I'm sitting here laughing because I was afraid to post that I wanted to switch to low carb eating and look at all of you chiming in with support and stories to share. We rock!!

So today I ate low carb. 88/12 Ground beef with an egg scrambled over it for breakast. Quest protein bar and a chicken thigh for lunch, peanuts (not planned) for a snack before pilates. Dinner asparagus spears and a skinless chicken thigh. I'm keeping veggies low until I'm further into Ketosis.

I log every bite into myfitnesspal which I've been doing while losing weight. I'm ending the day with total carbs 39 - net carbs 14. The quest bar is loaded with fiber and it's all natural so I like them in my food plan.

I'll let you know how I'm doing but I can tell you that I'm so delighted to not be eating artificial food that is sodium filled.

Tomorrow I want to drink more fluids as I have a tough time getting in very much plain water.

Can I continue to post here?

Nope, you're kicked out ;-) Kidding. Obviously kidding!

I am impressed at how low you keep your carbs! I had 3 unplanned food items that pushed my carbs up...

BF - CarbAdvantage Shake
Snack 1 - Stupid packet of ritz bits (got hungry at kids sports)
Lunch - Grilled shrimp, grilled zucchini + cucumbers and celery
Snack 2 - Romaine stir fry; 2 tbsp almond butter
Dinner - 8 ounces ahi tuna steak w/ sesame seeds on edge, wasabi & soy dip, sauteed lettuce, cucumbers, celery with WF dressing. Too many bites of the kids orzo :/
Snack 3 - 1 serving Nut-ritious nuts

Totals were 1400 cals: 70g fat (too high!), 100 carbs/70 net (too high!), 100gm protein (too low!).

Clearly I need to plan better. I need to get some bars to keep in my purse, maybe I will try the ones you mention. I am really lacking fiber these days!

Of course you SHOULD post here - how else should we figure out how to transition??

I DID have Indian - but no rice, only 2 bites of the potato/pea inside of a samosa and none of fried part, one bite of naan, and a couple of forkfuls of chickpeas. Other than that, I mostly had chicken.

I'm going to attempt to do the next 2 weeks 100%, but it'll be hard. I'm yearning to be at the stage where I'm eating REAL food, clean food, and upping my working out - but why waste the shakes if I have them? Maybe the two weeks can mean 5 to 7lbs ....maybe not, but ... what if ....

Plus I have you guys figuring out what my next move will be.

So, today is my first day on ideal protein diet. Not so bad.. I'm 22, so my friends are more interested in going out and drinking instead of supporting me. I'm 5'10, starting at 176lbs. I WILL GET TO 140LBS!!!! Does age help with how fast you lose the weight?

Good luck to everyone on the diet!

MMM, welcome. You can get great support around here. I think young people shed the weight faster. Your metabolism probably isn't trashed. I hope that IP will be your best food plan and will help you learn the new habits necessary so that you never have to post that you have more than this to lose. You can do it!!

Cherbee, you don't have to waste the shakes, even if you move to low carb eating. I'm having shakes in my plan, just not today because I wanted real food. My favorite breakfast is a scoop of Chocolate Whey Crisps (high protein, low carb) with chocolate protein shake poured over it instead of milk. I got some of the Go Lean low carb chocolate from GNC and use 2-3 ounces on my cereal so a bottle lasts all week. We're here to support your 100% goals and I hope you lose those last pounds! You go girl!

Colliep, I actually think your numbers look great if you get those carbs down. I ended up adding 1/2 cup of Fage 0 to my dinner. I was hungry after pilates tonight. (I work out 4-6x a week either walking or pilates)
My numbers were 1123 calories 100 protein 63 fat and 24 net carbs. I generally need to stay under 1000 to lose so I'll see what the scale says tomorrow. I'm a daily weigher which is the only way that I can see what works and what doesn't work.

Keep going Collie, you can get those carbs down if you pack things like string cheese or low carb protein bars for the sporting moments. What about a small cooler and keep a protein shake in there or just a thermos when you're on the go?

Good Morning,

Monday - 149.6
Tuesday - 149.2

I'll keep you posted on what happens to my weight using Low Carb. I hope that I find this easier to stick to since it has less processed foods involved.

I have a conference in September and will be eating hotel food for four days. I want to shed as many pounds as possible prior to that, then try to maintain while away. I have almost a month to work on it.

Have a great OP day everyone (whatever your plan is!)

