needing direction
joyfullee
Posts: 23 Member
I have been doing atkins for 4 weeks now. At one point within the first two weeks, I lost 10 lbs, but my weight has been fluctuating the last two weeks, between 7-10 lbs. I have been pretty strict, staying within 20 carbs a day. Not seeing more weightloss results has had me strive for zero carb days, but even that and still no weight loss for two weeks. Can anyone give me some tips or advice? (And I have condition with my feet that makes working out at this point very painful. I'm hoping more weight loss will make working out more easy.)
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What are your macros set at? How many cals a day?1
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How much do you have to lose in all?0
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Plus, read my post in this thread.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10343997/losing-weight-too-quickly#latest0 -
You might want to consider CICO, too.0
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According to charts, I should loose 100 lbs. My calories for the day are set on 1400. I haven't really paid much attention to the macros, because I can't the settings to save. I just keep a close eye on the carbs and the calories. I have no idea what CICO stands for...
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CICO = Calories In, Calories Out.
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A few more questions will help us to help you.
Are you diabetic or pre diabetic? Insulin resistant? Do you ever have low blood sugar episodes, get "the shakes" between meals or anything? Have PCOS?
These will help determine if there could be any particular, next level, sensitivity to carbs. Because if so, then your protein intake will matter more than it does for people that are less carb sensitive.
With that said, you may as well take a look at what your general fat and protein is on an average day.
But, 10 pounds in a month is great! Did you read the post I made in the link I provided?
It's really quite normal to lose for a week, "appear to gain" for a couple , maybe sit still for some time too before losing again. It's possible that you don't need to make any adjustments at all. But we are happy to help figure it out.
Is your diary open? I can't check on mobile unless we're friends. Feel free to send me a request of you want.0 -
Some other questions that will help us help you:
(1) How tall are you?
(2) What is your current weight?
(3) What is your goal weight?
(4) Do you use a digital food scale to weigh all your food?
(5) Do you exercise? If so, what kind of exercise, how often and how long?0 -
I'm not sure what CICO stands for?blacktie347 wrote: »You might want to consider CICO, too.
Someone else helpfully answered for me
Now, with eating around 1,400 calories per day, you should lose, steadily, week in and week out, regardless of exercise (assuming that's you in your picture). However, just one day of eating "off" the diet, like maybe 5,000 calories for just one day a week (which is remarkably easy to do) or not counting calories pretty carefully (which not everyone here recommends - there are varying opinions on counting calories with LCHF), and it's easy to maintain or even gain a bit.
It's especially easy to eat more than 1,400 calories per day if you're eating meals that you don't prepare yourself, so you know everything that goes into it. I'd consider looking into reviewing what you're eating, and writing down all of the ingredients, into MFP, and see what it really adds up to.
Also, I'd recommend only weighing yourself on one day per week, not daily, and at around the same time on that day - like Mondays at 3pm - wearing the same outfit. You should see a 1-2 pound loss per week, on average. If you don't, then something is up.
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I actually do recommend daily weigh ins. But, with the use of an averaging program like Happy Scale or Libra.
I think even weighing weekly can hide actual losses. For example, let's say I weighed every Monday...
The weight in the left is the daily scale weight. The weight on the right is the daily average of the last week.
Oh no! Looks like I've gained weight! But, I haven't. It's normal fluctuations. I need to see the big picture and the best way to do that is weigh in daily, record it in an app that averages it for you. Then you see stuff like this.
I've actually lost weight this month, even though I'm currently weighing a bit higher right now. It's water and hormones and stuff in my gut.
I also like the milestone tracker. You can make as many milestones as you want. This app is Happy Scale
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Both approaches are valid 0
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Im 5' 6", 269 lbs, goal is 180 lbs. I used to get the shakes between meals but not since doing low carb. I have been diagnosed years ago with mild pcos. Im not able to do more than walk right now because of medical issue with my feet. And theres snow, so not much exersize right now.0
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Sunny, im going to try your app. Blacktie, thank you for your calorie help..I'm going to tact things better in my journal. Maybe I'm getting hidden carbs..0
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Excellent - that should help a lot. Although tracking carbs is important to help in many ways - reduce appetite, avoid diabetes, improve cholesterol, and other ways - it's also (in my humble opinion) important to track CICO - calories in and calories out. So you can determine your "Calories Out" by looking up your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure - which is based on several factors - and then if your "Calories In" is also lower than your "Calories Out", you'll generally lose weight. On this diet plan, you'll reduce your intake of calories, pretty naturally. For example, butter is fine, but no one would eat a stick of butter...it's easy to overeat calories when putting butter on a carb, like bread, or a grain, like corn on the cob. So you may want to consider counting both carbs and calories, ensuring your carbs are "generally" low (I keep my carb intake around 50-100 per day) and your calories are lower than your daily energy expenditure.
