Lost all I can with low carb.. now what?

skinnyslacks7

I started my Low Carb challenge around mid March. I have basically been maintaining the past couple of weeks. I am proud that I have kept the 9ibs off with eating regularly (with a few restrictions, of course) throughout the week. Now, I don’t know what to do. I seem to be in a rut.

Thought about doing WW again but, I never really lost anything with them. I know this needs to be a lifestyle change and not a diet, but I need some kind of “diet” to follow so I have guidelines….
Thoughts anyone?

Ree_Chatelain

Are you eating your calories? I don't believe the amount of carbs matter as long as you are not consuming the extra calories. I did WW for a while and did lose but when I started to just plateau I researched and began to calorie count.

Elizabeth_C34

It's really as simple as calories in versus calories out. If you burn more than you eat every day, you will lose weight. Keeping sodium down is also a big help to keeping water weight off.

WW didn't work for me either. Just cumbersome and I wasn't too keen on meetings and paying for the service.

believetoachieve

Who said you've lost "all you can" ? If it was working for you, stick with it!! Personally, I've done WW (the old plan!), low-carb, high-protein, etc. You name it & I've probably tried it, haha. They all work, the key is finding which one you'll be able to stick to - FOREVER! :flowerforyou:

gatorflyer

Personally, having gone the Low carb route myself, I lost a pretty decent amount of weight only to gain it all back and then some. I guess what I learned from that experience is that it HAS to be something you can maintain long term, not something that you do for awhile. A lifestyle change is just that, a change that you can make that can last a lifetime. It means that there are no "I can't haves" there is merely "moderation." I have also learned that I must incorporate exercise as a regular part of my lifestyle change. So, as far as suggestions go, I would say, be accountable to yourself - monitor your calorie intake, reduce your sugars and salts, drink lots of water, keep track of everything you eat, and exercise regularly. Let the MFP program help guide you with your weight loss, and get friends that will encourage you and help keep you accountable.

sam363

Who said you've lost "all you can" ? If it was working for you, stick with it!! Personally, I've done WW (the old plan!), low-carb, high-protein, etc. You name it & I've probably tried it, haha. They all work, the key is finding which one you'll be able to stick to - FOREVER! :flowerforyou:

Great Post!!! It is all about what works for you and what can keep you on track. Currently I am tracking my carbs by having only 2-3 servings per meal. If I go over in a meal then I take a 15 minute walk to help regulate my blood sugar again. I would say that if you are feeling satisfied by your current diet then I would stick with it but add in more exercise or, if you aren't already, starting eating 5-6 times a days with smaller portions. Right now I typically eat 200-300 calories for breakfast and lunch with 100-200 calorie snacks then for dinner I typically eat 300-400 calories. Look at your consumption and see if there is anything that you can change.

Good luck!

ladyhawk00

Here's one that's easy to follow...forever.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/233474-the-latest-diet

dr4m4qu33n

Which type of low carb are you doing? How many carbs are you eating a day? I'm currently doing Adkins. It's working pretty well. I try to keep my carbs under 20 every day. Sometimes I go over a little but I keep it under 25. With Adkins it's very important to eat every 3-4 hours. I always have LC snacks during the day. The way it works is you body burns carbs as fuel, if you don't give it all the carbs then it starts burning fat instead. But like I said, its important to keep eating every few hours. You can add me if you like, and check out my food diary if you are interested in how I am currently doing my LC thing!

WIQQID

I personally like quick results. I know myself and I know what I need to stick with something and so I HAVE to have a diet plan that gives me fantastic results and quick! Through months and months of research I finally found this fantastic diet. Basically it is consistent with the 17-day diet with a few personal tweaks.

It takes approximately 25-30 days for your body to become accustomed to a new diet. After that, the body adjusts and your weight-loss slows or even stops. To avoid the body adjusting and the consequent "diet plateau" you have to fool your body using metabolism confusion. Metabolism confusion is a technique of varying food intake in ways that the body cannot adjust to. A varied diet in both types of foods and portions of foods is the basis for metabolic confusion. By eating different kinds of food and varying food portions, the body's metabolism is forced to react differently. It is this variety that improves weight loss.

This diet plan promotes what it calls "clean" eating, which includes avoiding sugars and processed foods. Some of the guidelines to follow when choosing what to eat include:

* Eliminating refined sugars
* Making healthy food choices
* Eliminating alcoholic beverages
* Eating breakfast each morning
* Eliminating processed foods
* Drinking more water
* Increasing the amount of "natural" food eaten

Also, while following this diet plan you will need to exercise 17 minutes per day. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't have to be some hard-to-do stair-stepping, aerobicizing, can't-catch-my-breath exercise. It just has to be 17 minutes of constant movement.

