ok....I started last Monday eating 1200 calories/day and I feel miserable! I feel bloated, swollen, and sluggish! I really believe it is due to the carbs (cereal, lean pockets, pasta, etc) >......I posted on the low carb board as I need some help. I have always felt better on low carb....I have more energy and the weight seems to come off quicker....I just have a hard time sticking with it. Anyone else have this problem? I guess I really just need to look up some recipes so it will be easier.

Keep talking and reading and asking questions. You will find what works best for you! I don't really have any suggestions BUT the comment that you made "I just have a hard time sticking with it" makes me concerned (as a mama with her baby chicks )

{me thinking} -----> I wonder if you could combine the both of them the 1200 calories and low carbs?

I also feel best on low-carb eating, and also have trouble sticking with it (which is partially why I'm losing so slow).

However, I feel so much better on lower carb, that I feel for me the wisest focus for me is learning to live with.

But, I also agree that combining low-carb with a backup plan like calorie counting can help (I try to follow an 1800 to 2000 calorie exchange plan that is also lower-carb).

Hillbillyhousewife website has several exchange plans of various carb-levels.
Basically, the lower carb plans just swap out some of the bread exchanges for protein exchanges.

What specific problems do you have staying with it? Carb cravings, not liking what you have to choose from, not wanting to do the necessary food prep...more info, please.

well, I guess I need to educate myself more on it and the various recipes for low-carb meals. Before, I just stuck with meat, cheese, eggs, and salad...with occasional apples and strawberries. I did lose a lot of weight on that but it is so restrictive. I am really ok with not eating breads....I think I really need to just buy a carb counter book so I know what is ok to eat and broaden my diet

Also, quick-prep meals and life can be too busy sometimes to prepare meals!

I would also recommend buying a low-carb diet plan book to follow. Two good ones are Atkins (New Diet Revolution pre-2002) and Metabolism Miracle. Others can suggest more, I'm sure. Also check the recipe threads on the low-carb section of the board.

thanks DCHound....did you lose your weight by doing low-carb? wow...you have lost a lot of weight! congrats !

The book that inspired me to not only count calories but to count carbs was Life Without Bread by Allen and Lutz. There was a myriad of health information in the book. It is really a health book rather than a diet plan book. I tried South Beach a few years ago and did not have success. I think the induction was tooo much.

I am doing my own thing without an induction and I feel good and like I can maintain this style of eating much more easily than when I was only counting cals and would be miserable and ravenous from blood sugar dips. I also had trouble trying to figure in exercise because I had to time it so I wouldn't be crashing as I was finishing exercising or I'd eat the house. I shoot for 20-25% or less of daily intake from carbs and I count all carbs (good or bad) just like I count all calories (good or bad). The 20-25% works out to 300-400 calories from carbs per day.

I did Southbeach and really liked it, so now I tend to use principals of Southbeach while staying with 1200 calories. I try to stick to whole grains, sweet potatoes instead of white, etc.

I started out on very strict Atkins induction (my only carbs came from eggs) then after three months incorporated lettuce and green beans. After the first year I switched from Atkins Induction to The Metabolism Miracle since I quit losing on Atkins, which was a switch from almost no carb/high fat to low carb (<> 25 grams/day)/low fat. I now eat lean chicken, salmon occasionally, asparagus, green beans, lettuce, almonds, 1 egg per day. No aspartame, no diet drinks, nothing artificial. It's a very restrictive plan but that's what I need to do to lose. I'm extraordinarily carb-sensitive and I also messed up my metabolism because I've lost over 100 lbs before doing Atkins. So virtually no one has to be as strict as me. When I move into maintenance (in about 50 lbs) I'll incorporate back in more vegetable choices and maybe an apple every now and then. And that'll be it, for life. I'm OK with it. But again, most folks can be a lot looser about what they eat than me, sadly I'm a special case.