Need help
 

Hi everyone ! I've been lc'ing since Jan 05 & lost 10 lbs in the first few months; but stalled in summer. I also decided to give up tofu & morning star type products due to concerns that soy can cause reduced thyroid activity & maybe breast cancer (I use tempeh though-fermented soy is supposedly ok). If that wasn't enough, I am working on cutting out all sweetners except stevia. So being a vegetarian & doing all of the above, my diet has become so highly restricted that after a couple of months of it, I have slowly started eating more carbs (even sugar). So this morning I weighed in at 135.5; now I'm panicking & want to catch this trend & reverse it before I gain back the entire 10 lbs I lost.

anyone have any ideas for me ? All you veggies out there, how much tofu & soy products are you consuming each day ?

I will add that I'm unable to add any exercise in my life. I have a 2-year old & I work full time

:help: :help: :help:

anyone, anyone, bueller ?

Hmmm, I use morningstar farms stuff, so I cannot help you there. I can understand your trend. I have been seeing the same thing in myself. I find I have been letting myself get too hungry and then I have a better chance at eating crap.

Maybe more eggs for you?

thanks for replying ! also just realized that you & I are the same height !
I'm eating a lot of eggs, though they are not a great source of protein - only 7gm each. I'm also getting in some whey protein powder in my smoothie in the morning. Other than that, preotein is tempeh in casseroles, cottage cheese also in casseroles (don't like it on its own) & other cheeses, some nuts, occasional think thin bar (it has maltitol & glycerin).

I'm am unsure how this is going to work for the rest of my life ? Other than the vegetables, there is no variety ! I added fruit this summer & that stalled me - though I didn't gain. So maybe I need to get down to an acceptable weight & then slowly cut out stuff I don;t want & replace it with fruit, some grain etc.

Also wondering, given that you are 5', how do you feel at 131lbs ? I was a tight size 12 at 143. But 10lb later, I only dropped to a loose size 12. Therefore my goal weight of 115. I see yours is 125. The lowest I dropped before starting the creep back was 132.5 & really at that I still had too much tummy and really bad saddlebag thighs. My weight seemed to have dropped more as an overall shrinkage, rather than any noticeable reduction in the problem areas.

I actually got to a size 6 or 8 at 125. I think it was the exercise that helped.

You probably can add some morningstar farms/tofu to your menu as long as you don't go haywire with it. I talked to my doctor about the soy thing as I have a low thyroid anyway. He said there are some studies that also say it has no effect and that he would say eating some is OK as long as you watch it.

I think I may have to add the soy items back; otherwise this is impossible to do.

Exercise - would you share with me what you do ? I have a 2-year old & work full time, so there really isn't time for an ambitious exercise plan. I'm wondering if it is cardio that helps or weights. I'm encouraged to learn that you are 6-8 ! That's awesome !

Well, I am not anymore. Not at 131 or really 133 by now. I am probably a 10 at the moment, which sucks.

As far as exercise-I think it is both really. If you don't have a lot of time try the Firm. It combines both cardio and weights in one so you can get a lot done in a little amount of time. I think there is a Firm thread in the excersize forum. I have many of their workouts and they really kick your butt. Some of them are an hour long, so you might (once you work up to it) just do half one day and half the next.

I would never have elimnated the soy in the first place. Soy is a great protein source. The problems that arise are when you take copius quantities of soy protein isolate.

There is nothing to link hypothyroidism to soy consumption. And certainly nothing remotely linked to breast cancer. If anything, soy is anticarcinogenic.

Y'know, every time someone tells me they can't 'add any exercise' to their lives, I tell them the same thing--open your eyes and look at your time a little differently. Park further away from the front door at work, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk quickly around the building on your break(s) instead of getting a cup of tea, take the baby for a *walk* when you get home. There are LOTS of ways to exercise, that don't involve a gym membership or 90 minutes out of your day. Pilates is a great exercise program, and you'll see toning and strengthening results in three 20-min. workouts per week. You can do it isometrically, or with resistance bands or on a machine. Cardio and weight training/resistance accomplish different goals; each together can help you accomplish more. But exercise is usually the difference between being a size 10 at a given weight, and being a size 6.

As for tofu, I probably only eat tofu once or twice per week and eggs three to four times per week. However, I do eat nuts and seeds, kefir, ricotta and other cheeses every day. I eat soybeans (edamame and black canned or dried, cooked soybeans.) I eat lentil crackers (pappadums.) I also do eat 25g of soy protein isolate in a protein shake with kefir and ricotta cheese every morning. I make tempeh 'croutons' to garnish salads and soups and boost their protein levels, and almond flour muffins that have 10g protein and fewer than 3g carbs per muffin. There is plenty of variety out there, but you've got to think outside the box.

