I though I had this low carb way of eating down to an art. I have lost 60 lbs from July 2002 through February 2003. The weight was falling off. I then hit a stall. I was OK with this stall because I proved to myself that I could loose weight, feel better, keep my alergies in check and maintain a weight. My weight fluctuated only about 5 lbs +/-.

I am now ready to work at reaching my goal. For some reason, I can't loose a single pound. Please help me.

I have a fitday account. I just started it today. I have read your analysis of others stats and need your help despirately.

http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJour...?Owner=LadyLona

I know I don't have a lot of experience with this kind of thing, but am wondering if that is everything you ate today, and if it is, where are your veggies? If you haven't been eating veggies I would definitely suggest eliminating the shakes, and getting your carbs and a good amount of fiber from the veggies.

I'm not at all familiar with the shakes, but have read where some things like that CAN cause stalls for some people.

Hi,

I had the Subway Salad in tuna. It looked as if it had about 2.5 cups of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, olives, pickles and cheese in addition to the tuna salad and Ranch Dressing. I got the nutritional information from Subway.com. I get the EAS Shakes from Walmart. Usually have them to satisfy my desire for milk (I miss a tall glass of cold milk.)

Hi Lonnie!!!

I`m here, to help you out. don`t worry ok. I will analuze you r fitday and post my comments right here. I will be ack in just few minutes.

I'm back. Ok. Taking a glanze at your fitday, I have found 2 things:

1.- you are eating WAYYYYYY to much protein 175 grams is a lot!
2.- during induction, you are not alowed to have those shakes. I suggest you stop drinking them.

Now, please do the following:

-Sign in into fitday.
-In the main page, you will see that in the upper middle of the page, there is a -table that says : FOODS EATEN TODAY.
-Select all
-Copy it
-and Paste it in a post. I will like to take a look at your percentages.

Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 1590
Fat: 83 750 50%
Sat: 24 215 14%
Poly: 6 58 4%
Mono: 23 210 14%
Carbs: 19 49 3%
Fiber: 7 0 0%
Protein: 175 702 47%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Thank you Lonnie, (Sorry of you see some "B" missing, is my stupid keybord!!! jijiji

Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total

Total: 1590 (increase your calorie intake to be between 1600 and 1800 cals)

Fat: 83 750 50%
You need to increase your fat intake to be at 70%

Carbs: 19 49 3%
Net carbs ( total carbs - fiber = 12 net carbs) when you increase your fiber you will be able to eat more carbs and most of them should come only from induction Veggies

Fiber: 7 0 0%
Increase your fiber to be between 15 and 20 gms

Protein: 175 702 47%
Way to high . The minimum protein intake for a woman is 60 gms. Check on halo_slips thread, for the way to find out how many gms of protein you should eat.

Stop drinking the vanilla shakes this week. Instead, have 1 greek yogurt. (about 5 gms of carbs) per 125 gms serving. Or a glass of milk.

Alcohol: 0 0 0%

The way your percentages should look is: P: 25% F:70% C:5%
what do you think?

I agree with your suggestions. I can't believe how out of touch I have become in my eating. I appreciate you, your wisdom and expertise. I knew you could get me back on track. I will continue posting to Fitday each day. Please continue your analysis until I get back on track.

What is a Greek Yogurt? Sounds very interesting.

Lonnie,

No problem. I will be checking on your stats until you get back on track.

Well, here in Spain there is a new brand of yogurt called Greek yogurt. Is creamy, soft, and made of whole milk. I really like it. I suggested that , because I have read in this forum , that they sell this yogurt in the USA, and is the type of yogurt I have about 3 times a week.

I want to suggest you not to be scared of fat. In order to loose fat on Atkins, you need fat. It is the inductor of ketosis, and without it you will not be able to get into Ketosis, and start movilizing the fat in your body.

Too much protein can cause aedema: water retention, swallen face, feet, hands.

Please, please, drink lots and lots of water. The great amount of protein produces dehydration. Also you need to drain that fat out of your system, and this is the only way to do it. Also remember that when you are in ketosis, the production of ketones produces bad breath and a smell like "Amonia". A good way to stop this smell and ugly mouth taste and smell also, is by drinking lots of water. By lots, I mean about 1 gallon of water a day. At the beginnig it will be kind of hard for you to have all this amount of water, but believe me, after the first day, your body will ask for it, and you will feel comfortable drinking it.
I Drink much more than 1 gallon a day...and I feel Great.

Please post your stats in here every day for the next week. I will post my comments and suggestions.

Go to the halo_slips thread and read it from the beginning. I have been helping here for a week now. You will be able to find good information to get you back in track.

See you tomorrow. If I do not answer quickly is because I am from Spain, and there is about 7 hours difference. Here is right now 5.15 am.


