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  #1   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 08:27
springy springy is offline
New Member
Posts: 3
 
Plan: custom - using FitBit
Stats: 160/153/125 Female 5.5
BF:
Progress:
Default Frustrated! Please Help...

Hello and thank you in advance for your help...

I am 51, in menopause, a former athlete and have gained twenty pounds over the past three years that I cannot lose. I am currently in Ketosis and was losing until I hit 151 pounds. Now I am bouncing up and down for the past four days. I have been eating LESS THAN 20 carbs, LESS THAN 1000 calories and burning an average of 1800 calories for ten days! I am starting to get headachy and lethargic but I am sticking to it. What is going on?! I should be dropping weight steadily and quickly. So discouraged. This is too hard for no results.
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  #2   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 10:00
bluesinger's Avatar
bluesinger bluesinger is offline
Doing My Best
Posts: 4,924
 
Plan: LC/CancerRecovery
Stats: 170/135/130 Female 62 inches
BF:24%
Progress: 88%
Location: Nevada Desert, USA
Default

Welcome to the forum.

Since you've only been doing this for 10 days and have read no books about LC eating and you don't seem to have chosen an "eating plan" it is hard for an outsider to even begin to answer your questions.

Most people experience no hunger when in ketosis, so it's difficult to understand what is hard about it. 10 days and a loss of 13 lbs. is frustrating? I apologize for not understanding.

Lots of people will chime in here to help you because that's the kind of forum this is, but if I were you, I'd read some of the posts here, especially the ones which describe and define the different eating plans. I'd choose one and read other people's journals who follow that plan to see how they dealt with it and its disappointing aspects.

Good luck and keep coming back.
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 10:14
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
Default

Not enough calories, so I'm guessing not enough fat. Dietary fat makes the low carb world go 'round.

There is no "should" on results - we're all different. On another tread someone said we're not spreadsheets. Different bodies have different needs.
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 10:37
JuliaR JuliaR is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 226
 
Plan: Atkins/eating to my meter
Stats: 170/132/125 Female 5'2"
BF:
Progress: 84%
Default

Hi Springy, welcome! If you have indeed only been at this for ten days, then I would suggest that your body is pausing to cope with the tremendous losses you've already had. Congrats on that, by the way!

A great number of people find that after the initial quick loss, the scale weight loss pauses for a while so the body can recover - and maybe get smaller. Weight loss is not a straight line down; your weight will fluctuate for many reasons, including hormones, sleep patterns, salt, hot weather, heavy exercise... You name it. If you stick with what's working, it will very likely continue to work, and you will see the results on the scale later if you are patient.

Are you also taking measurements so you know your body's actual size? That would be a good thing to do now so you have a reference point later. My body never gets smaller and weighs less in the same period, it's always one or the other.

As others have mentioned, you are not eating very much for the amount of exercise you seem to be doing. Lack of energy may be down to that. I also second (or third?) the suggestion to pick a plan that suits you and follow it for several weeks to learn the ropes.
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  #5   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 12:27
ToyFoxTerr's Avatar
ToyFoxTerr ToyFoxTerr is offline
New Member
Posts: 2
 
Plan: Ketogenic Diet
Stats: 252/155/157 Male 5.85
BF:10-11
Progress: 102%
Location: East Tennessee
Default

Hi springy,
I few thoughts...
1) Are you weighing your food? If not you need weigh everything so that you get an accurate picture of your true caloric intake. Do yourself a favor go on amazon and buy a heavy duty/big kitchen scale to weigh what you cook at home and a smaller one that you take with you (for travel/eating out). I have a scale for my Wife's car, my car , office and when I travel. I do this to hold myself accountable and weight everything even when I am out to eat/ food tasting event/ sporting event ect...... you get the idea.

2)The thing you have to realize is that with heavy exercise (assumed from burning an average of 1800 calories) is that you're effectively damaging tissue on purpose, and making new tissue grow in its place. This causes some inflammation, which is essentially fluid retention. So, after a tough workout, you may notice either no change in weight, or even a slight increase the next day, as your body is repairing itself. This always used to frustrate me! Also, if you continue to do heavy exercise, but not eating enough, your body won't actually build new tissue, but will still become inflamed. You'll actually even begin to eat away at the muscle tissue you have, which is not the best weight loss plan. You should at least try to eat at your at just below BMR. You actually loose more weight by upping your calories if you religiously exercise.