Also, fruit was probably not making you 'stall,' but it's possible that if you weren't getting enough protein, then you weren't going to lose any weight. You really do need to figure out your protein minimum requirement (based on lean muscle mass, start at about 0.8g per lb and add more for increased activity). Without eating enough protein, then you aren't going to reshape your body successfully.

Innermusic - I read info on the problems with soy on the Weston A Price foundation website & they quote studies as well (that I admit I did not read - just taking their word on the research here) Have you looked at their site & do you have an opinion on their views ?

Gaelen - I am a lurker on the PP website also & actually put your protein muffin recipe to good use !! Also the smoothie recipes - I use berries, kefir & whey protein powder, usually
Exercise - the things you describe, I do quite a few already. I take the baby out for a walk everydasy, but babies (atleats mine) do not mave in a straight line. They go here & there, stop & look at things. So I'm moving but there is no appreciable aerobic stuff going on I;ll say though, before child, I worked out 4-5 times a week alternating cardio & strength, sometimes yoga. But the weight, it sticks to me. I hadn't discovered lc then, but still, the weight loss was small.. so the small stuff just does not affect me much, unfortunately.
& before someones suggests I stop watching tv, let me state that I watch maybe half hour friday night to wind down the week. Otherwise its baby videos or no tv...

There are lots of studies pro and con - you have to read the abstracts and see for yourself.

The site you mentioned is one I'm not familiar with, although the membership seems largely to be farmers who advocate more meat consumption, so a negative view on soy and selectively quoting research that supports that view would make sense.

Okay, you have to go for walks! Working, commuting and (I am sure) having a two year old is stressful. Can't you get a stationary bike and do that for like 30 minutes after your toddler goes to bed? I think that the exercise would really help you and it probably would've let you eat the fruit without problems.

I have reduced my soy consumption to about twice a week. I too was scared off by the thyroid talk. I used to eat the Yves veggie dogs every day and lost weight, so maybe I am being too paranoid.

I eat the Yves slices and other 'meats'. I drink Whey protein and eat low fat cheese. I also have cottage cheese (I had to give it up when I was on Atkins, but now have added it back). I also eat higher protein LC bars sometimes, like the SlimFast Carb Something ones.

I have also been eating a lot of egg white omelets too. You could also try baking with carb quik or other things like ground almond. I used to make a bowl muffin every morning for breakfast in the summer. Very tasty. Definitely check out the recipes threads. Good Luck!

Also, if your problem is no weight loss, why don't you start counting calories too? When I did Atkins, I had to count carbs and cals. Now, I am truly obsessed and I count calories and all macronutrients! :lol:

Hi all, I'm just back from a trip...
I'm considering getting a treadmill & working out at home; though aerobic classes were my workout of choice. I was bored out of my mind on machines even with the choice of television programming available at the gym. I would have to buy abother tv to put in front on the treadmill & hope that I work out despite my boredom. My toddler goes to bed at 9.30, then I clean up, pack everyone's lunch & go to bed. It might be more feasible to get up a bit early in the am. I do notice that I eat more in general & crave carbs if I don't sleep enough...hopefully it won't mean that I start eating more than I can burn off :)
I will look at research on soy again & re-consider. I was eating tofu etc in abundance when I lost the 12 or so #'s I lost. I've heard about breat cancer with soy too (due to estrogenic load or something ??) So I'd like to find out more before I re-start with that... If anyone knows anything about this issue, please chime in !!

soya link to breast cancer
 

I would be *very* surprised if there's a genuine link between Soya and breast cancer.

I say this on the basis that traditionally, South East Asian women (Japanese, chinese, etc) have had much lower breast cancer rates than is standard, and it's a well known fact that south east asian diets contain a *lot* of soya. From what I've read, it appears that their rates of breast cancer have begun to rise around the same time as they've adopted a more western diet.

Obviously, I'm not saying that this evidence is conclusive. But the fact that those asian women have been eatiing a soy-rich diet for years and years and their breast cancer rate has been so low is enough to allay any fears I might have about eating too much soya for this reason.

In any case, I'm of the school that says 'All things in moderation' (well, apart from carbohydrate, meat, dairy products...). (I eat soya in some form every day, FYI)

thanks Chanamo; actually the literature I've come across suggests that asian populations do not eat much soy products just a few grams a day; and that is in the form of fermented soy products.
In any case, I've decided to add back tofu to some extent, in addition to tempeh (which is fermented(
once I lose the weight, I may decrease consumption of those items. Because I am noticing that I'm only stalled, not actually gaining after getting rid of soy & adding in some carbs. That;s the good news!