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Weight Loss

J

Julie702

Member
Messages
22
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Other
Hi

I have been lurking here for a just over a fortnight since I was diagnosed with t2. I was given NO information by my doctor, just a prescription for metaformin (3 x 500 mg per day) and Stagliptin (1 x 50 mg per day) and ushered out of the door. I found this forum on day one (absolutely fantastic, thank you, thank you) and changed my diet to LCHF the next day. I bought a code free monitor and started to see what was going on.

My BG was originally 19, and is now down to between 5 and 8 all of the time (rarely touching 8 in fact) which I am very happy with. I have cut out all the main carbs (no bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, carrots, sugar etc) and it has suited me very well. I feel more energetic and don't fall asleep after meals any more!

A typical day for me would be:

Breakfast: Set yogurt (not diet), a tablespoon of cream and mixed berries
Lunch: Tuna mayonnaise or meat, tomatoes, cucumber and some cheese
Tea: A home cooked meal (I'm cooking for 3 others) with the carbs removed for me - so chicken tikka masala without the rice (discovered cauliflower rice), shepherd's pie minus the potatoes, quiche without the pastry, meat and veg without potatoes etc.
Snacks: Nuts, cheese, coffee with cream

I particularly wanted to do this without counting or fussing, which is why the LCHF diet attracted me (that and the fact that it totally makes sense to me that if my body can't deal with carbs then I should just cut them out). I need to lose maybe 2 stone and whilst my primary concern is getting my blood sugar down and keeping it that way I am looking forward to losing some weight as a byproduct and know that this will help my BG also.

The first week I lost 5 lbs straight off. For the past week the scales have not moved at all. Am I being too impatient or am I doing something wrong do you think? I keep telling myself that with the changes that I have made the weight must follow, and my body will adjust and I'll start losing again, but day to day I don't feel so confident. Can someone who has been here give me a virtual clip around the ear and tell me to pull myself together and not be so impatient, or should I make some other changes? I'm also wondering if I am eating enough. I'm eating much less than previously - the metaformin sees to that!

Thanks in advance for any advice
Julie x
 
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Mabey you could for one day only look at the calories you are eating .. Then if too low or high you can adjust the fat or protein intake. Cannot advise on the meat side as I am a strict vegetarian ..
Most people can/do plato with weight loss..
Congratulations on finding the forums here and your LCHF diet getting your sugars down. Have you increased your activity to help with the weight loss ?
 
Hi im like you recently diagnosed then left to get on with it.i am trying lchf but tailoring it to something workable for me.i downloaded myfitnesspal app which you can set your carb goals etc whilst not counting calories the app does it for you so its also easy to keep a check on all that extra cheese and cream lol without being obsessive about it.i lost 4 lbs first week then nothing although I knew something was going on coz I felt lighter lol and old clothes were starting to fit, still the scales showed nothing, then on this week's weigh in day its suddenly showing a total loss of 9lbs.woo hoo.so id say keep at it and try not to get obsessive about weight loss, easy to say lol. Good luck stick to it obviously its helped you bs big style and mabe youll see further weight loss on the scales very soon.
 
Hi Julie, well done on your progress so far!

As @Enclave alludes, for weight loss you need to burn more calories than you consume, so on LCHF you don't want to overdo the fat part because your calorie balance might swing the wrong way. I had a bit of a plateau in my weight loss initially, it's part of the body's adjustment to the new regime, initial rapid water loss etc.

Don't panic though, we're in this for the long haul and it's BG levels that are the most important thing.
 
Thanks for the helpful replies and the encouragement.

@Enclave - you are right, I should calorie count for a day or two at least to get an idea of exactly what I am taking on board. I had just assumed that it would be less that I was eating before as there is no sugars or bread etc, but it would be a good exercise for me. Talking of exercise I'm not great on that score. the 3 days a week that I am not working I do walk the dog with my husband for 45 minutes to an hour, and I have seen just what affect that has on blood sugar levels, so I know upping my exercise would benefit me in more ways than one.

@janmoore - thank you, this was exactly what I needed to hear! I do feel slimmer and my clothes are looser, so hopefully there will be developments on the scales for me too next week Congrats on your weight loss, that is fantastic!

@Rod - yep, the long haul is right. I think I'll be here (and learning) for some time to come.

