Active Low-Carber Forums
Atkins diet and low carb discussion provided free for information only, not as medical advice.
Home Plans Tips Recipes Tools Stories Studies Products
Active Low-Carber Forums
A sugar-free zone


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums.
Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!

Go Back   Active Low-Carber Forums > Main Low-Carb Diets Forums & Support > Daily Low-Carb Support > CAD/CALP
User Name
Password
FAQ Members Calendar Mark Forums Read Search Gallery My P.L.A.N. Survey


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 01:35
TauntonGir TauntonGir is offline
New Member
Posts: 18
 
Plan: Low Carb
Stats: 252/252/168 Female 5 foot 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: South West
Default Is this for me?

I notice that not many posts have been added for some time to this section and I wonder who is still doing it.

I intuitively feel that this programme may work for me. I have been doing Atkins for about 6-7 weeks and haven't had steady weightloss, I've just come out of a 3 week stall which is very frustrating. Nevertheless overall I would think I've lost about 20lbs!

Carbohydrate addiction is definitely my thing but I'm not sure Atkins is the cure for such a disease for everyone. I don't feel great on Atkins - I feel sluggish and physically shutdown, I am suffering with low blood sugar levels which really doesn't help. I feel a carefully crafted meal containing carbs once per day may suit me.

I want to change plans in a considered way rather than my usual leaping from one plan to another.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 04:28
Benay's Avatar
Benay Benay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 876
 
Plan: Protein Power/Atkins
Stats: 250/167/175 Female 5 feet 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 111%
Location: Prescott, Arizona, USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by TauntonGir
I notice that not many posts have been added for some time to this section and I wonder who is still doing it.

I intuitively feel that this programme may work for me. I have been doing Atkins for about 6-7 weeks and haven't had steady weightloss, I've just come out of a 3 week stall which is very frustrating. Nevertheless overall I would think I've lost about 20lbs!

Carbohydrate addiction is definitely my thing but I'm not sure Atkins is the cure for such a disease for everyone. I don't feel great on Atkins - I feel sluggish and physically shutdown, I am suffering with low blood sugar levels which really doesn't help. I feel a carefully crafted meal containing carbs once per day may suit me.

I want to change plans in a considered way rather than my usual leaping from one plan to another.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.


These are some of my thoughts in response to your post:

1. Steady weight loss is not part of any weight loss plan. Weight loss is not like puncturing a balloon. It takes time, commitment, constant monitoring, and patience. We lose weight in fits and starts and sometimes not at all for weeks. Human bodies are not mechanical machines where you insert your ATM card and get your results. We are biological entities that factor in a lot of variables based on a need for survival.

2. Fatigue and even depression can come from changing a dietary pattern to a low carb plan. The "New Atkins for a New You" by Westman, Volek and Phinney (which I highly recommend) discusses what is happening in your body that causes this phenomena, how long it is likely to last and what you can do about it. Basically they say low carb dieting is a diuretic so you are losing fluids as well vital nutrients (minerals). You need to replace those fluids and electrolytes. They recommend a cup of bouillon. See if that helps.

3. Eating one meal a day will probably not make blood sugar go up. If you suffer from low blood sugar, eating more frequently might raise it. Blood sugar goes up after eating and goes down with fasting so eating one meal a day does not sound like a treatment for low blood sugar (which may affect fatigue levels).

4. There is only 1 treatment for an addiction -- avoidance. If you feel/believe that you are addicted to carbohydrates, stop eating them. Atkins gives you an excellent plan for self discovery of which carbohydrates are the ones you have the most difficulty with. (See the Westman et al book mentioned above.) No drug can do this for you. Exercise cannot help you. Eating carbs will not help. Atkins can help. It is up to you to decide to avoid the foods you are addicted to.

Discouragement is part of the process. Weight loss is not a straight line on the chart. If you weigh and chart every day, you will see unexplainable ups and downs. Even if you weigh one a week, you will still see ups and downs.

Think about what it takes to be a competitive athlete. How long does it take? How often would you have to practice? Would every day be a growth day, or would there be set-back days or weeks. Would you quit before achieving your goal because you couldn't attain it fast enough? Being a weight loser requires the same kind of persistence, patience, and time. Having a good coach helps. (I again recommend the Westman et all book as a coach or guide. They offer a lot of tips based upon their research and clinical practice.)

