Addict in recovery

[bailagent7]

I am 51, I once weighed well over 353 pounds, I am on a roller coaster of 30 pounds up and down from 235 to 275 at times. I am now Type 2 diabetic and the diets the FDA and Doctors want me on are causing the problems I now see.
Once in my 20's I weighed 195 pounds and was around 8% body fat. I have always been carb addicted as far back as I can remember. Various diets have made me gain weight. Weight watchers was the worse, as I was gaining weight so fast it was crazy even though I was religious about that diet. I have tried low carb and have been somewhat successful.
My problem is now I have developed degenerative arthritis far beyond my age. I think my diet added to this. I am highly motivated to reverse this, but some of the commercial low carb foods are expensive and are still loaded with sugars and artificial sweeteners. I want to avoid that poison as well. I am open to suggestions because I need to drop the excess weight fast, before I develop heart disease. I also want to get completely off insulin and I have noticed that I can reduce my insulin needs by 80% just with diet changes so I am under the assumption that weight loss, diet and excercise together may help me completely get off insulin.

I am open to any diets that avoid processed foods , and MOST of all how do I get rid of the extreme Carb cravings, this is worse than a heroin addiction.


HELP!
.

I am open to emails of suggestions.

bailenforcer at Gmail.com

Thanks

James
.

[anyway...]

Welcome! :wave:

For the most part, anyone here will tell you to avoid low carb foods. That processed stuff isn't what low carb is about and came only from the marketing fad.

A low carb diet without all the processed junk is the best thing to aim for. Meats, most veggies, some fruits... they're all low carb and real food.

All low carb diets, if done by the book, avoid processed foods... the only one I can think of off the top of my head that allows processed foods is the version of Atkins *after* he sold the company. The '72, and I believe '98 version, still harp on the importance of real food.

Is there a plan you are leaning towards? That might give us a better chance of giving suggestions.

[bailagent7]

Welcome! :wave:

For the most part, anyone here will tell you to avoid low carb foods. That processed stuff isn't what low carb is about and came only from the marketing fad.

A low carb diet without all the processed junk is the best thing to aim for. Meats, most veggies, some fruits... they're all low carb and real food.

All low carb diets, if done by the book, avoid processed foods... the only one I can think of off the top of my head that allows processed foods is the version of Atkins *after* he sold the company. The '72, and I believe '98 version, still harp on the importance of real food.

Is there a plan you are leaning towards? That might give us a better chance of giving suggestions.


I am very new to this, not sure.

.

[Kisal]

Welcome! You might want to get a copy of "Living the Low Carb Life," by Jonny Bowden. I'm sure your local public library has a copy. In the book, the author gives a good explanation of why and how lc eating works to improve health, and he also compares 17 different lc plans. All lc plans are equally effective in the long run, but the plan you settle on should be one that you can make into a permanent lifestyle change. Choose your plan with an eye to doing it forever. You'll be surprised at the great foods you'll get to eat! :)

[oblong]

Hello and welcome to the forums :wave:

There is a lot of information on this website about the various different low carb plans out there. Here is a link (http://www.lowcarb.ca/atkins-diet-and-low-carb-plans/) to a comparison of plans, and here is a link (http://www.lowcarb.ca/books.html) to the main books available.

Staying away from processed foods is very important, and as anyway has said, some companies try to push their "low-carb" crap to make more money, like the Atkins company after Dr Atkins sold the rights.

Because you really want to try and stay away from processed foods, maybe a palaeolithic diet would be worth considering. Essentially, it is a diet that is similar to how humans have eaten for nearly 3 million years before the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry only 3000 years ago and consists of meat, poultry, fish & seafood, vegetables, fruits, nuts and berries. The main books available are NeanderThin by Ray Audette, and The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain.

I am following this type of diet myself, although I have kept some dairy produce and use artificial sweeteners on occasion since reading about various different diets on these forums. But there are so many different choices out there, and everyone is different to what they respond well to. Good luck in finding something that works for you, and welcome to your journey towards good health :)

[maturetype]

Welcome back to LC

[Korban]

Bernstein in his Diet book and in Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution and even Atkins in "his" Diabetes Revolution book will say 'first things first'... i.e., get your blood glucose under control (this will also help mitigate your appetite). Low carb will go A LONG way to helping you normalize your BG's (and with losing weight). There are many worse things than having to use insulin. Atkins says one pound per week initially is not unreasonable with just low carb for a diabetic - 2 pounds per week is quite doable but after blood glucose is under control.

