Im wondering if anyone else has had similiar feelings.
I am on the forever slim low carb diet which doesnt allow any carb whatsoever before 6-00pm.
The last two days I decided to to increase the amount of water which I drink to 6 litres because my weight loss is very slow and I thought this would help things along.Apart from the fact that I have to visit the toilet very often my weight has stayed the same.
Im keeping my carbs down to about 20 grams and eat about 400 grams of protein over the day.This is the correct amount for the diet which I am following. Do you think Im expecting results too soon?
I have been following this diet since the beginning of March this year and have lost 20kgs so far.
I exercise every day for about 50 minutes (20 minutes weights and the rest aerobically)
My point is since drinking all this water my sugar craving has risen and wonder what I could do about this?
Please Help !!

Dazza

I will confess to you I'm not at all familiar with the Forever Slim program. But, a few things come to mind that might be a problem for you.

Also, I'm not entirely clear on the 400g of protein? Do you mean 400g of meat or protein-containing food? Or 400g of the actual nutrient? For example, a 100g portion of lean beef steak will provide approx. 25g protein. One large egg will yield 7g; 30g of hard cheese also yields 7g protein. On the other hand, 400g of meat ... for example the beef steak, will provide 100g elemental protein, give or take a few gm.

Carbohydrate Addicts diet is similar in that carbs are only eaten once a day, at the evening meal ... but they insist the meal must be consumed within one hour start to finish, in order to prevent a second insulin spike occuring which is what triggers the sugar cravings. That might be something to consider. In Protein Power, the Eades make a note that insulin is most sensitive in the mornings, and suggest carbs are better tolerated earlier rather than later in the day.

Are you near your goal weight? The losses will slow down the nearer you are to your goal. Have you taken measurements with a tape? Your body may be recomposing, losing fat and adding muscle. Muscle takes up less space than fat for the same weight, so you will be smaller and leaner, but the scales will show zero net loss.

6 liters is a lot of water. I doubt that it is causing sugar cravings though. Do have a look at Carbohydrate Addicts program ... here is the FAQ's page of their website http://www.carbohydrateaddicts.com/cafaq.html ... perhaps limiting the carbs you do eat to within one hour might be helpful for you.

Doreen

Thanks Doreen for your thoughts and opinions.
The 400gram of protein is of meat or other protein containing food. It isnt the actual breakdown
I still have to loose another 20kgs to get down to 60kgs.
Is having to loose 20kgs considered close to your ideal weight?
I havent actually used the tape measure because I can tell by the way I look and and my clothes looking baggy.
The carb addicts diet sounds similiar to forever slim. The forever slim diet also advocates eating all your carb allowance within an hour of your evening meal.
I hope this helps and thanks again for your advice.

Dazza

I too have never heard of forever slim. But the theory behind insulin control diets is that we need to keep levels of insulin low, and therefore our body can burn fat rather than being in fat-storage mode all the time. Carbs trigger insulin production, but so does protein. Excessive amounts of protein (over ~40 dietary grams at once) will also spike insulin levels. So if I'm understanding you right, and you're taking in 400 g of dietary protein (btw, HOW? That's 15 chicken breasts), and if you're hyperinsulinemic, then I can imagine that this is slowing your loss...so I suppose I'm saying I doubt the the program's assumptions. I'd love to read the book and see what his justification for this high protein intake is.

If extra water is causing sugar cravings, maybe it is doing so through depletion of minerals (and you have a "body memory" that certain sweets have those minerals in them). 4-5 litres of water is enough. L-glutamine and chromium can help ease sugar cravings. HTH

Im not sure if Ive made myself clear but the 400gr allowance of protein means for example if you weigh a piece of meat and it weighs 400gram then thats your entire protein allowance for the day.This program allocates the entire actual weight of the protein item as protein.It doesnt make any allowances for the breakdown of meat into its different nutrients.I know this is a bit difficult to explain.

I will give you the details of the book so that you might be able to buy it over there.

Name: Forever Slim
Author: Dr Robert Harris
Publisher:Sunshine Publications
ISBN: 0 646 14249 6

Address of Sunshine Publications;

Sunshine Publications,
P.O. Box 1084,
Runaway Bay Queensland 4216 Australia

First published 1993
Last published 2001

Maybe if someone else can get a copy of the book then it should help to sort out the problems I am having. Maybe Ive misunderstood the book.I dont know or dont think so.

Anyway thanks all for you continuing support.

Dazza

i'm no expert by any standards but do you think that you may be building muscle at the same rate you are losing weight and so it's almost slowing you down because you're doing so WELL at it!

I don't know but maybe you should do alternating cardio ONLY days and then maybe 3 days a week do the weights!

Just a suggestion any way!

Best of luck

Dazza,

Why don't you give us a sample menu of what you eat for a day?

If you are only allowed carbs after 6:00, does that mean you go through the day eating nothing but protein and fat?

Karen

Thats right I only eat protein anf fat until 6-00pm.

I will try to give you a sample day.

e.g yesterday;

BREAKFAST
large glass of water
2 fried eggs
1 strip of bacon (grilled)
cup of black tea with splenda

LUNCH
2 thin slices of roast beef
2 chicken wings seasoned with italian herbs and cooked in microwave oven.
cup of black tea with splenda
large glass of water

DINNER
2 fillets of whiting fish fried in butter and olive oil
seasoned with lemon salt and pepper
large salad made with lettuce,tomato,olives and grated romano cheese.
coffee with cream and sweetened with splenda
1 plain biscuit.

Thats about my average days food.
I DO drink a lot more water throughout the day also. Most days are fine and I do not feel hungry. Other days are another story with sugar cravings as I have already mentioned.

As I mentioned before in this diet the whole protein food is taken as being 100 per cent protein.It is not broken down into its composition.

I hope this helps further to explain this diet. If there are further queries please ask. It should help me in my weight loss pursuits.

As with exercise I too have thought that my body is turning more into muscle.I can tell just by looking at it. I might start measuring myself also.

Thanks again,
Dazza

I posted a sample menu and I was wondering if anyone could give me any clues to why Im getting sugar cravings and stalling in my weight loss??????????

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I think is happening is that you are getting a huge carb hit at one time, even if it's only vegetables and a plain biscuit. I get cravings too when I eat a lot of certain vegetables, such as cauliflower or tomatoes - I know it's not really a vegetable.

Spread your carbs out throughout the day and see what happens. Oh, and nix the biscuit.

Give it at least a week to kick in.

Karen

Are you getting enough calories? That menu you've posted looks to be under 1000 calories. You are probably HUNGRY!! Maybe that's why the sugar cravings!

You should be eating between 10 and 12 times your weight in pounds in calories every day to avoid going into 'starvation mode' - a metabolic slowdown that will stall weight loss.

Rachel

I have added a few mushrooms to my diet throughout the day.I hope it helps.I reread my book and the only carb Im allowed to have are mushrooms.(That is before 6-00pm)

Hope this helps as I am still stalled.

Dazza