Confirm 2 Pieces of Advice
 

Hi-
I am in a stall for about 2 - 3 weeks now. Very frustrating....but based on advice from others here, I am not giving up no matter how mad I am.

I was told 2 things...can you all confirm or tell me if it is nonsense?

1. If I am stalling, I should have a big dose of carbs, like a Snickers Bar,it will kickstart the losing again.

2. If a stall last more than 1 week - 10 days you are doing something wrong.

OK...I am ready to hear all opinions...
~Michelle :sunny:

In my humble opinion:
First Question: Eating a snickers bar will not help.
Second Quesetion: Many of us have been in stalls longer than that and have been doing nothing "wrong". Mine lasted about 6 weeks, I hung in there and now I am losing again.

Hi Michelle,

I'm pretty new at this (a month) but I would have to agree with Talon. Don't eat the Snickers bar! Some things that affect weight loss are, usually around the third week after you start, it stops and takes a few weeks to start up again, and make sure you drink tons of water, and if it's anywhere near your TOM don't get concerned. Stick with it and you'll be glad you did!

Best of luck!!
Kypraia

Hi Michelle,

Good on you for not giving up!

1. I would strongly advise against using "Snickers bar" type carbs, unless you are doing a weight lifting type "carb-up."
Some folk here have found it to be useful to increase healthy carbs for a while to confuse their metabolism.

2. Did you know it's technically not a stall unless you've gone six weeks without losing weight or inches?

I suspect your body is simply adjusting to your earlier weight loss. Probably all you have to do is just wait it out. Frustrating isn't it?
You could also look at this thread, "Are you really a turtle?" for some tweaking ideas.

Cheers, matey.

:rose:Rosebud:rose:

NOT ALONE...
 

Misery loves company...

Okay, I guess we can't be too miserable, we did lose some weight already! I hit my TOM and WHAO NELLY! ...Stall. It hasn't really bounced back to losing that fast again. I've really tightened the rains again the last week or so and lost another pound. I got my hopes up from losing 18 pounds in the first month and then 3 pounds in the last 3 weeks. I have faith that scale will keep reading lower numbers to me...

I AM FOCUSED.

I WILL BE THIN.

(I have to tell myself that, and heck, it's true- we can be focused and a little down at times, that's OKAY). :D

Carianne :cheer:

umm, I mean...
 

REIGNS...(have tightened the reigns). Silly me. :rolleyes:

*giggles* how about "reins"?

Thank you all for your help!
I have not, and will not, have the Snickers bar, I thought it was too good to be true!
And yes, it is VERY frustrating. When you know you are doing everything right, and nothing is happening, it STINKS! I am going to hang in there. I am not giving up. I like this WOE and I am trusting that it is going to work.
Thanks for the link Rosebud, I am going to check it out right after I finish this.
I will keep everyone posted...waiting for the WHOOSH FAIRY! Wish I could get a pretty one like some of you guys have! LOL
Thanks,
~Michelle :sunny:

I found my whoosh fairy at Whoosh Fairy Adoptions , maybe you can find your best friend there too!

Thank you Talon! I will go there as soon as I finish reading Rosebuds link :)

Hi Talon-
I just checked it out, and from what is left, nothing really connects with me. :( Thank you for the help though, I guess I am not meant to get a whoosh fairy just yet! ;)
~Michelle :sunny:

:D

thanks you for the link, Talon! Those are great!

Ok, I know what a WHOOSH is and I *think* I know what a fairy is, but what is a whoosh fairy????? And why would I want one??

Hi Soteria,

As you may have discovered by now, weight loss when low carbing often happens in stages.

As Michelle has discovered, you lose some weight and then the body "pauses" for a while - probably the fat cells grabbing onto some water for a while in an effort to regroup. When that extra water goes, it can sometimes be as an overnight loss of several pounds.

Some whimsical soul described this phenomenon as a visit from the Whoosh Fairy. Sweet, isn't it? :p So we all long for visits from "the fairy." In fact she sometimes flits across the main page of this forum - try to catch her!

Cheers (keep hanging in there, Michelle!),

:rose:Rosebud:rose:

OK Get This...
 

I listened to the BF...
Yesterday I had a horrible headache, and pretty much passed out for 4 hours yesterday afternoon. He was worried and pretty much begged me to eat some carbs. (Ice cream). He said to give it a chance and trust him. (He lost 50 lbs. LCing) Finally I gave in. (It was ice cream after all! LOL). He promised me it would help the stall, get rid of the headache and give me more energy.

So I had the ice cream, and waited 4 hours before eating anything else. (And before that my tummy was empty too). And don't you know - I lost 3 lbs when I got on the scale today. I guess he can say "I told you so". But can anyone tell me WHY this happened?

