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 😭

Pak Choi and broccoli?

You don't need to go hungry to manage your diabetes. You just need to eat the right foods.

My advice would be to go to a proper slimming club like slimming world. My Mum is overweight and on the verge of Type 2 diabetes, no dietary advice from the nurse, she just wanted to stick her on statins. It doesn’t help that our nurses at the surgery are overweight and advising patients to lose weight, none of the Drs are, you see this in the hospitals as well, always puzzled me 🤔

You obviously do lose weight when not eating very much at all, those poor sods in the concentration camps did. My mum is very indignant about how little she’s eaten, until I see her portion sizes, she just doesn’t get it.

I personally follow the 16:8 regime, during the 8 hour regime of eating doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want. Sometimes my tummy rumbles but that is so refreshing, because let’s be honest we’re conditioned to eat meals at certain times and our stomachs rarely rumble 🤷‍♀️

As @Oblomov23 says, stir-fries are the diabetics' friend. Lots of lovely veg (and garlic and herbs) plus an egg or two or - for meat-eaters - prawns or shredded ham/chicken /whatever . But really infinite variety is possible.
I cook strips of those very thin bashed-flat -steaks for family member, with sliced leeks and garlic and mushrooms and soy sauce. I'd add a bit of ginger to make it more authentic (and perhaps also grated orange zest) but family member not keen.

@nameXname - blimey- I couldn't eat all that!!

Thank you for that - might be useful for my partner who has type 2 and erratic blood sugar levels lately.

If you are on Facebook have a look at Jason Manfords page he has for healthy eating/weight loss it’s really good!
Most folk on there suggest the first thing you should do is work out your calories using the TDEE calculator or another one I can’t remember the name of (James smith or something?)
I also find using the my fitness pal app helps as it shows how much carbs, protein, sugar etc you are actually consuming.
I personally think what you are doing justnow possibly isn’t giving you enough calories which can sometimes slow weight loss down so worth having a look to see what you should be having and working from there.

If she reported symptoms consistent with pre diabetes then the GP would have done an hba1c as a matter of routine. Her hba1c was 42.5 putting her at risk of type 2 as it had gone from 34 to 42.5 in a short space of time. And yes, if your GP suspects type 2 then you will get this much attention, as the effects of the condition are devastating and expensive to the NHS.

@Crikeyalmighty Yes, it is a lot but family member is a tall and relatively active chap. (But nothing extreme - no sports, just some regular but gentle walking.) Even so, his weight and blood-sugar has been steady and acceptable for a very long time. But when you look at it, it is nothing like as calorific or carb-heavy as anything with white flour/cake/biscuits/pastry/fast-food/takeaways/crisps/ similar snacks/ fizzy drinks etc etc etc. Not much cheese. No puddings or sweets. Very, very little added.sugar. And he does not like alcohol - so no disturbed blood-sugar and no 'munchies' late at night after the pub, involving crisps/burgers etc etc. It's all based on real ingredients and home-cooked. It's very high fibre (so also good for the gut) and slowly absorbed.

@nameXname it sounds fab- I could eat this - just a bit less. I eat kind of similar

@Crikeyalmighty - thank you so much! I just hope OP can work out something similar that helps her.

Personally I think you need to be calorie counting as you're saying that you eat peanut butter on its own as a snack, but that's super calorific. You also eat a lot of bread.

Why not have a 2 egg omelette for breakfast with cheese, spinach, red onion, tomatoes and whatever other yummy veggies you want. If you're still a bit hungry I have a big coffee or cup of tea and a handful of cherries. (You can add quark to the eggs if you want to up the protein).

Snack have some greek yoghurt with quark, banana and a drizzle of honey. Or raspberries and blueberries is nice.

Lunch have tuna mayonnaise, but eat it with slices of cucumber and carrots.

Dinner have some baked salmon or roast chicken, some potatoes, salad and some veggies. I would have tender stem and asparagus because that's what I like. And a couple squares of choc as a treat, but I really like dark chocolate.

You also need to make sure you're drinking enough. When I'm trying to lose weight I drink at least 2L's of water and 3 to 4 cups of herbal tea per day. I always have a coffee in the morning and at least half a litre of water then usually don't eat any food until at least 10am as that's what works for me.

Are you peri menopausal op?
It's harder to shift. Need to work on your stress levels too. If the body is in fight or flight mode it will hold on to fat apparently.

