Success at 100 carbs and losing?

CeeBeeSlim
CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,355 Member
edited November 15 in Social Groups
Hi. Anyone experiencing or has experienced this? I have 15 pounds to lose but and had trouble sticking to keto, a little more success at sticking to 50, but thinking I can be more successful at 100. Lost only a pound in two weeks. Plus - everyone once in a blue moon, I'd really like a bagel, or bowl of apple cinnamon cheerios, oatmeal, but also feel like didn't blow the day, feel guilty etc. thoughts? Thanks!
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Replies

  • rjc992
    rjc992 Posts: 20 Member
    I too had little success doing extremely low carb 20 to 50 grams, and my last 15 lbs. are really dragging.
    I have increased to 100 carbs a day, but concentrate on fibrous carbs like veggies for most the day, and any fruit is only after workouts.
    So far my energy is higher, I have less cravings, and scale is again moving slowly. I eat only about 1900 cals a day and found that when doing keto, I cold not eat enough fat, without feeling bogged down.
  • CoffeeNBooze
    CoffeeNBooze Posts: 966 Member
    edited January 2017
    If there are only 15lbs to go it's going to be hard and come off slowly anyway. I know, I'm there. You want it to anyway, the keto induction water weight can come back just as fast as it came off. Doable with 100 carbs? Yes definitely especially if you have blood sugar issues it'll help with hunger. But with such little weight to lose calorie counting might be helpful after you get adjusted.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited January 2017
    I did a few years ago. I followed Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet. I wasn't counting carbs, or calories, but in hind sight I was probably around 100-150g of carbs, and 100g protein. It worked really well for me.... but then I stopped. I still remember that one homemade, no table sugar muffin that I made that set off my spiral back down. Just one muffin, right? I have control now, right? LMAO.

    I digress. 100g worked very in the past for me. I went lower now due to health problems. I think 100g is fine if it feels good and works for you. :) For me though, I would have to be careful of things like that bagel. If you can moderate it, then great. If you tend to not moderate well, I wouldn't risk it.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    Hi. Anyone experiencing or has experienced this? I have 15 pounds to lose but and had trouble sticking to keto, a little more success at sticking to 50, but thinking I can be more successful at 100. Lost only a pound in two weeks. Plus - everyone once in a blue moon, I'd really like a bagel, or bowl of apple cinnamon cheerios, oatmeal, but also feel like didn't blow the day, feel guilty etc. thoughts? Thanks!

    @CeeBeeSlim - just as a perspective from someone who has metabolic issues, from a glycemic impact point of view, a bagel is one of the absolute worst things you can eat. The majority of them have a worse effect on your blood glucose levels than even straight sugar since it keeps everything elevated for quite a time. Personally, if bagels are something you really miss, I would check out recipes to make lower carb versions, particularly focusing on glycemic impact ingredients. I would be inclined to believe someone here has probably made one. I'm sure Maria Emmerich (of mariamindbodyhealth.com) probably has a recipe for them...most of hers are pretty well tested. Cheerios and oatmeal are probably fine periodically, but I think I remember seeing that the average plain bagel alone has 57 grams of carbs...and that's without the flavored ones or any fatty toppings like cream cheese that turn it into an artery bomb (high fat with high carbs is never a good choice).... Just my perspective.
  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,355 Member
    @rjc992 @CoffeeNBooze - Thanks. How long is this last 15 lbs taking you?

    @nvmomketo @KnitorMiss. Yikes! I'm not so sure if I'm completely honest with myself that i could moderate myself with that bagel. And when I think about it i could probably be just as satisfied with a slice of cinnamon raisin bread.

    I'll try 100 and be patient.

    @ctsehansen - how long did it take you to lose the last 4-5 lbs going keto? And did you keep it off?

  • cstehansen
    cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    @rjc992 @CoffeeNBooze - Thanks. How long is this last 15 lbs taking you?

    @nvmomketo @KnitorMiss. Yikes! I'm not so sure if I'm completely honest with myself that i could moderate myself with that bagel. And when I think about it i could probably be just as satisfied with a slice of cinnamon raisin bread.

    I'll try 100 and be patient.

    @ctsehansen - how long did it take you to lose the last 4-5 lbs going keto? And did you keep it off?

