Low Carb help, please
jennyvalentine4
Posts: 15 Member
I'm getting frustrated. I've cut out all sugar, only occasionally using stevia in my tea or coffee, I have only had a bite of bread, literally have had no bread except a bite of a soft pretzel, no grains but a few bites of a bean and rice mix from Popeyes but I didn't eat the entire thing because it was gross, in a month the only dessert I've had were two pieces of cheesecake, and strawberry milk ice from Doimo twice. I haven't been logging for a month but I've been eating low carb for a month. I did eat a couple banana chips while feeding my bunnies, but it was only one or two. WTH! ☹️ I'm starting to add significant walking to see if that will help. Aiming for 5 miles per day, split up so I don't get too tired or sore. I have lower back problems and too much walking will cause me a great deal of pain but I was able to walk 11 miles the other day, split up between 3 outings. I was sore the next two days but not as bad as usual so that was a plus. Please someone tell me what I'm doing wrong. I'm so tired of being in pain and I know that losing some weight will help significantly.
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Replies
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Also, things going against me...
I'm 35
I had a hysterectomy 10 yrs ago
I take Cymbalta for major depression
I have sleep apnea
And I currently live in a foreign country where I don't speak the language and know no one but my family.0 -
Well for one thing, you don't necessarily need to do low carb to lose weight. To lose weight, all you need is a calorie deficit. So unless there's some medical reason to do low carb, it's completely unnecessary. I've lost about 60 pounds and I sure as heck don't always watch my carbs lol!
Secondly, if you're newer to exercise, jumping right in and doing 5 miles a day is probably too much. Exercise is another one of those things that is unnecessary for weight loss. I mean, it's good for you and your body, but to lose weight all you need is to reduce your calories and you can ease in to exercise, especially If it's causing you pain. I would reduce it to maybe a max of maybe walking for a half hour a day for a while and see how that goes.1 -
Agreed that if you have medical issues/backpain to start off slowly. If you are not trained then it is so easy to overdo it. When I first started walking I had major soreness I built it up to a daily routine over 4 months.
Furthermore Are you tracking your calories here? Weighing everything and tracking honestly? In the end it is about CICO and not about low carb.0 -
If you are outside of the US be careful with the food labels. I don;t know where you are, but odds are good that the fiber is already being taken out of the carb count.
so in the US a label that says 12g carbs /11 g fiber means there is 1 g carbs. In most foreign countries I've been to that same label means there are 12g carbs (in American it would read 23g c/11 g fiber)
All that to say, you may not be as low carb as you think you are.1 -
How many calories are you eating
Start there
Start to weigh and log everything you eat
Weigh on a digital scale
If eating out, look up nutritional guidelines, if you can't find them try to choose sensibly and guesstimate ...try to avoid eating out
You need to eat at defecit
Low carb is a way to hit your defecit but it is more than possible to low carb and put on weight if you eat more calories than you need to
Also the moving more and gentle walking is a good thing...keep that up
But log for 2-3 weeks ..then review ...aI'm for accuracy and double checking against other food databases
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Okay, so you STILL don't need to be low carb to lose weight. Are you doing this for a medical reason? Because it's only calories in/calories out to lose weight.
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If you've been eating low carb for a month but not logging, you have no idea how many calories you're eating. Carbs or no carbs, you won't lose weight if you're not in a calorie deficit.
Log your calories for 2-3 weeks and see where you are. Make adjustments as necessary. If you find it easier to stay in a calorie deficit by eating low carb, go for it! But carbs alone won't have any effect on your weight loss.1 -
daremightythings wrote: »If you've been eating low carb for a month but not logging, you have no idea how many calories you're eating. Carbs or no carbs, you won't lose weight if you're not in a calorie deficit.
Log your calories for 2-3 weeks and see where you are. Make adjustments as necessary. If you find it easier to stay in a calorie deficit by eating low carb, go for it! But carbs alone won't have any effect on your weight loss.
