I'm getting past the initial losses and discouraged. :(
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midwesterner85 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I saw in another thread that you're having quest bars for breakfast at least sometimes. Try switching those out. Have a fat/protein (veg) breakfast for a few weeks, with no quest bars or the like. See what happens.
It's an idea... would you share what you are thinking, though? Are you suggesting lower fiber? I'm not sure if I understand what that could accomplish.
I'm not suggesting lower fiber, ever.
I am suggesting that some people stall when they eat sugar alcohols etc.
I have known people to stall from eating quest bars.
Your post said you were having quest products for both breakfast and lunch. That might be part of why your losses are slowing. Mix things up and see what happens.0 -
So it sounds like the suggestion is to try cutting out sugar alcohols. I'll admit it is tough because Quest bars are a nice portable low carb meal, and I'm always on the go. I'll try replacing that with cured meat sticks, jerky, cheese (to some extent, refrigeration could be an issue here), and nuts.0
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midwesterner85 wrote: »Right, so about sugar alcohols... while many companies argue they are not to be counted in net carbs, most of us type 1's calculate at least something for them in our bolus calculation because a portion (not all) are still absorbed and digested as carbs. So about 50% of them are carbs.
@aqsylvester Long before trying low carb, I tried a version of IF that had me at 500 calories every other day and as much as satisfied me on alternating days. Apparently, there were some things I later discovered I misunderstood about this diet (such as every other day should have been 600 calories for men, 500 was for women). The reason for trying that diet is that I had stopped losing weight for months, despite eating at a deficit. I had felt like I was starving for almost a year at that point, and it was acceptable to be hungry if I was getting some losses. But I wasn't getting any losses any more. Someone suggested this diet so I didn't feel like I was starving at least every other day. The problem is that I have an insatiable appetite, so I would eat 10K calories every other day and that wasn't at a deficit. I did this for 6 weeks, but didn't gain because I was in a plateau. My day-to-day fluctuations became larger, but centered around the same base weight. So it just didn't work (but I didn't expect it to). A couple months after I stopped and returned to a normal daily deficit, I had a whoosh - so 5 months of a plateau and ended up losing about 7-8 lbs. at the end.
@midwesterner85 I don't know what diet that is, but with intermittent fasting with a LCHFMP dietary plan, you still eat all or most of your calories every single day. You just only eat during certain time windows or stretch the distance between meals to give your body a break from constant insulin. With you being a double diabetic, I don't know how that would work...like at all. But I would imagine that once you figure out the logistics of how to balance the insulin with the eating windows/fasting windows, it would be good for your body, too.0 -
@KnitOrMiss It was the "Every Other Day Diet."0
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midwesterner85 wrote: »So it sounds like the suggestion is to try cutting out sugar alcohols. I'll admit it is tough because Quest bars are a nice portable low carb meal, and I'm always on the go. I'll try replacing that with cured meat sticks, jerky, cheese (to some extent, refrigeration could be an issue here), and nuts.
Cheese will get a bit greasy (if it is warm out) - but will not go bad in a single day. There are also cheeses that are designed to be portable. Mini-baby bells, for example. Eat cheeses and nuts during the day and have a giant salad and a real meal when you're back home.
As much as I resent the time eating now takes, my health is important enough to me that I am figuring out how to make it work with a minimum of processed foods. If you are starving and are overeating because you are constantly hungry, you need to include something that satiates you - for most people eating a ketogenic diet that is fat. For some it is protein.
A ketogenic diet is not a magic weight loss pill - it largely works because feeling full/satiated helps reduce the amount of food you put in your mouth (and the need to have a 10,000 calorie day every other day). If all you have done on this diet is substitute Quest bars, without increasing your fat content, you are likely still eating close to the same number of calories as you did before and are continuing to put the same quantity of energy into your body will keep you at roughly the same weight.
At a minimum, I'd suggest that you closely track your calories to see if that may be the issue.
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@neohdiver Yes, I've been tracking calories and continue to do so now with low carb. At first, switching to low carb (but not changing calories) gave me a significant loss for the first month. I'm just frustrated that it is slowing down, though I acknowledge I'm still losing faster than when I wasn't on low carb. I just worry that I will stop losing again.
