Hi everyone, I'm very new to this site and SO glad that I found it. I've been browsing for a couple hours and realized that I should post to get some support and hopefully tips, because I am LOST!!
Some background:
I am 22 years old, around 250 lbs (my weight fluctuates day to day, anywhere from 247-251) and 5'10''. I've struggled with weight since I was around 10 years old. About a year and a half ago I lived in a place where there was no LAWL and my mom was on LAWL here in San Diego. I know it's "illegal" but she sent me the materials and I went from about 265 down to 204 in less than a year. I was on the "Red" plan with no lites and near the end switched to purple on my own when I hit a plateau.
I started gaining weight quickly as soon as I got slightly off track, quicker than I had ever gained before. I graduated college in May 2007 and moved back home and decided I needed to get back on track. I attributed my struggle to not being a "real" member of LAWL and joined in early June, 2007. I was 258lbs then. I followed the plan to a T and desperately missed being 204. This time they put me on plan "Red 1". It didn't work at all for me, I lost 7 lbs which is better than nothing, but over a period of about 3 months. Then they came out with the new plan and put me on plan 4. I couldn't lose weight with that either. So they moved me down to plan 3 because it was so much food. I still couldn't lose weight. Then the lady I usually see told me that I should get LA Lites because they help with weightloss and I should see the numbers drop on the scaled. I decided to try that because i'm desperate to lose weight at this point and sure enough, still maintaining. So, I got pissed and stopped going for a few weeks because it didn't matter if I followed plan, I was stuck for a few months at the same weight.
Then I decided to go to the doctors. I thought something might be wrong with my thyroid because I was exercising 4-5 days a week and weighing and measuring and still, i'm around 250 lbs. My doctor performed a ton of tests on my blood and found out I have hyperinsulinemia (basically going to be pre-diabetic) and put me on Metformin. This was supposed to help with my weight loss. I continued on plan for a couple more months, through December 2007 and still no movement on the scale. I was still between 253lbs and 250lbs.
I went back to my doctor and she put me on Phentermine to help jump start things. I put LAWL on hold because there was no way I could eat all that food while on Phentermine because it suppressed my appetite so much and I didn't want to waste my precious weight loss weeks further. In a month of phentermine I lost 2 lbs. I've been off of Phentermine for about two weeks now and have completely lost faith in losing weight. I've been continuing to work out but have been eating whatever I feel like because I'm so discouraged. And sure enough, I weighed myself yesterday and I'm still 250lbs.
I've been reading up on Hyperinsulinemia and basically found out it will be hard for me to lose weight forever. and I'm supposed to be on a low GI diet. However, I know from reading the nutrition facts on the lites that they are not good for someone with my condition. And now I'm stuck with around 50 boxes on my account and will probably end up having to sell them on ebay. I honestly wish I could get my money back since it isn't working, but I'm stuck. I wish It would work, but it isn't.
Have any of you gone through a similar situation? I really want to stick with LAWL and have it work, it's just so frustrating. It's been a little over 8 months now and i've lost about 8 lbs. But all of those 8 lbs were lost in the first couple weeks.
I just called to make an appointment with the nutritionist at a different location in San Diego, because the one I go to is filled with people that are pretty much clueless to what to do in my situation. I'm hoping a new center will help and have ideas for me.
Any tips/suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance for your support. I'm lost here.
(I'm also posting this on the LAWL thread and insulin resistance thread)
I don't know anything about the LAWL. I can only speak about diabetes and pre-diabetes.
I think that the majority of diabetics/prediabetics watch their carbohydrates. The extent at which some of us watch them differs. I tend to be on the lower side of that. After my diabetes diagnosis, I lost 100 pounds watching my carbs and I have come to believe that the sugar/carb was working against me and keeping me fat. My body didn't like processing them. It's the only explanation, I can give you for why suddenly I was able to lose weight.
I would try to see a nutritionist that specializes not on the diet you are on but on prediabetes/hyperinsulinemia. They might be able to better set a diet for you that can help you with that. Trust me, you do not want to develop diabetes. It's important not to ignore it, I had developed diabetes by 34. If I had some sense I probably should have been tested for all that earlier and caught it at pre-diabetes.
Anyway, good luck with all that and especially in selling your boxes!
