weight loss not wanted!

[Yas]

Hello everybody!

It has been a while since I started the no gluten, no dairy diet. I also didn't eat sugar for quite a long time, and honestly, I never felt better in my life... I even did a 470km trip on a bike... Something I never thought I could do. I felt as if I had a lot of energy and all my allergies problems were gone. I haven't been sick during winter last year for the first time in my life (i have always been a physically 'fragile' person as people used to say).... But then I just couldn't continue being so strict because everybody wanted me to eat more because they were (and they are) concerned about my weight loss.

The thing is... I'm quite skinny normally and in the last few months I have been loosing a lot of weight, my clothes are big for me and I have to say that it got to the point where I'm starting to get worried also.

I also feel a little tired. And a lot of people say that it is because I don't have enough sugar in my body. But I just don't believe that. Yet, I guess that maybe it is because I stopped eating sugar for a while, and I felt great. But then I started eating it again, and then I try not to eat it, but then I eat it again, and so on... So maybe my body doesn't get used to one diet. I don't know...

I normally eat a good breakfast with eggs, avocados (if there is some), some veggies, some fruit (but I don't eat a lot of them). For lunch we have a menu which includes cow and chicken meat almost every day, a good salad with a lot of green organic leafs, yuca (once a week), beans (once a week). And for dinner I eat what's left from lunch or just some rice crackers with mayonnaise or a soup.

So I really get impressed when I see that I'm loosing weight because I'm eating quite well... or at least I think I am. ;)

I also noticed that I'm having acne on my skin... something that I've never had before. So definitely something is out of balance.

Today I started practicing kung fu, and I almost fainted... and the class wasn't really THAT hard... My blood pressure went down. This used to happen when I was younger because I had anemia for a long time. BTW this was probably because I was vegetarian since I was born until I read The Ultra-mind solution last year and did some research on health and diet.

My doctor who is specialized in Functional Medicine is traveling at the moment, I will get in touch with him as soon as he comes back. But I wanted to know if somebody here had a similar experience or knows something about it.

I'm sorry if there was already a topic about this and I didn't notice.... If there is one, you can just copy the link and I'll get there and read it.

Thanks a lot!



:)

edit: spelling

 

[Brenda86]

If I may ask, what is your actual weight and height? And if you know what your previous weight was and the length of time it took to lose itThat will make it a lot easier to discern if it is too much weight loss.

If there is, you can always just try to stick in another meal or two of the good stuff you eat - like snacks here and there through the day. Sugar would of course make you gain weight more quickly but I imagine it would be better to put it back on gradually if you are indeed underweight.

 

[whitecoast]

Hello everybody!

It has been a while since I started the no gluten, no dairy diet. I also didn't eat sugar for quite a long time, and honestly, I never felt better in my life... I even did a 470km trip on a bike... Something I never thought I could do. I felt as if I had a lot of energy and all my allergies problems where gone. I haven't been sick during winter last year for the first time in my life (i have always been a physically 'fragile' person as people used to say).... But then I just couldn't continue being so strict because everybody wanted me to eat more because they where (and they are) concerned about my weight loss.

The thing is... I'm quite skinny normally and in the last few months I have been loosing a lot of weight, my clothes are big for me and I have to say that it got to the point where I'm starting to get worried also.

I also feel a little tired. And a lot of people say that it is because I don't have enough sugar in my body. But I just don't believe that. Yet, I guess that maybe it is because I stopped eating sugar for a while, and I felt great. But then I started again, and then I try not to eat it, but then I eat it again, and so on... So maybe my body doesn't get used to one diet. I don't know...

I normally eat a good breakfast with eggs, avocados (if there is some), some veggies, some fruit (but I don't eat a lot of them). For lunch we have a menu which includes cow and chicken meat almost every day, a good salad with a lot of green organic leafs, yuca (once a week), beans (once a week). And for dinner I eat what's left from lunch or just some rice crackers with mayonnaise or a soup.

So I really get impressed when I see that I'm loosing weight because I'm eating quite well... or at least I think I am. ;)

I also noticed that I'm having acne on my skin... something that I've never had before. So definitely something is out of balance.

Today I started practicing kung fu, and I almost fainted... and the class wasn't really THAT hard... My blood pressure went down. This used to happen when I was younger because I had anemia for a long time. BTW this was probably because I was vegetarian since I was born until I read The Ultra-mind solution last year and did some research on health and diet.

