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Posted By: Beasthunt Low carb diet not for me? - 12/18/07 10:49 PM
Hey all,

I've been doing a low carb diet for the last 6 moths. Been staying pretty much under 20 carbs a day. Some day's i'm sure I get close to 25 or even 30. I started this diet at around 297 now i'm 279. I'm working out. For the last 5 months basically just here and there, not only doing cardio but cardio on the dreaded ELIPTICAL. Recently I have picked up high rep weight lifting and doing cardio daily (once again the man eater known as the ELIPTICAL. Been faithfully at the gym for 2 weeks and no weight loss.

For 6 months on a low carb diet, i feel that I should have lost more weight than I have. I had read that one of the writers on this site, her boyfriend lost what 60 lbs in 6 months? I wonder what my problem is. I'm seriously thinking that this diet is not for my body and am thinking of going to weight watchers.

I went on this diet with a friend and he has lost almost 60 lbs and he hasn't been as active as myself. Frustrating.

When going from eating fast food 3 times a day to staying under 20 carbs a day one would think the weight would just fall off but that's not so in my case. Seems that I should have just stuck with the pizza.....lol. Is this normal? Or is this just not for me. Thanks for the replies, in advance.
Posted By: BellaDeb Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 12/18/07 11:24 PM
Could be several things. One thing is "hidden" carbs--review your food intake with a carb counter and make sure you're not overdoing it. About the only thing with truly zero carbs is meat & fat. And, water.

For example, most people don't count carbs in artificial sweeteners, but if you drink a lot of diet sodas or coffee & tea with sweetener, that can really add up. And, if you choose bad carbs instead of veggies, you probably need more fiber.

You also need to drink lots of water, might need supplements, and you could be exercising too hard. And, you need to eat frequently & not skip meals. When you stress your body with diet and exercise, sometimes it reacts by retaining everything.

And, you might just be eating too much. Low-carb is not about eating "all you want" of fatty meats or other low-carb foods. Go to Lisa's Low Carb site & read her basics articles or buy the Atkins book or something so you really know how to eat low carb.

The big benefit is that it is so much better for your blood sugar, so you are less likely to binge on carbs. You can stay satisfied on reasonable amounts of good, lean protein and fresh veggies.

Good Luck!


Posted By: Beasthunt Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 12/18/07 11:43 PM
Thank you for your reply. I gotta be honest I reeeeeeeeaally keep an eye on the carbs. The ONLY place I feel I could be failing is in the Jim Bean sunflower seeds....lol. I'm hooked. But on the back of the packaging I believe it's a total of 2.5 carbs per bag after the dietary fiber.

I do take suppliments. I do the "One a day", Biotin, Fish oil, Green Tea and Vitamin C.

Water, I have alway's loved. It is God's gift to mankind. So i'm not a big unsweetened tea with sweet n' low fan. Although I do do it but it is a rarity and I count the carbs.

I do eat 3 meals with snacks(sunflower seeds...lol)

My main gripe is 6 months on this diet even if one were to slip here and there, it seems to me that there would be more than an 18 lb weight loss. I'm not giving up, I will tighten up on what I feel are loose ends but deep inside I think it might just be my body not liking this low carb diet. I personally like it but it might not be for me. I really don't see how a person can work out, even for 2 weeks and only eat 20-30 carbs a day and the weight not melt off of them. Funny that even the guy's at work who have seen others succeed on this diet don't understand why I havn't lost more.
Posted By: qwan Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 12/19/07 07:18 PM
Like belladeb said watch out for hidden carbs, but i still find it strange.
The excercise that you are doing should have made you lose atleast 60 pounds. Just by the excercise.
There are two factors. I think you are overdoing the gym. That means you are putting on muscle. This could be the reason why you are not losing weight. It is very unlikely but it can happen if you have a body type that can put on muscle easily.
Also the fact that your low carb diet is easily high on proteins. In the absence of carbs the body will use fat and protein for energy.
Inspite of all this I feel 18 pounds in 6 months is too less. it does not make sense. It means that you are losing only .75 pounds a week. I think you could have done that my just eliminated you pizzas.
How do you look. Do you feel your self tighter and your clothes looser.
You have to look at that too. Get a body fat analyzer. Try to get a costlier one or see if your gym has one of switch to a gym that has one. The handheld/home analyzers are not accurate.

