LCHF greetings from Australia
August 8 2013 by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, MD![Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, MD]()
in Success stories
in Success stories 
Losing 29 kilos (64 pounds) in just three months is impressive! Way to go Australia! Also check out his very active Facebook page.
I don't understand why it doesn't work on me?? I have never dieted before in my whole life!
I want to get rid of my belly fat and the fat around my chest (looks like I have boobs). Don't have any health problems at all, no thyroid problem, nothing, all healthy.
Does anyone have similar problems with this diet and why is that so? Why does it work for some and not for others? What diet should I follow to loose this weight?
I have gained 15kg over the last 3 years.
Please help
Thanks
Alex
http://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
If that doesn't help then I would try a different diet, there is no point in doing something that doesn't work. LCHF works for me but that doesn't mean that it will work for everybody.
Is it a calorie story? But apparently calories don't count, so don't know whats up with my body. Besides I just simply eat until I feel full. I don't see why I should starve myself. Frikken irritating
I got such a body as you.. nearly needing a bra and corsett!
But Im very sedentary, and think I got to little muscles and to bad physical capasity!
Soo Im probably stuck here in this body.. till I do somthing about it?
I dont know what you mean with old habits, as I have been eating a super strict LCHF diet for 8 months now. No exceptions whatsoever!
My Problem is, that I have been eating pretty much a LCHF diet anyway before I started the diet. I'm not really a big carb eating lover.... So maybe that's why I'm not loosing weight? I have never been a pasta eating carb muncher. Maybe because before I started the diet I wasn't eating so extreme carby anyway, maybe that's why my body is not showing much effects?
What I did change and eliminate was the occasional sweets, fruits, and excess meat consumption. But other then that, my meals before LCHF were very healthy and low carb anyways. Oh yea and I increased the fat consumption as well when I went on LCHF.
But as I mentioned I gained 15kg in 3 years. So dont know whats up with my body, as I seem to be doing everything right.
You may need some guidance and additional assistance. You can find someone in my field near you.
When I did lose weight, I did eat slightly less than appetite. So I would have light dinners and wake up a little hungry. If I was not waking up a little hungry I would eat a little less at dinner and try to go to bed for the night already feeling a bit hungry. If find I can eat virtually unlimited fat and not gain weight, but during those times I do not lose weight. I think one needs a fat deficit in the gut so the body draws on stored fat. Not sure if this is the case for everyone, but it was my experience.
How realistic are you being in your "weight loss"? I'm not great at the metric system but I think you translate to around 170lbs at 5'7" is that right? How much are you looking to lose? Why?
The guy in this blog post looks to have had a great deal more to lose than you do. I'm figuring that you currently look more like his "after" picture?
What happened that you gained 15kg over the 3 years -- presumably prior to starting LCHF?
Weight training and regular daily activity (even just walking) can help with muscle tone. posture and how you look. How are your measurements? How do your clothes fit?
LCHF is not just a weight loss "diet" in the traditional sense but is more a way of life to normalise your body. Reduction in excess fat mass is almost a by-product of that normalising effect.
Eating LCHF will not magically give you a ripped six-pack, unless you are also using those muscles... I don't see how you reconcile "I am very sedentary!" with "I seem to be doing everything right." Perhaps you need to reassess your situation and not rely on others to tell you what you need to do.
I didn't change anything. The only thing that may have contributed to the weight gain is maybe: stress? age?
Those are the only 2 factors that I could think of, as I have not changed my eating pattern prior to my weight gain. I only changed my eating pattern slightly 8 months ago when I went on the super strict LCHF diet.
I am doing everything right (DIET wise) !
Excerise? Yes... that is lacking. Perhaps I should do more excerise as I surely have no muscles. I am very sedentary
You could try kefir fast, maybe some drastic temporary change to the diet will help. And trying it for a week is definitely not harmful. Don't worry about ratios on kefir fast. Many people loose weight on kefir fasts.
But my history is that I gained 1 kilo a year.. till I did weight 92.. quite common history!
Then I started LCHF and nothing happend for three months.. sudenly somthing happend.. probably mostly in my mind.. I realised that I wasent that hungry anymore and eat fewer times a day!
And then I loose 9 kilo in a couple a months.. and my asthma disaper in the same time!
But my blood works got even worse.. it get morbidily high and bad.. but after another year it got almoste normal!
They told me that I have FH.. becuse of the lipids, and that my mother and here relatives got the same bad lipids.. but I didnt think soo!
