[DazeGypsy]

Six weeks ago I started the Time Ferris Slow Carb diet. In short, this is a pretty hard core diet. You are pretty much limited to meat, beans and vegetables. The only condiments allowed are salsa, guacamole, and hummus. Cottage cheese is also allowed for the calcium and one glass of red wine a day is recommended. Drinks allowed other then the red wine: water, black coffee and unsweetened tea. And, one day a week should be set aside as cheat day. On that day you eat whatever you want. It's recommended to weigh in at the beginning of that day.

This is especially hard for me because I HATE beans. They make me want to gag. After getting over the initial disgust though, I can tolerate them. I still don't really like them.

I went through the "induction flu" that everyone goes through when they start any low carb diet. It was awful. I felt like crap for 10 days or so... had no energy, headaches, body aches, basically felt like I had the flu... and slept for like 12 hours a night.

First month I lost ten pounds. I thought, Wow, this is awesome, so worth the effort and the inconvenience. I thought I had finally found something that really worked after all this time. Then of course, I plateaued. This is part of my problem. I will try something new, lose a few pounds, then plateau and not be able to get over the plateau.

I read on the website for this diet what you can do to get over this. I am trying several of the things he suggested this week. I don't even want to weigh in this weekend. I just have a feeling my efforts are going unrewarded, for the third week in a row!

I cut out my glass of red wine every day and cut out all cottage cheese. I also amped up my workout routine.

And last night, I cheated... I know it's bad. I rarely ever cheat, but it's a lot easier to cheat when you aren't getting any results from a diet. You start to think what's the use. I took a few sips of coke. I ate a couple bites of rice and leftover chicken lo main. (the Chinese food was left over from last week's cheat day, if anyone is wondering.) And... worst thing of all...) I took a big swig of chocolate syrup right out of the damn bottle.

So, this is a rant of sorts... Things I'm tired of:

-I'm tired of being bloated and gassy all the time from all the damn beans.
-I'm tired of beans. Ugh...
-I'm tired of running into someone I know whilst out at a restaurant on cheat day, and hearing, "I thought you were on a diet? Oh, did I catch you being bad?" Then I tell them it's cheat day and get laughed at like they think I'm joking.
-When I was losing weight I told a lot of people, and they could see it... now a lot of my friends know I weigh in on Saturday morning, so they all text me then to see how I did. I'm glad that I have such supportive friends... but it sucks having to tell everyone I've lost nothing. Then being asked why not, and not having an answer.
-I'm tired of hearing, "You're just gaining muscle." No, I doubt it. My workouts are most cardio. I do lift, but I'm not a power lifter. I don't lift enough to really gain muscle.

So... now that I'm done complaining... does anyone else have this problem? My body just adjusts so fast... and then it's hard to shake things up again. To anyone who has had this problem... how do you overcome it?

[fitbyforty]

Have you tracked how many calories you are eating? You may not be eating enough.

[Missy Krissy]

"...it's a lot easier to cheat when you aren't getting any results from a diet." << This is too true, I feel your pain!

This diet that you're on, are you just following the allowed foods list or are you counting calories as well? If you aren't actually counting, I would highly recommend doing so.

And as an aside, why bother with a diet that includes a high amount of foods you don't like (beans)? There are plenty of other low carb plans out there.

[DazeGypsy]

I have started countingf calories this week as suggested on the website. Every day my calorie count falls somewhere around 1800. There are no caloric restrictions with this plan, so that's why I wasn't counting before.

As for why I bothered... it started out as a challenge. Someone challenged me to do it for a week. And I experienced inch loss right away. So I kept it up. Beans are important for energy. I tried going beanless one day early on and couldn't do it. I just didn't have the energy to function all day.

I have considered trying atkins for a while though. But I feel like no matter what I do, it will bne the same. Weight loss at first then an unshakeable plateau. This happens no matter what I do it seems.

[amandie]

Then maybe consider keep pushing through and you will eventually keep losing? Don't give up!!!

I do agree with MissyKrissy- why subject yourself to food that you don't like? I understand it started out as a challenge but for making this a lifelong change, I'd go with things that you could at least stand to eat. Being gassy and bloated doesn't sound like fun! I wish you a lot of luck figuring out how to break through your plateau!

