is excellent and also full of essential nutrients.

More eggs. Egg mayo, Bacon and eggs. Mushrooms fried in butter.

The list is endless.

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Oh yes, I remember eating tinned salmon when living in England. I loved it, but I haven't seen it in Denmark. Perhaps I should ask a friend to send me a red cross parcel. I do eat sliced smoked salmon, though. Good stuff, but eating it with mayo (Hellmann's) would ruin the experience for me. I love bacon and eggs, and mushrooms too, not to mention avocadoes. I had 5 waiting to ripen on the kitchen work top while the oldest one was next in line for being eaten. As it turned out the oldest remained hard, and wouldn't seperate from the stone, and when I checked the latest arrivals they'd gone off Avocadoes are all about luck and not too hot weather.

Bluetit1802 said:

I hate the things!!

I forgot to say that nuts are also "fatty". I always forget nuts because I can't eat them.

Shame about the tinned salmon, but fresh salmon is also good. What about mackerel or sardines?

You could have a bacon and egg meal (with mushrooms and toms) either for breakfast or lunch a few times a week.

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I love nuts, but am guilty of eating too many of them once I get started. A bag of almonds doesn't last very long in my kitchen, and also they are a bit carby. I've been looking for macadamia nuts, but when I was told they're around £7.5 for a small'ish portion of perhaps 200 g I quickly lost interest. Must include in Red Cross parcel. I believe they're cheaper in England?

Hmmm kippers, perhaps? I do like them with scrambled eggs And smoked mackerel is nice too, but for the bones/toothpicks. I look forward to when I can eat my home grown cherry toms, bell peppers and chilis.

Am I the only one feeling guilty when eating something I actually really enjoy? Wondering, because a few days ago I made a LHCF 1½ minute microwave mug cake with almond and coconut flour, an egg and some butter, and I felt positively guilty after eating it. As if I'd ruined everything I've worked for since I started LCHF. I must be suffering from some eating disorder as yet unnamed

banshee71 said:

yeah i find it much harder, i'm post menopausal. (hysterectomy 10 yrs ago ovarian cancer) My weight loss is much slower than i had hoped but i have resigned myself that years of trying the low fat, and always rebounding fatter than i started, means i have probably got so significant metabolic damage to overcome.

I try and keep things simple scrambled eggs with kale and tons of butter for brekkie, chilli with broccoli rice, made with the fattiest mince and loads of butter on my veggies for dinner, a small bowl of raspberries with double cream and a few brazil nuts is a typical day for me, I also take magnesium and have upped my salt intake.

I don't think i could eat butter just on its own either, but i can eat it melted into chilli and on my veggies.

Hang in there, you'll find what works for you.

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You've certainly had your share of health issues, to put it mildly. Years ago I lost a lot of weight. I think I'd lose around 1kg/week on average, and the diet was quite healthy, but not high fat. I remember gnawing my way though 300 g of veggies at lunch and 300g at dinner. Lean meat to the extreme. We were told to melt the fat of the minced meat in the oven before cooking it!! (I never did that. I considered it a mortal sin), and to cut all visible fat away from chicken (no skin, of course). We had to weigh everything. Had to drink ½ l of skimmed milk per day, and had to eat one piece of fruit with our breakfast. Some of the rules were silly, and I ignored them, but lost weight anyway, and my BGs came down into normal range when I'd lost sufficient weight. Looking back at it you could call it a Low'ishCarbLowFatHighProtein diet. Maybe take some inspiration from it and lower the carbs and the protein, but up the fat. Thanks for the inspiration