January Lifestyle Challenge

By Stefanie Gwinn-Vega and Tatjana van der Krabben

January Lifestyle Challenge (http://www.lipese.com/lifestyle-challenge.html) is about putting more thought than usual into your eating habits. What do you like? Could it be you like it because it’s addictive? Are you (already) enjoying healthy food? Does your mood influence your serving sizes? Do you feel like change? What could you change? It’s about aiming for a healthy lifestyle, not a quick, unhealthy diet program that promises miracles.

Below you find a description of a few popular low-carb diets. They are not specifically designed for people with lipedema, but have gained popularity among women with lipedema. Also, research suggests low-carb is recommended in case of lipedema. Low-carb and no sugar are the elements that keep returning in official lipedema diets. The descriptions of the diets are strictly informative and the menu with each serves as an inspiration or perhaps ‘food for thought’. LIPESE does not endorse a specific diet.

If you feel like getting started and would like some support? On Facebook Lipedema/Lipoedema Group of the United States (private group) and Lipedema Unite (open group) have members looking for "buddies" to take on the challenge together. Not on Facebook and still interested in teaming up with someone? Drop us a line via info@lipese.com . We're happy to help you find a buddy.

South Beach Diet

Phase 1 is designed to stabilize your blood-sugar levels and eliminate cravings for sugary foods and refined starches. This phase is for 14 days.
A sample day would look something like this:

Breakfast
6 oz tomato juice
Scrambled eggs with fresh herbs and mushrooms
2 slices of Canadian bacon
Decaffeinated coffee or tea with nonfat milk and sugar substitute

Midmorning snack
1 part-skim mozzarella cheese stick

Lunch
Chicken Caesar salad (no croutons)

Midafternoon snack
½ cup low-fat cottage cheese / Greek yogurt with added veggies

Dinner
Mahi mahi

Oven-roasted vegetables or salad
2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette or low-sugar prepared dressing

Dessert
Lemon zest ricotta crème

Phase 2 of South Beach Diet you’ll gradually re-introduce nutritious and delicious foods, including fruits, whole grains and some additional vegetables. A sample day would look like this:

Breakfast
1 cup of fresh strawberries
Oatmeal (1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal with walnuts)
Decaffeinated coffee or tea

Midmorning snack
1 hardboiled egg

Lunch
Mediterranean chicken salad

Mid-afternoon snack
Fresh pear with Laughing Cow light cheese

Dinner
Spinach-stuffed salmon
Vegetable medley
Tossed salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, green peppers and cherry tomatoes)
Olive oil and vinegar to taste

Dessert
Chocolate-dipped strawberries

Atkins diet
Phase 1 of the Atkins diet is called Induction – it’s where you’ll jumpstart your weight loss program. The main focus is on proteins, healthy fats and veggies. A sample menu may look something like this:

Breakfast

3 eggs with 4 slices of bacon

Midmorning snack
Sugar free jello

Lunch
Cheeseburger with sauteed mushrooms (no bun)

Midafternoon snack
Atkins Induction phase bar or shake

Dinner
Grilled shrimp and steak
Salad

Dessert
Sugar free jello with whipped cream

You stay in Induction phase until you get closer to your goal weight - which is a rather alien concept for us: "goal weight". Next you move on to phase 2 which promises continued weight loss, but at a slower rate. You van add nuts, berries and yogurt in this phase.
Atkins has a free app for Android or Apple that helps you track your progress, get info on food, has daily meal plans etc. Useful for those who can use a constant reminder.

Wheat belly Diet
There's only one phase and you never begin to add carbs back in as many of the other diets do. The basic permis is to try to maintain a consistant blood-sugar level. There's no calorie counting or restriction and it's basically carbohydrate-based, as carbs are responsible for the sugar highs and lows. A sample day may look like this:

Breakfast
Mexican omlet with sausage, peppers, mushrooms, full fat cheese and salsa
Coffee or tea with heavy cream / half & half

Midmorning snack
Almond flax muffin in a minute

Lunch
Grilles chicken salad with cranberries and walnuts

Midafternoon snack
Greek yogurt with a dozen raspberries

Dinner
Pizza with cheese crust, with whatever topping you desire in meat and veggie category

Dessert
Almond flour chocolate chip cookies

Paleo Diet
There are no phases in this diet as they focus on eating from the foodgroups our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era, the time period from about 2.6 million years ago to the beginning of the agricultural revolution, about 10,000 years ago. These foods include fresh meats (preferably grass-produced or free-ranging beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and game meat if you can get it), fish, seafood, fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and healthy oils (olive, coconut, avocado, macademia, walnut and flaxseed). Dairy products, cereal grains, legumes, refined sugar and processed foods were not part of out ancestral menu. A sample menu looks something like this:

Breakfast
Sweet potato hash with bacon

Midmorning snack
Fruit salad

Lunch
Chicken cutlets with olives and tomatoes

Midafternoon snack
Jerky and fruit

Dinner:
Coconut shrimp and basil spinach

Dessert
Paleo pumpkin muffins

Primal diet
Primal is similar to Paleo diet, but they do differ in certain areas. Primal is lower carb as fruit is limited and more seasonal and even "natural sugar" is frowned upon. Dairy products are more accepted on the Primal plan as well. A sample menu would look something like this:

