Wow, TKDBunny-----you sound exactly like Lyle McDonald!! I swear he said those exact words to me on his BB. He did set up a Zone-like diet for me, but it's really weird because I'm actually picking up weight---and it's fat for sure (puffy & clothes are much tighter).

At some point we'll have health insurance. Don't know when, but some day. LOL... and I'm going to have that checked, as well as this acid reflux thing I'm going through too. How do I know it's acid reflux? LOL.. easy, it's either that or I've had multiple heart attacks...hehehe..and since I'm still here, I think it's acid reflux. It's horribly, horribly painful, so I may be forced to go in for that anyway.

Thanks for your two cents, TKDBunny. It's worth more than two cents to me!

Very cool! I sincerely hope that works for you. Good luck! Let us know how it goes...

Well, so far it feels like I'm gaining. Clothes tighter, etc. So not sure what to do. I've been toying with the idea of actually trying the BFL style eating.

...my poor body's probably going "huh?" LOL

BFL is very similar to the zone (40/40/20 vs. 40/30/30) I did them both off and on for a couple of years. But how long have you tried what Lyle suggested? You can't tell if something's working unless you give it a couple weeks -- longer if it's near your TOM. Also, how is your sodium intake? And are you getting enough water? If I don't drink enough water or eat too much sodium I get crazily bloated. You are doing exactly what I always do-- try something for a couple days, read something and then think, oh! maybe I should try that! and switch. Try really hard just to stick with one thing for a month or so before you make changes. That's the only way to know for sure if it's working for you.

Jalilah,
I'm a 39 year old woman, and have been reading posts on this site for months... been doing this WOL for about 1-1/2 years, with a low compliance phases of about 6 months in the middle. I am at the end of my 1st BFL challenge...

Now for my 2 cents worth. Your body makes enzymes to deal with the kinds of foods you normally eat. That's why most of us feel so horrible when we change our diets in any major way. (Going low carb from high carb, OR falling off the low carb wagon.) The longer you've been eating a certain way, the more horrible the change will feel - whether you are going from an unhealthy eating plan to a healthy one (or the other way around). As a comparison, if you quit smoking, you wouldn't expect to feel great the 1st week (or even the 1st month) would you? even though it is a healthy change.

So, IMHO to feel good in any WOE, you need to do it CONSISTANTLY. I have been eating 20-25 g of carbs for 4 months AND doing BFL. It was hard to exercise at first, but now my body has adjusted, and it's great. I KNOW I this would not be the case if my carb intake was not consistant. (I have tried it before, inconsistantly...) The only confirmation I have had for my theory, besides my personal experience and my knowldege of physiology, is Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. He recommends keeping carbs at no more than 15 g per meal, and lifting weights. (He has been doing this himself for decades.) Now, he and most of his patients have no choice in the matter - they are diabetic. Anyway, I just wanted to make the point that it CAN be done to stay very low carb, and work out hard, but it will take a while (think months, not weeks) to feel good and you must not yoyo on the carbs. Personally, I think it's worth it, and you'd better believe that I don't want to go through the struggle of getting there again...

BTW I have a hard time loosing weight too. I have gained probably 5 lbs of muscle doing BFL. (I can see muscles in my arms and legs and feel much stronger.) The scales weight has stayed about the same (143 lbs, 5' 3''), but I am pretty close to my goal. (I'd like to be 125, but I haven't weighed under 130 in about 10 years...)

Anyway, didn't think this would be so long, and I appreciate all your posts Jalilah and Natrushka!

--Alangaud

I am not sure if this has already been adressed because I have not read through all the posts but- have you had a baby or a pregnancy in the recent past? I was at my doctors yesterday getting some labs done becuase I think that I too am hypothyroid. Anyway, he told me that after a pregnancy- one tends to have a much lower basal metabolic rate than before hand. He also said that depression alters metabolic rate. Aren't women sooo lucky to have all of these funky hormones! Jeez...

Hi

Yes I'm hypo too. I've been tracking my morning temperature for the last few days. The highest reading I'm getting is 97.6. That's a whole degree low.

Low carbing lowers thyroid hormone levels, but I can't seem to lose on 100 gms so, I have to figure out what the best level is for me. I've been doing 60 gms, haven't lost a thing the last two weeeks, and I'm also lowering my metobolism.

Yup hormones suck. I hope you have a good doctor? If you want info about thyroid stuff, email me privately. Being properly medicated is critical to your getting better.

Take care

Maggie

Jaliah

Have you ever heard of the insulin resistance diet? 30 carbs are allowed per meal and it is lower fat then other plans ( although I don't do the low fat aspect). Maybe it might suit you. I reviewed it in the plan comparison section.

I'm not trying to bring everyone down, but it is entirely possible to have multiple heart attacks and survive them. It happened to me. I finally had one bad enough to go to the doctor (different one than now) and he diagnosed it as a pinched nerve. I ended up in the hospital for a triple bypass within a few days of that visit. (and they wanted to do five but two veins were too small for surgery)

Your life is more important than any amount of money. Any person, male OR female, who has heart attack symptoms should head straight for the hospital. Better to pay up and feel foolish later than to die because you couldn't afford care.

I agree with Jalil ....not all bodies are alike....some are radically different from others. I myself don't expect to lose more than 20 lbs tops on this plan...I have been on Atkins for 3 months and LC wol as well. With all the diligiance of a person craving to lose weight.....I onlly lost 15 - 20 lbs....I'll take it, but I will never lose like the others I read about, and I have plenty to lose! The one thing I do like tho, is not being a slave to my cravings. The cravings do go away but my big appetite never will....it runs in the genes. My hope is to keep active ...very active...every day and I can say I've done my best.


Marg

So... is the final answer Yes or No for "Do we mess up our metabolic rates doing LC?"... sorry, didn't quite get the answer after reading all the posts.

hmmm this is an old post. I did not read all of the answers but I was surprised by some of the experiences. I have had nothing but positive changes with this way of eating. Significantly decreased IBS symptoms, wt loss and energy for the new me! I think our bodies are so use to the high carbs/ over size portions that in this WOE we have gotten our bodies use to using good protiens and carbs in the way of veggies rather than processed white flour that when we have it our body reacts. Mind you I have had the odd piece of bread to sop up butter with my escargot without any real damage noted, but when I had 1/2 a bagel I had a major IBS attack. So my earlier problems were obviously wheat/ gluten related. The one thing to remember when you get onto Maintenance you will always have to remain lc/ you can have a bit of the "rarely eat" stuff but this is a wol not just a diet. Thats the point... you can't eat the fat/ protein and the carbs again without gaining.