I'm starving…...

tl;dr: While this may not be the right diet for you, keep up with your doctor's advice until you find another professional expert (ideally a nutritionist who has had success helping people on steroids lose weight safely). People on steroids need less carbs than the general population because they don't process them right; steroids make your blood sugar higher. Ketosis diets are hard to stay on the wagon with; a nutritionist who has successfully helped people on steroids can probably help you find something that is both safe and works better for you than your current extremely low carb diet.


The long version:

afoolandhercupcakewillsoonpart, is there a particular reason your doctor has you on this particular diet? I'm assuming he wants you on a super low carb diet because of your being on steroids. Generally speaking, weight loss is strictly calories in, calories out and it really doesn't matter how you get there as long as you consume less calories than you burn. But, obviously if you have health problems/take certain medications, it's not always that simple. I used to be on a very high dose of steroids and gained 130lbs, and it is medically documented that I was just not eating enough to make me gain that much that fast.

Steroids make you crave carbs/sugar like nobody's business. Also, they make your body way less able to actually process carbs when you eat them. Some people develop diabetes when they're on steroids. (I had "pre-diabetes".) I remember forcing myself to eat salads with meat and veggies and fatty dressing for literally every meal because I knew my body was not processing carbs like it should and I had to try to get the calories in I needed to survive.

However, I agree with idolon that you may be on the wrong diet. Our general practitioners don't always have a lot of education in terms of nutrition. Seeing a nutritionist who has successfully treated patients who have gained weight due to steroids is ideal. It may be that, while you should have a lot less carbs and sugar than the average person due to the medicine, that you still need more than you are getting. And only a professional who has experience with this can probably help more than a GP, simply because this is where nutritionists specialize whereas GPs have to focus on so many things, most don't have the nutrition knowledge of a nutritionist, just like you wouldn't want your regular doctor doing open heart surgery on you--you'd want a cardiologist.

One of my best friends was put on a ketosis diet by his old doctor. He lost a little weight but it was hard on him, he fell off the wagon, and gained a good bit of it back. Finally, this year, he moved, got a new doctor, and this person took the time to listen to him and run tests, and he was finally diagnosed with diabetes, which is what he probably had for years and didn't know. The new doctor put him on a new diet that was more maintainable yet still cut out all the excess sugar (like soda and sugary candy), but allowed him to have more carbohydrates than the ketosis diet that was hard for him to maintain.

Some people fall off the wagon because they just don't have discipline. Other people fall off the wagon because their current diet is just too difficult and maintain. (Whether it is difficult in general or just to that specific person, it still negatively affects health and weightloss.) It sounds like right now, you are the latter.

Bottom line is, I think because of your health and your meds that you are on, you really need to get in touch with a professional who can retool your diet in a way that still works with your specific needs. If you weren't on such medication, it would be easier to offer you some more general blanket advice that has worked for me now I'm no longer on the meds, but I just don't feel comfortable telling anyone with health problems or on meds like steroids to make big changes to their diet without consulting a professional. =/ (And again, a nutritionist who has *successfully* treated someone on steroids is ideal and will probably be more worth your money than a general practitioner--*though you should obviously see your GP any time you have health concerns*. Some doctors' offices have a nutritionist either on staff or that they refer people to; my OBGYN has one on staff that *a lot* of their patients use.)

Good luck!

You bought bars from your doctor?

What kind of doctor is he?

Honestly love, weight loss is friggen hard. Every body is different. You're going to have to try different things and find out what works just for you! I can honestly say I've tried everything besides surgery to lose weight. My downfall was I never gave anything enough time to work. I gave up to soon... as soon as I feel crappy and grumpy and tired and hungry I gave it. I wanted cheese and pizza and sweets and crap. Food was my comfort. I always felt sad and when I felt sad I ate. I tried pills, drops, diets, workouts, you name it. I starved and I hated myself. I set unrealistic goals and 100% set myself up to fail.

