Why aren't I losing???

Hi everyone,

My name's Wendy. I started a low carb/high fat diet a week ago - not to lose weight (I weighed 50 kg and am 5'3" tall) - but to change shape. I've got a huge spare tyre around my belly which I'm sick of. It's been there all my life, though I've never been 'fat'. I'm 49 and I exercise (running) regularly. I'm trying to get into ketosis (where my body burns fat instead of glycogen from carbs). I used to be alcohol dependent and purge my food.

Good things - I have given up alcohol completely and don't binge/purge my food - for 3 weeks now. I've completely given up bread, pastas, cereals, sugar, wheat/gluten, sweets, cakes, potatoes, starchy veg and just eat low carb/high (good) fats and protein - from veggies, salad stuffs, fish and lean chicken. I've also - every day - started to work those abs.

Result? Weight GAIN of 1.5 kgs (3 lbs) and NO progress with the spare tyre.

Any nutritionists out there???

PLEASE help - I'm SOOOOOOOO discouraged.

I LOVE MFP - feel free to look at my daily intake, everyone - my privacy settings are public.......

For all you 'fatties' out there - God bless you all on your weight-loss journeys and I hope you all succeed.

Replies

  • crownedether
    crownedether Posts: 13 Member
    congratulations on giving up the bingeing and purging. thats really hard, especially since the focus on weightloss can be triggering in that regard.

    i am not sure whats going on with you exactly, but since you quit drinking, maybe you are just more hydrated? i remember waking up from nights of drinking where i lost 3-5 lbs overnight... just from peeing it all out when i was drunk. one of the reasons i hate having a scale... the number is always different for reasons having little to do with fat gain/loss. if you've rehydrated yourself over the past week of not drinking, that would show up as a gain on the scale without being

    one week is probably too short to see progress as far as the shape of your body goes. thats what i keep telling myself as well.

    perhaps someone else can comment on what you're eating but that was the first thing i thought of
  • WendyNick
    WendyNick Posts: 3
    Hey - thanks for the fast reply! Don't think it's that - I'm peeing for England!!

    I went 'cold turkey' on the alcohol and the bingeing/purgeing and all the 'bad' foodstuffs I listed, so maybe I'm still adjusting after 30+ years of abuse.

    I can see that a week is not long enough, but I'm SO desperate to have a flat tum. My profile pic is very flattering - but I look like Buddha in the bath!

    I'm sure not 'fat burning' yet as some ketosticks reveal NO ketones in my urine, darn it!
  • labeachgirl
    labeachgirl Posts: 158 Member
    If you're working your abs, you may be trading fat with muscle, maybe measure your waist and look for results that way instead of on the scale.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    A week ago...... You did not gain the spare tire in a week, did you? Also - start lifting weights if you do not have a lot to lose - running won't change your shape much - weight will...As heavy as you can....
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    When I did Atkins, it always took me two weeks to get into ketosis. Here's the deal though, this is for the rest of your life so make sustainable changes and keep moving in a postive direction. It doesn't matter how long it takes if you are in it for the long haul.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Lift heavy weights to preserve lean body mass. Eat at a reasonable calorie deficit to lose fat. Eat a balanced diet of real food. Unless you have some health condition, it is not necessary to cut out any certain type of food categories.