I have been on LC off and on for the past year. Each time I would hit a plateau and eventually get discouraged. I also kept drinking alcohol off and on, and only exercised half-heartedly, off and on as well. As a result, I'd lose some weight, but would stop losing it when I wasn't exercising and was drinking. Even tho I drank distilled spirits with water only, and told myself it was okay, it seemed to make a difference. The last time I tried LC induction, I didn't lose anything for nearly two weeks. Then I bought a new home and a new car, sold my treadmill, and kept having a few drinks each night. My weight shot up, although I wasn't eating a whole lot more.

My new place has a fully equipped exercise room, pools, and more. When my weight kept going up and I nearly hit 200 and none of my clothes fit, I became determined to do something about it. I signed up for Body Sculpting with my daughter 2x a week, but found out that I can't do lunges, squats, or many other exercises that require foot usage, due to a neuroma I developed in my foot from it being broken last year (I'm scheduled for surgery to remove it in two weeks).

So, still motivated by desperation, right after Labor Day I began using the exercise room in my building. I have developed a schedule where I do resistance training on the nautlilus + 1/2 hour of treadmill every other day, and on the in-between days I do treadmill for about 1 1/2 hours at a brisk pace. I also walk to places I used to drive before, and take stairs instead of elevator. I was also watching my diet, mostly in terms of calories and some WW concepts. HOwever, although I began to feel better over the past 1.5 weeks or so, I still hadn't lost any weight. I was about to become discouraged again.

So, I decided to go back on LC in the middle of a day when I had already consumed 70 gr of carbs in the morning. I signed back onto FitDay, and set a goal to not eat any more carbs that day (two days ago). That evening I trained twice has hard (two sets of all exercises plus 1.5 hours of walking) to deplete the carbs. Yesterday, I had 18 gr of carbs all day, with 2000 cals. I did a regular workout last evening. Just before I went to bed I used LTS for the helluvit, figuring I wouldn't be in ketosis for another couple of days yet (although l reached ketosis only once in all the previous LC attempts). I couldn't believe it! Last night, after consuming carbs the day before, I was already in ketosis solidly in the midrange. (Now I also understand how it's possible to load up on carbs on weekends and get into ketosis on weekdays ala CKD, which I couldn't understand before!) This morning, when I got on the scale, I had dropped an incredible 4 lbs (!!!), which blew me away since my weight hadn't budged, except to go up, in months. I know that no alcohol and a regular exercise routine are what have made the big difference from past LC'ing!

So, I am now solidly convincedthat alcohol and lack of exercise will kill any progress I make. It is very clear to me from experience, and not just from others' words. I have to make progress, because unlike with weight gains in the past, I've begun to develop abdominal fat I never had. I know this is dangerous, particularly at my age (52), since it elevates the risk of heart attacks.

Anyway, sorry this is so long. But I'm stoked and wanted to share it!

AJ

Hi Tikerberi

I enjoyed reading the acount of your success. Congratulations on working out what was stopping you lose weight.

I am the same age as you by the way. Alchohol has the same effect on me. I went to a street perty this afternoon and I had a beer - I wish I hadn't - I know I will be one kilo up tomorrow and it'll take me days to get rid of it.

Your story is an inspiration. Next I will revise my excercise routine.

Greetings from Belarus.
Robert

Stick with it Aj!!!!
It feels so good when you are half way there.Good luck

Thanks for the support. I'm continuing to do what works, and feel really good about it.

Robert, one thing that I recall being told in the past (which has served to help me at times), is that you don't gain a pound of fat overnight. I don't believe a beer will put on a pound of fat overnight, but you may have water weight from it. This should come off if you keep following your plan, and exercise should help deplete the carbs.

Just curious....I can't help but wonder how you write English so well, being in Belarus. Are you a transplanted English-speaker? From my experiences in Eastern Europe, while most natives could speak some level of English, all have a difficulty with writing, mostly since grammar is so different from theirs. I can usually spot them, and others who have learned ESL but never left their own native country by the writing. I did not detect this in you. (BTW, English is my third language...and the course of study in which I got my Masters degree.)

AJ

if when you plateaued in the past if you had stuck to LC as strictly as needed. And if you did, did you feel better than when you stopped and/or regressed? I think the ones I see who succeed here have made a mental commitment after seeing their health and total well-being improve dramatically and the weight may eventually come off slowly, but its coming off and becomes a byproduct of this WOL. just wondering....


good luck.

Hi Tikerberi,

Yes, I am an expatriot Brit running an English langauge school here. I'm also highly qualified in English but you wouldn't always think so by my spelling.

Low carbing is catching on here. Atkins has been published in Russian and I know two Belarusian who are following this woe.

You're probably right about the water.

Best wishes,
Robert