See ya!!

Let me say at the outset of this post, that I mean to cause you no offence whatever, Becky. I think you are a great member.
However, some of the information you are giving here is not quite correct.

Hi Lonnie, I know you haven't asked for anyone else's advice here, but I feel obliged to give you some suggestions in order to correct a few misunderstandings.

This will only happen if you have kidney disease.
Too much protein will not do you any harm whatever. The only problem it will cause is to make it harder for you to lose weight.

And as you are having difficulty, Lonnie, I would definitely agree with increasing your fat content. There are no particular percentages that you must reach. However, most folk on Atkins find they will lose best on Induction if they keep their fat to 65 to 70%, carbs to 5% and protein at 25 to 30%. These are not hard and fast numbers though. Remember that Dr Atkins made no mention whatever of percentages.

As for calories, again, Dr Atkins pretty much says to eat "until you are full but not stuffed."
However, once again, if you are interested in what I have seen over my almost 2 years here, most people find they lose best if they keep their calories up to at least 10 times their current weight. Studies have shown that that amount of calories is needed to maintain your basal metabolic rate. That is, you need that much to stay alive, by maintaining your breathing, circulation, digestion etc. So I would try to increase your calories to reach about 2000. And the best way to do that is by adding fat.
Add butter to your cooked vegies, or stir fry them in oil. Use plenty of mayo or creamy dressings like ranch or Caesar on your salads.
Fry your eggs in oil or butter. And always choose full fat versions of everything. As you probably know, low fat usually means high sugar.

I would avoid yoghurt at present. 1 cup of full fat yoghurt has 12 carbs. You are MUCH better off eating those carbs mostly as vegies. If you are doing Induction at present, yoghurt is not allowed anyway.

I don't believe either that 15 to 20g fibre is necessary. Doreen, one of our forum founders, stated once that on low carb we only need about 10 to 15 g.
As long as you are staying "regular," I wouldn't worry about it.

I definitely agree that you are better to base your eating on real food rather than shakes. they are fine now and then, but you'll be doing yourself a lot more good if you eat more good old meat and vegies.

I wish you much success!

Rosebud

Hi Rosbund,

I will like to reply to some of your Information:

Quote:

Oedema This will only happen if you have kidney disease. Too much protein will not do you any harm whatever. The only problem it will cause is to make it harder for you to lose weight.

Quote from vitaviva.com:

Oedema
Caused by pooling of liquid from the bloodstream in body tissues, following imbalance in the salt/water balance of the body, or poor circulation. Liquid will pool in the legs, abdominal cavity or in the lungs. Seen in heart-, liver-and kidney disease.

This is what Gilibel posted in the European's thread and then gave me the above information and meaning of Oedema or edema.



Oedema is not only caused by heart, liver and kidney disease.

Other Symptoms not necessarily having anything to do with kidney, liver or heart disease are:

"Oedema of the ankles is quite common, especially in hot weather, at high altitude and if movement is restricted. This swelling is usually ‘dependent’, meaning that the pressure of fluid in the legs, from prolonged standing or sitting, pushes it into the surrounding tissues. Rotating the ankles regularly is recommended." - www.britain.tv

And also Pre menstrual Syndrome.


Percentages

Many people have told me in this forum about asking the ATKINS CENTER for advice on the right percentages, and these are the percentages they sent to them in reply to their questions.

Fiber

You are right. People have different needs. But I have also seen in this forum, that the avarage amounts of Fiber are 15-20 gms/day. The Atkins Center recommends having 3 cup of vegetables during induction. But they also enphasis that is not the same having 1 cup of iceberg lettuce (1 gm of fiber per cup) than eating 1 cup of Chicory, "a type of lettuce that adds a pleasantly bitter flavor to a salad, has more than 7 grams of fiber per cup,"- Atkins Center.

I think is up to you. On the way you feel.


Yogurt.



I recommended her having the greek yugurt, max. 3 days a week, and one yogurt cup of 125 gms ( the individual serving, actually 3.5 gms of carbs) because Loonie mentioned that she needs to have her milk.
Rosebund is correct. Yogurt or milk is not allowed during induction most of all due to its high carbohydrate content.
This has been my personal recommendation I have been having my individual serving of yogurt 2 - 3 times a week with no negative effect.

Calories

Yes, it is correct. because we are in the process of getting to have nice looking stats, I suggested her to have this ammount of calories : between 1600-1800. We are in the process of higher the level of calories little by little.