I wish you the best.

/smile

[Jayppers]

Hello, James, and welcome!

I don't want to overload you with too many suggestions, but my favorite low carb. book is Life Without Bread. It is usually not stocked in most book stores, but you can of course find it at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Without-Bread-Christian-Allan/dp/0658001701/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211122812&sr=8-1

It is on sale right now for $11.53 new.

Best wishes,

[advantagec]

Welcome, James. When you say you want to lose the weight fast, how fast do you mean? I am 48, with my start, current, and goal weights all in the ballpark with yours. After the beginning, my maximum rate of loss was 10 lbs per month and it now seems to be about 6 lbs per month.

If I were determined to lose at a faster rate, I would consider intermittent fasting or a meat and egg fast. Keep us posted on your progress.

[bailagent7]

Hello and welcome to the forums :wave:

There is a lot of information on this website about the various different low carb plans out there. Here is a link (http://www.lowcarb.ca/atkins-diet-and-low-carb-plans/) to a comparison of plans, and here is a link (http://www.lowcarb.ca/books.html) to the main books available.

Staying away from processed foods is very important, and as anyway has said, some companies try to push their "low-carb" crap to make more money, like the Atkins company after Dr Atkins sold the rights.

Because you really want to try and stay away from processed foods, maybe a palaeolithic diet would be worth considering. Essentially, it is a diet that is similar to how humans have eaten for nearly 3 million years before the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry only 3000 years ago and consists of meat, poultry, fish & seafood, vegetables, fruits, nuts and berries. The main books available are NeanderThin by Ray Audette, and The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain.

I am following this type of diet myself, although I have kept some dairy produce and use artificial sweeteners on occasion since reading about various different diets on these forums. But there are so many different choices out there, and everyone is different to what they respond well to. Good luck in finding something that works for you, and welcome to your journey towards good health :)


I even stay away from the sweeteners, I have used Stevia and Xylitol on occasions at least they are not radiator anti freeze like asparatame.


But thank You very much I need all the help I can get, I greatly reduced my insulin and I am off the oral diabetic drugs finally.

[bailagent7]

I am very new to this, not sure.

.



Theres so many responses I didn't know how to respond.

Thank you for all the great suggestions and encouragement, the medicak community gave me up for dead, and I am far from ready to die.

They told me I would not be able to get off insulin yet already I greatly reduced it. It's funny because the Doctors keep pushing S.A.D. Standard American Diet on me and I know that's my problem. They love to push the drugs! It finally got to me when one day after seeing the doctor my buddy who waited in the car gave me this horrified look when I got in the car with LITERALLY a Whole box of drugs. The doctor gave me 8 different drugs, plus the prescriptions for others. I knew I was in big trouble.

I tried a modified version of the Makers diet and Halleluja diet and it helped a little but my NEED for meat proteins is obvious to me.

The closer I get to a real Atkins diet the better I seem to feel. But the press has made so many negative claims that it gets confusing at times. But I am no fool either, I see all the drug ads and FAT Food ads on the news channels and know damn well they won't bite that $$$$ Hand that feeds them and their Multi million dollar pay checks.

.

Thanks Again.

[bailagent7]

Welcome, James. When you say you want to lose the weight fast, how fast do you mean? I am 48, with my start, current, and goal weights all in the ballpark with yours. After the beginning, my maximum rate of loss was 10 lbs per month and it now seems to be about 6 lbs per month.

If I were determined to lose at a faster rate, I would consider intermittent fasting or a meat and egg fast. Keep us posted on your progress.


Fast as in I need to get the weight off because it's killing me. 10 pounds a month would be great.


.

[bailagent7]

Fast as in I need to get the weight off because it's killing me. 10 pounds a month would be great.


.


I bought Whey Protein powder to help me fast a little. I do NOT trust soy.

Are dairy products any good? Other than a little REAL cheese like cheddar or Pinconning I almost eat no dairy products.

