Weight loss on traditional foods - liquid diet?

[Conteuse]

Okay, here's the deal, and I need some advice and suggestions.

Up until this year, I've had a thyroid problem (Wilson's Syndrome) which resulted in my being sick a lot and putting on about 10 lbs a year for the last I'm-ashamed-to-say-how-long. Suffice it to say that I was getting uncomfortably close to 300 lbs.

Now I've had the thyroid problem treated and am feeling a lot better -- my metabolism has sped up and everything. The downside of that is that now I am Hungry. All. the Time. I mean, severe and painful hunger pangs. So I've been eating healthy snacks (for the most part) when I'm hungry, but have still gained weight. In addition to my feeling betrayed by my body (the thyroid treatment was supposed to help me LOSE weight), now I am at my all-time highest weight ever. I discovered traditional foods in the middle of my treatment, so it certainly SEEMS as if I have gained weight since I stopped worrying about eating fats.

My husband has suggested I go on the "healthfast" program offered at our local hospital: it is very expensive and you live on nothing but their shakes until you've lost the weight you want to lose. It's heavily monitored and very medical -- and they are very much into the low-fat, green-packaged "fat free" stuff that's all full of chemicals.

So now I am wondering: might there be a way to do the same sort of thing, only with traditional foods? For example, I make breakfast smoothies with the following ingredients:

2 bananas
1 pint organic yogurt
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 or 3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 or 2 tbsp honey

I frequently add raw milk when we have it, and am planning to try adding some raw eggs to make a sort of eggnog for the holidays. (These smoothies are very good, by the way!)

I also take daily multivitamin suppliments.

What if I were to consume nothing but these smoothies? Or maybe have these and just have one "real" meal a day? Would I be getting all my necessary nutrition? I'm hoping that with the addition of the coconut oil, I won't be as hungry.

What do you all think? Would this work? At this point I'm getting desperate; after years of not really caring about my weight, all of a sudden I've been filled with self-loathing over it as I watched it climb over the last few months. So please, be gentle with me, eh? Thanks.


Edited to add: I've also thought about going onto a "milk diet" -- consuming nothing but raw milk, as I have read that it is a "complete food." What do you folks think about that idea?

[Ravin]

My first thought is, what about exercise? I've had thyroid issues since I was a preteen (genetic family thing), and put on weight some of the time when I was off meds because I wasn't getting much exercise. To really boost your metabolism (and let the extra thyroid hormone you're getting do its job) you have to be exercising.

I know that can be difficult when you're overweight, but even just walking for an hour (outside, at the mall, or on a treadmill), doing some kind of physical labor (yardwork, for example), several times a day, and doing some kind of stretching/muscle work (such as yoga or freeweights) once a day should help.

Restricting calories, eliminating "white" foods and sugar, drinking LOTS and LOTS of water, and exercising all put together should help you lose weight.

For your smoothie recipe, i'd probably cut down the amount of honey a good deal. The bananas by themselves should make it plenty sweet, esp. w/ yogurt. A tablespoon is a LOT of honey.

By restricting calories, I don't mean massively. Keep your food to small portions, eat slowly (sip that smoothie, don't chug it). Exercise before meals to boost your metabolizing them.

My DH went on a milk diet when he was in boot camp in the Navy (and this was crappy pasteurized/homogenized milk) and it worked very well for him. He drank like 4 glasses of milk a meal and ate none of the food.

[saratc]

I know it's hard not to, but I think you have to focus on what may be out of balance, eat a healthy diet (IMO, NT) and the weight should follow. There may be something other than the thyroid that's affecting you. I think liquid diets of any sort for an extended period of time are very temporary and transient and can cause cravings. I agree with pp on exercise. Doesn't have to be strenous, but just *something* like a short walk every other day. You can also boost your metabolism significantly by going to several small meals throughout the day rather than 3 meals daily. I went to a WAPF conference lecture where the lecturer mentioned eating smaller meals more frequently as a recommendation for people with thyroid and adrenal issues.

