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  #1   ^
Old Thu, Aug-20-15, 13:03
Lulee Lulee is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 176/176/145 Female 5,9
BF:
Progress: 0%
Default Im on a diet for first time ever, emotional support and advice is needed

Hi everyone, im so glad to be in this forum again!

I turned to this forum many years ago, in 2010 actually, when i was in a very dark period of my life. I wasnt starting atkins or any diet for that matter, but i was curious about this diet and have been reading this forum a lot, and found it interesting (to say the least), i specially liked the focus on eating low carbs and sugar, i remember thinking "i wish i could eat like that".
Anyways, i ve also been reading this sub forum and felt it was moving and helpful, so that push me to share my story here, it was a sad time, one of my threads was called "i need help, i want to die and dont know what to do" , i was feeling like that at the moment.


Anyways, many years have passed, and i have a very different life now, i even live in a different city. Everything in my life is much much better than it was then: then i was in an abusive relationship that even got worse after the period i wrote here (in 2011 i went live with him and he ended up being violent with me) and, after breaking up with this man in 2012, i ve been with highs and lows over the years until i stabalized last year, with family,work, friends, and love. Im now living with my boyfriend, the most wonderful man on the face of the earth and very very happy and emotionally steady for one and a half years, the terrible problems all my family had improved a lot, and my place in life is much much better (i also found a therapist in 2011 who helped me naviage through all this for the last 4 years).

But yet theres one aspect that it much much worse. My weight (and health) had worsen. When i posted then, i was 5 9, 150 pounds, now i WISH i was that thin! I felt "fat" back then, probably cause i was comparing myself to the weight i had through my teens in 20s (120-130 pounds) in were i was very thin. I was very thin as a child, a very very thin and tall teenager, a very teen young woman until i hit mid to late twenties and started to gain. The period in where i posted here was after that gain, when i was around 150, 20 pounds heavier than the 130s i mantained through my 20s (without any effort or diet, i must say, i just ate whatever i wanted and stay thin).

Now im 33, and i continued gaining steadily all this years, first part of 2014 when i started going out with my boyfriend, i was around 160, and on february this year we started living together. Between april and july this year i gained OVER 10 POUNDS, and are now 176.

In those months, also, i got weakened, was tired all the time, and was more bloated than ever. Also, like i said, i gain at a very record speed. The point of no return was, when in june i tried the jeans i last used (very tight) in april, and i frequently used in 2014 (in where they fitted ok, not tight), and they were NOWHERE NEAR fitting: like i realize that to bottom that jeans again i would have to lose at least 10 pounds. I mean those jeans were even near fitting. I couldnt believe i gained so much!

Then i started thinking what had happen in those months, and realize that, since i live with my boyfriend, i started eating A LOT more sugar than i use to. He has a sweet tooth and, when living alone, was used to buy a lot of goody sweets (chocolates, etc) and, when i started living with him, i use to snack or those goody sweets very high on sugar almost daily. Also, we love to stay indoors and watch movies and tv series, and, through the winter (its winter here in southern hemisphere), it was nice and comforting to eat a lot of sweets. My boyfriend was also used to drinking diet sodas. I have been drinking diet sodas and sugary juices daily for the last 6-7 months. I didnt drink sodas when i lived alone.

I realize that it was the SUGAR that made me gain weight at a high speed. So, after suffering the effects of the high weight (and the mean comments by my family), and tired of feeling tired all the time, i remembered this diet. I started googling LOW CARB like crazy, and read a lot, i already knew something about this, but havent payed attention for years (hence all the sugar), but now i was sold. I was gonna do LOW CARB.

I started 8 days ago. I started with around 50g of carbs per day, cause with the amount we were having, cutting out all was too much. I get my grams from vegetable, fruits, and some yogurt. I do NOT eat wheat, flour, etc, i do not eat bread, pizza, cookies, not ANY sweet good or sweet beverage. If i want something sweet ill eat a pear, or a small yogurt, and thats it. I learned to love eggs for breakfast (its not normal in my country), and im doing good. I still do not notice any change but i just started. I realize this was the ideal diet for me, for many reasons:

-i have a lot of abdominal fat, even at 150 my main issue here was my HUGE BELLY (i posted a pic here from back then): i bloat like crazy. To be honest, i even bloated when i was 130. Even when i was rail thin, i had a belly, lets say all my weight goes to my tummy, always, but even if i dont eat anything, im bloated. I dont remember when was the last time in life i wasnt bloated. I think it started in my early 20s. Now, at 176, my belly is HUGE. I ve read low carb is good for this.

