Prediabetes low body weight but waist ratio to hip makes me overweight!

[gowest12]

I don't want to deflect but it's important to remember that different dietitians will give you different advice.

The one who ran my NHS course after I was diagnosed was very clear: carbs are not essential in the diet. We can live quite happily without them. The Eatwell plate and the NHS insistence that we should be "basing meals around carbs" directly contributes to both the increase in T2 diabetes and the progression of the disease once acquired.

I follow his advice and I am pleased with the results.

Yes the dietician I’ve had is insistent on eating carbs in some form! Even with having prediabetes it’s quite insane. I’m really only learning now that slow release carbs are still carbs and should be avoided. I was happily including them as I was doing the nhs plate method thinking I had to have some carbs for the fibre. Still don’t know what to eat though to get full as low carb means I’m hungry most of the time

 

[KennyA]

Yes the dietician I’ve had is insistent on eating carbs in some form! Even with having prediabetes it’s quite insane. I’m really only learning now that slow release carbs are still carbs and should be avoided. I was happily including them as I was doing the nhs plate method thinking I had to have some carbs for the fibre. Still don’t know what to eat though to get full as low carb means I’m hungry most of the time

Being hungry is not something I've experienced on low-carb. If you remove carbs from your diet, you have to replace them with something else, and that means additional proteins and natural fats.

For me, I eat a lot more cheese than I used to, and a fair bit more meat and fish. I have double cream rather than milk in my coffee, and butter or cream goes well with a lot of green veg. I also eat almonds, hazelnuts, and brazil nuts. I get enough more than enough fibre from the veg and nuts.

If I'm travelling I generally have a tin each of cheese and nuts with me, and a packet of salami sticks (be careful, many UK/USA brands routinely add sugar).

I'd also recommend exercise, as strenuous as you like. Not for fat loss, but for muscle build and for the "feel good" that comes with it.

 

[gowest12]

Thank you so much for this! I am a 49 year old female and I’ve always had a problems with the belly fat!!! So I should ditch all carbs is this correct??? I’ve started exercising doing to exercise classes at the gym but are you saying I can get rid of this belly and get my waist abit smaller??? I am 4ft 11 and weigh 7 stone 5 so that’s not underweight??? I’m only going by the dietician I’ve been seeing and today I had another appointment and she was still going on about slow release carbs!! So I’m still learning about carbs! I always thought the slow release ones were safe??? She keeps telling me to add them in as I need the fibre! Today I actually thought she didn’t know what she was talking about! Also is there a list of low carb stuff we can eat??? I get stuck with what to have for breakfast lunch and dinner that is low carb. I also use a low carb seeded bread is that also no good?? Thank you for all your help! It’s making more sense as time goes on ! Can I also give you my current measurements as you seem to know a lot about this! My waist is 29.5 inches my hips 34 and my height 4ft 11 and I weigh 7 stone 5 while my doctor tells me I’m quite low weight close to underweight????? Yet these awful waist to hip ratios say different and waist to height ratios. Can you check these numbers and let me know if you don’t mind as I’m getting told different things and doctors don’t even look at the waist to hip ratio!!

 

[Lamont D]

Yes the dietician I’ve had is insistent on eating carbs in some form! Even with having prediabetes it’s quite insane. I’m really only learning now that slow release carbs are still carbs and should be avoided. I was happily including them as I was doing the nhs plate method thinking I had to have some carbs for the fibre. Still don’t know what to eat though to get full as low carb means I’m hungry most of the time

dietdoctor.com is a great resource, as is trawling through our low carb diet forum.

 

[andromache]

Yes the dietician I’ve had is insistent on eating carbs in some form! Even with having prediabetes it’s quite insane. I’m really only learning now that slow release carbs are still carbs and should be avoided. I was happily including them as I was doing the nhs plate method thinking I had to have some carbs for the fibre. Still don’t know what to eat though to get full as low carb means I’m hungry most of the time

If I find myself hungry it’s because I didn’t eat enough fat and protein at my last meal, If I eat enough fat and protein, I come to the table for the next meal with a healthy appetite but absolutely not the sort of gnawing hunger that has a person watch the clock or craving snacks. Forgive me if I’ve misremembered, but I think I recall you struggling to accept wholeheartedly the need to replace the carbs you’re not eating with plenty of fat and protein. My guess is that you’re still struggling with that, which would explain your hunger. Please give yourself permission to eat enough fat and protein to keep make you strong and free from unpleasant hunger.

 

[AloeSvea]

Thank you so much for this! I am a 49 year old female and I’ve always had a problems with the belly fat!!! So I should ditch all carbs is this correct??? I’ve started exercising doing to exercise classes at the gym but are you saying I can get rid of this belly and get my waist abit smaller??? I am 4ft 11 and weigh 7 stone 5 so that’s not underweight??? I’m only going by the dietician I’ve been seeing and today I had another appointment and she was still going on about slow release carbs!! So I’m still learning about carbs! I always thought the slow release ones were safe??? She keeps telling me to add them in as I need the fibre! Today I actually thought she didn’t know what she was talking about! Also is there a list of low carb stuff we can eat??? I get stuck with what to have for breakfast lunch and dinner that is low carb. I also use a low carb seeded bread is that also no good?? Thank you for all your help! It’s making more sense as time goes on !

