Hello Everyone! I'm new here and I've got some questions for people who have been doing the low carb thing for a while: First one is this, I'm 5'6, 115lb, and I want to get down to 100 ... I want to do this in the least detramental way I can, and doing lots of protein would help save some of my muscle tissue, but honestly, can anyone tell me if I will actually lose anymore weight by low carbing? I'm excluding most fats out of my diet, that is what the Protein Power book said to do for smaller people who still want to lose weight. Another question I have is about those KetoStix, that measure keotenes in your urine, I'm on day 4 of my low carb diet, and the strip is not indicating any keotenes... I'm not having more than 20g of carbs a day, what is going wrong? and will I still lose weight? If anyone could offer any advice on these issues, I would GREATLY appreciate it!

Jessica

Hi Jessica,

Your post worries me dreadfully. I am an ICU nurse and am always distressed to see girls wind up in ICU because their eating disorders have gotten so out of hand.

I'm not saying you have an eating disorder at the moment, but if you continue to try to lose weight, that will be the inevitable result.

At 5'6 and 115 pounds, you are verging on underweight. If you do reach your goal of 100 pounds, you will be definitely risking major health problems.

Please rethink this! If you seriously think you are "fat," please give serious consideration to some counselling to help you with your body image.

Low carbing is about helping us to regain our health - not ruin it. What you need to do is to increase your carbs to a healthy maintenance level. You could start with 60/day and see what happens. But please, do not try to lose any more weight. Your health is too important.

Rosebud

Rosebud,
Thank you for your concern. I am going into modeling, so I'm very concerned with my weight, and would rather be told that I need to gain weight rather than lose 10 lbs to become successful. I know that going to 100lbs is considered unhealthy, and I've gotten to this weight through calorie restricted dieting, and the side effects of that are really starting to get to me, which is why I was hoping to find a more healthy way to go about it. Basically I need to lose body fat, and keep my lean muscle, so the Protein power plan seamed right for me. Thank you again

Jessica

Jessica, welcome!

I don't think 100 pounds on a 5'6" frame sounds healthy, even for a model! Please reconsider your goal.

I noticed you said you were doing "Protein Power" and "Low Fat." Protein Power isn't a low fat plan, and actually the fat is pretty important to the plan. Have you read "Protein Power LifePlan"? It's get some really excellent explanations of all this.

Good luck to you! Please consider your health as paramount.

The best way to do that is not through further starvation, but through weight resistance training. Get thee to a gym along with adequate amounts of protein and healthy carbs! If you add muscle, you will look leaner and more toned even at a higher weight than you are right now.
Please consider Rosebud's advice carefully. You are already well below a healthy weight for a woman of your height. Success is great, but not if you ruin your health in the process.

Disclaimer: I am NOT A BE SKINNY advocate
Ordinarily I would be saying the same things as the previous poster, the only reason I'm not is because I know that you will most likely go about trying to lose the weight anyway, and if you don't do low carb you'll do something else that is unhealthy. Whatever you do, please monitor how you feel - which it seems you're already doing. Being thin is not worth feeling like garbage.

Low carb will do it. It is important to resistance train, not just cardio!!!! Eat low carb, get enough protein and don't let your calories get too low.. and dont' worry about the ketosticks. I lost 10 lbs in June and didn't even registre trace for the month.

Just "eat clean" meaning your meats, vegetables and oils and forget about the "treats" and indulgences like low carb chocolate etc. except for on occasion. The fat will come off.... and don't feel like you have to be hungry. On low cal you may have felt hungry a lot, low carb you should not feel hungry or something's wrong.

Remember that in modelling what is important is your bodyfat.. not necessarily your weight. If you resistance train you may find your weight staying the same or even going UP, while your bodyfat % lowers. Get your bodyfat measured and use that as a guide, rather than your weight.. I would be afraid of losing too much muscle mass, as that is unnatractive and unhealthy... Give low carb time to repair any damage that low cal may have done and you'll find yourself looking better.

Good luck, be healthy!!
Meg

In my work, I run interactive theatre workshops that focus on challenging issues. Last year, I did a series of workshops on body image for several sororities. One young woman at a workshop told me a story of her anorexia. When she arrived at college, she was 5'5" tall and weighed 140 pounds. She began exercising and stopped eating, even though she knew that she was not fat. At her lightest, she got down to 90 pounds... she lost the weight in one semester. But the most frightening part of her weight loss was that she shrank... she is now only 5'3". Her feet shrank two sizes as well. Her body literally consumed itself to survive.

I agree that restricting your calories to get down to 100 pounds is dangerous, even for someone who wants to go into modeling. A low-carb way of eating is a healthy eating plan, but that plan should include eating healthy fats, too.

Consider becoming a fitness model! Do resistance training, The Firm, free weights, etc. You'll find that your muscles will tone, and that you'll be able to eat normal food without worry.

Before you lose those 15 pounds just to become a model, talk to your talent or modeling agent about your plans to lose weight. You may find that becoming thinner will actually hurt your chances to work.

i agree with what everyone is saying . i am 103 at the moment and at that weight i look ill.i,m 5 foot 21/2".l-carbing does drop the weight but you will not be healthy at 100 pounds.when you go underweight, it shows in the face, giving a gaunt appearance.be careful.i,m trying to go back up again.

Skeletal is not a valued characteristic for a modeling business these days, which is what you'll be at 100 pounds.

At 5'6.5" myself, my lean body mass is 124 POUNDS! When I go below that I look awful. When I modeled swimsuits when I was 22 I weighed about 126 and that was as low as I cared to go (I lifted weights/worked out five days a week). I can't imagine what I would have looked like at even 115!

Instead of losing weight, eat more fat and protein and start weight training at least three days a week. Your BFI will drop but you will gain some muscle (or at least not lose any of it).