Slow Weight loss on Low carb diet

Hi Debs

First of all, congratulations on your BG levels and on coming off some of your meds - well done!

You say you have been following the diet for 3 months and that you had good weight loss initially, slowing down to approx. 1 lb per week, which is a good steady rate of loss. How much have you actually lost in the 3 months? and how much exercise are you doing? I can't exercise much, but there is no doubt that it helps a bit with weight loss and makes you feel better, even just going for a half-hour walk every day.

Just out of interest, have you worked out how many carbs you consumed in the meal you described? Carrots and celeriac are not in the veg list, and even with small portions you may have pushed your carb consumption up a bit without really knowing it. It's easy to do - I know! I'd calculate the carbs myself but I've lost my Carb Counter book among all the Christmas wrappings!

It is not unusual to "plateau" after a period of successful weight loss, so you are not alone. Usually things start up again of their own accord, but sometimes you have to give them a nudge. Atkins recommends a 'fat fast' which I must admit I have never tried. You could try my soup and eggs diet brought on by a tooth abcess - I lost 6lb last week and can recommend the diet if not the cause!

Unfortunately our bodies can run on alcohol for a day or so before going back to burning fat, so even your very low consumption may delay weight loss. Mine has been much slower than the first time around, and while I probably have insulin resistance as well (and that does slow weight loss), I think the fact that I haven't stopped drinking completely this time has had an effect.

In my experience winter is a bad time for weight loss, and Christmas time particularly. My advice to you would be not to worry too much. Don't spoil your Christmas by agonizing over weight. This is a time to review what you have achieved, set more goals, and carry on for next year. For example - in the last 18 months I have controlled my BG levels, lost 57lbs and dropped my BMI by almost 10 points. That's a 4 stone loss - but I have 6 more to lose, and it won't happen overnight (how awful and saggy I'd be if it did!). I had achieved the 4 stone loss by last September, in fact, and have been up a bit, down a bit ever since. I expect the next 2 stones will take the whole of 2012 - which is approximately 0.5 lb per week!

Have you tried a review? How many dress sizes have you dropped so far? How much have you lost in total? Try calculating your before-and-after BMI just to see what a difference you've made - there's a calculator on the site that does it for you. You might be surprised at just how much you've achieved.

The most important thing in this effort is controlling your BGs, and you've got that well in hand. I bet your HCPs were impressed! Try not to obsess about your weight. It can be very frustrating when the loss grinds to a halt, but you will get there, and if it comes off slowly, not only is it more likely to stay off, but your skin has more chance to shrink a bit. Enjoy your Christmas while still being careful, and pick up again on January 2nd 2012.

Viv 8)

PS I don't intend to get weighed until January 9th - no point in making myself feel miserable!

Hi Debs,
Yes - me too. I started out about 4 stones overweight and lost a stone before I was diagnosed (losing weight is a diabetic complication? - and thats Bad for a Type 2? - I dont get it). Then lost another stone on a low glycaemic diet (maybe my blood sugars were still too high?)

Since I went onto a very low carb diet my blood sugars have come down really well, though not as low as yours, probably because I am not taking any medication. BUT... big but... only lost 5 pounds in four months.

You do not mention your age, but I think that after a certain age our bodies are more interested in being healthy than in being slim. All the research shows that moderately overweight older people are actually healthier. That would be a BMI of 25 to 28.

If your low carb diet, like mine, is healthy and fairly calorific and is keeping you blood sugars good, there is not really a problem. I have a theory, the opposite of Viv's, that it is easier to lose weight in the winter, because our Northern European bodies are pre-programmed to burn fat stores in the winter. So after Christmas you could have a go at dropping the actual calories (not a lot, just about 200) and see where that takes you. It is what I am going to do. Shall we compare notes?

Also are you exercising? I do not personally believe that exercise helps you lose weight. It improves blood sugar, and makes you feel better, but also makes you hungrier. So I concentrate on being active, rather than burning calories. Plenty of people will disagree with that, again, I suspect that is to do with age, and body type.

I think you are doing brilliantly - Angela

Different things suit different people, Debs. I agree with Spendercat about our bodies burning more fat in the winter - I think winter weight loss is more difficult because I want to eat more comfort food and less salad!

Yes, with an Atkins-based diet there is no need to count calories, but once you come off Induction (ie my Modified diet) you do need to count carbs, and as I say, it's all too easy for a few extra to creep in. Also, we react differently to different foods - I've found that nuts, however much I control my intake (difficult!) stop me losing weight. Even if I weigh out a careful 5grams -a pitiful quantity - the weight stays stubbornly in place.

I'm not a gym fanatic, by the way, and if you're 'active' you may well be doing enough. There are various arguments that it takes a lot of exercise to shift a bit of weight, though there is no doubt that it ups your metabolic rate which must be good. The first time I did Atkins I got an Irish Wolfhound 'exercise machine' to make me get out and walk - I was doing at least 15 miles a week, which was good for my muscle tone if nothing else. Sadly I can't do that any more, and am going to have to go to the gym to use the exercise bike, which is about all I can manage.

