THE LOW CARB DIABETIC

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THE LOW CARB DIABETIC

Promoting a low carb high fat lifestyle for the safe control of diabetes. Eat whole fresh food, more drugs are not the answer.


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    zand
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    Post by zand Sun Jun 21 2015, 16:20

    A brief back ground.

    I was slim until I was 24. I put on weight when I got married and took the contraceptive pill. I dieted (1000 calories). Why on earth I didn't just stop taking the damn pill I don't know!

    I had a child and put on 3 stones whilst pregnant. I dieted.

    I had a car accident and very bad whiplash injuries. Years later a nutritionist and a naturopath told me they thought my thyroid had been damaged in the accident. All thyroid tests I have had say it's fine, but the naturopath reckoned my thyroid was producing enough raw hormone but not converting enough of it into active hormone. My GP's have all said this was wrong. It makes sense though because I put on weight rapidly after the accident (2 stones in 3 months) I dieted (more strictly)and walked twice a day too.

    I had another child. I put on 3 stones whilst pregnant. This time I was able to feed him myself and also had postnatal depression. I didn't eat a lot in all the time I was feeding him. I got down to 8 stones 10 pounds and stayed there until I stopped feeding him over a year later.

    I switched to eating the NHS recommendations. I put on weight. I dieted. I tried diet pills, more exercise, more silly diets, some of which were given to me by my GP. I tried the cabbage soup diet, low GI, low GL, low calorie, the Dukan diet and weight watchers, my own version of the 5:2 diet years before it became well known and later my own version of the Newcastle diet (which I did with 600 cals a day for 7 weeks). This paragraph is a précis of 17 years of my life.

    Well you get the picture. I messed up my metabolism big time by starving myself and putting the fire out instead of giving my body the right fuel to keep the fire burning. I finally realised what I was doing wrong when I and my son had flu around 8 years ago. We were both so ill we ate nothing/nearly nothing for around 6 days, just managing to sip water then we ate 200-400 calories for the next 5 days. My slim son lost 11 1/2 pounds in this time and looked painfully thin afterwards. I lost just half a pound, yet I was seriously obese and had lots to lose! Something was very wrong with me. Diets weren't ever going to work if I couldn't even lose weight when eating nothing!

    That's when I decided to do things differently and try to eat to lose weight. So here I am. I now follow LCHF fairly well (!) and have been T2 for 3 years 10 months. I have lost 38 pounds in 14 months. That's all. I need to lose several more stones. I am stuck.

    Now you know the background I want to ask you about a specific event. I have been having around 30g carbs daily for a few weeks (yes I've done it before, but slipped a little). I realise that diet alone won't do it for me. I have short walks when I can and have started doing longer ones when time permits.

    Last weekend I went for a 12 mile walk with my husband (along the Thames path from Kingston Bridge to Hammersmith Bridge). I ate low carb during the day and made sure I drank plenty of water. My fasting BGs previously had been running at around 5.9-6.2. Next morning my fasting BG was 8.3 (and that's what it was when I was diagnosed T2) It has taken a week to get it down to 6.7, despite low carbing. I also weighed before the walk and found when I weighed the day after I had put on 3 pounds. This morning I weighed again and have lost 2 of them, but I am a bit dismayed that my BGs and weight are not doing what I would like them to do!

    Oh my calorie intake is usually around 1200-1300 a day, maybe going as high as 1800 occasionally. I make a real effort to make sure I have at least 1200 calories, because I don't want to slow my metabolism down even further by starving myself again.

    So what am I doing wrong this time?
    Jan1
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    Post by Jan1 Sun Jun 21 2015, 21:13

    Hi Zand - only just catching up with your post.

    Sorry to read you are having problems. As you will know I am not a medical person, nor am I diabetic... so I may not be the best person to put my view point - but I am going to.

    Over the past few years I have read other blogs / forums etc and it does seem that women can quite often have a more delayed weight loss. This may be due to thyroid problems, hormonal changes etc. Our bodies do not always re-act to how we want them to.

