Losing weight

[Bakebeansrule]

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes back in May since then I’ve changed my diet and lifestyle and I’ve been told I’ve reversed the condition, latest HbA1c was 38. I’ve done this by losing almost 3 stone so far, what’s worrying me is the last few pounds have fallen away without any effort. I was very anxious last week and did hardly any exercise other than making sure I was walking over 10,000 steps a day and there’s was still a loss on the scales. Now my minds wondering into dangerous waters wondering why I’m losing it so easily. My bmi has changed from obese to overweight (I still have a way to go) I’m wondering if my metabolism has improved because of the weight loss? Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree? Never thought I’d be worried about having to buy new clothes!!

[Carys]

Many years ago, when I also lost a few stones, despite 'stopping dieting' and 'stopping exercising' I kept losing some weight. I'm no expert on this, but it was my opinion that my metabolism had changed and was still in the weight loss mode. If you were very anxious, I imagine that you weren't eating as much as usual, and burning energy in your anxious state. Anything with the human body, in my opinion, seems to have a period where it changes in the opposite direction. For example if you were to stop eating well and stop exercising for good, it would probably take a few weeks for it to plateau and then a few more weeks to start putting a few lbs back on. The other thing to bear in mind is that the human body can vary by a few lbs from day to night, or depending on full stomach and bowels or water being held during menstruation, or water lost when mensturation starts....etc. What I'm saying is that a few lbs up or down isn't sometimes anything to do with weight loss or gain.

I know what you mean about being worried about losing weight, having struggled to lose weight and being overweight in the past, I felt the same myself. My mind went to thinking that there must be something wrong with me to keep losing without trying. COngratulations on making such a massive lifestyle change which has reversed the diabetes, that is brilliant news ! If your BMI is still in the overweight category. I'd think you should be hugely pleased that the weight is continuing to come off, and not read anything much into it, as only if you were eating lots and losing weight would alarm bells ring tbh.

[Bakebeansrule]

Thank for for your kind reply. I do think I’m probably looking into this far more than I should. Last week I’d convinced myself i had cervical cancer or something along those lines but my dr thinks the weight loss and mini pill are effecting my hormone levels and it should all level out soon.

I weigh myself every morning and every evening and a few weeks ago was over the moon if I’d only gained a lb in the day because it would usually mean a loss over the next day or 2. I was so strict with everything I ate it gave me something to focus on where as now because my diabetes is in a good place it’s not constantly on my mind and it’s like “another day another worry”

Your right about eating less when anxious last week all I ate was salad as I just didn’t fancy food and it was quick and easy so that’s probably why I lost weight without trying

[Carys]

You will know this I'm sure, weighing every morning and every evening is not good practice :winks:. Its FAR too much, every few days is sufficient, if you can't manage each week. I know thats really hard if you are the sort of person, as I myself am, who makes that weight checking part of the routine of gaining positive outcomes to effort. It isn't advised just because an average human body does vary for many other reasons, other than 'true' weight loss. Hormones are indeed another issues that affects weight.....I had trouble with extra weight my whole adult life. I was always in the overweight category, unless I deliberately tried to knock some pounds off with careful eating. However, the last 4 years since being in (hopefully) end stages of perimenopause, I don't put weight on at all, infact if I don't eat stacks I lose weight. I find it an odd situation, but all that has changed is that my hormones are up the spout.

[Fishmanpa]

You also have to keep in mind the change of diet along with exercise and positive lifestyle changes ramps up your body's metabolism. That positive doesn't just stop if you have an off week. Why not just be happy and thank your healthier body ;)

Positive thoughts

[Bakebeansrule]

I am going to try and cut down on how much I weigh myself but like you say yourself it’s part of my routine and it helped me be positive about my diabetes seeing the numbers go down. I think I have got hooked on it and need to take a step back and as long as there’s a loss at the end of the week I need to be happy about it. I’m the healthiest physically I’ve been in 10 years I just need to get my head there now

Thank you

[ankietyjoe]

Weighing yourself twice a day is pointless. Your activity levels and diet could remain exactly the same every day and your weight would still fluctuate.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Well done on losing all that weight and helping your health! :yesyes::yahoo:

Throughout the day your weight will fluctuate by anything up to 4-5lbs so follow advice about the correct weighing protocol which is to weigh first thing before eating/drinking and preferably after going to the toilet. Even not having a bowel movement adds weight just as eating food does. And don't forget the body taks in more water into muscles if you are doing something strenous so it's not a true measure doing it after such things hence doing it first thing before all these factors start to distort it.

