Frustrated Newbie!

[ruthmc41]

Hi, I am new here but not to low carb.

For the last 3 months I have cut out completely all grains, white potatoes, pasta and rice but I have only lost about 4lbs (lose it during the week but can put half or sometimes all of it back on over the weekend - probably the bottle of red I enjoy on a Saturday night).

I am so frustrated as, for me I have made a huge change to my eating habits and stuck with it totally (in the past I have always been the first to go off diet without much persuasion).

Has anyone else experienced this and how did you overcome it?

Thanks

[FaithLeigh]

Hi Ruthmc41 and welcome to the forum.

I hate to read that you are frustrated. You have your plan listed as "my own"; therefore, my first suggestion would be to research different low carb plans (Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power, Dr. Bernstein, JUDD, etc) and decide which plan fits your needs / desires and stick to that plan. I suggest this as to when frustrations come about, you can go back to your selected plan and read / re-read what may be causing your stall or no weight loss. The more you research, the more knowledgeable you will become with the whole science realm with carbohydrates and your body.

I hope this helps.

[NomNomNom]

Hey there Ruthmc41 and welcome. All I can say from personal experience is I agree with FaithLeigh. I've been doing SBD for a few months and had my ups and down. The confusion is as big as the info out there. I think you can choose to follow a low carb plan that better suit your needs. I did Atkins in the past and it worked well for me, however, I am now on SBD because I have a much larger choice in veggies and fruits. As you get more familiar with the low carbs and hidden carbs in many foods that seems healthy choices, then you can create your own plan. I think induction for the first few weeks on low carbing is a great success in weight loss. Good luck in your journey and don't give up.

[Whofan]

Cutting out grains, white potatoes, pasta and rice is a huge step in the right direction, but obviously it's not enough or you would have lost more in 3 months. So....what else are you eating, how much, and when? Apart from bottles of red wine (and yes, they send weight loss to a screeching halt, trust me, I know) is there sugar in your diet? Fruit? Starchy veg like turnips, parsnips, yams? Cheese? Milk? What are your portions like? How about calories, we don't want to count them but too many of them will stall you. Do you snack on low carb constantly throughout the day? Do you eat late at night? Have you tracked your fat/protein/carb percentages in Fitday, MyPlan, or some other calculator? You might be surprised by the results and until those percentages are in balance for your particular needs you will have problems losing. There are so many variables for you to sort out.

I strongly recommend you find an established plan and stick with it to see if that gets your weight moving. It's tempting to wing it on your own but that can make your success more difficult and longer to achieve than going with one of the plans that have proven successful for many, many other low carbers. Good luck!

[ruthmc41]

Hi guys thanks for your input. I can give you an example of a typical weekday eating and see if there is anything that can be revised. Breakfast - scrambled egg with either coconut oil or butter, lunch - either left over meat and veg fro tea time or homemade veg soup, tea - salmon with green or white veg. I drink approx 2 litres of water a day. I am also attending 3 circuits classes a week. I am only losing about 1lb a week if I am lucky.

I did get a huge boost last night when I went out with friends, some I haven't seen in a month and one of them.commented that I looked like I had lost "loads" of weight! So now I am thinking that I must be going in the right direction and it's my own perceptions of myself that are holding me back.


Thanks again x

[ParisMama]

Losing 1 lb a week at your weight is about as good as you can hope for.

I agree with the other posters - if you're not happy with your results so far you'll need to get more specific and change something. Whofan listed a lot of the things that may be adding more carbs than you can tolerate, and her suggestion to track carefully is good advice if you need to fine tune - without it it's too easy to over-estimate how much leeway you have, and even tracking for a few days might be enough for you to see ways you can change things to help. Following a structured plan gives you a shortcut as to what to change, but it's not necessary if you can be scrupulously honest with yourself and pay close attention to your choices. I'm kind of a do-it-yourself-er too, but I'm well read on the low carb approaches (Atkins, Taubes, Phinney & Volek) and I pay very close attention and track from time to time. And I'm open to revisiting things. I reluctantly started a trial of cutting out dairy, and am down 4 pounds in 10 days, for example.

[Caroxx]

I like wine too! However, 115 ml. of red wine has 2 carbs, so a bottle might be more than your body can handle and still lose. (btw, I knew that figure because I looked it up this morning after having a 1/4 liter with dinner last night!)

A better choice MAY be having a clear liquor like vodka, white rum or gin. They contain no carbs, unlike beer or wine and liquors like whiskey. However, the body will always burn alcohol in preference to stored body fat, so any alcohol will somewhat stall your loses.

On induction, many people cut out alcohol completely, as a way to kick start the loss. The advice to read up on plans and figure out what works for you is completely valid. It's important to understand how all of this works, so you can see the differences and relate them to your preferences.

It's worth thinking about however, that induction is usually for a 'length of time' and many programs talk about induction for the first two weeks. For me, although I do drink vodka, I am still eating at the <20 grams of carbs per day level, and I expect I will for perhaps the next year. Some people can't have more than 20g per day or they gain. It is so individual, it's impossible for anyone but you to know just what affects you and how.

I sure do wish you all the best! The woe is so much more satisfying than WW or any low-fat plan, it's well worth a bit of extra work to get to where you want to be.

[Whofan]

Hi Ruth: Your first post said you'd lost 4lbs in 3 months but your next post said you are "only" losing a lb a week. Maybe I'm misreading something, but if you are losing 1lb a week you are doing amazingly well!!