HELP! Not losing on Dr Charles Clark

[toonangel]

Hello

I have just done my first week on Charles Clark High Protein.
You can have 40-60g carbs a day (& he recommends ONE slice of wholemeal bread a day - my choice has 9g carbs per slice)

In my first week I have lost NOTHING, not even 0.5lb! I know I should wait it out and see what happens but I have a very important wedding in 3 weeks & I'm freaking out here.

Heres my average day of food:

Breakfast:
50g cheddar cheese cut into cubes
2 slices bacon OR 2 sausages (0.8g carbs per sausage)

Lunch:
Salad with Tuna mayo, 25g feta cheese, 1 boiled egg

Dinner:
Bolognese (made with lean mince, tinned tomatoes, lots of 0g carb veg) OR Steak with salad or veggies

Snacks:
Because I work horrible shifts in a hopsital I do need something to nibble now & again, on an average day I eat around 50g to 100g of brazil nuts.

Drinks:
LOTS of water, especially at work
Sugar free, aspartame free, carb free diet pop (now & again)
Caffeine free coffee with very low carb soya milk
I also chew sugar free gum, maybe I should cut this out?

Exercise:
Four 45min high intensity fitness classes a week

PLEASE help I'm so worried this isn't going to work.

[ShesGG]

Hello

I have just done my first week on Charles Clark High Protein.
You can have 40-60g carbs a day (& he recommends ONE slice of wholemeal bread a day - my choice has 9g carbs per slice)

In my first week I have lost NOTHING, not even 0.5lb! I know I should wait it out and see what happens but I have a very important wedding in 3 weeks & I'm freaking out here.

Heres my average day of food:

Breakfast:
50g cheddar cheese cut into cubes
2 slices bacon OR 2 sausages (0.8g carbs per sausage)

Lunch:
Salad with Tuna mayo, 25g feta cheese, 1 boiled egg

Dinner:
Bolognese (made with lean mince, tinned tomatoes, lots of 0g carb veg) OR Steak with salad or veggies

Snacks:
Because I work horrible shifts in a hopsital I do need something to nibble now & again, on an average day I eat around 50g to 100g of brazil nuts.

Drinks:
LOTS of water, especially at work
Sugar free, aspartame free, carb free diet pop (now & again)
Caffeine free coffee with very low carb soya milk
I also chew sugar free gum, maybe I should cut this out?

Exercise:
Four 45min high intensity fitness classes a week

PLEASE help I'm so worried this isn't going to work.

40-60 carbs would stop my progress as well. Try getting it down below 30. It could be water weight, if you get your carbs down, it's a natural diuretic. Keep drinking water, get your carbs down and you should see some progress.

[toonangel]

Thank you for your reply :) I would say on an average day I am eating around 30g of carbs anyway, as you can see from my menu plan there isn't anything high carb on there (except the slice of bread) maybe I should cut that out though just incase x

[abbykitty]

Thank you for your reply :) I would say on an average day I am eating around 30g of carbs anyway, as you can see from my menu plan there isn't anything high carb on there (except the slice of bread) maybe I should cut that out though just incase x

I just found this funny. I'm low carb, well, except for the bread.

[toonangel]

I just found this funny. I'm low carb, well, except for the bread.

I'm just doing what Dr Charles Clark has said to do.. and he said to eat one slice of low carb wholemeal bread a day..

[zeph317]

i'm not at all familiar with your plan so you'll have to decide how you want to eat on it. if it's not working for you though, i'd definitely cut the bread. most people really don't do well with grains and they can definitely stall weight loss. that also sounds like a lot of cheese and nuts to me but if it's fine for you plan, then it's up to you. but that 50oz of cheddar cheese would be about 20 carbs http://www.nutrientfacts.com/searchfood.exe?var=5&word=Cheddar+Cheese+&Multiplier=50&Units=Ounces&x=24&y=11

[Elizellen]

I think the OP had 50 grams of the cheese (a bit less than 2 ounces) ;)

I would second dropping the bread if it contains grains.

Though following your chosen medium carb (as lowcarb diets go) diet might work in time, if you are after quick results you might need to go lower in carbs as suggested upthread.

BTW are you looking for fat loss or weight loss? Maybe adding some lifting would help reshape your body to make you look slimmer even if the pounds don't vanish quickly enough?

[toonangel]

Yeah its 50 grams of cheese, not oz :P

Thank you guys so much for all your replies, will deffo drop the bread then! I also think I'm gonna cut down on the nuts aswell.

xx

[Fialka]

Yeah drop the bread, cut back on the cheese and the nuts.

That should get things moving.

Swap one of your workouts for a squat/push up strength routine and that will help too.

F

[Nancy LC]

I'd cut out the bread. A lot of people have intolerances to gluten that makes them hang onto fat and find once they get rid of it, the weight comes off easier.

"The False Fat diet" might be of interest to you.

Also, you don't have a LOT of weight to lose so you might need to consider calories at least a little.

[toonangel]

Yeah I did wonder about my calorie intake.

