Hello everyone... I'm new to this site, but it intrigues me...
I'm on a basice diet plan that my doctor had started. It's based on a low carb diet, and so far it's been working but he just told me things I could eat and things I couldn't. We've found that my body does not like to process carbo's and even though I love my pasta, rice, bread etc, I've learned that I can live without them. ...

Now, I've been on a plateau for awhile..(like 3 months ) and I can't seem to get off of it... Just recently, I've been really concentrating hard on what I'm eating again... and am finding that some of my clothes are fitting alittle looser, but it's going to be about 13 days before I jump on the scale again. I used to do it a number of times a day, (obviously on a daily basis), but started to get too discouraged, and started losing some of my stamina.

NOW... My question is... since Dr "B" never got into specifics such as Number of Carbs... and I've heard everything from 20 carbs a day, to 500 carbs a day... Can anyone tell me ... What number of Carbs is considered "LOW CARB"??? I do read labels on the food that I buy, and or make, and would be much more comfortable if I could have some kind of guideline....

CAN SOMEONE HELP??? I'M ALL EARS!!! Thank you
Sally

Hi, Sally. You might find one of the links to the right side of the board helpful -- the Which Low Carb Plan is Right for Me? Click there, and you'll find some basic info.

All the plans are slightly different. Atkins Induction is 20 carbs a day (that's the start) and you move to find a comfortablle carb level for you. Protein Power Lifetime Plan starts at around 40 carbs a day. Those are the two I know best; there are others. But it's more than just the carb count. Each plan works a bit differently, and has suggestions for which foods to eat when, amount of fat, etc. It's best to pick one that sounds good to you and then buy the book and read it

Browsing around the journals and the daily menus may help give you ideas, too. Good luck!

welcome sally, and let me start by saying how wonderful your success to date has been! yay for you for sticking to it, realizing weighing every day was doing you no good, and yay to your doc for suggesting you get off the sugars and grains.

Some people--usually men, those with little to lose, those who didn't get overweight until adulthood--can "low carb" by just eliminating potatoes, sugar, and grains, and lose quickly. There are a number of widely varying plans, including Neanderthin/paleodiet, which doesn't count carbs at all, but eliminates all foods introduced into the human diet after 20,000 years ago--meaning no dairy, grains, legumes, additives, sugar, but fruit and honey are okay for the paleo folks. Again, many people have followed that advice and lost a whole lot! Others would not lose because of the carbs in fruit and honey. So, to your question...anything under 100 g would, I suppose, be "low carb" though many people on this board eat under 50 g/day.

Since you've been so successful with the way you are eating, I'd suggest rather than jumping to another plan, trying these "tweaks" first to see if they work.

Add weightlifting to your life if you haven't already--your clothes will get looser even if the scale doesn't move

Eliminate any processed meats you've been eating (bacon, sausage, hot dogs)

Limit fruits to berries, and those only a couple times a week

Eliminate any artificial sweeteners from your diet

If all that fails, try eliminating cheese, milk and cream. Many folks are sensitive to dairy and can get stalled by it.

And finally, check your calorie intake. If you've been too low (under 1300 is especially bad), your body may be in "starvation mode," hanging on to every molecule of fat, assuming there's a serious food shortage that you're trying to live through. 1600-1800 would probably be optimal calories for you to eat right now and still lose--maybe more if you do a lot of exercise.

HTH!