My doctor who is specialized in Functional Medicine is traveling at the moment, I will get in touch with him as soon as he comes back. But I wanted to know if somebody here had a similar experience or knows something about it.

I'm sorry if there was already a topic about this and I didn't notice.... If there is one, you can just copy the link and I'll get there and read it.

Thanks a lot!

I'm no expert, but is it possible that you're eating too much protein? Consuming more than your body needs for protein/tissue/enzyme building can push you out of ketogenesis intermittently, since the surplus protein is converted to sugar (which your body prefers to use over fat). This could in part explain the tiredness: your body is constantly changing metabolic gears so your metabolism naturally becomes less efficient.

You could try playing around with your macronutrient ratios and see where it gets you. Maybe try cutting down on protein and increasing fat intake (lack of fat may not necessarily be the problem, but it should be ruled out separately from too much protein/sugar).

As for your weight concerns, consider gradually increasing your unrefined carb intake and see if it helps prevent weight loss.

I think your first concern should be your energy level though (it sounds like it's your primary concern as well :p). FWIW since starting the paleolithic diet I did have quite a bit of weight loss as well (I'm the thinnest I've ever been), but since fruits are naturally more abundant in the summer I've been eating more of that, and I've gained one to three pounds back since winter. How long have you noticed increased tiredness, since spring/summer? XD

 

[Carl]

Hello everybody!

It has been a while since I started the no gluten, no dairy diet. I also didn't eat sugar for quite a long time, and honestly, I never felt better in my life... I even did a 470km trip on a bike... Something I never thought I could do. I felt as if I had a lot of energy and all my allergies problems where gone. I haven't been sick during winter last year for the first time in my life (i have always been a physically 'fragile' person as people used to say).... But then I just couldn't continue being so strict because everybody wanted me to eat more because they where (and they are) concerned about my weight loss.

No gluten/dairy is a good start, however the research here goes much further than that. Regarding other people's opinions, that's something you're going to have to get used to. Once you know enough and have a firm understanding of why you're making diet changes, you can politely rebuff people's uneducated comments in a way that is considerate. Knowledge is the most important thing here, and you shouldn't let your decisions be guided by those who have less of it, to put it bluntly.

I also feel a little tired. And a lot of people say that it is because I don't have enough sugar in my body. But I just don't believe that. Yet, I guess that maybe it is because I stopped eating sugar for a while, and I felt great. But then I started again, and then I try not to eat it, but then I eat it again, and so on... So maybe my body doesn't get used to one diet. I don't know...

I normally eat a good breakfast with eggs, avocados (if there is some), some veggies, some fruit (but I don't eat a lot of them). For lunch we have a menu which includes cow and chicken meat almost every day, a good salad with a lot of green organic leafs, yuca (once a week), beans (once a week). And for dinner I eat what's left from lunch or just some rice crackers with mayonnaise or a soup.

So I really get impressed when I see that I'm loosing weight because I'm eating quite well... or at least I think I am. ;)

I also noticed that I'm having acne on my skin... something that I've never had before. So definitely something is out of balance.

Today I started practicing kung fu, and I almost fainted... and the class wasn't really THAT hard... My blood pressure went down. This used to happen when I was younger because I had anemia for a long time. BTW this was probably because I was vegetarian since I was born until I read The Ultra-mind solution last year and did some research on health and diet.

I'm sorry if there was already a topic about this and I didn't notice.... If there is one, you can just copy the link and I'll get there and read it.

There is already a topic about this, it is 215 pages long and is absolutely packed with information:
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,22916.0.html

You'll probably find the answer to all of your questions in this thread, plus a lot more

You seem to have made good progress and have a very healthy diet by most people's standards, but if you're still eating lots of veggies (plus some fruit and rice crackers) and not enough meat then it appears you're not up to date with the diet that this forum has found to be optimal. Meat is our ideal fuel, specifically fat. The thread covers this in detail, with lots of practical ideas for getting more animal fat into our diets.

I recommend getting a copy of Primal Body, Primal Mind and making it a priority read, as well as reading the whole Life without bread thread.

 

[Bobo08]

I agree that getting enough knowledge of where you are heading towards is the way to go. Not only will you know what to expect and what to do if problems come up, you will also be confident enough to stick to the diet despite the pressure from well-intentioned but otherwise ignorant relatives.

