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Why am I not losing weight or improving bg?

I don't believe in all this mystery, I think you should at least state on your profile where you live - sorry but that's how it has always been with me.

As for being a diabetic, from very early in my life I realized what to eat (or not) in order to successfully lose weight, and like many I lost loads, then yo-yo'd, but at least along the way i always knew what caused me to put weight on and I still do. These days since being told in February that I had type 2 I am totally confused as to what I'm supposed to eat. I've mentioned before that I don't eat, beef, lamp, pork, and all the other nasties, I only eat chicken and fish, and shellfish - this has been my main diet since I was 12 up until the age of 12 I was totally vegan from age 5 - very difficult for my parents. I then had a vegetarian spell for about 15 years, then 3 years as a vegan, and the last five years chicken and fish, so no longer vegi.

My diet from preference has always included fruit and veg, even on days when i didn't eat chicken or fish, I certainly had my veg and fruit - too much fruit I know because it contains fructose which is a concern to me now that I'm type 2 - but the main point of my post is to follow.

Whilst there are so many people on here who are prepared to count stuff, i.e. carbs in a day, or calories and carbs in a day, I am not one of them, all I really want is for some guidance on what to eat from the diabetic point of view which will also cause me to lose weight, i don't see it's a problem, but I'm getting nowhere fast and I find that there is very little information for people who have been recently diagnosed with type 2 as to what they should eat, avoid and how many grams of carbohydrate 'of which sugars' on the label - which I do read and have done so for years, is there a high and low amount percentage or grams on a label that we should avoid as diabetics - I'm dumfounded, and I am not an unintelligent person, would someone please tell me what the highest 'of which sugars' I should be putting back on the shelf?
 
Brunneria is correct. I am now T1 and it can effect us much differently. Before I started my decline to LADA protein didn't effect me nearly as much.
I need to keep remembering that when I post to type 2's. I used to eat much more protein , not 12 oz at time but maybe In a day but it is still a good idea to test.
I cannot see how a chicken salad would make you gain weight either....
 
There is no HIghest Sugars as such, we all react differently.. I count carbs so i know how many I have had. When i get to 100g, I stop eating carbs for that day. Often I look at the amount of carbs in things, plan my days eating around the 100g limit, try to spread them out, and test after each meal to see how many carbs at one sitting is safe for me. Your safe amounts may be different.

I count calories as then i know what amount causes weight gain, lost or stability. If i dont count, I dont know.

So in a way, you are approaching the problem from the wrong end. Record amount fo calories and carbs, test to see how you react. Weigh yourself to see how many calories aid weight loss for you. I dont see how it can be done without recording, testing and weighing.

Have you had the guidance from #daisy1 and explored the low carb forums to get ideas of what foods are good to try as a starting point?
 
I think you need to chose a personal carb threshold. I don't eat any carbs other than above ground veggies and salads or I will gain. My threshold is 20 carbs or less. Any and all grains as well as dairy will pack on pounds for me. Dairy is one of the worst but I'm assuming you're not eating it? Am I wrong?
I don't count calories or fat but I do only use veggies as carbs and small amounts of protein. I eat an avocado a day, use mayo and olive oil in reasonable amounts and snack on a few nuts or olives. This diet I have keeps my weight and BS low so win win. I think everyone has their personal carb threshold but for weight loss the lower the better
 

Not counting stuff isn't working for you. If you want to lose weight, as you clearly do, then you need to try counting "stuff" until you are absolutely satisfied that you can correctly judge the ideal portion sizes on your plate. There are several apps, websites and books that help with this. If you have no idea how many grams of this or that you are eating, your total consumption of "stuff" may well be much higher than you imagine.

Why do you look at "of which sugars"? Just look at the total carb content and ignore the of which sugars as that is of little importance. Depending on the quantity of the food you will eat and generally speaking, anything over 10% carbs should be put back on the shelf. Best to stick to 5% on most occasions. If it is a condiment or something you only have a teaspoon of, then the carb content is not as relevant.
(By the way, this information is on many threads throughout these forums, and many hundreds of threads of what to eat. )

I lost over a third of my body weight by counting carbs and calories and recording it all in my food diary. I still do keep a food diary of every meal, although I no longer count carbs or calories. I have maintained my slim figure for above 18 months. This method also brought down my BS levels and improved my lipids. I am not saying this will work for you, but it is worth a try.

You may find this useful
http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds
 
Thanks for your reply bluetit, and yes I've tried 2 weeks with the dietdoctor.com LCHF. I've been on more diets over my years than I care to remember and was able to maintain a loss of 10st for more than 8 years until I stopped smoking 3 years ago, and it piled on, so losing weight and how to lose weight is not my issue, and I've never had to count carbs, calories or read the hundreds of books on the subject, my problem now is that I'm having to think about my weight from a different view point, that being that I'm diabetic for the first time in my life.