[Korban]

The closer I get to a real Atkins diet the better I seem to feel. But the press has made so many negative claims that it gets confusing at times.
Thanks Again.
Re; Atkins Hazards/Safety: A Duke University study (http://www.lowcarb.ca/articles/article148.html)as reported on earlier this year might disagree strongly with the negative claims of the press...

The biggest hazard in it for most dieticians and AHA, etc. is that it makes them look pretty bad.

/smile

[oblong]

I even stay away from the sweeteners, I have used Stevia and Xylitol on occasions at least they are not radiator anti freeze like asparatame.


But thank You very much I need all the help I can get, I greatly reduced my insulin and I am off the oral diabetic drugs finally.
I was originally using raw organic honey for my sweetener, but realised that this was too carby and that's when I switched to the AS. But I don't want to use them a lot, and am thinking about buying some stevia also for a bit of variety.

Congratulations on getting off the diabetes drugs!! It sounds as though you are progressing in leaps and bounds! :D

If you feel as though you need more meat, then I think you should listen to what your body is telling you. I don;t know anything about the diets that you mentioned, but if you feel best when eating more meat and fat, then it's a sign that you're headed in the right direction.

[Jayppers]

I'm really resisting to flood you again with so much info., but I thought these suggestions are important for a low-carb. 'newbie':

1) Be sure to transition into a lower carbohydrate diet, as the last thing you want to do is overwhelm your body and give it too much to adjust to too quickly. Give your body time to adjust to your dietary changes.

2) Ensure that your low-carbohydrate diet is higher in fat and not excessively high in protein. It is not wise to do a low-carb. diet that is high in protein but low in carbs. Fat is the key to a succesful low-carb. diet, in my opinion. This article is helpful:

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/fat-not-protein.html

One reason for this is that excessive dietary protein can be converted into glucose by the liver, and this is what someone with a diabetic condition is most likely trying to avoid. Fat is the king of energy sources for humans and is 'clean burning'. Keeping your overall protein level adequate, but not overly high should help you to maintain steady blood sugar levels while pursuing a low-carb. diet.

A suggested range is about 60% - 80% fat to 40% - 20% protein (on a CALORIE basis, not on a pure QUANTITY basis). It seems like a lot of fat, but the key to remember is that fat has more calories per gram than does protein or cabohydrates (but this is a good thing in a low-carb. diet context).

Hope this helps! Regards,

[Korban]

Yeah what he said... :) Fat and protein will also help you maintain satiety or lack of hunger much better than carbohydrates... plus they serve other metabolic needs for the body.

/smile

[bailagent7]

I was originally using raw organic honey for my sweetener, but realised that this was too carby and that's when I switched to the AS. But I don't want to use them a lot, and am thinking about buying some stevia also for a bit of variety.

Congratulations on getting off the diabetes drugs!! It sounds as though you are progressing in leaps and bounds! :D

If you feel as though you need more meat, then I think you should listen to what your body is telling you. I don;t know anything about the diets that you mentioned, but if you feel best when eating more meat and fat, then it's a sign that you're headed in the right direction.


Well as they say, "God willing and the creek don't rise" I hope to get back to where I once was. I used to eat lot's of meats and the Doctors kept telling me it was so bad. My cholesterol never reached past 110 and that was taken 30 minutes after a meal of steak and eggs. I always fought to maintain my blood cholesterol because it was always around 90, yes I said 90 which the blood test printouts marked as abnormally low. Many times when I changed docs they thought it was an error and some took an other test only to find it sometimes even lower although I warned them it would be.

Now that I tried for the last 3 years the low fat low red meat diets I am suffering from low B-3 vitamins and now I am taking vitamins to get back to normal.

In September 2006 I nearly died of a "massive blood infection" due to the stupidity of the medical community. After complaining since 1997 that something is wrong with my left ear and being told by several doctors it was my imagination, we find I have a bone growth/tumor in my left ear canal.
Which may have been the cause of the infections.

When I ate steaks fairly regularly I had zero health issues. I was being told my diabetes was from eating too much meats, that it was a high animal fat diet. I always ate a lot of chicken, turkey and fish along with lean steak or roasts. Almost never did I eat any hamburger, it was too greasy for my taste plus I never trusted what might be in it after a friend told me what happened to the old Bologna after it was expired. he worked in a LARGE National supermarket chain.

The little hamburger I did eat was my own grinding of round steak myself.

