Am I doing something wrong?
RebeccaMaunder
Posts: 171 Member
So since the other day I've not lost anything. I've gone up 2 lbs. I'm not sure if I am doing something wrong. If it's just water weight or what. My diary is open if that helps. I just figure I've got so much weight to loose I shouldn't be on a stall or even gaining already. I did wake up swollen this morning which doesn't help. Should I try fasting for a day? I'm so confused.
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I would honestly try cutting out the artificial sweeteners for a week and see what happens. The chemicals they're made of always make me retain water.
I don't know much about how long you've been doing this or if you have any medical conditions, or lifestyle restrictions on how much cooking you can do, but it seems like you're looking for the quick easy meals, and I really find I do better when I prepare my own food with fresh ingredients. I can look for the fattier cuts of meat in the store, and know I'm getting less preservatives that come packed into grab-n-go options.
Feel free to friend me if you'd like to see my diary.
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I can't see diary0
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But for sure what glossbones said... No artificial sugar for me because it causes crazy cravings0
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A few things...
1. Weight loss isn't linear. You can lose nothing for 2 weeks, then lose 5lbs in a week. You're looking for a long-term trend. See where you are in 2 months. Getting serious benefit from LCHF takes a few weeks to a few months. If you're settled into this by the new year, then you've done well.
2. I see a lot of quick and combination foods, which @glossbones mentioned. Quick foods often mean additional and unnecessary calories. Even on LCHF, calories matter. I'm not saying you're eating too many; I'm saying try for more nutrient-dense foods. More nutrient-dense foods means you get to eat more, feel more full, but actually be consuming fewer calories overall, which means you can eat more. Trust me on this one.
3. Drink more fluids. Some days, you're only logging 6 glasses. If you're not logging them all, make sure you do. LCHF means you need more fluids and more salt. Don't forget your potassium and magnesium. I can't stress these enough. Make sure you go to the main group page and read the Launch Pad. That's my bible right there!
4. Try being more consistent with your macros. Some days, you're way over your goals, some days way under. Work to find those nutrient-dense foods that complete your macros well. Consistently hitting your macros is a good thing. If you're jacking around your macros, your body may think you're ill and freak out. That can mean holding onto weight (for a couple of weeks, not this "starvation mode" BS dieters think of) or it can mean holding onto fluid.
5. If you're just getting into this, avoid the sugar entirely. Some days, the majority of your carbs are sugar. An apple or Starbucks can really mess that up. Going back to "consistent macros" again, it can matter more for some than others. In the beginning, this mattered a lot to me. Half an apple sent my body into freak out mode for days in the beginning. Over a year into this, now it doesn't. I just don't want it anymore.
A little fluid goes a long way. If you don't believe me, weigh a cup of water. Drink one of those and boom, your weight just went up a pound. Weigh before you pee and that's another 1/2lb or more. Going back to #1, look at the long-term trend. In other words, a 2lb gain is nothing. It's a little bloating. It's weighing after a cup of coffee and before you pee. It's a blip. It looks like you're doing a great job. We can always improve, but I don't see anything that screams "THIS IS WHY YOU'RE SCREWING UP" because you aren't screwing up. You're working hard and you're learning a new way of living. It takes time.
If you'd like to look, my diary is open. Please realize my portion sizes are about half what they should be in most cases. I'm on a doctor-ordered diet. The last 2 weeks, I'm coming back from 6 weeks away from home, so things are off for the last 2 months. If you want to see what my "normal" food day looks like, take a look at September. Pay attention to the food notes, as those will tell you when I'm doing a doctor-ordered carb or calorie cycle.0 -
Hi there friend!
I know you're probably hearing a bunch of junk that doesn't sound too fun, like cut out even artificially sweetened treats and cook more. I know. That parts the hardest.
Since you mentioned being swollen, it sounds entirely possible there's some water retention, something hormonal at play and if you're at least logging the calories relatively accurately, I can't imagine some weight loss will again occur once the swelling situation clears up.
