Help!!! Ketosis "Fresh Fat vs. Old Fat"

[Aspiringsexymom78]

I have 105 lbs to go to get to my goal weight of 160 lbs. I have had my ups and downs, but since Monday just talkign with you guys, I have developed a whole new attitude towards LCE.

It is very exciting to loose weight and sometimes I get beside myself because I let myself get so frustrated with the plateaus. I have only been serious about LCE for 2 months now. In the beginning the weight was coming off so fast, but then it kinda slowed down and that is when I started cheating. I always work out harder when I cheat to try and burn off the excess carbs as soon as possible.

Someone told me that when the weight falls off so fast it is fresh fat that was recently stored, and that the plateaus come when the "ketosis" is trying to burn off old stubborn fat. It kinda makes sense because I have weighed about 260 lbs for the last 10 years of my life. I weighed 287 in Feb 2007 (fresh weight gain from last pregnancy) and was able to loose 23 lbs in 6 weeks!

Could it be true? Is my body on an "Old Fat Burning Marathon"? Could that really be the answer to plateaus?

[QueenMama]

It sure sounds like an interesting theory. And some of us have some really, really old fat, too! I always chalked up my stall to literal age, body slowing down, etc. Perhaps this theory needs someone to research it. Although, when all is said and done, fat is just probably fat, whether it's a recent acquisition or some that you've held onto for years.

[Goddess]

i don't even want to think about how old some of my fat might be. aghh! but it reminds me of the setpoint theory. i have heard the setpoint theory many times, and, anecdotally speaking, there seems to be some basis. haven't read any research one way or another. but then again, haven't looked, either.

i do know that, from observations, it slows down from the beginning for almost everyone. and i know it's challenging to remain focused when it has slowed down. but i also know that, in most cases, reviewing your choices to make sure there aren't unintentional missteps and staying the course will most of the time correct it.

and if you do stay "stuck" for any significant period of time, hop on over to the ongoing weight-loss forums and post some menus. the folks here are great about helping you find hidden sources of problems. but do remember that slower is not worse! if you were on a diet with an end date, then it would be an issue. but if you go back to the old ways, you go back to the old pants size. so let yourself transition a bit mentally. this is not a diet. this is "just how you eat". you know what I'm saying?

patience, little grasshopper. this is a lifetime plan-a journey, if you will. every step forward counts, however humble it may be. those humble little steps add up to some pretty amazing journeys, in the long haul, man.

peace out.

[QueenMama]

Goddess, I looked up set point, and it primarily pertains to calorie restriction. I found an interesting item:

http://web.mit.edu/medical/pdf/set_point_theory.pdf

When you cut calories, you also slow down the metabolism, keeping your body at its set point. Of course, they do not take into consideration how a low carb diet can improve your metabolism, but they do mention exercise as the only option to change the set point.

Eating low carb causes us to burn our fat reserves so that our exercise is more productive, increasing our metabolism, and causing us to lose weight without the hunger, deprivation, and angst of calorie restriction. And we change our set point by doing so.

Perhaps some of us have such long stalls because we don't eat enough. Some still have the idea that we have to count calories and fat, when those don't really come into play until you get closer to goal weight. And some of us stall (me!) because we just don't get enough exercise. I know it, and keep thinking that I need to do it, but just can't seem to get organized to get started. Lame excuse, but that's the way it is. Perhaps I need to be saying to myself, "Change your set point, exercise!"

[Goddess]

thanks for the cool pdf, nita! nice, easy-to-understand educational link. i learned something today...

[Oonagh]

Queen Mama,
You hit it on the head. I have seen over and over (we're talking years here!) that when I don't eat ENOUGH i don't lose weight. DH thinks I trained my metabolism when I was teenager living anorexic lifestyle. I was still bigger than lots of other girls (even with out my "trick mirror" inside that showed a 300 pounder when I looked) but I stopped menstruating and often fainted from lack of food. No doctor that ever saw my food journal believed me-- they always thought I left out 2/3 of what I ate).. Even now I have to monitor calories just to make sure i get enough. If I stall will inevitably find I dropped below 1000-1200 calories. Counter intuitive, isn't it! If I hit 900, which is easy on stressed out days I stop losing completely and actually gain. Water weight? We women have metabolisms that help us store fat for our babies when we are in starvation times. Let's not starve ourselves!!!