Hey guys, I am new to the low carb thing and I am seeking a little reassurance to keep doing it.

I have been at around 30-40 carbs per day for the last 5 days and I am starting to get very frustrated because absolutely nothing has happened. No flu, no weight loss at all; not even water weight. I did purchase ketostix and nothing there either. I know I'm probably not giving it much time, but I am not experiencing anything that all the articles out there said I would. All I've experienced is a lot of urinating. I am not following a specific plan and I am a terrible cook so I've essentially been winging it with the food. I've been eating mostly eggs, bacon, about 30 almonds per day, rotisserie chicken, sausage links, salad with low carb dressing, cheese sticks, tuna, pickles, steak, asparagus, etc. I am 34, 6'6", 275lbs and I'm looking to get to around 230. I am the type that will absolutely give up if I don't see something to keep me going. Ok, rant is over. If someone has any idea why I'm not seeing any changes, please let me know because I'm out of ideas haha.

Thanks,

Ryan

As with most of these posts, without seeing actual daily food intake it's hard to provide useful advice.

A male at your height and current weight, reasonable calories:
Maintain Weight: 3191
Lose Weight: 2553
Lose Weight Fast: 1915

Do you use any tools, like the Atkins books and/or Fitday.com to log your food? Your plan is "made up"?

Healthy fat and enough salt is important.
Aim for macros at 65% fat, 25% protein, 10% carbs thereabouts or 70% fat, 20% protein sorta thing

Eggs, bacon ... good .. protein & salt through the bacon.
About 30 almonds per day ... I eat 7 almonds per day. 30 will sky rocket your fat content. Gotta be careful with nuts.
Rotisserie chicken - check.
Sausage links .. some sausage can be high carb offenders - just read the pkg.
Salad with low carb dressing - depends how much...
Cheese sticks .. these along with 30 almonds could be throwing off your whole game.
Tuna, pickles, steak, asparagus .. all beautiful.

I highly recommend reading Atkins books and buying all your groceries from the induction list found here:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=236482
especially since you're only on day 5.

You're seeking reassurance, but I think what you really want (and need) is hard cold data of how and why Atkins or LCHF works. Read up as much as possible on this site ... there's no way you won't succeed if you do LCHF correctly.

Hi, Ryan. Does the "medic" part mean you're a medical professional of one kind or another? If so--or even if not--you probably want to go with evidence or data, as Greekribs has mentioned.

So the first step in finding out why your plan isn't "working" is to use an actual published plan, and keep daily records. Atkins is a good one--see the links here. I also like the information available at DietDoctor.com.

Getting into ketosis usually means carbs under 20. It may take two or three weeks. Don't guess. Use an online counter and weigh or measure portions. For the induction period, and even beyond, don't count calories. If you get the carbs low, and eat only when you're hungry, calories will take care of themselves. Hunger will, too.

Keep it simple, relax, and give it a month or two at least. Giving up never works. But you know that already, right?

Best wishes.

Why you are not seeing changes? Your plan is "Made Up"

Join DietDoctor (first month free) and follow its Two Week Challenge so you learn the basics of the diet. The Two Week Challenge is the same diet used by the Duke Lifestyle Clinic and the HealClinic.com (can get the plan free there also by emailing for their welcome kit) It has a specific list of foods you can eat, some unlimited, some none (nuts), some limited (cheese 4 oz), and guidlelines for a balanced meal plan. Diet Doctor has great easy recipes, including "no recipe at all"...all the LC foods that require no prep.
64,000 people have successfully followed the Two Week Challenge just this year.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/love-way...-turn-ice-cream

All the best,

I couldn't agree more with JEY! Diet Doctor has done more for me then I expected! Do the research and look in to why a ketogenic diet is the ONLY (IMHO) diet for health.

I personally have lost 35 lbs in about 6 weeks. Have reduced my BG avg from 220 to 125 and have stopped taking my diabetes meds. My blood pressure is normalizing and I will be stopping those meds after I see my doctor the first week of December.

But... The most amazing thing!

I feel better then I have felt in 10 years! Mentally sharp and energy to burn! No longer a couch potatoe!!

Really, almonds can cause those issues. I've been losing, but slowly lately. I eat a lot of almonds.

Another one here who recommends the DietDoctor.com two week challenge. It's the best deal available and it provides the knowledge and tools you need to continue this way of eating. Can't beat the price! Go for it and good luck!

Hi Ryan. I'm just going to echo what everyone else has said, and I'm going to add that even if you haven't lost scale weight, you're doing yourself a world of good by quitting crappy eating and choosing real food. There are benefits that a scale won't tell you. LC eating greatly improved my sleep, my skin, my moods, energy levels, anxiety/depression, asthma, allergies, and female hormone stuff. I now have an immune system of steel (no colds), teeth of steel (my dentist isn't making any money off me) ... it's just how we're supposed to eat.

You're basically eating what sounds like my maintenance diet. Yes, I enjoy almonds, cheese, etc. But most people have to be a little more strict for the weight loss phase. It's temporary! Don't talk yourself out of it. It's like learning how to drive: you wouldn't hand the keys to your car to a 16-year-old and just let him/her figure it out; you expect them to do some learning and practicing. After that, it's second nature. Same with food and diet. Put yourself through LC driving lessons. It'll be worth it.

Best of luck.