Low Carb help please??

Bethany28
Bethany28 Posts: 263
edited September 2024 in Motivation and Support
I have been doing low carb/no sugar strict for one week and three days. Last week I lost 8.4 pounds (weight went down daily) and this week the scale is not budging. I know that the weight should be falling off in the beginning of a low carb diet, so what gives? Also TMI, but I haven't "gone" since Sunday...HELP! Please??

Replies

  • foxxybrown
    foxxybrown Posts: 838 Member
    That first week was water weight. Now you just have to be patient and stick to your plan to start losing real fat.
  • soshotout
    soshotout Posts: 115
    Drink, Drink, Drink! That could help both problems. There is a lot of sodium in your diet now and you need to counteract that with a lot of water. Also, add some fiber foods to your diet that are low carb such as some that can be found at:

    http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/nutrition/a/fibercounts.htm
  • Meganne1982
    Meganne1982 Posts: 451
    With losing 8 pounds last week, having a slower week now doesn't seem strange to me. My weight loss has never been even, some weeks it falls off easier than other- but in the end it always averages out. Low carb is really the only way I can ever lose and maintain weight loss. And as far as the "going", I believe it's just your body adjusting to a different way of eating. My macro ratio is 10% carb, 30% protein, and 60% fat and I (pardon the phrase- I stole it from Liz Lemon) BM like a rock star. I do get some good fiber everyday. I eat an avocado alomst every day now while they're in season, I eat macadamia nuts almost everyday, and a lot of leafy green veggies, and berries several times a week. So, I'm sure that helps. Stick with it for a while. Any time you really change what you eat there is an adjustment period. I started eating like this, more or less, about 10 years ago, so my memories of struggling to adapt are hazy.
    Good luck to you!
  • victoriousnrltm
    victoriousnrltm Posts: 42
    HI !
    Not sure what kind of low carb you are doing, I'm low carb due to crazy food allergies. 2 questions to ask yourself are;
    Am I eating enough calories?
    Am I eating enough fiber?
    It is easy to get instant results going on a low carb diet but if your carbs are under 100g/day you could be in ketosis. Ketosis is fine for a day of fasting but if you've been that low for a week your body goes into starvation mode & holds on to everything. Drink tons of water, eat your veggies, & grind up some flax in a smoothie. Many people on low carb don't realize that animal protein is acidic in our systems & that side salad goes a long way toward balacing colon acidity... spinach is best! If you think it is a plateu run sprints.... SERIOUSLY. Sprints & eating your exercise calories breaks a plateau like nothing else. Once a week I do a mile on the track walking the straights & running flat out on the curves. Hope this helps!
    V~
    SW 160 3/30/11
    CW 143
    GW 135
  • Leanne1795
    Leanne1795 Posts: 186
    Drink lots of water and don't weigh yourself more than once a week. The first week is normally a large loss as you lose water and then the losses are smaller (except in men - Grrrrrrrrr). Water, water, water! :)
  • LaJauna
    LaJauna Posts: 336 Member
    You have to understand that because you are not obese your weight is going to come off seemingly slow. You should be very excited about the 8 lbs the first week! The average is 5% the first week and then at your current week maybe 0.5-1.0 lbs per week from now on. Remember this is a lifestyle change and not a quick fix. If you are low carbing to loss X pounds then you will fail because as soon as you go back to your old habits the weight will return plus bring a few new friends. Slow and steady wins the race!
  • LaJauna
    LaJauna Posts: 336 Member
    I have been doing low carb/no sugar strict for one week and three days. Last week I lost 8.4 pounds (weight went down daily) and this week the scale is not budging. I know that the weight should be falling off in the beginning of a low carb diet, so what gives? Also TMI, but I haven't "gone" since Sunday...HELP! Please??

    Add some Extra virgin coconut oil to your daily diet. It will help you "go" and also you can take some Magnesium to get things going as well. I think fiber is over-rated!
  • LaJauna
    LaJauna Posts: 336 Member
    HI !
    Not sure what kind of low carb you are doing, I'm low carb due to crazy food allergies. 2 questions to ask yourself are;
    Am I eating enough calories?
    Am I eating enough fiber?
    It is easy to get instant results going on a low carb diet but if your carbs are under 100g/day you could be in ketosis. Ketosis is fine for a day of fasting but if you've been that low for a week your body goes into starvation mode & holds on to everything. Drink tons of water, eat your veggies, & grind up some flax in a smoothie. Many people on low carb don't realize that animal protein is acidic in our systems & that side salad goes a long way toward balacing colon acidity... spinach is best! If you think it is a plateu run sprints.... SERIOUSLY. Sprints & eating your exercise calories breaks a plateau like nothing else. Once a week I do a mile on the track walking the straights & running flat out on the curves. Hope this helps!
    V~
    SW 160 3/30/11
    CW 143
    GW 135

    Starvation Mode is a myth. You can only go into starvation is you devoid of any body fat. You body is smart. It will use the fuel that is available. This is how our body prefers to use what we ingest"
    #1 alcohol will be burned first if you are consuming any
    # Ketones from being ingesting low carb/high fat foods (our bodies really run well on ketones)
    #3 protein, which is broken down in the absence of fats and ketones as glycogen for energy
    #4 Carbs which are quickly converted to glycogen for energy and if there are too much glycogen, stored as fat for later use.

    If you keep your alcohol down to nothing or just occasional you and eat a low carb/high fat diet your body will convert your stored fat to ketones for energy. I have a great link from Stanford University that really talks about this. IF you are interested I will send you it.
  • martinah4
    martinah4 Posts: 583 Member
    OP, I'm low carb, also. I would suggest drinking lots of water, more than 64 oz a day. Also, you probably need to get ride of some stuff through BM. There is a recipe you can do a search for on here for an Atkins Muffin in a Minute, or "MIM". It's made of flax seed, among other things, and it's only about 3 carbs. Whenever I feel "backed up" I just make one of these. You can put some cream cheese on it to make it more interesting.

    Also, make sure you're not overeating the protein. If you are doing Atkins, I think at least 12 of your 20 net carbs a day should come from salad and veggies.

    Good Luck, hang in there!
  • SouLThinking
    SouLThinking Posts: 308 Member
    All I can do is say keep on keeping on. I lost 9 lbs my first week then nothing for 3 weeks. This was back in 2004 when I started Low Carb. I didn't give up and 6 months later I was 60 lbs lighter. It was a gradual process. After every loss your body does a "woah wait a minute" and then after things level out you'll lose some more. 4 of that 8 was water..I bet..But more importantly then the SCALE is how your clothes are fitting. Start measuring or start trying clothes that you "know" were tight or too tight..and keep trying them to see the difference. also, to reiterate ..water, water and more water. Take a stool softener (docusate sodium) and make sure you getting vegetables (fiber) Also, try not to each too much salt. but most of all don't give up. Something I didn't read in a book...I learned first hand from experience...divide your carbs up into the 3 or 4 meals...and always try to make your evening meal your lightest in calories and carbs. I lost 7 lbs in a couple of weeks recently just doing that. I actually started subbing a very low carb shake for supper and woosh the weight starting falling off. Good luck!
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