Then one day I stepped on the scale and was the heaviest I'd ever been. I had hit rock bottom at that point. I'd watch the biggest loser and wondered why I couldn't be like that. I used to be so slim and athletic, and then it seemed like overnight I was a giant lump. My doctors were worried about my weight, and the more I read about obesity the more scared I became about developing diabetes or not being able to have children. My attitude started to truly shift... I did not want to become a statistic. I want to have a house full of babies and be able to chase them around. I wanted to see myself in a bikini again. I want to feel beautiful on my wedding day someday.

I went back through the list of things I'd tried and given up on. I finally started educating myself about working out and eating right, not starving, not spending 10 hours on the treadmill and going nowhere. I started reading about the Atkins diet and what people eat on weight watchers, and I reconnected with this site and started logging my calories again. I decided to start eating the number of calories lots of people recommend when trying to lose weight- 1200 calories.

For the first couple of days, I ate whatever I usually ate, just to see where I fell on calories, carbs, fat, protein, etc. I was SHOCKED at how poor my nutrition was and I realized I had been in total denial that I was making good choices. I got a journal, and started writing down REALISTIC goals for myself. Small weight loss goals so I could take things a step at a time and take a moment to celebrate (not with food) when I reached those goals. I also set an Ultimate weight goal for myself, and clothing sizes I dreamed to fit into. I got on pinterest and made a secret board only I could see, and filled it with clothes and muscles and workouts and yummy HEALTHY recipes, so when i was feeling down I had a place to go to get inspired.

At first eating this way was so tough!! I felt like crap. I was tired, and every fast food commercial had me drooling. But, I fought through it. During that period of time, I didnt allow myself to eat ANY snacks, because I wasn't in a place to eat in moderation. If I allowed any snacking, i knew it would lead to just a bite of pizza, just a bag of chips, just a box of cookies. And JUST back to where I started.

I tell you as soon as I finally FULLY committed and stopped cheating, I started to feel better. I started to get up and move around. I had so much more energy, and I started feeling hopeful. I started getting on the scale every day, and my jaw dropped... turned out 1200 calories was truly my magic number!! I always thought I needed to starve or be on some expensive diet to lose weight, but what people had been telling me all along was really true. I slowly starting allowing myself to have small snacks again, and realized my tastes had changed because I'd been eating better for a while. Those doritos didn't taste as good, that cake and cookies were way too sweet. I was like what the hell?? But it was a relief to not enjoy those things anymore. I started having a string cheese or a yogurt (which used to make me gag too, believe me) and thought I would try weight watchers snack cakes, which I found at walmart. They are tiny, but they really take care of my sweet tooth (without being way too sweet) and dont ruin my calories for the day. I am telling you once your body adjusts to the change in your diet, the pounds start falling off and you can start mixing up your diet a little.

HOWEVER you CANT go back to eating whatever you want whenever you want. Thats what gets us in a mess every time. Try making better choices when you go out to eat (if you go)... skip the pop and get an iced tea or a water. Meet in the middle with yourself and find something that is totally yummy without making you feel totally guilty. Find things that inspire you. Make some goals for yourself. Buy an atkins cookbook or low calorie cookbook or whatever diet plan you end up with. Get creative in the kitchen, and plan out out your meals for the day!! I can't tell you how much easier it is when you plan out your meals. Instead of roaming through the kitchen and grabbing whatever gross thing is in the back of your cabinet, you grab something you've prepped and it keeps your day on track. Start workouts slowly... first walk around the block. Then walk a couple blocks. Then maybe throw some jogging in there. Get some small weights and a quick workout video. Take small steps and you will really get there... your confidence will go up and your attitude will change I promise.

Keep your head up... anyone whos been through weight loss knows its one of the hardest things you'll ever have to go through, but it is so worth it. Work on having a better relationship with food... its not the enemy, remember that always!

Good luck love... I'm here for you 100% and I believe in you!!

