[sarahsweets]

I had gastric bypass in '09 and have kept all but about 20 or so pounds off. I have always had a slow metabolism my whole life and ate like a pig over the holidays. We are going to Yellowstone in August and I want to get fit again. I am sensitive to refined sugars due to the surgery so I try to avoid the proccessed crap but I still eat some of it. I find that in the past when I have tried to go low carb I feel like garbage for days and constantly hungry so I am assuming my body is going through withdrawl. I also need to cook for a family which is why I got an instant pot for christmas.
I am looking for a used treadmill. When I went to the gym I loved the tread mill. I walked as fast as most of the joggers and was able to get up to jogging. I am such an early riser that the idea of doing this around my neighborhood is unsafe. Plus with my joints a continous flat surface free of cars and stuff makes it perfect for me. But what is the difference between low carb and keto and does one work better than the other? What is "keto crotch". And intermittent fasting confuses me because i have seen rations like 16:8 and other like it but because my stomach is so small now I eat within 5 minutes of waking up which is usually bran cereal. I do not have cakes or icecream in the house,no cookies, no candy, no chips. I have my little red icees but thats it. I always try and cook a balanced meal. I would like imput on what you all do, even if its different than what I mentioned and how easy it is to incorporate into a family (my family is healthy. no one is picky.) Please share any info you can and what you do and break it down for me if you can. One of my long term goals is to have some skin removed but I need to be at a stable weight before going back for the consult. All are welcome to post.

[MrsA]

Haha. I recently read that "keto crotch" is a musty smell some people get when they eat diets that cause ketones or something in the blood.

A bypass the surgery sounds difficult. And my impression is that a very low carb diet is not very healthy. Maybe focus on healthy carbs instead? It seems younare already doing that. I did read recently that intermittent fasting is good for you and helps gain muscle. I also love fast walking on a treadmill. I usually walk at 4.5 mph. Good luck with your fitness goals!

[bpcyclist]

I am really quite clueless about dietary stuff. I'm vegan like, 95% of the time, just because one day, I looked at my plate of meat and was suddenly disgusted by what I was doing. No idea where this came from. My grandfather was a rancher in West Texas and there, we ate red meat 3 times a day--at least. He is currently trying to climb out of his gracve so he can hunt me down and kick my ***** for being a big, fat pansy.

I am only posting on your thread, Sarah, because I wanted to say that I fully and completely support whatever you decide is best for you in this change you are looking at making. I do believe diet and any kind of exercise that works for us--we're all unique--can play a huge role in our collective mental health.

Be well!!!

Hey @sarahsweets I found a Healthline article that states the difference between low carb and keto is the amount of carb intake. Take a look at it.

Low Carb vs. Keto: What'''s the Difference?

Low carb pros and cons
Pros

• may promote weight loss
• eliminates many processed high carb foods
• can be sustained long term
• less extreme adaptation phase than keto
• less restrictive and easier to follow than keto

Cons

• you may feel weak or experience constipation
• limits food options
• limits fruit intake
• may impact micronutrient intake

Keto pros and cons
Pros

• has therapeutic benefits, such as managing epilepsy
• may improve insulin sensitivity
• may reduce appetite
• can improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Cons

• constipation is common due to low fiber intake
• long-term data is limited
• risk of the keto flu, which may include headaches, fatigue, brain fog, irritability, and lack of motivation
• limits fruit intake
• may be difficult to stick to for long periods

[divine1966]

I need to lose 25lb like now. I actually joined weight watchers two days ago. Will see.

I like that Mrs A said to focus on healthy / complex carbs. I agree.

I don't really know as I don't diet. What I do know about keto is it makes your breath smell. I've heard its dangerous. You can Google that, there's conflicting info and opinions on the safety of keto.

Good luck

[downandlonely]

Originally Posted by divine1966

I need to lose 25lb like now. I actually joined weight watchers two days ago. Will see.

I did weight watchers before and lost about 15 lb. The only thing is if you stop doing it, you gain it all back. You have to stay on it for life. Which is doable because once you reach and maintain your goal weight, you can do it for free. I restarted recently.

[luvyrself]

Originally Posted by divine1966

I need to lose 25lb like now. I actually joined weight watchers two days ago. Will see.

