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Wasting away!!!

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DanW13

Well-Known Member
Ok a slight exaggeration in the title, but it does feel a bit like that at the moment.

When I was diagnosed with pre diabetes in mid Sept last year I weighed just over 12 stone, having put on circa half a stone over lockdown. Historically I’ve always been thin, nickname was ‘Skeletor’ at school, think I was about 7 and a half stone only at 16, then discovered beer and carbs, and the rest is history.

Since then I’ve been on a low carb/healthy fat diet and have dropped almost 2 stone, today 10 stone 4 pounds, BMI of just over 20. Rate of weight loss has reduced, so I was down at 11 stone at end of October, so over last 10 weeks I’ve lost a further 10lb (a pound a week basically).

The problem is I’m scratching my head at how I can stop further loss without increasing carbs & thus blood sugar. Suspect I’m around 35-37 Hba1c so good but my time using a Libre have shown it doesn’t take much before it climbs again.

I’ve upped my food intake so having omelettes now 3-4 days a week, other cooked breakfasts on 1-2 days. Greek yoghurt, plus berries in addition for breakfast. So think breakfast is okay. Probably lunch is the trickiest one, have things like tinned fish/salad plus a further Greek yoghurt/berries.

Any ideas on how I can up the calories further? I’m snacking on nuts during the day, plus have a small bit of 85-90% dark chocolate each day. Really don’t know what else I can do food wise!

My problem could be exercise, I do a lot, run 6k 3-4 times a week, exercise bike for half an hour 2-3 times a week. Perhaps I need to reduce this a bit but then will have hit my blood sugar levels adversely?

Any ideas/thoughts? There must be other skinnies out there with the same problem! Will the weight drop eventually stop???? What will I look like at that point though!
 
I am also a skinny type 2 I try to keep my. weight up but as an OAP I don't exercise as much as you do .I eat double cream with my full.fat yoghurt ,butter on my vegetables , lots of cheese nuts as a snack and I can manage a cracker loaded with butter and marmite and as much cheese as I can balance on top when I feel the need for something crunchy ! My cholesterol is ok by the way .
Carol
 
I think my weight loss has stabilised at about 10/6lbs 21.5 BMI, 22lbs lost. Certainly the lightest I've been for 25 years. I am a walker rather than a runner, 6km a day average. I think the answer might be swapping out some cardio for weights. Right now you take calories in and burn them off running with a slight net loss. Instead, take calories in and turn some off those calories into muscle, which increases your weight in a good way and provides a bigger sink for any glucose improving your insulin sensitivity. But this is an untested personal theory because weights are tedious and the gyms are all shut anyway.

I've been on 10g/100g full fat greek yoghurt, sausages, cod, haddock, salmon, kippers, chicken, lots of nuts, butter, omelettes, ham, cheese, burgers, roasted veg in goose fat, steamed veg with butter, glass of red wine every night. I've increased the portions too. Six beef chipolatas, two burgers, two salmon fillets, whole roasted cauliflower in garlic butter, a heap of broccoli, etc. I'm eating like some kind of medieval baron. But still I find that sometimes I just can't be bothered with an evening meal, just not hungry enough to motivate myself to cook another piece of animal flesh. Jesus wept I miss beans on toast.

I would like to get bloods done in February and the big question is cholesterol. If the newer theory holds, the bad carbs are actually the big contributor to bad cholesterol scores. If the old theory holds and I've gone sky high, diet gets really restricted...

Tough Christmas, I had two days of total splurge and have only just today got FBG back under 5.5. I don't have much leeway to stay out of the high sixes. It wasn't worth it!
 
When I was diagnosed with Pre Diabetes, I was not overweight at all. When I switched to Low Carb I also lost weight that I didn't need to lose.
I kept a detailed food diary which as well as carbs intake, also included calorie intake (Most people on this site will say ignore calories, but generally these are people who wish to lose weight). I found that I wasn't eating enough even though I was eating until full. I found that I need to eat around 2500 calories a day (of the type of food I eat) to keep a stable weight. If I go down to 2000I lose weight, if I go up to 3000 I put on weight.(and I don't do the amount of exercise that you do!) I have now had a stable weight for more than 3 years (plus or minus one pound, measured every Monday morning)). I now know what I can eat and don't need to count carbs or calories because I have developed a way of eating.