^^ all just my humble opinion 0 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I actually do recommend daily weigh ins. But, with the use of an averaging program like Happy Scale or Libra.
I think even weighing weekly can hide actual losses. For example, let's say I weighed every Monday...
The weight in the left is the daily scale weight. The weight on the right is the daily average of the last week.
Oh no! Looks like I've gained weight! But, I haven't. It's normal fluctuations. I need to see the big picture and the best way to do that is weigh in daily, record it in an app that averages it for you. Then you see stuff like this.
I've actually lost weight this month, even though I'm currently weighing a bit higher right now. It's water and hormones and stuff in my gut.
I also like the milestone tracker. You can make as many milestones as you want. This app is Happy Scale
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Can I just say, your comments and explanations are always so helpful and informative! Thank you!0 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I actually do recommend daily weigh ins. But, with the use of an averaging program like Happy Scale or Libra.
I think even weighing weekly can hide actual losses. For example, let's say I weighed every Monday...
The weight in the left is the daily scale weight. The weight on the right is the daily average of the last week.
Oh no! Looks like I've gained weight! But, I haven't. It's normal fluctuations. I need to see the big picture and the best way to do that is weigh in daily, record it in an app that averages it for you. Then you see stuff like this.
I've actually lost weight this month, even though I'm currently weighing a bit higher right now. It's water and hormones and stuff in my gut.
I also like the milestone tracker. You can make as many milestones as you want. This app is Happy Scale
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Can I just say, your comments and explanations are always so helpful and informative! Thank you!
Thank you!
The stalling issue really hits home for me because I have felt the disappointment myself. Someone else told me about this app and it helped, but then I even saw the average weight go up sometimes and I felt the disappointment again. I had to learn to always look at the big picture and I have to remind myself this quite often as well
It's really hard to see that the ups and slow down aren't necessarily stalling. I honestly don't think I would have gotten a better understanding of my weight fluctuations without daily weigh ins and that app.0 -
Im 5' 6", 269 lbs, goal is 180 lbs. I used to get the shakes between meals but not since doing low carb. I have been diagnosed years ago with mild pcos. Im not able to do more than walk right now because of medical issue with my feet. And theres snow, so not much exersize right now.
So it does sound you're a bit carb sensitive. I would watch protein intake. Just not to overdo it. You don't need a whole lot if you're not exercising. Have you tried one of the macro calculators in the launch pad to see how much protein is suggested and to determine estimated TDEE?0 -
Hi Joyful! (Love the name!!) I'm going to throw my 2 cents in for what it's worth. I personally think 1400 is too low. I'm 6'0", 237 and eating 1700 per day (allowing myself 20% error rate, so more like 2000+). I have slowed down this winter because I'm working a desk job and doing 0 exercise. I still average 10# loss per month (think about it in terms of 120# over a year ... 10# is GREAT!). HOWEVER, that being said, I did just discover that my protein was pretty high (left over habit from when I was running 3-4 days a week in the fall). I lowered it last week and increased fat and saw a nice drop on the scale. I think there are so many variables for so many different types of people that you just have to be willing to tweak things and try different ways. When I start running again (if it ever stops snowing), I'll have to remember to increase protein again. Good luck - it's like an ever changing puzzle - just when you think you've got it all figured out, the rules change!0
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Oh, and snacking (or eating 5-6 small meals a day) will stall me EVERY time. Each time you eat, your body produces insulin. As I understand it, you have to burn up that insulin spike first before body fat. I choose to eat twice daily, good satiating meals that only cause 2 insulin spikes a day, thus giving my body more time in fat burning mode.0
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Thanks for all the great info. I'm just starting out with low carb eating after having alot of frustration with counting calories only; 4 lbs in 6 weeks is too discouraging. I'd be ever so grateful if any of you could add me to your friends list so I can see what you are eating to be successful. I'm mostly saving low carb recipes from pinterest at the moment. Have an awesome day.0
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MimiOfTheLusciousLawn wrote: »Oh, and snacking (or eating 5-6 small meals a day) will stall me EVERY time. Each time you eat, your body produces insulin. As I understand it, you have to burn up that insulin spike first before body fat. I choose to eat twice daily, good satiating meals that only cause 2 insulin spikes a day, thus giving my body more time in fat burning mode.
The snacking maybe my problem, especially dark chocolate. I think I'll have bigger meals have the chocolate if need be as dessert of the meal. I am going to have to play around with this and see if I can break out of this stall.0
This discussion has been closed.