If you have any questions, please feel free to message me.

karamille

My dr about the same as me (early-mid 30s) is at the same point in her life as me (small kiddos not in school yet), and her suggestions is to only count calories. For me its 1500-1600. I can eat anything I want, as long as I stay within range. I don't worry about protein, fiber, carbs, sugar, etc... I barely have to get a shower some days and get the dishes in the dishwasher - I do not have time or energy to calculate all of that or worry about refined sugars, saturated fats, or whether or not my food is natural or has preservatives in it. Sometimes I need to be able to eat a meal on the fly. Sometimes I have to get lunch from a drive thru. But calories alone I can do. I bought a few essentials at her suggestion. 1) a good quality kitchen scale. 2) 4 sets of measuring cups. That way you have enough clean measuring cups to get thru all three meals, plus a snack. 3) a good multi vitamin, calcium supplement, and vitamin D. With those in place, you don't have to worry about the calories that cheese/milk take up. If it doesn't fit in your calorie budget - its ok. There's a supplement in place. 4) a pedometer. Shoot for 10,000 steps a day.

I don't feel deprived. I have a frappe everyday that I work (3 days a week), I can go to McDs with my kids and have a McDouble and small fry, and I can have a small steak and baked potato while eating out. Of course on those days, I am having a zone perfect bar for breakfast and a lean cuisine for lunch or dinner, but its fine because I still eat the things I really really love. I have the FP app on my phone and I will log my intakes while sitting in at a light in traffic or search for how many calories are in a fast food restuarants foods so I can plan my next meal.

As for working out... I am LUCKY to get on the treadmill or elipse 2-3 times a week. Most weeks its once. But what I can do is load up my MP3 player with good music and dance thru my day cleaning, cooking, landscaping. Sure my neighbors think I'm nuts singing and dancing while weeding my flower beds, but they pretty much already knew I was nuts, so not a big deal. I park far away from the door when I go shopping, get a short walk in on my lunch at work, etc... all these things get me my 10,000 steps a day

foodforfuel

I started my Low Carb challenge around mid March. I have basically been maintaining the past couple of weeks. I am proud that I have kept the 9ibs off with eating regularly (with a few restrictions, of course) throughout the week. Now, I don’t know what to do. I seem to be in a rut.

Thought about doing WW again but, I never really lost anything with them. I know this needs to be a lifestyle change and not a diet, but I need some kind of “diet” to follow so I have guidelines….
Thoughts anyone?

Hate to be the wet blanket here, but I took a look at your diary. First and foremost, you should be very proud of the 9 lbs you lost!
I don't want to kill your enthusiasm, but frankly, it seems you don't have any! It appears as though you are making a half -hearted effort. With that, you get half- hearted results.

It appears that you have logged very inconsistently. With the few days you have logged, I would not call it 'low-carb'. Frankly, skinnyslacks, it looks like you are hardly even trying. Don't look for a 'diet' to follow. You are the one who needs to make it a lifestyle change.

If losing weight and being healthy are what you really want, you have to put the effort in. A good start is to log everything you eat. Everything. You can adjust your macros (carbs/ proteins/fats) to give you something to shoot for within your calorie goal. 40/40/20 is a good place to start and adjust from there.

Are you exercising? That goes a long way toward getting healthy, losing weight, defining and taking care of the muscle you do have.

Try to make healthy choices for every meal, every day. Ask yourself "Is eating this going to help me move toward my goal?"

I wish you all the best in obtaining your goals. Before you give up, ask yourself (honestly), did you really try? :flowerforyou:

edited for typos

lodro

Which type of low carb are you doing? How many carbs are you eating a day? I'm currently doing Adkins. It's working pretty well. I try to keep my carbs under 20 every day. Sometimes I go over a little but I keep it under 25. With Adkins it's very important to eat every 3-4 hours. I always have LC snacks during the day. The way it works is you body burns carbs as fuel, if you don't give it all the carbs then it starts burning fat instead. But like I said, its important to keep eating every few hours. You can add me if you like, and check out my food diary if you are interested in how I am currently doing my LC thing!

20 grams of carbs on atkins is induction, and on atkins, you don't stay in induction forever, but start gradually to add back carbohydrate back in until you can maintain your weight. depending on how your body works, that could be 70 grams a day or 100, there's no way telling how much until you start working up the food ladder step by step. Most people stay in induction, then quit, gain the weight and blame the diet, saying it doesn't work. But atkins teaches you how to maintain and make it into a sustainable, lifelong thing, that is tailored to how your body reacts to sources of carbohydrate.

jcl1981

its all aboutn counting your calories, it has changed my life, i did atkins, WW, JC, NutraSys, cookie diet, hollywood diet, the eat crazy stuff and hate myself for being stupid diet, oh wait... Calories is the way to go, and helps you to eat real food, and learn that healthier food, really is better for you.