To think there’s no point being hungry if the weight isn’t coming off?

[Flaribeau]

The doctor has told me to lose weight because I’m at risk of diabetes. I’m absolutely starving but virtually no weight is coming off! I haven’t had a single biscuit or packet of crisps, no takeaways or alcohol at all, I’ve cut right down on carbs, I’ve started walking for an hour a day, and I’ve still only lost 2lb in an entire month.

AIBU to think being hungry is absolutely pointless if I’m not losing weight? Everyone says you lose loads in the first few weeks but I haven’t. I was expecting to have lost half a stone by now. I’m suffering for no reason because the weight isn’t coming off 😭

The OP has said she’s 7 lb over the max BMI but the doctor wants her to lose 2 stone total.

But if you are hungry all the time you are either not eating enough or not eating the right foods.

Not sure I agree completely. I've got ADHD and massively crave the dopamine rush of eating sugary stuff. Somebody who's used to eating loads of biscuits may still crave them. I know I did even after a big protein meal. It wasn't connected to the amount I'd eaten.

@Flaribeau read The Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung. The Fast 800 is also a good read. As a fellow potential diabetic, following these two are changing, if not saving, my life. It’s hard but I’d rather have good health and a longer life than buttery toast. Fasting and low carb is hard for the first 3-5 days. Then it’s a walk in the park. I don’t miss pizza or my favourite take seats because I’m out of the craving cycle. Good luck to you.

Take outs that should say!

Is OP in UK?

Does anyone else have a GP who would give them this much attention for a 36" waist & BMI of 25.5 ? How did you get the HAB1C test, OP?

And what were the HAB1C numbers?

Not RTFT so it might have already been mentioned, but a low carb high protein 'diet' will guarantee weight loss. South Beach or Atkins. I lost 6 stone on the latter and not once did I feel hungry or have to count calories.

There is currently a programme in our area that is focusing on diabetes and asking for patients to be assessed for this.

OP, I’d say the first thing you need to do is work out how many calories you are eating a day and how many you need to eat to lose weight. An app (like the free version of MyFitnessPal) is probably the way to go.

Your diet doesn’t sound low cal to me -2 slices bread + Philadelphia (depending on amount of Philadelphia) can run to several hundred calories.

The calorie count for soup on the can is for half a can. If you are eating a full can and you have it with bread, that’s another lot of added calories. A sandwich with two pieces of bread plus contents can easily be 500-600 calories (or more depending on the filling).

Chili and curry, depending on ingredients in the sauce - again high in calories.

Sadly, walking doesn’t burn a lot of calories. I’ve started walking and a power walk for 40 minutes burns roughly 100 calories. You should still do it - it’s good for cardiovascular health (so long as you power walk rather than meandering along) but it won’t do much for your weight.

It takes 3,500 calories cut from your diet to lose 1 lb of fat. That means that as you have lost 2 lbs, you must have cut 7,000 calories from your diet over the last month (possibly less if you are burning 100 calories a day walking, which would be 2,800 calories over the month).

If you look at an online calculator, it will tell you how many calories you need to be eating to lose weight.

Once you know this and know your current calorie count, you will know whether you do have an issue with insulin resistance or similar or whether you need to eat fewer calories. At the moment, you may have the worst of both worlds - relatively high calorie food that you don’t particularly enjoy that is still leaving you hungry.

@Lljkk The OP gave the number up-thread. It was borderline diabetic.

That was meant as a reply for @lljkk sorry.

Try keto for 3 months and the results will speak for themselves. I had tried everything and this was the only thing to work.
Load up on green veg, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes and cauli too - any suggestion that low carb is unhealthy comes from people who haven’t read or done it properly.
Literally no need to weigh or measure food - aim to be 10g-15g of carbs a day. Lots of water. Try to eat chicken, fish or steak rather than processed meats.
Once you go into keto, you’re simply never ‘hungry’.

I think you need to do some research on insulin resistance and pre diabetes.

Dr's will often use weight as the go to solution for all sorts but especially this. Although there are people who are will overweight and have diabetes. But because other things cost money it's easier to just tell you to lose weight.

Your hba1c isn't that high. Things like exercising and reducing sugar plus increasing protein will help without weightloss. Supliments like inositol and berberine can help too. There's a lot of info about getting your blood sugar more under control in Facebook groups on insulin resistance or advice online.

I know you say you want to be normal, but I think it's a balance. Maybe have toast on a weekend and something more protein based most of the time. I find having stuff which feels like it is supposed to be like it is helps rather than making wild changes. Like a protein yoghurt and protein granola. Rather than egg and veg instead of toast.

