# Newbie - calories Q



## Tone (Sep 23, 2016)

hi everyone
41yo 14st 2 and 5'9 - still carrying a bit of belly
Type 2 for 8 years, hovered around the 
11mmol
I went to see a new nurse as I've just moved house and she was very motivational and made me,for he first time, take a good look at myself. I have a carb/sweet tooth that was basically 95% of my daily diet.
Anyway I've chopped the sweets/choc out and trying to reduce the carbs to what she suggested, however I now seem to be living on around 1200 cal per day!! I'm not hungry , I've lost 6kg from 95kg to 89kg in 2 weeks. It's the 1st time I've done s food diary but think 1200 for s bloke is too low. Wondered if this is common ? Or suggestions to up the cals? I've never eaten so much protein in my life before (could this be filling me up?) any help appreciated. My blood was 6.9mmol this morning so it is working.


----------



## Northerner (Sep 23, 2016)

How much fat are you eating Tone? Many people find that a LCHF (Low Carbohydrate/High Fat) diet keeps them full, provides the calories they need, but also keeps their blood sugar levels in good order  Not something I do myself, but the thinking on having more fat in your diet is changing as more and more studies are pointing the finger at carbohydrates for weight gain, not fat!


----------



## Martin Canty (Sep 23, 2016)

Hi Tone, welcome to the group.

Congratulations on the weight loss, though losing 6 kilos in 2 weeks is very fast

Personally I am eating a lot less on LCHF than I have in my life, my diet just fills me up so well. To control weight I adjust the amount of fat in my diet (I don't count calories), currently 6'0" & 170lb

What is your typical diet? Approximately how many grams of protein vs vegetables vs carby foods


----------



## Tone (Sep 23, 2016)

Martin Canty said:


> Hi Tone, welcome to the group.
> 
> Congratulations on the weight loss, though losing 6 kilos in 2 weeks is very fast
> 
> ...



She suggested at 33% protein / fat / carbs , I'm shocked how hard it is to reduce the carb intake though - Bfast is porridge lunch was usually bread crisps Apple yoghurt, I've replaced bread and crisps with cracker breads & puff style crisps then for tea, piece of meat with shed loads of veg. Today I had beef stew that I made minus potatoes. Feel full, but the cals look low  I agree 6kg is very quick but I suppose stopping all bread and naughty stuff (I was chip butty mad) plus a bit of exercise has shocked my body. I'll plateau soon I would imagine. I use the myfitnesspal app to keep the diary


----------



## Martin Canty (Sep 23, 2016)

That sounds quite reasonable especially if you are replacing the starchy vegetables with leafy ones high in fiber. A diet like that may have a rapid initial weight los as a result of less water retention. I find that my weight may raise (for a few days) by a couple of kilos if I have too many carbs in a day, slowly coming back to 170lb in about 3-4 days.
Personally I steer clear of wheat & cereal products.

With the diet getting under control, are you testing? We look to avoid spikes of more than 2-3 MMol 2 hours after a meal as too high a spike can be potentially damaging.


----------



## Tone (Sep 23, 2016)

I'll be checking post meals


----------



## Tone (Sep 30, 2016)

Update-
As thought - no loss this week . However BP down from the 150/98 to 138/80 and blood in morning to 7mmol so in the right direction


----------



## Martin Canty (Sep 30, 2016)

Don't get worried, the first dramatic weight loss is water, now you will end up with a slower loss, be aware though (at least for me) if I have too many carbs then I may well gain 5lb overnight & it will take a few days to come back off...
You should start noticing changes in your body shape


----------



## Tone (Oct 8, 2016)

Still going well - 14 st dead today blood 6.9 this morning and BP fiend to 130/80 . Target is 13 st 8 in 9 weeks time. Had a tubdvof smarties as my weekly treat today, but didn't really want or need them TBH. Onward and downward


----------



## PinkGrapefruit (Oct 9, 2016)

Keep it up mate, going well.

There's an amazing thing which happens on low carbs, the liver burns fat and protein for energy. So if you can get carbs down to 40g and less a day, it's like a weight loss turbo boost.

Honestly I had no idea about carbs two months ago. I don't think us humans are cut out for high carb diets. Meat and veg mate, nuts and fruit. I think folks call it paleo diet.


----------



## Marsbartoastie (Oct 10, 2016)

If you're active, can cope with slightly slower weight loss and feel that 1200 calories a day isn't enough...why not give yourself 100 more this week on an experimental basis.  You can continue to juggle with increments of 100 until you find a number that suits.  You can always go back to 1200 again.  The only proviso would be that you make sure the extra calories come from protein or, better still, fat, rather than carbs.


----------



## Martin Canty (Oct 10, 2016)

PinkGrapefruit said:


> I don't think us humans are cut out for high carb diets


I certainly feel that way, though in some discussions with my friends they refer o my diet as "some crazy ass diet"..... If only they saw what I was actually eating!!!!


----------



## Brunneria (Oct 13, 2016)

I am so impressed with your nurse @Tone !
It is quite rare to leave an appointment and embark on such marvellous changes.
Well done to her 
And VERY well done to you for sticking with it.


