anyone heard of or tried refeeding or Leptin
 

Hi I read somewhere about refeeding (like carb loading) then going back on strict induction and this helps with moving stalls. Has anyone tried this? I am soooooo frustrated, just when I got excited that 2 more lbs came off after a 4 week post induction stall, I have not lost any more in two weeks!!! I thought some more would come off. I just want to try anything! I heard that refeeding helps, but I dont want to ruin a good thing. Your comments are appreciated!! :yay: :cry: :yay: :yay: :cry:

Mitz

Try reading this thread:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...ighlight=Leptin

Mitz-- some people's weight loss just follows that pattern! Remember, the weight didn't come ON at a steady 2 lbs a week, either. It's So hard to be patient, but you're doing GREAT!

Keep up the good work.

Did you measure yourself when you started? You will probably find that even though the pounds aren't coming off the inches are! Men tend to lose pounds at a faster clip than women, but women take off the inches. I have only lost 20 lbs but have lost 14.5 inches in the three places I started measuring when I started Atkins...no telling how much more has come off other places (like upper arms and lower abdomen, where it really shows now). Good luck!

I used refeeds with great success. High carb, low fat - Fruit Loops and Coke. Not actually very enjoyable.

Ugggg! I should think not!

Thanks for replies, regarding refeeding, I am assuming I do basically sugar for a day? or just one meal? Please tell me, I want to do this right without messing up or gaining any weight...
Mitz

Maybe this could be an explanation for a Halloween binge. I always have trouble with the candy. I'm really hoping that we get alot of trick or treaters--I really don't want to look for an excuse for cheating on Snickers this year!
Carol
Carol

Refeeding is upping your calories for a day, not carbs. Eating nothing but sugar for a day would not only set you back quite a few pounds, but make your blood sugar out of wack and bring cravings and other problems back.

Typical weight loss patterns are to lose 10% of the weight you need to during induciton, then nothing for a week or so as the body adjusts, then around 5% of the weight you need to each month after. This is typical, some lose faster and some slower.

A true stall is 6 weeks with no pounds, or inches lost. Have you been measuring to see if you are losing inches?

Atkins is not a crash diet. The weight won't come off steadily, or all at once. If you start messing with refeeds and what not this early in the plan, or binging, you'll be disapointed when not only does the weight not ocme off, it may start going on.

Thanks LadyBelle

I needed that to put things in perspective. I do not want to mess this up........I cant believe I fit into a size 10.Its been a long time. I did not realize 5% of weight per month is normal.....thats a pound a month for me....well, I will work with that....thanks!

Mitz :thup:

Sorry LadyBelle, but if you look into what Leptin refeeds are about - its the carbs.
A proper refeed intended to raise your Leptin level is HIGH carb, LOW fat. You need to put on a little fat to raise you Leptin levels. Higher Leptin levels help avoid starvation mode which helps avoid loosing muscle and stalls. Do a search on Leptin in this site, you can find a great deal about it. Leptin levels are generally only a concern trying to loose weight when you are thinner because obese people have sufficient Leptin. Leptin is produced by fat.

I did refeed for about four months. Each Sunday I would refeed, gaining about 2 pounds. During the week I would loose 2.5 or 3 pounds for a net loose of .5 to 1 pound every week. Before I did refeeds I stalled frequently and was averaged loosing 1 pound every 6 weeks (after my initial 9 pound drop when I started).

More calories is something you should do if your hungry. Go ahead and have some more steak if you are hungry. I assume very few us are hungry because that is great part of low-carbing.

Groggy, what kinds of food did you eat during refeed? Do you think lots of fruits would be ok?

Perhaps its ME, but this refeed thing sounds like a great way to rationalize a binge.

Though I don't have the research to back it up, I do think frequent stallers might benefit from raising their carbs a bit. I notice when weight loss slows down for me, if I eat a little bit more carbs (like 5 or 10) I start to lose really fast again.

But fruit loops and coke? Blech, you would be better off eating something less refined and more healthy like melons and whole grain rice! It would achieve the same effect without all the nutrition void refined sugar.

I think the idea is to never let your body adapt to a restrictive diet of any kind. Alternate calories and carb levels constantly, and it's hard for your body to go into "starvation mode". So, your metabolism keeps chugging along nicely.

If you are thinking about doing a refeed to raise your Leptin levels, you should search this web site and web on Leptin.

From what I have read, fruit is not good for refeeds, Fruit Loops and licorice are good.

If you are afraid to try a refeed because you'll "fall off the wagon", then you probably are not sufficiently obscessed about loosing weight to chance the danger (like I was). Be content that you are not gaining weight, and occassionally it goes down - as I am now.

It interesting how low-carb people can evangelize low-carbing because they believe it and know it to be the truth. But then refuss to even entertain other scientific concepts like Leptin and refeeds, just like the medical establishment that refusses to believe high-fat is the proper way to eat.

I did and do low-carb, I believe in it. I did refeeds based on Leptin theory and I believe it helped me loose weight faster and avoid stalls, I believe in Leptin and refeeds science too. I also believe and understand low-fat dieting and know it doesn't work because of insulin AND Leptin.

Now, I have to figure out maintenance. I find it much harder than loosing the weight. Given that, perhaps refeeds are a bad idea and you should just take your time loosing your weight.

Groggy60: I just realized you did your refeed on Fruit Loops and REAL Coke...not Diet Coke! Double ugggg!

Coke was too sweet for me before I started LCing...did you have a hard time with all that sweet in your mouth? I personally won't do a refeed...but I know there are people who do it and it works for some. The big issue to address is can you do it, do it right and not use it as an excuse to eat all the junk you want. And I imagine all the sugar addicts should stay far, far away from something like this.