Because food preferences are so very personal, my only advice really is that you go online and the library, and look at low-carb food, look at recipes, experiment and choose the food and recipes you like!

'Low carb' and 'no carb' are definitely not the same thing! All fruit and vegetables are carb foods for instance, and I am pretty sure you do not want to go cold turkey on that? When you are really only talking about minor food tweakings.

But meat, fish, seafood, and veges if you want veges. It's actually delightfully simple when you think about it. lower-carb fruit like berries or even carbier fruit if you personally can take it. (I resisted this the longest, but I have very bad blood glucose regulation, not like you, who only needs to go somewhat lower-carb.)

When a galpal of mine had an HBA1c of 42 I suggested she avoid all or most added sugar, which is a really good thing for everyone to do, regardless of one's blood glucose functioning, but that is my bias, perhaps. When you find yourself reading for ingredients that don't have sugar in them, in the supermarket, you realise exactly how overriden with the stuff our modern food is. I used a nice spice blend on a roast chook yesterday and be b*****ed if it didn't have sugar added to it. Why Why Why????!! But there you are - it's a cheap taste enhancer and food preservative, and food manufacturers just can't resist it. So sad though. (It was listed last, so meant there was only a relatively small amount, but still, when you are as overloaded with glucose as I am - I don't want to eat any of it unncecessarily.)

Then cut down on your wheat. I think I have already suggested to you that you find out if you get tummy bloating from a food intolerance by going on elimination diets of the major culprits. I say this knowing that every single person in my life who I love/am closely related to with tummy bloating that I have suggested this to do this has not done it, and really really resists it. Such is the power of wheat products in our life, and does make me wonder if there is something addictive in wheat - I know the 'wheat belly' writer talks about it. Bread, nann, pizza dough - seriously yum. But I ditched it and will never regret it. And I have some wheat-eating days during the year to help me ditch it the rest of the time.

Are you dairy tolerant? Most of the world is not. If you are not very dairy tolerant and eating it, you will have what they call 'digestive issues' and that includes tummy bloating.

After that, yeah, it is just a fat storage issue. (ie piling on the pounds on the tummy.)

 

[HSSS]

Yes the dietician I’ve had is insistent on eating carbs in some form! Even with having prediabetes it’s quite insane. I’m really only learning now that slow release carbs are still carbs and should be avoided. I was happily including them as I was doing the nhs plate method thinking I had to have some carbs for the fibre. Still don’t know what to eat though to get full as low carb means I’m hungry most of the time

Fibre can come from nuts, seeds and green veg. It doesnt have to come from bread and pasta etc. These are much lower in carbs and higher in nutrients as a bonus.

Also a lot of us find we don’t actually need quite so much fibre if we are not blocking our system up with grains and sugar etc. A normal rather than low level of fats helps too and keeps our gallbladder’s functioning properly too.

 

[AndBreathe]

Thank you so much for this! I am a 49 year old female and I’ve always had a problems with the belly fat!!! So I should ditch all carbs is this correct??? I’ve started exercising doing to exercise classes at the gym but are you saying I can get rid of this belly and get my waist abit smaller??? I am 4ft 11 and weigh 7 stone 5 so that’s not underweight??? I’m only going by the dietician I’ve been seeing and today I had another appointment and she was still going on about slow release carbs!! So I’m still learning about carbs! I always thought the slow release ones were safe??? She keeps telling me to add them in as I need the fibre! Today I actually thought she didn’t know what she was talking about! Also is there a list of low carb stuff we can eat??? I get stuck with what to have for breakfast lunch and dinner that is low carb. I also use a low carb seeded bread is that also no good?? Thank you for all your help! It’s making more sense as time goes on !

it may be your dietician means fibre for gut transit, but personally, I find fat more important in that region. Too little and the action is infrequent, but I can go overboard and form a whole new relationship with the small room.

