Metabolic Syndrome

mandybee096

Hi Everyone,

My doctor recently dx me with metabolic syndrome. The solution is a low carb, low calorie diet. Like SUPER low carb, SUPER low cal. I feel like mentally, I really enjoy food and this diet is taking away a lot of that for me. Which, you know, fine. Sometimes you have to suck it up to be a healthier you!

I guess where I'm looking for support is that, I did break down and had 1-2 "cheat meals." We aren't talking anything crazy either... I literally ate like two low carb tortillas. That was my "cheat." I ended up not really losing any weight. I am SO frustrated. So last night, I got mad and ate cinnamon toast crunch. 1 - it was totally worth it mentally. 2 - I am sort of annoyed, that I have been really keeping an eye on things and it just seems like it's for nothing!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Anyone else have metabolic syndrome and had successes that they can share with me?

Also, I thought I love meat, especially as a Texas girl, but I'm ready to go Vegan! SO TIRED OF EATING JUST PLAIN OLD MEAT. Okay, not literally plain old meat, but just tired of meat!

For my birthday, I want to eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dessert will be a loaf of French Bread.

BLAH!

dhiammarath

I don't have a metabolic syndrome, but I am in the process of getting diagnosed with Celiac Disease (I have to make the biopsy appointment and I'm too scared to do it). I lost a lot of weight from 2012-2013, then last year my health went into a sharp decline and I gained (some of the) weight (back) while suffering through all kinds of strange medical problems. Now, though, I'm forced (like you) to watch what I eat. And there's a part of me that wants to shove a giant piece of banana nut loaf bread into my mouth and dang the consequences.

Unfortunately, I can't. And if I do, there's some massive consequences I'm not ready to face. So I look at it as... Okay, so here I am again. I'm having to watch my food intake so severely, I might as well make it work for me. (because I'm learning - still - how to eat on such a specialized diet, my actual calories tracked on my diary isn't really accurate. I try to remember to put in all the numbers, but I forget because I'm tracking my actual food consumption elsewhere).

I still want to eat the things I can't, and I mourn the lack of convenience in being unable to eat the things I can no longer eat, but I tell myself that my LIFE is better. I have way more energy and way more excitement about the act of living that... food isn't worth it.

So, you can do it! To make yourself healthier and give your body what it needs - sure it sucks to not be able to have what you can't anymore, but there are alternatives that you can swap for - and eventually, it will reward you by craving the things you *can* have.

And of course, there's always shoving that delicious thing you can't have in your mouth and calling it a day and living with that moment's consquence. Just... the next day, eat what your body needs!

6502programmer

Can you share the specifics of your diet plan? Without knowing what super low carb and super low cal mean to you, I can't really speak to them. Yes, you can use low carb diets to create a caloric deficit, and they can be used to treat metabolic syndrome, but there's any number of ways to create a deficit, and unless your doctor recommended the low carb approach for medical management, rather than weight management, you can use any means of achieving that caloric deficit.

If a diet leaves you unfulfilled to the point you need to "cheat" by breaking it, it is unlikely to be successful in the long term.

kommodevaran

You may be given bad advice. For a diet to work, you must be able to stick to it. Talk to your doctor again and get a diet plan, or referral to a dietician, or see another doctor for a second opinion, or at least get them to give you some numbers/ranges (superlow is not a range), plus give us your stats (height, weight) and let's have a look at it.

kjflaherty

Read Neal Barnard's reversing diabetes. That is a crazy diet you were given and is completely unnecessary. You can reverse metabolic syndrome by just losing the extra weight (calorie deficit) and getting in some moderate exercise every day. Good luck. (PS... I love being vegan, and it has reversed my metabolic syndrome).

mandybee096

I apologize. I meant to share that she's put me on 1200 calories, 25 g of carbs (after fiber carbs) per day. She also stated that if I workout, I should not eat the extra calories that are provided to me via MyFitnessPal. I see the logic in this, but I also find myself losing motivation to work out. I didn't even use working out as an excuse to eat ice cream, but to just eat more of the good stuff so to speak or if I knew there would be a situation in which I could not completely control the type of food (of course, you can always control the proportions).

Cheat might be a loaded word. I think there's always going to be "cheat" meals considering special occasions. Of course, I work to make the best of those times and choose the veggie tray vs the chip bowl.

