Weight lost...or lack of.

[Tanis]

Diagnosed 4 weeks ago. Put straight on to Metformin, starting at one 500mg a day first week, 2 second week, 3 third week. In fourth week bg levels have dropped to 8+ fasting and 9-11+ after meals. This seems good to me after such high intial readings.Second blood test taken and Dr. for results/follow up next week. On diagnosis i immediately dropped my carbs to almost Atkins level. After my intial panic and horror at being told i was diabetic, i am trying to come to terms with it. I also saw it as an opportunity to lose weight because i HAVE to, not because i want to. To my dismay i have lost none in this month. I have cut out bread, cereal, rice, potatos, pasta (apart from small amounts of brown), no sugar at all apart from small amount of fruit rarely. I am living on meat and non starchy veg. Why have i not lost any weight? To have to restrict myself due to having diabetes is something i have to live with but to not lose weight is making coping a lot harder.

 

[Prem51]

Hi @Tanis If I remember correctly it was about 3-4 weeks after diagnosis, and immediately starting a spartan diet, before I started losing weight. After that it was coming off at 1-1.5 lbs every week. Our bodies are all different, some will lose weight more or less than others. From what I have read on here women seem to have more difficulty in losing weight than men.
But if you are doing LCHF you should start losing weight soon.

 

[bobrobert]

Your initial weight loss will be fluids and not fat. My weight loss was from 15 stone down to 12 stone at the rate of 1lb a week over a period of 9 months. If you try for a greater weight loss then it could rebound on you. You have to be patient. A lot of members will recommend exercise to help lose weight but there is imo very little evidence that it helps.

 

[chalup]

It has taken me 6 months and one severe illness where I didnt eat for 3 days to lose 30 pounds. I hear you and feel for you. I will not lose any unless I restrict carbs to 20 grams (no rice or fruit) and also keep protein in reason. If I go a bit over on carbs I will gain a pound or three literally over night. If I behave myself it will come off sloooooooooowly, but it will come off.

 

[Larissima]

Before your diagnosis, have you been on a low fat diet? If so, the body may need some time to readjust, not to mention greedily absorb all the essential fats that it had been denied. If not, are you eating huge portions of bacon, butter, double cream and coconut oil? Massively overeating LCHF (or any) foods will not allow weight loss, and may even lead to weight gain.
These are just a couple of possibilities that I though of, not meaning to imply anything about your eating!
Also, what exactly is almost Atkins level? 25 grams, or 100 grams?
EDIT: Do you actually need to lose weight? What is your current BMI?

 

[Jo123]

Hi there, well done on reducing your bg levels already.
As others have said how many carbs do you eat, I cut out all obvious sources of carbs, including pulses, fruit, and wholemeal products because they all put up my BG. I went hard core as I was terrified too. I didn't really up my fats much either. I found the weight fell off to the extent I had to up my fat. I tested before and after eating to see what increased my BG.
So I would look carefully at what you eat and reduce your carbs further to lose weight and further reduce your bg levels.

 

[CherryAA]

You say you are living on meat and non starchy vegetables, does that mean you are eating a high protein low fat diet ? if so , you might find that the problem is that you are still not reaching ketosis - where your body starts to consume your own fat as its first priority. That would probably be as a result of too much protein and too little fat.

What worked for me was approaching things the other way round. i.e. starting off by wanting to consume about 60% of my intake in fat - olive oil, butter, cream, macadamia nuts, adding to that about 20% protein being meats, fish, eggs and then adding in some above ground vegetables cooked in the oils finding that as a result of the above two the carb content then was about 20% being the accumulation of the actual carbs already present in the other things I was eating - no actual bread rice, pasta sweets etc.

As a result of doing this my body started to be in ketosis a few weeks ago and has stayed there ever since despite some rather food intensive but still low carb days. I've also ended up about 60% fat most days ( I use cronometer - a low carb high fat friendly measuring system to check the content of what I am eating )

 

[AndBreathe]

Diagnosed 4 weeks ago. Put straight on to Metformin, starting at one 500mg a day first week, 2 second week, 3 third week. In fourth week bg levels have dropped to 8+ fasting and 9-11+ after meals. This seems good to me after such high intial readings.Second blood test taken and Dr. for results/follow up next week. On diagnosis i immediately dropped my carbs to almost Atkins level. After my intial panic and horror at being told i was diabetic, i am trying to come to terms with it. I also saw it as an opportunity to lose weight because i HAVE to, not because i want to. To my dismay i have lost none in this month. I have cut out bread, cereal, rice, potatos, pasta (apart from small amounts of brown), no sugar at all apart from small amount of fruit rarely. I am living on meat and non starchy veg. Why have i not lost any weight? To have to restrict myself due to having diabetes is something i have to live with but to not lose weight is making coping a lot harder.