As you get used to eating at a more restricted calorie goal (deficit) your appetite will naturally lower in time, your stomach will shrink (you will begin to feel fuller for longer when you eat) and things will start to get easier as you adjust to the diet and stop craving sugar as much. Saying that, I do fear for the sustainability of a diet that is making you feel "starved". It does not and should not have to be this hard. Good luck.

hi afoolandhercupcake,

sorry to hear you are feeling a bit rubbish about this at the moment!

to be honest, what you are experiencing is to be expected as part of a carb reduction. Eating carbs causes our body to release insulin, turning our body towards burning carbs, lessening the amount of fat and muscle you burn. Carbs are essentially an easy energy go to for our bodies, so when you take them away, you are forcing your body to adapt and to tap into fat stores for energy instead. This feeling tired and hungry is to be expected as part of the process. BUT - it does get easier, trust me!

In the meantime, if you're hungry, fill out your meals with leafy veg and fibre. You should be refeeding once a week on a low carb diet, so double your carb intake on that day. That doesn't mean gorge but it does mean you can significantly increase your carb intake - reduce protein by a third or so on the same day.

this type of diet should not be followed for more than 6-8 weeks though; it can have adverse effects on metabolism and hormones.

hope that helps. feel free to add me if you want

macronutrients are your carbs, fat and protein.

not sure if i understand the second question but if you're asking how to eat high fibre but low carbs then nuts are great, seeds like flaxseed, non-starchy veg i.e. broccoli.

@hyperbeth1, if @afoolandhercupcakewillsoonpart is starving and feeling weak, this is no time to be starting an exercise program. I am also nervous about the hinky organic thyroid pills this girl's been sold.

"how do you subtract 1/2 your carbs based on the fiber you eat?" sounds like a funny diet rule. Drop it. Eat up to the limit of carbs you are allowing in your diet, and choose fibrous carbs like vegetables and fruit more often. Fiber usually comes with carbs. Fiber on it's own is not a carb; it's indigestible.

There are so many concerning things in this thread including some of the advice being shared.

OP no wonder you think you can't afford to see a doctor, the "doctor" you are seeing isn't a doctor and is trying to sell you weight loss products by convincing you that you need to be on a super restrictive diet.

All you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit. There may be some underlying medical conditions that you have that make restricting carbs beneficial, but neither I nor most of the people commenting here are qualified to comment on this. If you want qualified medical support for this weight loss journey, then you really need to see a registered dietitian.

In the meantime, I'm not sure, based on your comments about how miserable are, that you should continue on the low carb/paleo diet you have been. I would recommend setting a reasonable calorie deficit in MFP and focus on eating nutrient dense food from all basic macro groups (carb, protein, fat) and don't feel you have to completely cut out sugar as you said you have been doing.

If you have not already, read the stickied threads at the top of the Getting Started forum particularly the "So You're New Here" and "A Guide to Get You Started on Your Path to Sexypants". There is so much helpful info in those threads which will help you understand this process better.

Yeah, I don't want to be flippant about how others choose to diet and experiment with different things. But it is so much easier than all this. Your diet does not need a name (Atkins, Caveman, Paleo etc). Just eat a balanced diet (eg, 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fats). Eat whole foods that will make you feel fuller for longer (complex Carbs etc) and eat between 250-500 cals (per day) below TDEE (measure your TDEE as accurate as possible). No exercise required until your feeling strong, eat what you want (within reason), just count cals so that you are in a deficit. Your doctor has over complicated things unless there are other medical issues.

MakePeasNotWar wrote: »

afoolandhercupcakewillsoonpart wrote: »

I feel like such a f*#!ing fat idiot for trusting this "doctor". I really don't know what to say so thank you for all of your advice. I think I'm going to go to my regular doctor, show him the lab results and take it from there. Thank you again everyone. It's so sad that people you think you can trust are untrustworthy. I feel so stupid for trusting this guy because he is a doctor.

There's no reason to feel like an idiot. Lots of people use naturopaths and they can be pretty knowledgable about lifestyle changes and natural remedies. It just seems clear that this guy's advice wasn't practical or appropriate for you, even if his intentions are good.

If he were an MD I would assume there was a valid medical reason for the diet, but I assume he just uses this method for weight loss generally. It does work for some people, but it's not very practical for most of us.

OP, I don't think you should discredit his advice either. Tbh, normal GP's know very little about nutrition and probably won't be of much help.

You don't know how well something could work if you don't give it an opportunity though.