I read the book cover to cover and tried the diet. I was so surprised how easy it was to lose weight! The Atkins diet, at least in the Induction Phase, is ketogenic. Dr. Atkins recommended that you run out and buy ketone test strips and test your urine for ketones. That way you could tell if your body had shifted over into fat-burning mode.
After that point I started purchasing any diet book I could find that was low-carb or ketogenic in nature. I read all the info in the books, especially if they referenced scientific studies. And I tried low-carb recipes from a lot of different books.
I lost some weight on Atkins. But in time I stopped doing it. The reason was that it was just hard to find low-carb food you didn't have to cook from scratch. And I had to give up going out to restaurants. There were no restaurants in my area that had low-carb items. And my family members liked to take me out to eat.
I went back on Atkins at some point. I think I was on Atkins for a full year when my father died. But I had to go off the diet at that time because I was eating out with my mother, or eating at mom's house.
At some point, my mother gave me her old blood sugar meter when she got a new one from her doctor. I tried it and found out I had diabetes. My mom's nurse-practitioner put me on Metformin. Later another drug--- I think Actos--- was added.
I found that my blood sugar was only staying under control when I was ALSO doing low-carb. Since the nurse-practitioner didn't care what my diet was, that was working out. Except I wasn't losing weight much, since I was older, menopausal, and diabetic. I was more concerned with blood sugar numbers than weight at this point.
I got a bad number on a kidney test and so had to go to a kidney doctor. And then I had to apply for Medicaid and I had to get a new kidney doctor and new doctor-substitute. One of my kidney doctors took me off all my drugs saying they caused the problem. So I really had to go low-carb. A kidney doctor messed me up by demanding I go on a government approved diet (DASH diet) that did nothing to address my carbohydrate problems. But when I got worse blood sugar numbers she said I could do what worked for me.
I noticed that the more I stuck to my diet, the better my kidney tests were. My most recent kidney doctor told me that diet had no effect on kidney disease. Since I had recently read a medical journal article that said otherwise, and heard about others, she became my former kidney doctor.
I had been collecting cookbooks by Dana Carpender for some time by then. She came out with a new one with Jimmy Moore as co-author. That's how I learned about Jimmy Moore's health podcasts. And when he came out with The Complete Guide to Fasting with Dr. Jason Fung, a kidney doctor (nephrologist), I had to buy a copy.
I feel that I am getting very well read on the science behind ketogenic diets and behind fasting. But the follow-through is hard. I still live alone, don't have a dishwasher or running water in the kitchen sink, and have to drive to another state for a grocery store with good selection.
And so, this blog. I figure if I become a health blogger I will be more motivated to stick to my keto and fasting plan. And if I can help other people to become informed or inspired, that's a bonus. Since I am a Christian (Catholic flavor) I think helping others is cool. So, if I can help you--- maybe answer a question or something--- I will.
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My personal stuff.
On Sept 23, my weight was 199 pounds. (My all-time high was about 255 pounds.) My blood sugars, particularly in the morning, have been BAD. (Not saying how bad.) My blood sugar this morning was still BAD, but was significantly down from the 300+ blood sugars I have been getting in the morning. I have been doing Intermittent Fasting in the mornings, eating only after 11am. I'm trying to hold off until 12 noon every day, and stop eating after 6pm.
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Some books mentioned in this post.
I am presuming, Nissa, that you have had your thyroid checked? And that it was a full check (that is, including t3)? I had thyroid disease in my 30's and not all primary care docs and not even all endocrinologists are careful to get a full picture of the person's thyroid function. The 'norms' aren't sensitive enough (as you may know from the Type 2 diabetes blood sugar norms). And you seem thoroughly educated, but are you certain you know your carbs? And also that 'excess' protein (I'm not sure of the amount, the article I saw only talked about those protein powder drinks) will cause an insulin response, just like sugar.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I sure will pray for you. And feel somewhat cheered that as a Christian of the Catholic flavor you know what to do with suffering. There is that. I kind of rely on it myself.But not for weight. I learned about carbs from Gary Taubes' New York Times petition, that's been years, and have no trouble staying slim, as long as my thyroid levels don't get out of whack, which they did once and I gained a couple of pounds.
I've had all the tests that my Medicaid will permit me to have. I do know about excess protein, I've even written a blog post about gluconeogenesis (your body making sugar out of protein).
ReplyDeleteRight now my low-carbing is more about my blood sugars than my weight. One doctor took me off all my Blood Sugar meds, my 'Primary Care' provider (not a doc) doesn't seem to think it urgent to put me on insulin, and so I have to control it by diet alone. Which isn't hard as long as I stick to it.
Thanks so much for commenting on my blog (you are the first one on this new blog) and for your prayers.