I've always been a skinny person. Like you, my weight got worse when I started the diet, along with a few other problems like fatigue, bad breath, digestive problems, etc. My wife used to point out every symptoms as evidence that the diet I was following was bad for me. However, with the knowledge obtained from the books and this forum (the Life Without Bread thread is a gold mine in this regard), I was able to persist with the diet. After about 3 months, all the problems started to disappear and I actually gained 2 kg compared to before starting on the diet, not to mention that I felt better than ever, both mentally and physically. Now, even my wife and daughter are starting to following the diet.

 

[truth seeker]

AC,

I'm really sorry you're not feeling well. I completely agree with the others who have recommended getting up to date on the research. Can you say how much of the reading have you done (threads, books)?

 

[Yas]

Thank you very much for your answers!

I agree completely about the importance of getting up to date with the research. When I started my way in the diet changes the thread Life Without Bread had just started and I got through some part of it. I will definitely go through all of it now.

Back then I decided to focus on Gluten, Dairy and sugar first because I read that it was good to go slowly with this changes. I also did it because my family counts on me for this and what I experienced is that for some people it take more than information to really change the diet. So, as I said, I decided to focus on gluten and dairy first that was already very hard for them and when this was established at home I could go ahead with the low carb diet.

I have to say here that, sometimes, even if you have the knowledge and you know why you do the diet, a lot of people show a lack of willingness to do the effort of changing their habits. I usually have a lot of background information when I speak to people and, very often, they end up saying something like "you are right, but I prefer to continue eating what I eat". Nevertheless some people get really interested on the subject and they start asking me everything about gluten and dairy and I encourage them to do exactly what you encouraged me to do, which is to research and not just start to change the diet without knowing what they're doing and why.

A lot of people laugh at me because I am so concerned about the diet, but I don't care, I know that with good information, even they are going to understand why is it that I'm so concerned about what I eat. ;)

To answer your questions...

My height is about 1,72m and my weight is usually 50kg, which is perfect for me according to the standards based on the height and the circumference of your wrist divided. I don't know how much my weight is now, the last time I knew, a moth ago, it was 48kg. which is, according to the same standards, still OK, but a little bit alarming. I am skinnier now, so maybe my weight is even lower. OK, it is only 2 or 3kg... yet if you are very skinny like me, you notice a lot when you loose 2-3kg.

As whitecoast said, my first concern is not my weight (I don't really mind being very skinny :) ) but my energy levels. And I had the idea that it had something to do with carbs because that is related to how my body gets its energy. So. I will read the Life Without Bread Topic and get up to date with the research you have been doing.

Most of my research is based on reading on the web about dairy, gluten, sugar and the paleolithic diet. I only read The Ultra-Mind Solution as a book but I've read a lot of articles on the Internet. Sometimes I got to Sott.net and typed 'dairy', 'gluten', 'paleolithic diet' in order to have all the articles on these subjects and read them. :)

I will get my copies of Life Without Bread and Primal Body, Primal Mind and read them right away.

Thanks a lot!

AY

 

[mcb]

If you are eating enough to not feel hungry, I think it would be a good idea to see your functional medicine doctor as soon as practical when he returns.

The people that want you to eat more sugar don't understand that it causes you to gain weight by promoting metabolic disease that is difficult to reverse.

You mentioned foods that you eliminated, but are there other foods that you have added? If so, did you test them using an elimination/challenge test? Did you discontinue anything for an extended period of time (6 months, for example) and then reintroduce it?

I don't see any mention of meat in what you eat for breakfast. Is that an omission, or are you starting the day without it? Your body has only one storage mechanism for protein -- you! Which is to say your muscles and organs, primarily. If you don't consume enough then you gradually waste away and that can be very unhealthy. Your appetite should be telling you that you are not eating enough if that is the case, but everyone is different.

I know some of our reading material may have suggested that fat was the main factor in satiety, but my own experience and my reading of more recent sources both indicate that protein is the major determinant (of satiety) by far, which makes sense because of what the body does to itself if there is a deficiency. So if you are not going hungry you may be OK, but just from reading what you wrote I don't see very much protein, unless you have an unusually large serving of meat at lunch, or a lot of eggs for breakfast.

I do wonder if your prior vegetarian experience may have conditioned you not to see some of the signals your body is sending you. Also, a vegetarian diet can be quite harmful for growing children, and there is a possibility that you have experienced some serious damage that will need attention and special care over a number of years. Hopefully, when you say "vegetarian" (as opposed to vegan) from birth you mean that you had some animal products such as milk (ugh, but it's still better than vegan, especially if raw), eggs (superfood!), and maybe even fish?

