Please help me.....

[tashinpa]

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Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and I need your help/advice/support -- whatever you can offer.

I have been on the South Beach Diet since Jan. 5, so am in my 4th week now. I have been weighing myself Mondays.

During the first week, I lost 5 lbs., the second week nothing. I got curious during the third week, and weighed myself, and it turned out I had lost another 4lbs, though it was not my official weigh day. You can imagine how happy I was to be down at 163 lbs. within 2.5 weeks!

Well, this last Monday I weighed myself, and was back at 169.2, today 171.4!!! This means I am back at zero, so to speak, as I started four weeks ago at 172.2. I don't know what to think, or do, to be honest. I have really followed everything in the book, and except for three times I had booze (vodka tonic twice, wine yesterday, but not much) in those first four weeks, and my going crazy on the nuts last Saturday during a poker game, I don't know what on earth justifies this.

I am also sick of blaming my period on this. Yes, I should start any day now. Yes, I do retain water about a week before (which was my explanation for my weight the Monday a week ago when I weighed 169.....), but could that really be all?

I was already surprised that I wasn't losing as much as everyone else it seemed, but I am also not "crazy" overweight, it appears people lose faster when they're in the 200-300 lbs. range. But shouldn't I at least be able to maintain weight instead of gaining? And no, I have not been "bulking up on muscle weight" :)

PMSing certainly isn't helping my mood....I get so down on myself, trying to figure out where I messed up, but I keep coming back to an evening of nut munchies and 3 nights of drinking.

If any of you have an explanation, or advice, I'd be psyched to hear it. I was very enthusiastic about this plan, because everybody seems to be on the low-carb wagon now and it seems to work for everyone but me.....

[lightforce]

Hi there,

I am a new member as well and I too am having trouble losing the weight.

I can step on the scale one day and have lost 3lbs, then step on it in a week and gained 4.

I have tried this week with not eating high carbs and it seems to be working so far. I have lost 2 lbs and have kept it off. But it is only the first week.

I think PMS has a lot to do with it. I am going through the same thing right now and I dont feel good about myself and feel like a failure. I read all these success stories and I can't even say "hey that will be me soon".

I know this is probably not what you wanted to hear but I wanted to let you know that you are not alone in this.

Like someone told me just keep trying something will eventually work.

Try and have a good day.

lightforce

[Zuleka]

HI,

Don't get so down.

What are you eating?Did you read the book? Are you following the plan? Are you taking any meds, that might keep you from losing?


I know I take medicine that slows the rate in which I lose weight. Sorry I can't help you anymore. I've only been on it for 3days, I switched from Atkins.

Good Luck!

[AlluraD]

Hi~
I don't have any practical experience w/ SB program but I just reread the books yesterday......and have been thinking about it.........are you still on Phase 1? A lot of people post exactly what they are eating in their journals so folks would have a more accurate way to give you advice.
You might not want to "blame" the regain on your TOM but I know it can make me gain 5 lbs easy overnight..........I am about a week or less away and have been "in a mood" too~ *s*
Just wanted to say hi and hang in there........hopefully someone who knows will pop in here soon~

[tashinpa]

AlluraD, I am impressed with your stats!!! That is sooo amazing... and we have the same goal weight-- given the way my diet's been going, you might even beat me to it! not funny.

Well, I've recovered from my whining phase -- at least so far -- and it doesn't look to great when you're crying at work.... pathetic.

Anyway. I have been following the SBD book EXACTLY, at least for the first two weeks (except for one night of booze, but I mentioned that). I am now in the second phase, during which I am supposed to reintroduce certain carbs.

To be honest, I have been sticking to just having Atkins cereal with blueberries in the morning and some fruit (kiwi or cantaloupe) during the day or for dessert. Oh, and I had a slice of multigrain bread two days ago, but was not impressed enough with the taste (and I was a SERIOUS bread addict!!), so can easily do without. Other than that, it continues to be meat, fish, meat, fish, salads, veggies, etc. etc.

sooooo... no idea what could be going wrong. I will stick to the plan, as shorts season is still far off (at least in Central PA *g*), so no need to panic just yet.

But if I continue to GAIN, I don't know what to do.

PS: I sing, too. still looking for a decent band, though...

[Jade74]

I'm not familiar with South Beach, but I couldn't pass by without offering a bit of encouragement...
I'm not sure how much water you're drinking, or even what SB has to say about it, but for your weight to be moving so drastically, it seems likely that it's water related, especially with TOM looming... and I know it's frustrating to use that "excuse" but it's real and there's not much you can do about that...
I didn't lose any weight for almost two months, then a couple of pounds last week and nothing since again... BUT => I feel so much better, more energy, my clothes are looser (are you measuring inches, this is VERY important) and because I know that this is not a diet, but a lifetime change, I can accept it if it takes longer than I would like.
You commented about the muscle... but what I've found personally is that even though I wasn't doing any weight training, simply increasing my protein intake to a normal level was causing my body to create new muscle. I have definition and tone that I didn't have before, without increasing my activity at all. I personally think that was why I wasn't "losing" any weight...
Keep the faith!

Jenn

[Kaillean]

I'm not all that familiar with South Beach, but . . .

PMS definitely plays havoc with weight loss, so if you're PMSing this week you should either stay off the scale, or just try to accept you will gain during this time. I usually get a nice little drop the day I start my period, and another when it's done.

Another thought is the tonic -- loaded with sugar, unless you used diet.

Not sure if SBD allows alcohol, but I can tell you it tends to screw up my loss. Even when I don't register a gain on the scale, I SLOW WAY DOWN!

Hope that helps some.

Hang in there! Peristence pays off in the end.

[Bill L]

Hey TashinPa.....

The first thing that always pops into my head is not enough water.

I drink over a half-gallon per day. This flushes out the burned fat.

Also, alcohol consumption slows down the fat-burning process.

Fat-burning and alcohol processing are both done by the liver. The liver is not multi-tasking, so it can only do one job at a time. It filters the alcohol first, then the fat. The entire time it's working on the alcohol, it can't do any fat burning.....so that time is wasted.

I have no Idea if that's the root of the problem, but I thought it would help you to understand how it works....

Good luck.

Bill.......310/268/225.....day 82 on SBD.

[tashinpa]

Thank you, to all of you! I guess I just needed some patting on the head to get me through the day!

Kaillean (great name): I did use diet tonic. No regular soda passes these lips....

Jade74: I promise to get out my measuring tape and start counting inches instead of lbs...

Bill: I try to drink at least 8 8oz. glasses of water during the day (I learned that in my WW days!). And I'll try to keep the dinner low-fat if I plan to drink ;-)

After all, what's an evening without a nice glass of wine...

Again, thanks to all and I'll keep ya posted, hopefully with better news!!