I cut carbs to reduce pain and lost 58lbs - I want to keep going!

ploomka

Hi! I'm Jill. I've lost 100 lbs twice in my life, in addition to smaller ups and downs. The first time I was using slim-fast and other unhealthy tricks, and I gained most of it back over a few years. The second time I was focused on fitness and a vegetarian meals, with strict calorie counting, and I gained all of it back and then some when I started experiencing body pain that led to a sedentary lifestyle. After bouncing from specialist to specialist, receiving diagnoses of lupus, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis, none of my doctors could help me find a successful treatment or medications. I was in constant pain. I drank alcohol daily to deal with extreme pain and insomnia, and my weight crept higher and higher.

At my wits end, I decided to cut sugar, flour, and alcohol in June of 2019 to try and help calm down my pain and inflammation. I had no weight loss goals, but I noticed pretty quickly that I looked and felt better. Then, in October, a doctor's appointment weigh-in revealed I had lost 58 lbs!

WHAT?!?!

I was totally shocked. I had no idea I had lost so much weight. I mean, I could tell I looked better, but my self-image and self-confidence was so low that I really couldn't see the how dramatic the change was.

Now I am on the warpath! I would like to lose 100 more pounds. I don't really have a specific date in mind. Since I don't own a scale, I am relying more on body measurements (I lost 2 inches in my waist this month!) and doctor weigh-ins. I'm keto-leaning, though not very strict. I basically limit my carbs as much as I can manage, try to eat more freggies, and don't limit fat and protein. And I walk my pug daily! Weightlifting is not in the cards for me because of my pain disorders.

Welp, that's about it. Feel free to drop me a line to say hi.

May God bless you and your health goals!

Jellygrl

You look great! Congratulations on the changes you made and the effect it has made on your life.

Gisel2015

You look great and good luck reaching your goals. It is good that you found something that works for you.

Please disregard the "disagree" that somebody posted in your OP. That person had limiting comprehension of what you wrote, probably because you mentioned "Keto."

vkrenz

Good for you! Do you really have 100 more pounds to lose? I am glad you are having less pain. I have found that eating LCHF (low carb, high fat) that I am not so hungry, I have more energy, and I can lose weight more easily. I still have to exercise b/c I have a very sedentary job.
Good luck to you in the future,
Vicki

moonangel12

Great job! I have several chronic pain things going on, including fibro that was diagnosed in my teens. Diet changes can definitely help with the joint pain and inflammation! I do best if I limit/eliminate dairy and sugar, but that’s easier said than done on a day to day basis. I did a round of Whole30 to help pinpoint my triggers.

Gisel2015 wrote: »

Please disregard the "disagree" that somebody posted in your OP. That person had limiting comprehension of what you wrote, probably because you mentioned "Keto."

Either that or someone is like me and their thumb got “stuck” while scrolling Thankfully when I did it (twice!) it somehow was on my own post so it wouldn’t go through... hopefully I haven’t unknowingly done it more often.

maureenkhilde

You are looking great and happy. Amazing that at times, how Dr's keep guessing but get nowhere. But you looked inside and came up with a plan that works for you.

rheddmobile

Great job! I also have lupus, and being flattened by a flare definitely makes it rough to lose weight!

Have you tried lifting or just been told to avoid it? I ask because some of my friends with fibro say it improves their symptoms in the long term, and it works well with my lupus. I don’t know much about rheumatoid arthritis though, so that may be a whole different situation.

moonangel12

As rheddmobile said, I don’t know about RA, but when I am flaring Classical Stretch by Miranda Esmonde White is gentle enough to get me moving and stretched out without exasperating things. I had a long flare last winter when I tried to be tough and run in cold weather (with precipitation... I think it was just under freezing with some kind of rain/sleet nastiness)... took me weeks to get back to functioning like my normal self! I learned a valuable lesson, to acknowledge my weaknesses, understand how my body reacts (because it definitely isn’t “normal”), and don’t push myself to do something I know will hinder rather than help.

ploomka

Thank you to all for your kind words and encouragement. It's great to see what a nice community is here on MFP!

With regards to my further weight-loss goals, vkrenz, that 100 lbs is not a hard and fast number for me. Maybe I should update my goal to be smaller for now and adjust later if I need to. I'm just going by typical BMI calculators saying that is the number that puts me just under the "overweight" category. Tho I am aware that is an estimate and may not be the right number for me.

Good point about lifting, rheddmobile. I love lifting weights, and I used to do it quite often, but I had to stop due to pain. Now I try to stick to body resistance stuff, but even that I do very little. I am definitely up to trying again though. Maybe I was trying to lift too much, because of my old habits of being very competitive with weights.

TBH, I am not sure that LCHF has been that much help to my pain levels, but losing weight has absolutely helped relieve the stress on my legs, knees, and even shoulders (sleeping on my side usually makes my shoulders hurt very badly). Thinking of trying a more strict inflammation diet, but honestly still just trying to stick to my low-carb changes at the moment.

Thanks to moonangel12 for the Classical Stretch recommendation. I will check that out!