Thanks,
~Michelle :sunny:

So....THAT explains that fairy thing that goes across the screen when I come here! I wondered what that was!!! :p

I thought it was an angel!

So those drawings that everyone wants with their names on them are whoosh fairies???

I think it's because...
 

Hello Michelle,

I've been reading a few different books. CALP, Atkins, Mastering the Zone, Protein Power and I just picked up Suzanne Somers' "Somersizing" last night. I am just so curious about how the programs are different. Somersizing seems to not be LC but what she calls "food combining". I think all the books are interesting and probably work.

It got me thinking and (since I'm new to LC'ing) it finally hit me, or sunk in, the reason why we NEED to eat and get the calories. So that our bodies don't think we are in starvation mode and hang on to our fat. I guess that's why we lose more when we eat more, at least I've found and that might be why you did. At least that's my pea brain assessment.

You probably already know that. I feel like I'm the last to figure things out- at least I eventually do. I just couldn't see why I needed to eat, eat and eat some more. But now I do. It's so hard with the big cravings gone. But I wouldn't recomment getting your calories from sweets. Stick to the plan, you will feel better in the long run. - BTW, I haven't had a headache since I started taking my supplements. Are you taking yours?

Good luck!
Carianne

Thanks Carianne-

I have been doing ok with my calories, but the ice cream put me over on carbs. (About 50 when I "should be" under 40). He says it gives a shock to my system and gets it going again...

Lets see what others say too...

And I have had a few headaches, but it was only when my blood sugar was way too low, and I knew to eat something. I have been taking my supplements, and have been doing better! Thanks for asking :rose:

~Michelle :sunny:

I am just bringing this up b/c I am wondering if anyone knows the answer....

OH BOY...
 

Hello Michelle,

I hope things are going well for you. Did you come out of that stall yet? How did your body react in the last few days after that icecream? Any new losses or did you gain at all?

Im curious because last night I blew it. I cheated bigtime. I hosted a small group from our church last night and made some brownies. I also provided some LC snacks as I wasn't the only LC'r there :D . While everyone was there I was the pillar of strength, not one illegal snack went into my mouth and I wasn't really tempted. But after everyone left that brownie was calling my name "hey, Cari, over here...see, me and ice cream are buddies and if you warm me up and them put ice cream on top of me we can all have a party!". I got sucked into his plea.

Anyway, I felt terrible a little while after I ate it and last night I truly had a "carb hangover"! I broke into sweats and got a headache. First headache since I started back. It felt like a drunken hangover. :Puke:

Anyway, I even gained a pound today, but I am not really convinced it's from the brownie. I have learned my lesson. That cheat was painful. Physically and MENATALLY. I want to go back to being the pillar of strength again.

I'm going camping this weekend and I'm filling a bag with LC treats and snacks so I don't feel the need to cheat. They are providing the meals there, so hopefully its lots of meat. I doubt it though.

Have a great weekend!
Carianne

Hi Carianne-
Do you believe the day after the ice cream I lost 3 pounds after being in that stall?!! The BF was right!. No one can give me an aswer about WHY it happened though, I am a little disapointed in that :(
Sorry to hear about the hangover...doesnt sound fun at all. :thdown: they key to the ice cream was having an empty stomach. I didnt eat 4 hr before or after. I didnt have a hangover.
How did camping go? Hang in there. I am there with you. Gets hard sometimes! Keep me posted!
~Michelle :sunny:

PS- If anyone knows the answer to why the ice cream worked, please tell me!

The only things I've found on the subject are either:

1. it was a coincidence, that you would have lost that weight anyway.
2. you aren't eating enough calories, and it kicked you out of "starvation" mode.

Hi Summer!
 

This isn't the first time I've heard of results such as you've experienced by eating the ice cream. Sometimes it works, most times it doesn't. WHY did that happen? Take a look atthis post for a quote from Dr. Atkins that MAY help explain it.

There's also a thread around here somewhere (I'll see if I can find it later) called "Cheating before TOM" or something like that, I think it may be in the Tips/Stalls section. Women there are discussing caving in to pre-TOM cravings and then experiencing a whoosh. However, remember that whooshes almost always come right after TOM.....I'm having one right now as a matter of fact.... so that could just be coincidence.

There are lots of things about diets and metabolism that even the best scientists can't explain..... that's why its constantly being debated....there are no ANSWERS....just some real good educated guesses! ;)

Bottom line, if you're stalled (remember, that's FOUR weeks with no loss) go ahead and have a bowl of ice cream to see if it helps. Just don't have a bowl of ice cream every day for 2 weeks!!!

If you're feeling so poorly on a regular basis, then perhaps you should consider upping your carbs to the 40-45 range....maybe your particular body just needs those higher levels. The add'l carbs should come from vegetables or a little fruit....not refined carbs.