So after years of zero health problems and going on the less meats diets I am now suffering from diabetes and even more carb addictions. I always was carbo addicted but frankly if it was carbs or meats I ate meats before 2006.
Oh and I rarely ate pork something about pork never agreed with me. Not to mention I never got any dental infections except the few times I ate bacon the day before. I found that a seriously strange coincidence.

I love my eggs still. And after 3 years on this low meat no meat diet trash my memory which was almost photographic now lacks.

To sum it up, I decided I need the meats because my B vitamin count in my blood is so low that alone tells me I need more red meats... And the sudden change in my health and weight gains also indicate problems.

[bailagent7]

Well as they say, "God willing and the creek don't rise" I hope to get back to where I once was. I used to eat lot's of meats and the Doctors kept telling me it was so bad. My cholesterol never reached past 110 and that was taken 30 minutes after a meal of steak and eggs. I always fought to maintain my blood cholesterol because it was always around 90, yes I said 90 which the blood test printouts marked as abnormally low. Many times when I changed docs they thought it was an error and some took an other test only to find it sometimes even lower although I warned them it would be.

Now that I tried for the last 3 years the low fat low red meat diets I am suffering from low B-3 vitamins and now I am taking vitamins to get back to normal.

In September 2006 I nearly died of a "massive blood infection" due to the stupidity of the medical community. After complaining since 1997 that something is wrong with my left ear and being told by several doctors it was my imagination, we find I have a bone growth/tumor in my left ear canal.
Which may have been the cause of the infections.

When I ate steaks fairly regularly I had zero health issues. I was being told my diabetes was from eating too much meats, that it was a high animal fat diet. I always ate a lot of chicken, turkey and fish along with lean steak or roasts. Almost never did I eat any hamburger, it was too greasy for my taste plus I never trusted what might be in it after a friend told me what happened to the old Bologna after it was expired. he worked in a LARGE National supermarket chain.

The little hamburger I did eat was my own grinding of round steak myself.

So after years of zero health problems and going on the less meats diets I am now suffering from diabetes and even more carb addictions. I always was carbo addicted but frankly if it was carbs or meats I ate meats before 2006.
Oh and I rarely ate pork something about pork never agreed with me. Not to mention I never got any dental infections except the few times I ate bacon the day before. I found that a seriously strange coincidence.

I love my eggs still. And after 3 years on this low meat no meat diet trash my memory which was almost photographic now lacks.

To sum it up, I decided I need the meats because my B vitamin count in my blood is so low that alone tells me I need more red meats... And the sudden change in my health and weight gains also indicate problems.


First weeks notes.

From months of diarreah to rather normal now. I find nothing satisfy's hunger like meat. I eat less now and am not hungry, thats nice. Still dropping the carbs down each day from insane carbs intake to something more equal, I suspect by a couple more weeks I will be there. But already I notice some changes...

[Jayppers]

Good to hear. Well done! Best wishes moving forward.

[lizzysmom]

James - To get rid of the Carb cravings you have to get rid of alot of the Carbs. I believe too for me - carbs are like a heroin addition. I was way out of control until 2 weeks ago when I went on Atkins - induction. I am in a much better place right now with carbs and starting my weight loss journey. I am curious - how did you lose the 70 lbs. or so?? and Good luck to you!

[bailagent7]

James - To get rid of the Carb cravings you have to get rid of alot of the Carbs. I believe too for me - carbs are like a heroin addition. I was way out of control until 2 weeks ago when I went on Atkins - induction. I am in a much better place right now with carbs and starting my weight loss journey. I am curious - how did you lose the 70 lbs. or so?? and Good luck to you!


I had went on American Youngevity the Joel Wallach minerals and Ultimate Vitamins in liquid form and after a week on that started to loose some of the cravings and as time went on the cravings were less and less I went on a semi atkins diet then. But the Doctors kept telling me that was going to clog my arteries. Sadly I should have figured it out that with a Cholesterol average of 90 to 110 Cholesterol was never my problem! So I went back on the FDA diet and from that point on it was a struggle. But during that brief period lost around 70 pounds maybe slightly more. I know one thing once you kick the carbs even a year later going back to them you become addicted almost instantly. I n ow think Carbs are like alcoholism, stay away...