But I think I got a heredity for metabolic syndrome.. but I rewersed some of it anyhow!
And to you.. you are young.. shouldnt put on that much weight in three years.. if its not stress/bad habbits or somhthing like that.. and you say you dont have bad habbits soo then its somthing els!
If you can.. try to check if there is some disturbance.. like thyroid problem.. ask your relatives if there are some typical metabolic disturbance going in your family!
A healty person dont gain that much weight in three years, if there is no mental or metabolic disturbance!
I agree about the hormone tests - you should ask your doctor about this.
Also, low intensity exercise + sprinting is a good start. Sprinting doesn't have to be running - it can be any intense activity you can do, like squats or sit-ups. Whatever you do, try to enjoy it. Mark's Daily Apple can provide some exercise plan tips.
But what's the point moaning constantly and constantly? I don't have energy to explain myself here every month. So I just carried on and on with the diet hoping that it's just a stall and soon I will loose weight. But now after seeing this success story I'm just super frustrated.
Of course I have mentioned this to the doctor. And you guys know how doctors are: They are NOT concerned! They said typical things such as: no excercise, age, stress (student with hard exams), and it's normal. -no concrete advice just the usual ''eat less and go to the gym''. If only it were so easy.
I think the reason why you have never heard such a case before, is that i suspect that for those that fail using this diet just fade away and try something else. Whereas others that have achieved fantastic results tend to shout it out and be loud and proud on these platforms and others.
I know that I have no thyroid problem.
I also don't know what to do... Am I maybe eating too much?
I remember the story on Dr.Eades blog (proteinpower.com) about one of his patients who complained about not being able to loose weight on a LC diet. The problem was - eating something like 5000 cal a day, which was way too much for a middle-aged petite woman. She was advised to cut on calories. At the end of the day it matters, especially for a weight loss.
Alex, I suggest you drop all snacks and go easy with a fat dairy and nuts. Try to eat 2 times a day, each time to absolute satiety, max 3 times. I love my butter and use a whipping cream in my coffee (once a day), but being too enthusiastic about things like mascarpone cheese, whipped cream and nuts never fails to increase my weight.
I suggest you do not change your diet except for one modification. For three months, eat half of what you eat now. Success sure. I know this from personal experience.
Good luck, Nemer
But the most comon thing is that one get a lower apetite.. and eat less if ones body is able to take som fat from your body.
Moste people have a good apetite signaling.. that tells them how much to eat, but there are conditions that overrides those signals!
And you alredy knew about blood sugar roll coaster, but stress is another one!
And I remember when I was studying.. I didnt have any time/strenght to exercise.. I was exhausted.. mostly mentaly!
Soo.. if you dont have done it befor.. try to reduce calories and se if anything happens.. after 8 months you should be converted to burn fat.. lets see if you can do this without starving?
By the way.. did you count calories some day, how much was it?
I've been doing LCHF for 6+ months now, and I haven't lost a lot of weight. Maybe 3kg or so. I think I need to move more. I do a bit of resistance training, not much really. Belly fat is stubborn.
BUT... I can eat what I like, until I'm satisfied, and I'm not hungry.
If I went back to pizza and pasta, I'd inflate like a balloon.
You have many fans in Australia. This would be a lovely place to bring your family for a holiday during your Swedish winter. :)
You say you "... feel great on this diet. Lotsa energy ..."
That's GREAT! Enjoy yourself! Many people would
like to have those two things.
As others have said, 8 months is not a lot of time.
Relax, and be patient.
I am also frankly puzzled by statements like "strict LCHF diet" as if there is even a single definition of an LCHF diet which we would all agree on? Even if we agreed on a defined proportion of energy from each macronutrient, then what about the different types of fat, as just one example?
It makes me think of when folks talk about the "Mediterranean Diet" as if that means the same thing to everyone... which it doesn't :-)
I see LCHF as more a set of guidelines, than strict rules which must be obeyed.
I understand that it is a normal marketing strategy to present situation in a rosy light,and it is normal thing to read on a LC-diet promoting blog, I believe that LC diet is the answer to most health problems of modern world and it is the best tool for a weight-loss and maintenance, but a weight-loss itself is very complicated, there is no simple solution for many if not most cases.
You are doing a very good job fighting vegans. They are dangerous for public health.
I think exercise would probably work, and make him feel even better.
Also I would suggest "eating less".
Losing weight is difficult when you start from a healthy weight.
