You can get it, but I tend to use sea salt... Does that have iodine?

I need to read a bit more about how much seafood is necessary, perhaps someone reading this will know? -How frequently should I eat salt water fish (including shellfish) to get enough iodine?

It was interesting reading that crops grown in coastal soils have traces of iodine compared to those that are further away.

Sea Salt is usually not iodized in the US, nor Kosher, nor the new fancy pink ones, basically only the processed box of plain salt is. I had replaced kosher salt for cooking and fancy salts for the table, and was unaware how little iodine we were getting. Seafood is too variable as a good source. One fish enough? two too many? Kelp tablets are a natural source of iodine, unless you enjoy seaweed and sea vegetables, the capsules are easier and sourced from non-polluted waters.

Understand sugar tax debate is raging on in Parliament and the press, http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=471939
TV show: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=471751
Good general info at Action on Sugar: http://www.actiononsugar.org
Also enjoyed a show about an Irish family trying to eliminate sugar, Sugar Crash:
http://www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/sugarcrash.html

If the teacher isn't doing anything to help reduce all the sweets in a typical school day, then maybe talk about it with your Mum group and try changing the family and playgroup choices toward snacks and desserts.

How to Raise LC Kids: http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb-kids

The sugar argument is bubbling away, but most people round here just moan that it's 'just another tax on the poor, nothing to do with health'.
I have a Scandinavian friend who's kinda on my side, but otherwise, I am alone in thinking that sugar shouldn't be fed to children/babies at all, and fruit/starches should be limited.

I'm eating fish and/or seaweed every day. I filled in the fit buddy food chart thing for a couple of days. One day was 16g carb and the next was 21g. Loads of fat, 1780 & 1880 kcal. Urine testing still in ketosis. So I feel confident that I am eating the diet as intended.

So tired I've spent the whole day wanting to go back to sleep (didn't though, took pram for 1.5 mile walk (through long grass so it's a bit of work) and that's me knackered! I feel so drained. The scale is EXACTLY the same!!! This is since 1st of January, 6 weeks in ketosis.

I seem to remember Atkins recommending a few days of macadamia nuts and butter to get through a stall...? Anyone tried this? Or should I try fasting? I am so disheartened it's a struggle not to reach for the icecream. I really believe this is the healthy diet - should I just be eating fewer calories?

I thought I remember reading in my Atkins book that he recommended looking at how much butter we're using and that could be the problem, too much.

I would also look for hidden carbs like in sauces, dressings or even spices, meats with added sugar like all prepared ham has, sausages or hot dogs with added sugar and carbs. If you are sticking to clean meats and lower carb veggies, you should see losses soon.

Here's a series of blogposts for you - Why I'm Not Losing on LCHF by Amy Berger of tuitnutrition.com. In this 5 part series (and #3 is actually split into a and b, making 6 parts), she'll run you through the gamut of possibilities. Be sure to read the comments at the end of each section (which she very often responds to). She's got a very sensible approach, and I don't say that just because she sometimes shows up here on this forum.

Along with Amy's excellent series, a related post "Don't Force the Fat" from the LCRN: https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/201...-force-the-fat/. You are thinking of Dr Atkins Fat Fast (it is in the tips and stalls forum) which in addition to high fat is limited to 1,000 cal/day.

You have a seem to have a good diet, that you might want to look to other reasons for the fatigue (besides having 6 children..Which exhausts me thinking about it) how is your sleep? Have your Vit D level tested and look into retesting the thyroid, etc. (Amy covers thyroid and iodine well) By six weeks most people have that great energy that comes from eliminating carbs and fueling with fat, so check with your doctor for other possibilities.

Thanks for the replies. I don't use any sauces or dressings, ham is air dried Parma type. I do use a lot of butter, I thought it was safe and considered separately from dairy because of its high fat content/low carbs?

Oh, and I only one child, not six

I've read Amy's pages (through a soupy fog in my head):
So more iodine, selenium, vit A and B.
Or it may be imbalance of females sex hormones
Or problem with thyroid function, not detected by TSH test.
Or try upping carbs.

I think there is more to this than not having quite the right diet; I felt tired and low before lchf- it can't be to blame, so I am reluctant to try upping my carbs.

