Lost 13lb then stopped. Advice for Noob? :)

[elgrayso]

Hello all.
I am a 27 year old male just starting the low carb lifestyle.
I started in January (4 months ago) after reading "Why we get fat", and lost 13 lbs in a month! after that I have remained at 155lbs. I am not over weight but would like to be in more athletic shape and loose some remaining fat.
The book said that carbs are what make us fat and I stopped eating them, almost entirely now.
I cut out beer all together (something I loved!) and then bread etc until the only thing I are that had any carbs where these latte drinks I get twice on the weekend (the highlight of my week!). They have 10oz milk and 2oz of this syrup (20g of carb in the syrup altogether I leaned.
As I read more I learned about the ketotosis process and decided to skip those drinks for 3-4 weeks. I just finished week 3 or 4 (can't remember which) of not having those drinks (which would be 3-4 weeks of virtually no carbs).
Today I gained 1lb, but it is very possible it is muscle, as I work out 3x a week lighting weights.
I assume I am done with the ketotosis process and can have my drinks again. the book I am reading now is called The Art of Low Carb Performance and says that you need to keep under 50g carb per day to do the process. I eat so little carbs that even with this drink I would be under the limit.
My question is am I on the right track? I don't know anyone who does this?
I slowly am getting stronger so perhaps my lack of weight loss is just the trade of fat for muscle?

Any advice for a beginner would be helpful!

[elgrayso]

I also should add I mainly eat meat. lots of beef, chicken and turkey. I need to add more veggies into my diet :-/

[LorelaiS]

All carbs are not created equal. It has a lot to do with how quickly those carbs are converted into sugar which causes an insulin response. Eating permanent low carb means basically living off of ketones all the time. So the high sugar beverages you have are knocking you out of ketosis. You have to be in ketosis the whole time you expect to be losing weight, that is when your body is using its own fat stores.

Additionally, once you are so close to your goal weight (or the weight your body thinks you should have) the weight loss will slow considerably.

There are many people on here who believe veggies aren't necessary and only eat them because they like them. The only vitamin that you won't get enough of eating meat is vitamin C.

[Caroxx]

If most of the carbs in your weekend drinks are from sugar syrup, you could probably sub sugar-free syrup. You might also consider a higher fat base - at least full-fat milk - or lactose free milk to minimize the lactose.

[elgrayso]

Thanks for the answers!
Sorry I was totally not alerted that anyone responded!
I figured I didn't get any replies. Oops!
Lorelaisis, my book "the art of low carb performance" says that under 50g carb a day is low enough to transition into ketatosis, let alone maintain it.
so I figured 20g sugar a couple days a week would be fine?
or is it possible that these 2 little drinks are stopping me from weight loss?
also I mainly eat meat, but learned that too much protein also causes insulin spikes...

[erinleigh]

Hi!!

I know personally for me when I get my drinks at caribou I have to do the SF kind otherwise I get kicked out of ketosis.

If I'm over 30 net carbs I don't lose, I maintain (which is good to know when I go into Maintenance that around 30 I'm a little safe).

Add little things in here and there and see how your body reacts.

But keep in mind your body typically hit the three week catch up. I know not only myself but other the third week you body needs to catch up and have minimal loss and then you start moving again.

Keep at it! :)

[elgrayso]

so maybe i should try splitting that drink into 2 days, having only half at a time?
try that for a couple weeks and see if there is change?

[Elizellen]

Welcome to the board! :wave:
my book "the art of low carb performance" says that under 50g carb a day is low enough to transition into ketatosis, let alone maintain it.
so I figured 20g sugar a couple days a week would be fine?
or is it possible that these 2 little drinks are stopping me from weight loss? ...Totally possible! :(
For many of us even a very low number of carbs from actual sugar (or one of its many aliases) will hinder ketosis whereas we might be able to handle 30-50 carbs from the natural sugars in low carb foods like eggs, cheese, cream, vegetables, low GI fruits etc. and still lose weight.

But as you are a fairly young bloke your body metabolism might be more forgiving. The only way to find out will be to experiment and see what happens wen you add them back in again

I assume I am done with the ketosis process and can have my drinks again If you are still wanting to lose weight then it would probably be better to stay in ketosis.

Perhaps look at the Atkins way of adding carbs gradually in a laid-out order, starting with the foods least likely to cause problems to establish how many carbs your body can handle while remaining in ketosis and losing fat?? Once you have found this number - DR Atkins called it the Critical Carb Level for Losing (CCLL) you can then sub out some of those low carb foods for your sugar drinks and see if our body can cope.

This is covered in the chapters on OWL phase (Ongoing Weight Loss) in Dr Atkins books