My 10 day low-carb challenge became a 4 week success!!

KMD1214

OooohToast wrote: »

Well done OP ! I also think everyone has to find their way and that we all do so understanding the risks. Risks are potential, not asbolute outcomes - as we are all grownups, we make those decisions for ourselves and accept the consquences, good or bad. I think thats forgotten here sometimes.

Here in the UK there is a big push to steer people away from Pre Diabetes and Type 2 - the outcome is that the NHS is now trialling MONITORED short term diets that are considered very low calories (800 per day) for two reasons. 1) They are testing the theory that to reverse these issues, fat around the internal organs, particularly the pancreas, needs to be lost (you can be fat or thin on the outside and have this) which enables it to balance insulin correctly again (so reversing T2). 2) There is some interest in this field in proving whether there is an increased risk of regaining the weight once lost. The original (small) Newcastle Diet trial monitored those on it for a few years after and it showed that the majority reverted to their previous diet but did not regain the weight or regain their diabetes diagnosis - this was because they were adjusting their portions down.

Before the woo'ers get too excited, here's some reading which I think is pretty interesting even if you dont support the approach :

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2018/12/diabetesdiettrialledbynhs/

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-46363869

It would be useful I think if on MFP we did a poll for anyone regaining their lost weight to understand the approach they followed and whether we are more likely to regain if it was lost quickly. That still only makes it a data analysis and an assumed outcome, not a fact.

I see lots of information quoted about the 'right' rate of weight loss - perhaps it might be time to revisit the context of this advice. Perhaps we should consider there is a more complex decision making process for some people....

I enjoyed your reply, OhhToast, and will share that I dream about visiting the U.K.! My early success with the low carb diet is entirely personal and I do understand risks. However, the benefits have been significant and, I hope, sustaining. To be free of the wild blood sugar swings/ insulin surges is phenomenal. I’ve learned portion management, as well. Thanks for all of the information, and for presenting it in such a respectful and sensitive manner.

nooboots

wyeth84 wrote: »

Commander_Keen wrote: »

hafsatoheed2019 wrote: »

KMD1214 wrote: »

At my highest weight ever (175 at 5’3”), I started what was going to be a 10-day, 1000 calorie, 25 or less carb personal challenge to get some of this weight off. I stopped drinking wine, shopped for low carb alternatives and logged every bite of food on MFP. I also set little goals each week..... but exceeded them! (Whatt???)

My “success” story on day 28 (exactly 4 weeks) isn’t as dramatic and mind blowing as others, but I weighed 161.2 this morning!!!! 14 pounds in 4 weeks!! That’s amazing for me and I’m going to continue until I’m down to a healthy 135.

The quick results of low carbs and cals, as well as the steady loss was critical to my “immediate gratification” tendencies 🙄. As well as MFP. Here’s to getting healthier!!!!!

But what about the “don’t go below 1200” calories thing
Don’t you feel hungry all the time
I have this instant gratification problem too if I don’t see results right away I would not stick to the plan and that why haven’t lost anything yet just but your plan seems doable and one more thing when you say 25 carbs does that mean carbs from the actual carbs or carbs every where Imran carbs in greens also ??

Soooo, here is what I do. for snacks I have green peppers or celery or cheese stick. I will argue that having unlimited amounts of celery, or green peppers will not hurt your diet. You can also have 10 cheese sticks, to = 100 calories. If I go over, then exercise to work off the difference.

Drinks - I also drink a lot of caffeine drinks ( coffee/ diet coke). Caffeine is an appetite suppressant and the liquid will help you feel full.

A string cheese stick is usually around 80 calories across the board (whether it's part skim mozzarella, medium cheddar, colby/jack etc). Fresh mozzarella sticks are usually about 70. A "standard" cheese stick is 1oz, I am not sure what cheese sticks you found at 10 calories each? Just pointing this out because it would lead to a huge calories difference...

Yes I am very intrigued to know how a cheese stick is only 10 calories. I just ate 15 g of cheese as a little snack and its 62 calories.

In addition same question for the parmesan crisp things, how do 25 of them only add up to 130 calories? Thats about 30g of parmesan, so how do you make 25 crisps out of them?