I suggest you actually weigh and measure your food intake in detail for a week and see what it tells you.

As an example, I have a regular breakfast of Greek Yogurt with a few berries, but quite a lot of chopped nuts (the lower carb varieties). This ups the calories quite considerable. Greek Yogurt with berries without nuts will only be about 150 to 200 calories. A plain 3 egg omlette will only be about 250 calories. Tinned fish with sald will likely be low calorie as well.

Olive oil will add calories to your salad. Cheese is higher calorie. Avocados are higher calorie.

So my main recommendation is a detailed food diary for a week to see how many calories you are actually taking in. Mine was much lower than I expected.
 

Tricky isn’t it, I thought I had it cracked a few weeks back when I stabilised around 10 stone 7, for a couple of weeks, but it’s dropped again I think due to an uptick in my exercise (mainly ex bike, upped it as it seemed to really help lower my BG scores) and a slight panic when my Libre readings were stubbornly holding at or above 6.0 for much of the day after meals, about 10% higher than back in Oct/Nov, think I cut back a bit in response.

The cholesterol is a bit of a worry yes as mine went up from 5 to 5.6 at end of Oct, though I believe this does happen following rapid weight loss as the body burns fat and the cholesterol resulting from this is released into the bloodstream, this supposedly reverses when weight stabilises. But yes if it carries on going up not sure what I’d do then!
 

Thanks Redshank and yes I think you’re right, I’m not consuming enough calories to offset my high exercise lifestyle so need to up them further and perhaps as Carpetsalesman says look at switching some of the aerobic exercise to less aerobic/muscle building. I eat a lot of cheese & nuts already, have also added dark chocolate now, so will up intake of those & maybe add some advocado also and see if that stops the drop!

Thanks
 
The thing about adopting a high good fat/low carb lifestyle is that there's a lot of unlearning to do first. By which I mean, we have all grown up to think fat's bad for us, that lots of protein is bad for us. Etc. Even though we know now that this isn't true, it can still be hard to put it into practice wholeheartedly. By 'putting it into practice wholeheartedly' of course, I mean 'by eating enough fat and protein'. And it sounds like you aren't, quite. Bad luck, Dan - more steak for you!
 

Yes feel like I’m close to solving the problem but not quite there yet. Since posting I’ve made a couple of small but hopefully useful changes. I’m now on a 90% dark chocolate bar (20g per day) rather than 85% & 10g per day. Much lower carb number so able to increase quantity. Also swapped the cashew & pistachio nuts I was eating for higher fat/lower carb pecan & macadamia nuts. I’ve upped my nut amounts also, do reckon I’ll get another 200 calories a day from this change.

Disappointed lunchtime today, had low carb roast dinner but was going to have a couple of profiteroles (just 2) with double cream. My wife went out for the cream & came back with Elmlea Double cream, 50% less fat (100% more sugar though)! She didn’t realise sadly, just thought double cream was all the same!!
 
Good to hear the progress. It can be hard to consciously add fats and avoid the low fat versions but for weight maintenance or gain that is what’s needed. Also good to hear you’re avoiding the processed seed and vegetable oils. Nasty things. Butter on stuff? Ghee for frying? Oil based dressings?
 
Yes, increase fats and proteins. If you still lose weight AND your BS starts going up then suspect being T1 and get the tests done. Otherwise there may be some other problem, perhaps hormonal, that needs checking out with the GP.
 
No mention of dinner? Steaks are pretty good at packing in extra nutrients although I'd say your body looks like it wants to run at a lighter weight than most. Ever thought of weightlifting to increase muscle mass to reduce the need for cardio?
 
