Couple of ?s from new girl...

[Fattiegirl]

hey! Im new here.. I finally decided this is the only way that I foresee controlling my sugar addiction. On a lowfat plan a little bit of sugar makes me go crazy outta control!! :daze:
Anyways, I was just wondering. I am not really overweight just looking to lose some fat. If you don't have that much to lose does it tend to go really slowly?? This is my first day at it actually and I am just wonderin when i can see itty bitty results.
Also, my main concern with low carbing is muscle loss. I weight train regularly and am an athlete. Am I going to see my muscles deflate?? Oh well thanks.. any input would be appreciated! by for now... -Bethany

[Mindyd]

You should see exactly the opposite - this WOE provides your muscles what they need for strengthening....I'm not a scientist or nutritionist, but everything I've read indicates that this will help you in that respect.... :hyper:

[Natrushka]

Welcome to the forum, Bethany.

A LC WOE provides the necessary environment to build muscle. If you've been weight training you know that protein is a requirement or you're wasting your time. The best way to lose fat and not lean mass is to ensure you're getting adequate protein (at least .6g per lb of LBM and much higher if you're working out heavily - I typically aim for 1.35g per lb of LBM) and to lift weights. Aerobic conditioning in moderation is also advisable - but in moderation, more is not better - this is actually how you lose lean muscle. Also, hight intensity interval training (HIIT) is the way to go.

Starting a Journal in the bootcamp section of the forum or perhaps a gym log in the exercise forum would be a good idea.

And yes, with less to lose you will lose slower; think percentages instead of lbs. 5 lbs for you will represent a lot more percentagewise than it would for someone with 100lbs to lose. Have you taken measurements and figured out your % of BF? Chances are if you've got a lot of lean muscle you will weigh more than is considered "normal" for your height yet be considered lean.

Nat

[Fattiegirl]

Thank you for the input. Yeah I've always tried to eat a lot of protein, and not a lot of fat! In fact today was my first day and i was still feeling incredible guily when I ate some salami! :roll:

I have another question. How in the World do you eat 25 grams of fiber a day!?!? I thought I had a lot of veggies today and it turned out to be like.. two grams. Also, how much fat can you eat will you really not retain any of it. Or should you still try to stay below a certain amount of grams??

Sorry for all the questions, but I know ya'll are all experts!!

[LC Sponge]

Originally posted by Fattiegirl
hey! Im new here.. I finally decided this is the only way that I foresee controlling my sugar addiction. On a lowfat plan a little bit of sugar makes me go crazy outta control!! :daze:
-Bethany
You are ingesting a lot more sugar on a low-fat diet than you realize. Wherever the fat content is removed, sugar is used in it's place to replace the flavour. When you stick to regular mayo, salad dressings, etc, you are already reducing the sugar you eat. On a low carb diet, your sugar intake is almost nil.

Also your fibre question, 3 stalks of brocoli contain 10 g fibre. - Can you give us an idea of what "a lot of veggies" that equal 2 g fibre is?

You'll need to play around with your ratios of fat/protein/carbs to find out where you will lose/not lose. There's no hard and fast rule that applies to everyone. What DOES work tho, is keeping a journal of everything you do. It's hard to figure out where to make changes if you're not keeping good records.

Good luck!

[Fattiegirl]

Wow, that's a lot of fiber in broccoli! Yesterday I had about a cup of muchrooms and about a cup of zucchini. I guess that's just a lot of veggies for me!!
Anyways, this morning sucks. I feel so tired like I want to go back to bed for the rest of the day! Hopefully I will feel better in a couple of days though...? I will try to get some good ole broccoli in today!

[doreen T]

25g of fiber is recommended for the masses who are also consuming huge amounts of sugary, white flour, white rice, cornstarch, corn syrup solids and high fructose corn syrup, white bread, Rice Krispies, white pasta and other highly refined & processed grain products that turn to glue in the intestinal tract. A person MUST eat a huge amount of fiber to keep the sludge moving along. Meats and fats leave little residue after digestion, and vegetables and salads are naturally high in fiber.

As long as you're not eating a lot of fake, processed foods -- for example, lowcarb imitations of highcarb foods, such as bars, pudding mixes, pastas, breads, bake mixes-- then a fiber intake closer to 10g per day should be adequate. Make sure you're drinking lots and lots of water, and eating fats, especially unrefined oils such as olive, flax and sunflower/safflower. That will keep the bowel happy :)

Doreen

[LC Sponge]

Originally posted by doreen T
A (high-junk-carb-eater) MUST eat a huge amount of fiber to keep the sludge moving along.
Doreen

You're a poet, ya know that, Doreen? :thup:

[razzle]

Hi Fattie -- i'll just add my ditto to the "don't worry, you'll gain muscle if anything" message. I've put on ten pounds of muscle since starting LC, in addition to the fat I've loss, only increasing my weightlifting routine a bit.

Don't worry about your tiredness. It will go away in a week or so, as your body learns to run on other fuel than carbs

As for fat...the only thing to worry about with fat is the number of calories it gives you. If you exercise a lot, and since you're apparently not metabolically obese, you can probably easily take in 2000 LC calories and still lose. At some point of calorie intake, each person will quit losing...unfortunately, that's not at any number of calories we can predict. Old formulae just don't work! All we know is that, we can take in more LC calories than LF calories and still lose. Add to that the benefit of no more cravings...you can see why this works so well!

[Fattiegirl]

Sweet~! Sounds good to me.. the best news of all is you really only want so much of this kind of food~! I think it would be hard to eat too many calories on it! Except you all keep reccomending eating this oil and stuff. Where do I get this and is it really necessary?