If my calorie count is too high, then the easiest thing to cut would be the fat, as I am adding cream to my coffee and yogurt when I don't really need it, but am I correct in my understanding that LCHF won't work so well if I do that - as the fat replaces some of the missing carbs, and so I would be better to lose the calories from the protein? I have a feeling that the answer may be that everyone is different and I need to learn my own balance...

Julie
 
Hello Julie. I am like Jan in thatI use my fitness pal to monitor my food and exercise. I find that as it give me/more calories and xarbs when I exercise I make sure that I exercise lol. Have you measured yourself? Ive found that when Im not losing weight I am actually losing inches.
 
Julie, the HF bit doesn't mean you have to add fat to everything, just what you want to. Olive oil, coconut oil or avocado can provide fats just as well as cream. LC to manage blood sugars and manage your calories to take your weight down or up as required.
 

Thanks, I'm going to have a look at Fitness Pal and take some measurements, I should have remembered that piece of advice from my many failed Weight Watchers attempts, lol.
 
lol lol lol lol yes Im an ex slimming worlder and they used to say same thing.
 
Fat is much more energy dense than carbohydrates ( think of how teeny that 1oz of cheese is for it's 120 calories) so you really don't need to be shovelling it like it was going out of fashion to replace the missing carbs. An olive oil dressing on salad, bit of guacamole with your chilli or some butter on griddled asparagus, few berries and some thick yogurt are all more than enough to give you the full up feeling without going overboard. I think there is a danger in seeing the HF bit as an eating free for all, especially for those of us quite overweight. No diet works if you overeat, though I grant you it's easier to overeat and out weight on on high carbs, so try counting your calories as well as the carbs to track whether you are eating too much fat / protein or too little. I try and stick to around 1200 cals per day and get most of my fat from oil on salads and cheese and the odd bit of yogurt or lactofree milk and whatever is on my meat.
 

I counted calories via Fitness Pal today and was surprised to find I'd eaten nearly 1500 calories but felt that I had not eaten very much. I want to aim for 1200 too. Turns out the cream and cheese are a bit of a problem, so cream will be going and cheese will become more of a treat. I did have a bit of a misconception about the need for fat on LCHF and so I'll make those adjustments. Thanks for the advice.
 
When I said I was doing lchf but to suit me its because since having my gall bladder removed many years ago, as much as I might enjoy putting the lovely stuff in my mouth my body cannot tolerate it so I havnt really gone high fat just same as I was really, mabe a coffee with cream now and again and Indeed im enjoying cooking with cream, myfitnesspal set me at 1320 cals but im finding although I am eating well and enjoying it im rarely eating over 1000 cals a day possibly the metformin kicking in coz im not hungry,I used to be a chocaholic but not missing it although someone treated me to some lovely 70% dark choc with cherry/chilli .large pack with 5 individual bars which are pretty low carb for a yummy treat,99p in aldi.
so I think 1500 cals might be a wee bit high but im no expert and we all have to find something we can live with and sustain.
 
Hi Julie702,
Your are being to hard on your self, and it is some of us that need a clip round the ear and should follow you.
All I can say is well done and please do not starve yourself from what food works for you.
My simple point being , shepherd's pie needs a few potatoes,tikka masala needs a little rice and quiche needs a little pastry etc;
Mind you I cannot be a expert as I am on a vegan so called diet , (I now call it a vegan high fat diet ) gets me out of arguments.
Your on the right track and you are learning that your body will soon adjust accordingly to what you know what is best.
Again well done
 
@izzzi - yes, I have been mulling it over this evening and concluded that the last thing I need to do at this point is let my brain know that we are on a diet! I am resolute in controlling my blood sugar and must not lose focus on that. I was adding fats unnecessarily and I will drop that but I won't get too tied up with calories. Goodness only knows how many I was eating on a daily basis just 2 weeks ago ☺

Thanks for commenting and being so positive. I think I'm doing OK but I just have some jitters from time to time because it's all just such a new approach for me.
 
I would rather say don't count calories and don't be afraid of the fat part. To much nuts and dairies call stall weight loss (mostly ladies). Being Swedish living in UK I've read a lot about this and also participate in chat forums. Count your carbs for couple of days, maybe you need to lower them a bit and add some fat. A good read if you haven't read this http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
 
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