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-   -   6 week cure (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=425683)

CallmeAnn Tue, Mar-29-11 15:15

6 week cure
 
Is it possible that this plan is making me bigger? Never mind the scale, but it's been about three days and my pants are awfully tight. I have decided I may need to measure the cream in my shakes carefully but I have not cheated on my meals/shake regimen.
The book is very good, though.

CallmeAnn Thu, Mar-31-11 07:09

Really? No one has tried this plan? 23 views and no response. If you tried it without success, it won't necessarily deter me. I figure my case must need tight tweaking. The supplements and hormones must be the issue.

FREE2BEME Thu, Mar-31-11 09:17

Hum...I'm not familiar with this plan, but it seems odd that your pants would be getting tighter. Could it be that it is causing you to retain water due to diet/hormone interaction? Hope you get it worked out soon. It's difficult enough to change your WOE, but when the pants are getting tighter...well...I'm sure that's pretty discouraging. Best wishes.

Nelson Thu, Mar-31-11 14:10

Actually, there is a very long thread here called Middle Aged Middle. Lots of posts about people's experiences with the diet.
As for your pants getting tighter, my first thought is "bloating," which suggests you are either retaining water or having trouble digesting something in the shakes. I always had trouble with all the protein shakes--eventually stopped using them altogether.

teaser Thu, Mar-31-11 14:36

I sort of mucked around with the first two weeks of the six week cure. But I found that trying to take in all that whey protein just made me feel cruddy. So I tried just eating the protein prescription, I think it was about 40 grams per shake for me, as lean meats and adding enough fat to equal the fat to protein ratios in the shakes. That worked pretty good for me. After that I didn't bother with the other stages of the diet, since they weren't much different from what I was already doing.

CallmeAnn Thu, Mar-31-11 19:57

Thanks for the replies. Nelson, I wonder about that too, since I have been belching regularly for the first time-compared to no belching at all-since I went off wheat in Jan. '10.
I also got some coconut milk to substitute for the cream. I'm going to try that. I may be intolerant to dairy since I don't seem to do well with the wheat.
Teaser, I wondered about doing that, but I didn't see how it was any different than PP straight from the book. The true difference may be that it's more calorie restricted and he introduces the hormones and supplements.

deirdra Thu, Mar-31-11 20:48

I bloated up, belched & got hives and quit after ~9 miserable days. I suspect I have a whey intolerance. Like teaser, I found going back to real food worked better - and was cheaper and tastier than over-processed protein powder.

teaser Fri, Apr-01-11 19:26

Quote:
Originally Posted by CallmeAnn
Teaser, I wondered about doing that, but I didn't see how it was any different than PP straight from the book. The true difference may be that it's more calorie restricted and he introduces the hormones and supplements.


Yeah, I think that's basically it. Except I think they stress that if the shakes aren't curbing your hunger, you should add more protein. So it's sort of eat less calories, but still eat to satisfy your appetite.

After the chapter on thermodynamics and how it's not as simple as calories in, calorie out, the first two weeks is basically supposed to decrease your appetite. I notice a lot of the recipes at the back of the book called for cuts of meat that were kind of lean, too. Michael Eades has written blog posts where he says that at some point, once you've cut carbs to the bone, if you're not losing weight you should lower calories from fat.

Eades also blogged about somebody writing him that they had failed to lose weight during the first two weeks, and they were using a ridiculous amount of coconut milk--like a can per shake or something like that. I think his position is that higher fat intake won't make you fat, it will just keep you from getting skinnier. I didn't find the message in the six week cure to be as clear as protein power or the protein power lifeplan.

teaser Fri, Apr-01-11 19:32

But that said... I went down to 170 mostly following Protein Power. And The Six Week Cure was actually the jump-off point for the next 15 pounds, even if I didn't really follow it.

