I don’t want to say my weight loss has come without fail but the diet has given me the patience to wait for the kilos to slowly disappear instead of giving up like I’ve done on numerous of diets before.
Now nine months later I’ve lost ten kilos and I’ve still allowed myself to have weeks off from time to time. But the biggest difference isn’t the weight loss itself but that my general health has improved appreciably.I’m suffering from primary lymphoedema, which means that since birth the lymphatic glands in my legs aren’t working properly.In short this means my legs can’t get rid of excess fluids that are therefore collected in my legs and swellings appear.
On and off this can cause a lot of discomfort as the swellings can stretch the skin. The condition is also drying out the skin as the nutrition in my blood can’t reach the skin properly.
This is a condition that I, from several doctors, have been led to believe is something that I will have to live with and that there’s nothing I can do apart from trying to manage it in the best possible way. I accepted this and that I would never wear a dress and for 23 years this was my reality.
There are no solid evidence that a lymphoedema treatment works better with a diet containing products with a low carbohydrate content but some doctors support this (however not mine) and I am now also willing to stand behind the statement that it does help.
When it comes to the weight loss itself, I don’t know enough about diets in general to know if I lose weight because of the exclusion of carbohydrates or if it’s because I eat less calories due to greater feeling of satisfaction because of the fat but in the end I’m just happy I’m losing weight. But I can say for sure through my own experience that by removing unnecessary carbohydrates in my diet, my legs are now less swollen compared to before I gained the weight.
By rarely having “pins and needles” in my legs anymore I’ve come to the only likely conclusion that the carbohydrates in the quantity I ate them made my condition worse.
It would be easy to say that it got better because I’ve lost weight and therefore the appearance of my legs has improved and I can agree to an extent. But there is so much more to include; the problems were there even before I gained the weight in the first place and now the dryness on my legs has improved as well. Even my hands, which every winter dries out and cracks with bleedings as a result, are feeling better.
Another reason why I want to believe this is working is that since Christmas (after a break for Christmas and holiday) I’ve been on this low carbohydrate diet and felt fine. But in February I went to Sweden and stayed with my boyfriend where we had a lot of pizza, sweets, pasta and crisps. For about two weeks afterwards I had “pins and needles” in my legs at night and I can’t believe that’s a coincidence. That’s proof enough for me.
But at the same time, I want to point out that I don’t believe the diet alone is the solution to the problem.
According to my lymphoedema specialist here in England, lymphoedema can potentially be dangerous because of the legs having, and always will have, a reduced immune defence with an increased risk of dangerous infections. Therefore I believe that a good diet together with continuous treatments is the best option. So with good food mixed with support stockings, rich moisturisers and shower crèmes kind to the skin I think you’re going to get very far.
I know I’ve come far with this combination and now you can see me in a dress on the shopping trip as well as on the night out and the wardrobe is constantly growing now when I’ve found a whole new department to shop in.
This post has been published as an article in Swedish here
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