All I want now is to lower my BG and get my extra 3st off which I hate more than anything.
 
One of the things I noticed about the LCHF diet plan was that I didn't feel hungry, and where it stated eating beef I just substituted that with fish or chicken. I eat salads all the time, and a big on above ground veg but that's nothing new for me, it's been my life for years, but the LCHF diet I found to be too expensive to do all the time to be honest, and I don't want anything which is making work out of losing weight, it's just not my way of doing things. I don't want the nasties that may ultimately come from diabetes, but i'm also not letting it rule my life i'm 67 years old, not 47. I met an ex colleague of mine 3 weeks ago, i hadn't seen her in 5 years, she asked how I was and I told her fine 'but i'm diabetic now' she paused for a moment, looked me in the eye 'oh so am I, I was diagnosed about 3 years ago so was my brother, but i don't test or do anything differently''

Whilst i won't take the same attitude, she seems to be all right with it, my brother who is 10 years younger than I was diagnosed type 2 when he was 40 and he was not over weight by any stretch of the imagination. i get a tad annoyed when people say you have type 2 because of the weight - maybe for some people, but by no means for all.

Sorry for the non capitals I'm typing with a tight bandage on my right hand which was strained and is very painful - don't have a clue how I got it, but it's making typing a real pain literally LoL
 
Dickensfan said:
All I want now is to lower my BG and get my extra 3st off which I hate more than anything.
Click to expand...

Is there a way of doing both without counting calories and carbs? I would love to know about a way, as counting is boring.
 
I hope you don't mind me chipping in, but LCHF is not a diet, it's a way of life for a lot of T2s and T1s. It takes time to get the weight reduced and the bg levels down. Two weeks is only the start.......
 
Dickensfan said:
so losing weight and how to lose weight is not my issue
Click to expand...

Your last sentence suggests it might be


The site is awash for information on that topic. I think you'll find hundreds of recipes that could satisfy most tastes but you have to take the plunge. The foods you can't / won't eat (for whatever reason) is up to you but in isolation of carb counting and a balanced exercise program, it will be like swimming in mud.
 
I honestly can't see why you think you have a problem.

Carbs raise BS levels by converting to glucose once inside the system. Cut right down on the carbs and your levels will drop. Use your meter to tell you how many carbs you can manage and what type. Eat to your meter. Keep a food diary and record levels alongside, you will soon discover which foods are raising your levels and you can reduce or eliminate them. Yes, it requires positive effort as with most things worthwhile in life. Negativity won't work.
 
I certainly no longer "count stuff" all I do is stick to natural foods, nothing in a packet and I only shop the outside of a supermarket. The only thing I buy packaged is Hellmans mayo.

I have a selection of go to meals that only put my BS up by 0.5 to 1.0 mmol, so I only now test new foods to see what the reaction is.

Go to meals are;

Chicken thighs roasted in herby duck fat, feta cheese , salad and mayo
Lamb steaks marinaded in Rosemary, thyme olive oil then cooked on the griddle and served with a salad of cucumber, tomato, onion and flat leaf parsley with olive oil
Pork chops griddled and served with Greek Salad
Steak served with blue cheese salad and mayo
Salmon steak baked in the oven with lemon and butter served with Asparagus
Roast Chicken and Broccoli
Smoked haddock with poached egg
Cheese omelette
Egg mayonnaise with mustard and cress
Avocado chicken and bacon salad
Mozzarella, tomato and basil salad with olive oil
Poached salmon with watercress and lemon mayo

I have also discovered that I can enjoy a glass or two of dry white wine and my BS levels remain the same.

All of the above foods are sourced from either local farmers markets, Aldi and Lidl or the special offer section of the main stream super markets and I spend on average 50 - 60 pounds per week to feed two of us which is a lot cheaper than all the convenience packaged food we used to buy.

Since starting this WOE on the 10th February I have lost 20 kilos and my BG is now a weekly average of 5.8

I am bouncing with energy and exercising daily a mix of walking, swimming, aqua classes and gym weights for strength building.




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Dickensfan - I would ask you to ask yourself a question here, and that is what you are actually trying to achieve here? Are you trying to get your blood sugars down or are you trying to lose weight? From reading your posts here, and from what I recall of your other thread, I read a lot of you wanting to lose weight, but not much about getting blood sugars into a great place.

For me, when I was diagnosed, I had one aim, and that was to get my bloods down as close to normal as I could. Nothing more, nothing less. The "as close to normal" target reduced, over time, as my bloods starting coming down a bit, until I reached a point where I seemed pretty stable, and luckily for me, my bloods were in the non-diabetic range. I took no heed whatsoever of my weight. I didn't carry lots, but I did have some excess.

I didn't weigh myself for nearly 4 months, post diagnosis, but it soon became apparent to me, and those around me I was losing weight. The old luuurve handles were getting smaller and smaller.