    Many these days are trying and having success with 'alternate day fasting' some it suits whilst others it doesn't. Some lose weight on 30 carbs per day, some have to stick to 27 (and yes they do find that those three carbs can make a difference). My body and weight are good at 50 carbs per day, but that is me and over the past seven years I have found the balance of carb / healthy fat / protein that I am happy with and suits my lifestyle.

    Is weight loss a race. I think the 'older' we get the more gradual it should be... but they are only my observations and thoughts.

    Many women do have their thyroid functions checked, and I don't know when yours were last checked.

    You may have previously read my five pointers to a healthier lifestyle are:
    1. Eat low carb
    2. Eat healthy fats
    3. Eat moderate protein
    4. Take regular exercise - for me I find walking or moving / dancing to music is best
    5. Establish a good sleep pattern.

    It is always point 5. that causes me the most problems ...

    As I said earlier these are only my view points and what I have found suits me.

    My body over the years, or should I say ... me over the years knows what it can tolerate and what it can't. I do my best to stay true to the daily course.

    Carb creep is often mentioned by some on blogs / forums and again many do keep a strict journal to ensure their intake is kept true.

    You have lost weight so I would take that as a positive, and I am sure you can continue to lose weight.

    I hope my reply may have helped ... and I wish you all the best in your continued low carb journey.

    I do believe that eating whole real foods and staying clear of processed foods is so important for all whether diabetic or not. Menu plans that include foods that cause our blood sugars to spike does not in the long term do anybody any favours.

    All the best Jan
    graham64
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    Post by graham64 Sun Jun 21 2015, 22:14

    zand wrote:Last weekend I went for a 12 mile walk with my husband (along the Thames path from Kingston Bridge to Hammersmith Bridge). I ate low carb during the day and made sure I drank plenty of water. My fasting BGs previously had been running at around 5.9-6.2. Next morning my fasting BG was 8.3 (and that's what it was when I was diagnosed T2) It has taken a week to get it down to 6.7, despite low carbing. I also weighed before the walk and found when I weighed the day after I had put on 3 pounds. This morning I weighed again and have lost 2 of them, but I am a bit dismayed that my BGs and weight are not doing what I would like them to do!

    Oh my calorie intake is usually around 1200-1300 a day, maybe going as high as 1800 occasionally. I make a real effort to make sure I have at least 1200 calories, because I don't want to slow my metabolism down even further by starving myself again. 

    So what am I doing wrong this time? 


    Jan has given some pointers as an aside to that your not starting with some sort of bug are you ? It does seem unusual for a big jump in in your fasting levels in such a short space of time. If it had been a longer period of gradual increase that would suggest your beta cells are failing but I think that can be ruled out in your case. Keep us updated if you don't see any improvement.

    As for your weight I can't answer that as you will know I have the opposite problem of trying to gain weight but for me a 2 - 3 pound fluctuation either way is the norm.
    zand
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    Post by zand Mon Jun 22 2015, 07:46

    Thanks both of you. Yes, there's a few things there that I will take on board. I don't have time to reply more fully now. I just wanted to say thanks for posting. Smile
    Indy51
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    Post by Indy51 Mon Jun 22 2015, 09:28

    The message I'm getting from watching the various lectures from the LCHF Convention in Capetown is that weight loss isn't essential to get the metabolic benefits of low carb. So even if you never lose weight, you're still much better off metabolically than most of the general populace. I've said more than once over at the flog that people would be much better off ignoring weight loss and concentrating on lowering BG, but for some reason people seem to fixate on the weight when it's really not as important as lowering insulin production. If you take care of the metabolic issues - and who knows how long it may take to heal yourself - then the rest hopefully (eventually) takes care of itself. One of the speakers mentioned that women usually come to LCHF after a lifetime of yo-yo dieting, while men do not. So little wonder that their weight loss is much more resistant than it is for males. I would suspect that the longer you've dieted and the more your weight has fluctuated over that time, the longer it will take to heal yourself. Fixating on weight loss as the only measure of success is not going to help anyone to stay on course.
    zand
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    Post by zand Mon Jun 22 2015, 12:41

    Hi Indy,

    Yes I know you are right and I suppose things have got so much better for me and my health in recent years that I am back to thinking about weight again.  It wasn't really priority until about a year ago.

