Not diabetic, probably not insulin resistant, just overweight :(

(Cathrine Helle) #1

This is my first post, so hi everyone :slight_smile:
I’ve always been on the heavy side, and overweight most of my adult life (currently 44yrs old). I came down to normal BMI in 2011 after a year on keto. My weight loss was slow and steady, about 20 kilos during that year (I’m only five feet tall, so I went from obese to normal weight on the bmi-charts with that weight loss).

But I struggled keeping the weight off, I was cold, tired and VERY hungry. Eventually (over 5 years) it was all back. I’ve been able to lose 6 kilos the last 6 months being more mindful of my diet and intermittent fasting, but I’m struggling to understand the science behind my weight gain, and why my body behaves this way.

I’ve seen numerous YouTube talks from dr Fung, and listen to podcasts and read keto- and paleo blogs, but they all seem to focus on those with metabolic issues. I do not have any diabetics in my family, and do not have a big waist, all my fat is stored subcutaneous.

I saw a talk with Ivor Cummings recently where he told his own story. What I found very intriguing was the fact that of all those with low risk of diabetes, there were both skinny and fat people. Same goes for intermediate risk, and high risk.

If I can’t explain my weight struggles with too much insulin, then why am I still fat? CICO? God, I hope not!

This is so complicated and confusing! Anyone else here that are ‘just overweight’?

(James storie) #2

Welcome to the life of posting! I’m no expert, but I’ve invested a few years to this WOE. From what I’ve heard on the numerous books and podcasts I’ve read and listened to, people who are overweight have some level of insulin resistance. This may just be that your body has a higher basil level of insulin. In other words, your body produces a certain level of insulin no matter what you eat! As far as I know, the only way to fix this is with extended fasting. That’s what I’m striving for right now. I want to be effortlessly thin like all the people we resented growing up! :smile: Also, what does your diet look like? Are you restricting calories or fat? Have you been keeping carbs under 20 grams? Is your protein too high for your lean body mass? Just some areas to consider. If your restricting calories or fat, stop. This is sending your body mixed signals. It thinks there is a shortage of food and will reduce your metabolism to compensate. I wish you the best of luck in this journey, we all struggle at some or many points

(Cathrine Helle) #3

Thank you for your thoughts, and you are probably right. I could be having a constant slightly elevated insulin that’s not enough to put me at risk of disease, but still enough to mess up my appetite. A very strict ketogenic diet (I had no cheat days) did regulate my appetite, I never once counted calories the year I lost weight. When I plateaued I started IF (16:8), and the rest came off.

I think I messed up trying to go more paleo - that meant less dairy omitting a lot of fat from my diet. After a little while it crept up on me, and I experienced every symptom of reduced basal metabolic rate. Coldness, hunger, fatigue - and I gradually ate more, had some fruits, sweet potatoes and such. I should’ve just gone back to basic, but I was so sick of it.

Currently I’m trying to up my focus on fat, and (like you) trying to fix my metabolism by fasting. This month I’ve had one meal a day every other day, and four 40+ hour fasts. I try to eat at different times, and eat until satiated. I think I’ll have a longer fast (7 days) once I feel ready (fat adapted), but I’m not quite there yet.

I would also like to educate myself more, on the impact of cortisol and stress hormones, and general inflammation. I’ve had problems with respiratory infections my whole life, and also suffered from asthma in my teens. I also have an autoimmune skin condition (pompholyx) which gives me painful rashes when too hot, stressed and such.

I can’t help but feel like it is somehow all linked together into my slightly malfunctioning body :stuck_out_tongue:

(Cathy) #4

I am of the opinion that anyone who has excess weight in the form of fat is producing excess insulin. If not insulin resistant, then certainly on the way to it. Having too much circulating insulin blocks the path to stored body fat. This is according to Dr. Fung. It seems that people who are keto can also still have a higher than normal fasting insulin level. Fasting can help reverse that along with a keto diet.

In terms of inflammation ~ that too seems to be a dietary issue in many cases. In particular grains of any sort can be a major contributor to the things that you suffer from. It can be a challenge to eliminate all grains but might be worthwhile.

(Cathrine Helle) #5

I’ve omitted grains from my diet (and only miss it when pizza), but it seems to me that a diet (although low carb) that’s not ketogenic keeps my inflammatory conditions thriving :stuck_out_tongue:

And you’re probably right about the insulin, I sort of got stuck on how my body type differs a lot from the typical insulin resistant body.

My mother and I are both overweight, without diabetes, but with a lot of autoimmune issues. My mothers sister however, does not have these issues, and are naturally thin. Perhaps there’s some kind of correlation?

(James storie) #6

Sounds like you have a good plan, I have tried to be more paleo in the past too with the same creeping results! I’m currently 40 hours into a fast with no set end time. I would definitely caution against trying a longer fast if your not ready. But it sounds like you’re not far from it! KCKO!