3) You probably all know this but...if you are new to VLC there are major factors in weight loss that have not been addressed and or overlooked despite the literature being available. Ie long term high insulin levels; insulin resistance; overall lengthy hormonal imbalances; epigenetic changes (from obesity/ metabolic disease); years of increased systemic inflammation and developing medical issues stemming from being overweight (increased BP/ fatty liver ..ect) Yes 6-8h workouts, calorie reduction , dietary counseling will initially work but ultimately will fail in the long run because because it does not address the core hormonal and metabolic factors …just like many of us have done until we found Keto/Low Carb ect.

The beauty of going Keto/Very Low Carb is because it starts addressing damage done from high insulin levels, insulin resistance, inflammation ect (the list is long). Keto allows us to reduce those foods (ie carbs) that constantly keep insulin high allow our bodies to slowly repair the damage done over the years and start responding to real food the way evolutionary we were supposed to.

4) I would look into intermittent fasting 16/8 or 18/6 or just skipping breakfast.

Sorry for the lengthily post,
STICK WITH IT!!!
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 14:45
cotonpal's Avatar
cotonpal cotonpal is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 5,284
 
Plan: very low carb real food
Stats: 245/125/135 Female 62
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Vermont
Default

You cannot get your body to do something just because you want it to. What you can change is both your attitude and your knowledge. By changing your attitude I mean letting go of the desperation. It won't get you anywhere and in fact could make things harder. Stressing yourself out is not a formula for success. While you're learning how to de-stress you can also do some research on low carb eating, read a book or 2 or 3, visit a website like dietdoctor.com. Fitbit is not a weight loss strategy. My favorite book is "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes or get one of the original Atkins books (lots of people here use Atkins 72). Jason Fung's "The Obesity Code" is another good one. Also consider that your weight is very close to what is considered normal for your height so expecting fast weight loss is unrealistic.

Low carb eating is not low calorie eating. Low carb eating is not dependent on calories in calories out. If you are feeling lethargic and headachy then you are doing something wrong and need to change things up, maybe, as people have suggested, eat more fat and up your calories, but do your homework so you know what you are doing and don't rely on what you believe should be happening. Exercise isn't the answer either. It has health benefits but weight loss is not necessarily one of them.

Jean
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 15:23
GreekRibs's Avatar
GreekRibs GreekRibs is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,747
 
Plan: Protein Power
Stats: 212/169/150 Female 5'9"
BF:
Progress: 69%
Location: Saskatchewan
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by springy
Hello and thank you in advance for your help...

I am 51, in menopause, a former athlete and have gained twenty pounds over the past three years that I cannot lose. I am currently in Ketosis and was losing until I hit 151 pounds. Now I am bouncing up and down for the past four days. I have been eating LESS THAN 20 carbs, LESS THAN 1000 calories and burning an average of 1800 calories for ten days! I am starting to get headachy and lethargic but I am sticking to it. What is going on?! I should be dropping weight steadily and quickly. So discouraged. This is too hard for no results.
hi there. Once you're done initial induction-mode weight loss, most of us slow down to 1 pound loss per week. After a few months, I often hover at same weight for a couple weeks. Just be realistic on the time it will take to lose your 20. The general rule is the less we have to lose (and you have just a little) the longer it takes. So just be patient.
I agree with others you need to eat more. Use fitday.com to plug in current weight and height and it will spit out decent daily caloric intake for your size. Read an Atkins book so you can relax and happily eat low carb healthy fat while still losing weight. I'm 54 -weight loss does change with each passing decade
Still...there is no reason you won't lose the weight you want to, in a slow and healthy way. Most of us here have recognized LCHF is for life, not just for weight loss. Best of luck.
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  #8   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 16:34
springy springy is offline
New Member
Posts: 3
 
Plan: custom - using FitBit
Stats: 160/153/125 Female 5.5
BF:
Progress:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonnie OFS
Not enough calories, so I'm guessing not enough fat. Dietary fat makes the low carb world go 'round.

There is no "should" on results - we're all different. On another tread someone said we're not spreadsheets. Different bodies have different needs.

Great feedback. Thanks!
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  #9   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-16, 16:36
springy springy is offline
New Member
Posts: 3
 
Plan: custom - using FitBit
Stats: 160/153/125 Female 5.5
BF:
Progress:
Default Great Feedback - So needed!

Really great feedback folks! Thanks to all of you who gave me something to work with! I really appreciate it.