A way to find out how many calories your body needs, is as follows (primusweb.com) This amounts of calories are for WEIGHT MAINTENANCE

The Easy Way

If all of those calculations seem too confusing or tedious, you can roughly estimate your daily calorie requirements using this simple formula:

For sedentary people: Weight x 14 = estimated cal/day
ex: my wekght (218 lbs) x 14 = 3052 calories

For moderately active people: Weight x 17 = estimated cal/day

For active people: Weight x 20 = estimated cal/day

Note: Moderately Active is defined as 3-4 aerobic sessions per week. Active is defined as 5-7 aerobic sessions per week.

Sources:
Ruth Lahmayer MS, RD, "How Low Should Calories Go?", IDEA Today, September 1989
American Council on Exercise, Personal Trainer Manual: The Resource For Fitness Instructors, (Boston, MA: Reebok University Press, 1991


Lonnie, Please look around the forum, and let me know if you see "loosers" having that many calories.

I have also seen this other post This amount of calories are TO LOSE WEIGHT.

Posted by justdoinit

Quote:

You figure out what you want to weigh, and how many calories a day you need to consume to support that body weight, and that is how many calories a day you eat. So theoretically, you eventually end up weighing your ideal weight, and you never have to adjust the way you eat again because you have been eating the ideal number of calories to support that ideal weight all along. So, if you use the BMR calculator, try plugging in your ideal weight instead of your current weight. For example, for my current weight and activity level, my total (not basal) calorie need is 2485, but based on my ideal weight that would be 2053 (basal 1553 versus 1283).

So now, lets calculate:

For example: My BMR for my actual weight (99.5 kgs) is 1776 calories (Fitday)

So now I know that in order to lose weight, reaching my goal weight 65 kgms , I need to have 1450 calories a day + 20% increase due to my activity level( sedentary slightly active). Total 1740 calories a day.

Quote:

I would try to increase your calories to reach about 2000. And the best way to do that is by adding fat.

You can have more and preferably coming from fat, as Rosebund mentioned.

halo_slips has lost 2.5 kgs due to my recommendations in 1 week.
Nille, has also lost near 4 kgs while following also my recommendations in 2 weeks

(They are the only two people (buddies) I have helped to get out of a stall).

Thank you Rosebund for your input and recommendations. This has helped me to clarify Lonnie more points.

Becky, first of all, as an ICU RN for many years, I know exactly what oedema is. I also know that it can be caused by many, many things, most commonly by ingesting too much sodium and/or not drinking enough water.

I also know that the protein recommendations given by Protein Power etc are for minimum amounts of protein. See what they say here:

http://www.eatprotein.com/answers1.htm#1d

Becky, one of the things that illinformed critics say about low carbing is that too much protein harms the kidneys. As long as you have had tests that show your kidney function is normal, eating more protein will not harm your kidneys. There have never been any tests anywhere that prove this. Just because one person on another lists makes a statement about this, does not make it so.
Please be very careful about repeating these statements.

As for the calories, I don't think you have been here long enough to see the many people here who have only begun to lose weight after increasing their calories....and carbs.

I think it's great that you are offering to help people. However you are still a new low carber yourself with a lot to learn. So please be a little more cautious about what you say to other new folk.

Rosebud

Hi Becky, I made it through the entire day.....

Here are my stats for the day.

Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 1528
Fat: 105 949 64%
Sat: 53 474 32%
Poly: 5 47 3%
Mono: 24 220 15%
Carbs: 22 61 4%
Fiber: 7 0 0%
Protein: 120 478 32%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

My own analysis: I fell short of my goal on the fat and fiber. I'm above my goal on the protein. My net carb count is 15 -- so I fell short on the carb goal also. One observation I made is that I was very thirsty today, (good for me, because I drank my goal in water). I did, however, enjoy a diet cola (sweetened with Splenda).

Please let me know what you think.

Hi Lonnie,

All you need to do is add a little more fat and your figures will be excellent! Maybe add some butter to your broccoli and squash.

120g protein is fine.

You may find some help in the Plateau Busters Checklist here: http://www.lowcarbretreat.com/plateaus.html

All the best to you!

Rosebud

Hi Lonnie,

let's see your stats:

Total: 1528
Try increasing your calorie intake

Fat: 105 949 64%
Try increasing a little more your fat intake Ex. One or two extra tablespoons of butter, Olive oil, or Mayo will do the trick. When increasing your fat intake, your calorie intake will also increase considerably. Remember that just 1 gm of fat has 9 calories.

Carbs: 22 61 4%
Try increasing your Carb intake with 1 more cup of veggies. Net Carbs= 15 gms.
it looks a little low. Atkins mentions that less carbs = to faster weight loss. but he also recommends that the Carb intake for induction phase should be 20 gms and most of them coming from veggies.