ChasDomenici

Wow! This is so inspirational!!! Thank you for sharing. I’ve been struggling with very similar issues (lupus, fibro, etc diagnosis trying to figure things out)

ploomka

ChasDomenici wrote: »

Wow! This is so inspirational!!! Thank you for sharing. I’ve been struggling with very similar issues (lupus, fibro, etc diagnosis trying to figure things out)

I’m sorry to hear about your struggles. I hope you find something that works for you because chronic pain is incredibly depressing.

An update: I’ve still been struggling with a lot of pain, and about a month ago my acupuncturist recommended I cut protein powder from my diet. I was eating a vega one smoothie every morning. Very healthy and nutritious, low carb, no artificial sweeteners, lots of nutrients, 100% vegan and organic. I thought she was nuts to tell me to cut it. But I decided it couldn’t hurt. Well, after a few days my pain was less, then it basically letup about 80-90%!! I have been virtually pain free for about a month. I dunno if it’s a coincidence, coinciding with an in between flare-ups period, but I feel great. Sad to lose my smoothies cuz I loved them, but this is just amazing. Longest I’ve gone without serious pain in years.

corinasue1143

I have arthritis and fibromyalgia, no lupus. The things that have helped me are no flour and alcohol. I checked out the anti-inflammatory diet book at the library and skimmed it just to get an idea of what it was. I picked out 5 highly anti-inflammatory foods that I liked and tried to eat at least one each day until it just became habit to include them in my diet. I highly recommend using it as a general guideline, not viewing it as law.
My vitamin d was very low. Raising it helped.
Everyone I talked to and everything I read said massage. I couldn’t tolerate it at all. Still can’t.
Water exercise is easy on joints.
Main thing with exercise is start at 0. Next week 1%, not 100%. When you tolerate 1% well, move up to 2%. I started with 300 steps a day. Yes that’s right. 300. Just now up to serious exercise.
Best wishes!

wrknonmedaily

AWESOME! Congrats! Was sick of being in pain with the fibromyalgia and knowing that going lo-carb helps, I got serious Oct 1, 2019 and cut out a lot of the sugar I was eating and it was a lot. Lost 27 pounds so far. Going for 78 more by the time I hit 50 in September 2021. I cut back on carbs as well and feel the difference in my joints. I no longer fall into a sleep coma after eating any longer and the pain is 100% less.

ploomka

wrknonmedaily wrote: »

AWESOME! Congrats! Was sick of being in pain with the fibromyalgia and knowing that going lo-carb helps, I got serious Oct 1, 2019 and cut out a lot of the sugar I was eating and it was a lot. Lost 27 pounds so far. Going for 78 more by the time I hit 50 in September 2021. I cut back on carbs as well and feel the difference in my joints. I no longer fall into a sleep coma after eating any longer and the pain is 100% less.

Congrats on your success, both in the pain dept and the scale! My food cravings and fullness meter have definitely adjusted, and I too no longer have food comas. It’s so nice!

ploomka

corinasue1143 wrote: »

I have arthritis and fibromyalgia, no lupus. The things that have helped me are no flour and alcohol. I checked out the anti-inflammatory diet book at the library and skimmed it just to get an idea of what it was. I picked out 5 highly anti-inflammatory foods that I liked and tried to eat at least one each day until it just became habit to include them in my diet. I highly recommend using it as a general guideline, not viewing it as law.
My vitamin d was very low. Raising it helped.
Everyone I talked to and everything I read said massage. I couldn’t tolerate it at all. Still can’t.
Water exercise is easy on joints.
Main thing with exercise is start at 0. Next week 1%, not 100%. When you tolerate 1% well, move up to 2%. I started with 300 steps a day. Yes that’s right. 300. Just now up to serious exercise.
Best wishes!

Great advice here. I like the idea of incorporating some anti-inflammation foods to help. I’ll have to check that out. Cherries were my go-to before, but the carbs are high. I need to check out other options.

I too supplement with D3. Also B-12.

I like that advice on the exercise. I’m a big fan of dancing in the pool. I also do the stationary bike, and I try to walk more here and there. I’m still focusing on diet as primary, because I got tendinitis and a sprain when I was trying to walk at 5000+ steps a day. When my weight is lower, I’ll go for more.

Total loss is up to 68 lbs now!

ploomka

rheddmobile wrote: »

Great job! I also have lupus, and being flattened by a flare definitely makes it rough to lose weight!

Have you tried lifting or just been told to avoid it? I ask because some of my friends with fibro say it improves their symptoms in the long term, and it works well with my lupus. I don’t know much about rheumatoid arthritis though, so that may be a whole different situation.

Had to share this update: lifted weights last night for the first time in about 2 years!! We’ll see how I feel over the next few days, but I just took it easy and didn’t push too hard. It was such a great feeling to get in there and do it!

paulaturse

Congratulations on overcoming your obstacles and making amazing progress. You deserve to be very proud of your accomplishments and for taking the steps you have taken to do something about your health. You look great -- but more importantly, you look happy. Best of luck to you! Paula