Good morning everyone, what a busy week for me - I've been MIA. I totally went off program on Saturday for my bachelorette party...much harder to avoid having fun than I expected it to be - took me a while to get back OP. Sunday I had a slice of cold pizza for breakfast because I puked everything out the night before...and I had chicken noodle soup at lunch at a restaurant...yesterday I had 2pcs of shrimp tempura ..ugh its tough to get back on but I am now. My coach also gave me a detox program because he knew I was going to be off track and the last week has been lacking on the BM ends.
Let me say...its tough to detox O.O I think I'm going to cut the dosage in half because last night and this morning was a little ridiculous haha but I feel lighter?

Anyway I hope everyone's day is going well!

Bride - I give you an A for even thinking your could be OP at your bachelorette party. Seriously, I would never have even thought about trying lol! Just wean out over a few days and reduce your carbs, you will be back on track in no time!!

Calee - If I don't shove some forkfuls of the tomato cream basil orzo my husband made for Sunday's dinner party into my mouth, my carbs would definitely be lower! We have tons of leftovers and he left town and I hate wasting food! I am trying not to touch it today!! For me, scale still hasn't budged. I bounce up, then back down. Anyway, despite the high number of carbs I am still in ketosis. I wonder if I just go or stay in it pretty easily as long as I am under 100 . . . I seem to be according to the sticks (but always trace or the one a teensy bit above it).

Today I am at around 650 calories (29 fat, 33 carb, 66 protein) and its around 2. I did about 90 minutes of exercise today (one class is lame, the other is good -- so I figured I got a "good" 45 minutes). Here's hoping for a good rest of the day and the scale to drop to 143 finally (again) tomorrow. I need some positive reinforcement ....c'mon lucky numbers -)

I am back joining you ladies. I had pretty much reached my goal and moved to low carb eating. It worked well until summer vacation. For the past couple of weeks I have been eating and drinking anything and everything.

Today is day 1 again for me. I will try to stick 100% ip until labour day-sept 5. I know my main challenge will be saying no to wine, but I am so bloated right now I could cry! My body obviously hates carbs!

If "take 2" works I will aim for my original goal of 140.

I really hope I can get back on the ip wagon!

What are the limits of the low carb diet - what numbers should I be aiming for?

How do these look?
Fat 29.5g 31.8% (had pistachios)
Saturated Fat 6.1g

Carbohydrates 38.7g 18.6%
Fiber 15.9g
Sugars 10.4g
Protein 103.5g 49.6%

Welcome back Mom! Just FYI, this thread has turned more into people who are not OP IP and are just doing low carb so you might find more relatable experiences on another thread but you are, of course, more than welcome here!

Cherbee - I really don't know, everybody's body is different but I think your numbers look good. You are much better than I am in all departments!! I have heard that keeping carbs under 50 is a good effort if you aren't super stringent, but I am more in the 50-100 range.

My day looks like this:

1320 cals
65 fat (9.5 saturated) -- I too had nuts
95 carbs
32 fiber
105 protein
28 sugars

I may add one more protein source tonight like an egg or something if I get hungry but that should be my day. I did 90 minutes of exercise and had 4 liters of water.

Anyway, my food diary says if every day were like today that I would lose 1.9 pounds per week. Since I am in ketosis, the theory is that my body is burning extra calories from that process so I assume that if I keep this up I should lose at least 2 pounds / week. It says in 3 months I would be 120 pounds . . . a girl can dream, right?!

Here's my day - no nuts. Thank you!

Calories - 876
Protein - 78 - I'd like to be higher on protein so may add a little greek yogurt
Carbs - 26
Fiber - 17
Fat - 36

It's early here and I still have a 3.5 mile walk in 87 degrees before I get my broccoli slaw and chicken thigh for dinner, but they're included in my totals for the day.

Seriously frustrated. Scale is up even further this morning - now over 146. I get that there will be fluctuations but typically for me the up fluctuations stick for a while so the fact I am up a pound despite that the numbers don't add up is quite discouraging. I was really hoping to see some progress =(

Big. Gulp. Had several spoonfuls of cake batter :/ I was strong at first, put the beaters right into the sink, starting spooning right away into the molds but then I fell prey to the power of cake batter. I did stop myself and go rinse the bowl so the damage was far less than, say, eating a cupcake but definitely not my smartest move. Too bad there's no such thing as carbless celery cakes to take and decorate for the kids for school!

I've been stuck at 140/139.8 since Friday, and even though I had some "splurges" they were all fairly moderate and within my cals - so I'm discouraged too. Nature of the beast I guess. For me, at 5'3, this weight should still be coming off me fairly easily. Let's just keep charging forward - the alternative is to be up 5lbs!!!