The second factor and the most important one is your diet could still be having a lot of hidden MSG/ajinomoto and lot of trans fat.

3 years ago I still remember I had gone one a diet. Not an low carb but i just cut out all proccessed food and went vegetarian and low oily food. I lost 5 kgs(11 pounds) in 1 week and then over a period of 1 months I lost 10 kgs(22 pounds).
I used to drink 2-3 pepsi have 10inch double cheese crust dominoes pizzas and lots of MSG laden chinese foods. Mostly chicken and pork. lost of fried items and pastries with soy cream.
I was suprised the amount of weight i lossed the intial 11 pounds was water which I retained because of a high sodium diet. Then the rest I lost since my body had become balanced.
Then after that I started a serious of ups and downs. I was on the veg diet. The first time I put on 8 pounds in 1 week. that was because I got addicted to a drink known as appy. It was an apple drink with a little fizz. I though it to be a healthy substitue for "bad sodas" but I got addicted that I was drinking a litre a day. I found it had hidden MSG in the form of "nature identical flavours and the deadly E211(sodium benzoate).
Then the second time I started eating quacker oats for breakfast and I put on 5 pounds in 3 days.
Quacker oats are damn tasty so tasty that i used to reach into the box and I would eat them raw. After doing a lot of reasearch I found out that some company have their farmers spray MSG on the crops. So they dont have to add MSG and can claim their product to be MSG free(actually they claim it a "no MSG added" you see the difference now). Then i found that many people were "addicted" to quacker oats.
I stopped that too.
Then i went to a very local small restaurant with my friend and had squid. Squid are low calorie and very low in fat(and carbs too but that time I was not aware of the low carb diets)
Man that was tasty I was getting the same "symptoms" as I had with the Apple drink and the quacker oats. But this time I was like not ready to believe that such a small restaurant would even know what MSG is(I like in a small town in India).that too a hotel only serviing local cuisine. But then I had gained 11 pound in 1 week again. I still continued eating. I thought I was having MSG paranoia.
But once I just asked the waiter if they add MSG or "tasting powder" as they call it. And he told me that they put " a little". Damn man i had to dump that. Then I went deep into MSG and started researching on the net and in my city. I found that a small shop on the outskirts of the city was selling 44 pounds of MSG every month. Each and every hotel from chinese to south Indian and continental hotels used MSG. Only vegetarian hotel that served Rice and curry meals did not use MSG. The punjabi and "balti" restaurants used MSG.
If you had a soup 1 started and a noodles with a gravy by the side you were easily consuming any where from 4 teaspoons to 4 tablespoons of MSG(depeneding on which spoon the cook used).
MSG has a high link with obesity. I had found a university that had submitted a paper regarding the link between MSG and hormonal imbalance(which can cause weight gain regardless of diet or food). Now I cannot find the site anywhere.
I went throught the website truthinlabeling.org
From then I eliminated all MSG in my life and my friend make fun of me. They dont believe but my health my headaches and stomach problems have all disappeared.
I can understand my friend reactions as eliminating MSG from your diet is almost like kicking a drug habit and you suffer from major withdrawal symptoms, that you want to believe that yeast extract in your chips is not hidden msg and then you eat it.
I was at 102kgs and I have an emotional eating problem inspite of knowing so much about MSG I still used to binge on pizzas and other mSG laden food when emotionally down and I reach my peak weight of 122kgs(269 pounds). Recently I accidentally went on a low carb(it was also a low fat diet). I lost 10 kgs (22 pounds) in one month but then as my calorie intake was less that 500 calories a day I suffered from serious weakeness. I later realised that I need to atleast have an intake of 1200+ calories so that I dont go into "starvation mode" and my metobolism doesnt slow down. So then I did a reasearch on atkins and I decided to bring my calories up to 1200 by including low carb and high fat/protien foods. I am doing pretty well now As you might now by Now I have a binging problem but I am doing pretty good. Since I have gone atkins I have got my energy back and I am able to excercies.
Oh coming to the your issue. I feel that you might be consuming Hidden MSG. Even food colorings like Sunset yellow, red, blue, brown(choclates) affect your endocrine glands that cause you put on weight(which is mostly fat around your midsection). Please check and see that your meat is not cured with MSG and other preservatives. Always eat natural. Try to stick to vegetarian. You can get your high protiens food from dairy product(again no proccessed foods here). try to eat organice chicken and pork. Chicken are pumped with steroids for them to grow faster along with anti-depressants and anti-biotics. SO stay away from it.
Also check sodium content in your foods.
I think you will do well then.
One of the major reasons why the atkins has been such a success for some(and also why it has failed) is just pure luck. Right now many atkins evangelists have realised this are are spreading awarness. normally low carb diets are less processed on no processed foods at all. But then you get chicken and pork which is highly processed. Even cheese and milk. Not to mention the steroids and the hidden MSG. So it is just luck that some people make healthy choices wheras other are still eating junk without knowing it and are not losing weight and then they end up blaming atkins.
Keep this rule in life wethere you are on the atkins diet or not. Stay away from processed foods eat only organic and learn to and get used to prepare everything from a scratch.
also dont trust anything that is addictive.
Posted By: BellaOnline Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 12/26/07 01:26 AM
Greetings! Definitely don't give up on low carb. It is a very healthy way to live. It sounds like there are several things going on.

