What if you're one of those people who is HIGHLY sensitive to carbs? I have tried a few extra carbs for a few days and I actually have ended up GAINING weight. I was up to about 40 grams a day (not purposely, it was PMS carb creep) and I discovered that I gained about 4 pounds. Now I'm back on 20 grams a day and the weight won't budge, despite my exercise program. Is it possible for a woman to gain 2 pounds of muscle in less than a week of weight training?

Also, my waist seems to be bigger than ever. I was on low carb before, and got within a few pounds of my goal weight. Then I fell off the wagon, tried to lose, fell off again, and so on... until I gained back 40 of the 80 pounds I had lost. Now, it doesn't seem to want to come off after 2 years of yo-yoing. I know I need to stick with it, whether I lose weight or not, for my health. However, it can be discouraging to work so hard and not see the progress I feel I need to motivate me to continue.

P.S. The cream in the coffee is a BIG danger. I counted it as 1-2 carbs from cream, but when I noticed I was gaining despite being on low carb, I measured how much I was actually putting in my coffee and/or coca. It turns out I was adding 4-5 oz of cream EACH time I had it. During a few days of PMS, I was having 2-4 mugs of hot coca (0 net carbs) per day, which turns out to be an extra 8-20 grams of carbs, not an extra 3 or 4 like I was thinking! Needless to say, I now have my coca black.

Anyway, any advice or encouragement would be fantastic. Thanks for the thread, it's a very helpful reminder.