(James storie) #7

I do think there is a correlation. I personally believe that most if not all that is wrong directly links back to diet. There is lots of autoimmune disease in my family

(Dustin Cade) #8

I try and keep Keto Simple… fat, meat, eggs, cheese, and veggies here and there, once you’re keto for a while and fat adapted you can start incorporating in fasting and such, though i would not rush anything, I was full keto for 8 months before i started fasting… Patience is what i would focus on too, just relax, let keto do the work… Welcome!

(Cathrine Helle) #9

@jamestorie Best wishes for your extended fast :raised_hands:

(Cathrine Helle) #10

@Bahrutile So true, patience is key! No, I won’t try a several day fast until my body feels properly adapted, and that could take some time. I’ve already experienced a decrease of appetite which is a good sign, so hopefully I’ll be able to do one perhaps in a month or two.

(James storie) #11

It was almost 2 years before I did any EF.

(Dustin Cade) #12

I started on a 18/6 IF a few months in, but did not start EF till a few weeks ago…

(James storie) #13

Almost 3 years ago when I started, I didn’t have all this information. I truly started IF by chance, just wasn’t hungry. Once I started paying attention, I held a 20-24hr fast daily for about a year! Then I worked up the courage to EF. I love it now!

(Siobhan) #14

I think you answered your own question on why you gained the weight back - you said that you omitted dairy (which in itself isnt necessarily bad) but didnt replace the fat took from your diet. And you added carbs (sweet potatoes).
So you made it harder to access body fat via more insulin (or maybe didnt have a lot left) and then unintentionally restricted fat.
No wonder you felt hungry!
So vecause you werent getting enough energy (fat) and maybe too much insulin swimming around (from carbs) your metabolism slowed down, you felt tired, and cold, and hungry and your body signalled to eat more or uf not just store as much as possible (weight gain).

If youre bored with keto maybe you should try expanding your recipe repotoire? If you arent sensitive to dairy fathead pizza dough can be used for chicken pot pies, pizza, calzones, you could try curries, or even make your own recipes!

If you are getting bored I dont think thats sustainable if its bad enough to make you quit. I think the key here is is obviously keto works for you, it may just be time to start experimenting more with cooking to help keep your interest in it

Edit: Also as for CICO - I seriously doubt it. What you experienced was what caloric restriction (or fat restriction) results in. When you have plenty of fat and not a lot of carbs you didnt count calories - yet lost weight. When you restricted fat and added carbs you felt hungry and gained weight.
That either tells me you didnt HAVE fat to use for energy or you HAD it but couldnt ACCESS it (high insulin).
If that makes sense…
So not a calorie issue.

(Cathrine Helle) #15

Yes, that is probably it - I had a body scan that showed 24% body fat when I reached target weight, so I was not famished in any capacity. But I was slim, had kept the majority of my muscle mass, so I was strong as well. I need to NOT make the same mistakes this time around!

I think the reason why I grew so tired of my diet was that I grew tired of cooking :pensive: Seeing as how I never allowed myself cheat days or meals, I spent a lot of time preparing food. Especially when attending social events that I knew would contain cake or other stuff with sugar and/or flour. I would always bring a low carb cheesecake or something along those lines.

I’m sort of hyper focused by nature, and shifted from focusing on health and food, to other things (like art). I would like to get to a place where leading a healthy lifestyle is less of an effort and doesn’t require all my attention. I really do believe that keto fits my body best, so I just have to find a way to sustain over time.

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement, it means so, so much :kissing_heart:

EDIT: i probably over complicated things a little - when tired of cooking, I should’ve just kept it simple (bacon). When tired of bacon, start exploring recipes again :joy:

(KetoCowboy) #16

I agree about the importance of patience when it comes to fasting, but it’s also important to be patient about learning how to cook keto style. When I started, I wore myself out shopping for ingredients I had never heard of so that I could make complicated dishes that I had no idea how to prepare. I’m much happier having sausage and broccoli with cheese sauce than trying to make some elaborate dish with guar gum and beef hearts.

(Siobhan) #17

If youre tired of cooking and not the food, have you considered just cooking in bulk for the week?
Make a big pot of chili, soup, casserole, etc on a sunday afternoon and then stick it in the fridge, then you just need to reheat through the week so you can better focus on other stuff

I find cooking for the entire week generally only takes a few hours over the weekend and then am set

(Siobhan) #18

Also theres some reason to suggest you can only get a set number of calories per pound of body fat per day. So with 24% body fat if you were also restricting fat it is likely you wouldnt have enough coming from bodyfat to sustain you and thus your metabolism slowed because your body does not want to go below a healthy range if fat so when it gets close to that itll resist.

I believe it is 32.5 kcal per pound of fat per day

(Cathrine Helle) #19

That is a very good idea, I’ll seek out some recipes that can be made in a large volume easily :slight_smile:

(Cathrine Helle) #20

Oh, I wasn’t aware that there was that kind of restriction. I just assumed that having a healthy amount of body fat would be sufficient. I should have found this forum sooner!