Newbie Frustration with Recommended Daily Carb Values
On IP websites, it says that the plan is too keep carb intake down to 20 to 30g a day. On here, many posts say that it is possible, but I am having a hard time doing so.
I tend to hit over 20g of carbs just with the veggie intake.
For example, 1c of raw broccoli has 6g of carbs. Not that I do it, but that would mean that 4c of broccoli in one day would put you at 24g of carbs BEFORE any of the IP products. Bell peppers are 7g to 9g per cup depending on color (and I like to put these on my salads but now I am thinking I shouldn't). Several different veggies are 5g. Even trying to stick to the ones that are lower at 3 or 4g, that's still 12 to 16g before the packets.
It seems like the only way to stay in goal is to eat the IP products that only have 2 to 4g per serving, which greatly restricts options.
And on top of this, if I try to stick to the lower carb packets (jello, ready mades etc), I feel ravenously hungry all the time. Because of this, my coach said to have two low carbs and then one restricted a day, that maybe I am just one of those people that needs more carbs, but then that puts me out of the goal amount.
And finally (sorry for length of rant/post), I didn't have ketosticks the first 3 weeks, but consistently lost about 3 lbs each week (yay) so I didn't bother to get them. However, the past two weeks, I have only lost about 0.2lbs a week. So I bought ketosticks, and tried one, and nothing. I am not in ketosis.
I am growing quite frustrated and I am not sure what to do at this point. I have tried so many other diet plans (NutriSystem, WeightWatchers, etc) without much luck and I was really hoping this would be the trick (especially since I seemed to be doing so well the first 3 weeks).
Please please please, any help/suggestions would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
*edit* Forgot to mention, that yes, I have tried eating a bit more lean protein on days I am REALLY hungry, also I do have pickles around as well.
Last edited by WijitingBoo; 06-15-2011 at 09:43 PM.
On IP websites, it says that the plan is too keep carb intake down to 20 to 30g a day. On here, many posts say that it is possible, but I am having a hard time doing so.
I tend to hit over 20g of carbs just with the veggie intake.
For example, 1c of raw broccoli has 6g of carbs. Not that I do it, but that would mean that 4c of broccoli in one day would put you at 24g of carbs BEFORE any of the IP products. Bell peppers are 7g to 9g per cup depending on color (and I like to put these on my salads but now I am thinking I shouldn't). Several different veggies are 5g. Even trying to stick to the ones that are lower at 3 or 4g, that's still 12 to 16g before the packets.
It seems like the only way to stay in goal is to eat the IP products that only have 2 to 4g per serving, which greatly restricts options.
And on top of this, if I try to stick to the lower carb packets (jello, ready mades etc), I feel ravenously hungry all the time. Because of this, my coach said to have two low carbs and then one restricted a day, that maybe I am just one of those people that needs more carbs, but then that puts me out of the goal amount.
And finally (sorry for length of rant/post), I didn't have ketosticks the first 3 weeks, but consistently lost about 3 lbs each week (yay) so I didn't bother to get them. However, the past two weeks, I have only lost about 0.2lbs a week. So I bought ketosticks, and tried one, and nothing. I am not in ketosis.
I am growing quite frustrated and I am not sure what to do at this point. I have tried so many other diet plans (NutriSystem, WeightWatchers, etc) without much luck and I was really hoping this would be the trick (especially since I seemed to be doing so well the first 3 weeks).
Please please please, any help/suggestions would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
OMG, do not nuke this out, the protocol works! You likely arent showing anything on the ketostix because of the water that we must drink everyday. If I show trace amounts on some days then I am lucky. Do not count your carrs as it is not required; this was a hard mindset for me to follow as i previously did Atkins. Just eat your required packets with only one being restricted, 4 cups total of approved veggies, unlimited lettuce, 2 tsp of EVOO and your seasalt... drink drink drink your water... You will loose (in a good way)!!!