First, one of the posters was correct - undoubtedly you are gaining muscle. Go out to your local store and buy a scale that can measure fat weight. Most stores carry them now. Let us know not just your weight but your % fat. That will help us figure out if you are really "not losing weight" or if you are in essence gaining muscle at a good rate which offsets your weight loss.

Next, you really shouldn't be at 20g for that long. If your body thinks there are not enough nutrients available, it goes into famine mode. It clings onto fat as being necessary. You have to convince your body it is in a *feast* situation where there is plenty of food - so that it's OK to burn off the fat. So try increasing your carb count to a higher level. Also, make sure you're never hungry. Eat regular (healthy) snacks. Do you normally feel hungry at some point during the day, or are you always comfortably full?

We'll help you figure this out smile
Posted By: Lisa LowCarb Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 12/26/07 01:29 AM
Sorry that was me posting, I forgot to switch accounts smile Also yes I get tons of messages each week from people who are losing weight with low carb. So it definitely is something possible to do and it should happen fairly easily. We just have to figure out what's holding the fat on in your case smile
Posted By: janisko Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 12/26/07 09:29 PM
Hi... I feel really bad for you and can understand your frustration.

I do disagree with some of what has been offered to you as possible reasons. I followed approximately 20 net carbs for MANY months and didn't exercise at all. I lost 70 lbs. in less than a year. I also can't believe that a few hidden carbs here and there could cause a complete stall and feel the same about MSG. Transfats, although the worst thing you can put in your mouth, would not cause a stall. Exercise does build muscle and muscle weighs more than fat but it wouldn't cause a complete stall and you'd at least feel your clothing getting larger. And as far as it being about luck, with it working for some people and not others... I say hogwash. If followed properly everyone loses.

Low carbing is all about counting net carbs but calories still count. I found after several months when I started adding things like low carb bread and low carb candy that I needed to count calories as well as carbs since the low carb "products" are generally very high in calories.

What I'd suggest to you is that you use a free online program like fitday.com to track your food intake for several days or even several weeks so you can clearly see if your calorie intake is the issue. You will have to customize your foods to see only the net carbs but it's not that difficult. I used fitday through my entire weight loss and still do. It's the only way I can be sure I'm not getting too many calories. You can eat more calories when low carbing but they still count.