Breakfast:
Omlet loaded with meats and cheese & coffee with cream

Midmorning snack
Almonds

Lunch
Chef's salad

Midafternoon snack
Avocado

Dinner:
Grilled steak with veggie of your choice & a glass of wine

Dessert
Serving of blue berries in cream

Tim Ferris Four Hour Body Diet
This is considered a slow-carb diet rather than a low-carb diet. The rules are simple: avoid white bread, white rice, potatoes and other white carbs, as well as whole grains and steel-cut oats - which are often promoted as healthy carbs due to their high fiber content. His plan outlaws all fruit and dairy (except cottage cheese which he says speeds up fat loss, while other dairy slows it) and involves a one "all-you-can-eat-day" a week. Anything goes on this prescheduled day (however, I personally  would stay away from wheat and sugar as both cause inflammation). Ferris also suggests eating the same small meals over and over again. A menu could look like this:

Breakfast
Spinach quiche

Midmorning snack
Avocado and nuts

Lunch
Chicken and black bean lettuce wraps

Midafternoon snack
Hard boiled eggs

Dinner
Beaf stew with pinto beans and kale

Dessert
Cottage cheese with cinnamon 

Lipedema diets

By Tatjana van der Krabben

Lipedema is not caused by overeating. All the same a diet is mostly recommended. Either because your doctor assumes you’re overeating after all or because of genuine concern the lipedema might cascade. Diets are usually associated with limiting calories. The nasty bit with lipedema is that you can still gain on the areas affected by lipedema despite pretty much starving yourself. Latest insights suggest what you eat is key. This blog touches upon diets and dietary guidelines specifically recommended in case of lipedema by doctors or other experts well informed on lipedema. The trick question is always: will it get me slim ALL OVER, legs included? I’m not giving the following diets a mention for that, since general consensus is that’s not (entirely) possible. The idea is to stop inflammation and further weight gain (and lose a bit if you’re lucky). Many of these diets have a claim related to inflammation. It’s most unlikely that this overview is complete: it’s quite possible other clinics, researchers or doctors have come up with dietary recommendations or a complete program as well.

Probably the most familiar in English speaking parts is the Rare Adipose Disease (RAD) diet. It was developed by dr. Herbst, endocrinologist (University of California, San Diego) and specialized in disorders related to abnormal fat deposits. Its purpose is to reduce inflammation and avoid further weight gain. The essentials are as follows: lower consumption of pasteurized dairy, animal protein, fats, simple sugars, carb, salt and wheat or processed flour products. Focus should be on organic fruits, veg, whole grains and healthy proteins. Foods high in chemicals and additives are also to be avoided. Regular liquid meals are suggested for easy digestion.

Also looked at by lipedema patients is the Diet for Lymphoedema by Juliet George, from the Poppy Lane Lymphoedema Clinic, Australia. It claims to have special focus on stimulating the lymphatic system and the body’s secondary systems with reference to blood circulation and wandering macrophages. This diet does allow for more animal protein as in meat and cottage cheese. Approved food items or ingredients are divided over 2 lists. From the one list you can choose 1 item, from the other 4 to combine all into a meal. This in order to create a 1:4 ratio of acid/alkaline foods.

At the 2012 Nederlandse Lipoedeemdag (Dutch Lipedema Day) the Paleo diet was recommended for lipedema by two researchers (Y. van Stigt  &  H. van Egmond). To state the obvious: the Paleo diet was never specifically designed for lipedema. Paleo, originally promoted by dr. Loren Cordain, blames modern diet for autoimmune disease and encourages people to return to the (unprocessed) food items we used to digest. So, no dairy, grains, processed foods and sugars, legumes, starches or alcohol. But you can have fruits, vegetables, lean meats, seafood, nuts & seeds and healthy fats.  Whether or not lipedema is truly autoimmune is an unanswered question, but the idea to support your immune system through diet is appealing.

Paleo has ways been explained and reinvented in different ways. Some advocates also allow for, for instance, bacon, which doesn’t fall into the lean meat category, or some (raw) dairy. A more well known variation is The Primal Blueprint (Mark Sisson). Guidelines include advice on exercise inspired on cave man lifestyle and getting enough sleep.

I’ve also looked into diet suggestions in Germany. At this point I don’t have much detail. I mostly found a debate on protein: do or don’t? Dr. Weiss, for instance, suggests a complete treatment including a change of diet. It should be limited in both fat and protein, since the lipedema body is already burdened by those. The rest is in a book I don’t have. The Földi Klinik, also informed on lipedema, doesn’t give specifics on their page, but dr. Martin from this clinic explicitly disagrees with that approach on a forum. He insisted the body needs protein. So much for the tip of the German iceberg regarding lipedema diets.

Different diets, different focus and, unfortunately, some contradiction. Yet, the diets I managed to look at in more detail have a few things in common: an aversion to wheat/starchy foods and sugar. They also aim at keeping your blood sugar stable. If you only look at those factors you already get issues with prepackaged off-shelf food, which explains the abundant exchange of recipes on lipedema websites and chat groups.  

None of the diets above were tested on lipedema patients in clinical trials. This blog does not endorse a particular diet, but merely wishes to inform which diets are currently recommended by some medical professionals. Through Lipese we do encourage people with lipedema to put thought into their lifestyle. When continuously gaining, your mobility suffers and literature suggests potentially lower pain levels could be achieved through a change of lifestyle (diet, supplements and exercise). Hence January Lifestyle Challenge (http://www.lipese.com/lifestyle-challenge.html). Starting out can be difficult, but it becomes easier when you know you’re not alone. When considering making a change to your diet, exercise regime and/or considering taking supplements, please contact your healthcare professional first.

The medical information in this blog is provided as an information source only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This blog should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your healthcare provider before making any healthcare decisions or guidance for a specific medical condition.