I went through this exact same dilemma. I decided to give it up because the cons were starting to outweight the pros.

I missed the gym
My skin and hair were really oily
My joints began to ache unbearably
I was starting to go off foods because my taste buds were changing
I started making silly mistakes at work
Hangovers last two days
My eyes turned yellow
I missed pizza
I felt tired and it didn't seem to be shifting


Now these aren't my reasons why I think LCHF is bad, they are the reasons that I gave up because I couldn't bear the side effects for another week longer.

Maybe you should draw up a pros and cons list of your own?

I'm interested to see what replies you get though x

First point I will make is to echo Kira. You've lost 8 lbs during the last 2 weeks. That's a lot. That's awesome. That's nothing to be upset with. The fact that it all happened in one week and in the second week you lost nothing doesn't change what you've done.

The second thing I would do is point you to Gary Taubes, Mark Sisson and The Bulletproof Exec. A year ago I knew I had to get healthy and lose weight and improve my fitness. BUt I had NO idea how to do it. I had tried the traditional approaches a several times. You know, reduce your total calorie intake, increase your exercise and it always failed. Eventually the cravings for carbs and sugar and the horrific hunger I would experience would overcome my willpower. So, I knew that I had to find something new ... I just had no idea what it was.

By chance, someone I trusted pointed me towards Gary Taubes. I read "Why We Get Fat" and came to the same realization as Kira. The USDA and Big Food are in bed with each other to sell and promote industrialized food. They have completely distorted the truth about proper human nutrition. It's very difficult to find out the truth, but you can with some effort, reading, research.

Anyhow, that was 11 months ago. For the first time since I got myself overweight and unhealthy in the first place, I have been able to consistently lose fat, increase muscle, improve my health and fitness and appearance. I am down 30 lbs over all, but more like 40 lbs of fat and gained 10 lbs of muscle, roughly, for a net loss of 30 lbs. My weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and even allergies are massively improved. My wife tells me I'm sexy and she likes my arms ... these are things I had not heard from her for a LONG time. Best of all, other than the time it took me to break the carb/sugar addiction, I have had no food cravings. None. I eat until I am full, rather than counting calories. I eat things I love: steak, pork chops, chicken thighs, eggs, butter, cream, salads, pistachios, olive oil and much more. I still drink wine and vodka, although very moderately these days. I can run 2 miles in 16 minutes and I can do 20 pushups with my feet on a chair, elevated 20 inches above my head. That's pretty good for a 45 year old man who was declared a Type II diabetic, hypertensive and at high risk of heart disease just 12 months ago.

My biggest problem is that I am going to have to spend a fortune replacing all of my suits, slacks, and sports coats.

The third thing I will tell you is that I am not in to "nutritional ketosis" specifically. Sometimes my body is in keto, sometimes it isn't. That doesn't matter a lot to me. What does matter is feeding my body wholesome, real food that my body needs and getting good exercise to get my body fit again.

Figure out what works for you! Don't worry about the rest of us, this is all about you. Investigate how the body functions, what leads to weight gain, what leads to weight loss and what sort of diet you will enjoy that fits into a good nutritional approach to health and fitness.

You might find some value on my blog. I write a lot about the science of the body. Worth a look. I get nothing from that other than the enjoyment of passing along all that I have learned in the hopes that it may help you.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/EricCowperthwaite

You're welcome!

You know the hardest thing? At least it was for me. To actually believe that there was a way of eating and living that worked for the my body and to trust in that long enough for it to make the changes.

Sorry, forgot to give you links to my recommended reading

Gary Taubes - http://www.garytaubes.com/
Mark Sisson (Mark's Daily Apple) - http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
The Bulletproof Exec - http://www.bulletproofexec.com/

Feel free to add me as an MFP friend if you want, also.

YAY! (High Five Eric - I feel like we've saved someone from going back to the dark side!) :-)

Seriously though - whenever I see one of those people who've lost super-fast and huge amounts of weight, I take note of their age. *Most* are young chickees in their teens and twenties. That's just not the reality for most of us that are a little older. Women too seem to get special challenges and tend to lose slower. So be patient with yourself. Set reasonable goals. Mine was 1 1/2 pounds a week, and I've dropped that to 1.25 pounds a week. But there are still weeks I don't lose anything (or, like this week, am up a pound), but others will be down 2.5 pounds. This is the hard part of the journey where you do the math and realize that that this could be a long journey - but it is one that you can complete.

You can do it. You WILL do it.

I have experienced similar frustrations -- but I want to encourage you to stick with it. I lost 15 pounds right away in the first month and then seemed to plateau for the next month or so -- however, even though the scale is moving slowly, I really am seeing a difference in my body by the week. I am working out (doing some cardio and some strength training) and I can tell I'm getting stronger all the time. Sometimes it takes time for the scale to catch up with your loss. Don't give up and really give keto a shot. Also do your own research and make sure you're giving keto a fair chance. I realized I was not eating enough calories or enough healthy fats, so I recently adjusted that and it's really making a difference.