CallmeAnn Sat, Apr-02-11 19:55

Well, I turned the corner the next day or so after I posted. I have lost about a pound and a half, but as we are always supposed to remember, it ain't always about the scale. My stomach was less in the way, the other day when I was reaching for something in the floor of my car. Also, when I think to pull in my gut, I can actually do it. I am doing the LaPlace in Place but I am not remembering to do it as often as prescribed. I am improving, though.

troy_4 Tue, Apr-05-11 09:53

Quote:
Originally Posted by CallmeAnn
Is it possible that this plan is making me bigger? Never mind the scale, but it's been about three days and my pants are awfully tight. I have decided I may need to measure the cream in my shakes carefully but I have not cheated on my meals/shake regimen.
The book is very good, though.



I can't help with experience but I am along for the ride. I just started today after reading the book after ordering it online yesterday. I hope the shakes don't bother me too much but I am used to having one after a workout or in the morning for breakfast. I can handle it for two weeks I hope.

I must admit I am pretty shocked about the working out part or lack of where they don't encourage it very much, except for the slow-speed training they endorse like 30 mins/week.

They almost discourage other forms of exercise since it makes you a lot hungrier. I think I'll keep jogging and working out and see where it goes.

anyhow, congrats on staying disciplined and following the plan by the letter. I am going to try and do the same. Although 3 shakes a day is going to be hard to fit in my work schedule.

troy_4 Tue, Apr-05-11 10:11

although I must say I think the no caffeine part is going to be brutal at least for a week. My head is already hurting while Im drinking water. Which I rarely do at least til now.

LaceyC Wed, Apr-06-11 06:20

I did 6 week cure last September-October and lost 6 pounds, which was 1/2 of what I needed to lose. Might have lost more if I had been compliant. Too many cheats during the holidays and some of it came back. I'm going to make another run at it.

I think the reason this diet flopped for many is because it's a quick weight loss diet for people who need to lose 20 pounds like Dr. Mike and MD did. If you need to lose more, you'll be out of the shake days before you've reached your goal, and prolonging them isn't part of the plan. You could cycle it, I guess, if you need to lose more, but it's really aimed at middle aged people with fatty liver who are just starting to pack on the fat externally. In other words, it's directed at an internal problem that's starting to cause an external problem.

I'm right in the book's demographic - I'm 52, post menopausal, and need to lose 10-15 pounds of belly fat. Every time I do calorie restriction I start losing muscle mass in 50-50 proportion to fat loss. I've found that the lower my body fat, the more muscle mass I lose along with the fat. Muscle sparing is the rationale for all the protein according to the Eadeses, and I was happy with the results.

I was completely new to low carb eating when I started 6WC last fall, so that's why I slipped off the wagon. I've got it dialed in now, so I'm going to make another run at 6WC.

CallmeAnn Wed, Apr-06-11 21:57

They do talk about cycling a week at a time between the 1st and 2nd stages. Yes, I do have a lot more than a few pounds to lose. I never got the idea that it was for people with a small amount to shed. I like the Laplace exercise and I bought Slow Burn, too.

LaceyC Thu, Apr-07-11 11:16

Yeah, rightly or wrongly, they didn't want to exclude anyone (whether to help more people or sell more books, who knows?) Some folks here with a lot to lose were less than enchanted with the diet, but it's probably worth a try. Be very careful, though - the first two weeks are a VLC (very low CALORIE) diet. My counting software gave me 725 calories per day for the shake weeks, which isn't safe to keep up for longer than two weeks, if that.

If I had a lot to lose, I'd do the first two weeks to clean out my liver (and not skimp on the supplements), then cycle the second and third phases indefinitely till I reached my goal. Don't neglect to eat fat! It's an easy mistake to make and end up with rabbit fever. Chicken breasts and white fish bad; whole chicken with skin and fatty steak good.

I do respect the Eades' work; they were way out in front of everybody with the science behind low carb eating. And I love Slow Burn - my only beef with it is that it takes so much more concentration at the gym than my normal workout that I really have to psych myself up to go.


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