PDA

View Full Version : Newbie here!


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!



LiliNJ
Wed, Feb-13-02, 18:50
Hello Everyone!

I'm new to this site and hoping on making some friends that is in the same boat.

I'm 35,female, and I started Atkins on Jan 25,2002 and on my 2nd week, I lost 18 Lbs..Now,I fell off the wagon this week, and restarting Induction tomorrow. I weigh at 398 Lbs and have a long way to go. I messed up this week due to the fact that I was not losing anything and got discouraged and ate junk..I know,very bad..and I was not even hungry..stupid me!! But I am starting fresh tomorrow and will be good from now on and be faithful to Atkins.

If anyone wants an email buddy..please feel free to email me at LiliAnnB~aol.com

Thank you and looking forward on knowing other low carbers. Good luck to all. :)

Lili

razzle
Wed, Feb-13-02, 20:37
welcome lili! Congratulations on your loss so far. Even the longest of journeys are completed step by step. And every side trip back to carbs is an opportunity for learning something about ourselves--so even those can be steps forward!

Keep posting, check in with our Triple Digits Club, and enjoy your LC journey.

sheri2kids
Wed, Feb-13-02, 20:51
Hi Lili

Congtrats on the 18 lbs! Wow that is great!!

I fell into that slump too, after the induction I havent lost any weight!! so for the past week I have been cheating here and there so I have to get my act together and start induction again too!!

So hang in there, we all do it and need to start over .... dont beat yourself up over it,

take care and good luck!! (and welcome to the posts!!!)

Sheri :wave:

LiliNJ
Thu, Feb-14-02, 06:45
Thank you,Razzle and Sheri :)

Lili

LCer in NW
Thu, Feb-14-02, 14:14
Welcome Lili,

You'll learn that water is your constant companion, and the scales either lie or don't tell the whole truth. Your weight loss pattern is fairly consistant with a couple of possible causes. One is you may have gotten too little water (about 0.4 oz. per pound of current body weight). That's about 20 cups a day. The second possibility is that you are not eating enough food. can you imagine? a weight loss program that asks you to eat lots. look around at some of the handy hints, but a ballpark would be 10 to 12 times your current weight. start today ramping up to 4000 calories, if yer at 1500 calories, then do 2500 the first day, try for between 300 to 500 more each following day. By now you should know if gallbladder won't keep up or you have gallstones. A great many successful low carb dieters have 65 to 75% of their calories in FAT. since you are probably in ketosis at this point, and it is truly going to be hard to increase consumption to 4000 calories without also having more than 20 grams of carbs, I'd suggest stepping up the carbs to 30 or even 35, but do it gradually as Atkins suggests, only 5 extra a day for a week then graduate another 5. best time to do this is when you are ramping up your calories. I hope this all helps you.

You ARE going to lose that weight. That's not a prediction, it's a fact! Now, realistically, it's gonna take until well into 2004. So set yourself some intermediate goals.

j. mcadams
Thu, Feb-14-02, 15:30
:wave: Hi Lili, I am also new and have been low-carbing for one week now. So far I have lost 7 pounds and I also went cold turkey on the sugar which I love. The first week was at time "will I ever be able to do this"?? Luckly it has gotten a bit easier. I also have a lot of weight to lose. Two years ago I joined Jenny Craig, I did lose 80 pounds. My starting weight was 327, the food is quite expensive but also made upof 60% carbs. So after much research and thought I decided to go on the Atkins Diet so here I am. I think we can do this it will just take some time to get our act together. so good luck and welcome to the talk. joan

wbahn
Thu, Feb-14-02, 17:40
Greetings and welcome aboard! :wave:

It is VERY common to not lose weight or even gain some in the second week - especially if you lost a BUNCH in the first week. It is merely your body reclaiming some of the water it shed that it shouldn't have.

As for the 10x to 12x calorie rule - that rule is limited to people that have reasonable fat percentages. You and I do not. Your base line rate should be based on so much per lean mass and so much per fat. I've done a bit of searching and found a few sites that seem to give decent data. IIRC, the best rule of thumb that deals with us is for a baseline of about 400 calories plus an additional 10 to 12 calories for every pound of lean body weight and perhaps another 2 to 4 calories for every pound of fat.

For me, that puts me between 2480 and 3200.

So be sure to eat enough - always stay above 2000 at the least (and, yes, I need to practice what I preach). And always drink LOTS and LOTS of water. And do NOT get discouraged with slow results here and there - they are a natural part of the process.

LiliNJ
Thu, Feb-14-02, 18:25
Thank you,LCer..Your advice and tip is very helpful and will keep in mind. I average about 2000 calories.Since this is my 3rd week on Atkins and did not see a loss, I am assuming I needed to lower my calorie intake. I am restarting Induction and trying to stay under 2000 and see what happens. I also need to drink my water,am working on that..Again, Thank you so much. :)

Welcome Joan! and way to go on your 7 Lbs loss..Keep up the good work. We can do it!!

Thank you, wbahn

Lili :) :wave:

wbahn
Thu, Feb-14-02, 19:06
I would not recommend going below 2000 - at least not much below. There is an optimal calorie intake (finding it is not easy) where you will lose weight the most quickly. If you go below this, your body starts going into a starvation mode and starts slowing your metabolism and canibalizing your muscle in order to both make up for the deficit and to futher lower your metabolism.

One a high protein diet, this effect is reduced but not eliminated.

Conversely, on a high protein diet you can take in more calories (don't get carried away) and your body can keep its metabolism up and can even build up some of the muscle that it has consumed in prior efforts which will further increase your metabolism.

Do this: Commit yourself to trying be between 2000 and 2500 everyday for the next four weeks. One week is simply not long enough to determine if something is working or not working. Then, if you are unsatisfied with the results, get lots of advice before you decide whether to move up or move down. But which ever you do, stick to it for four weeks and then re-evaluate.

This is going to be a long term process for you and me both. Don't expect miracles but also don't be too afraid of the consequences of making a bad decision for a month. Investing that time and effort to find the right combination will pay off for itself handsomely in the long run.

LCer in NW
Thu, Feb-14-02, 19:46
a hearty here here to wbahn, and glad you've found some of that material on best calorie intake for the extra poundage. If wbahn does 2400-3200, then I'd assume the same range for Lili might be 2800 to 3800, not 2000. the watch and see mode is best. we will be here the whole time, though, so just let us know how it's going.

wbahn
Thu, Feb-14-02, 20:04
Well....2400 to 3200 is what the numbers worked out to. I never said that was what I was doing. :D

Also, the numbers are based on a lean body mass of 170# which was done using height/weight/girth measurements. Not the most accurate means but the best I have access to.

I've been trying to stay above 2000, but have not always been successful. I am averaging around 1700 right now. I am very happy with my progress so plan to stay here for a while. Once I get a feel for how it is truly working I may try to go up 500 kcal or so and see what effect it has after a month.

j. mcadams
Fri, Feb-15-02, 07:26
Wbahn, just how do you access the journal connection I have been trying to figure it out, but sometimes me and the computer just don't see eye to eye. joan :wave:

wbahn
Fri, Feb-15-02, 10:25
The journals are simply another forum just like the one you are in right now - there is absolutely no difference except in how everyone has agreed to use that forum.

Go the the My Journal / Bootcamp forum which is listed near the end of the forums. The sub-forums are grouped by the first letter of the USER name to keep finding a particular journal relatively simple.

To start a journal, just start a new thread. That's your journal. To find another person's journal, just find a thread started by that person. It's that simple. There's a sticky that explains things in more detail at the top of every journal forum.

Hope that helps.