With that said, I have to agree with the rest about the Keto sweets. I was concerned when I saw you ask about baking, but not everyone is as sensitive to the artificial sweeteners, so I didn't want to be negative about it. If you could keep it to a once a week thing or something it may not be much of an issue, but my honest opinion is that going without sweet flavored foods for at least the first month is hugely beneficial. My reason for feeling this way, personally, is I think there are addictive factors in our brains associated with just the taste of sweet. And, that we can appreciate the currently undetectable sweetness in things like almonds only after our pallet resets by going without for a while. A month later, instead of baking a Keto treat, have a handful of raspberries. They will taste very sweet and indulgent. Shave some 86% dark chocolate onto them and add a few tablespoons of low carb yogurt and your reset tastebuds will have a field day!
I know it's tough to go completely without. I hate to downplay actual drug addiction, but the kind of feelings of "I NEED something sweet every day" is an addictive behavior and cold turkey will almost always beat cutting back til it's gone. It can be done that way, but it comes with its own, equally challenging issues. Especially if you're sensitive to the artificial sweetener chemicals.
You CAN do this! The improvement you've already felt only gets better as you get better at eating healthier, non inflammatory foods.
I know you like to bake. Maybe try to switch that focus onto pre making some casserole dinners from some recipes that look good. We would all be interested in seeing what you come up with trying out recipes that turn out delish! And it could help get more real food in without the need to cook on a daily basis.
I hope this helps. Don't get discouraged. You mentioned that you have made more progress lately than previously and no matter what, there will be times it will seem like it's stopping. You're doing something right. Sometimes we can just make adjustments to make things even better.0 -
Good gravy! I am long-winded!
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Good gravy! I am long-winded!
Not at all. Awesome advice!0 -
I missed the swelling but until @Sunny_Bunny_ revisited it, but swelling can also be a sign that your thyroid is underfunctioning... if I persists or returns, be sure to have that checked out.0
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You are all so amazing. I am still really new to this, as in I am only starting week 3. So this is a bit overwhelming. Some days I'm like I've got this and others I am like crap I know nothing. I panic when it comes to food. We have been really busy the last couple of weeks and have not always been home to eat, and sometimes it is group functions with friends or church and I have no idea what to eat so I just try to pick what I think will work best. I would love suggestions for this. We haven't a lot of money so I can't afford to order steak when we go out (I know now one said this, but who wouldn't want to order steak lol). I also really don't eat seafood. I am trying to figure out how to make my macros work, this is the first time in my life that I have ever really looked at more than just the calories that I eat. I am not saying that as an excuse I just don't know how to manage with everything. I am trying to figure out more foods that I can cook at home and we have found a couple that are really good, but I really am lost.
As for the swelling I have had issues with swelling for many years, my whole life really. They have tested my thyroid many times and it always comes up normal. I need to buy some magnesium and I figured I was getting enough salt. I am not drinking enough water that I know. I am trying to get this back up to be more. I don't always log my water consistently, mostly because I forget but I will work on being more consistent. If you have any other suggestions please feel free.0 -
When you go out, you can have green above-ground veggies as a safe bet. Ask the waiter for extra butter.
(Then make sure you always eat out at that restaurant at that waiter's tables, so they can watch you drop pounds and keep ordering extra butter!)
I love to google for Keto recipes. But I have learned to be wary of a lot of the baked goods (too much Splenda out there, and some people's versions of low carb are NOT equal to mine, because I don't subtract sugar alcohols or fiber from the total carb count!).
There are smartphone apps that will nag you about your water, only silencing when you log some, so that might at least help you remember to count during the day. Personally, I drink my water out of either of two sports bottles that I know the volume capacities of. I don't refill them until they're empty, and if I don't drink out of them, I'm drinking sparkling water in a bottle with a label that states volume. That way I can say to myself, "Okay, I had three of the blue bottle (3 x 34 oz), one from the Hello Kitty bottle (25oz) and one seltzer from the quick mart (16.9 oz).