-my huge abdominal fat makes me afraid of having diabetes in the future, i read this diet is good for diabetes.

-I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE meat. Its like my favorite food ever, or lets say it was my favoruite food all my life, until i got hooked on sugar earlier this year.

-I know that if i ever tried a low fat diet, ill be VERY VERY hungry, it just wont work on me.

-I dont care that much about cereals, pasta, rice, etc. I do care about sweets, but cause i got hooked. I was always more of a "salty food" kind of person, and think i can go back to that.

-probably the low carb diet is the best thing to stop all this bloating, thats what i awlays read anyway.


So, i started 8 days ago and i would REALLY appreciate any advice and support you can give me. Its the first time i dieted ever, and im happy to say im finding it relatively easy still. Dont have HUGE cravings, and i think im adapting. It also helps that my boyfriend (who is a thin guy that developed a little belly too after this months, but really doesnt need to lose weight) agreed to do this with me to get healthier, so the first day of our diet we took out ALL THE CARBS AND SWEETS from the home, and now our house is all low carb and we are learning everyday, trying to cook this way, and sharing our low carbing state together .


Anyways, guys, i really would appreciate any advice and emotional support. Thanks for everything in advance. Im glad i returned to this forum.
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  #2   ^
Old Thu, Aug-20-15, 13:14
Lulee Lulee is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 176/176/145 Female 5,9
BF:
Progress: 0%
Default

ALso, i need to change the stats on the right top of the page, im not 150 anymore, lol, and my goal weight isnt 130 -

Actually my goal weight is 150, and im 176 currently.

How do i edit that?
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  #3   ^
Old Thu, Aug-20-15, 13:53
Jenai's Avatar
Jenai Jenai is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,247
 
Plan: VSG low calories/carbs
Stats: 271/138.6/135 Female 5'4"
BF:46.52/24.1/23.2
Progress: 97%
Location: PNW, USA
Default

I looked at your picture. That's the only reason I'm commenting. I get the impression you are young, so I just want you to consider what I'm telling you. Something to think about....

I recently learned from my doctor that preferential fat storage placement is determined in our DNA before we're even born. IF you have always been thick around the middle, you're always going to have this issue until you become underweight or at least on the low end of an average weight for your height and age. This is genetics. The first place that stores the fat will be the last place the fat is taken from.

I come from a long line of thick waist people. Even the skinny ones have muffin tops and all the old men and women in my family store fat in their neck/chin and belly. More so as they get older. My nephew, who I didn't even realize was fat around the middle because he always wore his shirts out or hid it with suit jackets, failed miserably to make a dent in his waist measurements after loosing 25 lbs when doing carb cycling and working out daily.

He ended up getting liposuction. Nothing super dramatic. Just the stubborn fat love handles. The doctor said that stubborn fat was "hard fat". I'm not sure what that means but he told him it was a good thing to get it out of his body. He still doesn't look "cut" now, he just looks normal. But he's thrilled with the results and no longer is ashamed of his body. Cold lipo is a less invasive alternative and they can remove up to 2 liters MAX of fat at one time. Maybe you could give yourself a goal of 152 and reward yourself with tummy lipo once you hit your goal? Just something to think about... imo it is not a cop out at all. It's just accepting that your tummy pudge is not a character flaw, it's just genetics, but it is a issue that's affecting your confidence and distorts your perception of your body image.

