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  #1   ^
Old Tue, May-26-09, 09:52
Abby3 Abby3 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 139
 
Plan: general low carb
Stats: 220/179.6/150 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Ohio
Default rapid fluid retention when off LC

I am on my own semi low carb/Atkins diet. I do not eat any sugar or processed foods when LCing. This holiday weekend I ate whatever I wanted for three days. I am now seven pounds heavier, my ankles are a little swollen, and I feel a bit achy in my joints. This happens to me every time I take a break from LCing. When I take off a week, I have gained back 10 lbs. and more. Does this happen to anyone else? I am thinking that I must be extremely sensitive to sugar or something else. Any thoughts?
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, May-26-09, 12:37
Sandollar's Avatar
Sandollar Sandollar is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,506
 
Plan: LC w/o "counting" carbs.
Stats: 320/259/185 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 45%
Location: Vancouver Island
Default

This happened to me on the weekend. I think it was eating at restaurants and all the salt in everything.

Right now I'm being vigilant and cutting wayyy back on salt.
No pop, no tuna, no cheese for me right now!
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  #3   ^
Old Tue, May-26-09, 15:45
Abby3 Abby3 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 139
 
Plan: general low carb
Stats: 220/179.6/150 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Ohio
Default

You're probably right. I didn't think about the salt in everything -- it's even in the sweet stuff. I still wonder if this is a common thing for LCers or if you and I are super sensitive to salt and/or something else. All I know is that it is very frustrating to have a few treats and gain a lot of weight back. I know I can lose it pretty quickly by going back to my basic LC and of course I do feel much better when LCing. I guess this is just something I will always have to deal with.
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  #4   ^
Old Tue, May-26-09, 18:01
Sandollar's Avatar
Sandollar Sandollar is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,506
 
Plan: LC w/o "counting" carbs.
Stats: 320/259/185 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 45%
Location: Vancouver Island
Default

I'm reeeeeally sensitive to salt! It's a drag!
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, May-26-09, 18:05
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Abby3
I am on my own semi low carb/Atkins diet. I do not eat any sugar or processed foods when LCing. This holiday weekend I ate whatever I wanted for three days. I am now seven pounds heavier, my ankles are a little swollen, and I feel a bit achy in my joints. This happens to me every time I take a break from LCing. When I take off a week, I have gained back 10 lbs. and more. Does this happen to anyone else? I am thinking that I must be extremely sensitive to sugar or something else. Any thoughts?

I hate to be the one to tell you this...but its called a "way of life" for a reason.
If I do what you did, I'd see that kind of water weight gain too.....but I don't do it because its just not worth it to me.

What are the treat foods you indulge in when you do go off?
Do you have them moderately or do you overeat them because you miss them?
Have you tried to find replacements for them that fit the parameters of your plan?
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, May-27-09, 09:51
Abby3 Abby3 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 139
 
Plan: general low carb
Stats: 220/179.6/150 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Ohio
Default

You're right, Judy. It should be a way of life and for the last six years for most part it is for me. It only happens on holidays when I'm at other people's homes and I can't control what's being served. It would be nice to be able to have a couple glasses of wine and a brownie once in a while with friends but it won't kill me not to. I rarely overeat any foods. I used to love chocolate but after years of LCing I no longer even like it. I have found some alternatives for my sweet tooth that work great for me at home. I know I could always take my own food to these gatherings but that usually leads to a discussion about my diet and why I can't have this or that. I do not enjoy these discussions and avoid them at all costs. If you're not a LCer they don't get it. Anyway, I was just wondering if other LCers gain water weight as rapidly as I do.
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, May-27-09, 10:13
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Abby3
You're right, Judy. It should be a way of life and for the last six years for most part it is for me. It only happens on holidays when I'm at other people's homes and I can't control what's being served. It would be nice to be able to have a couple glasses of wine and a brownie once in a while with friends but it won't kill me not to. I rarely overeat any foods. I used to love chocolate but after years of LCing I no longer even like it. I have found some alternatives for my sweet tooth that work great for me at home. I know I could always take my own food to these gatherings but that usually leads to a discussion about my diet and why I can't have this or that. I do not enjoy these discussions and avoid them at all costs. If you're not a LCer they don't get it. Anyway, I was just wondering if other LCers gain water weight as rapidly as I do.

Here's some ideas for you:
if you only drink wine once in a while, try to cut it in half by havng spritzers with club soda. One glass is OK, secnd glass and you are starting to play with fire....beyond this, and for most people, all boundaries around food disappear. I know that its happened to me.
Brownies- On South Beach, we use the " 3 bite rule" for instances like that. I will take 3 big bites!! I had a cookie over the weekend....a big one too. But because I didn't make it a whole weekend doing stuff like that, my weight stayed the same.
On bringing your own food....I hear ya on not wanting to be grilled about your diet....and at the same time, a nice tray of fresh veggies and dip is always welcome.

When I go to any holiday celebration, I always make sure to bring one dish that I know will make me feel good about my food. Then, I put 1 spoonful of all foods on my plate to taste it all...and have seconds on protein only.
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, May-28-09, 08:09
Abby3 Abby3 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 139
 
Plan: general low carb
Stats: 220/179.6/150 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Ohio
Default

Thanks Judy. I like you're ideas. I'm not very familiar with the South Beach diet but I will give it a look. I certainly had more than one cookie this past weekend. I realize I am easily tempted and influenced by people around me. Happily, I have already lost four of the seven pounds. I have to admit sometimes I do miss certain foods, like Grater's ice cream! I knew I was going to indulge this weekend and that I would gain the weight. I did limit myself to the two days. Now I realize I need to limit it to one meal only to avoid the gain. I go to a Japanese restaurant once in a while and there is very little effect on my weight even if I have rice. It's a nice treat that works for me.
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, May-28-09, 08:19
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Are you planning on reaching your goal weight?