Ironically, I didn't switch to low carb to lose weight. I switched to stabilize BG, but then noticed I started losing so quickly that I'm now upset it isn't lasting... interesting how my perspective changed and I want to hold onto a benefit that I never expected to have.0 -
I think everyone else has made really great points. I'm going to ask the obvious, have you recalculated your macros since your initial loss? If you lost a goodly amount of weight, you may want to check the keto calculator and see if it suggests a change.0
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Read the "Your Scale is a Lying Liarpants" thread. I had to re-read it myself when I was where you are. I lost about 8 lbs in the first 2 weeks or so of keto, then seemed to pretty much plateau for a month. I was starting to get antsy and concerned, but then the scale started moving again. I started 11/2 and ended up losing 20 lbs in about 2.5 months.0
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I do understand the mental game for sure. Those initial quick losses are addicting but like the others have said, you have to shift your mindset or you'll get unnecessarily frustrated.0
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DorkothyParker wrote: »I think everyone else has made really great points. I'm going to ask the obvious, have you recalculated your macros since your initial loss? If you lost a goodly amount of weight, you may want to check the keto calculator and see if it suggests a change.
That's a good point. I went through the MFP guided setup, and it came back with 50 fewer daily calories for a 1 lb. weekly loss. So I have some new targets now.0 -
The road to improved health is not smooth, is it? It would be nice to travel on the expressway the whole time, but sometimes we take the scenic route through the small towns that have a stop sign every couple of blocks. Occasionally, we run into detours, or we get stuck in traffic. Maybe we get all that at some point in our adventure. Perhaps it's my age, but I've learned to appreciate the scenic route because there is much knowledge to be gathered on that slower path. The destination will be reached as long as the wheels are moving forward, and that's really all that matters.
Love this!
Anyway, about the quest bars. I learned almost right away that they and other things with sugar alcohols, made me very hungry! You mention having a big appetite.
Sounds to me like there's a problem with eating foods that taste sweet. It can trigger more hunger in many, if not most people.
I think eliminating that will be a very, very big benefit to you.0 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »DorkothyParker wrote: »I think everyone else has made really great points. I'm going to ask the obvious, have you recalculated your macros since your initial loss? If you lost a goodly amount of weight, you may want to check the keto calculator and see if it suggests a change.
That's a good point. I went through the MFP guided setup, and it came back with 50 fewer daily calories for a 1 lb. weekly loss. So I have some new targets now.
BAH! @midwesterner85 Banish the MFP crap. Use a real calculator! You might actually need to increase your targets rather than lower them...
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
There are other ones that consider more factors that others can link for you!0 -
That was a really good post Sunny_Bunny_ thank you for sharing!0
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midwesterner85 wrote: »Ironically, I didn't switch to low carb to lose weight. I switched to stabilize BG, but then noticed I started losing so quickly that I'm now upset it isn't lasting... interesting how my perspective changed and I want to hold onto a benefit that I never expected to have.
How's it going on the BG front?0 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »Ironically, I didn't switch to low carb to lose weight. I switched to stabilize BG, but then noticed I started losing so quickly that I'm now upset it isn't lasting... interesting how my perspective changed and I want to hold onto a benefit that I never expected to have.
How's it going on the BG front?
BG's are much more stable, but also higher.0 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »Ironically, I didn't switch to low carb to lose weight. I switched to stabilize BG, but then noticed I started losing so quickly that I'm now upset it isn't lasting... interesting how my perspective changed and I want to hold onto a benefit that I never expected to have.
How's it going on the BG front?
BG's are much more stable, but also higher.
How stressed out are you? Stress can make BG go up and it can also argue with you when you want to lose weight. Then again, so can sugar alcohols.
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midwesterner85 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »Ironically, I didn't switch to low carb to lose weight. I switched to stabilize BG, but then noticed I started losing so quickly that I'm now upset it isn't lasting... interesting how my perspective changed and I want to hold onto a benefit that I never expected to have.
How's it going on the BG front?
BG's are much more stable, but also higher.
How stressed out are you? Stress can make BG go up and it can also argue with you when you want to lose weight. Then again, so can sugar alcohols.
I'm always very stressed... that has been the one thing consistent throughout my weight loss journey.0 -
wahagent05 wrote: »That was a really good post Sunny_Bunny_ thank you for sharing!
You're welcome. It's a familiar feeling to me that I have mostly overcome. Definitely helps me to keep that perspective clearly understood for myself by encouraging anyone else to give credit where credit is due.
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Here's another suggestion re the Quest bars. If you find it too difficult to give them up completely, instead cut one bar into quarters. Then for your meal have a a few ounces of a preferred meat, 1/4 of a Quest protein bar and a few tablespoons or a few ounces of HWC as decided by your macros and daily goals. I have a similar meal every day for lunch during the week...yes, I know that's pretty boring but it works for me. I change the flavor of the Quest bar and that 1/4th Quest bar, even though literally just a couple of small bites worth in size is like a mini-dessert for me at lunchtime.0
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@midwesterner85 How many calories are you eating everyday? Are you 100% sure you logging weighing/measuring etc is accurate? What's your carb/protein/fat percentages?0
