new dr info

[lovelymc72]

so, I had my physical on Tuesday and everything went well. cholesterol is 162, sugar 88, ldl and hdl are both superb. the ratio thing was 1.7. so overall very good. The weight, still not so good. My dr had a serious talk with me and said that it seems like i am doing everything right, as proven by my numbers, but maybe my body is just used to being at a certain weight and wont let anymore go. he said it might just be normal and that it may be really hard to lose. he will not come out and say low carb, but he is not anti low carb either. he said i need to give my body a serious blow to get it losing again. he said he would recommend low carb and low fat. he said traditional atkins is too high in fat for me right now and that although fat is good, my body cannot and should not have too much additional fat. He said not for the long term, but just to see if that will get me beyond what we feel is a set point for me. Now i am at lost because i dont know what to eat. he suggested some sort of a shake for breakfast and lunch and a very lc/lf dinner. What are your thoughts.

[Janknitz]

Give it two weeks and see how you feel.

My guess is you'll feel rotten and as you go into starvation levels of calories (if you take out the fat, take out the carbs, and keep the same level of protein that's the result) you will be hungry and craving. Starvation equals a slower metabolism and one of two things will happen: either no weight loss or weight loss will include lean muscle mass-- not a good thing. What you probably will not be able to do efficiently is burn fat or process/synthesize fat soluble vitamins ADE and K. Be sure to ask your doctor to monitor thyroid as that function will most likely affected.

Do you track calories? I find I don't lose (stalled for EIGHT MONTHS) when I don't have enough calories. I stayed with low carb, INCREASED my calories (fat!) and started to lose again. I think doctors are so darn fat phobic that they can't see how necessary fats are, but that's JMHO. I make sure my fats are "clean"--pastured animals, wild caught fish, and organic coconut and olive oils. I avoid poly unsaturated fats.

[Leo41]

There's a group here doing the Dukan Diet (check under "Other Plans"). You might want to check that out. The Dukan Diet is low carb, low fat--and it may provide just the 'jolt' you need.

Personally, I have lost all my weight eating low carb, but I've never eaten high fat but low to moderate. I simply can't tolerate higher fats for medical reasons, and my lab numbers, like yours, are great, so it hasn't hurt me at all to limit fat.

[leeloo]

What plan are you following, and how strictly are you following it? I tried and quit LC many times over the last few years because I felt like I wasn't losing fast enough, but when I started sticking to Atkins very strictly, I was able to lose just fine.

I think that if you do low carb and low fat that you will have problems. Your doctor clearly doesn't know much about it. If you're determined to try something else, maybe South Beach will suit you. It's lower fat than Atkins, but it allows more carbs.

[BunChucker]

So if someone does low-fat and low-carb then most of the calories would be coming from protein, right?

[juliekaboolie]

The physician I see says you can't turn into a fat burning machine unless you eat fat and turn off sugar burning through ketosis. Some people are more sensitive to carbs than others. I am one of them. I literally cannot eat more than 20 carbs per day and my doctor encourages lower if I can take it. I also have a thyroid problem that isn't under control yet.

[DiamondDeb]

Low carb/low fat means ultra low calories & insufficient nutrition. I would not trust the nutritional knowledge of any doctor recommending such a diet.

[lovelymc72]

i think he was just trying to come up with answers and a solution to a problem he is not well educated on. Nonetheless, I get home yesterday and in the mail is a referral for a nutritionist. Which of course I called this morning to schedule my appointment. Very curious as to what her stance will be. I will not tell her however this morning I enjoyed my petite sirloin with melted irish butter and fresh garlic . Her head may spin.

[kizer4]

Check out the book, "The Metabolism Miracle", by Diane Kress. She is A registered dietitian and the book makes alot of sense. She talks about low carb, not no carbs, and lean, lite, or low fat protein. I am getting ready to start it next week. Good luck!

[heidihoopi]

Give us an idea of your daily menu with amounts of everything. We can help you better than way, we might spot what is stalling you. I suspect you can probably just eat as you are, but less of it, but one never knows....