---I love Weight Watchers. Its great for me because I like vegetables. Lost 30 pounds that way with no exercise one summer-off work, no stress eating. Yes, Sarah, cooking for a family really complicates things. Insta Pots are AMAZING! I wonder if you would like an elliptical instead of a treadmill, easier on the joints. I do find it easiest to lose weight through exercise. The only exercise that I really enjoy is water aerobics. Yes, it takes discipline to go in this nippy weather (and this is Phoenix), but I can go 4 days a week if I want. I have been steadily gaining weight, more and more since I retired about 6 years ago. The creeping crud. I have a gut for the first time in my life. They say carrying weight in the front is particularly hard on ones heart.
Well, thanks for this thread, maybe it will get me back on track!

I lost weight last year with intermittent fasting. My doctor told me that it works and it does. No dieting required. Just eat at scheduled times every day and the weight sloughs off over time. I lost 50 pounds doing that.

Also intermittent fasting works because it causes your body’s cells to autophagy so basically when you stop eating temporarily your body takes out the trash; it dumps all the dysfunctional cells.

What Is Autophagy?

[giddykitty]

Originally Posted by StreetcarBlanche

I lost weight last year with intermittent fasting. My doctor told me that it works and it does. No dieting required. Just eat at scheduled times every day and the weight sloughs off over time. I lost 50 pounds doing that.

I am attempting this. How long did you fast for? (not in a day...well, sure. what was your daily plan? but I also mean, for how long overall. so many weeks? months? the whole year?)

Thanks!

[~Christina]

I spent 4-5 weeks prior to the holidays on what lifestyle change I want to make. I say lifestyle because diets are a sure fire way to gain weight.

I had gestational diabetes while pregnant with my daughter in 90/91

So a Simple diabetic diet , super easy to follow. Lots of variety. Once or twice a month I will eat whatever I have been craving.. it’s really about portion control.

As for exercise I have Fibro and Psoriatic arthritis ( PsA)and a trip to the damn grocery store is almost more than I can handle. But I hope to start a new biologic for the PsA and can become more active.

Anyway .... my lifestyle changes start in a few days.

Oh yeah almost any major change in food intake whether it be portion sizes or actual foods generally will make a person feel half sick the first few weeks and our bodies adjust then the weight will stop dropping off.

Because of my ED I can’t weight myself it’s a huge trigger so I just go by how my clothes are fitting and when I can get back into smaller clothes.

Originally Posted by giddykitty

I am attempting this. How long did you fast for? (not in a day...well, sure. what was your daily plan? but I also mean, for how long overall. so many weeks? months? the whole year?)

Thanks!

I did the 16/8 intermittent fasting to a T. Now, my eating schedule is crap again. Whoopsie. That's anxiety for you!

Here's a PDF. I didn't start it until my doctor recommended it. My BMI was 31 due to insulin resistance and thyroid problems. So, my doctor monitored my intermittent fasting for 1 full year, every week via email communication and occasional in-person appointments. MY BMI is now 25.

I didn't even exercise that much, save for walking a lot, using my inhaler all the time. I really stayed away from processed food for that entire year which was really difficult, but I also have NALFD so I am not supposed to eat processed food so that I can reverse it. But I'll say the past 7 months have been processed food-topia due to my life stressors. And I can see it on my skin, feel it in my digestive system, and it even affects my mood and what I dream about.

I need to do it again. No excuses.

If you start intermittent fasting, I urge you to talk to your doctor first and use a chart printed out, so you can follow it to a T. Come up with a time-frame with your doctor, and your goal weight and come up with a realistic set of meal plans.

[giddykitty]

Originally Posted by StreetcarBlanche

I did the 16/8 intermittent fasting to a T. Now, my eating schedule is crap again. Whoopsie. That's anxiety for you!

Here's a PDF. I didn't start it until my doctor recommended it. My BMI was 31 due to insulin resistance and thyroid problems. So, my doctor monitored my intermittent fasting for 1 full year, every week via email communication and occasional in-person appointments. MY BMI is now 25.

I didn't even exercise that much, save for walking a lot, using my inhaler all the time. I really stayed away from processed food for that entire year which was really difficult, but I also have NALFD so I am not supposed to eat processed food so that I can reverse it. But I'll say the past 7 months have been processed food-topia due to my life stressors. And I can see it on my skin, feel it in my digestive system, and it even affects my mood and what I dream about.

I need to do it again. No excuses.

If you start intermittent fasting, I urge you to talk to your doctor first and use a chart printed out, so you can follow it to a T. Come up with a time-frame with your doctor, and your goal weight and come up with a realistic set of meal plans.