Consistency is key. If you are losing consistently then great. And with women you have additional hormonal aspects which can mean certain times of the month it will increase due to bloating.

If you are doing a lot of activity you may be adding muscle. Remember this means you are adding weight but it is healthy weight and will burn calories of it's own to help in your goals. So, you may have lost even more than you think unless you are monitoring your bodyfat % with it.

I wouldn't worry too much about BMI as it's too general and look more towards waist measurement. The latter the NHS use in diabetic checking anyway. You can be in the healthy range for that yet be overweight on BMI due to certain factors e.g. muscle.

Even if you stop working out your metabolism has it's BMR which you will have increased from stopping being sedentary. So, if your expenditure is still higher than what you take in it is perfectly possible to lose weight without even getting up.

[Bakebeansrule]

Thanks for the great replies again. I’m trying to let this go and be happy about the weight loss. I also am wondering if I restricted myself with food so much to start with I found it hard to lose weight because I wasn’t taking in enough calories, I’d stripped 95% of carbs away where as now I’m allowing myself a few with my evening meal. I don’t know I will see how it goes I’ll try and weight myself every few days from now on

[ankietyjoe]

When you are very overweight (and if you've lost 3 stone you were very overweight), there are hormonal factors in play as well. There is a 'hump' that you may have overcome called insulin resistance. This means that at the start it's harder to lose weight, and now you've cleaned up your diet your body is far more capable of using the hormones responsible for weight gain and weight loss. This is especially true of low carb diets, which impact insulin issues massively. You may even be partly or fully in ketosis, in which case you'll lose weight incredibly easily. Doesn't sound sinister at all to me.

[Carys]

That was really interesting Ankiety Joe, and explains why I carried on losing when not strictly dieting.

[Bakebeansrule]

Brilliant thank you for explaining that. I
Knew that being overweight would stop by body using the insulin I’m producing properly, which it’s now doing with my HbA1c going down to 38 from 56 in 3 months but I was unsure about the weight gain/ loss in which case the harder I push the easier and faster this next stone will go

[ankietyjoe]

The simplest way of looking at it is insulin exposure. Insulin is a fat storage hormone, and instructs your body to store energy. Carbohydrates trigger insulin the most, fats trigger insulin the least. There is of course a balance between food type and calories, in that calories are still relevant, but some calories are just more relevant than others. Because it's also about exposure, when you eat is also important. If you graze on snacks all day, you're triggering insulin all day. If you eat all of your calories between (for example) 1pm and 7pm, that means 18 hours a day your body has to look elsewhere for fuel. This is called intermittent fasting, and is allegedly a very healthy way to eat. I do this most days and rarely feel hungry at all until lunchtime, and I'll often go 20 hours between meals. Some days it'll only be 12 hours though. The point here being that you're exposing your system to less insulin.

I also find I'm a LOT less hungry when I eat less carbs. If I have a sandwich for lunch and pizza for dinner.....I'm still shoving food in my face at 11pm and can't stop doing it.

[Weasley123]

It could easily be the walking. People dismiss walking but it is extremely effective exercise and is you where in active before even more so. I increased my walking from 10000 steps or 5 miles a day 5 days a week to 20000 plus steps or 11 or 12 miles a day and lost between 5 and 10 lbs without changing my diet at all, I often treat myself to a small scoop of ice cream from a fancy shop on my walks, even though I was never overweight or inactive I still lost. I imagine if you are overweight and where inactive the effect will be more dramatic. It sounds like you are doing well. You are making life style changes which is good you actually should not diet as diets don’t work, especially very restrictive ones they just set people up for a binge. And keep up the walking I’m a zealot for it I am convinced walking a great deal is the best thing s person can do.

[Bakebeansrule]

When I was first diagnosed I pushed myself to 20,000 steps a day and cut right down on food. Now I’m making sure I do 10,000 as my legs were getting really sore. I never thought I’d lose 3 Stone in 31/2 months. I’ve got one more to go and my nurse is happy with that as it will be a quarter of my body weight gone then I can lose another 1 or so over time. I’m on my feet from 6am until 7pm 5 days a week with my job luckily