After 6 years LC I'm starting to slip, eating too many nuts, drinking too much wine, feeling bloated and gaining some weight -- and just not being able to get back on a more vigilant track.

For years I've been reading stories here on how people have lost weight and gotten so much better on LC. I've been disciplined, clear, stayed on plan, yet after initial and substantial weight loss, just hasn't budged, no matter what I do; and some very bothersome health issues persist even though I'm LC.

I'm just going through some kind of slippage -- I won't eat bread or processed crap, but eating some chocolate every day, salty nuts, wine and cheese, can feel that I'm gaining but I kind of don't care anymore. - I want to be "indulgent" even though it's not good for me, like some kind of teenage rebellion.

It was kind of a rough winter, my energy and spirits were low, it's like I'm trying to get something from the food to boost my mood. - But there's some part of me that's just saying, why try so hard on LC, what's the difference if I gain 10 pounds more, it just doesn't seem to have enough of a beneficial impact.

Anybody ever go through this? - I know in writing this that I want to get back in control again, even if weight and other things are still about the same, at least I won't be gaining. - But sometimes I wonder why the "miracles" of LC just don't seem to apply to me, maybe it's age or that I had bad habits for so long. - I just wonder why I keep doing it and why to continue if I can't lose the weight after so much planning, careful food selection, etc.

Hi there,
You don't post your stats so I don't know how much you are trying to lose. You say you lost a substantial amount initially, so to some extent it did work. However, it does seem that as with all weight loss regimes the more you lose the more difficult it gets to lose the rest and many people stall after a year or so or earlier. You have done really well to persevere for 6 years even if you do allow yourself some treats.
I have been drinking wine and eating - a little, very dark - chocolate all along and I have lost over 30 lb, but my weight is going down much more slowly now. I am not unhappy with my current weight although I wanted to lose 10 -15 lb more.
I am sure that the very experienced and knowledgeable people who post on this forum will suggest that you go back to a cleaner way of eating for a while - like try again on Atkins induction. It seems like the opposite of what you want, which is to be more flexible, but if you do the Atkins thing by the book, you can reintroduce things experimentally to see what makes you gain and what is OK.
I think low carb is really a life choice and some people on this forum seem to have benefited from it enormously.
I hope you manage to resolve your health issues. LC seems to be beneficial in many ways but it can't solve everything I guess.
And maybe you need a project - something to boost you mentally and emotionally as we move into spring.
Anyway, I wish you all the best and I hope you do manage to stay with it and find a way that works for you.

I've only been on low carb 2 years so you know more about this w.o.l. than I do. I can only offer the obvious: wine, cheese, and nuts cause stalls and gains. I can gain several pounds over night on all those things and more pounds the next day if I do it again. But, yes, sometimes I just don't care. I feel I have to eat other things besides meat, fish and vegetables! In my case, and maybe in yours, it's more an emotional need to eat cheese and nuts, and drink wine, than a physiological one. So far I've managed to apply the brakes more than once and get back before things got completely out of control. All I can say is that it would be a pity to throw away all you have achieved in six years and I hope you will not. Spring is here, sunshine and warmth are returning, and hopefully that will re-energize you and lift your mood so you can see the value of keeping on. After 6 years, maybe you don't remember accurately what the alternative was like and why you chose low carb in the first place.

Same here. Getting re-motivated can be really hard to do.

Once again, I have started measuring EVERYTHING (nuts, cheese). Simply doing that helps get me back in control and motivated.

Thanks for the responses. I think it just helped a lot to post here and realize that I was getting out of balance.

I know a lot of it is emotional, things I need to address. - Especially the need to "rebel" and wake up some stagnant parts of myself and my life.

Before I read the replies, came to similar place last night -- realized that I DID want to be in control and not give up, and that it would help to just eat very clean/low on carbs for a while. Ham and eggs for breakfast and black coffee, cheeseburger planned for dinner.

And decided to genuinely really truly start liking myself more. I really want to be happy at the size I'm at even if it's not my ideal. - I didn't feel well physically last night, stomach upset and heart flutters. One thing with LC is that even if I don't lose weight the way I want, I generally feel strong and productive. I don't want to lose that.

Sorry to hear, you are having a tough go at it how much more weight you have to loose? Have you tried exercising & measuring your heart rate when you do?

