Hi,

You have a similar weight & goal to me, and I can see where you are coming from... we don't have that much weight to loose compared to most people here and the low carb approach takes longer the least weight you need to loose.

I too feel like throwing the towel on the low carb because it worked only for a bit and now I can't see the difference. But on the other side, this is a way of life, not a crash diet, and the weight will come off eventually.

The "healthy" food you refer to can be included into your low carb plan! the only that doesn't fit is the burger, but corn on the cob is OK so long as you don't have it everyday. some fruit are also OK once you get to the OWL stage. I think the important thing when you are doing low carb is to feel you're eating healthy rather that deprive yourself too much. So things like bread, pasta, potatoes are off limits but the rest shouldn't be off limits after induction, and of course all in moderation!

Also, as a biochemical scientist, I can tell you that low carb weight loss makes a lot of sense, while low fat dieting makes only half sense: you loose weight because you are startving yourself, but you are also slowing down your metabolism, ie you are encouraging your body to survive on less food, which eventually means you will put weight on more easily. On the other hand, low carb means you are stabilising your insulin, which means you are less hungry and store fat less easily. Also, by not giving sugar to your body it is having to produce it from fat, which requires more energy and also reduces you fat stores.

So all around, I would say stick with the low carb, but in order to make your life a happy place, included the healthy food you are missing and wait patiently for your weight to reduce, which may take 6 months!