It's been two weeks and only 2 pounds and that was in the first week. I actually gained back a pound. It's driving me nuts - reading all these successful stories, yet I'm having no success at all. I've quit coffee, I haven't drunk alcohol, I drink more water than I've even done in my life. I'm walking a couple of miles a day - I'm in ketosis (according to those strips) yet that tonnage refuses to move.

Not a very happy person at all - I feel so deprived now. Giving up things I love and seeing no reward at all...doesn't give me much incentive.

To top it off - my husband merely stops eating toast in the morning - but continues to eat his high carb laden breakfast of cereal and all other meals of carbs and proteins and he loses...and of course - he will not even think about joining me on this diet..."it doesn't work and it's bad for your heart to eat all the fat".

I know I'm whining

I don't know how much longer I can stand to eat this way.

Hi Debaroo,

2 lbs in 2 weeks is not that bad, some os us with 100+ lbs to lose will lose faster since we have a lot to lose. Have you taken measurements?

Give it some time, and be positive at a rate of loss of 1 lb per week, you'll reach your goal in 6 months.

Wa'il

Hi Tamarian:

I just don't consider 2 pounds to be much - considering it was in the first week, and nothing in the 2nd week - in fact, I gained back a pound. Usually on any diet, the first week shows a dramatic weight loss - I know it's water, but still it's incentive. Gaining back a pound is really deflating.

No I didn't take measurements - that would have further depressed me. My clothes are as tight as ever.

I just can't stop thinking about food. And I'm craving big time, and I've not had any appetite suppression.

I'm still trying however, not quite ready to quit.

I do appreciate your support - perhaps my expectations are unrealistic.

Thanks,

Hi Debaroo

I feel really bad for you. You are having a frustrating time, but please stick with it. I know what you mean. I am a plodder and all those fabulous success stories can make me feel depressed too. Everyone is different, though, and lots of people lose slowly, they just don't say much about it.

First of all, ignore your husband (about this I mean! ) The men in my life all have way more dramatic success at low-carb than I do.

How do you feel in other ways on this WOE? Are you finding that your brain is clearer, your mood is higher? I don't ever remember having a suppressed appetite - when I'm hungry, I eat, I just make low-carb choices. Cravings are another issue. I felt like I was always wrestling with them in the early days. They have gone away now, for the most part, but not in the first few weeks, that's for sure.

Do you keep a daily log of your food count? It can be very helpful. How many carbs do you aim for in a day?

Keep your chin up and hang in there.

It could be Deb that you are just one of the lucky ones to be a slow loser. yes it a way it stinks, but when you lose slower it gives your body time to fit your new shape and then when you get to goal, your skin will be nice and firm

I've been very busy and haven't been able to post much, but have you posted a couple days worth of menus for the carb police to examine?

Best of luck!

Deb

Dont be despondent. I think it is one of 3 things. I'm losing loads because I've got 140lbs to go and havent yo yo dieted.

1. Maybe you're not eating enough. The first two or three days I didnt get appetite suppression and when I started eating more, 3 squares and a few snacks of pistachios and cheese. It all came together. If I dont eat enough carbs, I dont feel satisfied on some level and keep picking. Maybe you need a few carbs at each meal rather than less?? Dont get caught up in the I must restrict the portions idea because I think it may hinder rather than help.

2. It is also absolutely true that some people have a weight loss cycle of two weeks (or anything up to it). Some people dont show weight loss in an even manner.

3. Are you quite sure that you know what you are eating and arent actually consuming more carbs than you think?

I think you may need to balance your meals a little better. It certainly helped me to stay on track. But I dont know much about anything as I've only been doing it as long as you, just a suggestion.

Nicola

Hi Nicola:

First let me congratulate you on your fabulous start to the WOE! I wish you much success.

I certainly may be eating more carbs than I realize - however, the ketosis sticks tells me that I am in ketosis and "should" be burning fat. Perhaps, I don't have that concept correct. But I thought that maybe that means I'm staying doing ok with carbs (don't know).

As far as being hungry all the time...well, it's probably more of being bored. I have always used food as a comforter and eat for many reasons - the least of which is hunger. I think I am eating enough - in fact, perhaps I'm eating too much - maybe I'm taking in too many calories and not expending enough energy to burn them.

I'll give you a typical day:

Breakfast - two eggs in an omlette with feta cheese. I can easily eat 10 strips of bacon (I am a bacon nut). I drink instant decaf with cream - around 4 to 5 cups during the day. About 1 tbsp of cream (that's about 3 carbs there, as the cream is .5 g). I'm sure the bacon has around .3 g per strip.