Stress hormones can keep you from loosing weight as well. Have you tried meditation?

It can be extremely discouraging, I know. I have been dieting my whole life, sense I was 11 years old. And then one day I just ballooned in weight. Gained a huge amount in a short span of a few years. And I been trying to loose since, 10 years now.

You know you can have stuff on LC. With Dr.Bernstein plan he has chocolate souffles, cheesecake, peanut butter pie. There is sugar free pudding. So you can treat yourself.

Right now I choose not to cause I think I pig out on that stuff, at this point I don't trust myself.

I don't know if your female but could you be going through hormonal imbalances? Maybe your period is adjusting could explain the slips.

Are you diabetic? Insulin Resistant? Have high cortisol levels?

Are you drinking diet soda or using a lot of sugar free sweeteners? Sugar free stuff will still impact your insulin levels. So it is best to use those as treats than on a daily basis.

Another thought is you body becomes adjusted. So try and very your carlorie intake. In one day I can eat anywhere from 1300 to 2100. To avoid my body getting used to a particular amount.

Hi Syvie--I can see that long term maintenance is going to be a continuous challenge. Successful maintainers are my role models and the posters I pay attention to. I lost 60 pounds in about 9 months and have been in maintenance for about 6 months. The first 3 months I didn't regain much, my weight fluctuated around the same 3 or 4 pounds. The past couple of months I've gained a bit, and want to put on the brakes. I eat nuts and cheese everyday, chips have made their way back into my diet (potato or corn), so it's not rocket science what I need to do. I consider myself mostly primal, but the percentage has been slipping. I don't know the answer, just that I have to keep trying. And to keep coming here.

I sympathise. I find it impossible to get my weight below 168lbs. In the past I tried to go into maintenance mode, in order to give myself a change and allow my body to reset, but all that happens is that I gain weight again. I can easily get back down to 168, then the scales will not budge, no matter how cleanly I eat, or how few calories I am taking in. I am still carrying too much fat, but I don't know how to lose it. I'm currently experimenting with percentages and calories and at least that is giving me a focus. One good thing is that I can eat pretty much what I like on occasion without worrying that it'll spoil my weight-loss progress. I do occasionally feel very depressed that I am trying so hard most of the time with no rewards for my efforts, but I just distract myself and it soon passes. Because I am not losing weight, I do allow more indulgence in my diet, perhaps the way you have done.. This makes it feel more like maintenance rather than active weight-loss mode. It stinks to be stuck, but it's better than gaining weight back. Just think back to those hideous clothes you used to have to wear or the rolls of blubber which you'd have to drag around. Every day we diet, it is another day we retain our slim figure, and I think that's a lot to be thankful for.

SylvieK, I'm glad you're feeling more positive. It makes all the difference, I think.
Kirtsteen, I'm kind of getting to where you are, I think. I am somewhat smaller than you (1.65) and 68 kg, which is where I am, is supposed to be the upper limit for my height and build. I have been low carbing since last August but haven't moved much for the last two months although I haven't done anything really different. Nevertheless, I am very happy to have lost so much and to be able to wear normal clothes sizes and not feel fat. I'm beginning to think I should start focusing on exercise and toning my body, which I haven't really been doing, and make not gaining (so maintenance, effectively) my goal now.
Don't let's lose the benefits of our hard won achievements, that's the main think!

The past 2 months I've had the same 'rebel" feelling. I wanted to indulge and from that I gained weight and lost some self asteam. I'm back in control now, I knew I had to get back into control of things and it hasn't been too bad, good actually.

The maintainers say its a rough road and there is never an end to the battle, keep up the good battle. Even if your not gaining weight, that stall your in is better than gaining.

That is where I was, two years ago. I shook things up by going gluten-free, which did wonders for my well-being and took a couple inches off my waist... even though I don't think I lost weight on the scale.

Now I'm getting seriously into IF. At least, this week went well. Because I had to get proactive again, several bouts of illness and antibiotics means I gained ten pounds on top of the ten pounds I still wanted to lose, and it's gotta stop somewhere.

I always figure that if I'm not losing weight any more, I have figured out how to MAINTAIN at this weight.

Next, I need to figure out how to maintain at a lower one