Some suggestions on handling very slow weight loss
 

Losing weight slowly -- or even not at all -- is terribly frustrating, even when you think you are following your plan to the letter.

I came across this post today that gave me some reasons why I am a Turtle and some suggestions on what to try. http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...ters/#more-5526

Since I am a postmenopausal female octogenarian, I have to deal with these three facts that contribute to my lack of success/movement on low carb. The blog was encouraging. There are some things I can try as well as some things I better understand. All the links to previous posts are extremely helpful and well worth reading too.

I'm old, female and tend to lose slowly, however I recently added intermittent fasting to my regimen and am losing again.

Good for you!

Benay, thanks for the helpful article. I'm starting back on LC and this forum after having lost 35 pounds 10 years ago. I couldn't have done it without the help of this forum.

Dana

At 28, I don't really think I'm in the "old" category yet, but I'm a pretty slow loser too. I'm insulin resistant, have thyroid problems, and pretty terrible will power. All this results in a roller coaster ride of experimentation, which is tough for my impatient personality. I have to work hard just to give a new process enough time to actually work. Certain times of the year are hard for me, and I let things like holidays derail me and then I place the blame on things like how hard it is to not taste the cookies my 5-year old begged me to make with her, etc, etc. finding alternative recipes, making time for yoga and exercise, sleeping enough, and staying focused on being healthy instead of losing weight are the things that help me keep on track the most. But not always.

I started low carb in February 2012. I lost my first 15 lbs really quickly, and that was a great motivator to keep going. The following 30 lbs or so has been long, up-and-down, and tiring, at nearly 3 years of work. In that time I've undergone some thyroid work and a cancer scare.

At this point in my journey I'm trying to just accept myself as I am today, but focus each moment on doing what's best and most healthy for my body. If I make those good choices all the time I'm bound to lose more weight. And if I don't, at least my blood sugars have regulated and been in healthy range since june 2012, my cholesterol #'s are great, and my thyroid is under control.

This article will be a great read during times when I let the stress of not losing win over my mindset. So thanks!

I commiserate, aamama. Good for you. We all have our issues with which we struggle. The books imply that it is an 'easy' straightforward process, but the reality says it is not. Having others around who have 'been there, done that' is so very helpful. Thanks for the support and keep up the good work!

One thing to also consider is the closer you get to your personal weight goal the slower the weight loss gets.

Bottom line though, keep fighting and doing what you're doing and you will eventually see the results of all your hard work and efforts. It is so worth it!

Wishing everyone continued success on your personal LC WOE journeys!

Onward and DOWNWARD! :cheer:

:rheart: Jo

Lately, I have been wondering about the amount of protein in my LC diet and it's possible effect on the slowness of my weight loss. So, I have been looking at the suggested protein intakes for programs such as Atkins, Protein Power, Rosedale, etc.

I went through indexes for protein to look up suggested amounts. For the original Atkins and Rosedale, no suggested amounts are given. The Westman et all NAFNY provides a chart of recommended daily allowances for men and women by height. A similar chart is in Protein Power Life Plan. (I deliberately avoided the ketogenic books.)

I went back to my original Protein Power (1996) which has a detailed method of calculating protein requirements based upon age, gender, height, weight, hip and waist measurements (with an additional wrist measurement for men) as well as an activity factor. It is the most detailed method of calculating body fat weight/%, lean body mass weight/% and ideal body weight for age and gender that I have seen in the LC books I have read.

From these calculations, they make recommendations on daily protein consumption in grams, and give detailed charts on what to eat to meet these daily minimum/maximum ranges.

I followed PP in 2006 when I lost 80 pounds, but basically paid no attention to my protein consumption --I was so obsessed with my carb consumption. In fact, as I have watched myself put back 30 pounds, I have never attributed it to my protein consumption. I blamed it on carbs and calories

The protein consumption charts in NAFNY and Protein Power Life Plan are far more liberal on protein allowances compared to my calculated amounts.

I have recently gone back to the original PP and calculated my stats again to find my minimum protein requirement and my range. I was shocked to find that I was usually eating more protein in one meal than was recommended for the entire day!

I have been fussing over my slow weight loss on <20 total grams carb. I may be over-consuming protein.

The suggested protein allowance derived from PP is not as low as is suggested in the Ketogenic diet books. So, it's worth a try to see what happens.

Anyone else suspect excess protein consumption might be slowing their rate of weight loss?

About 6 months ago, persuaded by Dr Jason Fung's blogposts, I lowered protein from 90-120 g per day to 65-80. Pre-Fung I was attemting to eat 30 grams of protein per meal, which protein expect Donald Layman feels is optimum for everyone. I'd heard Layman speak on Jimmy Moore's Ask the Low Carb Experts and despite JM's obvious sketicism, I was persuaded. (As a postmenopausal woman I do NOT want to lose lean mass).

Between JM's Keto book and Dr Fung's videos and blogposts, I was finally persuaded to go lower. While it is not a big caloric difference (40-150 cal per day), i found my hunger patterns changed. Lowering protein, while keeping fat the same allowed me to go another hour before eating lunch. Limiting protein to 25 g at lunch kept me from getting hungry at 4 pm when i would often have a snack of an ounce (or many ounces) of almonds. I now find it easy to wait till dinner at 6 pm to eat again. Baed on Dr Fung's posts about the insulin index (different from the glycemic index) I'm now allowing insulin to go down further and stay down longer (allowing my body to burn stored fat)by eliminating that 4 pm snack, That is where te additional weight loss comes from, I believe. I can now maintain at a weight Bout 5 lbs lower than this time last year - a huge win for me.

They say that excess protein will cause glucose neogenesis in the liver, with almost half of the excess being transformed into glycogen. Now that I am older, I am much more sensitive to carbs and protein, and I find that lowering my protein intake is helpful in maintaining nutritional ketosis.

This website has a Keto Calculator which gives you an idea of the macros you need to consume to stay in ketosis:

http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

That, and my ketone meter are very helpful. I am a firm believer in testing, although the strips are 2 dollars a piece. Some are even higher at 6 or 10 dollars.
But now that I am no longer eating out, I spend the money I saved on the keto strips