Dear Dr. Wilson,
I’ve successfully lost 30 lbs 2 yrs ago by watching my carb intake, but I still need to lose about 20 more. I’ve maintained my weight loss but can’t get any more off. I’m a 56 year old woman who recently had an excellent physical. My fasting blood sugar was consistenly 80 (I borrowed my diabetic friend’s glucose monitoring kit for a week). I have no known illnesses and take no medications. I do take several nutritional supplements.
I try to eat the best quality food I can find/afford. I’ve tried cutting out fruit (I only select low glycemic), but when I get my carbs too low, I sometimes “hit the wall” when I am doing cardio kickboxing or zumba and feel that I am out of glucose. A granny smith apple will revive me.
I need to try to find the right balance. I am also wondering if green coffee berry extract would be a good addition to my protocol. Not sure if this is of any consideration, but I was a 9lb, 10oz baby and my mom died of pancreatic cancer. I was normal weight from several months of age until about age 35, when I started gaining weight. I menopaused normally and have never had a hot flash.
Dr Wilson’s Response:
It sounds like you have accomplished a lot with your health. Remember you want to focus on fat loss, not weight loss and fat loss is always slow. Consider taking body measurements or buying a scale that measures body composition to keep track of your progress. Without knowing more about your eating habits it’s hard to give you specific advice but I can relate some general principles that might be helpful. Some people with what we call CARB Syndrome are very sensitive to carbohydrates and they will keep storing extra fat even when they have cut back on most carbohydrates.
For some following a Paleo diet as outlined in Loren Cordain’s The Paleo Solution works well. You can try it and see how you feel. Try to avoid low-fat dairy products, especially milk, because they tend to generate a strong insulin response. Don’t be too afraid of saturated fat from animals, especially if you can find grass fed beef. Cutting out grains completely is also helpful for some people.
I think green coffee berry extract is fine as it helps makes your cells more sensitive to glucose. Some other good supplements in this regard are Cinsulin, a refined form of cinammon to be taken before meals and chromium picolinate. If you crave sweets or starchy foods I recommend taking the amino acid l-glutamine 1,000 mg on an empty stomach between meals. This will help suppress these cravings and it is very safe.
The fact that you bottom out at times with low carb eating suggests that you have some degree of insulin resistance. The above supplements should help improve your insulin sensitivity. Limit your intake of fructose to no more than 25 grams daily. That means no sucrose (sugar), HFCS or fruit juice.
There are also useful tricks for slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates when you do eat them. Acids such as vinegar and lemon juice and healthy fats like olive oil are very useful in this regard. Greek potatoes are made with lemon juice and olive oil, so they are much better for you even though they contain more calories.
Never “under-eat” to lose weight. You will end up losing lean body mass even as your body continues to store extra fat.
Above all don’t give up! You have accomplished a lot and you just need to keep plugging away. Add some strength training and interval train to your workouts and eat a healthy diet of real foods. The fat will slowly disappear and your health will continue to improve. Good luck!
Yours in Good Health
Dr. Bill Wilson