Good luck and report back so we can continue to help you.
Posted By: Lisa LowCarb Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 12/27/07 04:25 PM
Definitely you bring up a very good point here. Low carb is definitely about eating *healthy* low carb. Let's say for example that you ate 800 pounds of fat every day. It would be zero carbs! But you would gain weight. That is not what Low Carb intends for you to do. You're supposed to be eating natural, healthy foods that are low carb. So you're not supposed to eat mounds of fat, or piles of processed foods. Foods that are processed tend to become low carb because they add in tons of fat for flavor. That's not healthy.

So like the above poster said, if you ate 20 packages of low carb candy which was 0g of carbs, undoubtedly there is other junk in there that would screw up your system.

How about you post two days worth of meals for us to look at and offer advice?
Posted By: janisko Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 12/27/07 08:04 PM
Quote:
Next, you really shouldn't be at 20g for that long. If your body thinks there are not enough nutrients available, it goes into famine mode. It clings onto fat as being necessary. You have to convince your body it is in a *feast* situation where there is plenty of food - so that it's OK to burn off the fat. So try increasing your carb count to a higher level.


I'm curious as to why you say you'd go into famine or starvation mode with carbs quite low. That's actually not true. It's all about total calories taken in and we all know we need a lot of fat because we burn it for energy. I can't tell you how many people I know, many of whom are diabetics, who must keep their levels that low in order to control their blood sugar or their weight. I've never been able to go over 30-35 without gaining or having an increase in cholesterol and have been at or below 30 net carbs for many years. IMHO the lower your carbs the healthier you are.
Posted By: Lisa LowCarb Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 01/01/08 05:32 PM
You can't look at carbs in a black or white manner like that, though smile Carbs are a combination of sugars and starches, and your body does need those items - and also it needs all of the fresh nutrients found in vegetables. If all you ate was fats all day long, you'd get scurvy and other diseases.

You say "we all know we need a lot of fat" - I wouldn't agree with this statement at all. Can you expand on that further?

Also, how would eating more vegetables increase cholesterol? Cholesterol is a combination of your body metabolism (genetics) and the cholesterol you intake. Neither should be directly impacted by sugar intake of such a minor level ...

Here's my page on cholesterol -

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Posted By: janisko Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 01/04/08 03:30 PM
Quote:
You say "we all know we need a lot of fat" - I wouldn't agree with this statement at all. Can you expand on that further?


Because we burn fat instead of carbs for energy.

Eating more vegetables wouldn't increase cholesterol. When I increase my carbs it's generally from fruit (lower glycemic choices) and even that will hit my cholesterol. Keeping carbs low means my HDL is higher than my LDL and my triglycerides are around 40. When I increase my carbs my LDL increases along with my trigs and my HDL decreases. BTW... I don't drink any coffee. We're all different. I've fought cholesterol all my life and by doing what I'm doing, approved by two of my physicians, I can finally maintain my cholesterol at perfect levels without drugs. Not all carbs are created equal, I agree, but higher carbs means altering cholesterol levels - at least for me with my nasty genetic factors.
Posted By: Lisa LowCarb Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 01/11/08 08:12 PM
Hmmm maybe it's the "a lot" that I'm having issues with smile Unless you are already your ideal weight, you already have fat on your body to burn for energy, and the aim is to bring in enough nutrition that your body has nutritious components that it needs. You don't need to take in any additional fat for energy.

Now of course if you ARE your ideal weight, and are seeking to maintain that weight, then you need to take in enough energy each day to balance your energy needs, in addition to that nutrition. Very few people in this forum are in that situation, but if you personally are, kudos to you!

Ah ok - is there a reason that when you increase carbs you go the fruit route? Why not add in more veggies or fiber, for example? Or are you saying "when I cheat and have an apple pie" - something like that?
Posted By: janisko Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 01/15/08 09:03 PM
Hi Lisa...

When I first started on this journey I read everywhere that high levels of dietary fat are important for satiety and high energy levels. I found that to be true almost immediately so maintained that throughout my loss and now maintenance - 60%, with much of it saturated. I also went from having high cholesterol and triglycerides to having what are now absolutely amazing numbers. My doctor says my numbers are so good that the computer doesn't know what to do with me so throws me out as abnormal. I fall into a risk category only 5% of adults are in.