----------



## Tone (Oct 26, 2016)

Thanks for the kind words, she wanted me at 13st 7 on 14th Dec - I was 13st 9 this morning so on way -  thing now is I'm bloody freezing !!!! I'm guessing the fat suit loss = heat jacket going. Just done night shifts for 7 days too which must have an effect on the body clock / food etc - so this Yorkie has turned the heating on already  Arrrggghh!! Also found out I'm allergic to walnuts -  which I never knew until I'd started having more of them - causes itchy eyes.


----------



## Martin Canty (Oct 26, 2016)

Tone said:


> I was 13st 9 this morning so on way


That is awesome, Tone....


----------



## Amigo (Oct 26, 2016)

Tone said:


> Thanks for the kind words, she wanted me at 13st 7 on 14th Dec - I was 13st 9 this morning so on way -  thing now is I'm bloody freezing !!!! I'm guessing the fat suit loss = heat jacket going. Just done night shifts for 7 days too which must have an effect on the body clock / food etc - so this Yorkie has turned the heating on already  Arrrggghh!! Also found out I'm allergic to walnuts -  which I never knew until I'd started having more of them - causes itchy eyes.



You're doing great Tone. You should be proud of the way you've embraced this so well done!


----------



## Tone (Oct 26, 2016)

Brunneria said:


> I am so impressed with your nurse @Tone !
> It is quite rare to leave an appointment and embark on such marvellous changes.
> Well done to her
> And VERY well done to you for sticking with it.


She didn't hold back from basically calling me a **** and explaining things in a harsh but fair way. She discussed me going on meds that would screw my insurance and possibly my job and at that point I told her 'no way!'. In addition she had lost someone close to her through it. This was nicely followed up by the Tv programme about betes in Birmingham that reinforced the message. I saw her last week for my flu jab and I nearly hugged her lol.


----------



## grovesy (Oct 26, 2016)

Well done!


----------



## Tone (Dec 19, 2016)

Well fellow beets 
Just been for my HbA1c results, unfortunately my nurse is off sick however I was given my result. 37mmol/mol or 5.5% in old money. I'm down to a much healthier 13st 5lbs since starting this on the 23rd Sept. I'm hoping my nurse will allow me to reduce my meds as she had told me below 42 and she would do so? Obviously I've had a few lapses along the way, but generally been good, and exercising a moderate amount. Definitely recommend getting an app that measures carbs etc


----------



## Martin Canty (Dec 19, 2016)

That's great work, Tone, should be proud of yourself......


----------



## Tone (Dec 19, 2016)

Cheers bud thanks for the support


----------



## PinkGrapefruit (Dec 19, 2016)

Well done Tone, that is fantastic.

A few carefully selected and scheduled treats over the festive break are definitely in order.

But stay on target red leader.


----------



## Tone (Dec 19, 2016)

Cheers


----------



## michymoomoo (Dec 19, 2016)

fantastic  and well done !


----------



## grovesy (Dec 19, 2016)

Well done.


----------



## trophywench (Dec 19, 2016)

I love reading stories like this Tone!  Pity we can't clone your nurse and spread her about, so many of them still talk bollards LOL

It's alright telling a person what they need to do - but it's entirely up to the person whether they can be arsed or not, isn't it?

But our mom told us that God helps those that help themselves - and isn't it just annoying when it turns out she was right?  I really hate admitting that!  LOL

Well done YOU mate!


----------



## Ditto (Dec 19, 2016)

Hello Tone. You were a before and now you're an after. Fabulous. Well done. 

Do you eat strawberries and cream? Yummy. Eat more fat to keep you warm.


----------



## Northerner (Dec 20, 2016)

Tone said:


> Well fellow beets
> Just been for my HbA1c results, unfortunately my nurse is off sick however I was given my result. 37mmol/mol or 5.5% in old money. I'm down to a much healthier 13st 5lbs since starting this on the 23rd Sept. I'm hoping my nurse will allow me to reduce my meds as she had told me below 42 and she would do so? Obviously I've had a few lapses along the way, but generally been good, and exercising a moderate amount. Definitely recommend getting an app that measures carbs etc


This is excellent news @Tone - well done on all your efforts, so good to see then pay off big time!


----------



## ChrisSamsDad (Dec 20, 2016)

Tone said:


> Well fellow beets
> Just been for my HbA1c results, unfortunately my nurse is off sick however I was given my result. 37mmol/mol or 5.5% in old money. I'm down to a much healthier 13st 5lbs since starting this on the 23rd Sept. I'm hoping my nurse will allow me to reduce my meds as she had told me below 42 and she would do so? Obviously I've had a few lapses along the way, but generally been good, and exercising a moderate amount. Definitely recommend getting an app that measures carbs etc


Brilliant result and - not that it's a competition - but you beat me at 38 after my conversion. I was very similar to you, by HbA1c had been creeping up and DN was at the stage of recommending a move to more complicated drug regime instead of just 2g metformin, and went LCHF instead. Going back for the first time in 6 months at the end of December, so I'm looking forward to finding out what my new score is - although I suspect, from my fatal inability to avoid all the Christmas goodies which are ubiquitous at my office, I might not be lower.


----------



## Martin Canty (Dec 20, 2016)

ChrisSamsDad said:


> Christmas goodies which are ubiquitous at my office


One of the many advantages of working from a home office, no baskets of goodies.... On the other hand my wife works at the local city hall & all the businesses are trying to "bribe" the city; way too many goodies


----------

