I'm just about finished on two weeks of Induction and my health has improved dramatically. I think I had lost a lot of muscle on the VLCD I was on, and my muscles are almost back to normal now, after two weeks of good protein. I haven't lost as much weight as I expected, but I think the muscle may account for that. My pants fit very differently, so very happy

Hi, you mentioned NET carbs -- would that be taken away from your carbs on MFP by itself or you need to do it yourself. I.e if you check my diary say for yesterday or day before it was between 19 - 21 gram of carb, is that Net carb or i need to take the fiber out of that.

Thanks, reason being that i am not sure i am losing based on what i eat.

wow...took a dose of dayquil today and just logged it. It has 19 grams of carbs in an adult dose!! over 90 calories.

wouldn't it be great if our bodies would burn excess skin like it does excess fat.....

Joining the low carb lifestyle. I have been eating entirely too many carbs and the lack of weighloss shows. Day 1. I know that typically it takes the body 3 days to really adjust and that's when the body no longer craves sugar - - looking forward to that! Anyway, 1 week from now, I hope to report back weightloss success!

REMEMBER....GREATNESS LIVES ON THE INSIDE OF US....WE REALLY GOT THIS YA KNOW!!! ...TAKE IT ONE SECOND AT A TIME....LEAVE THE "PITY PARTY" AND JOIN THE "POSITIVE PARADE"...."BABY STEPS" ARE STILL STEPS....."SETBACKS" ARE A SET UP FOR A "GREATER COMEBACK"......LOL....DON'T WAIT FOR THE BATTLE TO BE OVER......SHOUT NOW!!! WOOOOOOO!!! HIGH5!! ....I LOVE YOU ALL...((hugs)) .....SMILE.....MAKE IT A BRIGHTER DAY!! .....MUAH!! ....DID YOU KNOW......YOU'RE THE BEST!! ....YES YOU ARE!! ...HIGH5 .......HAVE AN AWESOME, VICTORIOUS, FUN FILLED DAY!!!


LOW CARB FACTS: My target is 130 per day....from a small child was "carb sensitive" due to medications that were given to me for my lungs.


2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that carbohydrates make up 45 to 65 percent of your total daily calorie intake. So, if you consume 2,000 calories a day, you would need to eat between 900 and 1,300 calories a day from carbohydrates, or between 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrates a day.

Most people can lose weight on almost any diet plan that restricts calories and what you can eat — at least in the short term. Over the long term, though, studies show that it's common to regain the lost weight, regardless of the diet plan you follow. Some studies also have shown that people who continued to follow certain low-carb diet plans for two years lost an average of nearly 9 pounds (4.1 kilograms) overall, which is similar to the amount of weight lost on higher carbohydrate diets. And it may not be just cutting carbs that leads to weight loss. Some studies show that you may shed some weight because you eat less on low-carb diets because the extra protein and fat keep you feeling full longer.

If you suddenly and drastically cut carbs, you may experience a variety of temporary health effects, including:

Headache
Dizziness
Weakness
Fatigue
Constipation



It's also possible that severely restricting carbohydrates to less than 20 grams a day can result in ketosis. Ketosis occurs when you don't have enough sugar (glucose) for energy, so your body breaks down stored fat, causing ketones to build up in your body. Side effects from ketosis can include nausea, headache, mental fatigue and bad breath.

It's not clear what kind of possible long-term health risks a low-carb diet may pose because most research studies have lasted less than a year. Some health experts believe that if you eat large amounts of fat and protein from animal sources your risk of heart disease or certain cancers may increase.

Back more than 30 years ago, I lost about 25 lbs on Adkins. Adkins suggested (at the time) that induction = 5 grams of carbs a day, but then it increases using specific rules. I found that when I reached 25 carbs/day, the weight increased. The keto-stix no longer showed any release of ketones, and I saw the climb start. So I went back to the 16 carbs/day for three days, then increased it by 2. That was maintenance for ME. And it worked, for the next 20 years. (At which time some drastic lifestyle changes intervened) In little more than 10 years, I gained 120 lbs.

If I were to take in 45-65% of my calories from carbs, as US dietary guides recommend, I would weigh many hundreds of pounds more than I weigh now. I prefer to take in 5 - 10 carbs a day. I feel better. Have far more energy. My thoughts are clearer. I'm never hungry. My mood is better. I have more motivation. Life is just better all-around.

As to those who worry about long-term health effects for those on such a diet, I really don't care. I have found plenty of research that says otherwise. I would rather be dead than barely exist on a high carb diet. For me, a carb-intensive day is 50 carbs, but on an extreme (pre-diet) day (pizza day) it goes up to 150) That's how MY body works.

And for those who worry about ketones, their worry is for naught. One only need drink enough water to keep them flushed out of the system - which is a wonderful thing. Ketones are partially burned fats. The body naturally uses them for energy. But if I flush them out of the system, the body can't use them for fuel and has to find its energy from body fat - which creates ketones, some of which I flush out of the system - thus allowing me to get more bang for the buck where diet is concerned.

Of course, ketosis isn't for diabetics. But the myths and fear surrounding ketones and a low-low-low carb diet are many and there is plenty of research to prove it. Why the NIH keeps standing firm on its support of a diet that causes malnutrition and muscle loss for so many - I do not understand. But that it ignores research that helps so MANY like me is frustrating. How many more are kept in prisons of fat because the NIH thinks that all people are "average".

My diet composition for the last 7 days: 3% carb, 51% protein, 46% fat - though overall since starting this plan, it runs more like 5%, 35%, & 60%.

The low-carb diet comes with important considerations. Water must be logged at adequate. (Weight in lbs divided by 2 times 0.75 = ounces per day. it takes effort to consume that much, but after 3 days, it gets easier and skin even feels better). Also, protein must be adequate. (weight in lbs divided by two time 0.37 = MINIMUM grams of protein - which for me is 88. That is far greater than 50-60 that the 2010 dietary guidelines recommends for the AVERAGE person.

The dietary guidelines give protein requirements based on the average person. As average includes 5 year olds as well as 80 year olds, fat people as well as anorexic, the question of what "specifically" the term "average" refers to is always left unaddressed. And as unhealthy people and strength trainers should take in MORE than the NIH recommended dose, I take their generalized recommendations with a grain of salt. What fat person is healthy?

I am a low-carber for life. I encourage others to find out how their body works and work with it. The American dietary guidelines don't know me, have never seen the changes in my blood numbers from before/after low-carbing, and cannot speak for what keeps me healthy.

I also don't think that this is a group where posters should be discouraging others from finding out if/that this works for them. When savedchild8 says that "some" researchers say that increased animal fats can cause heart problems, they must be very uninformed researchers. As the low-carb eating plan lowers bloodpressure, increases good cholesterol, decreases bad cholesteral, removes plaque from the arteries, and more, the numbers show that such a diet actually decreases heart problems. I hate it when researchers say that something "MAY" have an effect. The world "MAY" end tonight at 7:43PM. I don't believe that it will, but it MAY.

hello? anyone posting in the lowcarb room anymore? the last few times there hasn't been much commotion in here. just wanted to ask if anyone has tried the atkins frozen meals? I never buy frozen meals but did pick up a couple of the atkins meals, was not impressed, I do better on my own. hope everyone is doing good and sticking with their plans.