Success on low carb?

stacicali

My dr has been on me about an anti-inflammatory, low carb diet for months. I finally bit the bullet 3 weeks ago, and am losing weight much faster (not that I'm complaining) than expected. I did go a step further, and cut out all whole grain carbs too, so I'm eating no grains right now. Is this fast loss typical? Can any of you please share your experiences? How much you lost? How long you kept it off? This is supposed to be the new normal for me so I'm praying for no weight rebound, and I'm keeping my calories around 1300. Thanks!

KnitOrMiss

It can be typical rates for some. As you get to where you have less weight to lose, the rate will likely slow. Make sure you're getting enough fats for your hormonal health. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group This group has some great data under the stickied LaunchPad post...

My own "success" is in progress, and I"m currently on a roller coaster struggle, so not much to report at the moment. I chose to go off plan at the holidays, and I'm still recovering...

stacicali

Thanks so much for the feedback and the link! At first I was horrified by the amount of fat I was ingesting, but I've been educating myself on the new laws of good fat and seeing the quick results. Also, fat appears to be of particular importance to us PCOS ladies since fat is the only nutrient that cannot lead to insulin (although to be fair, it would take obscene, nearly inacheivable amounts of protein to spike insulin.) Thanks again!

aSearch4Me

I know the fat portion of the LCHF diet was the key for me not being hungry ALL THE TIME. lol. I too was horrified at the amount of fat at first, but having failed at Low Carb High Protein approach in the past (a few times), I was amazed at how full I felt all the time on LCHF-moderate proteint. I had pretty quick weight loss at first (2-4 months), and then it tapered down to a slower/steady amount. As a warning, I plateaued for quite awhile on it, but lost serious inches during the plateau. So if you're not already tracking inches, you might want to get some baseline measurements to keep you motivated through any stalls.

KnitOrMiss

Actually, that's not completely true on the insulin, obscene protein amounts. After being low carb a while, if I eat a good deal of chicken (sometimes at night, after a long day, a rotisserie chicken, dipped in melted butter is consumed). That can put me over 150 grams of protein easily. My range is like 70-140, and my IR has re-sensitized so much that the higher end of my range creates that reaction for me individually. But due to injuries and outlying conditions, I cannot exercise as I'd like to at this time, so that pretty much mostly dumps to excess and creates postprandial somnolence for me. This isn't my only example, but the simplest one...

Now if I dropped most of the questionable carbs and went carnivore only (only animal products, carbs through organ meats and such only), I might not have that reaction, but that's not currently on my to do list. LOL

stacicali

Thanks for clarifying about the protein, KnitOrMiss. Can you tell me how you got your protein range so that I can make sure I don't go over? I *think* I read somewhere that we can safely eat 1 g of protein per lb of lean body mass (which can be calculated online). Does that match up with what you know?

aSearch4Me

If you are looking for keto levels of low carb (or approaching that), this is a really helpful calculator to help you figure out your macros. I re-check it every few months to help me set my macro goals. http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

Deena_Bean

Low carb seems to be working quite well with me...I seem to be on the milder side of PCOS, though, so I can't say for sure how quickly/well it works for more extreme cases. I do know one thing - for once I don't ALWAYS feel like I'm starving to death. I can actually eat regular meals with the occasional snack and feel completely content. It's a fesivus miracle.

kmbrooks15

I've been eating low carb for about two weeks, and I lost 8 pounds in that two weeks. I had white carbs for the first time last night (church dinner - some pasta in lasagna), and it has wreaked havoc with my intestines (had 3 bouts of diarrhea today). Does anyone find that if you do eat carbs, it messes with your GI system?

KnitOrMiss

stacicali wrote: »

Thanks for clarifying about the protein, KnitOrMiss. Can you tell me how you got your protein range so that I can make sure I don't go over? I *think* I read somewhere that we can safely eat 1 g of protein per lb of lean body mass (which can be calculated online). Does that match up with what you know?

1 g per pound of lean body mass is the upper limit for a very active, weight lifting type woman. The ranges I was taught, @stacicali are 0.6 g - 1 g of protein per pound lean body mass for women, 0.8 g - 1.2 g for men. The lower level is sedentary, etc. The upper level is for highly active and folks building lean body mass.

Low carb diets are naturally muscle sparing, so that helps for many... And the calculator I use is the same one @aSearch4Me posted.

Dragonwolf

All protein increases insulin secretion, because insulin is used for sending protein where it needs to be. Some types of protein increase it more than others. Whey, for example, produces an insulin response on par with white bread.

What takes "an obscene amount of protein" is having the protein turn to sugar via gluconeogenesis. While the body does do this in small amounts when your carbohydrates are very low, it's not really going to do this as a source of fuel unless you're greatly restricting carbs and fat (thus, forcing your body to rely on protein for fuel), but even this is only in certain conditions and your body will take measures to prevent you from continuing to do so (this is why a lot of low carb, low fat, high protein diet followers deal with cravings and GI issues).

stacicali

<looking in dismay at the huge vat of whey protein on my counter for post weight training sessions>
I am so grateful to you guys. I best go research my protein sources more carefully. Thank you!!

tatdhousewife

Tons and tons of protein won't do much to fill you up either, like you always hope it will. You pee out what your body doesn't use, so if you're not building muscle with it, it's a waste.

aSearch4Me

@stacicali for alternate protein powder, I suggest Hemp Protein Powder. I love the stuff mixed with cocoa powder & milk alternative as a smoothie (I like the taste/texture of Flax milk the best). It's a bit higher carb than some of the other proteins, but the majority of it is fiber & it's like a miracle worker for the slow-gut issues that can accompany PCOS (my experience, anyway). It's also fun to bake with. The "green" taste takes a little getting used to, but I love the stuff* (*well...normally...I'm off of it now, but the 1st trimester is killing my tastebuds for all sorts of healthy stuff I love...lol)

Dragonwolf

tatdhousewife wrote: »

Tons and tons of protein won't do much to fill you up either, like you always hope it will. You pee out what your body doesn't use, so if you're not building muscle with it, it's a waste.

Uh...no. If you have protein in your urine, it's a sign of something else being wrong. Excess protein gets converted to sugar, then stored either in glycogen as sugar, or as body fat. The process is inefficient, though, which is why it's very hard to get fat eating almost nothing but protein.

Deena_Bean

stacicali wrote: »

<looking in dismay at the huge vat of whey protein on my counter for post weight training sessions>
I am so grateful to you guys. I best go research my protein sources more carefully. Thank you!!

This made me giggle.
I guess I don't really pay too much attention to my protein...I should look at that. If only to see where I stand with it. I seem to be in a pretty good groove overall, though, so maybe I got that right without trying. Wouldn't that be nice...

macchiatto

Yikes. I'm pretty sure my protein powder has whey protein in it, too. Oops. I'll see if DH wants it ...

I've been low carb off and on for years. (Even when "off" my carbs didn't go much over 150.) I've been on a keto diet since November and it's worked well for me. I lost about 8 lbs in the first 2 weeks but then plateaued for about a month, then started losing again. I lost about 15 lbs total in the first 2 months, 4 lbs the third month, and about a pound the fourth month (by that point I was just under my original goal weight though). I've now shifted to maintenance mode to recomp.