I have had some real successes with low carb in the past. Unfortuantely, each time I gradually returned to my old way of eating and the weight eventually came back on.

I'm finding that each time I lose on low carb and regain, I have more difficulty losing with low carb the next time. Has anyone else experienced this?

I think I'm finally getting myself committed to low carb as a WOL rather than just a WOE. I'm trying to pay less attention to the scale and more attention to how I feel (I always feel great on low carb).

If the difficulty losing after repeated low-carb periods is common, perhaps we could start a forum for "repeat offenders"!

forlil

I have also experienced this. About 1 1/2 years ago, I was able to lose 50 pounds, then went off and gained 20 back. This time, the initial loss through induction is much slower, but after a month's stall, am starting to lose again.

I went off before primarily because of the lack of variety. Thanks mainly to this forum, I have discovered unending recipes and variations, plus some great products (Yea Flax-O-Meal and La Tortilla!!). I feel I can accept that this is how I must eat from now on, as a WOE, and not consider low-carb dieting simply as a temporary diet to lose and then go back to the same old habits that got me into this shape to begin with.

froedrich

it's more common than not. Eventually, I am guessing that LCing won't work to take off the fat, just as low-calorie diets cease to work for the metabolically obese, too. Why? The body adapts.

Think of it this way: carrying extra fat is exactly what the body would love to do. That the body has these mechanisms is why the fat or potentially fat are the majority of people on the planet--it's evolution in action, a guarantee of survival for long enough to procreate. For most of human history, we've had a very difficult time getting sufficient food. Fat is storage of excess food to see us through ice ages, droughts, and so on. The loss of fat is a bad thing (from a survival perspective, which is the only perspective the body knows--genes don't know about Glamour magazine), so the body has many mechanisms to protect against the loss of body fat.

Every study that has been done to check health changes upon the loss of body fat shows that losing weight causes WORSE health, not better. This also makes sense--the body does not want to give up the fat and fat loss is bad news, not good. The more times you lose weight, the worse the health implications. Therefore, it's better to find a moderate size you'd be happy with, then change your way of life permanently to get there and stay there. It's actually healthier to forget about dieting and stay fat than to lose weight (unless you're talking about 250 pounds to lose or something like that).
For more information, start by reading Forsberg's Obesity 101 on line.

Most people find that if they switch their focus from fashion to health, they can come up with a more reasonable and sustainable goal. HTH.

That makes sense and correlates to my experience. Each time I have lost 30-40 lbs. and then gained it back, I have been less healthy than before I lost it initially.

I really bottomed out before I got restarted this time, and I feel more committed than I have ever been to making LC a WOL. It's either that or gastric-bypass surgery, and I would like to avoid that.

forlil

Although this is an old thread I have unearthed I'd like to put in my ha'pence worth.

I've been a low-carber prior to Aitkins coming on the scene. It started around the late 60s early 70s when I first read an article about losing weight on a fat and protein only diet. Over the intervening years I've been on and off it like a yo-yo! I found it a good method in keeping down weight.

Unfortunately, unless there's a longish period between attempts it seems that the body fails to respond to it in the manner it did during the first 2 to 3 attempts. The body seems to have a memory and recognises what's coming and seems to take evasive action.

What I did find was that on each subsequent attempt that it was easier to adopt the diet and it was not accompanied by the side-effects (like constipation) that tended to accompany the earlier attempts.

There is an initial loss of about 7-10 lbs on repeated attempts then the weight loss hits the 'plateau' and it takes ingenuity to break it.

I always feel well when on a fat and protein only diet and the only problem encountered is its unsociable effect where restaurants etc never cater for such severe diets. Here again one has to use a little ingenuity to overcome those problems.

what kind of ingenuity?

Prescience.

Hi to you all. I have been low carbing since spring of 2003 and have slowly gained back most but not all of the weight i lost. I have not gone off the regime to any extremes but I think I am the type that just can't eat very many carbs without gaining. It makes eating quite boring.

I too have gone back on induction with not success, so I quite. I thought there must be something wrong. I have thought about giving up the whole low carb diet but I don't and won't start eating sugar or starches again. I have low blood sugar problems.

I am stuck. Don't know what to do. I really do miss fruit. If I eat berries or melons it costs me a lot of carbs for the day.

Anyone have suggestions? I have started working out at the YMCA and have committed to doing that.



Sherrilll

This is my THIRD time doing Atkins - I lost MUCH slower this time then the first time I did it - the first round I lost 40lbs in HALF the time it has taken me this time BUT I have found that this time around is easier for me - I didn't have induction flu as bad as my first go round, the cravings are not as intense, etc.. I have added in more exercise and have managed to move the scale (maybe not at the speed I once could but it IS moving and since I am committed to this WOL forever I try not to rush it!)
If you really miss the fruit have a peice! Plums are VERY low carb - 3.3g net carbs in a small one (this is straight from the Atkins shopping guide) I have modified my induction around my personal preferences because the truth of the matter is - it makes it soooooo hard to stay on plan if you are walking around salivating for something you aren't allowing yourself to have. When I am craving chocolate really bad - I have a piece of LC choclate, when I am craving cake so bad I could scream, I bake a LC version of one, etc.. The funniest thing to me is that I crave fruit more then I crave any of the junk I used to eat in my pre-LC days and I was never a fruit eater then! So now - I have a plum just about everyday or every other day. I have found that the sweetness of it actually keeps the cravings for the junky stuff away and it satiates my cravings for fruit - for 3.3g net carbs - ya can't beat that! Even if you think you don't really care for plums - try em anyway! I never liked plums but now since I haven't had fruit in awhile I think they are absolutely deeeviiine!!!