Lunch is more cheese - brie, blue cheese, old cheddar with some cukes sliced. Sometimes I have a couple pepperoni sticks (.7 g per stick).

Supper will be some kind of meat that I cook along with veggies or a salad.

I have snacked on roasted peanuts and pistachio (perhaps too many - once I start I find it hard to stop) or pork rinds.

Of course, I'm drinking water throughout the day.

Today:

I've had 3 cups of coffee with cream and a two egg omelette with feta cheese (really like that sour taste). No bacon today (yet).
Don't have a clue as to what lunch will be as I'm off to do some grocery shopping.

Thanks for your help,

Hi Debaroo,

Are you following a particular plan? If you haven't read either Protein Power or Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution I highly recommend that you read BOTH. Both plans start you off at a low intake of carbs—either 20 or 30 grams per day—and gives you guidelines for what you can and can’t eat. It is sooo important it is to have the right information. Wait until you know for sure that you are "doing it right" before you decide that you are not successful at it. As Dr. Atkins says, "Give me ten days." That's it! Ten days of pure low-carb and you'll know.


I’m just generally going to blah, blah, blah now.

To be successful with a low carb way-of-life…

Read all the information you can. Protein Power or Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, the Zone, Carbohydrate Addicts, Dr. Bernstiens’s Diabetic Solution etc.

Find out what your carb tolerance level is for ongoing weight loss.

Keep a food diary, Record everything you eat and figure out your daily carb intake.

Take your measurements.

Tell yourself you’re in it for the long haul and are changing the way you eat for better health. It is a long haul!

It's not easy at first. You will experience cravings, loss of energy, flu-like symptoms at first. Live through it and these will be replaced with amazing energy and clear-headedness. Aches and pains will probably go away

Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone is wonderfully unique and there is no one-size-fits-all way to low-carb.


If anyone is not losing, here are a few very general reasons…

People who are perpetual dieters find it hard to lose weight on any plan. Their bodies have become metabolically resistant. Weight loss will come eventually but it can be slow.

If you only want to lose a few pounds—20-30 or so—it will take longer. The great success stories are usually from people who have a lot of weight.

Bad food choices. Too many nuts, dairy, low-carb sweet treats, processed meats, diet drinks. No fruit, nothing from grains, dried beans, high-carb vegetables or anything white or orange except cauliflower and small amounts of high fat dairy. Eating prepared BBQ sauce, ketchup, salad dressings.


End of blah, blah, blah!


Karen

Hi Karen

I'm always enlightened by your blah blah blah's!

Could you please explain what you mean by:
"anything white or orange except cauliflower and small amounts of high fat dairy"

I was just going to try the daikon radish hash browns.

Thanks
Kay

I too am an emotional eater. I eat when I'm bored, when I'm depressed, when I'm angry, when I'm happy....the list goes on!

I find that low-carb helps me control my emotional eating, however. I get full faster and can't just keep packing in pork rinds and cheese the way I could cookies, chips, and chocolate! So while I still eat emotionally, I don't do it nearly as often, nor do I eat as much when I do. AND, while I may not lose any weight while I'm in the process, I don't gain, either, which is a HUGE plus! OK, maybe a pound or two over a week or two of feeling really stressed and eating too much - but not the 5-10 pounds I'd gain on high carb. Believe me, this feels like monumental progress!

I wouldn't worry about portion control this early in the game, but I do believe that calories do count....to an extent. It could be that your portions are too large. This is not to say you should starve or ever feel hungry or deprived. But for some 'slow losers,' and that includes me, a good guide to aim for is 10 to 12 calories per pound of present body weight. I weigh 150, so according to this calculation, I should eat 1500-1800 calories per day. On high carb, I would gain on that amount. On low-carb I can lose, though slowly - about 1 pound a week, sometimes less. But I never feel hungry.

I think it's especially frustrating for slow losers to see those "scale bounces" - down two pounds, up one, down one....that happens to me too. I try not to take it seriously. Eating salty food or drinking a couple of glasses of wine will show a one-pound gain the next day. It's water gain. Of course, it feels like I've thrown a week's worth of effort out the window, but that pound will be gone the next day. It takes time and patience, but eventually, over maybe 2-3 weeks, I'll start seeing the smaller numbers more frequently and the larger numbers less, till they finally disappear. So it's a downward trend, but not a STEADY downward trend, if you know what I mean.