Thank you for this! I'll take a look at the pdf... I have fasted before, but not exactly like this. I think I'm safe, but I'll talk to my doctor about it all the same. I'm supposing I could even email him today with a head's up and see what he has to say. Thanks again, Blanche!

P.s. I came on PC this morning to say, I'm starving!!! Humbling as I had just said something about my appetite being beter...i suppose that's during the non fast portion though...i dunno. But alas, I got hungry about 5 hours in and was starving the last 7. Sleep was *****! It's ok though.

[Purple,Violet,Blue]

Like Christina, I have a background of ED's (recovered for many years now, thank god), so I'd normally avoid dieting threads.

But I really want to say that imo fasting is a big con!

It's the worst thing you can do.

My path to being a healthy weight had moments where I was absolutely staggered to realise that so many of these faddy diets are actually having the opposite effect to the one they claim.

It's shocking, really. They seem to be able to claim anything, and there's no comeback.

My first golden rule is:

Dieting makes you think about food every second of the day (bad)!

Fasting means your stomach will never shrink!

I feel strongly about this. Gently reducing the size of one's stomach is the ONLY way I found of reducing my appetite forever. Fasting, on the other hand, replicates the starve / binge behaviour of anorexics and bulimics. And I can tell you with 100% certainty that the body does not like these extremes. It will keep the stomach large as it is used to receiving large amounts.

Small amounts, much more frequently than you'd normally eat.

I hope someone gives it a try.

It might take a few weeks for the stomach to get the idea that it doesn't need to stay stretched.

By the way, the type of food barely matters. Obviously, go for 'real' food if you can. But I didn't particularly do that.

I think food combination and digestion time is also important to consider too, if weight loss is your goal.

https://acidalkalinediet.com/foodcombiningchart.pdf

[seesaw]

I've lost 50lbs now by managing portion size and limiting treats and junk food, etc. Drastic dieting only works in the short term. I've been losing weight for almost 2 years now, and even with the holidays and travel, I didn't gain back the weight because I had made lifestyle changes slowly, over time that became my new habits. Fad diets are called fads for a reason. There may be some good things to pull from them but anything that has you doing a 180 instantaneously on your eating and exercise habits will not be sustainable and, therefore, not be long term. Consider adding one new habit a week or month (and once that habit is second nature, then add another). For example, limiting portion size by measuring each meal, could be one new habit. Or limiting processed foods or the number of times you eat out. In the end, weight loss is really calories in versus calories out. All the systems like WW or keto or whatever are created to simplify that in some way with some angle, like WW lets you eat all the fruit and veggies you want (for the most part), and keto limits carbs, etc. The systems are trying to take the thinking out of it. But again, drastic changes done overnight rarely stick. Better to take your time and go slow and have a lifetime of results versus a few months or weeks or even just days at a goal weight, then gain it all back.

Just my thoughts on the matter. I lost weight by monitoring portion sizes and counting calories using my Fitbit app. There are lots of apps out there that you can use for free to count calories.

[giddykitty]

I have no moderation (or should say, had no). I'm like an all or nothing type. Limiting foods wasnt working for me. Id just want one more, and one more, and one more! Fasting seems to reset the balance and control for me...im doing it a little different this time in hopes that it will work best for me...for fat loss.

Have you ever used a food diary? That may help you. Also, there are a ton of videos on Youtube with suggestions how to curb overeating.

[*Beth*]

Prior to the metabolic syndrome I acquired from Seroquel my weight was excellent. I was never once on any kind of specific diet. I was conscious of eating wholesome foods, and did most of my shopping at a natural foods co-op. Plenty of whole grains, a decent amount of veggies, a lot of fruit, snacks such as dulce (sea weed)...I've always loved chocolate, too, though. I've never eaten much meat or fish. If I did eat fish, it was usually salmon.


Because I never had a big appetite, my portions were small. I was never super involved with much exercise until my 40's, when I started bicycling, dancing, and running.


Then I went on Seroquel and my weight and health all went to hell.

[giddykitty]

Originally Posted by StreetcarBlanche

Have you ever used a food diary? That may help you. Also, there are a ton of videos on Youtube with suggestions how to curb overeating.

Sorry, I just saw this...wait, was it to me? Anyway, yea I tried in the past and it might help me be accountable and feel too guilty to snack extra, but...sadly i've been too lazy lately, plus i'm tracking like every other thing in my life so one more thing might just drive me crazy. It's a good idea though. I might get there if the fasting doesn't work. So far though I've lost 2lbs in 2 weeks. I need to keep it off now!

