Hi Everyone!! My name is amyfit. I'm 31 and I've put on about 25 unwante pound since my thyroid took a nose dive. It was a 39. Anyway, I'm only 5'1" and would like to get down to about 105-110lbs. I eat between 100-150 gr/carbs a day. I run or do aerobics 6 days a week and lift weights 3 days a week and do yoga 4 nights a week. I thought 100-150 grs was good, but I was told that it is still too high. Any advice? Also I'm not following any specific plan, should I be? If so, which one do you all feel is best? Thanks

Amyfit

HI Amy!!
Well I"m also 5'1 and wanting to be around the same weight & have Graves Disease (Hyper-Thyroid) But the percentage that gained weight!
Now I don't have a thyroid so i'm still kind of batteling.. I started low-carbing again on Monday, I've lost 4 lbs. I would reccomend trying to stick to 20-30 carbs a day! What are you eating? Also a good book to get is called "The Secret To Low-Carb Success", by Laura Richard. THis book talks about all the different low-carb plans and it might help you figure out which one you'd like to follow.. Hope this helps
Nicole

I'm sure I don't have any advice for you, being new here myself, but just wanted to say, "Hi!" I also plan to lose 25 lbs. - I'm 5'4", weigh 140 today, but with a small frame, I feel best when I weigh between 115 -118.

Starting Monday, I'll be following the Atkin's Diet Induction Phase, which allows up to 20 g. of carbs per day. The induction phase is followed by a gradual increase in carbs, so a person can learn what her body can handle (in terms of maximum carbs) to avoid regaining unwanted pounds. The only other low carb plan I'd looked at was the Zone, but figured if folks were recommending a weekend conference to learn how to do it, then it would be just too complicated for me ;-).

Hope you find the right plan for you, and wish you every success!

Hi Amy,

Welcome to you!

A lot of folks around here (including me) are on the Atkins Diet. Dr. Atkins wrote a great book called, "Dr. Atkins New diet revolution." I use it like a bible. This is a great website. Everyone here is so helpful and nice. Good luck to you!

Hello Amy! Welcome to the group!

I'm Cris. I started Atkins on Tuesday of this week. I've already lost 5 lbs. (probably water weight) and I feel great! I was one of the lucky few who didn't have any ill effects the first few days.

I, too, have Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism). With Graves you are supposed to lose weight involuntarily, but like Nicole...I didn't get that particular symptom. What a rotten trick to play!

Five weeks ago I underwent radioactive iodine to kill my thyroid. As of 2 weeks ago it still hadn't worked.

According to all the health and nutrition information I've found the average carbs that you are "supposed" to have (according to them) is an average of 120 per day. Atkins starts you out at 20 per day (for 2 weeks) and then you slowly introduce more carbs back into your diet. You continue doing so until you start to GAIN weight....at which point you know what your carb level "should" be to maintain.

I've read a little on The Zone (low-carb WOE) and The South Beach Diet (low-carb WOE also). They are a little more lenient on foods than Atkins is. From what I understand, it also take a little longer to lose on them. I could be wrong.

Since I've been on Atkins my appetite has decreased and so has my urge for sweets. This is a nice benefit because I "was" a fast-food and sweets junkie!

In addition to all the positive I've seen...I've suffered from anxiety for a while...I've noticed it too has decreased. Insomnia has also played a big role in my life for the past year or so...I'm now starting to get regular sleep.

All I can suggest is checking into each diet and maybe even talking to your doctor. I was lucky enough to have a doctor who supported Atkins and thought it would be the best diet for me!

One thing I recommend doing (which the Atkins book states) no matter WHICH low-carb diet you go on....get some blood work done first. You need to make sure you don't have any blood-sugar or insulin problems. They also should do a lipid profile to check your bad and good cholesterole and your triglycerides. Another test would be to check your kidney and liver function. A thyroid check would be a good idea...as well as checking the levels you have of uric acid. By doing all of these tests you will have #1 the peace of mind that everything is working correctly, #2 an idea of which areas you need to improve on, and #3 a baseline to show where you were BEFORE the diet to see how it effects you.

I hope this information has helped! Good luck!

Cris

Thanks Everyone!! I'll check out that book this weekend. Maybe I'll go over to amazon.com now and see how much it runs.
I just went to my Dr. today and he did draw blood, so I'll ask him if he ran those tests too. I went in for my thyroid check, but hopefully he did the others. Anyway, thanks a bunch and I'll go check into that book now. Thanks!!
Amyfit

Wanted to say HI and welcome! Good luck to you!

Kim

Amy
While you're checking out the books above also check out The Schwarzbein principle by Diana Schwarzbein. That's what I like about Barnes and Noble's bookstores. You can sit at a table reading reading and skimming the books until you decide which one(s) to buy.
Rob

Hi!

Welcome to LCE and Welcome to the Vertically Challenged Club (We all are - or have been - too short for our weight. )

Looking over the various plans and choosing the one that seems like the best "fit" - and then reading the book - is very important. It really helps to understand the principles of controlled carb eating and the program that you choose. Remember, you can always change programs, but it helps to have one plan to follow to begin with.

Make yourself at home.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160)/Maintaining nicely (110) ~~ Redhead until further notice!

Just want to say Hi!!!

And Wish You Good Luck!!!!


Old age ain't no place for sissies.
-Bette Davis-..
215/178/160
37 Gone
18 to go!!

Wow!! You guys are so nice and helpful! I love the vertically challenged reference I just told my husband last night that we were going to Barnes and NObles today to look for books. Are there anybooks I should advoid even looking at? Any that are just full of hot air?

Thanks
amyfit