As for your menu, the one thing that jumps out at me is NUTS. I love nuts. Unfortunately, too many seem to stall me, and, like you, I can't stop eating them once I start. One alternative you might consider is pumpkin seeds in the shell. They are lower carb than pistachios or peanuts, and they take FOREVER to eat. I can nibble on pumpkins seeds for maybe 1/2 hour and feel like I've had a HUGE pig-out, but I've consumed maybe 200 calories and 2-3 carbs.

OK, I've rambled on enough - hopefully you'll find a few ideas here. Do keep us posted!

Rachel

hi deb
i feel bad for you. i can hear your frustration. i think all the cheese and process meats (bacon and pepperoni) are stalling you. how much cheese are you eating in a day. 1 or 2 oz s/b the max. bacon and pepperoni s/b eaten occasionally. maybe you're not getting enough of your calories from meat. try eating unprocessed meat and a lowcarb veg for your lunch instead of the cheese and pepperoni. your carbs s/b coming from veggies and salads for the most part. good luck debbie

Damn! Sorry! Daikon is an OK white thing. Try it roasted, like potatoes, or in soup.

White food...flour, sugar, grains (they're white on the inside) and anything made of them. Potatoes, cornstarch, etc. Orange food...carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, oranges etc.

When I was still in the LC closet, people would ask me what I had done to lose weight. I would tell them that I no longer ate food that was white or orange. They would look puzzled.

I have been very bad lately at practicing what I preach. Oi! One minute at a time I tell myself. Sugar! Cunning, baffling, powerful. I wish it had never been invented.

Karen

Thanks, Karen. That was a relief!

Hi Karen:

yes, I've read Atkins book and many, many websites on low carbs. I'm confused for sure, because in Atkin's book he lists free foods - bacon and cheese being one of them. Guess he's lying.

So, it's quite obvious that you can't eat all you want of these foods. I'll stop the nuts. Cripes - it just seems like such a limiting choice of foods.

I haven't touched fruit in 2 weeks, nor bread, nor grains. If I keep limiting and limiting I know that I will lose it and binge.

I am not a yo-yo dieter either. Guess, I'm just one of those who has a difficult time.

I've cut out my drinking too - one would think that in itself would show a weight loss because alchohol is so fattening - I am a HUGE red wine lover.

Company coming tomorrow and next week too and a dog show (and that's when I get crazy, at dog shows due to the stress of competition).

But, I'll keep trying - and give this WOE an honest effort.

BTW has anyone ever had their cholesterol tested and found that it went down, as Atkins says it will? My brother-in-law went on this diet and while he lost tons of weight his cholesterol count skyrocketed...that worries me.

Thanks for the support.

Hi Deb,

I had my chol. done and yes it went down. A wonderful reading as my doctor said.

I have a friend who is very over weight and she said she too did this woe for two weeks also, but didn't lose anything.

I'm a believer that it works differently for all of us. I eat bacon and cheese every morning, and I am losing weight so Dr. Atkins isn't lying I'm afraid, I think its just that (you) may have to go longer then two weeks for results to show. I told my friend this also, as in the book it does warn of this that we are all different. She was so turned off that she hasn't tried again. She figured in two weeks if it didn't work then the diet wasn't for her (what a shame).

I myself prior to this woe, had an attitude of never dieting again! I wouldn't call myself a yo-yo dieter, but I did try a few in my years (43). When I found this site I thought with the choices, it sure didn't sound like dieting to me and for me it isn't like dieting at all! More like watching what I eat. The choices are many I feel, especially with all the recipes posted in this site and others. Not sure why you feel the choices are so limited?

I think if you just relax and maybe even pick up the Dr. Atkins book once again and go through it and give this some more time you will benefit like most of us. You should be feeling quite full and not have cravings. Although you say you have read everything etc...it surprises me that your having such a difficult time.

Only other thing I can think of is...do you have any health problems? Have you been to the doctor to see if all is ok within your body before going on a low carb woe?

Don't give up just yet, re-read and have a positive attitude and time will show you results.

Oh and to just add to this, with me I don't lose weight every day, nor weekly....it seems so far with me I loose once in a while 3 - 4 lbs at once... then stop losing again, where others tend to lose every few days and seem to keep going. I don't let this worry me due to knowing we are all different. To date I have lost 18 lbs I started this woe about the second week of march, (I thought Feb, but no thats when I found this site and was waiting to get my hands on the book). To me, only knowing by reading and researching and talking here on this site that this is a good weight loss. If I hadn't have read the book, researched and read here on this site I would have felt let down thinking I should have by now lost more. I have realized it takes time to lose weight just as it took time to gain it!

So, keep your chin up...we are all different and I hope I was able to show you this.

Wendy