Why am I not losing weight or improving bg?

[debbiedoodles]

Hi all
Can anyone help? I am having approx 60/80g carbs from diet overall. I have stayed around 1200 cals and am moderately active walk an hour a day usually. I am not eating any cereal, rice,potatoes, pasta or bread. Hba1c 8.7 which is consistent with readings of 8.1 on average at the moment. Highest was 9.5 in the morning and 7.1 before bed. A typical days diet would be 3 egg scrambled with splash cream, 2 good for you bacon medallions, mushrooms and a tiny bit ketchup, ham or chicken salad with either coleslaw or avocado, chicken or steak with celeriac mash, carrots and sprouts. If hungry later coffee or cocoa with cream some cheese or cottage cheese with one flax/pumpkin crisp bread and poss a piece of fruit. My hair is falling out and I'm not achieving the weight loss or bg I am hoping for. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. I am eating higher fat than normal but understood that this is necessary to stop hunger? I feel so disappointed

 

[Totto]

First, I think you probably eat too little.

Secondly, have you had you Ferritin and Hb checked? And thyroid?

Inability to lose weight while losing your hair is common in hypothyroidism.

 

[Brunneria]

There are some of us (often middle aged women with hormonal stuff going on) who don't lose weight on ordinary low carb, and have to go lower.

We all have a kind of low carb tipping point where we go low carb enough for it to work for us. And since we are unique, so it our tipping point (aka personal carb tolerance).

I have quite a bit of hormonal stuff going on, and cannot lose weight if I eat more than 20g carbs a day. Since I get bored with this very quickly, and still have a lot of weight to lose, I tend not to lose, or of I lose at all, it is agonisingly slow.

You may have a very low carb threshold, you may not be being active enough (we are not all designed to be marathon runners!), you may have other hormone stuff going on (thyroid issues? stress/cortisol issues? Vit D3 deficiency? a body that stores any or all carbs as fat due to excess insulin production? Polycystic ovary syndrome?

I am sorry to say that the list is quite long, and I haven't covered half of it.

There are a number of steps you can take, including asking your doc for hormone investigations, etc. but in your place I would try going very low carb for a while. I would actually gain weight on 60-80g carbs, no matter what my calorie intake was, with the ketchup and the fruit being the worst offenders. My weight is stable on 30-50g carbs and as I mentioned, I need to be below 20g carbs to lose at all. Plus being active. Plus drinking lots. Plus getting enough VitD3. Thankfully I don't have thyroid issues to muck things up further.

I totally agree with @Totto that hair issues can be related to thyroid, so worth getting that checked out, or medication adjusted if you already know you have a problem.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[debbiedoodles]

I wondered if I might not be eating enough protein from meat? I have made paleo bread from almond flour and almond flour scones but feel maybe the fat/cals are v high on these meaning I cut back on other things. Thyroid was checked about 12 months ago and I am 52 and had full hysterectomy 2 years ago. I will perhaps increase protein and take a vitamin supplement. so fed up though as I am trying so hard and then see all these success stories on here and I want to be one of them! Thanks for replies x

 

[Totto]

Then get your thyroid checked again and not only the pituitary hormone TSH but the free thyroid hormones as well, FT4 and FT3.
And your iron and vitamin D. Good idea to check B12 and folate too.

you could give the low carb challenge a go http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/get-started

 

[debbiedoodles]

Then get your thyroid checked again and not only the pituitary hormone TSH but the free thyroid hormones as well, FT4 and FT3.
And your iron and vitamin D. Good idea to check B12 and folate too.

you could give the low carb challenge a go http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/get-started

I am due bloods in couple weeks so will get thyroid checked then and other th's as you suggested. Thanks.

 

[Oldvatr]

I wondered if I might not be eating enough protein from meat? I have made paleo bread from almond flour and almond flour scones but feel maybe the fat/cals are v high on these meaning I cut back on other things. Thyroid was checked about 12 months ago and I am 52 and had full hysterectomy 2 years ago. I will perhaps increase protein and take a vitamin supplement. so fed up though as I am trying so hard and then see all these success stories on here and I want to be one of them! Thanks for replies x

Upping the protein may actually be exascerbating things. I saw a lot of protein in your first posting, and my first thought was that this protein may well be converting into glucose and giving you increased bgl, glucogen storage, and then liver dumps. At 50=80g of carbs per day, you are probably not getting to the level required to trigger fat burning mode in your body, and so will not be burning up the fat reserves Esp. if you are not allowing for the glucose synthesised from protein. They reckon a limit of 80g from protein a day is more than enough.

Increasing fat intake is directly linked to increasing weight, so LCHF can be used either for weight loss or weight gain simply by adjusting the fat intake. Be aware that recent studies have shown a link between eating fat from red meat or processed meat with other diseases, and for LCHF we are recommended to use dairy fats and oils, or nuts,and of course oliveoil or coconut oil.

