your feedback.

Ok, well, it's been a bumpy start for me low carbing.
My biggest problem - is being in the 'learning and mucking up' stage. (I do great for 3 days and by day 4 I'm making bad choices - isn't life drama just super??)


NOW - to counter this I've joined a challenge here, just cleaned out the pantry - eek, the junk food in there {{{shudder}}} - and am starting a walking program tomorrow. I also just scored an out-of-print LC book - and am finding it VERY helpful. (The Secret to Low Carb Success by Laura Richards)

Here's where I REALLY need your help - I am at a set point and the scale isn't budging. I may lose half a pound, or *faint* 2 pounds, only to see the scale snap right back up.

I had lost 47 pounds in a year on Weight Watchers and then I'd had it! I was gonna hurl a kidney if I had to weigh, measure and journal one more bite! And don't even get me started on the sawdust flavored low fat food! SO - I stopped (brilliant, no???) and then the big heart ache/kick in the keester - having to pull a few things out of the Goodwill bag cause - I'd gained back 8 pounds!! It was at this point my doctor suggested Low Carbing.

Now, am I, due to the weight loss I've already achieved through Weight Watchers, pass the 'honeymoon' stage on LC where you lose 10 - 14 pounds in your first 2 weeks? Is that a possibility?? Or could my painfully slow lose be more based on my mucking up (and I'll be real honest with ya, I've had some loo-loo slip ups!) and not moving more?? And it's just gonna take some time???

In the midst of all this emo whining - I do have woohoo I'd like to share - cause it seems like such a milestone. I was out for lunch with friends yesterday and snagged a *gasp* french fry - took one bite . . . . AND HAD TO SPIT IT OUT. (into my napkin!! What, you think I was going for distance????) it tasted so vile!

So maybe there's hope? Maybe the evil carb craving monster I've been fighting with has moved on????

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Tara

"And that, Marjorie — just so you will know — and your children will someday know ---is the night the lights went out in Georgia!" Julia Sugarbaker

Not that many people lose so much the first few weeks. Most people who lose a lot have a lot to lose anyway. Some of us lose really slowly, too. It's just the way we are. And, being inconsistent in sticking to our plan can cause us to lose slowly or to stall.

I wish there were a way for all of us to lose fast, but it's not realistic to expect it. And, it's probably better for our bodies to lose at a slower rate.

The best way to conquer the carb monster is to not feed it! Let every carb you eat be full of nutrients (broccoli, cauliflower, flaxseed meal, etc.) If you do that, soon the cravings will diminish. Believe me, I know. I used to not be able to control myself if I started eating sugar. An entire bag of M&Ms, all by myself. One piece of cake was never enough, 2 or 3 were better. Now I can be in a roomful of that stuff, and I don't even care, I have no desire to put even one taste in my mouth. It's because I make sure that I have enough of the low carb food in me, I don't skip meals, and I try to be well hydrated. So, from this sugar addict, yes, you can conquer that carb craving monster!

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Nita

losing weight on low-fat eariler on won't keep you out of the lc honeymoon stage, but regular cheating will. basically, the magic of lc comes from ketosis...when your body switches to fatburning mode. that's where the magic starts...lowered appetite, reduced cravings, the energy bursts, and the exercise that does burns fat quicker without the glucose to burn.

so depending on how serious the slip, any one of 'em can knock you out of ketosis for anywhere from a day or so to three or four. if you do this regularly, you may lose weight, but spend little time in ketosis, when it all gets easier and smoother for most.

now, i don't know if this descirbes your pattern, but i know for me, the "just a little here and there" thing gets out of hand quick. and if you're mentally just fed up with watching every little thing, it can go hand in hand, y'kno?

so if that's where you are, that might well be what is going on...for most people, if you're sticking to plan, figure the first couple of weeks are quicker and easier, and then the famous post-induction stall usually kicks in around week 3 or 4. it's not really a stall; more like a pause while your body adjusts, but people tend to call it a stall and freak out about it nonetheless. after you've been doing it straight a few weeks, however, the up and down is totally normal; so long as the overall trend is working downward and you feel good, you're probably doing fine then.

keep on the straight and narrow for a week, keep up with the water and the sups, and see stay off the scale for that week. the up and down will drive you nuts if you're already stressing. and i'm guessing by the end of that week, you'll get your lc honeymoon and the drive to eat the carby stuff will have mostly passed.

hang in there, hon!

