Wishing I knew what to do~
 

Hi~
I have been doing a lot of reading on the forum..........I've cut out just about everything except protein, salad and lc veggies, keeping my carbs to 20 a day........drinking literally a gallon of water a day and taking supplements......


I have lost 2 lbs this week after a 7 week stale.........I had thought that I would really get moving again but I haven't and I'm discouraged, impatient and I don't know what else to do........I have been hanging in there.........but two lbs. in 9 weeks??? While following the program???

Spelled out all the gory details in my journal.......would really love some experienced advice......please??

Maybe you need to do some additional reading and to check out some other programs to find the LC program that's right for you. See if you can get some of the books from the library. Check out Borders and see if you can read some of them there.

Read the profiles of the dieters and the symptoms the diets address and see if the profiles fit your type. If you find one that seems a match, give it a trial. The proper diet for you should seem almost effortless and above all you should lose weight on it.

Do some research. I know you'll find the lc program that's right for you.

Okay I went back about 3 pages in your journal before I saw your first menu posting.

It doesn't look like you even had 1000 calories that day.

Could it be you are eating too little food for your body to feel comfortable enough to let go of the fat cells? You should be having at least 1200 calories a day according to medical studies, to prevent the bodies starvation defense from kicking in.

Could you perhaps start listing out your daily menus so we can at least understand what it is you are eating and how much?

Thanks :)

Zuleikaa & agonycat~
Thanks for the posts.........I thought Atkins was the program for me.......have lost the last 120 lbs on it......would it suddenly NOT be the one?? Is that possible? On every other one I've tried I always have the most horrid sugar cravings.........

agonycat........I will post my food in the journal, thanks..........I'm pretty sure I have about 1500 a day........at least if not more.........will try to post what I eat though, thanks ~
:)

I read your journal and will post this answer there too. Yes, it CAN happen that you don't lose while staying legal on LC.

You are 75% of the way to your goal. You have lost
120 POUNDS !!!!!! in about 2 years. That's an entire grown person!

This fantastic! You are already down at a weight that I would love to reach. Do you feel better from LC as well as the weight loss?

These plateaus are very hard to bear because it seems unfair. If only we knew the rules by which our body is conducting itself, it would be simple. But we must guess and try new things but basically stay LC. And wait.

From reading your journal, I'd say that the stress of your husband's illness and treatment is having an effect on your body. Worry and fear cause hormone changes (adrenaline, cortisol & others) and these alarm your body, so it becomes reluctant to let go of assets it might need.

You are probably keeping your blood sugars and insulin levels very stable by eating LC, so you are doing the best thing you could for your health and mental stability.

One thought is that you probably should be eating more carbs, not less, to reassure your physical self that the food supply is safe and dependable. Vitamins and supplements will also reinforce your health and deal with the stress. (Vit B is said to be great for stress.)

Right now, losing weight is not the highest priority in your life and if you remove the stress of "needing to lose" and the frustration when you don't, perhaps the body will feel safe enough to let go.

I sometimes find that a high fat day will help me let go of a pound the next day. So I occasionally like twice a month, indulge in a 1/2 cup of whipping cream, whipped up with vanilla and sweetener. It's only 3-5 carbs but almost all fat and I FEEL SO WICKED! And pampered and luxurious. (Just note: if you do it every day, it might result in a gain.)

You've had some difficult things to face in the last while and you have still succeeded in a magnificent loss. Losing weight will come again, but the closer you get to goal, the slower it will be. Some people believe that this slow loss will help to guarantee that you are so firmly an LCer that you will never let yourself regain by going back to a high GI carb way of eating.

All the best. :wave:

Are you exercising or weight lifting?

Not yet
 

Neither yet........I was walking but haven;t for some time now.........will be joining a circuit type gym soon that uses aerobic and weight training.........resistance. I'm sure that will make a difference~

My 2 cents
 

I don't think there's anything that could added to Barb's (tofi's)post - she hit the nail squarely on the head.

Allura, you've accomplished something truly inspirational. It's not within the realm of the impossible that your body now needs a little break. You might be able to tweak this and that and squeeze another pound out here and there, but if your body needs this time to adjust to an 120 lb loss it's going to fight you tooth and nail.

This sounds like the time to sit back and focus on other things in your life, of which it sounds like you have many.

Atkins does work for you, there's 120 lbs less of you as proof.

Nat

Natrushka~
It makes sense.......but not something I really want to accept......if it's what my body will do then I guess I won't have a choice........but hard to take when I am so ready to go~

Sometimes you have no choice. You just have to take a deep breath and let your body rule. Following this WOL isn't just about the weight loss but almost more so about your health. If your body needs this time, let it take it. If you tense up and try to force it by reducing its food, it will fight you and you don't need the results or added stress. Take the time now to exhale.

*s*
 

*deep breath*........ :)

It might help you to read the journal of Lora, a low-carb veteran at http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/thejourney.html

It took her nearly six months to lose one pound, to go from a 99lb loss to a 100 lb loss...from 6/26/00 to 12/5/00.

I find her determination very inspiring.

Determination
 

MayLisa~
Thanks for sharing that success story with me........yes..........she was wonderfully determined and hung in there.
I am not in danger of chucking the whole thing or "blowing it"........just impatient.......but I think that is perfectly normal don't you. It's taken me two years and I don't want to stop now is all I was saying.
Yes......I will keep doing all the things I am and have been, including joining a gym........and while I will hang in there I don't think I'll ever stop wishing the progress would be faster.

extras
 

You know in reading those posts in her journal MayLisa it seems like her weight lose stopped for a year while she was sampling and experimenting with all kinds of lc substitues for hc foods..........I know that stalled me.........if I can do away with them and keep the progress going that's what I want to do.........the lc goodies are not worth a year to me.