If you aren't someone who thrives on variety, just find something (home cooked) that works and eat that whenever you can. A frozen burger patty on the grill, with mayo, mustard, pepperjack cheese, and make some cucumber slices on the side (I have a great recipe for a mayo/vinegar sauce for the cucumber). Glass of water. Boom. Easy, check, tasty, check. Try to get the fattiest fat fat burgers you can. 80/20 is my goal, but occasionally I spot 75/25 ground meat at Target and snag that. The trick is to keep that lovin' grease in while you cook it (and not set the grill on fire). I eat such fat-rich food now, I can't put my meat over the lit side of the grill anymore!
So you can see my diary now, but my basic breakfast is eggs and some kind of fat. Either that's bacon, or it's butter in my coffee.
My favorite snacks are 1/2 caff Americanos from Starbucks (cheaper than lattes but the espresso is tasty enough to drink black) with cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled on top, or a tiny square of 85% dark chocolate (I really like the green & black brand because the squares are small and the ingredient list is short). My husband snacks on baby bel cheese rounds, usually.
Lunch is leftovers of whatever dinner was, generally, or if I forgot lunch there's a buffet lunch I can go to nearby where I can pick just the meat items for $6.99/lb.
Dinner is always something home made. Once a week at most we may have hot dogs. Usually I try to alternate beef/pork/chicken items because my husband tires of flavors fast. Cracklin' chicken is amazing, and I make a big batch of that so we can use the leftover chicken for other things (like topping with homemade alfredo and piling on top of zoodles). Grilling a steak is always nice. Chuck Eye steak is usually far cheaper than its other friends in the meat case, but has a reasonable amount of fat (add garlic and butter as it rests!). My mom joined us in our eating and is picky so now we're doing sirloin and man I'm glad we're sharing the bill!
Sundays I make a pot roast of something. Last week I roasted a Mexican beef recipe that was SPICY but really delicious. This week it's pulled pork and bacon with a homemade low carb BBQ sauce (way better than any packaged low carb BBQ sauce I've tried), and they get low carb slaw.
I nab a few pounds of pork belly (unpreserved bacon in chunks, if you aren't familiar with the cut) from my local butcher who smokes his own bacon, and that, spice-rubbed and roasted, is AMAZING.
So.. yeah.. I could go on (I already did! ) but maybe it's better if you ask specific things. I have really learned to love cooking on this WOE and I have TONS of recipes (I recommend Pepperplate.com for storing, organizing, and planning meal options). 0 -
@glossbones - Thanks for the pepperplate.com suggestion. It is just the kind of thing I have been looking for! I have recipes stored all over the interwebs and in a filing cabinet and I like to organize and plan meals in advance, so this looks PERFECT!0
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I love it. I can add them on my browser from work, check ingredients through the app on my phone at the grocery store, and put the iPad on its stand in the kitchen while I cook. So convenient!
The "Add this recipe to PepperPlate" button for the browser is a little hit and miss (has a lot to do with how people format their recipes in blogs and such) but even still that's more convenient than not!0 -
That does help a lot. Honestly today I am emotional and everything seems like such a big task. I am looking at my food diaries going well maybe I shouldn't eat any _____ but I don't think that's right. Not trying to sound childish... just the way my brain works. I tend to be a perfectionist and don't like learning curves. If you would share some of your recipes with me I would love that. I keep checking on Pinterest but when I look at some of the stuff I feel like it has way too much of something. I am also having a hard time trying to find things like coconut flour which is in some cooking recipes. Living in my part of Canada there doesn't seem to be a lot of low carb options. I've been searching all over for a low carb yogurt and other options but there isn't much... or maybe I don't know where to look. I finally found some sugar free syrup at walmart and it was pricey...0
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I've been LCHF for a year now and it does take some time to wrap your brain around all of it. For me, understanding the science behind it really helped. Check out "Living Low Carb" by Jonny Bowden. I tend to keep my meals really simple, because I'm the only one in the house that eats this way and I have to cook for others.0
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I do agree the sugar free versions of things are usually more expensive. I try to think about the fact that I eat less now and somehow make it even out in my brain. I don't know if it actually does or not. lol
If you can find unsweetened coconut flakes, you can run them through a food processor to make coconut flour. Hopefully those are easier to find. Same with almond and other nut flours. But I think there's a trick to the moist nuts... Keeping them from becoming butter instead of flour. I haven't tried it. If you can find other things to satisfy the sweet need besides baking it will help reduce costs because that stuff is quite pricey and often has to be ordered.