Fiber: 7 0 0%
I think that you can have 1 more cup of high fiber veggies. Let me know how you feel after increasing your fiber a little more[/COLOR]

Protein: 120 478 32%
Protein intake looks fine. PP suggests you multiply your LBM (Lean Body mass) by .6 if you are slightly active, .8 if you are moderate active, and .9-.10 if you are an athlete or body builder.

Ex: My LMB is 125 lbs X .6 = 75 grams of Protein/day

I completely agree with Rosebund. With a little more fat your stats will look great! GOOD JOB!!!!

Oedema

After earching more n the internet about this subject, I read in many articles, that Oedema is caused more due to deficiency in protein intake, and not the opposite as what I have posted. I am really sorry for posting an information that is not accurate. My confusion is now cleared out!

Quote from Rosebund:



I'm doing my best. The last thing I will like to do , is harm anyone. I will be a little more cautious before giving any information put in this forum.
I will not tell you how many hours a day I spend in this forum and the internet, because you will not believe it Is also really amazing all the info and the interesting comments posted in here. And also, Is amazing the support and help I've gotten from other forum members. I want to transmit that knowledge, to people that ask me for help, like everyone does, by guiding them thru this WOE and WOL, so they will not have to go thru months of having to learn all by themselves. I only help the ones who ask me to help them, and one thing for sure, is that I do help them with All my Heart and Caring. Thank you Rosebund. I understand your concern.

WHOA!!! Hang on just a minute here...

I think my private little quest for the underlying problem/ reason for my present oedema in some way has contributed to some confusion here. I'm sorry if anything I've written has been taken out of context and used as "truth carved in stone".

Since I have cut down on sodium, drink bucketloads of water etc. I wanted to further search into why my (8 day old) oedema stubbornly stays around my ancle/right foot - and yes, I'm going to see the dear doctor today...

Just as Becky quoted, I first got information from a Swedish LowCarb-list (with people who've been LCing for over a year or more) where someone stated that they had recently discussed protein & oedema, and that they'd come to some kind of conclusion that protein could cause oedema - which I mentioned in a post in Becky's European thread, where I hang quite a bit. Later on though, as I certainly don't rely on one source as "The Truth", I found totally contradicting information at www.vitaviva.com. This I also posted, and Becky has quoted some of the vitaviva info too (the basic explanation to what "oedema" is), although unfortunately omitted the key info, as what they actually write is (my bad translation):

-----------------

(In the previous paragraph they speak about oedema caused by too high intake of sodium, caused by a bee sting, bad blood circulation etc)

Protein can be lost through urine - nefrotic(sp?) syndrome - which is a kidney disease causing protein and salt deficiency through kidneys, whereby important nutrients are lost in the blood. Protein binds liquid in the bloodstream. Deficiency of protein causes the liquid in the blood stream to penetrate the surrounding tissue and thereby causing water retention in the legs (limbs). This phenomenon is called osmosis.

(And then the article continues to explain oedema caused by kidney failure, it's effect on sodium/urine, sodium stuck in tissue etc.)

-----------------

The bottom line: if protein has anything to do with oedema, it's that LACK of protein - in some special cases - can cause it. Not the other way around. I have posted this info on the Swedish LC-list, but gotten no reaction to it as of yet.

The reason Becky missed this is because the www.vitaviva.com site isn't fully translated into English yet and I have only posted this info in Swedish in my journal. Also, the protein/oedema discussion has mainly been between me and another forum member who happens to be Norweigan. So the info I've posted (yesterday) to her has been quotes in Swedish, which only she can read and understand. I was going to translate it to English, but haven't had time yet. For instance this recommendation on protein intake (since she was worried that hers at 87 grams was too low for the day):
-----------------
My (seriously bad) translation from Swedish:

The National Health Board's recommendation is that the diet should consist of 10-15 energy percent protein, for healthy people with low to moderate activity level. For people exercising and thereby straining their body to a greater extent, the amount should be higher. General guide lines are:
Untrained people, approx. 1 gram per kilo body weight
Moderately trained people: approx 1.5-2 grams per kilo body weight
Very trained people: approx 2-3 grams per kilo body weight

-----------------

These guidelines suggested that her intake of 87 grams (landing on 1.2g/kg bodyweight) was perfectly within the health recommendations. (Although, protein discussions and guidelines here on this board seem to alter/differ depending on what plan people are on.)

So, I'm truly sorry if I - unintentionally - have mislead anyone due to the language barrier. My appologies to Becky, who I know to be very helpful and a great support to fellow LCers.

/gil

EDIT - New info after doctor's appointment:

Dear Doc said that too much as well as too little protein can cause oedema!! If too much protein is consumed, it can burden the kidneys heavily hence causing leaking/oedema. Just as well as the other explanation about protein deficiency I posted above! Unfortunately he didn't have any figures as to what would be "too much protein". Probably loads more than any of us consume anyway.