Thanks, I will definitely decrease my carb intake. Right now I try to eat only whole grains and "good" carbs but it seems on this plan that i'm eating a ton of carbs (more than I normally would off of plan). I'll mention this to the nutritionist on Monday at LAWL and if she seems shady or doesn't know about my condition, I will have to buck up and pay another arm and a leg to talk to someone who does. I guess I can't put a price on my health....
I don't want to develop diabetes - it runs in my family and I know how bad it would be, so I want to "cure" myself before it's too late.
Hillary, you are very wise to be concerned while you are pre-diabetic. My dr never explained how my pancreas was working so much overtime at that stage, but if I took charge of my eating and exercised, I could avoid the diabetes. I was in the midst of the last few months of writing my master's thesis, while working full time and taking care of my family...and you know what happened...yep...my pancreas pooped out and now here I am diabetic. There's no "reversing" it now, although I can stay healthy by taking care of myself.
I don't know LAWL. I do know that convential nutritionists, yes, diabetes educators at that, steer you to the American Diabetes Diet, based on the traditional food pyramid. For me, that is WAY too many carbs. Too many carbs=high blood sugar...why they don't get it is beyond me.
Hang in there. I do Atkins, after a lifetime (I'm in my 40s) of being overweight, and having tried: WW, Jenny, optifast, medifast, old nutrisystem, the grapefruit diet, the Beverly Hills Diet, Cambridge diet, the Schick Center (electroshock!!), every magazine diet (except *******; saw that one coming on the boards!), not ONE of them worked for me no matter how hard I tried.
I have a problem getting below the hump of 250. I have been staying on track ALL week and I'm excited, I"m getting close. I feel like if I can overcome that hurdle, I can do it!! I know you can do. Keep trying! How low carb have you gone? Have you tried Atkins Induction phase for 2 weeks to see how it works for you? You might be very surprised. I eat very healthy on it, and I love my veggies!
I tend to follow a modified version of the CDA (Canadian Diabetes Association) plan with shades of Volumetrics thrown in -- lots of vegetables to fill me up. Personally, although I can't say I'm doing anything 'low' carb, the majority of my carbs come from copious amounts of low carb veggies rather than starches. Starches (even the good whole-grain kind) tend to spike my BGL.
Afraid I don't have any direct experience with LAWL either. . . but from the little I have read around the 3FC site, it would definitely seem like the lites (that they seem to push so hard) would be much to concentrated in quickly-absorbed (translation; "high GI") carbs for most diabetics to handle -- same problem as with most any of the pre-packaged. cereal-based snack/energy bars that you can buy in the regular supermarkets. You need to choose your carbs very carefully and spread them as evenly as possible throughout the day to keep your sugar levels as stable as possible.
Do bear in mind, though, that everyone (diabetic, pre-diabetic, non-diabetic) is different in the tolerance they have for carbohydrates of various types. You kind of have to find your own level. If you can swing it, you might want to see if you can book an appointment or two with a dietician to see if that can get you heading in a good direction for you.
I did LA weight loss and lost 55 lbs. However, I followed the plan to a T and never strayed. I went hungry if it no healthy food was available. I maintainted for about a year and have in the past 6 months have put 15 lbs back on. I am now diagnosed with PCOS and have been put on metformin.
I was on the gold plan and had VERY low carbs on that plan (2 starch servings per day). While on the plan I experienced hypoglycemic episodes (due to the too low carb).
Also, if you have PCOS or diabetes LA Weight Loss rules state that you cannot use the LA Lites - at lest that is how they do it in TN. Your counselor should not even have suggested them to you, much less let you purchase them.
Also, a warning - my center closed down unexpectedly and took $140 (in store product I was owed) with them...be aware if your center starts changing councelors fast, changes hours, or starts having trouble getting food shipments...these are signs they will be closing soon.
I definetely reccomend seeing a diabetes counselor or nutritionist for a personalized meal plan - and make sure it is one you can stick with for life or it will not work in the long run for you. My weight gain was due to feeling hungry and deprived from lack of carbs (though it is also in part to stress of husbands unemployment). Low carb might work for some, but it was not something I can live with long term.
LA Weight Loss and hyperinsulinemia