 

[SlimLizzy]

Thank you for the reply. I do believe that’s probably what it is. That I have internal fat around the organs I’ve read alot about that! So you think low carb will help? As I said I’m low carb but on the advice of my dietician which the doctor referred me to I do eat lentils and beans. I understand they are all carbs but the dietician tells me we need the good carbs coz of the fibre! So I should be cutting them out altogether????? Is that right? I just find it hard to know what to eat then! I’m not vegetarian I eat fish and meat. And yes I keep getting advised to have. Carb at every meal

Hi gowest12
Do you know how many carbs a day you are eating? An approximation at least.
Knowing this will help you make choices. The Carb and Calorie Counter book or app can help with this. You might be able to get a copy from your library if you don't want to buy one.
I understand you are concerned about getting enough fibre and are eating pulses to obtain it. Fibre is also found in nuts and seeds, fruit and vegetables. The carbs and Calorie counter figures for fibre, protein and fat. It's at-a-glance photos so no need to weigh every mouthful. Easy to use.
As a fellow prediabetic with similar issues I found it very useful. You probably dont need to give up carbs completely. What you do need to do is to establish your personal tolerance for them. Mine is around 100g - 12og a day. (If I go over this I'm dashing to the loo at least once an hour again. My body's way of telling me I have too much glucose in my system.) Another tell tale sign is feeling really sleepy shortly after a meal.
Another recommendation. See if your surgery can help you find a Preventing Diabetes course. They vary, depending on provider, but I notice another person on here also found one useful.

 

[saky]

Thank you so much for this! I am a 49 year old female and I’ve always had a problems with the belly fat!!! So I should ditch all carbs is this correct??? I’ve started exercising doing to exercise classes at the gym but are you saying I can get rid of this belly and get my waist abit smaller??? I am 4ft 11 and weigh 7 stone 5 so that’s not underweight??? I’m only going by the dietician I’ve been seeing and today I had another appointment and she was still going on about slow release carbs!! So I’m still learning about carbs! I always thought the slow release ones were safe??? She keeps telling me to add them in as I need the fibre! Today I actually thought she didn’t know what she was talking about! Also is there a list of low carb stuff we can eat??? I get stuck with what to have for breakfast lunch and dinner that is low carb. I also use a low carb seeded bread is that also no good?? Thank you for all your help! It’s making more sense as time goes on !

For low carb break fast you can eat eggs with salads and or veggies
For lunch and dinner green soups, salads, boiled /sauteed veggies with fish/chicken/eggs

 

[LancsCarol]

hi I’ve posted before but I’m none the wiser. I was diagnosed with hba1c of 42 shock as it was as I thought I wasn’t overweight well I wasn’t overweight I was a good weight which was lower end of normal but never did I think I had a problem especially with diabetes! Well I’m quite fed up as I’m going round in circles with how to actually deal with this. My problem is when I check my waist to hip ratio it makes me overweight and at risk of obese diseases! I’ve never been someone who exercised ate tons of carbs and yes the weight always ended up in the middle and it’s always been a problem area. But my question is how can I be almost underweight and have this problem?? Am I the only one??? I’m doing lowish carb higher fat but then I get scared when I see posts on certain sites saying if we eat too much protein we will damage our kidneys or have a heart attack with fat! I’m confused I’ve started going to exercise classes to see if I can get this waist measurement down. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My mum had diabetes and was same shape as me and my sister is prediabetic and she has same belly problem! Yet my doctor doesn’t even listen when I tell him the belly is a problem he just says I’m very normal weight I don’t have to lose weight but I have to lose the fat! I’m getting very depressed! I wish I had more visible weight to lose!

I noticed that the wth calculator had a choice of specifying male or female but the result for either was the same using the same measurements. So why even ask your gender? Calculation is also regardless of the fact that many women - not all - have tiny waists with big bony hips, and their ratio stays the same even if they are very overweight; and some women have tiny hips and a barely noticeable waist [a very common shape for clothing models]. Strikes me as pretty much nonsense unless you can get measurements from when folks were skinny and compare them to when they are fat. Yes, I have been both.

 

[Outlier]

Natural body shape can't be changed - we can get thinner or fatter, but just as you say, there are different shapes we have from birth, they are genetic and cannot be altered. Nor can we change the places we lose weight off. This is why we shouldn't treat these theories as gospel - or even as important.

 

[SlimLizzy]

Thank you for the reply. I do believe that’s probably what it is. That I have internal fat around the organs I’ve read alot about that! So you think low carb will help? As I said I’m low carb but on the advice of my dietician which the doctor referred me to I do eat lentils and beans. I understand they are all carbs but the dietician tells me we need the good carbs coz of the fibre! So I should be cutting them out altogether????? Is that right? I just find it hard to know what to eat then! I’m not vegetarian I eat fish and meat. And yes I keep getting advised to have. Carb at every meal

Hi gowest12
It may not be neccessary to completely avoid pulses such as lentils, you might be ok with a smaller portion. This is where a meter is really helpful because you can see your own individual response to a meal. I can manage small portions of some carbs. You may find the same.
By the way there is plenty of fibre in most vegetables.

 

[SlimLizzy]

I get stuck with what to have for breakfast.

Try looking on the internet for no carb granola recipes. Most are quite simple to make and keep well. (I prefer to fridge mine) Check portion size - it will seem tiny, but this is nutrient dense food and satisfying. Once it's made is also quick and easy.
Serve with full fat yoghurt, berries, cream any of the above or just a splash of milk.