Yes Saturday night is steak night, it’s become a weekly treat for me & my wife! Usually with a higher fat sauce like bearnaise. Had 2 duck breast fillets Friday also (no plum sauce though). I do think I’ve historically tended to have a lot of lean meats though - chicken breast (no skin), white fish or salmon etc. I’ve started getting fattier bits of meat now like duck & also turkey thighs etc.

I’m hoping this plus switching to higher fat/lower carb nuts & a daily chunk of dark chocolate will cover the calorie gap.

You’re right though I was always skinny as a kid, and given the amount of carbs I was consuming it’s a miracle I wasn’t overweight before. Guess it’s just the way my body works. Yes I am looking at increasing muscle mass, already doing things like press ups, will probably get some 1:1 personal trainer help with this area when covid is sent packing.
 
Your wife is quite right: most double creams are the same - too bad that fake-food Elmlea isn't cream at all!
 
I'm T1 so not quite the same but I've found if I have carbs just before exercise I'm wearing them off before they increase blood sugar. For me it's a nut based cereal bar. The sugar is eye watering but my body just burns it.

Elmlea though - that's a mistake that hurt!!
 
I realise you acknowledge the difference but for the benefit of anyone unclear, the problem is type 2 - with an inability to access and process those carbs for energy efficiently (insulin resistance) - might not have the same advantage as a type 1, who once they have insulin on board can access the energy in the glucose just fine.
 
Quick update. 2 weeks on from my initial post and my weight has edged up a touch from 10 stone 4 to 10 stone 5lb! So I appear for now to have stopped the rot!

How? I’ve not reduced exercise, but have increased number of calories per day in the following ways, with an emphasis on upping good fats rather than saturated:

1) Increase in number of omelettes per week for breakfast
2) I’ve swapped cashew & pistachio nuts for macadamia & pecan nuts. These not only taste better but also have lower carbs & higher (good) fats. 1 of each nut is circa 10 calories, I’m having around 25 each per day, so 500 calories total. All good fats also & probably less carbs than when I had the cashew/pistachios.
3) 20g of 90% dark chocolate per day, usually just prior or after exercise.
4) I’ve added a green pesto sauce to 2 meals per week, I’ve chosen the meals where the meat is leaner - fish, chicken, turkey etc, to basically calorie up the meals. The sauce I’ve chosen is high in calories (mostly good fats again), but v.low in carbs. Link to it below for those interested.
5) Addition of pine nuts to several meals & lunch salads.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/pesto/belazu-ingredient-co-italian-basil-pesto-165g
 
Quick update 6 weeks on from original post, and the good news is my weight has slightly increased and generally been stable over the period. Currently 10st 5lb so a gain of 1lb compared to 6 weeks ago.

So job done for now - mainly via swapping to high calorie/lower carb nuts - macadamia & pecans in particular. Also upping omelettes to 4 days a week, plus introducing things like low carb pesto sauce (high calories/good fats) that I can tip on leaner meats & fish to up the overall calories. Also 20g of 90% dark chocolate each day - delicious (love dark chocolate luckily).

Seems to be working, just need to find out impact on blood sugar now, but will probably wait till March and then order another Libre.

Bought some low carb bread incidentally from these guys, tasted amazing, as good if not better than normal bread. Just had a plain chicken sandwich with butter for lunch yesterday, amazing to taste nice bread again, may have some toast with melted butter next, something I’ve really missed! Limiting myself to 1 slice a day though as still has some carbs.
https://www.freedough.co.uk/
 
I had the same problem as you i was prediabetic HBA1C was 44 cut out carbs as best i could but as I was slim to start I had to use fitnespal to track calories to gain some weight, its worked I have put on 6lb took me a few months though, im back down in the normal range again in my last HBA1 test, I also watch saturates so i dont go over daily limit, but i eat salads with eggs coleslaw dips dressing all higher cal but lower carbs, then meats and vegs tea time, snack on marks and Spencer nut bars which is 200 cals each bar, takes some getting used to but its so worth it. Its a lifestyle change for good to keep numbers down
 
Ah - but it isn't cream - it is always so cleverly packaged and labelled, but it doesn't say cream, it says cream substitute, or it did last time I looked. Very crafty.
 
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