[clackley]

Originally Posted by DiamondDeb

Low carb/low fat means ultra low calories & insufficient nutrition. I would not trust the nutritional knowledge of any doctor recommending such a diet.

[pooticus]

Originally Posted by Janknitz

Give it two weeks and see how you feel.

My guess is you'll feel rotten and as you go into starvation levels of calories (if you take out the fat, take out the carbs, and keep the same level of protein that's the result) you will be hungry and craving. Starvation equals a slower metabolism and one of two things will happen: either no weight loss or weight loss will include lean muscle mass-- not a good thing. What you probably will not be able to do efficiently is burn fat or process/synthesize fat soluble vitamins ADE and K. Be sure to ask your doctor to monitor thyroid as that function will most likely affected.

Do you track calories? I find I don't lose (stalled for EIGHT MONTHS) when I don't have enough calories. I stayed with low carb, INCREASED my calories (fat!) and started to lose again. I think doctors are so darn fat phobic that they can't see how necessary fats are, but that's JMHO. I make sure my fats are "clean"--pastured animals, wild caught fish, and organic coconut and olive oils. I avoid poly unsaturated fats.

See I'm sorry Jan- I just have to represent here.

This is a ridiculous quote.

To most people "low" anything automatically equals "NO" something. We automatically take it to the nth level and over react.

And this advice has no bearing on reality.

You won't go into "rabbit starvation". You won't get desperate...etc.

Why????

Cuz chances are you will be getting PLENTY of carbohydrate in your diet. You don't give us any idea of what you are presently eating. So a few days of diet info would be helpful.

But speaking from someone who also has to watch their fat to lose, I do believe that in some cases, your doctor could be right.

I have to "LOWER" my fats and cals to lose. So most people would say..."Oh she's doing that low fat, low carb thing that's SO unhealthy!"

Cuz in their mind, LOW = NO, NOT!!! In their mind, I'm doing 10% fat or 0% fat (ha like that's possible). Nothing could be further than the truth...

My "Lower" fat window that helps me lose is that I take Atkins normal 65-75% fat and lower it to where I'm at 40-60% fat. (That's still a moderate to high fat diet by anyone's definition - including the Atkins folks.)

I keep my protein the same at 60-80g/day.

I up my carbs coming from leafy/foundation vegetables to the point that I'm satisfied. And I am perfectly happy with food.

Here would be a sample menu for me:

Breakfast:
1 Revolution Roll
2 slices Canadian Bacon
1 Poached Egg

Lunch:
4c Leafy Green Mix (Spring Mix, Spinach, Baby Kale)
1/2c Cucumber
1/4c Red Bell Pepper
1/4c Red Onion
1/4c Radish
2 Baby Carrots
4 Tbsp WF Balsamic Dressing, Garlic Powder, ACV, 1tsp Olive Oil
2oz Chicken or Salmon or Sardines

Dinner:
3c Leafy Green Mix (Spring Mix, Spinach, Spinach)
1/4c Red Onion
1 cu inch Blue Cheese
4 Walnut Halves
2 Tbsp WF Balsamic Dressing, Garlic Powder, ACV
6oz Broccoli with 1 tsp Butter or Ghee
3oz Protein (any kind)

Dessert: (If I'm having one)
1/2c SF Jello with 1/8c Homemade Greek Yogurt - Add vanilla extract

or

2squares Lindt Chocolate Bars.

******************

So reducing fat doesn't come from cutting out all fats. I still get healthy fats in my diet. But instead of ingesting 1600-1800 cals, I'm ingesting closer to 1000 - 1100 cals. It sucks to be me. But I can't lose if I'm over 1100cals.

And it's a personaly thing...but I'd sure as hell rather be eating quantity (in the form of skinny veggies) than having tiny portions of protein and tons of fat. I was one of the people who actually got HUNGRIER when I reduced my carbs and upped protein and fats. I was starving and voracious all-the-time!

Anyway, hope you figure things out for yourself. Get creative with your body hon.

[xamier]

Try lowering your calories. Dr Atkins didn't say calories don't count, he said carbs count more. Some people do have to watch calories to keep losing.

Figure out how much you are eating. If it is high lower it, if it is really low, try a few more calories.

Good Luck.