You really have been doing very well. Don't lose sight of that. You jumped into this super quick and were given loads of information and have really been making some good choices under the circumstances. Attending group functions can be challenging and being busy and resorting to restaurant foods... But it seems like you knew what to order just fine. At group functions, I go for extra meat, salad and green veggies. If meat/cheese is available, I could make that half my meal easily! Though I might regret all that cheese... Lol if you have to allow a few more carbs because you had a bunch more veg than normal, I wouldn't worry about it. You go overdo way worse things.
Hang in there you! I think you're finding your way quite nicely. 0 -
RebeccaMaunder wrote: »That does help a lot. Honestly today I am emotional and everything seems like such a big task. I am looking at my food diaries going well maybe I shouldn't eat any _____ but I don't think that's right. Not trying to sound childish... just the way my brain works. I tend to be a perfectionist and don't like learning curves. If you would share some of your recipes with me I would love that. I keep checking on Pinterest but when I look at some of the stuff I feel like it has way too much of something. I am also having a hard time trying to find things like coconut flour which is in some cooking recipes. Living in my part of Canada there doesn't seem to be a lot of low carb options. I've been searching all over for a low carb yogurt and other options but there isn't much... or maybe I don't know where to look. I finally found some sugar free syrup at walmart and it was pricey...
Hi Rebecca - there are definitely some things that can be hard to find in Canada but if you have a Bulk Barn I'd check that out for the flours you are looking for. I tend to avoid yogurt (I'd rather spend bu carbs elsewhere like cheeses) or make my own - the best brand here is the plain Liberte Mediterrannee 10% if it's in your area.
Good luck! It seems like a steep learning curve so give yourself time - pretty soon it will be second nature!
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@RebeccaMaunder "They have tested my thyroid many times and it always comes up normal." (I have NO idea how people do quotes in the thread, sorry!). I understand completely since I was in the same place until my naturopathic doctor measured the thryoid by muscle reaction instead of by a blood test. I'd had every test, including antibody tests done by the regular doctors, and everything showed 'normal' for years and years. I'm now taking a more natural thyroid supplement called Nature-throid and it has made a world of difference. If you can find a doctor that does muscle reaction tests instead of blood tests, you might get closer to a true reading. Maybe doing a backwards search for a doctor in your area that uses this medicine by calling the supplier?? Best of luck figuring out this piece of the puzzle.0
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Again thank you all for your words of wisdom. I really like this woe and I plan to keep at it. It is a huge learning curve and I would have to agree I should be relying on .kre than just the scale. I feel so much better and have energy. Those mean something as well. I also find I'm not obsessing about food the same way. These are all improvements for me.0
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The phrase I love, not sure who said it first, is: "While you're doing arithmetic, your body is doing calculus."
If you don't see the number on the scale drop, those other NSVs (Non-scale victories) are happening. Your internal organs are being repaired. Your joints are being re-padded and lubricated. Maybe you're fighting off a cold that everyone else is catching but you haven't. Your skin may be improving. Your gut bacteria is being recolonized.
It's really amazing how things work on this WoE. Just too bad that society focuses on two numbers that mean almost nothing: the number on the scale, and resulting BMI.
Glad to hear you're sticking with it!0 -
glossbones wrote: »The phrase I love, not sure who said it first, is: "While you're doing arithmetic, your body is doing calculus."
If you don't see the number on the scale drop, those other NSVs (Non-scale victories) are happening. Your internal organs are being repaired. Your joints are being re-padded and lubricated. Maybe you're fighting off a cold that everyone else is catching but you haven't. Your skin may be improving. Your gut bacteria is being recolonized.
It's really amazing how things work on this WoE. Just too bad that society focuses on two numbers that mean almost nothing: the number on the scale, and resulting BMI.
Glad to hear you're sticking with it!
wise words @glossbones0
