Getting frustrated...

[sandcastle11]

I have been doing low carb for almost three months. In that period of time, I have had three real slips. I record what I eat and am staying in the 1400 - 1700 cal range with generally 55 - 65% from fat. I have started getting more exersize, I am drinking more water. The only thing I have not given up that I know is not on atkins induction is coffee. I am still gaining and losing the same 5 pounds.

I am so committed to losing weight this time, that I have actually seen my Dr. to see what is going on. She put me on thyroid meds, but I have been on them for almost a month now and I am still in the 5 pound yo-yo range.

Here is a typical days food:

Breakfast: some type of egg. (yesterday 2 hard boiled eggs)
Lunch: salad (yesterday 1 cup of lettuce, app. 1/2 oz of moz. cheese, banana peppers, real bacon bits, 0 cal- 0 carb dressing) and a beef patty with swiss cheese.
Dinner: pork chop with broccolli


I am seriously frustrated and ready to bail on this. Any suggestions would be eagerly accepted!

CM

[Amylynn920]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Have you tried upping your calories? I think our metabolism tends to get set at a certain point and upping via healthy foods and carbs can sometimes force the body to burn off the extra fuel we've added.

I know in the past when I did Atkins a few years ago I had a couple stalls that were over a month then.. boom it was off me.

I would not bail, I would add in more calories and healthy carbs and see where it leads you.

[chinadoll]

Re: Getting frustrated...

My guess is that you need more food --shoot for the 1500 to 1800 range and maybe should add it as snacks between meals to stoke your metabolism. Your fat should be at 65% don't go lower. What exercise are you doing? Changing your activity and upping the intensity level often shifts things for me. The thyroid meds take awhile to build up in your system. Its not an instant fix.

[imagood1]

Re: Getting frustrated...

I agree with the other posts -- you aren't getting enough food in each day. I eat veggies with each meal - cut some peppers and green onion up in your morning eggs....dip some veggies in mayo or cream cheese for snacks. Go on to OWL Rung 1 and add 5 additional net carbs.

Try some new recipes -

Recipe Sites
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/menus.html
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-14-day-induction/58513-never-ending-induction-recipes.html
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-14-day-induction/6807-induction-recipe-basics-more-recipes-added.html
http://www.sugarfreesheila.com/RecipesPage.html

[liv]

Re: Getting frustrated...

I agree with the above too.
It is time for you to change things around a bit. Eat more vegetables.
How much are you trying to lose?
What kind of exercise are you doing now?

Hang in there it will happen. We've seen that lots on this forum. People just keep working it and then pounds starts falling off again.

[Grizzabella]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Would a fat fast be worth trying?

[msanjelpie]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Have you lost any inches in the past month?

Thyroid medication can take up to a year to get to the proper dosage... you have to get blood work done every couple of months to determine when you are finally at the right dosage...

You are not eating enough fat... you need the fat to help 'burn' your fat...

[neutronnorman]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Sandcastle11:

I agree with everyone! Your caloric intake is probably too low. You've got to estimate your BMR, there are plenty of websites that you can visit. Of course (and hey guys, I ain't selling the program, I ain't the CEO,) I recommend www.fitday.com so you can set a daily calorie deficiet, then zig-zag your calories for the week. Average your caloric intake. For instance, I set myself at a goal of an 835 calorie deficiet. I'm allowed to eat 1,850 or so calories per day. But I'll eat maybe 1,750 cal. Monday, 2,100 cal. tuesday, etc. But I'll average the daily goal (1,850 cal per day) by the end of the week.

In reality, an I feel like a myna bird repeating myself, I work out intensley. Brutally hard. I'm used to that, but gained the weight the last few years because I couldn't workout at all. Theoretically, I burn on the average over 4000 cal. per day. I eat 5-6 meals per day. Hey, I don't want my bodyto "think" I'm starving, I wan't my body to know that I'm a few feet away from a fridge or whatever.

Also, remeber, that to put on wieght was a long process. You're not going to lose it over night. You'll reach your weight goal and BMI but it will take a couple of years until your skin shrinks here and there and a couple of years of working out to gain that certain look which will turn heads. And I'm sure with a lot of work, and the definition of work is a vector force dot product with a vector displacement, if you catch my drift, all your goals will be realized. Exercise is most important. It's a must!

But I'm sure that everyone who posts on this forum has the potenetial to reach the stage of "turning heads." Stick with it, and you'll look great. Period. That's a given. But the real dividend is much greater health, strength and knowing that we have the capacity to control our bodies, minds and emotional baggage.

I'm sure obeseity is partly genetic, but mostly an emotional / stress response. Hey, guys, excessive food, alcohol or drugs have the same effect: it'll relieve the stress / depression or what have not temporarily but eventually it will kill you. Even worse, it can eventually also leave us physically handicapped to an extreme degree.

The heck with instant gratification. Don't compare yourself to others. Everybody is unique from a molecular point of view. We all deserve a pat on the back simply because we are here, now, and working to better ourselve.

Well, take what I wrote and a buck to IHOP, and you'll get a cup of coffee. Stay away from the cheese blintzes....