I hope I have not overwhelmed you with these stray thoughts. It took me almost a year to lose 80 pounds on low carb with a lot of frustration along the way at the incredibly slow (and a lot of no) progress. Having regained 30 of them back from slipshod choices, I am back at the slow grind of re-losing them. As a carb addict myself, the only treatment (not cure) for me is avoidance. And the treatment is lifelong as there is no cure for an addiction. Sigh.
Reply With Quote
  #3   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 05:16
TauntonGir TauntonGir is offline
New Member
Posts: 18
 
Plan: Low Carb
Stats: 252/252/168 Female 5 foot 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: South West
Default

Thank you so much for this comprehensive response. I don't feel overwhelmed at all, I feel positively encouraged!

I shall read again in more depth later, except to say that I am not sure I could at this stage cope with just one meal per day but that is something I would consider later. I am going to look into the books that you refer to as well. Having low blood sugar really worries me as i feel I am just on the edge of fainting and obviously that is a matter for concern.

When young I would go on a diet and lose weight - now at 55 it's not going the way it used to, understandably I guess.

Carbohydrate addict here too - through and through. My diet consisted almost exclusive of poor carbohydrates up until I started this programme.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Benay
These are some of my thoughts in response to your post:

1. Steady weight loss is not part of any weight loss plan. Weight loss is not like puncturing a balloon. It takes time, commitment, constant monitoring, and patience. We lose weight in fits and starts and sometimes not at all for weeks. Human bodies are not mechanical machines where you insert your ATM card and get your results. We are biological entities that factor in a lot of variables based on a need for survival.

2. Fatigue and even depression can come from changing a dietary pattern to a low carb plan. The "New Atkins for a New You" by Westman, Volek and Phinney (which I highly recommend) discusses what is happening in your body that causes this phenomena, how long it is likely to last and what you can do about it. Basically they say low carb dieting is a diuretic so you are losing fluids as well vital nutrients (minerals). You need to replace those fluids and electrolytes. They recommend a cup of bouillon. See if that helps.

3. Eating one meal a day will probably not make blood sugar go up. If you suffer from low blood sugar, eating more frequently might raise it. Blood sugar goes up after eating and goes down with fasting so eating one meal a day does not sound like a treatment for low blood sugar (which may affect fatigue levels).

4. There is only 1 treatment for an addiction -- avoidance. If you feel/believe that you are addicted to carbohydrates, stop eating them. Atkins gives you an excellent plan for self discovery of which carbohydrates are the ones you have the most difficulty with. (See the Westman et al book mentioned above.) No drug can do this for you. Exercise cannot help you. Eating carbs will not help. Atkins can help. It is up to you to decide to avoid the foods you are addicted to.

Discouragement is part of the process. Weight loss is not a straight line on the chart. If you weigh and chart every day, you will see unexplainable ups and downs. Even if you weigh one a week, you will still see ups and downs.

Think about what it takes to be a competitive athlete. How long does it take? How often would you have to practice? Would every day be a growth day, or would there be set-back days or weeks. Would you quit before achieving your goal because you couldn't attain it fast enough? Being a weight loser requires the same kind of persistence, patience, and time. Having a good coach helps. (I again recommend the Westman et all book as a coach or guide. They offer a lot of tips based upon their research and clinical practice.)

I hope I have not overwhelmed you with these stray thoughts. It took me almost a year to lose 80 pounds on low carb with a lot of frustration along the way at the incredibly slow (and a lot of no) progress. Having regained 30 of them back from slipshod choices, I am back at the slow grind of re-losing them. As a carb addict myself, the only treatment (not cure) for me is avoidance. And the treatment is lifelong as there is no cure for an addiction. Sigh.
Reply With Quote
  #4   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 09:44
patriciakr's Avatar
patriciakr patriciakr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,734
 
Plan: CALP with Primal Leanings
Stats: 368/291.2/160 Female 5' 4
BF:toodmnmch
Progress: 37%
Location: In the woods
Default

Hi,

I think there are more folks doing this on this site, than post in this section, but there are a few of us who post often in the main thread. main cad/calp thread

I have had my starts and stops until I finally got the mindset that I needed to do this for good. I love CALP, I love that I can eat complex carbs once a day and NOT crave. Trust me, I'm a carb addict through and through, but eating the way I do now, allows me to not crave them (and eat them) non-stop, all the time.