    That whole 14 lbs or so was pretty evenly spread over that 6 weeks, maybe slightly front loaded, so 2 weeks at max. Of course that got me lower than I wanted to be. I stayed steady at 182-183 for 3-4 months. In December, I went a little crazy at Brazilian steakhouses and other keto friendly food for a couple weeks but WAY overboard on amounts so hit 193 at the beginning of January. I have been just limiting my eating to when I am actually hungry and not eating just because the summer sausage is staring at me and weighed in this morning at 188.6.

    I think since I did not go carb loading during the binge, it has been pretty easy getting that short term weight off fairly quickly and expect to be back in my acceptable range of 182-185 by the end of the month.

    I am fortunate and unfortunate that both my family and my wife's family are fully aware of my WOE. The unfortunate part is for all the holiday get togethers, there were plenty of low carb options like meats and cheeses - probably too many. Given everyone was eating (mostly carbage), it was easy to find myself eating "just because." Even low carb foods will make you gain weight if you eat as much as I did.

    However, like I said, the first 4.4 lbs of that short term weight has come off with almost no effort. Just 3.6 to go to get back to my range.
  • rjc992
    rjc992 Posts: 20 Member
    I am just now at the last 15 lbs. .
    I have lost over 100 lbs. since March 2016, and am sure my system is in partial stall due to the low deficit I have had for a long time. I am now cycling my my cals, carbs and protein more to support increased weight lifting and energy. I hope something kicks in soon.
  • CoffeeNBooze
    CoffeeNBooze Posts: 966 Member
    @CeeBeeSlim Forever, lol. I've yo-yoed in the past. And once it comes off this time I'm aiming to keep it off so that itself is another challenge. I went back to low carb a couple weeks ago so I'm still adjusting. And I know I want to eat like this forever so that helps with lasting results. No woosh weight loss this time but I'm hoping the scale (and measurements) will be moving down soon.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,021 Member
    I'm at 100g...ish.
    I lost all my weight doing keto. I have unfortunately regained about 12lb due to water weight from leaving ketosis, gaining muscle, and water retention due to a supplement I'm taking. Some of that might be a little fat too. It's hard to tell. So, not having a lot of success relosing the half of that I want to go away. But I do have extenuating circumstances. I'm pretty sure the licorice root tea is acting like a steroid. I take it, my body attacks me a little bit less, but I bloat up. I don't drink it, and I lose the water weight, but my body goes back up to its previous level of evil.

    That said, I absolutely can fit in popcorn or 72% dark chocolate on occasion. And I do. I love bran flakes ( I sprinkle with cinnamon) and so I occasionally fit those in as well. Knit is right that bagels are the devil. I fit in a doughnut once. Wasn't worth it though. It wasn't fresh. :-1: But I did fit it in. And if I had the chance to get a fresh one, I might do it again. But the word occasion, which keeps popping up, applies again. I don't just fit cookies and such in all the time. I want most of my foods to be micronutrient dense.

    Typical day:
    cuppa joe with 1/4c. whole milk
    3/4c. plain full fat yogurt (with 1tbsp PB, vanilla extract, half tbsp cocoa powder, stevia/erythritol blend)

    Lunch:
    Big *kitten* Salad:
    150g of romaine or spinach or both
    green pepper, onions, celery, cucumber
    Thousand Island dressing with 1-2 tbsp vinegar
    2oz of lunchmeat (ham or roast beef) sliced up and added

    Afternoon:
    anutha cuppa joe with 1/4c. whole milk

    Supper:
    4.5oz of meat
    1/2c. beans
    3 servings of a green veggie
    cooked in fat
    yummy spices and mustard or a splash of soy sauce or somesuch

    Snack:
    1 medium piece of fruit
    BBQ pork rinds
    Colby Jack cheese (1oz)

    I pretty much eat this every day, except when I'm almost out of salad greens, so I have a LC wrap instead, with lunchmeat, a little cheese, lettuce, onions and a lot less salad dressing.

    And if I want to fit in a treat, I dump my snack and have the treat instead. If whatever it is has more carbs than a piece of fruit, then I probably shouldn't eat it anyway, right? :smirk: But if I can fit it in, and it's occasional, do I feel guilty? Nope.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    baconslave wrote: »
    I'm at 100g...ish.
    I lost all my weight doing keto. I have unfortunately regained about 12lb due to water weight from leaving ketosis, gaining muscle, and water retention due to a supplement I'm taking. Some of that might be a little fat too. It's hard to tell. So, not having a lot of success relosing the half of that I want to go away. But I do have extenuating circumstances. I'm pretty sure the licorice root tea is acting like a steroid. I take it, my body attacks me a little bit less, but I bloat up. I don't drink it, and I lose the water weight, but my body goes back up to its previous level of evil.