TWoww - I am trying not to freak, but with all the failed attempts previously, it's hard to not think something is going wrong. I did Atkins ages ago, maybe that's part of why I keep trying to keep track of them! I just don't want to be unsuccessful because I am not doing something I could be.
jordanna - I was told that it wasn't net carbs, that fiber didn't matter etc. That what I was supposed to be looking at was total carbs???
I was on this diet prior to having my baby and I always counted net carbs to stay below 30g of carbs and I lost 80 lbs in 6 months so don't worry too much.
That being said some people can eat up to 40g of carbs and stay in ketosis...
I have felt the same frustration. I did not even lose 1 lb this week. I worked out three times so far and have not cheated. I have thought maybe I am eating too much meat? I did not weigh every piece I ate and I know you are supposed to. I drink a ton of water every day. Any advice?
I just started this program today but just wanted to chime in. Unless your clinic / Dr. has a machine that can break down fat loss/gain and lean mass loss/gain you might think that you are in a stall when you may have lost 2 pounds and gained 2 pounds of lean mass especially if exercising. I was previously on a physician's anti- inflammatory diet and this was the case with me. So where I might have become discouraged I instead left their office quite satisfied. This is where measurements come in handy too.
Victoriar - Unfortunately, they do have a scale that is supposed to tell you muscle mass, bone mass, fat mass, and body water content. Last week, it wasn't too bad. Everything stayed about the same. However, this week, water was down, muscle was down, bone same, fat up slightly. Though it is TOM atm, so I am hoping the numbers are just weird because of that.
So any other ideas/thoughts for reasons for the stall?
Hi!
Are you losing inches? Are you gaining muscle (FFM on the printout)? If so, you may be indeed losing fat and gaining some muscle. This could be why you are seeing less "total" loss. For example, in 3 weeks, I have lost a 10 lbs of fat and gained 2.2 lbs of muscle, so my total loss is 7.8 lbs. I have also lost a total of 10 inches all over . So, while my "total" loss is less than 3-4 lbs/week, the quality of the loss is exactly what I want: to take us less room!
Also, you may be someone who loses a little at a time followed by a big drop.
Bottom line: Don't give up 'cause this protocol really works if you follow it to the letter.
Hope this helps and let us know how you're doing in the future!
read the thread about exercise. a lot of people stopped losing weight on the scale when they started exercising. that thread is very informative. i have been on the plan for 23 weeks and have lost 76 lbs. i do not do any exercise because i don't want to stall. i have focused on losing all my fat first, then i will exercise to tone up after phase 3 when we are allowed to eat more calories. it might be a good idea to cut out all forms of exercise until you've lost a good amount of weight. good luck!
Last year I started running during the summer (before that my asthma had prevented me from even attempting more than a quarter mile). I had planned on doing that again, but once I started this diet I was told not to exercise, so I haven't been.
However, I do walk a lot. Currently, I work on a large pharmaceutical campus, and getting from my car to my building is a half mile walk. So that is usually twice a day. Then, I am a chemist so I don't really have much desk time. Most of my time is spent on my feet walking back and forth between supplies and the bench and instruments, etc. But I wouldn't think that all of this was enough to affect my loss.
Right now I just keep trying to tell myself not to worry about it yet. My clothes haven't felt tighter. Not necessarily looser, but not tighter is good. Means the 1lb gain wasn't making my inches increase somehow.
Again, it's mostly just fear that my body is once again rejecting a diet. Previous plans I have seemed to lose well for about a month or so, and then I just stall and plateau and go nowhere. I did stay with those for months after the stall though, just in case. So I will do the same with this in the hopes that this one is different (everything everyone says implies it is, so positive thinking!
Newbie Frustration with Recommended Daily Carb Values
I have tried so many other diet plans (NutriSystem, WeightWatchers, etc) without much luck and I was really hoping this would be the trick (especially since I seemed to be doing so well the first 3 weeks).
