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inability to lose weight/weight gain.

justy

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Hi Everyone, i was thinking about this problem i have with losing weight the other day and it finally occured to me that it could be to do with the M.E. I have always had trouble with gaining weight very easily and not being able to lose it, but recently its getting worse and worse. I dont eat a great deal and i am more active then i was although i cant exercise or walk much. (And yes i do eat enough)

I always thought it was a metabolism problem because i dont eat an awful lot and then i wondered if anyone could relate to this and possibly explain why this is happening. I know my mitochondria are messed up and i have an inability to detox properly.

Even when i was very active, working as a gardener and swimming/walking a lot i still weighed more or less what i do now as a completely inactive woman. I am also the only person i know who GAINED weight on a month long detox. I am also vegan and i eat a high protein no sugar low carb etc diet for over a year now, yet the weight still keeps pushing upwards. I am beginning to be at my wits end.
Please help!
 

heapsreal

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I think in cfs that some of us lose our insulin sensitivity, which then increases our insulin levels which then make us put on weight and make it hard to lose, also adrenal fatigue and low adrenal hormones also make it difficult. Diet wise a low carb diet can help and something that has helped me in the last 6 months that has got the weight moving is metformin, a diabetes med that helps improve insulin sensitivity. I follow a low carb diet but my weight kept going up slowly, if i increased my carbs my weight jumped up quicker but the addition of metformin has helped me slowly lose weight, so 7kg in the last 6 months and thats just diet and no exercise(due to fatigue). I have another 8 kg to lose to get to my pre cfs weight.
Try low carb atkins style diet first and if weight isnt moving then talk to your doc about metformin.

cheers!!!
 

SaraM

Senior Member
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526
I easily gain weight,too. Any one tried HCG for weight loss? I am curious to know how effective it is.
 

justy

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Thanks Heapsreal, thats useful to know. I have had problems with adrenal fatigue, but feel that thta is really improved through herbs and rest diet etc. I,m sorry youve had this problem too, but glad to hear i am not alone. My husband always says that he cant believe i never lose weight as i dont seem to eat that much. One problem for me is thta i have been a vegetarian/vegan for the past24 years and thats not about to change, it make s avery low carb diet almost impossible, although i already dont eat any gluten, which cuts out most grains. Apart from vegetables (i dont eat much fruit due to candida) and brown rice and potatoes i dont eat any other carbs.

My thyroid levels have been checked regularly and are always completely normal ditto for hashimotos.
I just replied on another thread though about eating and i find that i feel better when i do eat and worse when i dont. Also my stomach problems and hypoglycaemia (controlled now) get worse if i go for long periods without eating. If i dont eat regularly ( and more than just a snack) i get anxious and irritable and very tired, brain stops working and my stomach starts to really hurt!
 

Sasha

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Hi justy - I've got interested in this recently as I had slowly put on weight (I am mostly bedbound so very inactive). Some years ago I had my diet analysed by a nutritionist who specialises in ME (Alex Barton, in the UK, does phone consultations). Although I'm not vegetarian, at the time I was daily eating lentil dahl and rice for lunch. She told me that I'd be better off eating a higher-protein diet and to avoid pulses because they are low-quality protein and mostly carbohydrate. They actually count as a carbohydrate when planning meals from her point of view (if memory serves).

It hadn't been my intention to lose weight on her diet, just to get some improvement in my ME. However, I did lose some weight. This makes me wonder, as you say, to what extent weight loss might be possible while you're on a vegan diet. I wonder if a bit of googling might find you some specialist info on weight loss for vegans. Alternatively, a phone session with Alex was relatively cheap, I think. Maybe worth pinging her an email.
 

justy

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Thanks Sasha. Alex Bartone rings a bell..... was she in the CFS recovery book? I dont really want to be Vegan, but i cant eat dairy -(asthma, candida, sinusitis, lung infections) But i definately dont want to eat animal protein. My diet is so boring already, but im sure ill feel a bit better if i lose a bit of weight.
Im just wondering what is going wrong in our metabolisms that makes weight loss so difficult.

. Ive been on calorie controlled diets and even they dont do much. I did once lose weight, but that was only through anxiety and barely eating at all (unintentional)
 

Sasha

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Hi justy- yes, Alex edited that book of ME recovery stories. She has had ME herself.

Can you eat eggs? They're high in good quality protein.
 

currer

Senior Member
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1,409
Hi .
You may have some food sensitivities which are causing you to hold on to water (not fat).
Try eliminating wheat or milk products - the most likely allergens. ( do this safely, dont starve yourself)
 

justy

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Hi Currer, yes, i already dont eat wheat or dairy.

Sasha - yes i do eat eggs, i love them!
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,086
Location
australia (brisbane)
Thanks Heapsreal, thats useful to know. I have had problems with adrenal fatigue, but feel that thta is really improved through herbs and rest diet etc. I,m sorry youve had this problem too, but glad to hear i am not alone. My husband always says that he cant believe i never lose weight as i dont seem to eat that much. One problem for me is thta i have been a vegetarian/vegan for the past24 years and thats not about to change, it make s avery low carb diet almost impossible, although i already dont eat any gluten, which cuts out most grains. Apart from vegetables (i dont eat much fruit due to candida) and brown rice and potatoes i dont eat any other carbs.

My thyroid levels have been checked regularly and are always completely normal ditto for hashimotos.
I just replied on another thread though about eating and i find that i feel better when i do eat and worse when i dont. Also my stomach problems and hypoglycaemia (controlled now) get worse if i go for long periods without eating. If i dont eat regularly ( and more than just a snack) i get anxious and irritable and very tired, brain stops working and my stomach starts to really hurt!
Low carb on a vegeterian diet would be hard but u could try limiting starchy veges(potatoes) and eating more green veges etc, cut back on fruit, some nuts like almonds are low carb and for protein use protein/whey protein drinks and cheese is good on low carb diet too and if u can eat eggs u can make alot of different things there.

cheers!!!