    That said, I absolutely can fit in popcorn or 72% dark chocolate on occasion. And I do. I love bran flakes ( I sprinkle with cinnamon) and so I occasionally fit those in as well. Knit is right that bagels are the devil. I fit in a doughnut once. Wasn't worth it though. It wasn't fresh. :-1: But I did fit it in. And if I had the chance to get a fresh one, I might do it again. But the word occasion, which keeps popping up, applies again. I don't just fit cookies and such in all the time. I want most of my foods to be micronutrient dense.

    Typical day:
    cuppa joe with 1/4c. whole milk
    3/4c. plain full fat yogurt (with 1tbsp PB, vanilla extract, half tbsp cocoa powder, stevia/erythritol blend)

    Lunch:
    Big *kitten* Salad:
    150g of romaine or spinach or both
    green pepper, onions, celery, cucumber
    Thousand Island dressing with 1-2 tbsp vinegar
    2oz of lunchmeat (ham or roast beef) sliced up and added

    Afternoon:
    anutha cuppa joe with 1/4c. whole milk

    Supper:
    4.5oz of meat
    1/2c. beans
    3 servings of a green veggie
    cooked in fat
    yummy spices and mustard or a splash of soy sauce or somesuch

    Snack:
    1 medium piece of fruit
    BBQ pork rinds
    Colby Jack cheese (1oz)

    I pretty much eat this every day, except when I'm almost out of salad greens, so I have a LC wrap instead, with lunchmeat, a little cheese, lettuce, onions and a lot less salad dressing.

    And if I want to fit in a treat, I dump my snack and have the treat instead. If whatever it is has more carbs than a piece of fruit, then I probably shouldn't eat it anyway, right? :smirk: But if I can fit it in, and it's occasional, do I feel guilty? Nope.

    @baconslave - I absolutely love this. Gives me reassurance as to eventually, as I'm fighting to make my new way in support of my thyroid and adrenals, etc. Thanks for sharing!
  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,355 Member
  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,355 Member
    Not sure what happened:

    @baconslave "previous level of evil"
  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,355 Member
    @cstehansen - once you reach your goal weight will you continue at 100 grams of carbs max, but just make sure you're staying within your calories?
  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,355 Member
    @baconslave - maybe my body doesn't like me calling it "evil"?! I was agreeing with you that that is the way I feel! My post keeps getting cut off!
  • cstehansen
    cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    @cstehansen - once you reach your goal weight will you continue at 100 grams of carbs max, but just make sure you're staying within your calories?

    Since finding out my pre-diabetes is not due to IR but rather stress and micronutrient deficiencies, I am still evaluating my next move. I posted a lot more detail with some updates on that here - http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10490291/interesting-dr-follow-up-with-lchf-friendly-doc-for-t2#latest if you are interested.

    Anyway, my primary concern is BG level and not weight, so as I posted last on the other thread, my levels are trending down. I plan on continuing exactly as I am until those stop trending down (currently around 30ish). Then I will do my next n=1 experimentation, and keep doing them until my BG levels are well within the healthy range. I am big on experimenting because every study shows that there is nothing that is 100% effective for 100% of the people.

    The direction I am leaning is to move more toward paleo/primal, but on the lower carb side. I would imagine my carbs will stay below 100. The real goal is finding what I can do sustainably for the rest of my life while keeping my BG levels in check.

    I am heavy on the research and have come to the conclusion there is no way I will go back to eating all the processed carbage or grains out there. Just by cutting that out (bread, crackers, cereal, chips, bagels, etc.), I think it would be hard for me to go above 100g a day consistently, especially given I am not a potato fan. Adding in things like some beans, veggies and berries and still staying under 100 g should be pretty easy.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    @nvmomketo Yikes! I'm not so sure if I'm completely honest with myself that i could moderate myself with that bagel. And when I think about it i could probably be just as satisfied with a slice of cinnamon raisin bread.

    I'll try 100 and be patient.

    I remember these mini bagels I used to buy in my 20's. They were actually probably a realistic bagel size but they were called mini's. It was smaller than the palm of my hand. If you can moderate it, that might be an okay choice.