Honestly I'd look at the stuff I talk about and not just weight loss.

9 stone sounds quite extreme as a target for someone who is 5ft6. I look gaunt if if get to that kind of weight. Doctors get very little training in nutrition, so it appears like your doc is applying generic pre-diabetic advice to you - when it doesn't seem like that is the right answer for your body.

I agree with the posters who are suggesting that you reduce your carbs. Ultimately they all turn into sugars, and if you are very sensitive to sugar then this is what you might need to address. I understand that toast seems like your only luxury (and are you also gluten intolerent?) but if you develop pre-diabetes and eventually diabetes your food options might be much reduced anyway.

The trick in this is to find other foodstuffs that feel like what you want. There is a great recipe for cheese and almond muffins (will find it and post it at the end). One of these with some cream cheese and smoked salmon (maybe a chopped gherkin) is full of healthy fats and proteins, and only some carbs; or the same muffin spread with peanut butter - extremely filling. Or cut in half and served with scrambled eggs...

Try to get your carbs from veg, rather than wheat/rice/potoatoes. So if you're having curry serve it with spiced spinach and roasted cauliflower florets rather than rice; if you're having chilli serve it with sliced and fried courgette. For lunch try salad with mackerel pate, or sardines, or an avocado with grated cheese and mayonnaise. They all have protein and healthy fats and will help you to feel full.

If you NEED a snack (and like a previous poster I'd agree that the feeling of slight hunger is something that is OK and that we can learn to get used to) then 5 macademia nuts, or 5 cucmber/celery sticks dipped in St Agur creme cheese. Or two mini pepperoni. There is no scientific backing to suggesting those particular numbers, it is more about a plan to control snacking, and listen to your body, so it doesn't decend into something uncontrolled. The reality is that that amount of protein and fat should be enough to satisfy hunger. It doesn't need to fill you up like a meal does.

You can make most of those adjustments while still serving your dh a huge baked potato, oven fries, rice or pasta. And if he wants a bacon sandwich maybe he can make that himself. Or you could have bacon with keto naan?

Cheese and Almond Muffins
(works best if everything is cold before you put it in the oven)
100g ground almonds
30g cold butter (grated into the mix)
3 cold eggs
1 tsp baking powder
60g grated cheese
mixed dried herbs

Mix everything together, put a dollop into a greased muffin tray or muffin cases.
Bake at 180 degrees for 12-15 minutes

You need to calorie count and find foods that are low calorie high return that fill you up .
Like veg stir frys etc . Get more protein in you so you aren't hungry .

A slim fast shake with a protein scoop in it works well for me as a meal when I'm busy

I'm only 5 foot an not much over weight but to lose I need to only eat 1000/1200

Isn’t that only for type 1 diabetes though ?

@venusandmars thanks for that recipe- going to make those as I'm low carb and gluten free and they sound fab .

I Would help myself if I knew how to spell it right.

So OP is only just barely the wrong sort of number?
Which means that small actions might be enough to get the HbA1c back to a good sort of number.
What exercise do you get daily, OP, how long & doing what?

anyway, I hope that you let us know what you try & how it goes.

It’s not just about weight. The hba1c test measures glucose levels over the previous 3 months. For someone without diabetes the score should be below 42. OP’s as gone from 34 to 42.5 in a short space of time, so puts her at risk of type 2. And scaring people senseless is probably a good thing because most people don’t realise the damage type 2 diabetes can do.

The NHS are trialling a liquid diet for rapid weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes because there is evidence that enough weight loss can actually reverse the condition and also address insulin resistance - as can medically supervised periods of fasting. And although the hba1c is only just over the maximum it’s the fact that it’s risen to that from 34 in a short space of time that’s the cause for concern.

@Flaribeau as I said earlier my HBAC1 was 44 and I got down to 38 in 4 months. But having lost 29 ibs - I'm still just under 14 stone and 5ft 4-- I appreciate that weight loss helps but certainly with me as I'm still quite a bit overweight I think it was the huge carb reduction that helped get that pre diabetes reversed.- I do still eat a decent amount of carb, I eat porridge quite a few times a week for breakfast and I eat a slice of gluten free toast with eggs quite a few days too- I don't however eat cake and no more than 3 or 4 biscuits a week. however I try to keep to under 100 grams of carb every day and I try to stick to 1400 calories most days. After a while it becomes habit. I also followed the technique of walking round briskly for 10 minutes post meals which apparently helps with blood sugar levels.

Yes they have. Assuming you're in England, the National diabetes prevention programme is free, 9 months education on diet, lifestyle and mental health, with a health coach specifically for pre-diabetics. You need a referral.