Food wise, I would cut out most sugars and also grains and stick with the good fats. You may also want to look into an elimination diet. Even food allergies and intolerances can cause digestion issues that lead to gut flora imbalances and weight problems.

[newcastlemama]

What about EAT FAT, LOSE FAT? Coconut is great for the thyroid and weight loss. We have a "winter support tribe" Here http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=574804 . I follow it because I feel great on it! I lost my baby weight fast by cutting out all starchy/sugar foods, even if they were NT-potatoes, rice, bread, honey, and higher sugar fruits. I still don't eat that many grains/starches because they make me tired, but I am gluten intolerant. I probably eat about 50-60% fat in my diet. I had adrenal problems and I really think that NT and takng the "Holy Basil" supplement by NOW worked.

I love smoothies, but I don't think I could drink them all day without feeling deprived. Please don't do the "healthfast" program. That work probably damage your system (thyroid ect) more.

s
I hope you can feel better soon,
Jen

[Laurel723]

There was a thread here awhile back about a milk diet-I think Gale Force started it...

I'll see if I can find it and bump it up...

[Conteuse]

I've read Eat Fat, Lose Fat, and I've read Nourishing Traditions.

The problem is, I started gaining weight just as I started eating more along the lines of Traditional foods. I'm scared that Sally Fallon might be wrong and the American Heart Association might be right! Can y'all offer me some reassurance, d'you think?

Also, I have a severe knee sprain and can't exercise just now; up till the injury I'd been walking a bit, but now can barely walk or climb stairs (not that much fun, as we live in a basement). :

[Gale Force]

Conteuse,

In the thread Laurel bumped I mentioned that my father has had very good luck with weight loss on the exclusive milk diet. He is at least 350 pounds and lost 3-4 pounds a week. His trick is not consuming too much -- 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon a day. There is no miracle about it. It's a low calorie diet with such little milk. The nutrients in the milk are easily absorbed so you don't have to worry as much about becoming malnourished. So that's an option but I'd experiment with the homemade shake idea. That sounds good. I would count the calories in that case to make sure you can expect to lose and then see how much you actually lose. If you are able to lose weight on that, it's good news about your thyroid and it also tells you that the Eat Fat, Lose Fat approach probably is too high in fat (or something) for you.

Amanda

[Ravin]

If you can't walk, find other ways to get exercise. Go to the mall, rent a wheelchair, and give yourself an upper body/cardio workout. Lift weights, sticking with just upper-body exercises. Engage your spouse in marital activities. The idea is to get your blood pumping and your metabolism revving.

As far as diet, I really thing that different people are going to have different things trigger their bodies to shed pounds. Restricting calories, esp. sugar, is going to be probably the healthiest. A milk/liquid diet might be the thing for you in the short term, but in the long term you have to est. healthy eating habits.

Which I'm working on too, btw. I lost all my extra weight after DD was born, both what I'd put on in the military and from pregnancy, but when my cycles came back I put weight back on again. I was on a vegetarian carb-fest diet, and even increasing exercise wasn't doing it for me.

Which is why I'm here learning about this Trad food stuff, too. I hope you find the solution that's right for you.

[Nikki98]

One thing that I think is especially important with the Traditional way of eating is it focuses on eating good whole foods. It is based on eating food in the form which delievers the most nutrients (which also can help with cravings).
For me I have really realized that if I eat the good fats (good butter, good quality coconut oil) I must reduce the amount of carbs I eat, and when I do eat carbs, they must be of good quality (complex carbs). I have also struggled with my weight for most of my life, I am still struggling so I can identify with you.
Also I know you posted that you can't do much exercise, but like Ravin posted try to do what you can, and start off small (10-15 minutes of daily exercise is better than none).
Perhaps talk with a nutritionist to see if you all could come up with a plan that could include traditional foods (maybe a more holistic trained nutritionist ) so that you could have something concrete to follow. Also stick around this forum, there are great people here offering support. Take care, Nikki.