Not sure if I can bring myself to go back to the doctor and ask for more tests.

Somehow struggling to believe a couple of supliment pills will make all the difference - but I don't have a lot of choice.
If I were to supliment with the suggested above, how long should it take to get my levels up and see improvement? Days, weeks, months?

Sorry Ronnie, confused you with someone else. One toddler will still make you tired. Your foods do seem all very good, which makes the thyroid something to consider retesting. One good multi-vitamin may be enough, though I find extra magnesium and .Vit D needed in addition.

Butter is the dairy food that dairy-sensitive folks are least likely to react to. However, butter packs a lot of energy into a tiny space. We can't eat unlimited calories, even pure fat, and expect to lose weight.

Even with low carb, even though you may be "burning" more calories per day than you would be with SAD (or SSD in your case?), you must still have a calorie deficit each day to lose some weight. Many things can affect how many calories you burn in a day - hormones of all sorts, relative muscle mass and also how active we are. Eating fat keeps you satisfied while eating less, and keeping carbs low encourages your body to start burning stored fat, but eating fat does not magically melt existing body fat without a deficit of "energy in".

While it may be a couple of supplements in your case (I like Janet's suggestion of Vitamin D), I think it may also be finding the right balance of energy in/energy out - customized to YOU.

One more suggestion, just to make your head spin a little more.

You live in a very northern climate, like I do. And it's Feb. And it's cold, and the days are still short.

Do you find that you have more energy when it's summer than in winter, generally?

I'm a lot older than you, and I've noticed that my seasonal affective disorder (the other SAD) leads me to be tired and sort of flat in affect.

Give me a good sunny day, and suddenly, I'm a new person.

If your tiredness, etc seem seasonal, you would not be the first person to be dealing with that phenomenon.

Ok, there probably is something in the seasonal depression - I try to get outside every day, either walking the dog, pram, etc, to get some sunlight (mostly for vit D for me and my son). I think I've been feeling rough since about October/start November, so there's probably something in this. I also had a miscarriage (was 9 weeks :-( gone) at the end of November, so guess my hormones may not have quite settled down yet?
My husband says I need to be more patient, that I'm probably a bit down just because it's winter and that I do look slimmer than I did at the start of the month.
I'm going to keep going, and supliment these recommended vitamins.
Thank you for your support and recommendations x

A recent miscarriage? Well, that's new information that could account for a few things. First of all, I'm sorry that happened. Really, it's more than a small crisis for the body and the emotions, and could account for "sadness" for a long time. And fatigue as well. Please try to be more patient with your body, as I'm sure your husband would say as well.

I know how hard it is to endure what seems like a long time with no weight loss when you think you "should" be losing. However, the real challenge of the LC journey is figuring out how to establish a long-term eating plan using foods you actually like to eat--preferably without much counting and calculating.

You've got carbs under control. No sugar. No starch. As much butter as you want with your eggs and veggies and so on. All the worries? Just let them go for a while.

Spring is indeed on its way. Already we have daffodil sprouts! And my latitude in the middle of the U.S. is not that far south of you. Get ready!

Best wishes.

Ronnie, I'm very sorry for your loss. Barb is right, that changes everything. Your hormones were gearing up to preserve and add fat, and now they're probably in a tailspin, not sure what to do.

I wouldn't even worry about losing at this point. Just eat as well as you can (LCHF, of course) and let time heal your body. All the best.

I too am so sorry to hear of your loss, especially at the holiday season, it must have been a emotional December. Agree with Barb and Liz, be gentle with yourself to help heal, taking a few cycles to get back to a hormonal even keel. By eating a healthy real food low carb diet, focus on Nutrition first. You might check the parent/pregnancy sub-forum here for posts about Dr. Michael Fox, a LC fertility specialist. He has some intro talks on the DietDoctor website, and videos of him at the low carb cruise, and links to his website with foods and supplements to support pregnancy.

Thank you for your kind words. I kinda thought I'd be back to normal, but Will try to be more patient, (to me patience is a waste of life!)

Oh well, it's sunny today, sod housework, taking dog for a walk x