I'm with amdevelish re eating lc sf treats when you get cravings. However, if you keep reminding yourself that as long as you expend more energy daily than the food you consume you will lose weight. It might be very slow in coming off but if you try hard to keep exercising and push yourself on those days you feel more energetic you'll see the weight come off faster.

Don't give up on lc'ing or the weight and the low blood sugar problems will resume. then you'll have to deal with the possibility of diabetes in the future. Stick to lc sf options and try increase the exercise - you know it'll work!

I back and forth like a yo-yo, and I can't get the same quick results anymore from induction. So I've started excersizing religiously, and not worrying so much about what I eat - I'm just trying to make healthy choices and loveing my body by giving it what it needs.

If some of you recall, Aitkins recommended taking l-glutamine to overcome headaches and the urge too for sweet things. All that I can add is that his advice worked for me.

As we know, the main aspect of LC is ramping-down the carbs but the reduction should be accompanied by an increase in fat consumption of the saturated type. Other types of fat have harmful effects. Read Dr Raymond Peat's research articles. One lipid-researcher on a UK tv programme advised eating plenty of protein with lesser amounts of fat and negligible cabs should one be serious about losing weight. I have not attempted his advice. My diet is approximately 55% fat, and 44% protein, and hopefully, no more than 1% (less if I could avoid it) carbs. I have been on the current diet 3 months without any ill-effect and I am feeling fine and have energy. After losing about 14 lbs during the first couple of weeks my weight stabalised and currently I am about a stone overweight but as I feel so well I am not unhappy about this.

Thanks for all your comments. I am still depressed about the weight gain because I just gained 5 lbs in about 2 weeks. I am retaining fluids, so I am not sure if it is water weight or not. I am still confused about how to proceed. I know I will keep up with my weight training and riding the stationary bike because I have done that off and on for years. I think amdevilish is right about modifying the program around personal prefereneces.

One of my problems might be low carb ice cream? 3 carbs per 1/2 cup. I tend to eat a cup and 1/2 a night. Also I eat too much cheese I think. We drank wine and had cocktails during xmas, too. But it seems to be a steady gaining from the bid loss.

I do take prednisone 5 mg a day for arthritis and am going through menopause so that could also factor in.

Well, thanks for listening to me bable on. I am assuming I should start induction again and exercise. I am drinking lots of water to keep hydrate, don't worry about that.

Thanks,
Sherrill

Yo-yo dieting is one of the quickest ways to trash your metabolism there is. You need to find a LC plan that you can stick with for the rest of your life.

There is NO FINISH LINE here. It's not like you will EVER reach a point (or a weight or a size) where you can then return to the lifestyle and foods THAT MADE YOU FAT (because you WILL gain it back!).

Let's be realistic here, gang. It's our old lifestyle and food choices that made us obese (for the most part. Mind you, perimenopause helps - it can tank your metabolism with no help at all! YIKIES).

Keep re-reading your book. DOn't fall into the newbie rut of same old foods and STOP eating the commercial low carb franken-food-in-hiding. It's loaded with sugar alcohols, the carb content is NOT realistic, and it's also loaded with gluten with which- studies show- increasing numbers of us have problems.

There' s no getting around the fact that you will need to spend MORE time in your own kitchen if you want to shed weight. Shop the perimeter of stores, NOT the aisles! Stock up on lots of fresh veggies. Drink MORE water (a sluggish lymph system will NOT be able to move the cell toxins anywhere!) and laugh out loud!

It not only burns calories, but releases endorphins, what's not to like?

PS to Sherrill - you might have a sensitivity or intolerance to some of the low carb foods you've been eating. The quickest way to find out is to stop eating them and see how you do in the next few days. Cruise the recipe section, there's some LOVELY recipes posted there.

Some interesting feedback back here. It's threads and postings like this that teach me how to effectively manage my own weight and health problems.

Someone on one of the threads mentioned on the forum was using a glucometer. Armed with this information I obtained one, and to my astonishment, discovered that I was prediabetic. This kind of feedback has enabled me to approach the diet differently. I have only just started this on this variation which previously showed BG (blood glucose) levels at around 126mg/dl but today the average readings have dropped to 95 mg/dl which I find intriguing. I am hopeful that through controlling BG levels that other benefits will arise. I am regarding this glucometer as an additional feature to LC.

I did find "razzle's" information interesting and I am about to look-up the URL mentioned.

Finally, haven't, as yet, lost any more weight but do feel rather good!