[DazeGypsy]

I have started countingf calories this week as suggested on the website. Every day my calorie count falls somewhere around 1800. There are no caloric restrictions with this plan, so that's why I wasn't counting before.

As for why I bothered... it started out as a challenge. Someone challenged me to do it for a week. And I experienced inch loss right away. So I kept it up. Beans are important for energy. I tried going beanless one day early on and couldn't do it. I just didn't have the energy to function all day.

I have considered trying atkins for a while though. But I feel like no matter what I do, it will bne the same. Weight loss at first then an unshakeable plateau. This happens no matter what I do it seems.

[DazeGypsy]

Don't know why that posted twicwe, sorry.

[amandie]

You can delete the double post by clicking on Edit then you'll see an option to Delete Message.

[Buffinlovin]

I agree with what the others have posted, you really don't want to subject yourself to a diet that has you eating things you don't enjoy. I learned from my past diet experiences that doing anything I didn't like caused me to get rebellious and do things I shouldn't do.

Do you find calorie counting easy? You might just want to transition over to that, since it will allow you to eat what you enjoy in moderation. I started on weight watchers, but when I noticed that I was plateauing frequently, I counted the calories and found I was eating too many to lose weight steadily, and just swapped over to calorie counting exclusively. I found I needed a bit more structure. You can still no no carbs, if you like, but you can substitute other things you enjoy rather than things you don't.

I attempted to challenge myself multiple times by trying different diets (atkins, 17-day diet, etc.) and I was the exact same as you...lose a couple of pounds, feel good, then nothing, and because I'd get frustrated I'd eat whatever I wanted. The thing that made this time different for me was realizing that this is about changing my lifestyle, not just losing a few pounds.

I hope this helps!

[Lolo70]

What you lost is probably just water weight. If I remember correctly, even Tim Ferris admits that. He is a good marketer of himself. I would not necessarily believe him. You should probably lower your caloric intake to 1500-1600. After the fast initial loss on low carb due to depletion of glycogen and associated water, losses will slow. For every lb of fat you will need to cut 3500 calories. To see a rapid weight loss, you would have to go closer to 1000 calories. I suggest you choose a diet you can do easily, adjust calories to your desired weight loss goal and continue exercising (keep in mind that with exercise you cannot do a very low calorie diet). There will always be periods when you loose nothing on the scale, but you can still loose inches as you also did on this "diet". Inches are more important anyways.

[JohnP]

The thing Tim Ferris is best at is selling books. He is really, really good at selling books. A genius promoter.

The actual substance of his books is slim at best. His diet is a good example and would work great for an active male primarily because ... how much protein/beans/veggies can you eat? Active males have greater caloric needs than others and therefore they are in a caloric deficit ... you lose weight ... magic.

Lots of great advice around this site. You'll figure it out.

[novangel]

Originally Posted by DazeGypsy

There are no caloric restrictions with this plan, so that's why I wasn't counting before.

I feel this is your primary problem. Continue counting calories and skip the fad diets. You may need to adjust your allowance. 1,800 might be too much, might be too little. Check Myfitnesspal.com to see what your daily allowance is. Good luck.

[DazeGypsy]

I weighed in today and I lost 2 pounds this week and achieved my mini goal!

I was on my phone most of the day yesterday and couldn't really reply to all the advice I got on this thread. But thank you to everyone,

Just like any diet, there are some people who swear by it and some people who think it's BS. Look how many people still call Dr. Atkins a quack. I talked to my trainer at the gym before I tried it and he said it's perfectly healthy. He has gone on it before while training for body building competitions.

And, I do feel a lot better on it. When I was just counting calories I was always hungry. I'm don't really get hungry on this diet. And once I made it past the induction flu I had a lot more energy and my mood improved.

So, I guess I am over this plateau. But, realistically I know there will probably be abother one in about ten more pounds. I know what works now, so I will be better prepared next time.

[Radiojane]

Keep going. I'm just coming out of a four month long plateau. Seriously. This week is the first time I've lost steadily since March.

If it works for you, and you're happy with the results by all means stick with it, but you may find that Atkins and other lower carb plans are easier on your palate.

[amandie]

Yay on the 2lbs!