I truly believe the fat is the reason I'm successful this time. I had lost all my weight twice before using low fat and was often hungry. Once I hit goal and didn't have the scale as a reward I couldn't maintain and gained it back both times. This time I'm as happy as can be and having no trouble maintaining. I lost my weight, a total of 70 lbs. in 2004, averaging 1.5 lbs. per week with no plateaus or stalls. Since hitting maintenance my weight fluctuates very little.

When I increase my carbs I choose fruit because I love it and wish I could eat more. My carb level is quite low so fruits other than berries - like pears, apples and grapefruit are tough to work in. When I go high I always grab for one of those. A good sized pear or apple is almost an entire day's carbs for me. Going high, which to me is above 40, also brings on carb cravings for me. I try to stay between 30-35, which allows for plenty of vegies and fiber.

Apple pie would not be an option for me. I am a serious life-time low carber and eat neither sugar nor flour. My once-a-year splurge on my birthday is spare ribs with REAL barbecue sauce. That's about as far as I go, although I do allow myself ONE special off-plan food on my birthday. It could be the ribs, potatoes or whatever. I'd never go so far as to choose a sugary dessert. We have plenty of on-plan options.

Does it make sense now?
Posted By: Lisa LowCarb Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 01/20/08 02:08 AM
I definitely agree that we have tons of great food options out there that do not involve added sugar! Lots of foods have natural sugars, so it's always a balancing act to find items that are nutritious but low in sugars.

I do agree that fats help you to feel full. I tend to feel full when I eat because I drink a lot of water with my meal, and drink a lot of water in general. So I really don't need a lot of fat to "feel full" or to feel satiated. Also, stomachs shrink as your size does, so really you don't need to eat that much to feel full, as you lose the weight.

Definitely if you let your body get too many carbs / sugars in it, it starts to crave them which sets up an endless cycle. Like Chinese food smile You get the sugar high, then the sugar low, then you want more sugar.

Really, when you come down to it, there are only four energy sources out there that a body can burn. They are carbs, fats, proteins and alcohol. That's a simple biology fact. We don't recommend living on alcohol smile And since we're trying to cut out carbs, that leaves us with proteins and fats. You are leaning heavily in the fat direction. I'd probably be at least half-half protein-fat in my balance, but if you really do get enough nutrition and protein in you every day, and you are active enough that you burn them off, then it sounds like your mix works well for you.
Posted By: janisko Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 02/07/08 08:13 PM
Any reasonably-sized meal will fill me but if it's low in fat I'm hungry fairly quickly. The benefit of eating fat is that it has tremendous "staying" power. I never even think about a snack at night as long as I've eaten enough fat.

If I have something like fish or white meat chicken I make sure I have something with enough fat, even if it means adding extra butter to my vegetables or a sauce to the fish or chicken.

Drinking a whole lot of water with a meal will make me feel satsified but hunger would appear fairly quickly. There's no "staying" power to water.

Yup.. It's working for me and has since early 2004 even though I've gone hypothyroid. I had a really hard time maintaining before I started on meds and am still struggling but all I gained was 9 lbs. because I just kept cutting back on food intake instead of piling on the pounds. Hopefully, I'll be on the proper level of meds by summer. I started treatment a year ago but it's complicated and my body isn't cooperating. The whole thing was a pretty bad joke after working so hard to lose the weight. G*d has a pretty strange sense of humor IMHO. :o)

The good news is I've been able to lose what I gained and am presently only 2 lbs. above my goal weight.
Posted By: Lisa LowCarb Re: Low carb diet not for me? - 02/13/08 10:41 PM
That's great news about your goal weight! And it's wonderful that you've found a balance that works well for you smile I guess I snack regularly through the day - and drink a lot of water - so I don't assume for example that lunch will "fill me up" until dinner. I eat small meals and then small healthy snacks. So to me, that's the way my metabolism runs smile
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