I am long timer LCHF - feeling good, looking good.
Other people have already pointed out that you are not very much over weight and you cant compare yourself with morbidly obese people. Of course they will lose weight a lot quicker than someone who ha only got a few kilos to lose.
I would suggest to start with heavy weight lifting in order to get those muscles working. It will not only burn fat but also change how you look.
Approx. two years ago, I started with a light version of LCHF when I weighed 83,5kg. I still drank some orange juice and ate my daily bread in the morning, but I replaced the ordinary potatoes with a generous portion of salad with the lunch, and stopped making creamy pastas for dinner, which I did too often and flushed it down with a beer or two, too often. Weight dropped to 79 and I started getting comments about my weight. I also boosted my fat intake a bit.
A few months later, I changed to a strict LCHF, introducing more fat in the diet and lowered my carb intake to 10-30g/day on average. Clearly a ketogenic diet. My weight dropped further to 75kg during the three-four following months. Then I started barefoot running, which I continued doing until October. Lost zero kilos during that period, perhaps even gained a bit. But of course, I was in quite good shape which was nice.
However, I really wanted to lose more weight, and I started cutting down on the amount of food I ate. I ate less frequently and smaller portions, especially for breakfast, as I noticed I wasn't really hungry at the lunch break. I admit I starved myself slightly, in order to see some changes on the scale. Got the weight down to 72 kg.
In December and especially around christmas, my stomach started aching frequently and I started burping a lot. I had no idea what caused it, so I eliminated a few things in my diet one at a time, first the fat yoghurt. It felt it helped a little, but not much. Next, I skipped my boiled breakfast eggs. I used to eat 2-4 of them almost each morning, as I considered them in the category "super food". Bam! No more stomach ache and burping! But, as taking away such an important food for breakfast, I had to replace it with something else. I turned to something that isn't really good food, but very tasty; finncrisps, which I covered with lots of butter, cheese, ham and some veggies. Those aren't very carb-rich, only 6g in a 10g slice, which I considered - and still consider - fully manageable. During the spring, my weight got down to 68kg, meaning a BMI just below 22.
Since then, I've been very liberal with my carb intake. I probably average between 50 and 100g carbs a day on general basis. I consider the carbs you find in vegetables (excluding fruits) not bad at all, and propose an unlimited intake of veggies. Carrots are quite fine too, as well as an occasional potatoe. I also don't support an unlimited intake of fats, as I noticed that it made it harder for me to drop weight. I eat only as much of it as needed to make the food tasty. On my average lunch plate, 70% is vegetables, 20% meat or fish, and 10% sauce.
I start now virtually every morning with two slices of 100% full-grain rye bread, which I know isn't the best food available, but I like it, topped with cheese, salami, and some vegetables like peppers, cucumber of tomatoes. My weight has over the last year stayed at around 70kg and I'm fine with it. I sometimes eat "bad food" like hamburgers and pizzas, and virtually never exercise, and drink a couple of "boutique" beers a week for the taste, and I still manage to maintain my weight. I never starve myself, but listen to my body and avoid eating too much too frequently.
Maybe Alex, that you're too keen on the fat and eat too little veggies? If 8 months of strict LCHF don't lead to any progress, you need to change something. My guess is that you'd be fine with a slightly boosted carb intake and lowered fat intake, and, unless you eat a lot of veggies already, start doing that and make it easier to eat with some good-quality vegetable oil. After all you need some of that too, not only saturated fat.
Remember that there's a difference in needing to lose perhaps 10 kg and 50 kg. The one that needs to lose just a little need to fine tune their diet far more than the one with more weight to lose. The last few kilos are the hardest to lose.
Like you I've tried all the things that might break a stall, nothing works. My thyroid is ok, but I do suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so that might be the problem.
The reason I'm sticking with the diet is that I believe it to be healthy (I don't want get diabetes, it runs in the family) plus the other side effects it gives me. I used to have bad insomnia, which is now gone, plus the steady energy (low as it is for me) during the day and lack of hunger.
I remember reading in an old Atkins book that he had a patient who only lost 5lbs no matter what they tried. I try not to concentrate on the lack of weight loss as it is discouraging.
Tgirl
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3821440.htm
But ofcourse.. it could be high protein if you did eat very litle befor?
B12 defiency and anemia is mostly about Intrinsic factor defiency.. did they check that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrinsic_factor
Could be linked to Folic acid too.. eat a lot of green leavy veggies!