    I've been trying to remember what I ate when I was "eating clean". I think this was typical:
    • steel cut oats with cinnamon, applesauce, and soy milk (I was dairy free at the time)
    • veggies with hummus
    • tuna salad - mayo, tuna and celery in a wrap
    • hard boiled egg and a fruit
    • meat (chicken), veggies and rice
    • ricotta cheese with vanilla as a snack.

    I used to eat every 2-3 hours (to keep my metabolism primed LOL ;) ). It helped me avoid BG swings too.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,021 Member
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    @baconslave - maybe my body doesn't like me calling it "evil"?! I was agreeing with you that that is the way I feel! My post keeps getting cut off!

    ...sigh...MFP is ornery like that sometimes.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    baconslave wrote: »
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    @baconslave - maybe my body doesn't like me calling it "evil"?! I was agreeing with you that that is the way I feel! My post keeps getting cut off!

    ...sigh...MFP is ornery like that sometimes.

    Were you posting from your phone and using emojis? There have been a number of reports lately on MFP that using the emojis from phones results in the following text being dumped.
  • birdtobe
    birdtobe Posts: 105 Member
    I eat around 80-100g a day of carbs and so far it's been working well. I count my calories also, staying around 1400. Like you, I can't imagine NEVER being able to eat a bowl of cereal ever again, but I don't like the way eating carbs (especially refined carbs and sugar) messes with my hunger. I feel better when I can keep everything more level and stay in control of my appetite. For me, that's why staying "lower" carb has been really useful.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    @baconslave - maybe my body doesn't like me calling it "evil"?! I was agreeing with you that that is the way I feel! My post keeps getting cut off!

    ...sigh...MFP is ornery like that sometimes.

    Were you posting from your phone and using emojis? There have been a number of reports lately on MFP that using the emojis from phones results in the following text being dumped.

    If you use the happy face button above the post in the app, emojis work, but the coding in emojis scrambles the current interface in place.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    I'm glad this thread came up. I love seeing the "100 or under" low carb membership more active/posting their successes.
  • codename_steve
    codename_steve Posts: 255 Member
    I think this is what I'm looking to do as well! I have no interesting in going as low as keto, but I've noticed that simply by being conscious of carbs and making an effort to eat more protein and fat, it's really easy to be around 100g carbs.
  • genmon00
    genmon00 Posts: 604 Member
    I'm glad too @kpk54 ! I'm LCHF and I stay between 40-60 total most days because I'm T2D. I tried to do keto levels but didn't quite fit with my needs. I think people should start at 100 grams and work their way down. 100 grams of carbs a day is significantly less carbs than the typical SAD diet.
  • Patti2008
    Patti2008 Posts: 48 Member
    I shoot for 100 carbs or under. I started out with keto but my mood hit the toilet. I need higher carbs to keep my neurotransmitters and my thyroid happy. I am losing weight and inches slowly. I am pre diabetic and started monitoring my blood sugars at home and they stay in the normal range with this level. Brain is happy, pancreas is happy, thyroid is happy so I am happy!
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    cstehansen wrote: »
    In reality, just dumping or significantly limiting the processed carbs (table sugar, grains, flour based foods, etc.) is all most people need to do. If someone is highly IR or has some other medical or has an athletic goal in line with keto, then that is the better option. Of course, there are plenty of people who just prefer keto, which is fine also. I will continue to believe there is no WOE that is perfect for everyone.

    Truth. +1. Worth repeating. All sentences.
  • carimiller7391
    carimiller7391 Posts: 1,091 Member
    Thanks for starting this thread and for all who have contributed to it. I tried keto about a year ago and boy, did it mess with my bipolar big time. I've been contemplating going between 100-150g carbs a day... most coming in the form of beans and fruits. (working from 150g carbs to 100g a day over about 6 weeks). I've been eating like crap this past week and feel it all over.

    This was very informative!! Thanks to all.
  • codename_steve
    codename_steve Posts: 255 Member
    cstehansen wrote: »
    In reality, just dumping or significantly limiting the processed carbs (table sugar, grains, flour based foods, etc.) is all most people need to do. If someone is highly IR or has some other medical or has an athletic goal in line with keto, then that is the better option. Of course, there are plenty of people who just prefer keto, which is fine also. I will continue to believe there is no WOE that is perfect for everyone.

    What if the grains/flour based foods are homemade instead of store bought? Wouldn't that make it less "processed"? (sorry this is kinda off topic from the original thread)
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