I'm doing it wrong ... somehow.

@Helsin

Your first post really impressed me! You listed 6 (poss more) benefits that you are experiencing from LCHF! Six!!! And one of them was an easy transition from smoker to non! That is astonishing. It must be marvellous to be free (?) of IBS too. Those are some serious benefits.

Regarding the weightloss, I don't know your weight, or BMI (and you don't have to tell me), but weight loss really boils down to your size and the number of calories you take in. At my size, 2000 would mean a little weight loss, but for a smaller (shorter, lighter, lower BMI) that might mean no loss or even gain. And it is worth remembering that your 151g of fat equates to 9 cal/g which equals 1359 calories, just on fat.

In addition, most people who lose weight rapidly at the start of a low carb diet, are not losing fat. They are losing significant amounts of glycogen, held in the liver and the large muscles. Glycogen is a combination of glucose and water (1/4 glucose, 3/4 water). It is a reserve that the body uses first, when you start low carbing. As it gets used up, your belly shrinks and your legs and arms slim slightly - most people actually feel the difference. When the glycogen is used up, the rapid weight loss slows, and the long haul begins, because this is when you start losing body fat.

So, have you experienced the glycogen loss? If not, then your body is still getting enough carbs that it doesn't need to raid its stores for glycogen, and you are not moving towards ketosis.

If that is the case, then you need to cut carbs further if you want to lose weight.

I am one of those lucky individuals who needs lower carbs than most. I GAIN on what other people consider low carb. I will only lose on a ridiculously small amount of carbs. It is one of the reasons I don't give two hoots about my weight. Life is too **** short for the torturous aggro of cutting carbs enough to lose weight. I am HAPPY with the many other benefits of LCHF. Weight loss is a delight and a surprise, if it happens, but I don't look for it.

Sorry I can't offer any easy solutions

I am sure it will become second nature once you get the hang of it. All the best, Helsin

Helsin said:

Thank you, Brunneria, you always seem to try to put a positive spin in your answers. I'm not sure I credit lchf with giving up cigarettes. That bit of magic is due to Vapesticks, so I haven't actually given up all nicotine. My BMI is 36 - it's in my signature - so I really do need to lose a good deal of weight. The IBS was a big problem (!) and disappeared altogether for a while, but has returned to an occasional and largely manageable degree.

Click to expand...

I met a vapestick thingy for the first time on Friday. (Shows you what a sheltered life I lead )

Pink and smelling of bubblegum and cherries. Fascinating. I must admit that I wanted to play with it as an accessory, so I do understand... Ace toy!

http://www.dietdoctor.com/calorie-calorie-even-close
Weight loss is more about working with your hormones than about calories in-calories out. What makes LCHF work so well for both bg control and weight loss is the fact we need much less insulin and the leptin level will normalise, for example.

Totto said:

http://www.dietdoctor.com/calorie-calorie-even-close
Weight loss is more about working with your hormones than about calories in-calories out. What makes LCHF work so well for both bg control and weight loss is the fact we need much less insulin and the leptin level will normalise, for example.

Click to expand...

But if you eat more than your body needs, you will either gain weight or stay the same weight,

If you have a big enough food/calorie deficit you lose. As I know to my cost, hormones play a part, as do water retention, carbs, low carbs, fat calories, ketosis... many, many factors. But we all lose weight at a certain calorie intake. That's why the Newcastle Diet is so popular.

Well, unless you're a Breatharian, of course!

Brunneria said:

But if you eat more than your body needs, you will either gain weight or stay the same weight,

If you have a big enough food/calorie deficit you lose. As I know to my cost, hormones play a part, as do water retention, carbs, low carbs, fat calories, ketosis... many, many factors. But we all lose weight at a certain calorie intake. That's why the Newcastle Diet is so popular.

Well, unless you're a Breatharian, of course!

Click to expand...

If you starve you will loose weight but the body will fight against it and you will be hungry all the time. That is why so many find it close to impossible to do low calorie diets, even more so as they often are high carb and low fat and carbs stimulate hunger as your leptin resistance increases. On LCHF, on the other hand, you get the satiation from fat and very little insulin so your body can use the stored fat. Insulin stops this, so we want to lower the insulin level. And your sensitivity to leptin increases.

There is a host of hormones involved in this and may even be some that aren't discovered yet. So on LCHF we work with our hormones while calorie restriction works against.

And then the link I posted above, that on a high fat diet the body actually burns a lot more energy than on a high carb diet.

I agree.

And for anyone wishing to lose weight, the bottom line is that they must eat less energy (fewer calories) than their body needs.

Thanks. I've just made a cheeky little edit.

Like others have said, I don't think LCHF is a licence to eat what you like and still expect to lose weight. 2000 calories would see me piling the weight on and I'm trying to stick to around an average of 1200 even though I've a lot of weight to lose. I've been working on the principle of filling at least half my plate with vegetables of the low carb variety and the rest whatever is the main meal , such as chilli , curry , steak etc. I've taken to making own coleslaw with natural yogurt and spoonful mayo so I get more for my calories and using a good homemade olive oil and cider vinegar dressing to flavour my lunchtime salads so I don't feel deprived. Use herbs and spices to flavour your food so that a little is still very appetite filling. I also dug out my kitchen scales having bought a copy of carbs and cals and it is frightening how small a normal sized portion really is compared to what I was packing away. It's all about resetting your taste buds and appetite and it will take time. I know all too well the despondency of wanting the weight gone now, but you didn't put it on overnight and it won't vanish overnight either.

A spoon of fat or oil when hungry:craving. 60 gm protein and more fat should be better

Helsin, if you're getting frustrated about not losing weight, then I think trying the Newcastle Diet or something similar is a great idea. Everybody's metabolism is different, so maybe yours needs a real kick to shock it into action?

I've found after losing a lot of weight initially,it's now more or less slowed down. I believe this is due to me reaching a "maintenance level" for my current still rather large size. I also think there's a point too where the amount of fat (and the carbs) that you are eating is sufficient for your body to use for its required energy, so it's not finding it neccessary to raid your "stored fat larder" any more. So as has already been said, you need to reduce your daily calories. The art for me (and probably for you too!) is going to be to decide what best to reduce in the way of carbs (which are low anyway), fat. or protein, as I need to keep my fat intake sufficient (a) to keep me feeling nicely full, and (b) to maintain ketosis. And I think we each have to decide this on an individaul basis as I don't really believe there's a one diet fits all.

Robbity

PS I'm also telling myself that it's no bad thing for my body to have a little rest, so that it gets used to a new reduced weight me before it sets off on its next downwards expedition.