I forgot to mention that as far as I can tell, our bodies much prefer the status quo, and after initial weight loss can really dig in their heels and try to maintain their comfort zone. That's what mine seems to do any way.

If you enjoy this diet (by which I mean this way of eating) and it controls your BGs well, I'd stick to it. The weight will go. Let's compare notes after we've got Christmas over!

Viv 8)

Stick with it! You have to be very careful with veg carbs and also i have found that its that wretched exercise that does the trick! I am 9lbs off 3 stone loss and half of that has been thru low carbing. I vary from 1-2lbs to 4-5lbs loss every 2 weeks and it can be disheartening when i only lose 1lb. I go to the fridge get out a 1lb of butter and hold it repeating.....that 1 less 1lb i have to carry...do it with all the weight you have lost and you will be surprised how much it is!

This rings true for me, I'm in the same boat as Debs. Going low-carb has brought me superb readings but my spare tyre just won't shift.

When I was going to the gym I did find that I was needing carbs to replace what I'd lost or I'd faint, but that's for another thread...

I suspect the main fat-evils for me are peanuts and cheddar cheese (even though I eat only a few slices as part of my breakfast).

Now this is all subject to alteration in the light of ongoing research, but the current position on calories and a low carb diet is that when you reduce the amount of carbohydrate you eat, your appetite causes you to increase the fat content of your diet in order to maintain your energy balance. BUT fat is much more satisfying than carbohydrate so generally your calorie intake falls. (at least it does in rats, and when I counted calories up I discovered that I am eating about 1600 per day))
So in addition to no longer eating food that your body can convert to fat you are reducing your energy intake and your body burns stored fat to maintain its usual energy balance.
Eventually of course your metabolism finds a new balance - your protein and fat intake match your energy requirements and you no longer burn stored fat.
This, I take it, is the "plateau". So one solution would be to actually lower the amount of calories you consume and restart the fat burning process.
On the other hand successful dieters will tell you that you should not eat too little, as you will feel hungry, and your metabolism will slow catastrophically, therefore they suggest the lowering of your carbohydrate intake still further, thus altering the protein/fat balance to restart fat burning.

I think we deserve to relax a bit over Christmas. It's amazing, though, how quickly you get used to minimal carbs. I've never been one for sticky buns and puddings, and I'd far rather have cheese than dessert. One mince pie last Christmas sent me up to 11.1 :shock: Highest ever! so I shan't be eating those.

I expect to put a bit of weight on over Christmas (too much wine), but I aim to get it straight off again after New Year without giving it time to get established. I'm going to try another week on just soup and eggs - it worked while I was waiting to have my tooth out.

I'm exactly 17 stone today, and I've dropped my BMI by 10 points since diagnosis in April 2010. This time next year I intend to weigh exactly 15 stone.

Viv 8)

I thought I might relax a little bit too. At lunchtime I tried some of that cheese with fruit in it (stilton with apricot) with two oatbakes - then I fell asleep :yawn: and when I woke up my blood was up to 8.5! It has not been above 7.4 for months. Frightened myself

Watch the fancy cheeses - they add all kinds of things to protein foods at Christmas. Cranberry glazes and goodness knows what else.

I like my cheese straight, not with mixers :shock: . The Wensleydale Creamery (where they make the real stuff) do a Wensleydale with cranberries, which is just about okay (for me) on buttered digestive biscuits. I only tried it once. A bit like cheesecake - and I hate cheesecake.

Wensleydale eaten with Christmas cake is fabulous - do try it! The fat in the cheese helps offset the carbs in the cake :angel: :lol:

Viv 8)

edited to make sense!

Well done on no weight gain over Christmas, Debs . I wish I could say the same - unfortunately I went of the rails a bit

If you're losing weight again, stay on your present amount of carbs. You can always drop them a bit if you stick again. I do find a few extra carbs make me feel better in the winter.

Viv 8)

FWIW I've found low carb dieting to be slow going at times, and seems to come off in fits and starts rather than at an even rate. I did a low carb diet three years ago and lost two stone in 5 months but I did have a massive plateau in the middle though. All i know is, I was fat at the start and thin by the end of it so it did work.....until I put it all back again when pregnant as told not to low carb then (hmmm...not sure I should have believed them. If low carb diet is caveman diet, how did cave babies ever get born?)
I'm low carbing again now and whilst the scales say I've only lost 8 lbs it feels a lot more than that, my body feels thinner and firmer and people are commenting on my weight loss. Maybe i'm replacing fat with muscle - who knows?

Atkins advises measuring regularly - the usual 3 plus upper arm and upper thigh - becuase sometimes we can lose size without actually losing weight.

I 'feel' thinner too - mainly because the bits that used to be firm fat are now flabby fat :shock: :lol: :lol:

Viv 8)

Just a quick add on; Don't forget that if you are exercising you will be turning some fat into muscle! So, much better for you but no weight loss.

My diabetic husband & I have just started the low carb. I'm expecting the weight to fall off him :roll: but take longer for me to lose anything significant because I'm hypothyroidal, even though I'm the one getting more exercise as he's disabled.

Julia