[sarahsweets]

Hey @StreetcarBlanche how does intermittent fasting work for you? How do you do it?

Originally Posted by StreetcarBlanche

I lost weight last year with intermittent fasting. My doctor told me that it works and it does. No dieting required. Just eat at scheduled times every day and the weight sloughs off over time. I lost 50 pounds doing that.

[sarahsweets]

Hey @StreetcarBlanche I just saw your PDF. Do you break up the 8 hours? Or is it straight 16 hours of fasting and 8 of eating? I am super hungry in the morning but during the day I manage well until dinner time. I am not much of a snacker unless I get into that grazing phase.

Hey sarah!

Intermittent 16/8 fasting goes like the PDF. If you want to eat between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., you do. But you won't eat after 3 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next morning. Because you eat for 8 hours, then stop eating for 16 hours. That's the easiest schedule -- at least it was for me.

If you start eating at: 7AM, stop eating and start fasting at 3pm
If you start eating at: 11AM, stop eating and start fasting at 7pm
If you start eating at: 2PM, stop eating and start fasting at 10pm
If you start eating at: 6PM, stop eating and start fasting at 2AM.

You can alter your 8 hour schedule too, depending on when you want to start/stop eating.

For example, you could start eating at 8 a.m. and have your dinner at 5 p.m. and stop eating after that until 8 a.m. the next morning. Or, you could start eating at 10 a.m. and eat your dinner at 6 p.m. and stop eating after that.

I skipped food at breakfast time and drank decaf coffee or herbal tea. Then I started eating lunch at 11 a.m. and eat dinner at 6 or 6:30 pm and stopped eating totally by 7 p.m. then I "fasted" until 11 a.m. the next day.

I did it for a year and it worked. I also didn't just eat 2 meals between 11 and 6. I ate about 4 small mini meals. Sort of like, snacks on steroids, because they were small and spaced out food portions.

It also helped me avoid my typical gastritis (i.e. stomach flu) caused by inflammation from high processed carb foods (bakery items) because I stopped eating those. I've been eating bakery items galore for 7 months now, so now I have gastritis bouts more frequently. (Ah, depression. It sucks.)

I didn't eat bakery items for a year -- that means, no processed cakes, muffins, or bread (for lunch, it was salad w/chicken and strawberries w/italian dressing). I also didn't eat any pasta (it gives me gas so I avoid it at all costs). I ate rice and veggies, humus w/veggies. Sometimes I cheated and snacked on humus w/pretzels (pretzels are processed but hey, I still lost 50 pounds!).

I ate a lot of popcorn (yum), sometimes salmon. Sometimes chicken. Lots of eggs (good source of vitamin B). I avoided the bad stuff (bakery goods, pasta, processed meats like salami, oh god was that difficult because I LOVE DRY SALAMI).

All the foods that inflamed my gut and made me fat and feel bad, I avoided for a year by fasting this way. Having my doctor be my support system kept me going. I could cry about how much I missed my favorite salty salami, or missed eating cereal with milk or a bowl of fruit for breakfast, and be encouraged to keep going.

As long as you choose the 8 hour window when you know you have to eat, but can easily stop eating and "fast" for the 16 remaining hours until your 8 hour window starts up again, then you've got it down.

Intermittent Fasting 101 — The Ultimate Beginner'''s Guide

When you fast, several things happen in your body on the cellular and molecular level.

For example, your body adjusts hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible.

Your cells also initiate important repair processes and change the expression of genes.

Here are some changes that occur in your body when you fast:

Human Growth Hormone (HGH): The levels of growth hormone skyrocket, increasing as much as 5-fold. This has benefits for fat loss and muscle gain, to name a few.

Insulin: Insulin sensitivity improves and levels of insulin drop dramatically. Lower insulin levels make stored body fat more accessible.

Cellular repair: When fasted, your cells initiate cellular repair processes. This includes autophagy, where cells digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells.

Gene expression: There are changes in the function of genes related to longevity and protection against disease. These changes in hormone levels, cell function and gene expression are responsible for the health benefits of intermittent fasting.

Additionally, intermittent fasting changes hormone levels to facilitate weight loss.

In addition to lowering insulin and increasing growth hormone levels, it increases the release of the fat burning hormone norepinephrine (noradrenaline).

I fell off the intermittent fasting wagon this summer w/my mother's nursing home transition and everything that's happened since then. So, I need to get back on it and do it again. No excuses. That's the hard part -- the excuses.