Can’t seem to find the right long-term diet
I’m still lost about what to do about my own obesity and high blood sugar. Last year, for 12 weeks, I tried “Protein Power” and gained weight, and then “Always Hungry?” for 12 weeks. My HbA1c, which was 8.0 ticked up slightly to 8.1 and I gained some weight.
Then I went on McDougall’s “Starch Solution” for 15 weeks. I lost 40 lb, and my HbA1c dropped to 6.1. My doctor was thrilled, as was I.
For me, it seems HbA1c always is related to weight. If I lose weight my blood sugar goes down. If I gain weight it goes up. On the low-carb diets, even with mindful eating, my caloric intake tends to be higher. A tablespoon of oil here, a tablespoon of oil there – it adds up.
On “Starch Solution” my total cholesterol ended up at 122, and LDL at 67. On “Protein Power” it remained in the normal range, but started creeping up.
The problem, though, is that after 15 weeks on “Starch Solution” the high glycemic carbs seemed to trigger “hunger spikes” in me. And as much as I tried “mindful eating” I just got cravings after eating carbs – even “whole foods” like brown rice and potatoes. I’ve since regained 30 of the 40 lbs I lost.
I now sort of think the reason I lost so much weight was the 5 weeks during my “Starch Soluton” diet where I got a really bad summer cold and lost my appetite in a way I never had before. I had to add protein drinks just to get up to 800 calories/day. After I got better my appetite rebounded, as did my weight.
For the last week I tried recommitting myself to “Starch Solution” and tried my best to observe “mindful eating” – eating only when I was truly hungry. I’ve been really good, according to plan. Yes, I’ve had some white rice instead of brown rice. But Dr. McDougall says that’s ok.
While my total caloric intake was less than on a low carb diet, doing it this way I found I was eating 2200 – 2300 calories day. I neither gained nor lost weight.
So I’m not sure what to do exactly. All diets which actually result in weight loss (I’m currently about 110 kg) require long term deprivation it seems.
I think one thing all diets seem to agree on, be they low carb or low fat, is that processed sugar is very unhelpful. Though McDougall isn’t a fanatic about that either.
I’d really like to at least get under 100 kg again, like I was after 15 weeks on “Starch Solution.” While still technically “obese” it is vastly more comfortable than my current weight. But the high glycemic carbs now (including whole foods like brown rice and potatoes) just seem to be hunger triggers for more these days. So I’m sort of stuck.
And loading up on non-starchy vegetable well, I’ve been there done that. It’s not satiating either. And it’s not “Starch Solution” and it leads to separate digestive issues.
So I’m still searching.
Same issue here. Last few weeks I have been presuming that I have systematic candida (recent studies have shown that internal bacteria can fabricate hormones as well as influence signalling in human hosts).
Recent changes:
-stopped coffee (70%+ fungal mold rates here in North America)
-stopped peanuts (same reason)
-eating raw garlic during meals
-drinking oil of oregano during the day
-drinking sodium bicaronate
-drinking drops of hydrogen peroxide in water (drops in drinking water)
You can read up this guys experiments with anti-candida lifestyle here
https://www.earthclinic.com/mobile/cures/candida-editors-choice.html
All of the above are moderate changes with no danger to overdose. The rationale makes sense, in that our bodies are bombarded with fungus daily, so we need to eat and drink in a way to strenthen our resistance.
you may like many of the foods suggested due to you living in Japan as these are native.
I am also completely plant based, whole foods, no processed ‘foods’
I’ll take a look. But I am skeptical. Thanks.