Diet advice for obesity? was Leptin (sorry, very long)

[Guest guest]

--- In , Idol <Idol@c...>

wrote:

>> How tall is he? 1500 calories per day sounds awfully low for a man.

Hi

He's 5'10 " or so. It is very low for a man. I eat more than him most

days, and I weigh 53kg.

> I'd need a lot more information to make any real suggestions for your

> husband, but if you're interested, send it my way and I'll offer what

I

> can, either onlist or off, at your discretion.

Thanks for the offer - I'll keep it on list in case anyone else

has a " lightbulb " moment that could help.

His weight has always been up and down since he was a kid. He started

a low carb diet 5 years ago when he was so big he thought he was close

to death. Around 200lbs or more overweight (regular weighing scales

don't go high enough).

He lost 140lbs in about 18 months. He was incredibly successful on the

Atkins diet. His digestion appeared to be very healthy (good BMs,

clear skin etc) His food intake comprised:

B: fry up of sausage, bacon, egg, tomato, mushroom.

L: a lump of cheese for a snack

D: Roast chicken or roast pork joint or steak

Drinks: coffee & cream, tea, diet Coke

Occasionally strawberries when in season, with cream.

When he met me, I introduced him to the concept of vegetables! We

started to enjoy cooking together, and we ate out quite a lot, still

low carb though. His appetite at this time was huge, but he still lost

weight.

Then inexplicably he started to gain weight. He started getting spots,

and he now requires a digestive enzyme every day to have normal BMs.

We've tried everything to stop the gain. Atkins fat fast (wow, that

was a BIG mistake for me!), cutting down on calories (to take into

account his lower weight), decreasing protein and increasing veg, and

the opposite. Going ultra low carb. In June we identified potential

gluten allergy, dairy allergy, peppercorn, coffee, coke and soy allergy

(all IgG tested). He shows no symptoms of anything, except poor

concentration and irritability when eating gluten. I've finally got him

off the Coke and the coffee (which I'd been trying to do for years).

Since May he's been exercising 1/2 hour a day on an exercise bike.

Right now he is eating a small breakfast of bacon and egg and tomato

some days. On those days that's generally all he eats. He had

breakfast this morning, and tonight I served reheated beef stew,

turnips, spring greens, and he ate 2 mouthsful. He drinks black tea

and blackcurrant cordial (either aspartame or sucralose sweetened). He

will eat bone broths, but won't touch fermented veg unless shop bought.

If he doesn't eat breakfast, he may not eat dinner either, and can go a

good couple of days without eating more than a handful of food.

He CAN stick to a diet, but he loses the will as he just keeps on

gaining despite everything.

He now has real mental issues with food. We can't talk about it. He

can't eat anything that he has been involved in cooking or serving.

Sometimes I'll put a meal in front of him and it just makes him feel

sick. All this got worse as I got more into NT and making stock and

fermenting veggies.

We have tried various supplements: going back to what he took during

his early Atkins days (except potassium, which he took for severe leg

cramps), now taking CLO, multi vit, cal/mag/zinc, 5HTP, Vit C,

digestive enzyme with every evening meal.

His thyroid tests, BP, cholesterol all normal. He was investigated for

Cushings Syndrome, and although his cortisol is high and he seems to

have a number of symptoms, this was ruled out by a specialist. The

high cortisol was deemed to be a symptom of his obesity, not a cause.

He suffers from sleep apnoea and snores loudly. This improved greatly

as he lost weight, the apnoea almost disappeared entirely. As he

regained weight, it came back.

When I met him, you would have guessed his age about 5 years younger

than he was - no wrinkles, bright alert eyes, thick hair. In 3 years

he he has aged considerably - now I think he looks older than his age.

He has been under a great deal of stress, but IMO not enough to warrant

such huge weight gain. I have made him relax a lot in the last

18months, as he was overdoing it a lot.

If anyone has any ideas at all, we are desperate and will try anything!

(except stomach stapling, the brochure his mum gave me about it got

thrown in the bin before I got home)

Thanks

Jo