I do have one modification that I found after losing 85 pounds and hitting a plateau, I needed - for portion control, I did start tracking calories - setting a daily limit. I don't tell anyone else to do so, just sharing that yes, I do do this. It's a pretty generous daily limit Not talking 1000 cal or 1200 calories per day...lol.

It takes me about 3 days at a minimum of being strictly on plan to get the cravings to quit, and can take up to 2 weeks to get back to feeling my best.

My best on plan is that I enjoy my food (I love to cook and to eat out), and am creative with my meals and like to tinker with recipes, and lose weight.

Enomarb is an amazing resource/person who is now on many years of maintaining her loss using CALP...I invite you to the thread I posted a link to, to see if you feel this is right for you.

best wishes.
Reply With Quote
  #5   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 11:45
TauntonGir TauntonGir is offline
New Member
Posts: 18
 
Plan: Low Carb
Stats: 252/252/168 Female 5 foot 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: South West
Default

Your weightloss is amazing. I can't believe if I switch to this plan i'll get to eat an apple! Believe me it's all I have thought about for about 3 weeks.

As explained i have done Atkins now for 7 weeks and am really nervous about taking carbs in case the weight that I've lost this far piles back on again.

I think I'll introduce carbs to my reward meal very slowly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by patriciakr
Hi,

I think there are more folks doing this on this site, than post in this section, but there are a few of us who post often in the main thread. main cad/calp thread

I have had my starts and stops until I finally got the mindset that I needed to do this for good. I love CALP, I love that I can eat complex carbs once a day and NOT crave. Trust me, I'm a carb addict through and through, but eating the way I do now, allows me to not crave them (and eat them) non-stop, all the time.

I do have one modification that I found after losing 85 pounds and hitting a plateau, I needed - for portion control, I did start tracking calories - setting a daily limit. I don't tell anyone else to do so, just sharing that yes, I do do this. It's a pretty generous daily limit Not talking 1000 cal or 1200 calories per day...lol.

It takes me about 3 days at a minimum of being strictly on plan to get the cravings to quit, and can take up to 2 weeks to get back to feeling my best.

My best on plan is that I enjoy my food (I love to cook and to eat out), and am creative with my meals and like to tinker with recipes, and lose weight.

Enomarb is an amazing resource/person who is now on many years of maintaining her loss using CALP...I invite you to the thread I posted a link to, to see if you feel this is right for you.

best wishes.
Reply With Quote
  #6   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 12:06
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Are you sure you have low blood sugar? Do you monitor it? Feeling faint could be low electrolytes. If your blood sugar is lower than you are used to, but not actually low, that can feel like low blood sugar.

A Relion meter (Walmart), if you're where there are walmarts, is about as accurate as any and the strips are the cheapest I've found. That'll tell you if you're got actual hypoglycemia or if you're experiencing false hypos.

If it is a false hypo, you might want to raise your carbs a little and then gradually lower them.
Reply With Quote
  #7   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 12:20
TauntonGir TauntonGir is offline
New Member
Posts: 18
 
Plan: Low Carb
Stats: 252/252/168 Female 5 foot 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: South West
Default

No I don't monitor. You could be right it could be lower than I'm used to or it could be low electrolytes - although I've upped my salt, which I thought was quite high anyway. I also feel thirsty - I mean really thirsty like salt is coating the inside of my mouth.

I surprisingly feel a lot better today after incredible cravings last night, which I managed to resist.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
Are you sure you have low blood sugar? Do you monitor it? Feeling faint could be low electrolytes. If your blood sugar is lower than you are used to, but not actually low, that can feel like low blood sugar.

A Relion meter (Walmart), if you're where there are walmarts, is about as accurate as any and the strips are the cheapest I've found. That'll tell you if you're got actual hypoglycemia or if you're experiencing false hypos.