^^^^ This! How do you know how many calories you are eating if you aren't logging? I do what is considered low carb, but I watch my calories first. You cannot lose weight doing low carb if you are not in a deficit. I do low carb because I have pcos and am insulin resistant, plus post menopausal and low vitamin D.1 -
Thank you all for the responses! I am going low carb for medical reasons. It was recommended by my dr. I have been fighting with my weight since I was very young and I eat healthy. I understand the CICO is a necessity. On this app it says I should eat around 1700 calories to lose 1 pound per week. It's rare that I eat that many calories let alone go over. I used to be able to walk a lot! 10+ miles per day was no problem due to my job. I think I will start a little slower tho as suggested so I don't hurt. Also I think I will buy a food scale as I estimate most of my portion sizes and I'll check multiple food databases to make sure I'm not consuming more carbs than I think. I'm not in the US right now.
Any other tips and tricks are greatly appreciated!1 -
jennyvalentine4 wrote: »Thank you all for the responses! I am going low carb for medical reasons. It was recommended by my dr. I have been fighting with my weight since I was very young and I eat healthy. I understand the CICO is a necessity. On this app it says I should eat around 1700 calories to lose 1 pound per week. It's rare that I eat that many calories let alone go over. I used to be able to walk a lot! 10+ miles per day was no problem due to my job. I think I will start a little slower tho as suggested so I don't hurt. Also I think I will buy a food scale as I estimate most of my portion sizes and I'll check multiple food databases to make sure I'm not consuming more carbs than I think. I'm not in the US right now.
Any other tips and tricks are greatly appreciated!
you're eating more than you think if you're not weighing your food.3 -
Perhaps. I'll see when I start weighing.0
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No offense, but that's a lot of slip ups for low carb. Have you done your research? Are you eating enough healthy fats?
If you need that much dessert, perhaps low carb isn't for you?2 -
Yep, weigh your food and you will see you are eating more than you think most likely. Don't forget to weigh/measure oils and what not.
If you want to go low carb, have a blast...but you gotta make sure your calorie counts are on target. That is 98% of the process. The rest is minutia.1 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »No offense, but that's a lot of slip ups for low carb. Have you done your research? Are you eating enough healthy fats?
If you need that much dessert, perhaps low carb isn't for you?
Thank you for being so positive. If you have to start your comment with "no offense"then your comment is not constructive. I asked for help not insults and yes I've done plenty of research in fact I've seen 2 dietitians and God only knows how many Drs I've seen. Due to medical issues, this is my last resort before a majorly surgery that I would rather not have. Yes I eat and use healthy fats, olive oil and coco nut oil, I even use coconut flour when needed. I sometimes will use butter but rarely and I don't own any vegetable oil. I don't crave sweets but I don't think one dessert per week is bad for someone just starting. I have been out to eat 2 times only, once was for a party, the trip to Popeyes was because we were traveling. I count calories and I count carbs.0 -
jennyvalentine4 wrote: »I haven't been logging for a month but I've been eating low carb for a month.
this is your issue
low carb is helpful to alot of people for a variety of reasons, but in and of itself it is not magic. Calories in vs calories out is the equation you need to pay attention to in order to lose weight, and it is very easy to eat way more calories than you require for maintenance while low carbing. If there is a particular reason you are on low carb then keep it as part of you plan, but if not I would say ditch it, and focus on logging (accurately!) and see where that gets you instead.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide#latest
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Everyone cheats sometimes on diets so do not worry! Forgive yourself and do not make the same mistake tomorrow. That's life.
2 things:
1. For me it was not about how many calories I was eating, but what the actual food was. My goal is 1,200 calories a day. I used to eat things like lean cuisines, 100 calorie pack cookies, nature valley protein bars...all processed food. I changed my diet to "paleo" and saw drastic differences in my health and weight loss. I now eat the same amount of calories if not more but I am eating "real" food such as fresh fruit and vegetables and a lot of meat! I try to focus on living a paleo lifestyle instead of focusing on being on a diet. Diets do not last for most people; therefore, you must make a lifestyle change!
2. Low carb is not necessarily the best plan for all people. Different people's bodies respond in different ways. Low carb has worked great for me, but my dad does not get the same results with low carb. He is on a low fat diet and that has helped him with weight loss. There is scientific literature on this and how different bodies respond to different diets.