Tanis, that must be so frustrating for you. I am one of those infuriating people who lost weight without even trying - literally!

Having got that confession out of the way, I'll try to put something to you.

When I was diagnosed, I didn't carry a lot of weight, although what weight I did carry, I carried around my mid-section, which is the most unhelpful place for diabetics. However, just three years ago, there wasn't quite so much focus on losing weight and more on getting the blood numbers down. I reckoned, for me, I would be content if I had good blood numbers, but still a little spare around the middle, whereas I knew I wouldn't be happy to be ultra trim, but still have unsatisfactory bloods. The result was I gave myself one goal, and that was to improve my blood numbers, and that goal just shifted a bit over time, as I achieved one goal, I would set another a further bit lower, until I got to non-diabetic HbA1c levels.

I didn't weigh myself for the first four months, so I couldn't tell you when I started trimming up, my clothes just seemed looser after a while. Actually, looking back, it was quite liberating not knowing.

My way of eating also changed over time, as I discovered, by home testing, additional foods I could or couldn't eat. I have never called my way of eating LCHF, except on here or any other diabetic website. I refer to it as reduced carb (because it is) with balancing fats (balancing to stop me losing weight and keep my energy levels up). I tried to keep it pretty simple.

Provided you are feeling well, and enjoying the food you are eating, it probablt doesn't make sense to make too many further changes too soon. When we are newly diagnosed and change our diets (and this bit is important), our bodies tend to resist this change and try to keep things as they were before. It does this by using it's stores to continue the status quo. Often we will see folks say their bloods aren't coming down, even though they're being very strict with themselves? Well, that's the body using it's stores in the liver to keep their bloods up, where it feel comfortable. The same can happen with weight loss. However, more often than not, the body eventually gets the drift that the change is here to stay and the numbers come down, or the weight starts coming off.

Some folks do have specific issues losing weight, whether that be hormonal, some meds they take or sometimes judging their diet a bit wrongly. I personally found, when I started tracking my carbs that those non-starchy veg can all add up, if one is a veg muncher, like me!

I'm not suggesting you are doing anything wrong for an instant, just trying to make a balanced post and making sure I'm not saying it's all too easy. It isn't.

Good luck with it all. Listen to your meter, and don't panic. You'll get there.

 

[Tanis]

Your initial weight loss will be fluids and not fat. My weight loss was from 15 stone down to 12 stone at the rate of 1lb a week over a period of 9 months. If you try for a greater weight loss then it could rebound on you. You have to be patient. A lot of members will recommend exercise to help lose weight but there is imo very little evidence that it helps.

I am unable to exercise as i have Fibromyalgia and Arthritis.

 

[Tanis]

Tanis, that must be so frustrating for you. I am one of those infuriating people who lost weight without even trying - literally!

Having got that confession out of the way, I'll try to put something to you.

When I was diagnosed, I didn't carry a lot of weight, although what weight I did carry, I carried around my mid-section, which is the most unhelpful place for diabetics. However, just three years ago, there wasn't quite so much focus on losing weight and more on getting the blood numbers down. I reckoned, for me, I would be content if I had good blood numbers, but still a little spare around the middle, whereas I knew I wouldn't be happy to be ultra trim, but still have unsatisfactory bloods. The result was I gave myself one goal, and that was to improve my blood numbers, and that goal just shifted a bit over time, as I achieved one goal, I would set another a further bit lower, until I got to non-diabetic HbA1c levels.

I didn't weigh myself for the first four months, so I couldn't tell you when I started trimming up, my clothes just seemed looser after a while. Actually, looking back, it was quite liberating not knowing.

My way of eating also changed over time, as I discovered, by home testing, additional foods I could or couldn't eat. I have never called my way of eating LCHF, except on here or any other diabetic website. I refer to it as reduced carb (because it is) with balancing fats (balancing to stop me losing weight and keep my energy levels up). I tried to keep it pretty simple.

Provided you are feeling well, and enjoying the food you are eating, it probablt doesn't make sense to make too many further changes too soon. When we are newly diagnosed and change our diets (and this bit is important), our bodies tend to resist this change and try to keep things as they were before. It does this by using it's stores to continue the status quo. Often we will see folks say their bloods aren't coming down, even though they're being very strict with themselves? Well, that's the body using it's stores in the liver to keep their bloods up, where it feel comfortable. The same can happen with weight loss. However, more often than not, the body eventually gets the drift that the change is here to stay and the numbers come down, or the weight starts coming off.




Some folks do have specific issues losing weight, whether that be hormonal, some meds they take or sometimes judging their diet a bit wrongly. I personally found, when I started tracking my carbs that those non-starchy veg can all add up, if one is a veg muncher, like me!