If it is a false hypo, you might want to raise your carbs a little and then gradually lower them.
Reply With Quote
  #8   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 13:47
Enomarb Enomarb is offline
MAINTAINING ON CALP
Posts: 4,838
 
Plan: CALP/CAHHP
Stats: 180/125/150 Female 65 in
BF:
Progress: 183%
Location: usa
Default

hi-
I've been doing this plan (I do CALP) for 11 years. I love it-
and it has worked for me.
I eat two meals of protein and veggies (or one of protein and one protein+veggies), and then one balanced meal of salad +protein+veggie+carb. There is a stickie "CHEAT SHEET" post that has lots of info.
I'd try and get the book- usually really cheap on AMazon.
Welcome-
E

I don't know the last time you have seen a doctor and had your Blood Sugar checked- but I think it could be a good idea.
You might want to look at symptoms of hypoglycemia and diabetes just to see if any match what you are feeling.
Dr. Westman (someone else mentioned him earlier) recommends everyone who starts the Atkins plan also has BROTH daily to replenish electrolytes- not just salt.
Would have sent you a PRIVATE MESSAGE (PM) but you don't have enough posts yet to get them.
Hope this is ok-
E

Last edited by Enomarb : Sun, Dec-21-14 at 13:53.
Reply With Quote
  #9   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 15:34
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Quote:
Your weightloss is amazing. I can't believe if I switch to this plan i'll get to eat an apple! Believe me it's all I have thought about for about 3 weeks.

Those cravings do fade. I've been low carb for 10 years now and so many things I thought I could never live without, I live without.

People are different so YMMV but for me, feeding cravings just prolongs them.
Reply With Quote
  #10   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 15:57
Kristine's Avatar
Kristine Kristine is offline
Forum Moderator
Posts: 25,581
 
Plan: Primal/P:E
Stats: 171/146/150 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 119%
Location: Southern Ontario, Canada
Default

My main issue with the CAD plan is it's name, to be honest. It's like having "The Alcohol Addict's Diet" with a glass of wine with dinner every night. I really prefer the philosophy of abstinence at least initially, and then slowly testing out different foods, a la Atkins.

My other issue with it is that for someone like me, with a pretty low carb tolerance, that's basically a maintenance plan. That's pretty close to how I eat now.

It is a good plan. It will work for a lot of people. But you have to be honest with yourself about what your real issues are. Make sure it's not just your inner two-year-old that's trying to talk you into something that sounds like more fun. And be sure to read up on it - it's not just Atkins with a binge meal, as Zulieekaa says in her sticky post at the top of the forum. It's strict! I couldn't do it. No coffee with cream and Splenda in the morning?!

I second the recommendation of getting a glucometer, trying to document your actual blood sugar levels, and increasing the broth. That won't hurt, no matter which plan you choose.

Good luck.
Reply With Quote
  #11   ^
Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 18:19
patriciakr's Avatar
patriciakr patriciakr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,734
 
Plan: CALP with Primal Leanings
Stats: 368/291.2/160 Female 5' 4
BF:toodmnmch
Progress: 37%
Location: In the woods
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
Those cravings do fade. I've been low carb for 10 years now and so many things I thought I could never live without, I live without.

People are different so YMMV but for me, feeding cravings just prolongs them.

Nancy, it's not about feeding cravings. The key blessing for me is that those cravings are gone. The complex carbs I have at my RM are because I can - without craving, and as part of a well balanced meal. I do agree YMMV re this plan, but did want to be clear about my experience with cravings.
I chose this plan because it made the most sense for me.
Reply With Quote
  #12   ^
Old Mon, Dec-22-14, 09:13
Benay's Avatar
Benay Benay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 876
 
Plan: Protein Power/Atkins
Stats: 250/167/175 Female 5 feet 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 111%
Location: Prescott, Arizona, USA
Default

Tauntongir,I agree that you should get a glucometer before self diagnosing as having low blood sugar. You may have low blood pressure instead. Self monitoring--whether BG or hypertension--is helpful to see how you are reacting. Good discussion. Thanks for bringing it up.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:28.


Copyright © 2000-2024 Active Low-Carber Forums @ forum.lowcarber.org
Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.