I lost 25 pounds on a two week strict fast a few years ago and just expected the same - similar - results. Yes, I am weighing food, using online calculators and measuring my size. As a former athlete I know it is senseless just to look at the scale. Menopause is scary because your body just becomes so foreign to you. But you have encouraged me to just keep it up!

I don't have time to make this a part time job so I won't be doing any reading, but I have printed out a quick guide from Atkins so I guess that is what I am following.

Take care all!

Last edited by springy : Wed, Aug-10-16 at 16:49. Reason: Elaborating
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  #10   ^
Old Thu, Aug-11-16, 09:32
Robin120's Avatar
Robin120 Robin120 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,140
 
Plan: low carb
Stats: 171/125/145 Female 5'9
BF:
Progress: 177%
Location: DC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by springy
I don't have time to make this a part time job so I won't be doing any reading, but I have printed out a quick guide from Atkins so I guess that is what I am following.

Take care all!


1. congrats on 13 pounds in 10 DAYS! As posted earlier, that is a huge accomplishment. Your body needs time now to transition from water loss to fat, so no loss after initial burst is expected. The scale might not move, but you are now losing fat as opposed to water.

2. you are in menopause. you will not lose like you did years ago.....let's manage expectations.

3. your quote above....sigh.....
so you expect us to take from our schedules and help you, but you are too busy to read anything.......
good luck with that mentality.
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  #11   ^
Old Thu, Aug-11-16, 11:22
OtherCher2's Avatar
OtherCher2 OtherCher2 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 850
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 215/158.6/145 Female 5'6"
BF:Follows Behind Me!
Progress: 81%
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Default

Sometimes I lose lbs and sometimes I lose inches. Be patient when the scales don't move.
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  #12   ^
Old Thu, Aug-11-16, 11:50
cshepard cshepard is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 425
 
Plan: Low Carb Paleo
Stats: 156/120/125 Female 64"
BF:
Progress: 116%
Location: BC, Canada
Default

I consider taking care of my health and body to be my number one full time job. Perhaps reconsider your priorities if you want to see some success ...
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  #13   ^
Old Thu, Aug-11-16, 16:57
MickiSue MickiSue is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 8,006
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 189/148.6/145 Female 5' 5"
BF:36%/28%/25%
Progress: 92%
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Default

If the "quick guide" you printed out is from the Atkins website, it won't help. Their goal is to get you to buy their frankenfood "low carb" meals and snacks.

Which aren't so much low carb, and are full of additives to make them more addicting.

You say that you don't have time to read a book. Everyone has 20 minutes in a day, yes? Nobody is suggesting that you spend hours a day, for the next 2 years, reading about low carb and how it does (and doesn't) work.

The biggest reason the Atkins site doesn't work, aside from their real reason for existence, is that they are trying to be a combination of low carb and standard diet.

The sites and the books that have been suggested are based, not on a Big Food company's bottom line, but on both research and the results of thousands and thousands of patients who have worked with the doctors who run those sites.

You seem like a goal oriented person, springy, and you know that the only way to reach your goals is to work on them. In this case, working on your goal of finding a way to eat that will let you both lose weight and keep it off AND stay healthy for the rest of your life means educating yourself on what that looks like, and WHY it looks like that.

I have a feeling that you will find the time, because you really DO want the goal.

Let us know how it's going, OK?
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  #14   ^
Old Thu, Aug-11-16, 19:25
jude's Avatar
jude jude is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 946
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 182/147/145 Female 65"
BF:
Progress: 95%
Location: Innisfil, Ontario
Default

So glad you posted that info about today's Atkins, MickiSue. Every newbie here should know how Atkins has changed. Instead, Springy, if you don't have a lot of time for reading, check out the sticky here under Daily Lowcarb Support, Atkins, Atkins Induction Acceptable Food List.

I agree with everyone here....you're probably not eating enough.
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  #15   ^
Old Thu, Aug-11-16, 21:22
Ccat69's Avatar
Ccat69 Ccat69 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 472
 
Plan: LCHF/ketogenic
Stats: 163/132/130 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 94%
Location: Upstate NY
Default

Springy, if you don't have time to read, I suggest you go to YouTube and watch some of butter bob's videos. They are informative and entertaining. I loved one called butter makes your pants fall off. There are also videos by some of the authors of books mentioned, such as Gary Taubes. You can learn a lot in a short time this way and understanding the physical reasoning for low carb does help a lot.
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