If you are doing a lot of exercise, including long bike trips, you are going to need more protein than others that are less active might need. Phinney & Volek's The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance contains quite a bit of information about protein, as I recall, although it is a book about ketogenic diet and I am not sure if you are there yet or not -- it sounds like you have more to do, first. This is not good book, by the way, for guidance on which particular foods to eat, but it is good in other respects.

 

[Yas]

Hi there!

It has been a while since I wrote this post... I would like to update and answer the last questions...

Definitively it was time for another change when I wrote the first post here. And yes I had to add a lot more protein and fat to my diet.... I was still transitioning from being a vegetarian (I ate eggs, never liked milk and occasionally fish), to eating meet everyday which was still weird and difficult to me.

Some in July or August of 2012 I started adding a lot more meat to my diet, and reducing carbs regularly, I quitted the rice, the yuca, and got less veggies. AND of course, added some more fat, in the form of lard especially and bacon (wow! I never ate that as vegetarian and now I know how delicious it is. )

Two months ago I had to move from my house, where I ate what was cooked for the family, plus what I cooked for myself. Now, where I live, I buy and cook my own food, and since fatty meat is the cheapest thing to eat here in my country I eat mostly fatty meat, eggs, bacon and a lot of lard... some veggies occasionally... :D I know, it is not very diverse, but there are plenty of ways to cook meat and I have discovered that it is actually DELICIOUS! I don't know how could I have been a vegetarian for so long! ;)

I have noticed that I've gotten very sensible to a lot of foods (OK... I was surely sensible but since my 'sensors' might have been shut up, I couldn't feel anything). I noticed that I have reactions to almost all veggies, so I usually only eat lettuce, and only some days... I also noticed reactions to a lot of spices, so I only use salt, pepper and turmeric as spices, sometimes cinnamon as well... until last month I was just eating as much as I felt like eating, now I'm starting to count the carbs, proteins and fat in my food just to have a better understanding of how the proportions look like.... lol So I'm between 10-20g of carbs... And I didn't have the time to look to the protein and fat numbers yet, but I'll do it. I try to estimate an intake of 90-100 g of protein and a LOT of fat, but I'm still gradually increasing the amount of fat because it makes me a little sick if I eat too much of it. I even tried lard tea and I really liked it, so I'm having that sometimes in the evenings.

Now it is avocado season again, so that's a new thing in the diet now, and it seems allright... I eat half of one or a small one with lunch sometimes.

Things are quite well with that. My skin is perfect, my energy levels are OK and I still weight 47-48, but I look healthier. I also started doing a lot of exercise, as recommended in The Paleo Solution because I've found the exercises given there are easy to do at home, or at the park, and I'm not in the conditions to pay for a gym or training stuff right now. I'm considering buying a resistance band... I guess that won't be so expensive. I exercise almost everyday because I use my bike as a transport to everywhere and I also walk a lot when not cycling. Besides that I do some strength training 3 times a week, which consist in very simple exercises for now.... just lifting my own weight in different ways, using different muscles. I might continue that way and continue researching before I do something else ;)

I am discovering how good this diet actually is and I still want to share some more about this excellent process with you... Unfortunately I have to leave now, but I'll soon share some more!

It is a very exiting learning process

 

[mcb]

I have noticed something recently about my own weight loss: the last time I weighed what I do now, people were already telling me that I should stop. I still went down another 10-12 pounds before I convinced myself that I really should stop.

That has not happened this time. The difference is that the earlier time I starved off the weight the conventional/recommended way (in 9 months) and this time I lost it gradually without ever going hungry. When you starve it off, it eventually affects your facial muscles as they start to waste, and then people start telling you that you need to stop. When you remain well-nourished while losing weight, including eating adequate protein, your muscles don't waste. The result can be subtle, and most people don't seem to have noticed that I lost 40 pounds! But it was over a span of 18 months.

Most people -- carbivores -- don't know, however, that there is another way to lose weight and when they realize you are doing that it may seem to them like you are wasting away even when you aren't.

I realize now that because my muscles are intact I am going to need to lose another 10-12 pounds to reach where I want to be, because my weight is OK but my shape is not quite there. My waist is slightly larger (maybe as much as an inch larger) than it was before at this weight, and I really want to make sure that I have taken care of my visceral fat problem. So, for me, what was "too skinny" before may turn out to be "just right" now.

