Please can somebody tell me where I'm going wrong?

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I'm doing low carb because I'm pre diabetic and sugar and refined carbs spike my blood sugar. I've lost half a stone over the past 6 weeks, but it's a struggle and I'm feeling very weak. Today I almost fainted whilst out, and dh took me for a scone and a glass of milk after which I felt a lot better.

My meals are as follows:

Breakfast: cup of redbush tea and then a cup of chicory (can't drink coffee).

Lunch: cheese omelette (one egg) and selection of vegetables done in the air fryer. Small cup of full fat milk.

Teatime: four rice crackers - two with butter and cheese and two with peanut butter. Salad. Frozen raspberries and full fat Greek yoghurt (about one tablespoon).

Nothing after 6pm apart from redbush tea. I don't drink alcohol or fruit juices. I usually have some fizzy water during the day.

I know it's not a lot, but I don't do much exercise although I'm always busy and don't sit down for long periods.

If I don't keep my calories low I don't lose weight. I can lose at around 1200, but anything much over and I just plateau.

Please can anyone give me any advice? I can't eat bread, wheat, oats, pasta or potatoes as they spike my blood sugars.

You're not eating enough carbs. Low carb isn't zero carb. Try for three small meals and three snacks a day. They shocks all involve carbs.
Try for 30g of carb in a meal and 15g in a snack. Make sure the carb is always paired with fat and protein to slow down the sugar spike.
This will help manage/treat pre diabetes. You've probably lost so much worth because you're keto constantly

Eat apples dipped in nut butter to slow down the sugar spike

Can you use double cream in tea? I want to get off milk if possible, but I can't stomach the redbush tea or chicory with nothing in. I've tried almond milk, but it's horrible in drinks.

I realise you're pre diabetic so it's different but look on the Gestational Diabetes UK website. Follow some of their recipes. You need to eat properly or you'll make yourself more ill and make your insulin resistance worse

Not sure if it would mix in but you could try? I use it in coffee and use a sort of frother thing to combine it. Or I find that if I have my tea really weak I don’t miss the milk at all.
you could also experiment with other unsweetened nut milk substitutes like coconut x

i still drink milk in tea, do low carb and am losing weight.
I used to get really faint/nauseous if I didn’t eat enough (presumably a sugar crash) but since doing low carb I don’t get faint/sick if hungry (although I don’t usually get hungry). Get rid of those rice crackers!
Typical day for me:
Greek yogurt, berries and seeds;
tuna/chicken breast with salad;
more protein (eg fish, bolognese, creamy chicken/prawn with pancetta, burger/kebab) with courgetti or salad.
3/4 cups of coffee/tea with splash of milk
I adore fruit and like the nutrients so do usually have an orange or apple as a snack but too much definitely affects weight loss.

I have full fat milk in tea. But I only drink it at weekends.

In the week I drink lemon water, it’s the zest of a lemon, the juice, and I throw in a slice too so it looks pretty. I drink it hot and it has lots of health benefits. I’m not actively trying to lose weight (BMI was 23.9) but I have lost some visceral fat having this as my morning drink - currently about 1kg a week (BMI dropped to 23).

It sounds like you're just eating an incredibly small amount of food! Definitely do the low carb bootcamp which is really helpful. I think you need to stop stressing about calories/amounts and just focus on keeping the carbs down and your weight should follow. I'd also up your fats as that is what keep you full and get rid of the yoghurt, raspberries and rice crackers for now.

For lunch, I often had a big salad - some combination of lettuce, cucumber, cherry toms, avocado, radishes, mozarella/feta/ham/chorizo/chicken, olives plus a dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar and mustard. Or roasted veg (in olive oil) with feta. Dinner would be bolognese sauce or chilli with a big pile of green veg (add butter if you like), stir fried chicken with lots of veg, ginger, chilli, garlic and soy sauce (no rice/noodles but fry in a decent amount of oil), chicken breast topped with sliced tomato, pesto and grated cheese cooked in the oven (serve with plenty of green veg). Also curry is a good one, just serve with green veg instead of rice/naan bread - you can use a curry powder, garlic, ginger, chilli and coconut milk/yoghurt/passata or check the ready made pastes for carbs.

You also need to make sure you drink a LOT of water and eat enough salt. It's all on the low carb bootcamp threads.

I didn't cut out wine and I don't exercise much but still lost weight doing the above. I also kept having some full fat milk in tea/coffee (probably 3 cups a day) so didn't do the bootcamp perfectly. Good luck!

This is all over the place OP - none of what you describe is a healthy way to sort out pre-diabetes

For example, Porridge, apples, rice crackers are not usually part of a keto diet

Calorie counting isn't either really - other than that you usually eat reasonable calories because you lose all your cravings

Maybe go back to basics on what you should eat when going low carb (or better, keto) for pre-diabetes

Diet Doctor is reliably good www.dietdoctor.com/weight-loss/resources

Or Dr David Unwin is the low carb GP who prescribes this successfully for his patients and has all sorts of resources and advice www.diabetes.co.uk/in-depth/david-unwin-low-carb-not-just-diabetes/

The Fast 800 recipe books have been fantastic for me - well-balanced, protein-heavy meals that keep me feeling full. Like you I have to eat less than 1200 calories a day to lose any weight and since adopting this way of eating I've found it easy to do so, and have lost 1.5stone in less than two months.