Yes, real Coke - a really hate Diet Coke and artifical sweetners. My low-carb diet does not have sweets. Splenda has just as aweful an aftertaste as the others sweetners to me. All artifical sweetners except Splenda give me a headache. I eat all natural foods, no bars or imitation foods.

In a refeed, I typically tried to have 3 cans of Classic Coke. Second one always tasted much better than the first one. As well, I always had a "cheat" meal that had some fat in it - like pizza or pasta.

I used to be a total sugar addict. I can say used to be, because I never found it to be any problem leaving the refeed sweets behind, I always felt SO much better back on low-carb. I was able to do it because I had(have) a real obscession with wanting to be being thin.

You can also check out Skamito's journal. She was doing refeed at one point around the end of July I think.

K.

Thanks for the great responses. ItsThe WOOOOO, So let me get this straight...if I were to do a refeed, I can have bread or pasta at say dinner , and then the next day, go back on strict induction? Did you gain any weight the next day when you did this ITS THE WOOOO, and how much did you lose doing this that week? Excuse my ignorance everyone, but I want to do this right....thanks for your patience. :roll:

Mitz :wiggle:

Before you jump into anything do a search of refeeds in the threads here. There are several people who lift weights and do this on a regular basis. There is a right way and a wrong. You don't want to rush to something and cause more problems later. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!

Sounds like you need to check into it a bit more. From my limited understanding, a refeed usually involves lots of pure sugar - not pasta and bread.

Refeed on Sunday. Monday morning my weight would be up 1 to 3 pounds, usually 2. Weight then went down every day. On Wednesday or Thursday, I would be back in Ketosis. On Thursday or Friday, I would be back to Sunday morning pre-refeed weight. On Friday, Saturday or Sunday morning new low weights would happen, always .5 to 1 pound. Then Sunday I would do it all again - Fruit Loops, Coke and Pasta.

Yes! I think that I need to research this a little more, I would be a basket case if I had to watch my weight go up and then spend the week losing it! I think that I would just go slowly and let it come off naturally! I have only lost about 11 lbs since Sept 6, but I am down 2 sizes....and I am in ketosis everyday, and I know inches are coming off....so I am not going to drive myself crazy. I gave myself until next summer to lose all the weight....I should lose 25 my then, especially if I start excercising. Thanks again!

Mitz

Mmm - I'm interested. I've got 7-8 pounds to lose, and my options seem to be to get very strict with carbs and calories or to try re-feeding.
My concern with the low carb and calorie bit is what happens when I up them again - as it wouldn't be something I could maintain.
My concerns about the re-feed are blood sugar levels - would it send them all to pot (I was reactive hypoglycaemic before I started LC).

Anyone done re-feeds, put on weight and not lost it again (she asks nervously!!)

Jay

Thereis another important thing to consider. Insulin. Giving yourself a massive weekly insulin spike, then returning to the high fat Atkins and repeating sounds like a way to increase cholesterol and other side effects.

Many people come to Atkins because they have sever insulin resistance. Constintly raising insulin levels defetes the purpose of the WOE for them. It also would bring back all those fun cravings and means you spend the rest of the week going through withdrawls just like when you went through induciton for the first time.

I also don't see how induction in the week and binging on the weekend teaches lifelong eating habits. Atkins is a WOL, not a crash diet.

Read through
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=34153

Misconception: You can do Induction during the week and binge on weekends and still lose or maintain weight.
Reality: When you do Atkins during the week and cheat on weekends, for several days after your binge, you are no longer burning fat. At most, you could be in the fat burning state for only three days a week. In addition, you have overstimulated your insulin response, increasing the metabolic risk factors underlying your weight problem. Remember that when you burn fat, dietary fat is also being burned. However, if you combine high carbs with high fat – the typical American diet – you will be increasing your cardiovascular risks.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...=atkins+abusers

Ladybelle

Everytime you post, you make sense to me. Thanks! I will not be refeeding, (my personal choice), I will just do it the slow way. A pound just came off this week, so I am losing losing inches. I thought I would never change the mindset about the scale is the only way to go! That pound I lost I KNOW is fat, it was slow, but its fat!

JAYKAY....you and I have the same start and goal weight. CAn you tell me how long it took you to reach the weight you are now, and if it was slow like mine? How tall are you, I am 5ft 2ins and my goal is 125.

Mitz

Hi Mitz. I've been LCing since May 2002 and I reached 137 by November 2002. Since then, as you can see, I've not lost much weight, but a couple more inches. I'm 5'6", 40 years old, a 'mesomorph' by build, but quite a fine boned one and I put on my weight in 'apple' not pear fashion, so the last 7 pounds I'm hoping is finally going to shift the remains of the last spare tyre!
What about you?
Take care, Jay

Wow!!
This refeed stuff would get to me. I feel guilty just eating some Kentucky Fried Chicken and a soft taco!
I can't imagine Fruit Loops(Yucky anyway) and Coke.

Hi Jaykay
I am 37 years old, and I think mesomorph by build, and I put weight on all over (hour glass). I am hoping to take it off all over. I have not been below 120 since I was a teenager, so 125 is what I was before kids! You are 5 ft 6" maybe that is more an ideal weight for you at 133? You sure have a lot of patience waiting year to take off the last of it. I guess it is a woe so whatever you lose is a bonus! 27lbs in six months is pretty good, makes me feel better! I gave myself until next summer to reach goal....I hope so!

Take Care too,

Mitz

Have you tried Pilates? I started a while back, and so far it has made the most noticable difference in my waist compaired to other exercises. I still have a c-section pooch I really really want to get rid of, but now it's more in porportion with the rest of me. Combining that with the BFL weight lifting has really helped me to really lower body fat, though my weight hasn't changed much.