@Rosscameasdoody
I'm aware. I'm T1,Dh T2. But maybe GP could've talked to OP more.

Maybe cutting down on toast. More low carb. Maybe cauliflower rice instead of rice. Less fruit (high carb).

OP I agree with earlier posters that your problem is not calorie intake but blood sugar control.

I cook for a family member who is diabetic, and has been for the past 10 years or so.

They are very disciplined, but at the same time really enjoy their food. Based on their experience, there's no need to feel deprived. They 'took control' of their situation and actively wanted to make their blood sugar as good as possible. This meant that I -as the family cook - had to learn quite a bit, but it was interesting. Their GP says that their blood sugar control now is 'admirable'. They have no need of medication, just regular blood tests. If - as I surmise from your posts - you are at home, then you have even better opportunities than most to cook nice but diabetic-friendly food.

Personally, I find Michael Moseley's presentational style VASTLY MORE THAN irritating, but his books on very low carb diets are accessible and important. I suggest you read them and perhaps follow some of his recipes.

But one other thing that has been overlooked on this thread - except by a few posters - is the importance of 'glycaemic index' - that is, the rate at which carbs are absorbed into the bloodstream. To put it crudely, the more slowly and gradually that is, the better. Carb absorption is influenced by fibre and by fats. So the carbs from white toast will be absorbed into the bloodstream much much faster ( and disadvantageously- blood sugar spike etc as discussed by previous posters) than those from wholemeal and seedy bread plus (for example) home-made hmmus or raw mashed avocado. See here, just as an example, there are many others: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/carbohydrates-and-the-glycaemic-index

If, as you say, you cannot eat gluten then that's another point to help you along your way. Ideally, you hav to avoid many /most refined grains. But other 'grains' are available. Just for example, buckwheat flour (gluten free) makes excellent and traditional pancakes. Just have a look at various wholefood sellers, such as - simply taken as an example - buywholefoodsonline.co.uk

If it helps, here is what the person I cook for has/will be eating today:

breakfast: fruit salad made of (a few) blueberries and a small (unpeeled) pear plus a small nectarine, all chopped and seved with probably a tablespoon or two of cream. No sugar. A home baked (by me) smallish roll of wholemeal flour plus a LOT of sunflower seeds (and, in the baking, added olive oil and yeast and salt and water, of course). Plus a scraping of butter and a scraping of high-fruit blueberry jam.
Weak black coffee.

lunch: fried bacon pus a few butterbeans stirred into the oil/fat from the beans, served with a big (am not going to say MN 'massive') salad. It comprised one little gem lettuce, shredded, five mini plum tomatoes plus about 2 inches of cucumber, chopped, plus 3 pink radishes, plus about a third of a red pepper plus a gherkin. It would have contained olives, as well, but I forgot them, plus spring onions, but I had run out. Simple extra virgin olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Three mini - about palm of hand-sized - buckwheat pancakes, plus a scraping of butter and jam, as above. (Pancakes = wholemeal buckwheat flour, egg, plain yoghurt (just because we had some left over), water and yeast. Mix very well until consistency of double cream. Leave several hours to rise. Fry in as little oil as you can get away with, flipping each pancake over once base is crispy and bubbles have risen to the surface. Delicious.)

Weak tea - no milk - but slice of lemon

5 pm: cup of weak tea - no milk, again - and two (home made) chocolate nut clusters. Just 70% or more dark chocolate melted then a surprising amount of chopped/flaked nuts stirred into - as much as the melted chocoate will absorb.. A good heaped teaspoon = a cluster.

7.30 pm - still to be cooked - three cold roasted high meat content sausages (the other three in the pack were eaten roasted yesterday) plus chopped onion, chopped red pepper, chopped tomato and some herbs and a bit of chopped garlic, all cooked gently in olive oil. Combine (slicing the sausages into chunks) , adding a bit of water and if liked a squeeze or two of tomato puree. Simmer gently - perhaps covering the whole lot with a lid to prevent evaporation. Keep an eye on them and add enough water to stop sticking and leave a modicum of sauce. Sprinkle with soy sauce/ground black pepper before serving, if liked,
Serve with a small quantity of new potatoes (fewer carbs per oz than old ones) - allow perhaps three SMALL hen's eggs sized ones or four smaller ones per portion. Plus an awful lot of greenery - a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spring cabbage, french/runner beans etc etc . Could add separately fried mushrooms as well if liked.

Not this one, it's connected to an app and is for anyone who is interested in monitoring what their blood sugar and blood fat levels are doing. Literally just for anyone who wants to take more control over their health as far as I can see.