Welcome!

Am I understanding correctly that you lost 22 pounds since you started on 09-06-13? If so that's a really amazing loss! Congratulations either way though, you are off to a great start!

I have noticed that after a big loss I can go for weeks without losing anything at all. Stalls are normal even when you are staying on plan. I haven't dropped below my lowest recorded weight since 10-04-13 and at the moment I'm actually 4.6 pounds above my lowest recorded weight. In that time period, I have dropped down to my lowest recorded weight twice and back up again, but not below it. If I just looked at the start of that time frame to now I might get discouraged, but I have to look at the big picture too. 10-21-13 was my one year anniversary of logging every day on MFP and I lost 72 pounds in the time so I'm losing about 6 pounds a month. This is also why I weigh every single day so I can see this rollercoaster and get used to it. I can kind of see a pattern now in the way I lose weight so it's no longer as scary.

As far as feeling like you are lacking variety in your food choices ... I don't go quite as low carb as others here. My net carbs usually range from the upper 20's to 40's. I don't consider my diary as clean as many others here so they may have better insight for someone wanting to maintain a carb count that low. I can say this though - eating low carb gets easier. I don't feel like I'm missing out by eating low carb and I never go to bed hungry. You can experiment and find what works right for you. If you are missing a carby foods, you can post here and see if anyone has suggestions about a lower carb alternative.

I hope this helps!

well gosh, that's a lot of progress in what , like six weeks??. do you mean 22 pounds or 22 inches?? if 22 inches that's a lot!
my diary is open if you need help or ideas. ultra low carb can get a little boring. I found that I can raise my carbs a bit as long as I do the carbs in the morning so that by the time I turn in I'm in what I call nocturnal ketosis and the weight (or the fat) seems to keep coming off.

for getting enough fat have you considered cheeses? cheese comes in so many varieties and flavors. the French sure get it, I'm sure you can find ideas built around cheese. there are even non dairy cheeses. Also for fat is avocado's in a salad or an omelette. I'm a Californian with my own tree so Avocados are easy, but the fat in an avocado is ideal. then of course there is eggs.

consider low carb fatty meats like lamb or even prepared coldcuts like salami's. and of course there's always BACON!

It's pretty normal for weight loss to slow down. Remember, you're in it for the long-haul. Even if your weight loss stalled all-together, it wouldn't be a horrible thing. It would give your body time to adjust to the rapid weight loss and time for you to experiment with new foods/recipes and make it sustainable. I had pretty good success with low carb last year, but found myself eating the same things over and over to the point I couldn't stand looking at scrambled eggs anymore. After regaining most of the weight, I'm back at it again and trying to add more variety and make it more livable long-term rather than focussing so much on the numbers.

My new fave for the chocolate cravings is 1/4 cup of 35% whipping cream (about 200 calories) blended so it turns into whipped cream with just a little bit of unsweetened cocoa and you choice of sweetener if you need/want it. Absolutely perfect for that dreaded TOM too

For major chocolate cravings, I buy unsweetened bakers chocolate.
Melt it, add in butter and Splenda to sweeten, then either use a mold to make a low carb candy bar or drop tablespoonfuls on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Let it solidify, then enjoy!

I don't think I would make it if I didn't have this shake almost every night!

Ingredients Calories Fat Protein Carbs Fiber SA's Net Carbs
1 cup (180g) ice cubes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3/4 cup (178.5g) cream, heavy whipping 615.75 66 3.75 5.25 0 0 5.25
2 tbsp (25g) 'Swerve' or other sugar equivalent 0 0 0 25 0 25 0
1 tbsp (5.38g) unsweetened cocoa powder 12.25 1.13 1.07 3.13 1.82 0 1.31
1/2 tsp (2g) vanilla extract 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 dash (1g) salt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals: 628 67.13g 4.82g 33.38g 1.82g 25g 6.56g
Per Serving: 628 67.13g 4.82g 33.38g 1.82g 25g 6.56g *


That is from www.djfoodie.com and let me tell you it is delicious! I also eat fat bombs and cream cheese clouds because I struggle with eating enough fat some days as well.

Congrats on your weightloss!!

I don't think I would make it if I didn't have this shake almost every night!

Ingredients Calories Fat Protein Carbs Fiber SA's Net Carbs
1 cup (180g) ice cubes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3/4 cup (178.5g) cream, heavy whipping 615.75 66 3.75 5.25 0 0 5.25
2 tbsp (25g) 'Swerve' or other sugar equivalent 0 0 0 25 0 25 0
1 tbsp (5.38g) unsweetened cocoa powder 12.25 1.13 1.07 3.13 1.82 0 1.31
1/2 tsp (2g) vanilla extract 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 dash (1g) salt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals: 628 67.13g 4.82g 33.38g 1.82g 25g 6.56g

I wonder if I put a lot of ice if this would be like soft serve! I can't wait to try it out...thanks for the recipe :happy: