Looking for Low carbing friends, for help and support!!!

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  • LowCarbForLife
    LowCarbForLife Posts: 82 Member
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    So glad I found this thread!
    I have been on MFP for about a month and I think I need to go back to my low carb ways. I lost weight before, but always fell off the wagon.
    I would do less than 20 carbs a day for so long, lose some weight, then binge and gain it all back. Start the cycle again.

    I am sitting here this morning wondering if I need to do Atkins induction to jump start my weight loss. I just so very much miss good carbs. I could eat a giant bow, of fruit each day ( and do usually). I have a weakness for tortilla chips, but I can give those up easier than my favorite habanero almonds. :love:

    My question to all the other low carbers out there, is do I need to drop it down so low, or can I keep eating my berries?
    You may not be able to answer, but I would love to hear your experiences. I know that everyone is different, but I am so frustrated right now after logging everything for a month, working out 7 days a week and I have gained 6 pounds. That's a lot of weight to gain.
    I'm trying to listen to my body and it doesn't like what I am doing right now, that's for sure.

    Thanks everyone!

    Low-carb dieting isn't easy, that's for sure! I'm wondering if, when you did low-carb the first time, you let yourself have a cheat meal every once in awhile. I usually plan one cheat meal a week (e.g. date night with the wife) with the understanding that I'm going to reduce my calorie intake the next day and work out hard. This way, there's less guilt involved and less tendency to binge. It keeps the bad eating narrowed down to only one meal. Also makes you much choosier as to which carbs will be part of your cheat meal. I know I lose weight a little slower this way, but in the long run, it's not a race and it's more sustainable with my everyday living.

    Cheat days won't derail your fat loss but they will disguise it. When you start low carbing, like the Atkins induction period, and your body uses up its glycogen stores and starts to burn ketones for fuel, it will also rid itself of water retained by the glycogen. So when you "cheat" with carbs your body is going to convert them back to glycogen and consequently retain more water. That's one reason people starting low carb tend to drop weight very quickly at the beginning of the diet and also appear to have quick gains when they cheat or stop low carbing completely.

    IMO those gains and losses are mostly illusory water weight changes. You WILL lose body fat on the diet eventually if you stick with it.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Low-carb dieting isn't easy, that's for sure! I'm wondering if, when you did low-carb the first time, you let yourself have a cheat meal every once in awhile. I usually plan one cheat meal a week (e.g. date night with the wife) with the understanding that I'm going to reduce my calorie intake the next day and work out hard. This way, there's less guilt involved and less tendency to binge. It keeps the bad eating narrowed down to only one meal. Also makes you much choosier as to which carbs will be part of your cheat meal. I know I lose weight a little slower this way, but in the long run, it's not a race and it's more sustainable with my everyday living.

    I never "allowed" myself a cheat meal, I would just cheat and then beat myself up about it. I would then say, "well, I already blew it today, so..."

    I'm going to try the Atkins induction phase for only 14 days. I can do it if I know that there is a light at then end of the tunnel. Hopefully I can convince my body that i am going to listen to it so that we can work together. :laugh:

    At the end of the two weeks, I plan on starting to slowly add more carbs in. That's what I never did last time. I never worked on adding them in, it was all or nothing and I think that's where my failure stems from.

    Thanks everyone!
    I'd highly suggest that you follow some of the suggestions on the Atkins site when you're done with your two weeks. They have some great advice for slowly adding carbs back in, 5 grams per week, as you work your way toward your goal weight.
  • NotTomorrowToday
    NotTomorrowToday Posts: 13
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    Hey, I'm trying to lower carb intake to! Haha, I'm not even sure what to call it. What I'm doing though is for 2 weeks I'm limiting to one carb per day, so like a wrap at lunch or a piece of bread I like using my carb at lunch it seems to be easier. But yeah, I took that method from a diet I went on a little bit ago. Hope it helped! PS, I'll add you. :D

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