    When I started low carbing I was (self diagnosed) pre diabetic.  I was piling on the pounds and was constantly ill with chest and throat infections and had no energy at all even when I was well.  Then my BP got high, then my heart went out of rhythm.  I decided my weight didn't matter, I had to get healthy and that meant I had to eat a decent amount of good food.

    Gradually my metabolism has improved.  My HbA1c's, whilst not perfect, have stayed around 42 for the last 3+ years. I can manage to eat a lot more than I used to without gaining weight.  I am rarely ill with a cold now. So, yes I have come a long way since those days.  Thanks for reminding me, sometimes it's easy to compare yourself with others and to forget to compare yourself with how you were a few years ago.  The latter has to be the relevant comparison really doesn't it? Smile

    The weight is the last thing for me to work on.  I have recently cut my dosage of anti depressant(citalopram) from 40mg to 20mg.  That's my last remaining drug, although I have just had a phone call from my GP suggesting I go back on to Warfarin again (to protect me from strokes).  I'll read the leaflets and make a decision on that in a couple of days.

    So I'll just keep on keeping on and see where that takes me. Maybe I have to accept that I damaged my body so badly by following all those silly diets (and they were only yo-yo diets because they didn't continue to work long term, if one of them had worked I would have stuck with it) that I just don't have enough time left to heal myself fully and see the weight loss that I would like.

    Maybe a short walk would be a good idea right now. See you all later. Smile
    zand
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    Post by zand Mon Jun 22 2015, 16:43

    @Jan1 thank so much for taking the time and effort to reply.  I'll pick out some of the points that I think may well help me  Smile

    I chose 30 g carbs as it's very low carb.  I never thought of maybe dropping to say 27g, or even checking whether having 3 meals with 10g carbs is best for me, or whether I am best with more carbs at midday for example.

    Yes you're right it's not a race, but I hate being last lol.

    I have certainly improved on all of the five points you list in recent years, particularly the sleep one.  However I recently cut my dose of anti depressant in half and my sleep patterns were disturbed for a week or so.  This could be relevant.  

    Carb creep.  Yes this has happened to me often, it's not the case at the moment because I started anew a few weeks ago and when I can I am still weighing everything.  I do need to watch out for this in the future though.  

    My thyroid.  I think I should pluck up the courage to ask for tests again.  Something I dread doing.  

    Yes of course you are right I have lost weight and there's really no reason why I shouldn't lose more eventually.  I'm just impatient and hate being this size.  

    Jan I really appreciate your reply because as you say you don't have any personal experience of any of this.  Nevertheless you have helped me and given me quite a few things to improve upon.  Thank you. Smile flower
    zand
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    Post by zand Mon Jun 22 2015, 17:04

    @graham64 I haven't noticed feeling unwell, but have had a cold sore, so maybe I have been a bit rundown and was fighting off a bug?  I don't know.

    Someone else suggested that maybe my liver was being very helpful and preparing me for more longs walks next day?  I did struggle with the last 4 miles, and I usually do struggle after about 7 miles, so maybe there's some truth in it? In fact some time last year I was finding that 7 miles was my limit and that my calf muscles refused to work after that, so that's an improvement.

    Someone else suggested that maybe my body suffered stress and micro injuries when I walked so far, similar to endurance athletes.  Not that I'm an athlete at all lol!  But for me, aged 57 and very obese, it was real endurance to walk that far and I did push myself hard to do it.  I have never ever walked that far in one go before in my life, so this seems feasible too.  So maybe there was inflammation which caused the rise in BG's, similar to an illness?  I'll probably never know exactly why the 8.3 fasting BG occurred, but at least I have several things to look out for now.

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