(I have a masters in public health if that makes anything I say more trustworthy)3 -
jennyvalentine4 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »No offense, but that's a lot of slip ups for low carb. Have you done your research? Are you eating enough healthy fats?
If you need that much dessert, perhaps low carb isn't for you?
Thank you for being so positive. If you have to start your comment with "no offense"then your comment is not constructive. I asked for help not insults and yes I've done plenty of research in fact I've seen 2 dietitians and God only knows how many Drs I've seen. Due to medical issues, this is my last resort before a majorly surgery that I would rather not have. Yes I eat and use healthy fats, olive oil and coco nut oil, I even use coconut flour when needed. I sometimes will use butter but rarely and I don't own any vegetable oil. I don't crave sweets but I don't think one dessert per week is bad for someone just starting. I have been out to eat 2 times only, once was for a party, the trip to Popeyes was because we were traveling. I count calories and I count carbs.
Whoa. They said "no offense" because tone does not convey well in strictly textual form. There is no real way to "say it gently" with text. But, I was thinking the same thing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you mentioned 7 different slip ups in a month, nearly twice a week. That's kind of a lot. In fact, I personally notice if I slip up, that I will have water weight regain that lasts a few days before it drops back down. So, if you are slipping up an average of twice per week, you probably are holding water weight. Refrain from all slip ups for a couple of weeks straight just to see if this is the issue. Personally, I still lose weight even with the slip ups. I just lose it very slowly, and I make that choice consciously when I eat whatever it is that isn't on plan. I also can't eat as many calories as you. I'm 5'5", 43 years old, and currently around 196lbs. I have to keep it around 1500 to lose 1 pound per week. Best of luck to you.3 -
My body seems to be more successful on lower carb eating..everyone is different !Some people are sensitive to too many carbs3
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BABetter1... This MFP app is where I figured the 1700 calories. But I'm the same height and weight as you and it's difficult for me to eat that many calories without forcing myself to add more. Maybe I'll try to reduce my calories to around 1500 also.
I guess I did get a little worked up but it took a lot for me to ask for advice. I appreciate your encouragement in your response. This is hard. I'm sure everyone can list a million reasons why losing weight is difficult. I am not offended by constructive criticism at all. In fact I appreciate for someone to tell me why I'm messing up, I want to be successful. I prefer advice that is helpful not hurtful, I do that enough to myself.1 -
Oh, jennyvalentine4, I am also very sedentary. It seems like you might be more active than me, which would account for the additional calories you can eat. I am just starting to exercise, literally, just yesterday I started.
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If Dr. wants you to do low carb, you might try joining the group for low carb/high fat support, here is the link to the launch pad they use. It has lots of great links, recipes, and books listed. Very knowledgeable group.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10103966/start-here-the-lcd-launch-pad#latest
Keep in mind if you go too low carb you might not be able to follow the diet for an extended period of time. Some do wonderfully well with 40C/30P/30F. Others much less carb.
To get an idea of a low carb meal plan check out the atkins.com site, it has a couple of plans for two weeks to get you started on low carb. One is 20 net carbs per week the other, 40 net carbs. It will give you some good ideas on how to construct a decent meal or snack. You will need to adapt to what is available for you where you are at, but I personally found this extremely helpful.
Also, you must love yourself and your body more. We all need to do that to succeed. We abuse ourselves far too often. That is why so many of us end up losing some then getting back into our abuse behavior and adding them and more lbs. back.
All the best on your Journey.3 -
jennyvalentine4 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »No offense, but that's a lot of slip ups for low carb. Have you done your research? Are you eating enough healthy fats?
If you need that much dessert, perhaps low carb isn't for you?
