Low Carb help, please

markdolanmoore

OP, I've been on and off the primal/LCHF thing for a while. In a giant nutshell I'd just offer:

-Until recently, I didn't really track what I ate formally. And when I started, it was clear that my mind had convinced me I was eating less and eating clean. I was probably off over 25%. Over time, our minds have a way of convincing us of things that are more comfortable in our made up worlds than reality. I often have to remind myself to "be honest with myself" with respect to diet.

-For low carb, don't go "all in". Just don't. I'm still a believer in low/moderate carbs, but have decided to "be honest with myself" and for me, it leads to binges. As a result, I do a macro split of 25%/40%/35% (Carb/Fat/Protein). Most newbies to low or ultra low carb also end up low-fat. This is a recipe for disaster.

-I recommend you take a look at www.eatlikeanormalperson.com for a different perspective on restriction.

-Plan for 6 months before you see significant changes. This is where I'm weakest because I drop weight fast and get lazy.

-Don't walk 5 miles a day for exercise - that's punishment and you've got *kitten* to do. Walk all day during normal activities, take the stairs, walk when you could take a bus, etc. Then, get an idea of where you need to fill in the gaps, and address the balance with exercise. Don't set yourself up for failure (and have patience and appreciation for this important journey).

-Water. Lots of it. Avoid alcohol (maybe once every week or two it's OK to have a drink), soda (diet or otherwise - it's drinking chemicals and leads to a myriad of systemic problems even if it's "0 calorie"), and other "empty" calories you drink (juices, etc).

-Cut out all grains (yes, even "whole" grains) except for a treat or occasion. I don't see this as restriction since I strongly belive it's poison. Hence, is it restriction to stop ingesting rat poison? No. I can see you're aware of this, but it looks like you may be slipping or less aware of reality (see my first point about logging).

-Be good to yourself, this isn't easy. But don't lose accountability, there is nobody in this but you and those who support you. If you win, you get to be proud and feel better than ever. If you don't, your health is in the balance.

This post was meant solely for the OP. She can take it or not - I'm not here to debate with any of you!


Best of luck on the long road.

Hornsby

nhljim wrote: »

I see a lot of info here but not so much the fundamentals of getting your body to work.

My first question would be asking how many meals are you eating per day? With a sedentary life style, you need to kick up your metabolism. You need to retrain your body that you will consistently feed it so that it will burn the calories properly. If you eat sporadically, you are training your body to conserve as it doesn't know when it will get the energy again so in reality the cells will actually store fat instead of burning it regardless of how little you might eat.

I eat 6 times per day and use 150-200 calorie snacks that the body has to burn to break up (veggies like celery etc). And a slow calorie burner as your last snack before bed like cottage cheese or yogurt. Slowly but consistently bring in exercise and your metabolism will kick in. Counting steps is a great first step that will reward you with calories, get your metabolism moving and won't make you too sore to do it every day. After a couple weeks you can advance to other cardio workouts.

But to get the food part down, You need to figure out your total caloric intake and start dividing up into as many meals as you can.

It takes about 3-4 days to get your body used to it and your family needs to encourage you.

Anyways, I wish you the best and feel free to reach out.

While this may be your preference, eating more often doesn't "kick up" your metabolism.

arditarose

You need to count your calories.

And honestly, I'm not even low carb and you have eaten more treats than I have in the month.

nhljim

Hornsby wrote: »

nhljim wrote: »

I see a lot of info here but not so much the fundamentals of getting your body to work.

My first question would be asking how many meals are you eating per day? With a sedentary life style, you need to kick up your metabolism. You need to retrain your body that you will consistently feed it so that it will burn the calories properly. If you eat sporadically, you are training your body to conserve as it doesn't know when it will get the energy again so in reality the cells will actually store fat instead of burning it regardless of how little you might eat.

I eat 6 times per day and use 150-200 calorie snacks that the body has to burn to break up (veggies like celery etc). And a slow calorie burner as your last snack before bed like cottage cheese or yogurt. Slowly but consistently bring in exercise and your metabolism will kick in. Counting steps is a great first step that will reward you with calories, get your metabolism moving and won't make you too sore to do it every day. After a couple weeks you can advance to other cardio workouts.

But to get the food part down, You need to figure out your total caloric intake and start dividing up into as many meals as you can.

It takes about 3-4 days to get your body used to it and your family needs to encourage you.

Anyways, I wish you the best and feel free to reach out.

While this may be your preference, eating more often doesn't "kick up" your metabolism.

Rereading what I wrote I stand corrected, eating does not kick up the metabolism rather your activities dictate it. Eating many times per day keeps the cells active.

http://www.m.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-boost-your-metabolism

However this subject is regularly debated. And I find that by eating smaller meals that better choices are made overall.

Thanks for the fact check.