New here, want to lose 10-15lbs, trying low carb

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Cawen
Cawen Posts: 8
in Introduce Yourself
I just wanted to introduce myself. My name's Caroline, I'm 43 years old, currently 5' 5" and 140lb. Want to get down to 130 (realistically) or 125 (ideally), and am currently following a low-carb, South-Beach-esque diet. Low carb has worked wonders for me before, I've been able to lose more with less hunger and crankiness than on low fat/high fiber (i.e. Weight Watchers).

My biggest weakness is happy hour. Drinks and appetizers can really screw up a diet. I'm trying to find a balance between my social life and my trying-to-stay-slim life.

I live in Seattle. I mostly walk for exercise but I'm trying to fit in some calesthenics. I've got a Shake Weight that I use sometimes with the blinds close.

Well, that's about it. Would love to hear from others, especially those on the Zone, Atkins, or South Beach.

Cheers!

Replies

  • ambernacolle
    ambernacolle Posts: 1
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    Hi I am doing low carb I just do less then 20 carbs a day add me as a friend if you want I am new here also =)
  • ecoPeep
    ecoPeep Posts: 17
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    Good choice - low carb is the best way to diet!
  • ecoPeep
    ecoPeep Posts: 17
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    I'm in a similar boat...I'm 44 and 126 pounds, 5'5. I'm a little heavy for my frame and look better at 120. I've been doing the low carb route for a month now and i love it. I suppose we all go through periods of overeating, but when you're low carbing it, you can get by. The binges don't happen. NOW, I like you lose self control when I drink. I won't eat carbs, but I will eat too much. Drinking more than 1 drink always puts a temporary dent in my diet plan.
  • howardrw
    howardrw Posts: 80 Member
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    Low-carb is a good place to start on your diet, but and this is from experience you can if you choose to mix the low-carb diet with a low calorie diet plan.

    I started on the Atkins low-carb diet, the induction part and did that for 2 weeks, and continued to keep my carbs under 20 grams for at least the first 2 months and the weight did start to come off steady. This was done with workouts for 30 minutes or longer.

    After 2 months, I hit as we all call a "plateau" (no weight loss or gain) and decided to continue to watch my carbs, but also to watch my calorie intake as well. I tried to stay under 2,000 calories per day (usually I would take in about 1200 to 1500 per day.

    I have continue to steady increase my carb intake while watching my calorie intake.

    So for me since I have used both type diet plans it has worked out pretty good for me. I also now workout up to an hour or more as well.

    Now everybody body is difference and what works for me may not work for someone else.

    Also Google the title "low carb vs low calorie diets and you will find some great information on both of them, but some of the reviews will say mixing them will possible workout better in the long run.

    Good luck with your weight loss plan.
  • supico1
    supico1 Posts: 34
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    Low Carb is good. My problem is also having a little wine while watching football! Don't know if wine has lots of calories but it sure is sweet :smile:
  • ecoPeep
    ecoPeep Posts: 17
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    Howardrw - I agree with you that success with low carb requires reduced carbohydrate intake and moderate caloric intake. It's a marriage, but it's the right one for me : ) Thanks for your input!
  • Cawen
    Cawen Posts: 8
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    ey guys,

    Thanks to everyone who posted. If you're interested in the particulars of my diet (at least what I'm trying to do) it's based on my experience over 15-some years. I was a big Zone diet person in my late 20s after reducing my body fat from 24% to 18% in a few months. I continued to follow the Zone guidelines for maintenance, eating what I wanted (amount-wise) as long as it fell within the 40:30:30 ratio.

    I was able to stay around 120-125 with 16-18% body fat by doing this and a lot of cardio. I lived in San Francisco and those hills are natural Stairmasters. I gave it up after a few years when I found myself feeling really guilty for eating carrots.

    Anyway, I was able to stay in fairly good shape by making smart food choices and exercising. I'm not a huge sweets person, and I've never really liked bread, potatoes, rice, things like that so low carb was always a natural fit for me. When the Atkins craze rolled around in the late 90's, I tried it and was astonished how fast I could take weight off. However, I can't justify staying on Atkins for very long because of the tolls it takes on your kidneys, cholesterol levels etc.

    So my 60 carbs pretty much come mainly from dairy (which has been associated with weight loss) and vegetables. I was curious what the calorie count would come out to, so this is why I joined this site, and I've found that when I'm being good (i.e. not going out to bars or restaurants) the calorie count is actually quite low.

    I'm going to post my weight tomorrow, I think, and probably also my measurements (I follow those more closely since I really don't care how much I weigh; I just want to fit into my size 4 jeans!)

    Thanks for posting, and if you guys want to friend me, please feel free!

    Cawen
  • Beebee78
    Beebee78 Posts: 703
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    Welcome to the site! You will find no end of support here xxx
  • jpettibo
    jpettibo Posts: 2
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    I had great (long-term!) success with low-carb dieting. I started off on Atkins and then sort of just made up my own low-carb rules based on glycemic index and what I felt like eating as opposed to strictly following Atkins order for re-introducing food.

    I actually dropped 50 pounds (190 to 140) and kept it off for about a year. Thanks to big life changes (jobs, relationships, etc.) I backslid a lot and am back up to 155 but I'm confident that I can get back to where I want to be (hopefully sooner rather than later).

    There's actually a great book, "Good Calories, Bad Calories," that provides a lot of studies backing the idea that simple carbs (not fat!) are the real enemy to weight-loss and general health.
  • sugarbuzz74
    sugarbuzz74 Posts: 17 Member
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    hey there, i have had a lot of success with low carb too and am trying it again. i just started on tuesday but so far so good. i have about 15 pounds to lose. good luck!
  • ecoPeep
    ecoPeep Posts: 17
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    The low carb was good, but my body was aching - muscle aches...and when I looked at my diet the only culprit was Splenda. I wqas using 10-20 packets a day in oatmeal, coffee, tea, yogurt++ I took it out of my diet 3 weeks ago and I'm slowly feeling better. Also trying Network Chiropratic treatment...very interesting gentle touch chiropractic for back / neck pain.

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