[Conteuse]

Originally Posted by Gale Force

Conteuse,

In the thread Laurel bumped I mentioned that my father has had very good luck with weight loss on the exclusive milk diet. He is at least 350 pounds and lost 3-4 pounds a week. His trick is not consuming too much -- 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon a day. There is no miracle about it. It's a low calorie diet with such little milk. The nutrients in the milk are easily absorbed so you don't have to worry as much about becoming malnourished. So that's an option but I'd experiment with the homemade shake idea. That sounds good. I would count the calories in that case to make sure you can expect to lose and then see how much you actually lose. If you are able to lose weight on that, it's good news about your thyroid and it also tells you that the Eat Fat, Lose Fat approach probably is too high in fat (or something) for you.

Amanda

Hi, GF - I've just read your entire site (kudos to you for it, by the way -- it's great! Pleasant to look at, easy to read, and very user-friendly while providing some useful information) including MacFadden's book. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about your dad's progress?

Is he taking any vitamin suppliments along with the milk?

Is he taking any daily exercise, and if so is it more muscle-building or more cardio? How often does he do it?

How long has he been losing 3-4 lbs a week? (How many weeks has he been on it?) How long does he *expect* to be on it?

Has he had any problem with loose skin hanging, after he's lost the weight?

Thanks, and sorry if these are too many questions for ya -- it's just that this idea is so new to me that I'm very curious about it to see how well it works for someone who is significantly overweight, like me... and like your dad.

Thanks.

Oh, and whoever suggested the mall/wheelchair idea -- I love it! I live across the street from a mall, and I'm going to do that this week! What a great idea.

[Gale Force]

My dad was on the diet this summer for a couple of months and had those results for at least six weeks. But his "cheater's milk diet" became increasingly just a cheater's diet and he's planning on going back on the diet again. He has not lost enough to worry about loose skin.

He didn't take supplements that I know of (but I'll quiz him again). His condition did not allow him to exercise much. In this next run on the diet I'm encouraging him to rest more. He was out and about this summer.

[TzippityDoulah]

a lot of throid issues and carbs sensitivities seem to go hand in hand. I'm dealing with this right now. I'm having trouble gaining weight. I never had this problem until about 8 mos ago or so. like out of nowhere I started gainign weight and gettingbloated. I'm very sensitive to carbsright now - even "good carbs". or now I'm on a very low carb- high fat diet. but I also have to stay active. this ddoesn't mean running 10 miles a day - just making sure ot gt out n the sunshine for a small walk, rake the leaves... anything to get fresh air and blood pumping (imo you can't get the same thing rom indoor exercise 00 i only do that when weather is ugly).

I'm focusing on eating foods that are nutritionally dense and that feed my brain and body. butters, yogurts, lards, bone broths, meats, lower carb veggies (mostly green veggies), soaked beans, lots of garlic and onions... and I take supplemental probiotics to help rebuild my system b/c I seem to have a very low immunity right now. when I stick to this I can lose 5-7 lbs a week. when I don't I can't gain 5-7 lbs a week.

personally I think there is some genetic issues I have going. I was also on an antidepressant for years and it messed with my gut a lot, I also think I have some candida issues. all I know is I feel REALLY good all over when I eat this way. and I feel REALLY bad when I don't. that right there is enough to make me wanna keep it up. (ok so chocolate or cake is nice every once in a while! but just not a regular thing).

I figure when I get donw to the weight i should be then I will slowly bring back in some healthy soaked and sprouted grains and such.

oh and it doesn't matter what form of sugar I use - honey, maple syrup, fruit or white sugar -- it ALL makes me gain weight right now. so I've backed off on that. I find after about 3 days off of it I feel SO much better and I don't crave sweets of any sort.