Norman

[sandcastle11]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Thanks everyone! I have about 50 - 60 pounds to lose. I am NOT working out intensely. Today was 45 min with Wii fit and mowed the lawn (1.3 acre). I will try to get more calories in. More veggies.

Thanks again!

CM

[sandcastle11]

Re: Getting frustrated...

(oops... that should be 1/3 acre!!! 1.3 would be LOTS of excersize!!)

CM

[liv]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Yes good. Eating too little is a mistake many make when they start out. Also not adding in enough fat. So work on it.
I find fitday (FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal) a good tool. You should aim for 65% of your calories to come from fat.

[vector2]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Also, how much water are you drinking?

[md79]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Just wanted to chime in...
Re: exercise. You might find you have an exercise "sweet spot" (both physically and mentally). For instance... I used to do cardio between 45min-1 hour whenever I'd go. I never enjoyed it, it was always a drag, it never felt effective. Then I started going an average of around 2 hours a day. It seems like a lot, but for me, it is actually much easier to do that amount than any other (more than that turns into a real drag). Different strokes for different folks, and you might find you start dropping a lot if you set your exercise goals WAY higher.

Before anyone jumps down my throat about realistic goals, let me say that there are two different kinds of people: people who need realistic goals because if they don't meet them, they beat themselves up; and people who need to shoot as high as possible, knowing that it's unlikely they'll hit the goal but in striving for it do more than they would otherwise. Personally, if I set a goal of working out 2 hours a day, I would probably fall short. But if I set it way higher, then the aggregate total of whatever I do every day usually meets or exceeds that target.

Good luck!!

[ziggy]

Re: Getting frustrated...

I have been doing low carb for almost three months. In that period of time, I have had three real slips. I record what I eat and am staying in the 1400 - 1700 cal range with generally 55 - 65% from fat. I have started getting more exersize, I am drinking more water. The only thing I have not given up that I know is not on atkins induction is coffee. I am still gaining and losing the same 5 pounds.

I am so committed to losing weight this time, that I have actually seen my Dr. to see what is going on. She put me on thyroid meds, but I have been on them for almost a month now and I am still in the 5 pound yo-yo range.

Here is a typical days food:

Breakfast: some type of egg. (yesterday 2 hard boiled eggs)
Lunch: salad (yesterday 1 cup of lettuce, app. 1/2 oz of moz. cheese, banana peppers, real bacon bits, 0 cal- 0 carb dressing) and a beef patty with swiss cheese.
Dinner: pork chop with broccolli


I am seriously frustrated and ready to bail on this. Any suggestions would be eagerly accepted!

CM

your Doctor put you on thyriod meds? people with thyriod problems have the hardest time to lose weight out of all people i think =/

here are my suggestions though

Brassica family: Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mustard green These vegetables inhibit the thyroid function so avoid them

real bacon bits? is that the premade kind? sometimes they can have so little sugar in them that it says 0 carbs per 15 ml serving but a 20 ml serving would have 1 carb so i would avoid it unless you mean its home made bacon with bacon that you know is sugar free

now since your weight loss is super hard il just reccomend the extreme things

banana peppers may be to high in carbs just stick to broccoli also avoid the 0 carb dressing it may have carbs but not list it for the same reason i said about the bacon bits

you may have to stick to Rung 1 that means no cheese

make sure you dont eat any aspartame it can cause stalls

try and eat around 76% fat 22% protein 2% carbs (20net carbs)

the reason for eating lower protein is cause 57% or so of protein can be converted into glucose but its not anywere near as bad as carbs however in yourcase since its so hard to lose weight you could eat a little less

remmber to always eat atleast medium amounts of protein though cause eating to low protein is dangerous


do full body muscle work outs and work every last muscle on your body HARD so you drain the glucose out of your muscles and then your muscles will soak up all the protein converted glucose and little carb glucose that you do eat so you have no risk of storing fat

also remmber if you feel you are geting stronger while on the diet it could just be that your gaining muscle and loseing fat at the same speed but if you got lots of fat to lose you will notice your weight going down sooner or later

use fitday.com to see your food % try to keep everything 100% natural no store bought dressings and etc and go to Rung 1

and remmber if you do got a thyriod problem you will have a much harder time to lose weight but people with thyriod problems are thought to be impossible to lose weight but Atkins has proven that wrong cause there are people who have lost weight with thyriod problems while on the Atkins diet so im sure you can too

[sandcastle11]

Re: Getting frustrated...

Oh wow, Ziggy you have just done away with all of my favorite veggies. And almost all of my veggie garden. Cabbage, Brussel sprouts, and Cauliflower (and broccolli) ARE my garden!!!

I don't do a lot of cheese, but certainly use it in cooking. I don't use apsartame, rather I use Splenda. Hopefully that one is better.

I am trying to increase my workouts, and I am trying to get at least the 8-10 glasses of water in.

The bacon bits are homemade, but not by me. They are at my job's cafeteria, so I don't know if the bacon has sugar. So I guess they are out....

Now as for Salad dressing, does someone have a couple of recipes??

CM