Low Carb & Exercise Mid 40s

[afewmoregreys]

I feel a bit stuck at being slightly overweight - currently around size 12 / 14 and would normally be 10 comfortably. I've had a stressful 6 years including losing a parent, covid, my eldest kid having extreme anxiety, leaking flat and both me and my husband being made redundant. I'm finally coming out the other end of all this but I know that stress has been a big factor here. Not just occasionally overeating bad foods like crisps and ice-cream but also the stress itself. I also had my second child 6 years ago and it's been a bit of a rollercoaster since. I feel bad complaining about any of this as way worse things can happen but I think the accumulative effect of them has been stressful.

During this time I've dipped in and out of exercise (walking + yoga) and had periods of sensible eating. I now feel mentally ready to take care of myself more. So here are some things I'm trying out:

• low carb diet with lots of veg, nuts, seeds and protein like greek yoghurt eggs, meat and fish (around 2 tablespoons of brown rice a day or a 1/2 a sweet potato for my carb intake)
• 15 mins morning yoga + 15 mins afternoon yoga
• 14K steps a day
• sleeping by 9pm at the lates (5am start)

I've been doing the above for around 2 weeks so far. I think adding the following could help:

• meditation (figuring out a good time to slot this in and for how long?)
• getting my haircut! (I haven't had a haircut for 2 years due to finances but now that I'm out of unemployment I'm planning to get my haircut in August)
• Pay off debt asap (this debt was accumulated during the 18 months of looking for work and making sure the kids could still eat + have shelter)

Anything else?... I have that new beginning feeling which I haven't had for a while :)

I'm also mid 40s. I'd try and incorporate some strength training. It's really important at our age. I do dumbbell work outs three times a week for about 20 minutes. I'm not aiming to be a body builder. But after 18 months of sticking with it I definitely feel stronger and more toned.

@Illyna good idea... at the moment I'm only doing planks for strength training. Are there any good YouTube videos for short strength training workouts. I could probably fit in a similar schedule of 20 mins x 3 times per week.

You definitely need to be doing decently heavy weights to strengthen your bones and protect them. You also need to do cardio that raises your heart rate. I'm not sure yoga and walking would raise your heart rate sufficiently.

Is there a reason you want to do low carb? Excluding one huge food group is difficult to maintain long term and I assume you want a permanent change, not a fad diet.

@CortieTat I’m really interested in eating well for the long term—not just following a fad diet, since those never work for me.

Switching to a low-carb diet in my mid-20s helped resolve some health issues, like an underactive thyroid and low iron. As a bonus, I lost weight and kept it off for about 12 years. Recently, though, tighter finances meant I ate more cheap carbs like pasta, bread, and white rice.

At first, I just wanted to boost my iron levels, but I found that eating this way made me feel great overall. Now, I focus on whole foods and low-carb meals, but I still enjoy things like real sourdough bread and soaked brown rice a few times a week.

A typical day, like yesterday was:

Breakfast:
2 Buckwheat pancakes with greek yoghurt + honey + walnuts
Black filter coffee

Snack:
1 date, 1oatcake, pumpin seeds, almond butter and 1 square dark chocolate
Black filter coffee

Lunch:
Baked tofu cooked in ginger, chill, garlic + soya sauce marinade
Grilled aubergine wedges
2 Tablespoons brown basmati rice
Miso soup

Dinner:
Stir fried chicken liver & cabbage, broccoli, peas and tomatoes (this is one of my very specific iron boosting meals that has iron + vitamin C)

Before Bed:
Roiboos tea

I can't really skip meals, fast or eat just a salad as that makes me feel quite ill and low on energy. I'm a big fan of nutritious, healing and feel good foods so I'm always looking for new recipes like this and am open to ideas.

Something I struggle with is fitting in exercise with full time work + 2 kids. So a couple of weeks ago I added those two 15 min yoga sessions - so any other short session recommendations like this would be good. I could probably fit in a 20 min weight session every 2-3 days.

Have you had your blood sugar tested? I was prediabetic for years and didn't realise until 2 weeks ago when I changed GP and had access to my full records digitally. My previous GP didn't tell me that my HBA1C was 45, 48 and above is clinically diabetic. My plasma glucose was also at the top of the range 5.8mmol, 6mmol is the top.
I used to crave carbs usually chips and crisps so as it was savoury I didn't link it to prediabetes but starch cravings are also a big sign. I've also been low in iron and haemoglobin for 25 years.
When you mentioned that you can't fast because it makes you ill, this was me, I'd get dizzy, feel faint, have shaking hands and massive mood swings if don't eat often due to unstable blood sugars.
I've been on mounjaro for almost 8 months and it's resolved my sugar symptoms and I can now fast. I've lost 2.5 stones too.

@Histoscientist that’s interesting. I will get it checked and am due my usual annual iron / thyroid check so will mention to the GP. The last time I had it checked was 5 years ago, post pregnancy as I was borderline during pregnancy which didn’t require medication but I did daily monitoring myself. 5 years ago it was normal but I should check again.

I have always not managed well when skipping meals since I was a kid and whenever I was tested for diabetes the results came back normal. What you’re saying about the levels is useful and I’ll check my levels for comparison to normal levels.

I had a similar thing with ferritin levels where normal levels are 15 - 150 but anything below 70 for me results in fatigue and hair loss. For years I was told they are normal but were slowly edging towards 7!

Yeh, I think a lot of GPs don't mention prediabetes, they say normal if not diabetic but prediabetes can also show symptoms and have health issues in itself. Also blood pressure if worth keeping an eye on. Yes I've had insulin resistance since young so struggled to fast etc I've also had a lot of abdominal fat since 18!

A quick update in case anyone else is struggling with the same. I had tests at the GP and most things were normal but I have low D and iron levels. I am now supplementing and have changed my diet to help. I feel sooooo much better!

In terms of weight loss, I think I may have been under eating and not eating quite the right things. I've focussed on protein, iron, calcium and keep my sat fat down. I did all this around 4 months ago and I haven't lost much weight but clothes started feeling slightly looser 3 months in. I found I need to weigh out things and track what I eat to help get the right nutrients while not overeating things like nuts etc. I'm using some nutrition guidance for this and what's surprised me at first was how much bigger my portions need to be... most of plate is veg with some protein and a small amount of carbs. I was also underestimating my calcium intake - at this age (mid 40s) we need more calcium and since I've focussed on getting this through diet (greek yoghurt and tofu have become a staple!) I don't have aching bones. I thought my aching bones were from being tired as a parent, getting older and having a high step count!! 🤦‍♀️

Anyway, in case it helps anyone else - protein, calcium, iron (in my case), vitamin D supplement all year round (I was taking it just in the winter) and you might feel like a new woman.

Next thing I am adding this week is weight training.