Just my thoughts based on observation of others...
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  #4   ^
Old Thu, Aug-20-15, 13:57
eljohnw eljohnw is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,074
 
Plan: , LCHF
Stats: 259.6/222.4/130 Female 62 inches
BF:67.2/60.2/normal
Progress: 29%
Location: Hilton Head SC
Default

Welcome Lulee, you came to the right place .
To change your stats go to user cp , click on edit profile and change you stats there.
Your are right to get most of you sugarladen food out of the house. Stock up with nuts( don't go overboard), cheese, and other lowcarb food. Don't get to hungry, eat fatty food and your weight will fall off.
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  #5   ^
Old Thu, Aug-20-15, 16:36
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

You are welcome! If you want to get the fat burning really going, make sure that you keep your net carbs (carbs-fiber) at or below 15 in any 4 hour period.

More than that, and you'll stay in a glucose using mode.

If you eat the meat and fat first, at any meal, you may find that you are too full for the carbs, and that helps a lot.

Google "fat bombs" and make some for yourself. You keep them in the freezer. They are like little fat loaded, low carb candies. One at a time, of course! But, oh, they're good, and filling.

Once the belly fat is less, then decide what you want to do about it. But a lot of that belly fat is from loading up on carbs.
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  #6   ^
Old Thu, Aug-20-15, 21:20
Nicekitty's Avatar
Nicekitty Nicekitty is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 469
 
Plan: Banting
Stats: 150/132/132 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: PNW
Default

You sound a lot like me. I also had a history of depression, but am doing a lot better now. Finally found the right guy and got married. I also managed to stay fairly slim all my life, but I would prefer to be a few pounds lighter. But the main reason I eat LCHF is that I think it is the best, healthiest and most satisfying diet a person could eat.

I think you've made a great start. The hardest part for me was kicking out all the sugar. I really didn't think that I could possible go a full day without some sugar. I started slowly, first bringing down sugar, then other carbs, then eating less processed food, then eating better fats and pasture-fed meats, etc..You may very well find that you can lose weight without going VLC or even following a set diet, just by trying to eat better food. If your weight loss hits a real plateau (several weeks of no loss) then you can make adjustments to kick the losing back on.

Along the same line, it's not a race to lose weight! Think of this as more taking care of your body by eating right. For me, testing my blood glucose after eating different foods was very valuable and gave me a visual of what sugar and carbs were doing to my body (diabetes runs in my family even though we are not obese). If the only goal is to lose weight, it's easy to get frustrated with stalls, and then lose momentum once you hit goal. As a WOL it is much more sustainable.

For me, I can't drop the carbs too low (less than about 60g per day) without it having some effect on my sleep and therefore mood. If I don't sleep well, I can't lose weight. So I have to strike a balance between getting enough carbs to sleep well, yet still maintaining or losing, which is tricky. So if you do decide to go very LC, keep an eye out for that.

Once again, I think you are on the right track. There is a ton of information on this site and you'll learn a lot hanging out here.

Edit to add--I'm also having problems with belly fat, which is a new one for me! I always had a very flat stomach until I hit menopause. Now even though I'm only at 136, I still have a wiggly belly, so I'm going to try and get lower. I'd rather have a belly than the thighs I used to have, though!
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  #7   ^
Old Fri, Aug-21-15, 08:45
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Quote:
-i have a lot of abdominal fat, even at 150 my main issue here was my HUGE BELLY (i posted a pic here from back then): i bloat like crazy. To be honest, i even bloated when i was 130. Even when i was rail thin, i had a belly, lets say all my weight goes to my tummy, always, but even if i dont eat anything, im bloated. I dont remember when was the last time in life i wasnt bloated. I think it started in my early 20s. Now, at 176, my belly is HUGE. I ve read low carb is good for this.

With your depression, bloated belly, etc, you might have some issues with gluten. Take a look at the book "Wheat Belly".

Now I'm not saying that carbs in general aren't part of the issue, they are, but you may have a specific problem with wheat gluten. It might or might not be celiac disease, but lots of folks find gluten makes many things worse, including belly fat and bloating (and mental issues).
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  #8   ^
Old Mon, Aug-24-15, 12:34
Lulee Lulee is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 176/176/145 Female 5,9
BF:
Progress: 0%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jenai
I looked at your picture. That's the only reason I'm commenting. I get the impression you are young, so I just want you to consider what I'm telling you. Something to think about....

