Why Am I Not Losing Weight?

[neithskye]

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on July 6th. Immediately started a low carb diet, began swimming every second day, only drink water, etc. Only eat one meal a day plus snacks because I'm full all the time.

I'm doing something right because my blood pressure has dropped from "high" to "optimal" and my blood glucose has dropped from the mid-teens to 5-6 mmol.

I've lost . . . five pounds in almost three months.

I see people say they lost 30 pounds in that time. People say I've gained muscle from swimming but a 5'4" woman should not be weighing 189 pounds.

I'm so frustrated. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Dixon1995]

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on July 6th. Immediately started a low carb diet, began swimming every second day, only drink water, etc. Only eat one meal a day plus snacks because I'm full all the time.

I'm doing something right because my blood pressure has dropped from "high" to "optimal" and my blood glucose has dropped from the mid-teens to 5-6 mmol.

I've lost . . . five pounds in almost three months.

I see people say they lost 30 pounds in that time. People say I've gained muscle from swimming but a 5'4" woman should not be weighing 189 pounds.

I'm so frustrated. What am I doing wrong?

Possibly doing nothing wrong, you may have a very slow metabolism. Not sure if having type 2 affects weight loss medication symptoms etc?

What is your daily calorie intake roughly?

 

[sally and james]

Hi @neithskye Quick question, what are the snacks and how many of them?
Sally

 

[neithskye]

Hi @neithskye Quick question, what are the snacks and how many of them?
Sally

A can of tuna in water or sliced cucumbers or grilled broccoli and mushrooms or a 100g container of Greek yogurt. Maybe too big to be snacks but not big enough to be a full meal. Around twice a day. I find I'm just not hungry and I get full fast.

 

[sally and james]

A can of tuna in water or sliced cucumbers or grilled broccoli and mushrooms or a 100g container of Greek yogurt. Maybe too big to be snacks but not big enough to be a full meal. Around twice a day. I find I'm just not hungry and I get full fast.

To be honest, I would call that a meal. Is your one meal of the day rather large? Have you tried intermittent fasting, skipping the "snacks" some days? If you are not hungry and you get full easily, perhaps you don't need the amount of food you are eating.
Sally

 

[HICHAM_T2]

hi and welcome my advice just leave dinner

 

[bulkbiker]

I'm going to suggest the opposite and say maybe your one meal a day and low fat snacks isn't enough food. Not especially helpful but as you are exercising quite a bit and maybe not eating enough then your body might be a bit confused especially if starting from a relatively sedentary lifestyle. What are your one meals like do you record calories etc are you consciously restricting?

 

[caroline_92]

I would say your snacks sound more like meals, even if on the small size. What kind of thing are you eating for your main meal?

And my other question would be about your body shape and waist size? Weight generally matters less that how much fat you carry around your middle and the rule of thumb is that your waist should be no more than half your height. So not above 32 inches in your case (same height as me ).

Oh and well done on getting your blood sugar down! Although would be interested to know what time of day these readings are from and how they relate to what you are eating. Understanding how bs levels respond to what you do/don’t eat may be key to figuring out how you might need to adapt your diet...

 

[neithskye]

To be honest, I would call that a meal. Is your one meal of the day rather large? Have you tried intermittent fasting, skipping the "snacks" some days? If you are not hungry and you get full easily, perhaps you don't need the amount of food you are eating.
Sally

My one meal is something like a pork chop or skinless chicken breast with some grilled veggies.

I have tried intermittent fasting. Sometimes I go 16-18 hours without eating because I'm just not hungry.

I'm barely eating anything. That's why I don't understand the lack of weight loss.

 

[neithskye]

I'm going to suggest the opposite and say maybe your one meal a day and low fat snacks isn't enough food. Not especially helpful but as you are exercising quite a bit and maybe not eating enough then your body might be a bit confused especially if starting from a relatively sedentary lifestyle. What are your one meals like do you record calories etc are you consciously restricting?

My one meal is a pork chop or skinless chicken breast with grilled veggies.

I have an app where I can track all my diabetes info, so I've been recording my food since diagnosis. I don't track calories because I don't know them but I write down everything I eat.

Before diagnosis I ate a lot of take-out like pizza and subs so with going from that to lean meats and veggies I can see why my body'd be confused.

My personal trainer said my body's gone into starvation mode because I'm not eating much. But I've also read that starvation mode isn't real so I'm not sure what to believe.

 

[bulkbiker]

My one meal is a pork chop or skinless chicken breast with grilled veggies.

I have an app where I can track all my diabetes info, so I've been recording my food since diagnosis. I don't track calories because I don't know them but I write down everything I eat.

Before diagnosis I ate a lot of take-out like pizza and subs so with going from that to lean meats and veggies I can see why my body'd be confused.

My personal trainer said my body's gone into starvation mode because I'm not eating much. But I've also read that starvation mode isn't real so I'm not sure what to believe.

Lowering calorie intake can lead to metabolic slowdown in some people so I would go with your trainer and eat more.. and especially up the fats in your food. You seem to be not having a lot of fat which is quite necessary for health and well being. I'd be surprised if a food app doesn't track calories which one are you using?

