Too few carbs ???

[anacecilia]

Is it possible to eat too few carbs ? I mean, could that cause the dreaded "starvation mode" and lead to a stall ? I've been eating enough calories (between 1,200 and 1,800 per day) but very few carbs, some days even as low as 4 grs. Does anyone know if that could be the reason why I haven´t lost anything in the last weeks after losing 29 lbs in the first three weeks when I was eating more carbs (15-20 grs)? has anyone ever heard of that ? :confused:

[Alina]

Hi,

no, you are not supposed to eat so few carbs. It is unhealthy and can stall you. When on induction, stay at 20 g, add some more later. Plus the carbs are supposed to come from veggies mostly.
Up the carbs, stay on around 70% fat and you will start losing again.

By the way, breaks between losing weight are also normal, we can't lose all the time. Patience!!!! :) :) :)

Take care

Alina

[anacecilia]

I'll do that. Thanks!

[lburnikell]

I dont think I have been eating enough carbs and I am suffering for it now I have been feeling sick since thursday with no appetite. I have increased them today and now starting to feel a little better!
Hope the same dosent happen to you its awfull

[Jannie]

Hey, guys & girls--read the book and follow the plan... :read2:

The plan is desinged to maximize your success--cutting down below 20 carbs just makes your body get ticked off and hold onto the fat it's supposed to be burning! :nono:

You should not be hungry or feeling deprived--you should have plenty of energy to get thru your day--eat plenty often, don't skip breakfast & make sure to drink your water and to exercise. Each element of the plan has its own contribution to make. :agree:

Now that I've been on maintenance awhile, I find that I can actually eat more carbs than I would have tho't b/c I eat early and often-small amounts, I drink mucho water, and I exercise every day. :roll:

Come on, if a 52-year-old grandma can do it, you can, too---

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

[gawdess]

I think I have gone pretty low myself....under 10 carbs a day...but I just keep forcing myself to eat at mealtimes with the occaisonal vegetable...I am slowly finding other things to add in...I lost 6.25 pounds my first week.

[anacecilia]

Ok, I think I got it. But the thing is I'm not hungry or feeling deprived at all. I'm actually pretty satisfied all the time, so I'll have to make a conscious effort to eat MORE, which goes against every fiber in my body after 15 years of dieting. But I guess that that's the point of Atkins afterall, isn't it ? Thanks for the support ! :agree:

[ernefam6]

How in the world can you just eat 10 carbs or less?? THAT is beyond me really,,,,,,,, I count everything, and I mean everything I eat, and most days I am at 20 on the nose. I had one day were I was at 15 and one at 21.... What do you eat to have just 10?

[anacecilia]

Well, I basically eat a lot of meat, grilled chicken, cheese and ham. Somedays the only carbs I can find at the end of the day (using fitday, not guessing, mind you) are the ones that come from the 2 cups of mixed salad greens I have with my steak for dinner. I eat only natural (unprocessed) cheese, which has a lot less carbs than the processed ones. But I guess this is not good since it's making me stall instead of keeping the rate of weight loss I had in the beginning. I'm frankly getting quite desperate...

[geo53562]

No one has the rate of weight loss they have to start out...unless what they started out with was nothing to write home about! I lost 15 pounds in my first week, but I never expected that I would be on a 9-10 week program to lose the 138 pounds I intended to lose. If there was a diet that could do that, it would kill you...your body cannot possibly adapt to that kind of change so rapidly.

After losing 35-40 pounds, my body has settled down to 1-2 pounds lost per week. Since the 1st two weeks (when I averaged 4 and 6 carbs/day), I increased my carb intake to average between 9 and 14 carbs/day. If I hit a "stall"...no loss for 3 weeks or so...I'll up my carbs to 20-25/day, and increase my exercise a bit.

Try not to set unreasonable goals for yourself in terms of time. It probably took you quite a while to put on those pounds, and they aren't going to come off overnight. Think of this as a long-term commitment to eating in a different (and healthier) way. And, along the way, you're gonna lose a lot of weight, too.:)

[anacecilia]

Geo, you DO make a lot of sense. Thanks. You are right, it took me 15 years, two pregnancies and three babies to gain all that weight and I couldn't possible hope to loose it all in three months. Gee, what was I thinking ? But those first lbs. went out of the window so quickly and easily that I guess I got caught up in the fantasy that by the end of the year I would be back to the old me... Well, I'll get there eventually ! Thanks again !