Thank you for being so positive. If you have to start your comment with "no offense"then your comment is not constructive. I asked for help not insults and yes I've done plenty of research in fact I've seen 2 dietitians and God only knows how many Drs I've seen. Due to medical issues, this is my last resort before a majorly surgery that I would rather not have. Yes I eat and use healthy fats, olive oil and coco nut oil, I even use coconut flour when needed. I sometimes will use butter but rarely and I don't own any vegetable oil. I don't crave sweets but I don't think one dessert per week is bad for someone just starting. I have been out to eat 2 times only, once was for a party, the trip to Popeyes was because we were traveling. I count calories and I count carbs.
Best of luck on your journey.1 -
Get yourself a food scale and you will see that you're more than likely eating more than you think. What you "think" or "see" as being a small portion may very well result in double the calories. So you may be recording that you ate 250 calories, but in actuality, it's more like 500. That's a huge difference, obviously.
Use a food scale for a good 4-6 weeks and see what happens. I bet you will have lost some weight.2 -
Just picked up a food scale!
let the enlightenment begin. Also I found the link on how to log food properly on here very useful! 8 -
jennyvalentine4 wrote: »Just picked up a food scale! let the enlightenment begin. Also I found the link on how to log food properly on here very useful!
Nice!
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OP, I strongly encourage you to check out the following main low carber daily forum group here in MFP. It's where most of us Ketofiles (low carbers) tend to hang out:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/discussions/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group3 -
OP, I strongly encourage you to check out the following main low carber daily forum group here in MFP. It's where most of us Ketofiles (low carbers) tend to hang out:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/discussions/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
There are also a few good ones on FB. Lots of low carb recipes there.0 -
I am LC and discovered that yes, total calories matter. Thus I track. But the key to prevent me from cheating was the High Fat. 75-85% to be exact. Protein at 15% and 5-7% in carbs from dark green veggies. So far, this macro balance has been more effective for me than the other methods. Some of the other Macro ratios still worked, but this High Fat thing seems to have eliminated my desire to cheat on sweeties and carbs. Truth in advertising, I'm also mixing in Intermittent fasting to the experiment. But so far, 48lbs lost and 122 to go. My journal is open to the public if you want to see what i'm eating and when.
Funny story, I heard of people saying if you eat high fat, you cannot overeat. Not really a believer in that yet, but last night was my first time experiencing that exact truth. I was around 75% fat in my meals (I only eat once a day in the evenings) and it was my high calorie day (1900 cals allowed plus 1/2 of my exercise calories) as I alternate 1450 cals 3 days a week and 1900 cals the other days. I could not eat all my calories! I was stuffed! Unreal. HF for me has been really, really satisfying and calming. High energy and steady all day long. No carb induced mood swings up and down anymore.
Lastly, I think it helps to plan my meals in MFP when I get up in the morning or the night before. Feels like I have a game plan for the day instead of just logging what I eat without really planning it. Seems to help me stay on track. Best to you, keep curious!2 -
I see a lot of info here but not so much the fundamentals of getting your body to work.
My first question would be asking how many meals are you eating per day? With a sedentary life style, you need to kick up your metabolism. You need to retrain your body that you will consistently feed it so that it will burn the calories properly. If you eat sporadically, you are training your body to conserve as it doesn't know when it will get the energy again so in reality the cells will actually store fat instead of burning it regardless of how little you might eat.
I eat 6 times per day and use 150-200 calorie snacks that the body has to burn to break up (veggies like celery etc). And a slow calorie burner as your last snack before bed like cottage cheese or yogurt. Slowly but consistently bring in exercise and your metabolism will kick in. Counting steps is a great first step that will reward you with calories, get your metabolism moving and won't make you too sore to do it every day. After a couple weeks you can advance to other cardio workouts.
But to get the food part down, You need to figure out your total caloric intake and start dividing up into as many meals as you can.
It takes about 3-4 days to get your body used to it and your family needs to encourage you.
Anyways, I wish you the best and feel free to reach out.1 -
I'm gonna add you! I just started doing a 90 day low can KISS (Keep It Simple Sisster) challenge and at first while ur body is detoxing off all that stuff yes it is hard so the first couple weeks it's more of a mind of matter thing but after that it's much easier! Make sure you are weighing what you eat like has been said and all those little carb thinhs add up quickly and spike ur blood sugar which counteracts the whole low car point0
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