“Even if the scale isn’t changing, my body is”
in Digestive issues, IBS, Migraine, Migraine stories, Success stories 
Before and after
Women approaching middle age may have a difficult time losing weight – sometimes even on low-carb.
Bitte Björkman shares her story here:
The Email
Hi!
I realized that perhaps someone might be inspired by my weight journey. It’s not as spectacular as many other’s, but I’m sure there are many others in my situation. Middle-aged women may have a hard time losing weight, and I want to show that being persistent works! Even thought they scale doesn’t budge, the body changes.
Health-wise I’m free from:
- gastritis
- migraines
- constipation in combination with sprints to the bathroom…
- snoring (had chronic sinus problems)
- dry skin
- abdominal bloating
And more that I’ve likely forgotten here :)
My first checkup was after about eight months on LCHF, and I’ve had one every other year after this.
I started at 165 lbs (74 kg) in January of -09, 43 years old. I’ve been weight stable since then, and kept within 139–143 lbs (63–65 kg).
In the picture to the left I have six months left before I dared to try LCHF (fear of fat!) – sorry about the poor picture quality – and the one to the left is taken a month ago.
I’m not exactly shy, so I’m happy to have my name there if you feel that you want to use my story!
Sincerely,
/Bitte Kempe Björkman
Comment
Congratulations on your successes!
The story is fairly typical. Most people – even women over 40 – will lose weight on LCHF without hunger. Reductions in digestive problems such as abdominal bloating and gastritis are also very common. Migraines and snoring are also among things that are also improved.
What do you think?
Do you have any other experience? Or any tips for losing weight for women after 40?
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76 comments
A recent article makes a similar point about eating and getting fatter. People eat too much because they are getting fatter. The CICO model overlooks this fundamental metabolic fact. When fat storage is dysfuntional, there is no "free will" to eat a certain number of calories. "Free will" is the hangman's concept, a licence to heap moral abuse on obese people, to ridicule them by making shoppers of Walmart videos and posting them on the Internet.
Here is a translation of a portion of the Nietzsche passage:
Everybody knows Cornaro's famous book in which he recommends a meager diet for a long and happy life — a virtuous life, too. ... Cornaro mistakes the effect for the cause. The worthy Italian thought his diet was the cause of his long life, whereas the precondition for a long life, the extraordinary slowness of his metabolism, was the cause of his slender diet. He was not free to eat little or much; his frugality was not a matter of "free will" — he made himself sick when he ate more. But whoever has a rapid metabolism not only does well to eat properly, but needs to. A scholar in our time, with his rapid consumption of nervous energy, would simply destroy himself on Cornaro's diet. Crede experto — believe me, I've tried.
yeah, lowered cheese, nuts, and diet coke
but I HAVE lost before with those ./ so therefore now idea why they would stall me now..
Is it necessary to highten insulin sensitivity to reduce flowing insulin in the blood or something?
I mean is LCHF forever useable?
or what else could be the problem?
Part of my day-job is involves some software technical support and a running joke is the number of clients who basically state "it's broken,.. fix it for me!" What is "it"? What is it doing/not doing? What do you expect it to do/not do? ... I'm not about to guess at a diagnosis or solution.
Details aside -- I'm not a Doctor nor am I responsible for your health, so I am not asking for details -- there is a wealth of advice and suggestions avaialable to read here and on oh so many other sites on the interweb.
Those of us who have made LCHF work for them, have not had it handed on a plate.. there is no set plan, you need to read, learn, experiment and work out for yourself the best way to apply it.
My off-the-cuff, sight-unseen advice to someone who has "stalled" on LCHF -- assuming they have realistic excess fat mass goals and always accepting that LCHF is not just abouit "weight" loss but also improved helath markers -- would be to start over with an induction phase of near zero carbs, let the body readjust to fat-burning, forget calories and eat when hungry, stop when no longer hungry. Focus on the quality of what you are eating. Eat real whole food, prepared by you, at home, only... no fancy processed products making claims. Don't fear natural fats. Then gradually reintroduce other foods one at a time to see how well you tolerate them. That's the best I got... sorry if you need more... now it is up to you.
Have reduced to 1700kcal and been in ketosis (deep mostly, depends on my food). But the weight is still at the same level (142kg).
Is it only about the calories on LCHF?
What is the lowest I can do?
Is there a starvation mode? Or is it just a myth?"
Well first of all.. 142 kilos is a sign that there are some medical/metabolic problems.. if your not a hevy body builder!
Its not only about calories.. they are real, but your body is not a machine, there are a biochemichal regulation of energy.. and LCHF is mostly about the Insulin of that regulation.
Im about 80-83 kilos.. sedentary.. 50++ and eats about 2000 Kcal or more.. often more.. I dont lose any more weight.. but I dont gain more either.. soo the calories is only one thing to count!
There is a starvation mode.. but that is if one deny your body to little energy for several months or years!
But there are several other modes to take in to consideration too.. Chronic dieters syndrome.. it affect mostly your mind.. and in the end it leads to a bad outcome anyhow.
Denial of essentiall nutrients are another thing.. moste people dont think about it.. they just eat junkfood.. and get an bad outcome of that.
And on top of that.. there are a newspaper syndrome.. people think that one can revert a whole bad lifstyle or bad gens.. or a combination of those.. in some weeks!
I can yoy tell right now.. there are no magical diets or pills that gonna revert bad conditions in some few weeks.
The only thing one can do is to gain a better life style.. and in the future hope that this can revert some of the mistakes frome the past.
It is amazing how almost everything could be done in a wrong way.
Toxins will be gradually lost on LCHF and good quality foods.
As for the dairy thing (everyone else's posts), I eat a lot of dairy which may bump up my cals, even though I don't eat loads of food in total, these are calorie-dense. I don't eat pork so struggle for snacks, so a babybel cheese or creamy coffee is ideal, I will have to rethink, or perhaps try the intermittent fasting thing where I don't eat before noon...
And if one cut out a lot of carbs one need some other source of energy and thats fat.
High Fat is high of your energy demand!
And if one is lucky.. your body take some of its energy demand frome fat tissue.. and your apetite gets lower by it self.
I think you are totally right.
The older we are, the more toxins are stalled in our fat tissue.
I'm 78, and since 2 months my weight doesn't budge, while eating one meal a day, thus combining intermittent fasting with strict low carb high fat (under 15 g of carbs).
You are the first one that I found on dietdoctors who was speaking of this problem. Are there more LCHF-ers who think this way?
Greetings, Cecilia.
Thanks,
Cindy