I recently learned from my doctor that preferential fat storage placement is determined in our DNA before we're even born. IF you have always been thick around the middle, you're always going to have this issue until you become underweight or at least on the low end of an average weight for your height and age. This is genetics. The first place that stores the fat will be the last place the fat is taken from.

I come from a long line of thick waist people. Even the skinny ones have muffin tops and all the old men and women in my family store fat in their neck/chin and belly. More so as they get older. My nephew, who I didn't even realize was fat around the middle because he always wore his shirts out or hid it with suit jackets, failed miserably to make a dent in his waist measurements after loosing 25 lbs when doing carb cycling and working out daily.

He ended up getting liposuction. Nothing super dramatic. Just the stubborn fat love handles. The doctor said that stubborn fat was "hard fat". I'm not sure what that means but he told him it was a good thing to get it out of his body. He still doesn't look "cut" now, he just looks normal. But he's thrilled with the results and no longer is ashamed of his body. Cold lipo is a less invasive alternative and they can remove up to 2 liters MAX of fat at one time. Maybe you could give yourself a goal of 152 and reward yourself with tummy lipo once you hit your goal? Just something to think about... imo it is not a cop out at all. It's just accepting that your tummy pudge is not a character flaw, it's just genetics, but it is a issue that's affecting your confidence and distorts your perception of your body image.

Just my thoughts based on observation of others...



Thanks for answering. I never thought this could be genetic since im adopted and dont know my biological parents and usually i dont think about that. But you are right, it could be. I mean, i didnt always had a belly. As a teen, i was rail thin and didnt have a tummy at all, i think it started at around 24 years old, i was still very thin then, but still had a belly.

Thinking about getting an operation frankly scares me, but i will have this in mind while im on this woe and hopefully losing weight. This is the first time im dieting on my life, and first i wanna know if this will effectively change my body for the best.

Thank you for your advice!
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  #9   ^
Old Mon, Aug-24-15, 12:37
Lulee Lulee is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 176/176/145 Female 5,9
BF:
Progress: 0%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by eljohnw
Welcome Lulee, you came to the right place .
To change your stats go to user cp , click on edit profile and change you stats there.
Your are right to get most of you sugarladen food out of the house. Stock up with nuts( don't go overboard), cheese, and other lowcarb food. Don't get to hungry, eat fatty food and your weight will fall off.


thanks for your kind words!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MickiSue
You are welcome! If you want to get the fat burning really going, make sure that you keep your net carbs (carbs-fiber) at or below 15 in any 4 hour period.

More than that, and you'll stay in a glucose using mode.

If you eat the meat and fat first, at any meal, you may find that you are too full for the carbs, and that helps a lot.

Google "fat bombs" and make some for yourself. You keep them in the freezer. They are like little fat loaded, low carb candies. One at a time, of course! But, oh, they're good, and filling.

Once the belly fat is less, then decide what you want to do about it. But a lot of that belly fat is from loading up on carbs.


thank you mike for the advice! i did google fat bombs and man! those look delicious!!! im gonna tell my bf that we both make some of them and store them in the freezer
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  #10   ^
Old Mon, Aug-24-15, 12:44
Lulee Lulee is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 176/176/145 Female 5,9
BF:
Progress: 0%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicekitty
You sound a lot like me. I also had a history of depression, but am doing a lot better now. Finally found the right guy and got married. I also managed to stay fairly slim all my life, but I would prefer to be a few pounds lighter. But the main reason I eat LCHF is that I think it is the best, healthiest and most satisfying diet a person could eat.

I think you've made a great start. The hardest part for me was kicking out all the sugar. I really didn't think that I could possible go a full day without some sugar. I started slowly, first bringing down sugar, then other carbs, then eating less processed food, then eating better fats and pasture-fed meats, etc..You may very well find that you can lose weight without going VLC or even following a set diet, just by trying to eat better food. If your weight loss hits a real plateau (several weeks of no loss) then you can make adjustments to kick the losing back on.

Along the same line, it's not a race to lose weight! Think of this as more taking care of your body by eating right. For me, testing my blood glucose after eating different foods was very valuable and gave me a visual of what sugar and carbs were doing to my body (diabetes runs in my family even though we are not obese). If the only goal is to lose weight, it's easy to get frustrated with stalls, and then lose momentum once you hit goal. As a WOL it is much more sustainable.