 

[Bananas 2]

Sounds like you are eating just fine to me. You ARE losing weight, so you are on the right track... just not as fast as you'd like.
Sometimes it takes time for metabolism to adapt to a new diet. I'd say, stick with it, and see what happens in the next couple months.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on July 6th. Immediately started a low carb diet, began swimming every second day, only drink water, etc. Only eat one meal a day plus snacks because I'm full all the time.

I'm doing something right because my blood pressure has dropped from "high" to "optimal" and my blood glucose has dropped from the mid-teens to 5-6 mmol.

I've lost . . . five pounds in almost three months.

I see people say they lost 30 pounds in that time. People say I've gained muscle from swimming but a 5'4" woman should not be weighing 189 pounds.

I'm so frustrated. What am I doing wrong?

Your fat intake is a little low, by the looks of it... Maybe leave the skin on the chicken? Stuff like that? Though I have to say, weight loss is slow going for me too, but that's mostly down to my thyroid & PCOS. Don't give up, and check dietdoctor.com's faq; maybe that'll help.

 

[caroline_92]

I agree there is no need to cut the fat off meat or avoid fats, as you need them in your diet. If you have been cutting down your carbs since July then you metabolism should be fat adapted by now - your body doesn’t sound confused to me with your lowered blood sugar levels and plenty of energy for your swimming!
It probably took a while for your excess weight to build up so it is going to take a while to come off - do keep going. Eating low carb food that don’t spike your blood sugar only when hungry would be my approach....

 

[neithskye]

What kind of thing are you eating for your main meal?

And my other question would be about your body shape and waist size?

Oh and well done on getting your blood sugar down! Although would be interested to know what time of day these readings are from and how they relate to what you are eating. Understanding how bs levels respond to what you do/don’t eat may be key to figuring out how you might need to adapt your diet...

Some meat (ground beef, pork chop, chicken breast) and grilled veggies. I'm not a very inspired chef.

I'm an upside down triangle/apple shaped. Skinny legs, no hips, no rear end, broad shoulders, large chest. ALL my weight goes to my belly. Not just below my belly button but above. That's what not decreasing in size at all. I guess it doesn't help that I'm perimenopausal.

My doctor told me I only need to test two hours after eating. But sometimes I test at other times. I just woke up and tested and my reading was 5.3 mmol.

 

[neithskye]

Lowering calorie intake can lead to metabolic slowdown in some people so I would go with your trainer and eat more.. and especially up the fats in your food. You seem to be not having a lot of fat which is quite necessary for health and well being. I'd be surprised if a food app doesn't track calories which one are you using?

It's not a food app per se. Just an all-around diabetes app. It's called Blood Glucose Tracker, version 1.8.12.

I do try to add fat, like cooking with olive oil or adding butter to my grilled veggies. But I suspect you're correct - I'm simply not eating enough. I don't know what it is but I'm just not hungry. I can't eat more. I'm just full.

 

[neithskye]

It probably took a while for your excess weight to build up so it is going to take a while to come off - do keep going.

I did wonder that - is it harder to lose weight the longer you've had it? I was a skinny kid until age seven when I started comfort eating, and ballooning. I've been overweight since. I'm 47 now and haven't been a normal weight in 40 years.

 

[Bananas 2]

It's not a food app per se. Just an all-around diabetes app. It's called Blood Glucose Tracker, version 1.8.12.

I do try to add fat, like cooking with olive oil or adding butter to my grilled veggies. But I suspect you're correct - I'm simply not eating enough. I don't know what it is but I'm just not hungry. I can't eat more. I'm just full.

A food app I have been using tracks all the macronutrient parameters as well as glycemic index, glycemic load, etc. It is geared more for cooking/preparing meals at home, but has view modes for notebooks/tablets and language translation for travel. On-board database, so its fast to pull up data and calculate your foods/meals - no need to be online. My T1 son's A1c has been maintained in the 5's (US scale). He's 11-y/o, and he can use the app just fine to plan his meals and snacks. There is a free demo at www.gly-control.com that you can check out ... it works on Excel, btw.

 

[neithskye]

A food app I have been using tracks all the macronutrient parameters as well as glycemic index, glycemic load, etc. It is geared more for cooking/preparing meals at home, but has view modes for notebooks/tablets and language translation for travel. On-board database, so its fast to pull up data and calculate your foods/meals - no need to be online. My T1 son's A1c has been maintained in the 5's (US scale). He's 11-y/o, and he can use the app just fine to plan his meals and snacks. There is a free demo at www.gly-control.com that you can check out ... it works on Excel, btw.

Thank you very much.

I started tracking my food at diagnosis thinking eventually my doctor or diabetes dietician would want to see it but they don't seem interested. They just look at my blood glucose numbers and tell me to carry on.

 

[neithskye]

I hadn't lost any weight in the first two months. I got weighed at my doctor's on August 22nd. Then on September 4th. I'd lost 2.5 kgs/5.5 pounds. I had to see my doctor yesterday and got weighed again. I've lost another 2.3 kgs/5 pounds. So since August 22nd I've lost 4.8 kgs/10.56 pounds. So maybe it takes a while to get going. I don't notice the difference - clothes still fit the same. But I'll keep going!