Hi my name is Paul I am 35 5"5 from the uk and weigh around 430llbs so i have a big problem!

Because of my weight i have been to embarrassed to leave the house for the last 10 years, I am so depressed and down at the moment, I have only seen a doctor twice in the past 10 years and to be honest they was not very interested in helping me, In fact they made me feel worse one of them telling me i would be dead by the time i was 35, this triggering off panic-attacks which i now suffer from , because of my weight i am positive i am going to die early and cant seem to shake these thoughts.

I am married to a wonderful woman who tries her best to support me, but she can see how unhappy i am and i know this gets her down although she try's her best not to show it.

I have been on a low carb diet since December 9th 2002 and have lost nothing in weight or inches, I have made sure i keep my daily carb count at no more than 20 gramms per day, I eat enough, drink enough, but still have lost nothing, I'm not on any medication so i cant figure out why i'm not losing, surely i should of seen some results in 6 weeks, I have never once cheated, not even over christmas, dont drink, I take daily supplements Vitamin b, c and e, but still feel tired during the day and have aches and pains in both my arms and legs.

Please if anyone feels they can help , i would love to hear from you. If anyone wishes to contact me personally my e-mail is Pacmanuk~hotmail.com

Thanks for taking the time to read

Paul

Hi I'm new too. I've been LC for about 5 days now. I'm not sure how much I can help but I wanted to offer my support.

One thing that I've seen around here is to post your daily menu and some of the "old-timers" will critique it for you and tell you what you might be missing.

Good luck and welcome!

Not wishing to appear an internet stalker LOL but I think I've seen you at Carblife???

You'll find this site really useful- there's a wealth of experience here and always someone on hand to answer any queries.

My advice would be to set up your own journal where you can record what you're eating and how you're feeling. This way if and when you do stall or things aren't going as you would wish people can give more informed advice- the more you record the more help you can get.

I'd also advise as a starting point visiting some journals- I'm sure Atkid wouldn't mind me recommending his- he's a very popular guy round here LOL

There's many many different topics to look at and it can be overwhelming at times so just take some time to look around and find your feet and then ask ask ask!!! LOL

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Jec.x

Hi Paul,

Welcome to the site

Starting a journal is a great idea, it's a bit hard to give you any pointers without seeing exactly what you are eating. Are you eating plenty of veggies?

A few commone problems which stall some people are:
LC bars and products
nuts
artificial sweetners
dairy products

Plus are you drinking loads of water?

6 weeks with no loss is a long time, and as you have quite a lot to lose does seem quite strange. So if you give a bit more detail we may be able to help further

Lesley

Hi everyone thanks for the replys here is a typical daily menu

Breakfasf

5 pieces bacon
2 fried eggs
2 beefburgers (only 0.1 carbs each)
100 gramms mushrooms
all fried in olive oil

50 gramms of macadamia nuts

dinner

2 cod fillets
2 pork chops
small salad

100 gramms cheese

tea

1 large chicken breast with skin
1 pork spare rib chop
100 gramms cabbage
65 gramms sprouts


Dessert

100 ml double cream + Sugar free Jelly

I tried 10 days with zero carbs but still didnt lose anything, I'm getting pretty desperate and am on the verge of quitting

Thanks again for any advice

Hello and welcome. I agree with everyone about creating a journal. It really gives you a daily outlet to put down your menus and gives us all a chance to get to know you better.

From your menu....I'm really not sure since it does look pretty balanced.

There are a couple of suggestions I can give you and you can maybe take one and try it for a week and see how it goes....

Are you drinking enough water???

Nuts stall some people from losing cut them out for a week?

Are you eating enough fats??? Dressings on salads, butter on veggies?

Salt??? Burgers, bacon, pork all have lots of salt and you maybe retaining water?

Dr. Atkins recommends for people having an issue you may want to try a fat fast. I usually never recommend this but with your dedication and no loss... if all the things I mentioned are not working maybe something you want to consider.

We are here for you....

Paul, have you tried taking your measurements? Do you ever get a metallic or sweet taste in your mouth or are you urinating more than your water intake would indicate?

I don't want to appear rude, but do you really have a scale that can measure over 300 pounds? If you don't have an accurate way to chart your progress, you may be losing pounds or inches and not know it.

Your menu looks OK!

Karen

Also here is the link to find out if you really are a turtle....

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=30075

I agree with lkonzelman and Karen. The only other thing is that you may want to think about calories.

I know that Dr A says don't worry about cals...but at the end of the day we should still only take in what is required to run our metabolism.

Are you eating very large quantities? The list you provided seems quite generous...maybe think smaller portions more frequently...say 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day

Lesley

Dear Paul, My brother's stats look almost like yours only he's 55. Alot older than you. Also his back and knees are very bad and he is type 2 diabetic.

Now, it was a very long hard road but he is now down to 225 with a goal of breaking 200lb. He's the type that is very husky his whole life, very strong. He follows TSP (sort of Atkins modified) and there is a link to TSP on this site.

I lived in the UK and loved it many years ago but I gained weight over the 6 months I was there. Amazing sweets they have!!

My idea is that somewhere there must be a doctor who advises low carb that you could see. Anyone overweight should be getting medical advise, cholestoral levels etc.

Please, please, don't give up yet, first you must find a doctor to help you. Maybe you could e-mail Atkins in the USA for a referral to a doctor near you.

This will also be very hard but it is imperitive to get moving. I don't know how active you are but I know from experience that just getting around the block can be very difficult. However, it can be done, bit by bit, day by day.

Please keep in touch, I try to check in every day, all the best

Karen i weigh myself using 2 sets of scales, not the most accurate way i know but at least it gives me a general idea, I know i am not losing any weight beacuse i have been stuck at this weight since i started and all my measurements are still the same,

I do add butter to my veggies and a use a little dressing on my salad

I only added the nuts and cream a couple of weeks ago because someone told me i may not be eating enough, I have been told because of my size i should be taking in at least 4500 calories a day and if i dont my body will stay in starvation mode, but Atkins says eat only when hungry, well i dont normally have a big appetite and i am really strugging to eat this much, I keep getting conflicting advice and dont know what to do

paul

hi Paul,

4500 calories is an awful lot especially if you are not very active.

The 10 times body weight gueidelin for calories is just that...a guide. It tends to be less relevant the heavier you are and also at the very light extremes.

I know this is all very confusing, and the advice is conflicting but the trouble is every person is different and what works for one may not work for ithers.

My suggestion is to cut back on quantity to around 2800 cals, and heed Dr A's advice of only eating when hungry. he also says not to stuff yourself, and only eat until you don't feel hungry anymore.

Keep plugging away and I'm sure you will find the solution which works

Lesley

Also, please start a journal so that we can check
up on you and encourage you!

I admire your dedication and I think this will work
for you once you tweak it to fit YOU!

Welcome and hope to see you around!


Jill