For me, I can't drop the carbs too low (less than about 60g per day) without it having some effect on my sleep and therefore mood. If I don't sleep well, I can't lose weight. So I have to strike a balance between getting enough carbs to sleep well, yet still maintaining or losing, which is tricky. So if you do decide to go very LC, keep an eye out for that.

Once again, I think you are on the right track. There is a ton of information on this site and you'll learn a lot hanging out here.

Edit to add--I'm also having problems with belly fat, which is a new one for me! I always had a very flat stomach until I hit menopause. Now even though I'm only at 136, I still have a wiggly belly, so I'm going to try and get lower. I'd rather have a belly than the thighs I used to have, though!


hi nickekitty! thanks for your words! congratulations for mantaining such a healthy weight!

i highlighted the thing that worries me the most, the lack of sleeping thing. Im noticing, since i started this diet, that im sleeping less and more interrupted than before, and i usually suffer from lack of sleep (im a light sleeper, i have trouble sleeping most days, i have suffered from this all my life), so thats kind of stressful, my sleep is all whacjed . I will have this in count, cause i rather sleep than losing weight super fast, as long as im still losing!
I mantain my carb intake at around 40g now, first week it was 70g, im trying to cut it slowly cause me and my bf used to eat A LOT of carbs so this is MUCH less than we were eating anyway.
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  #11   ^
Old Mon, Aug-24-15, 12:47
Lulee Lulee is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 176/176/145 Female 5,9
BF:
Progress: 0%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
With your depression, bloated belly, etc, you might have some issues with gluten. Take a look at the book "Wheat Belly".

Now I'm not saying that carbs in general aren't part of the issue, they are, but you may have a specific problem with wheat gluten. It might or might not be celiac disease, but lots of folks find gluten makes many things worse, including belly fat and bloating (and mental issues).


thanks nancy! when i went to the doctor many many years ago for my bloated belly (i was very think back then, but had a belly) first thing they did was test me for celiac disease and turned out i didnt have it.
But the good thing with this woe is that ill naturally wont eat things with gluten anymore, since i gave up carbs, so maybe that will end up helping anyway
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  #12   ^
Old Mon, Aug-24-15, 12:52
Lulee Lulee is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 176/176/145 Female 5,9
BF:
Progress: 0%
Default

I have some questions after almost 2 weeks low carbing, with some "side effects" i was having:

-RUSH: a couple of days i had rush/ick in my arms and palms, i dont usually have rushes so it was weird, i had them 2 days and then the rush went away. Could this be related to the lack of carbs/sugar?

-DIZZINNES: last friday i was very very dizzy the whole day, it was very annoying, i felt like my pressure went suddenly low and was feeling weak. Good thing is that i rested and the other day i felt ok again.

-SLEEP: like i said, my sleep is even lighter than always, meaning i wake up many times a night, sleep less, etc


did anyone else had this issues and how to overcome them? what other side effects could i expect to get??

Last edited by Lulee : Mon, Aug-24-15 at 13:02.
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  #13   ^
Old Mon, Aug-24-15, 13:17
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Check out the salt thread in my signature. Probably a lack of sodium.
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  #14   ^
Old Mon, Aug-24-15, 18:16
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

Hi,
I think that it'd be a very good idea for you to watch this doctor's video:
http://www.drperlmutter.com/news/br...vid-perlmutter/

I watched it on TV a couple of weeks ago and he really has some great info that will help you. I looked at the pic of your tummy and it truly does appear to be more bloat and inflammation that actual weight/fat gain. You need to figure out how you will eat this way and keep at it for the long term. All the effects you're having now will go away in time.

For example, a few months ago I started eating sauerkraut as often as possible. Fermented foods are very good for our gut. I didn't eat it for several days over this past weekend and I felt bloated and horrible. I had some today with my 3 ozs. of roast beef for lunch and I feel so much better now.
Fermented foods are just one aspect of his talk. There lots of good info and the best 90 minutes you'll spend.
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