Michael Mosley has an article on the fast 800 website re how menopausal women on Keto (or maybe fast 800 can't remember) seem to only start losing significantly in week 6 of 12 week programme. This is much slower than other groups. I couldn't believe how little weight was dropping then in week 6/7 it accelerated

I recommend 'The Diabetes Wright Loss Cookbook' by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi. It explains the science behind this movement in my kind of language (ie simple), and you will see that Giancarlo, who has reserved his diabetes, still includes some daily carbs.
The recipes are lovely, certainly nothing like the limited diet you are punishing yourself with.

Wright = Weight, of course

I would speak to a nutritionist, I’m not surprised you were close to fainting. You need to prioritise protein and fibre.

I've been shopping and bought:

Low carb vegetables - no parsnips, sweetcorn etc.
Salad stuff
Cheese - gouda and red leicester
Cream cheese
Olive oil
Butter
Eggs
Full fat Greek yoghurt
Two pots of cream
Steak
Salmon fillets
Sea bass fillets
Bacon
Black pudding
Chicken
Peanut butter
Nuts
Frozen raspberries

I'm all set and have joined the bootcamp thread👍🏻

If you're serious about following a low-carb low-cal diet you need to meal plan, otherwise it just runs away from you. You need to figure out where you can get in your protein without going over your calorie limit. For example, a tablespoon of peanut butter is 100 calories. 100 "good" calories, but still 100 calories. So if you have it with an apple as a snack on a day that you've also had, say, a bowl of greek yoghurt with raspberries and honey, that's not leaving you very many calories for your main meal.

I know you've joined Bootcamp now - hurrah! - but I thought it might help you if I critique your menu:

Breakfast: cup of redbush tea and then a cup of chicory (can't drink coffee)

Why aren't you eating? In the first two weeks of Bootcamp especially, you should be eating something. Ideally this should be protein-based, like eggs or full fat yoghurt.

Lunch: cheese omelette (one egg) and selection of vegetables done in the air fryer. Small cup of full fat milk

A cheese omelette is perfect low carb food, but only one egg is too little. Use at least two - and make sure you're frying it in butter. Vegetables are fine, but the airfryer doesn't use fat/much fat, and low carb is a high fat diet.

Don't drink the milk though! There are a lot of carbs in milk.

Teatime: four rice crackers - two with butter and cheese and two with peanut butter. Salad. Frozen raspberries and full fat Greek yoghurt (about one tablespoon)

Drop the rice crackers - they are way too carby. The rest is fine - but this really isn't much a meal, it's more a selection of snacks. There should be more protein and more fat - one tablespoon of yoghurt really isn't very much!

Nothing after 6pm apart from redbush tea. I don't drink alcohol or fruit juices. I usually have some fizzy water during the day

That's all good - check out rule 6 on Bootcamp to see how much water you should be drinking daily.

I know it's not a lot, but I don't do much exercise although I'm always busy and don't sit down for long periods

Exercise really doesn't make that much of a contribution to weight loss (unless you're doing a huge amount of it so I wouldn't worry about that.

If I don't keep my calories low I don't lose weight. I can lose at around 1200, but anything much over and I just plateau

You will find that when you're low carbing you really don't have to count your calories. Honestly!

Good luck

I’m confused…if you want to lose weight then pick the low fat foods and Ditch high fat foods I.e bacon. Low fat Greek yoghurt for example.

where’s the fruit and veg, I’ve no idea what you mean by low carb veg either? You need beans, pulses, lentils - all protein and fibre rich. This is what will keep your energy levels up and feeling fuller for longer. I’ll say it again - you really need to seek a nutritionists help.

@PatientlyWaiting21 if you're doing low carb then you need the fat so full fat everything
Grains/lentils/pulses aren't low carb

Start each meal with two bites of protein eg two pieces of chicken. That will stop your blood sugar from spiking.
take a look at Glucose goddess on Instagram she has a lot of great suggestions for blood sugar and has a book out. Her tips work.
you need to eat breakfast - eg full fat Greek yoghurt w half a grated apple. This will keep you fuller.
more protein for dinner. One less rice cracker maybe.

No. She's pre-diabetic, and therefore a low carb diet is much better for her, both nutritionally but also from the point of view of weight loss.

So not low fat but low carb.

Plus it's in the low carb section topic so.. low carb

I don't think you understand how low carbing works 🤦‍♀️

Do you believe in the food triangle?

The myth that low calorie is the route to long term weight loss is gladly dying a death. Low carb, high protein, high good fat is the best diet for long term health.

Personally I find low glycaemic easier than low carb, and pulses are a part of that diet.

both methods work for sustainable long term health benefits.

One way to clog your arteries, crack on then…I’ll never understand these weird and wonderful diets you lot put yourselves through.