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Originally Posted by committed1
Several questions....day 2.
Is there something amazing supposed to happen on day 4? Cause I started to panic a little today when I was starving and had to get into my 4th packet to get through the day. Could I GAIN weight on this?
Is it possible to eat too many "approved" veggies? I am eyeballing it for the most part....but seriously....they are vegetables.
I know this is STRICT and following it is a must...and I am....I just wonder...did I get into something so strict that that random carrot piece that snuck in the salad will screw up the entire week? Or maybe the itty tiny bit of red wine vinegar I put on the salad on day 1 because I was at the salad bar and at a loss for something "approved" (NOW I know). Or did I not measure 2 cups of veggies AND the salad leaves correctly. Did I eat 1 more ounce of meat or 1 less ounce than I was supposed to?
I didn't want to know what my starting weight was, just the victories each week. I think the panic attack was brought on by the tight pants I was wearing. I would LOVE to hit an 8lb loss this week and figured even after one day I was feel something, no? Goal too high?
What about exercise for all you experienced folk? After the first couple of weeks....could you tell if exercise impacted that week at the scale or in your clothes?
Committed, the stricter you follow the diet, generally the faster you will lose weight. Take MeghanO for example, she plans out EVERYTHING and doesn't go above 20-25 grams of carbs a day... that's the same amount as in one of the spaghetti packets... and she's lost faster than just about anyone on this forum. However, I know I don't have her willpower, it's tough enough for me just to stay on the diet. So, to address your questions one by one...
The "magical" thing that is supposed to happen on day 4 is that your body goes into ketosis. You only have about a day's supply of glycogen (sugar fuel) in your muscles and liver, but it takes your body a few more days to get the hint and start using up its fat stores. Once your body goes into ketosis, you shouldn't be as hungry. Getting some Ketostix can be very motivating when you don't feel like you're losing much, because it's physical affirmation that you're doing things correctly. I've been on this diet for almost a month and a half, have lost 20 lbs as of today, and while I still get hungry throughout the day, it's more psychological and easier to push through. I also picked up some seasoned seaweed packets that are nothing but sodium and fiber to snack on when I absolutely need to munch on something. At the end of the day, though, this is a super low-calorie diet, so unless you lived off of less then 1,200 calories in a day before you started, you won't gain weight, even if you eat 4 packets and too many restricted veggies every day. You just won't lose weight quickly if you do that.
It is possible to eat too many approved veggies, like the bell peppers and zucchini, if you want to lose weight as quickly as possible. I throw this rule out the window, though, because I wouldn't be able to do this without those two vegetables.
There is actually a lot of flexibility in this diet in some ways. It's presented as very strict (in my understanding) because it is so difficult to follow it to a T, so if you're going to deviate from it there's some wiggle room. So it's okay to occasionally have an ounce more or less, or lots of lettuce one day and none the next. Just try to balance it out that if you eat a restricted packet one day, you don't also eat a ton of restricted veggies. And if you do that one day, that's okay, as long as you don't make a habit out of it.
Green cabbage should be eaten in moderation, it is considered an "occasional if at all" veggie because it has more sugar in it than other cabbages.
I was one of those people who lost 8 lbs in the first week, but really less than half of it is fat, it's mostly water you lose the first week (though it is still great looking at the scale and seeing such a difference!). And remember, water is its own diuretic, so the less you drink the more you retain.
Ultimately, follow the diet as closely as you can, but this is still the real world. I eat colored bell peppers probably 3-4 days a week, often multiple times in a day, because I love them and don't get bored of them as quickly as I do other veggies. Instead of having an ounce of milk with the coffee I don't drink in the morning, maybe once a week I'll sneak an ounce of cheese or half a container of plain Greek yogurt (mmm... Chobani...). And for New Year's Eve I got a sugar free mixer and mixed it with some vodka. Of course, the two weeks I drank were the two I lost the least... but I was with friends, and it was worth it.
One other note: how much you notice your weight loss depends on how much you plan to lose, and what your body type is. For example, my mom and I both started this diet on November 30th, right after Thanksgiving. She's about 5'1 and has lost 13 lbs, I'm about 5'6 and have lost 20 lbs. However, she's apple shaped and I'm pear shaped, so she's gone down from a size 12 to a loose size 8 since most of her fat was concentrated in her midsection, whereas I've only gone down from a tight 14 to a moderately comfortable 12 because mine is distributed more in my butt, thighs and back. I actually think it's really interesting reading the posts of people around my height who have made it into the low 180's (where I started) and they can easily fit into a size 12.
Long post, I know, but you really just need to figure out how to make this diet work for you. It's better that you should cheat every now and again (I still use the word "cheat," not "slip," because to me a slip isn't premeditated the way a cheat is) and stay on the diet and lose weight, than follow it so strictly that you give up before you've changed your habits to the point where you can keep the weight off.