Edit to Add: Don't be tempted to reduce the fat inake too severely. Our bodies need fat to make the essential amino acids and cholesterol. Fat also provides energy for the brain and lungs to replace that lost by going low carb. it is a balancing act, but luckily we can decide up front to go low carb, medium protein, then adjust the fat to suit (we only really need one ball to juggle with)

 

[Kristin251]

I agree with getting another thyroid test with hair loss.
I also think lowering carbs and protein a bit might help. I eat less than 20 c a day all in above ground veg. And about 40 G protein a day. The older I get the less food I need. I'm almost 52 and the hormones going. I eat much less protein than I used to. Excess protein can certainly turn to BS. I only eat 2-3 oz at a time and put at least 4 hours between it. This was a key to lowering my BS as well as weight loss. And if course low ear carb.
Nuts and nut flours can pack weight on people and dairy certainly can. Many on this forum do fine with dairy but it is a known weight staller for many.
Just things you could maybe tweak with.

 

[zand]

Are you drinking enough water? I need to drink at least 6 pints of water to lose weight.

 

[Kristin251]

I also want to mention that I have always done beat with small/ snack sized meals rather than larger. I have never needed more than 1200 cals. Not even sure I eat that many now. I do need to watch the type of fat I eat as well. I do better with plant fats like avocado, mayo, Evoo instead of saturated fats or nut fats. Dairy packs the pounds on me as fast as carbs. It's all a delicate balance but you will find it

 

[Sable_Jan]

Hi all
Can anyone help? I am having approx 60/80g carbs from diet overall. I have stayed around 1200 cals and am moderately active walk an hour a day usually. I am not eating any cereal, rice,potatoes, pasta or bread. Hba1c 8.7 which is consistent with readings of 8.1 on average at the moment. Highest was 9.5 in the morning and 7.1 before bed. A typical days diet would be 3 egg scrambled with splash cream, 2 good for you bacon medallions, mushrooms and a tiny bit ketchup, ham or chicken salad with either coleslaw or avocado, chicken or steak with celeriac mash, carrots and sprouts. If hungry later coffee or cocoa with cream some cheese or cottage cheese with one flax/pumpkin crisp bread and poss a piece of fruit. My hair is falling out and I'm not achieving the weight loss or bg I am hoping for. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. I am eating higher fat than normal but understood that this is necessary to stop hunger? I feel so disappointed

Regardless of the rest of your post I would get to your doc ASAP. Hair falling out needs to be investigated .... Whatever the cause is it could be impacting on your inability to lose weight but the major issue is cause

 

[zand]

And I'm the opposite of Kristin I tried the small meals/snacks thing and it didn't help at all. I do better with just 2 meals a day, it gives my pancreas a rest. Yep we're all different and it takes a while to figure out what's best for you...and when you do you can bet that it will change.

 

[debbiedoodles]

Thanks for all your suggestions peeps. My protein tends to be 3/4 oz portions lunch/dinner. Eg chicken, tin tuna, small steak, homemade spaghetti Bol sauce etc. I have been eating eggs and bacon which fills if 3 scrambled with but of cream. If I have any snack it's usually slice of almond bread or cheese or berries with cream/yoghurt. I don't usually have much dairy before I did this Lchf diet, I think I am going to cut the nuts/cheese/cream down but not increase protein. May stick to my usual low fat Philly and cottage cheese for snacks and see if helps. I will get thyroid etc checked and as suggested try cut carbs to around 20g. It may take some thinking about! I will go and analyse myfitnesspal diary fir where my carbs are mainly coming from. Cheers all will keep you posted.

 

[SunnyExpat]

Are you sure on your calories?
3 eggs alone are about 500 calories, cream is another 50 calories in a tablespoon.

I would try reducing the dairy back down as you say.

You don't need to increase your fat, if you don't need it.

 

[debbiedoodles]

Are you sure on your calories?
3 eggs alone are about 500 calories, cream is another 50 calories in a tablespoon.

I would try reducing the dairy back down as you say.

You don't need to increase your fat, if you don't need it.

According to myfitnesspal it's 340 for scrambled eggs. But if I have that sort of portion it's usually brunch so don't have lunch too. I am staying under 1200 cals per day

 

[SunnyExpat]

According to myfitnesspal it's 340 for scrambled eggs. But if I have that sort of portion it's usually brunch so don't have lunch too. I am staying under 1200 cals per day

Over 150 calories per egg, but I guess if you're sure they are very small eggs, you could be less.
Cream is very calorific, so is cheese.
Calorie creep is very easy.
But it's your diet. Some have said you need to eat more to lose weight.
I didn't find that worked for me.
But you need to choose a path, and stay with it.

 

[britishpub]

The large chicken Eggs I eat are under 80 Calories each.

https://www.egginfo.co.uk/egg-nutrition/information/calories-in-an-egg

Are yours Ostrich eggs ?

 

[SunnyExpat]

The op will lose weight then, no question about it.
Can you provide any answer as to why they aren't?
That would be helpful.

 

[serenity648]

According to myfitnesspal it's 340 for scrambled eggs. But if I have that sort of portion it's usually brunch so don't have lunch too. I am staying under 1200 cals per day

I am using myfitnesspal and its not always accurate, so may be worth double checking it is calculating your calories coorectly. All the best

 

[debbiedoodles]

I also want to mention that I have always done beat with small/ snack sized meals rather than larger. I have never needed more than 1200 cals. Not even sure I eat that many now. I do need to watch the type of fat I eat as well. I do better with plant fats like avocado, mayo, Evoo instead of saturated fats or nut fats. Dairy packs the pounds on me as fast as carbs. It's all a delicate balance but you will find it

Thanks kristin I agree. Nuts, dairy ... All v well but I think it's too much fat for me. I haven't worked out to like someone's page yet!!!