I think I can complain on these message boards all I want, but the right answer would be a second or maybe even third opinion. I just want to make a healthy lifestyle change that results in weight loss. My mother went the way of weight loss surgery, but I am still not sure if that's right for me. I know that's an option for some people, but I am not sure that at 28 years old, I want to make such a permanent change to my body.

shinycrazy

I have diabetes and I've lost over 100 lbs eating a moderate amount of carbs, about 100-130 a day. I eat 5 times a day and exercise a few days a week.I recommend that you see a dietician to get a personal meal plan that you can live with. Maybe a plan to ease into the stricter plan if you aren't having success. Be kind to yourself and patient.

kmfeig87

Per doctor & nutritionist just started a low carb diet. I get a few more carbs than you--45/day and 1400 (ish) calories. My nutritionist recommended healthy fat with each meal and 1-2 snacks (with protein and fat) for hunger. Although she did want me to be aware of calories, she was more interested in the carb portion (if you limit the carbs that kind of kills lots of the calories!) Mostly I've found that I have fewer sugar cravings...although I am sometimes sad about no cookies or cake Works better to focus on the good stuff that I can have: avocado, bacon, nuts, cream on berries, and a small amount of dark chocolate! Not sure if I have metabolic syndrome, but I'm fairly suspicious that I was not processing sugars well before--so my energy on low carb has actually been way up. Good luck! Sent you a friend request.

6502programmer

@mandybee096 There's a ton of ways to lose weight. Some of them are even good. Some of those that are good are also sustainable. What is sustainable varies from person to person. Personally, your doctor's recommendation sounds like a prison diet and I'd fail in a heartbeat. Is there some reason for the specific means (low carb) of eating at a deficit, which is entirely possible given your conditions, or is it simply that she wants you to lose weight?

mandybee096

Thanks for all of the advice and support everyone. I decided to contact a Board Certified Registered Dietician to discuss my options and find out what her thoughts are.

Also, I agree @6502programmer. It does seem and feel like a prison sentence! I have PCOS and she prescribed Metformin. I was having issues with my stomach while taking the medicine. I read that a low carb diet could help so I requested a specific measurement. I thought low carb in general was rather vague. I like something quantifiable. My diet previously might have included a loaf of bread at each meal and switching to half a loaf might be considered low carb. I'm joking on eating a loaf of bread at each meal, by the way.

6502programmer

@mandybee096 my wife has PCOS as well (and don't let them tell you pcos and weight preclude pregnancy--our ten year old would differ with that stance!), as well as JRA and hypothyroidism, and has been on metformin. She's been losing through standard calorie counting without cutting anything out of her diet completely. Again, confirm with your doctor, but ask why a low carb diet, and the restrictions that naturally come with it, is recommended versus other approaches that you're more likely to abide by.

mandybee096

@6502programmer I sincerely appreciate the information. My doctor suggested it would help increase my metabolism (I sent her an email) and curb insulin resistance. She noted that although I am not a diabetic, it would be helpful to follow a diabetic diet. Very vague...

mintchocolategirl

The diabetic diet is also low carb, that might by why your doc recommended. It's also low in lots of other things we shouldn't be eating. I'm dealing with some similar issues and some different issues than you and went low carb last year (per dr) until I was told to go gluten free (per another dr). Both have helped. I'm finally working towards going back to low carb AND staying gluten free (today is day 1). It's hard and I also "miss" that comfort food feeling of a sandwich or crackers or even a casserole. I feel robbed sometimes. Lol. Feel free to friend me if you would like support, I could use it myself.

6pkdreamer

This man Michael Mosley is very inspiration and might give you a better insight/understanding.
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2016/03/04/4418884.htm
Published quite a few books also.

smjensen75

I have been reading the book, The Science of Skinny, and it has been very enlightening regarding foods and the ingredients in food. The author even mentions the types of foods that lead to a diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome. Is a good read to learn more about healthy and nutritional eating.

littlefoot612

My husband is diabetic and he gets 135g of carbs per day on instructions from his diabetes educator (nurse specialist) and dietician. He meets that target most days.

LKArgh

mandybee096 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

My doctor recently dx me with metabolic syndrome. The solution is a low carb, low calorie diet. Like SUPER low carb, SUPER low cal. I feel like mentally, I really enjoy food and this diet is taking away a lot of that for me. Which, you know, fine. Sometimes you have to suck it up to be a healthier you!

I guess where I'm looking for support is that, I did break down and had 1-2 "cheat meals." We aren't talking anything crazy either... I literally ate like two low carb tortillas. That was my "cheat." I ended up not really losing any weight. I am SO frustrated. So last night, I got mad and ate cinnamon toast crunch. 1 - it was totally worth it mentally. 2 - I am sort of annoyed, that I have been really keeping an eye on things and it just seems like it's for nothing!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Anyone else have metabolic syndrome and had successes that they can share with me?

Also, I thought I love meat, especially as a Texas girl, but I'm ready to go Vegan! SO TIRED OF EATING JUST PLAIN OLD MEAT. Okay, not literally plain old meat, but just tired of meat!

For my birthday, I want to eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dessert will be a loaf of French Bread.

BLAH!

Whether you need to be low carb and how low is something you should discuss with an endocrinologist in your case. No one else is qialified to give advice about this.
You say you have not lose weight. How long has this been happening? How confident are you in your logging?