KMD1214

nooboots wrote: »

wyeth84 wrote: »

Commander_Keen wrote: »

hafsatoheed2019 wrote: »

KMD1214 wrote: »

At my highest weight ever (175 at 5’3”), I started what was going to be a 10-day, 1000 calorie, 25 or less carb personal challenge to get some of this weight off. I stopped drinking wine, shopped for low carb alternatives and logged every bite of food on MFP. I also set little goals each week..... but exceeded them! (Whatt???)

My “success” story on day 28 (exactly 4 weeks) isn’t as dramatic and mind blowing as others, but I weighed 161.2 this morning!!!! 14 pounds in 4 weeks!! That’s amazing for me and I’m going to continue until I’m down to a healthy 135.

The quick results of low carbs and cals, as well as the steady loss was critical to my “immediate gratification” tendencies 🙄. As well as MFP. Here’s to getting healthier!!!!!

But what about the “don’t go below 1200” calories thing
Don’t you feel hungry all the time
I have this instant gratification problem too if I don’t see results right away I would not stick to the plan and that why haven’t lost anything yet just but your plan seems doable and one more thing when you say 25 carbs does that mean carbs from the actual carbs or carbs every where Imran carbs in greens also ??

Soooo, here is what I do. for snacks I have green peppers or celery or cheese stick. I will argue that having unlimited amounts of celery, or green peppers will not hurt your diet. You can also have 10 cheese sticks, to = 100 calories. If I go over, then exercise to work off the difference.

Drinks - I also drink a lot of caffeine drinks ( coffee/ diet coke). Caffeine is an appetite suppressant and the liquid will help you feel full.

A string cheese stick is usually around 80 calories across the board (whether it's part skim mozzarella, medium cheddar, colby/jack etc). Fresh mozzarella sticks are usually about 70. A "standard" cheese stick is 1oz, I am not sure what cheese sticks you found at 10 calories each? Just pointing this out because it would lead to a huge calories difference...

Yes I am very intrigued to know how a cheese stick is only 10 calories. I just ate 15 g of cheese as a little snack and its 62 calories.

In addition same question for the parmesan crisp things, how do 25 of them only add up to 130 calories? Thats about 30g of parmesan, so how do you make 25 crisps out of them?

The Parmesan crisp info is provided on the package. They’re quite small.

esmith91388

Forget all your skeptics out there! You are doing what works for you and I commend that! Way to go and keep it up!!

KMD1214

esmith91388 wrote: »

Forget all your skeptics out there! You are doing what works for you and I commend that! Way to go and keep it up!!

Wow, thank you! I never posted anything before and was unprepared for the subsequent critique/analysis. Just an update: Still losing weight and actually feeling wonderful. Still no cravings and...... I ‘broke’ 160 this morning: 159.6! That’s 15.4 pounds in exactly 7 weeks. Motivated to keep going!!

MikePTY

I don't mean to rain on your personal parade, but your approach is dangerous and should not be promoted here. In fact, it is explicitly against this boards rule to promote very low calorie diets, which is what you are doing if you are eating 1000 calories a week or less. It is not surprising you lose weight while eating very low calories. And some things to note about your 14 pound weight loss:

A significant portion of that is likely water weight, primarily from going super low carb, and depleting your body of your glycogen stores, which are stored with water. This is probably easily 4 or 5 pounds of it. If you ever reintroduce carbs again into your diet, this weight will come back on. You are likely also seeing additional "water weight" loss from simply reducing the content of food stored in your stomach by restricting your diet as much as you are.

You are also likely seeing or beginning to see muscle loss in addition to fat loss too. At high deficits, your body starts to burn muscle in addition to fat to fuel your calorie deficit, since it will only burn fat as a certain pace before thinking it is too much and using muscle in order to preserve your fat. This may not be noticeable in the short term, but it's why some people get to their goal weight and find they are "skinny fat" and still unhappy with how they look.

There are a lot of negative health effects, both short and long term, from eating too little. Just because you do not feel them now does not mean they aren't already happening. Many people don't feel the effects of too high calorie restriction until later on. Here is a good thread of the negative effects: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

I am not trying to discourage you from weight loss in general, but it's important to do it in a way which is healthy, which is not how you are currently doing it. You are trading short term success for long term problems. And I encourage you to go slower (this can be on low-carb or not, that is your choice), eat more, and work to do it sustainably.

sugaraddict4321

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