I think that doing that is a big part of my long term maintenance success.

Yes, an entire weekend off plan can be very damaging. As I was losing my weight, I knew this would be an issue and thats why I found replacements for old favorite foods. I will still have a bagel once in a while...or some Dreamfields pasta...or a cup of ice cream. But I work it all into my food for that day.
Also, because I did not do Atkins Induction and was eating a little higher level of(good) carbs as I lost my weight, my body is already adapted to burning them and that is another reason to not stay on Induction...simply because its just too hard to go through life on Induction.
South Beach just makes it easier to add the good carbs back into your food plan. Not counting carbs does take the fear aspect out of eating them.
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  #10   ^
Old Thu, May-28-09, 15:47
Abby3 Abby3 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 139
 
Plan: general low carb
Stats: 220/179.6/150 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Ohio
Default

Judy,

Yes, I would love to reach my goal weight of 150!! I feel good at my current weight but would be much happier at 150. Six years ago, I lost 50 lbs. with Atkins in the first year. Since then I've been stuck in the 170s. I have tried many different approaches to get my metabolism going but so far not much luck. Last month I tried the coconut oil diet and I did lose about 4 lbs. I stopped it because I got worried about my cholesterol. After a discussion on this site with other CO users, I realize I didn't need to worry.

Anyway, I just got back from the library with the South Beach diet book. I will read it over the weekend. I see you are below your goal weight. Congratulations
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  #11   ^
Old Sun, May-31-09, 09:46
Abby3 Abby3 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 139
 
Plan: general low carb
Stats: 220/179.6/150 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Ohio
Default

Judy,

I like the SBD approach. It's similar to Atkins but much less restricting and I like that you do not have to count carbs. I was surprised to see low fat cheeses on the menu -- a definite no no on Atkins. I always stalled with any cheeses on Atkins so I eliminated them -- never thinking to try low fat. I am going to purchase some part-skim Ricotta this week -- the ricotta desserts in the book sound good.

While in the library, I found a book called "The Cheat to Lose Diet" by Joel Marion. Naturally, the word cheat caught my eye (ha,ha). It's all about harnessing leptin to speed metabolism. Have you heard of it? I'm going to post a thread on it to see if anyone has tried it.
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  #12   ^
Old Sun, May-31-09, 09:56
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

No, I haven't heard of that book but it does sound interesting.

How has your eating been doing lately?
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  #13   ^
Old Mon, Jun-01-09, 12:25
Abby3 Abby3 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 139
 
Plan: general low carb
Stats: 220/179.6/150 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Ohio
Default

Judy,

I looked over the old posts regarding the cheat to lose diet and I think I'm going to give it a try. The last three weekends have involved parties and such, so this diet (if it works) would be great for now. My eating has been good through the week. Thanks for asking. Yesterday and today I am on induction LC almost no carbs, Tues. and Wed. allows a bit more carbs, Thurs. and Fri. adds in more carbs and less fat, and then Sat. is the cheat day. I'm trying to get back to doing more exercise too. I'm feeling motivated so that's a good start.

If this fails, I will probably switch to SB. I do like it much better than Atkins. I want to eat healthy and Atkins just seems to have too much fat to be really ideal for life. I know you're on maintenance. I can't wait until I reach that goal. Do you have ups and downs with your weight or are you able to remain steady most of the time? Do you exercise much?

Abby
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  #14   ^
Old Mon, Jun-01-09, 13:52
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Abby3
Judy,

I looked over the old posts regarding the cheat to lose diet and I think I'm going to give it a try. The last three weekends have involved parties and such, so this diet (if it works) would be great for now. My eating has been good through the week. Thanks for asking. Yesterday and today I am on induction LC almost no carbs, Tues. and Wed. allows a bit more carbs, Thurs. and Fri. adds in more carbs and less fat, and then Sat. is the cheat day. I'm trying to get back to doing more exercise too. I'm feeling motivated so that's a good start.

If this fails, I will probably switch to SB. I do like it much better than Atkins. I want to eat healthy and Atkins just seems to have too much fat to be really ideal for life. I know you're on maintenance. I can't wait until I reach that goal. Do you have ups and downs with your weight or are you able to remain steady most of the time? Do you exercise much?

Abby

I do a lot of walking with my client's dogs each day and mine at night....so theres that. I eat according to the plan I devised for myself while I was losing...I can vary in my weight + or - 3 lbs but never more than that either way.
Here are some of the rules I impose on myself:
*avoid all wheat
*limit flour, any flour even if it whole grain flour
*drink all my water daily
*eat as much fish, as I can as in serving per week, not big servings
*avoid sugar
*weigh daily
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  #15   ^
Old Tue, Jun-02-09, 08:26
Abby3 Abby3 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 139
 
Plan: general low carb
Stats: 220/179.6/150 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Ohio
Default

Judy,

Except for walking dogs, I follow all of the same rules when on track. I've been slacking on the water intake and exercise lately but am now fixing that. I'm going to open a journal next week. Not sure exactly how it works -- I assume you just post your progress and others can comment and give advice. Are the threads mainly just for people looking for specific advice? I've never posted on a forum before this one. It's fun to share and learn with others.

Take care, Abby
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