At the 4 month point, I had a repeat HbA1c (longer than usual, just after diagnosis, but I had been away travelling), which confirmed my non-diabetic HbA1c. My weight was in the healthy region by some margin and all other tests significantly improved.

How did this magically happen? I simply reduced the carbs I was eating; again over time. I didn't increase the fat I ate until I needed to stop losing weight, then stopping weight loss was tricky. I never thought I'd have been saying that!

Where did I learn all of this? This very website. All the information is on the site, and with it's members.

Good luck with it all.
 
How irritating of me. I meant to add, the rationale for concentrating on my bloods was I would have ended up with my then figure, but great bloods than a skinny diabetic, with raging blood sugar scores.

In my view the major complications of diabetes are caused for the vastly major part by elevated bloods, not carrying a few extra pounds.

I clearly got luck with a bonus of trimming right up without any effort.


 
@AndBreathe Agree totally, I have been totally concentrating on getting the BS readings down that is my driver, the food, the excercise is all a means to that end. Every so often someone (normally the Husband!) says have you lost more weight and I step on the scale when I do it is a great surprise.


Sent from my iPad using DCUK Forum mobile app
 
Mike I was being sarcastic actually, getting BG down as well as losing this 3stone I put on are my BIG issues, I just don't need anyone to tell me how to lose weight, that shipped sailed many years ago, I could tell others how to lose weight - if you don't mind my saying - some of the comments here (I may not stick around) I find to be extremely patronizing from people who don't even know me. I lost weight in the past through sheer strong will power - don't know how many times I lost stones, I also gave up smoking 80 cigs a day 3 years ago, through sheer will power did not use a 'crutch' to do so, as I believe in my mind working.

I'm sure many people on here who were told out of the blue that they had diabetes - type 2 specifically, like me did not take the news in their stride, I'm sure they were just as worried about what to do, and the mis-information as I was. Unfortunately, I don't know what any of you were like when you first were given the news, as I was not on the site at the time. Human nature being what it is, I reckon you got as big a shock as I did and wanted the right kind of advice, it's hard to see now as I just feel there are a lot of very smug people on here - not all of you, some are genuinely interested in lifting me from my depression about this news which for me was utterly devastating.

As for the other comments about LCHIF I'm not an idiot, it's not a quick fix, or a 'diet' programme as such, it is a change for life, but it is not one that I personally want to follow.

I'll leave it at that as I find too much information on here for someone scared and newly diagnosed to be just too much to take on board - but thanks for the help I did get.
 
@Dickensfan
I am confused as to what it is you want from forum members.
My understanding from posts has been that you, just as everyone I have encountered here, have been shocked, devastated even, at your T2 diagnosis. If that followed the general pattern you were then confused by the advice here on diet, i.e. to reduce carbs and increase fat consumption, which has been the opposite of the diet advice common from HCPs for the last 30 years or so.
I had beenT2 for 5 + years when I first looked at the LCHF advice here, and at first thought it was a wind up. Such was the low fat doctrine ingrained in my thinking. I had already managed to get my blood glucose levels below T2 by the Newcastle diet method, but needed to maintain those levels. Clearly the low fat carbs with every meal advice was going to reverse that reversal. It did take a while for the penny to drop. The members here were very patient in repeating advice to me, even when I had my doubts, and expressed them. I think, to my shame, I did, as one member has on signature 'bite the hand that fed me'. That to me is not members being smug, it is a demonstration of the generousity of spirit of those who have found a sustainable way to manage their T2, and are keen to share that.
Your interpretation of some members being 'smug' I will assign to you still being in a state of shock and depression at your diagnosis. Stick around try some of the advice, find your own level. We all learn from each other.
Best of luck, and best wishes.
Pipp (grateful to members, and trying hard not to be smug)
 
Do what you must, and good luck, but we're here to offer advice. If you don't wish to take it, your choice, but you've come across as someone determined to steer their own course. Pages of it. Fine. We all did that "independence" thing at some point but not without some guidance when we all knew we needed it from the "been there, done that" pros. As for me, I just got on with it. No self pity, complete diet change and a determination to eat what I assumed I could not and a capacity to listen
 
Back in the days when students used to get one to one tutorials for their essays (and I am really not all that old), I used to notice some interesting trends.

The ones who sat there with open minds, listened, learned, and applied the advice they were given, got improved grades for their next piece of work. Over 3 years, that added up to an excellent degree.

The ones who sat there defensively, argued their position, ignored advice, and repeatedly made the same mistakes, did not get improved grades over time.

The moral of that is quite clear to me. You can call me smug if you like. You won't be the first.

Goodness, I miss that job. And my students. Every single last stupid, silly, brilliant, scared, self-destructing, over/under-achieving, immature, old-before-their-time, glorious one of them.
 
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I think there has to be an element of trust too, @miked.
For some that takes longer than others to reach.
No denying that in the early days following diagnosis one is in a state of shock and confusion.
 
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