 

[Nook]

Glad to hear you're doing much better, Acid Yazz.

since fatty meat is the cheapest thing to eat here in my country I eat mostly fatty meat, eggs, bacon and a lot of lard... some veggies occasionally... :D

One thing I'd like to mention that would be beneficial to add to this list is Bone Broth

fatty meat is the cheapest thing to eat here in my country

Lucky you, now I'm a little jealous ;)

 

[Yas]

I have noticed something recently about my own weight loss: the last time I weighed what I do now, people were already telling me that I should stop. I still went down another 10-12 pounds before I convinced myself that I really should stop.

That has not happened this time. The difference is that the earlier time I starved off the weight the conventional/recommended way (in 9 months) and this time I lost it gradually without ever going hungry. When you starve it off, it eventually affects your facial muscles as they start to waste, and then people start telling you that you need to stop. When you remain well-nourished while losing weight, including eating adequate protein, your muscles don't waste. The result can be subtle, and most people don't seem to have noticed that I lost 40 pounds! But it was over a span of 18 months.

Most people -- carbivores -- don't know, however, that there is another way to lose weight and when they realize you are doing that it may seem to them like you are wasting away even when you aren't.

I realize now that because my muscles are intact I am going to need to lose another 10-12 pounds to reach where I want to be, because my weight is OK but my shape is not quite there. My waist is slightly larger (maybe as much as an inch larger) than it was before at this weight, and I really want to make sure that I have taken care of my visceral fat problem. So, for me, what was "too skinny" before may turn out to be "just right" now.

I'm glad to know that you are getting where you want.

I've also noticed that loosing weight without doing enough exercise can make you look too skinny, now I weight the same but I have gained muscular mass, so I look healthy and no extremely skinny.

Glad to hear you're doing much better, Acid Yazz.

since fatty meat is the cheapest thing to eat here in my country I eat mostly fatty meat, eggs, bacon and a lot of lard... some veggies occasionally... :D

One thing I'd like to mention that would be beneficial to add to this list is Bone Broth

Yes! definitively!

I still didn't have the chance to cook that... but it's been a long time since I want to do it. I want to buy an electrical cooker because gas is really expensive here and I don't have a pressure cooker so I'll have to cook for HOURS! :D So... as soon as I buy my cooker I'll start doing bone broth. ;)

fatty meat is the cheapest thing to eat here in my country

Lucky you, now I'm a little jealous ;)

lol!

BTW... I wanted to ask if what I think is "fatty meat" is actually fatty meat... lol

I'll leave a picture here... and as you will see, there is a pot of lard in the picture, I've got it yesterday as a gift from a smallholder during a trip and just before this I had lard from another smallholder that was really white, and this one is a little bit yellow... do you know the cause of this colour?

 

[Nienna]

I'll leave a picture here... and as you will see, there is a pot of lard in the picture, I've got it yesterday as a gift from a smallholder during a trip and just before this I had lard from another smallholder that was really white, and this one is a little bit yellow... do you know the cause of this colour?

According to what we have read here on the forum, grass-fed - or pastured - fat has a yellow color to it. Grain-fed is white. So yellow is better.

 

[Nook]

I'll leave a picture here... and as you will see, there is a pot of lard in the picture, I've got it yesterday as a gift from a smallholder during a trip and just before this I had lard from another smallholder that was really white, and this one is a little bit yellow... do you know the cause of this colour?

According to what we have read here on the forum, grass-fed - or pastured - fat has a yellow color to it. Grain-fed is white. So yellow is better.

Looks good! ;)

Here's the link to a thread that discusses the different colors of fat.

 

[Yas]

I'll leave a picture here... and as you will see, there is a pot of lard in the picture, I've got it yesterday as a gift from a smallholder during a trip and just before this I had lard from another smallholder that was really white, and this one is a little bit yellow... do you know the cause of this colour?

According to what we have read here on the forum, grass-fed - or pastured - fat has a yellow color to it. Grain-fed is white. So yellow is better.

Ok! that makes sense! because the fat you buy on the supermarket is REALLY white and 'dry', and it certainly comes from grain-fed pork, and this one is what we would call Ivory white (they call the 'yollowish white' Ivory here... ;)) ... I also noticed that it is not so hard or 'dry', it stays quite 'humid' even when it is in the fridge... ;)

Here's the link to a thread that discusses the different colors of fat.

Thanks a lot! :D