I'll take it all into consideration.

xx

[Kristine]

Also, at our size, so close to goal, the scale lies. I've dropped a full pant size (couldn't even get them done up, now they fit) over the last 3 weeks, and I've GAINED 2 lbs. The same scale shows me that my body fat has gone from the 37-40 range down to 32 as of today.

So, I vote for working out and ignoring the scale. :thup:

[zeph317]

I think the OP had 50 grams of the cheese (a bit less than 2 ounces) ;)

oops! lol, i guess 50oz would be a lot of cheese!

[ShesGG]

I'm just doing what Dr Charles Clark has said to do.. and he said to eat one slice of low carb wholemeal bread a day..

I have rye or wheat bread. It's only 12 grams, I don't see anything wrong with it. :)

It also has fiber that you can subtract.

[abbykitty]

I'm just doing what Dr Charles Clark has said to do.. and he said to eat one slice of low carb wholemeal bread a day..

Sorry, my comment came out sounding snarky. I don't know the plan and wasn't meaning to bash it. It just sounded funny. Hope you didn't take it the wrong way!

[toonangel]

No, it's okay! Don't worry about it :) x

[jem51]

At your weight, it won't be as rapid as for a heavier person.
Your plan looks fine to me (I am aware that there are successful plans that include starch).
One week is not long enough and I think that it is too early to evaluate.....if you had gained, it'd be a different story.
Stick w it a bit longer.

[Nelson]

Calories are pretty much a non-issue for the obese on very low carb diets, but they become more and more important the smaller you are. Even on low carb, once you dump any extra water you're retaining, weight loss can slow to a crawl, especially if you are not obese, merely a little over fat.

[albiorix]

I find wheat products bloat my stomach out, so dropping them changes my shape for the better even if I don't lose a single half pound (good for getting into dresses etc!)

[kaarren]

Watch the gum too,,,,,

[teaser]

You're sort of in the "normal" weight range, trying to get lower down, but still in the normal weight range for your height. That can make things harder.

I think I'd worry more about the nuts than the cheese, just based on the fact that you've given exact amounts for cheese in your sample menu, but a range for the nuts. If we take the upper range you've given for brazil nuts, that makes them maybe a third of your calorie intake. You might be better off taking a couple roast drumsticks or something like that to work.

[toonangel]

Thanks everyone, I've definately taken the nuts out of my diet!

And as for gum I've stopped buying that too xx

[Requin]

I have to agree with the drop the bread crew. While I haven't been losing much weight lately (ready to throw my scale out the car window while zooming down the highway...) I can't ever recall having as much definition in my waist, nor as flat as a stomach as I do now- and that's after being 99% grain free since October. Had grains at Christmas (Christmas without stuffing? No.) and a few other times, I haven't had any since the new year.

I've always been hour glass-ish (Boobs and butt measurements the same, waist smaller, but still at only about a .85 waist to hip ratio) but now my waist:hip ratio is .81- and I really do credit it to being grain free. Personally, my waist measurement is the only one I care about, because I know if my waist is smaller, the rest is either proportionately smaller, or I just look like a killer hourglass, if my waist shrinks and the rest of me doesn't. You look pretty proportionate, so I'm not sure if its the stomach area you're most worried about.

If all else fails, Spanx really are great.

[toonangel]

I'm the same as you, boobs and hips are big but waist is tiny compared to them! I really do hate my legs but I've been doing alottt of exercise for the past 6 weeks and intend to carry on doing so. I l;ike my waist but my belly does have some fat on it xx

[Jonika]

Calories are pretty much a non-issue for the obese on very low carb diets, but they become more and more important the smaller you are. Even on low carb, once you dump any extra water you're retaining, weight loss can slow to a crawl, especially if you are not obese, merely a little over fat.
I second that! It's true. I am in the same situation - have very little weight to lose and I am able to do it only by restricting my calorie intake. If I don't care how much cal I eat, the scale creeps up even though I am in very dark ketosis.

Try to eat less cheese (it's the main weight loss staller for me and others) and less nuts - I gain weight from nuts even if I eat very little of them. What I did to avoid these two was I started baking my own low carb cookies. They are a perfect snack for any occasion.

[toonangel]

I second that! It's true. I am in the same situation - have very little weight to lose and I am able to do it only by restricting my calorie intake. If I don't care how much cal I eat, the scale creeps up even though I am in very dark ketosis.

Try to eat less cheese (it's the main weight loss staller for me and others) and less nuts - I gain weight from nuts even if I eat very little of them. What I did to avoid these two was I started baking my own low carb cookies. They are a perfect snack for any occasion.

Thank you for your advice Jonika :) xx

[Carne!]

I have rye or wheat bread. It's only 12 grams, I don't see anything wrong with it. :)

It also has fiber that you can subtract.

Not all!!

http://superhighbloodpressure.blogspot.com/2011/03/to-fiber-or-not-to-fiber.html

More info here:

http://carbsanity.blogspot.com/2010/04/soluble-fiber-and-net-carbs.html

[Carne!]

Also, just to see, how many calories were you eating in your originally posted menu? Nuts and cheese are VERY calorie dense, and depending on your salad you may be over your caloric limit before dinner time. Not saying you need to starve, but don't eat past satiety.