It's really not easy!

With an HBA1C of 42.5 the OP already has pre diabetes.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics/types-of-diabetes/type-2/prediabetes
She also has a high waist/hip ratio which means a lot of visceral fat which is very harmful for health. She needs to look at steps to reduce insulin resistance (significantly reducing sugar/starchy cabs) as if not addressed it will develop into diabetes.

What meds are you on?

My DH was prescribed vitamin D alongside his type 2 meds to reduce insulin resistance. It can also be addressed by fasting, but obviously this would be medically supervised for anyone with type 2.

No, and I think worrying about being pre-diabetic is enough to be going on with.

Yes, exercise after eating stops unused carbs being stored as sugar. There was a chart on one of the diabetes website showing the effects on blood sugar of different types of exercise.

Cut out bread and basically change any starchy carbs for much smaller portions and only have:

• wholemeal
• skin on potatoes
• brown rice

Instead of the starches, you want your meals to mainly comprise:

• vegetables - roots, leafy greens, legumes
• pulses - lentils, beans, chickpeas etc
• salad - peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, beetroot, celery etc
• protein eg chicken, fish, prawns, turkey

For flavour use herbs, chili, garlic, spices like ginger, turmeric, cumin, balsamic

If you feel absolutely starving and are carrying extra weight, something is stopping your body using its reserves of fat.

The culprit is most likely insulin.

Eating carbs raises your blood sugar levels, so your body releases insulin to clear tbe sugar from your blood and store it as glucose and then fat.

It's tricky for your body to balance out the sugar and insulin, so too much insulin is released. Your brain notices the blood sugar dropping and panics, signally your body that it needs more carbs. At the same time, your body cannot access its fat supplies when insulin is circulating.

It's really really difficult to loose weight by burning fat when this is all going on.

One solution is to drastically reduce the starchy carbs you are eating. Expect a few days even weeks when your brain that think of nothing but wasting sugar / starch. This fades after say two weeks. Suddenly you wake us and are not hungry. Your body has found how to burn fat and everything is well.

Drink lots of water. Eat as much meat, fish, dairy and leafy green veg as you want, so you are not hungry. You soon get used to a new kind of hunger. A quiet hey, could eat something now. If you ignore it, nothing much happens. It goes away and comes back a little more insistent.

There is a MN low carb boot camp thread that provides the information you need for success. It's such a very different way of eating healthily that I now, years later, still have to pinch myself that o can eat such delicious foot, no need to feel hungry and slowly, slowly loose all that weight.

The kind of hunger which screams at you, where you get the shakes and feel hungry/angry, where you feel sick and dizzy is not hunger, it's too much insulin in your bloodstream.

Come and try the low carb high fat way of eating.

This makes so much sense to me, I used to get awful hunger pangs/shaked, I have cut carbs down but not entirely and don't get them anymore

In fact I ate a fish salad at lunchtime with just one small cracker and I still don't feel hungry now

I would have had the hunger shakes after a few hours previously.

What I struggle with is finding enough protein based variety. It feels like I have to be more organised

DP has been told to change his diet, permanently, to manage his diabetes. He has been put on a special low carb diet no ultra processed food (Adelaide diet)by his GP. It's a lifestyle change but I'm mostly following it too we have both lost about a stone in 6 weeks but we had more to lose than you. You might want to ask your GP about it.

I've also been listening to this

It's Chris Van Tulleken talking about weight gain and ultra processed food.

From what you've said it sounds to like the issue isn't the amount you're eating but what you are eating.

@Flaribeau

For people with diabetes or risk of diabetes you need to control blood sugar. Doing this solves dieting as you are really not hungry.

Cut down on bread. One slice of lower carb bread a day (warburton plant loaf is 14 carbs a slice). No potatoes, rice, pasta or corn. No sugar or syrups.

Eat whatever you like of above ground vegetables. Eat meat, fish, shellfish, dairy products and eggs. Limit fruit to berries and avocados.

The weight will fall off as your blood sugar stabilises. It takes about a week to stabilise. Your appetite will reduce. Eat to feel comfortable then stop.

I can loose 4-5lbs a week doing this. I currently have a libre2 continuous blood glucose monitor so I can tell when I'm spiking high sugars. Sticking to these eating habits have transformed my blood sugars and quashed my appetite.

Didn't mention alcohol. Non sugary alcohol helps lower blood sugar but it's not a recommended method!