Hi guys!

This going to be long and boring but I would appreciate your insight:

I spent almost a year trying to find out the cause of my allergies (terrible stomach cramps, bloated stomach, awful constipation, fatigue etc etc.). I read all the LC books and from January to July tried the LC lifestyle – I also had a few pounds to lose. My symptoms went up and down: some days were good, some days were bad, but most of all I really started to believe in the LC way of life for true health.

During the holidays I made a discovery (won’t bore you with the details): after spending a year eliminating one thing and another and getting varying results I found out that I’m allergic to leafy greens like lettuce, it was the staple of my diet for ages. (I mean who would ever think that an innocuous lettuce leaf could be harmful). I suddenly found I could eat just about ANYTHING without getting any pain and it has been like living again, believe me!! The joy of being able to eat without just knowing I would be bent double from the pain is fantastic!!

Anyway, now that the holidays are over and I’ve started gym properly again, I’d like to get back on track with the LC lifestyle. The problem is: for a month and a half I’ve been eating “normally” (read High carb), have been feeling great, full of energy and I haven’t put on any weight at all. Admittedly I haven’t taken any off. And every morning I decide that today’s the day I’m going back on track because LC is health and longevity and then I realise that my real motivation before were my allergies and pain and now I’ve got none … well, I’m finding it hard. I’ve been browsing the forum and re-reading all the research and really believe it’s the best way of life, but all the same I can seem to take that step.

To conclude: it’s easy enough to get back on the wagon if you’re feeling awful and/or sick but if like me you were feeling fine and are doing it out of conscience, how did YOU get back on the wagon??

Thanks for reading all of this if you got this far …. I DO appreciate it.
Choc.

Hi Choc! That's an interesting story...I wasn't aware that you could be allergic to lettuce! I guess its open season on all kinds of stuff these days though...

It seems to me that the only thing your really want is to toss a few pounds and then get on some kind of maintenance diet. I suspect if you got into fitday.com and input what you were eating you could find plenty of ways to shave off a few carbs here and there and the weight would come off slowly but easily enough. You may want to think about a more moderate carb diet such as Schwarzbein or the Zone. If you are feeling pretty good and energetic eating high carb then you may not have quite the same kind of problems some of us more insulin resistant souls do!

Best of luck and let us know how you are doing...

Lisa

You could probably just do Atkins Lifetime Maintenance and just the choice of foods would gradually take off the pounds. I gather your stats are in kilograms, so you're only looking at 5 or 6 pounds.

Aww chocolate I feel bad now reading that because of the lettuce alergy problem... If you posted about those symptoms, and I seen it.. I COULD'VE TOLD YOU!! I had them same symptoms (er not as bad though) and I posted on here, someone told me it was the salad, stopped eating it, felt fine and I've been telling people who complain about the same symptoms since!

Anyways, If you're not gaining and you're full of energy.. Why don't you just start off with a general low carb diet? Quit the high carbs little by little? If you're having cereal and bagels for breakfast everyday, first eliminate them.... Or better yet, if you're having pasta, potatoes, pizza type foods for dinner... Eliminate those so you're not going to bed with your insulin raised. Those would turn to fat before the ones your eating for breakfast...

I actually just got back on track Sunday, after about a 2 month binge on Wendys and Mcdonalds.. LOL. I came back because I gained like 10lbs.. (even though I know exactly why, it wasn't just because they were carbs ) And because I felt this way of eating was easier and better. I couldn't do it the first day I found out I gained weight.. it took a few days for me to come back but I like eased back into it.

Well hope that helps somewhat and welcome back.

Hello! My good friend has an intolerance to lettuce too. But over time he discovered that it is only to the lighter lettuces (mainly iceberg). Darker ones are fine and cause no problem. Good luck!
Carianne

Hi everyone and thank you for your very kind replies!!!

SlimShady: don't worry about that, I was so convinced my allergies had something to with carbs and hypoglycaemia that I never mentioned it!!! Weird stuff, huh? Anyway, welcome back yourself, I guess it does take awhile to ease back in ... psychologically it's a killer.

Lisaf, SlimShady and Tofi, I think the idea of reducing and taking it in a less drastic way is the best idea. I realise that just by writing out my feelings on the forum on Friday was already a first step in the right direction and friday afternoon I went out and bought eggs, tuna, mayo, veggies etc. etc. Over the weekend I just cut out the pasta and chockies (SOB!!!) and ate only protein in the evenings and I already lost a pound!!! If I can continue like this I'll be really happy to even lose very slowly. I mean swimsuit panic is over for awhile . I do have a lot more energy when eating more carbs. The 30-50g of carbs a day had me really dragging my feet!!! And considering I've also started BFL seriously I feel I need that extra energy!!

Carianne, thanks for the idea. I don't really know yet because as soon as I found out about it I just cut it all out altogether. Maybe when I find the courage I'll experiment. Yesterday I had a stuffed lettuce leaf (the belgian lettuce kind) and I was ok but it was only 1 leaf mind you. I do miss salad because it was really my favourite veg especially in summer!!!

Thanks again for the support!! It' s really great not only to able to "get it off my chest" with people who understand, but also to get such a kind response!!!

Good luck to all of you and happy LC'ing
Hugs
Choc

Chocolate - you may consider doing the diet as set out in BFL but making sure you use high fibre foods...i.e. whole wheat pasta etc. and keep your fats a bit higher than the program suggests. Its really a rather low-carb program if you look very closely...or at least moderate carb. The only problem is that the calories can be really really low so be careful to get those 10-12x your weight in calories in.

Lisa

Actually I thought about that, but I'm far more willing to give up some carbs than fat. Also the six meals a day rule is totally out for me. I just can't organise myself like that. I feel that a diet has to be a wol and if it upsets my routine too much I'm never going to stick it out. I don't want to sound like nothing's ever good enough for me, I just think it's important to find the best plan for me.

So by following some previous suggestions I've started cutting out carbs at breakfast and dinner and ... voila'!! it's almost CAD. I've tried cad before, but I was downing salad like there was no tomorrow and feeling worse and worse and I confess that I was overdoing it at the RM. Anyway, I'll give it a shot without obsessing ... even just cutting down the carbs over these last few days has made me lose a little weight so maybe I've already found my solution.

Thanks again for your kind interest and helpful suggestions!! I really admire all the people like you who have the willpower to stay on track for long enough to really make it work!! Especially with a family to cook for!!!

Hugs
Choc