Now that Natrushka has told me I need to be eating more calories, and I have also done research on these boards and else where, I know I need to up them definatly. Im doing it sorta slowly, maybe 100 more cal a day for a few days. I was at 1240 cal. a day. I have been only eating 1240 cal. a day for around 18 days. I weigh 120 and am 5'6". My basal thing is 1411 calories. Have I really messed my metabolism up for good? Whats going on inside my body and how do I fix what I've done the past 18 or so days? I feel so guilty eating MORE than 1240. I guess I just had it set in my mind I was only to have that amount. Now that I've UPPED my calories, my carbs are down to 15 or so TOTAL carbs a day. Thanks so much for all the help

Hi..Don't be discouraged. I too am a newbie. I have lost 10pds in 8 days. Stay under 21Carbs per day and feeling great. In fact the cravings for sweets are gone. "But" if i do want something sweet, i bought a can of Rediwhip Extra Creamey whip cream. Take a few shots of it and whamo I'm satisfied. I know that you have to keep the Calories up so you can burn the fat..if too low you could lose muscle. Why dont you stop for a few days...eat properly and see if you can reset your body clock. Then start again induction with a higher # of Cal. and under 21 Carbs per day. Drink water and exercise if you can.
THE MAIN THING IS DONT GIVE UP HOPE. THIS LC DOES WORK. BUT EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT BODY CHEMISTRY SO YOU MAY HAVE TO BE PATIENT AND TRY DIFFERENT LEVELS TILL YOU ARE SATISFIED.
Be encouraged we are here to help you get through this. In California

Me again

I'm pretty confident saying that 18 days is not going to permanently damage your metabolism, el. Don't stress over it, just go about what you planned to do, slowly increasing carbs. Your fed and healthy body will thank you for it.

-N

That is a good question. I am having a similar problem with feeling guilty with my carbs being over 10 grams. I usually get about 7-9 per day and then I exercise. I think I am burning those off so my net has to be around 0 for the day. Is this very bad?

Sugar,
Wow 7- 9 carbs a day? As in TOTAL carbs? What exactly do you eat? Dont you hate the guilty feeling? And in your head you KNOW youre being silly and youre gonna be fine. Every now and then Ill feel I have eaten too much and Ill put the food in my mouth (LC food of course) and chew it and spit it out. Thats really messed up and I know it is, but still I do it. Now when I see that Ive gone over 1300 cal. I get crazy. I was actually thinking about not tracking what I eat on FitDay, maybe just writing it down on a piece of paper for a day, and at the end of the day go put it all in and see how I did without planning my meals/snacks a day ahead of time. Some how the control in planning out what I eat the next day makes me feel better. My family looks at me funny sometimes and my friends have nothing but negative things to say about it but ya know...Ive lost 20 lbs, so it had to work in some which way or form. Gluck to you and maybe you should up those carbs. Food is good! I love food

El,
That doesn't sound good - chewing and spitting out your food. Seriously, it can lead to very bad and damaging habits. Believe me, I was at that point at one time and it sucks.
Remember, your body needs nourishment to survive. Please don't mess up what you have accomplished already. It sounds like your friends and family are worried about you, also. You are below goal - you don't need to lose anymore. Up your calories a bit at a time to find out what you need to eat to maintain your weight. You are still in control without those habits you are developing.

Sorry for rambling, but your last post really worries me.

Chemically, I have no metabolism. I am without a thyroid and regular thyroid medication (synthroid) doesn't break down into T3 (the metabolic hormone) for me. So I take T3 synthetically.

To destroy your metabolism for life with a thyroid, you would need to do an extreme starvation, extreme bingeing regiment over a period of time. Your body is amazing in its ability to recover from feast and famine. That what it was designed to do.

There was a study where women were tested for T3 while on low fat and low carb diets. The women on low fat had a 20% decrease of T3 or metablism. On low carb, the women tested a 13% decrease. I wish they would have studied low calorie. But I think it goes without saying that decreasing calories slows the production of T3 so much that the "starvation mode" kicks in and weight stalls. I am sure we have all experienced that when trying to lose weight.

Personally when it comes to calories, I always think this is how I will eat for the rest of life not just until I reach a certain weight. For me, I acknowledge I am overweight but it is only a result of many lifestyle (and medical) issues.

But this is just my opinion. If you feel comfortable eating 1200 for the rest of life... knock yourself out. You know your body better than anyone!

HTH,
Michele

Up,
Hey dont worry about me. I know I shouldnt be doing it when I do it and for the most part I dont. My friends and family were used to seeing me the way I was. Not FAT but just at a *healthy* weight. Now Im very happy with what I weigh. They see me eat, which is quite a bit more now that I can have more calories (whoohoo!!). I got on the scale this morning, I have an obesession with the scale grr! And I weighed like a lb less. I ate TONS yesterday and got off of the increase cal. slowly track. Im guess it was just water weight? Anyways thanks for your concern but Im okay honest

I stopped counting altogether.....I just watch my labels and keep an approximate count going...If my body feels weird I eat a few more carbs...I think I am staying around 20 a day...my calories are pretty high right now...I have caught myself not eating enough veggies though too...I am eating less than a cup a day....

i have a problem with veggies. I eat about a cup of broccoli or cauliflower every night but that's about it. ok maybe some spinach too. What i want to know is what other veggies you guys eat? I can't really think of anything else LC that i like and i'm really getting sick of broc and cauli.


jon

I have found that I like so many more veggies now than I used to since starting this WOL. Here's a few of my favorites:

Try sauteeing some mushrooms in olive oil and garlic. You can even chop the stems of (leaving the caps whole), chop them up and mix them with some ground meat of your choice, mixed with a little bit of cheese to hold it together. Stuff this into the mushroom caps...YUM!

Find a nice organic salsa (or make your own) and dip your broccoli in it. People will stare at you funny, but it's gooood (of course, go easy on the salsa).

Cut up a cucumber into 1/4 to 1/2 inch squares. Mix with a dollop of mayonnaise or salad dressing, add pepper and whatever spices you like (I'm a garlic fiend). It's very refreshing - especially if you let it sit for a while to let the flavors blend.

Celery, when diced, is a great addition to chicken salad for a little bit of added texture. Bell peppers work well, too.

Jicama - it's slightly sweet and very crunchy. One of my favorites.

el corazón, I am so glad that you have re-posted. When I read your earlier post, I too was worried. I had an eating disorder (my negative testament to getting the weight off at all costs), about 10 years ago, and I have really learned the damage it can do to your body. Since I have gotten healthy, I have a whole new perspective. That is why I spot checked myself on my extremely low carbs. I am so glad you are paying attention to your friends and family.

Big guy,

Have you tried Spaghetti Squash? Buy one, pop a few little holes in it and throw it in the microwave until it get soft-ish (it is rock hard when raw and sort of squishy when it's done). Cut it open and scoop the seeds out and take fork and shred the rest into a bowl and slather in butter and add spices (you can go sweet or savory). For me, I put in a baking dish and cover with mozzarella and bake until crispy on top.

Zuchinni is good too. Cut in half lengthwise and drizzle with olive oil - throw on the grill until soft. I usually put them in a baking dish and ... you guessed it cover with mozzarella and bake until crispy.

There are many many recipes for different vegetables all over the internet for us low carbbers!

Go for it!

michele