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

by the way, congrats on learning those fries ain't what they used to be! that does tell me that your lc'ing consisently enough that your tastes are changing, and that's definitely way good news!

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

and i also don't remember how much you were looking to lose, tara. but the 10 pound induction losses are far more common for people who are looking to lose a lot than a little, and as nita mentioned, it's always a YMMV thing. very individual. but if you're slippng about every 4 days or so, there's a good chance you're knocking yourself out of fat burning mode whenever it starts.

i forgot-part of the initial losses are water, as you get when you start any diet. so that's a no-go.

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

Tara, set points and stalls in general are very frustrating. Since I had done my research on l/c, I knew it was a common occurrance. I did not like it when it happened, in fact I had one stall that went on for several months. However, by then I knew that l/c worked for me and as I had made a committment to myself to stay with it, if it worked, I was not tempted to stray because I was not in a "diet" mentality. I knew that this was something I would be doing for the rest of my life and while I wanted to lose the excess weight quickly, I knew I was not in a race. As a result, I did not set any time expectations for any particular milestone or goal, so I did not set myself up for the "failure trip" because the weight would not come off according to my hopes and artificial schedule. I did not have a schedule when I gained my weight, why should I have one when I want to lose it? Over the years, I have observed from ladies comments that women have a lot of different factors that can affect their weight at any time and that makes it very frustrating for them. One of the things I tried to do when I would weigh myself was try to do it under the same set of conditions. I do not know how a woman with her hormonal differences, water retension issues, and other factors that I don't have to deal with can reasonably expect to get any kind of accurate comparison between one weighing and the next. It is the comparison that is important because that tells you how much you have "lost". My advice to you is to accept that the l/c WOE does work, and stay with it regardless of what the scale says. And yes, going off plan can throw you out of ketosis and affect your rate of loss. That being the case, why do it? Good luck.

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Henry

awwwww, I puffy heart you all!!

Well, I started using the blog feature here, I think the extra accountablity will be good. I really haven't been eating the right amount of cabs - let's get real, 6 carbs a day of course is going to throw me off (I'm right on that aren't I???)
and the slips - omg, we'll just leave it at that! BUT, wow, did that one *spit take* of fry yesterday do something KA-BOOM for my moral!! Hence my post for help (wonderful super advise everyone, thank you ALL so much!!!) and today, well, I actually feel like I'm TRULY starting. I have to remind myself - it took me month to get WW right (talk about making mistakes, eeeeeeeeeeesh!)

BTW, I'm looking first to get back to my pre-holiday weight, so that's about 10 pounds there - after that - 30 - 40 pounds?? I figure as I get closer to a good number/body feel/clothes fit, I'll really take a hard look at what I can do and what is best for me. And figure I'll ask here and see the doctor!!!!

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Tara

"And that, Marjorie — just so you will know — and your children will someday know ---is the night the lights went out in Georgia!" Julia Sugarbaker

too low can absolutely be a problem as well as too high, yeah. you need to be getting in carbs in form of veggies every day. otherwise, your body might respond the way it does with typical crash dieting and slooooowwww down your metabolism. in other words, instead of speeding things up, it can slow things down! not your game plan. either too low or two high is not helpful, and if you do both, your poor bod is probably as confused as heck...not surprised it isn't responding consistently.

most low-carbers will tell you they eat more veggies than they ever have in their lives! so don't sweat the veggies and don't go under 20 net carbs a day (carbs minus fiber).

so slow down, take yerself a deep breath, and think long term instead of "how fast," 'cause that how fast will come back and bite you in the behind every time, hon. it's defintiely the tortise here.

see you over in the blogs, ma'am!

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

Thanks doll!! That certainly explains the fruit cravings lately! Ah, strawberries and cream - heaven. Who needs 100 calorie snack packs?? (btw, my dog won't eat those things - so, nuf said????)

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Tara

"And that, Marjorie — just so you will know — and your children will someday know ---is the night the lights went out in Georgia!" Julia Sugarbaker

In one of the other forums they have the Turtle club. well thats me. I've been losing inches but not pounds, so I have called off the darn scales and will only weigh under duress(LOL). What can it tell you anyway, that weighs everything including if you are carrying extra water or are bloated. So don't necessarily believe what it tells you. Judy

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If at first you don't succeed, change your approach and try again