I'm not suggesting you are doing anything wrong for an instant, just trying to make a balanced post and making sure I'm not saying it's all too easy. It isn't.

Good luck with it all. Listen to your meter, and don't panic. You'll get there.

Thank you, that all makes sense

 

[Kristin251]

As others have asked, how many carbs are you eating?
Are you adding any healthy fats?
Are you eating protein in excess?

Low carb, healthy fats does not mean high protein.

 

[chalup]

I am also unable to exercise and that may well be part of why my weight loss is so slow. Diet is by far the bigger part of the puzzle. Just do what you can as far as moving your body, it does not have to be intense or painful. The weight will come off, but like me you might find it taking a long time. That is OK, you will get there eventually.

 

[Brunneria]

You mentioned in your original post that you are still eating small amounts of brown carbs. And I saw a post of yours in another thread saying you had brown pasta for lunch?

Please understand that this is not a criticism of you eating pasta. Some of us can tolerate it without problems, and I envy them. And if you are one of those people then I envy you!

But I can say with certainty that any wheat products at all will halt weight loss for me. The same for brown rice, or similar.

So you may find further testing beneficial, and maybe try a week or two without the brown carbs, to see if that makes a difference.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tanis]

As others have asked, how many carbs are you eating?
Are you adding any healthy fats?
Are you eating protein in excess?

Low carb, healthy fats does not mean high protein.

I have not counted carbs or protein. I am too involved in this bg thing at the moment. But last night i had kebab meat (lamb) and salad, (rather alot), and 2 hours after i was 7.6. That was alot of protein and very little carbs. I am just trying to restrict carbs right down to a minimum.

 

[Robbity]

Try to keep down to the Atkins original diet's induction phase recommended 25g carbs a day max - he reckoned if you kept to this low level for a few weeks, lack of carbs would definitely get you in to ketosis - fat burning mode. If you continue to feed your body carbs it will tend to prefer them as they're easier to process, and won't willingly switch over to burning either dietary or stored fat. My GP recommended Atkins for weight loss and roughly following these guidelines to start with, I managed to start losing weight - without doing much exercise either. Once your body's got the idea, you can up the carbs a bit gradually - but keep well away from the starchy stuff.

So, try cutting out all carbs of whatever colour (including all fruit) except those in very low carb green veggies, cut down on (too much) protein and processed and so called diabetic "friendly" food including the current commercial Atkins rubbish, and replace with more (but not excessive amounts of) home cooked fatty and oily foods -oily fish, nuts, eggs, and some dairy, etc) instead. You'll probably still get a very few extra carbs from other foods as well as the veggies, but these should be your main source.

Be aware than too much protein can also be turned to glucose particularly if you aren't eating many carbs. You must make up your energy deficit from lack of carbs with more fats not more protein. Look at one of the low carb nutritional calculators (e.g. http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/DietMakeupCalc.php) to work out how much protein you actually need.

Robbity

 

[dawnmc]

I haven't lost weight either after 3 yrs of low carbing, no idea why!

 

[Tanis]

I am also unable to exercise and that may well be part of why my weight loss is so slow. Diet is by far the bigger part of the puzzle. Just do what you can as far as moving your body, it does not have to be intense or painful. The weight will come off, but like me you might find it taking a long time. That is OK, you will get there eventually.

 

[Tanis]

Try to keep down to the Atkins original diet's induction phase recommended 25g carbs a day max - he reckoned if you kept to this low level for a few weeks, lack of carbs would definitely get you in to ketosis - fat burning mode. If you continue to feed your body carbs it will tend to prefer them as they're easier to process, and won't willingly switch over to burning either dietary or stored fat. My GP recommended Atkins for weight loss and roughly following these guidelines to start with, I managed to start losing weight - without doing much exercise either. Once your body's got the idea, you can up the carbs a bit gradually - but keep well away from the starchy stuff.

So, try cutting out all carbs of whatever colour (including all fruit) except those in very low carb green veggies, cut down on (too much) protein and processed and so called diabetic "friendly" food including the current commercial Atkins rubbish, and replace with more (but not excessive amounts of) home cooked fatty and oily foods -oily fish, nuts, eggs, and some dairy, etc) instead. You'll probably still get a very few extra carbs from other foods as well as the veggies, but these should be your main source.

Be aware than too much protein can also be turned to glucose particularly if you aren't eating many carbs. You must make up your energy deficit from lack of carbs with more fats not more protein. Look at one of the low carb nutritional calculators (e.g. http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/DietMakeupCalc.php) to work out how much protein you actually need.

Robbity

I lost 5 stone in 6 months on Atkins plus Orlistat, a few years ago. So i know it works. Problem is the food becomes sp totally boring.