let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 47yr old female with70lbs. to lose. My Dr. put me on a high carb diet but I didn't lose an ounce. Actually when I started I needed to lose 50 and wound up gaining 20 more. I borrowed a friends Carb Addict book and took the test. So many things rang as true for me. The cravings after eating carbs, the sluggish feeling, etc.
I am here and ready to get started. Any tips on low carb would be greatly appreciated.
Welcome Sheltie!
I do Carbohydrate Addicts Diet and love it. I gain on high/carb low fat diets too and am miserable the whole time, so finding this WOE has been a lifesaver (probably literally!) For me, this plan fits perfectly. I don't think of it as low-carb, but rather re-distributed carbs. Atkins and Protein Power worked for me too, but this is a more comfortable fit and something I feel is possible to maintain.
The Heller's also have some newer books out that stress more balanced eating than CAD does, but I find that CAD works just fine for me.
To get started, just read the whole book and jump in. Make sure you have lots of good quality protein around for the daytime. I am not that hungry most of the time, so on many days I have brunch instead of two meals. I just listen to my body and if I'm hungry I eat lunch, breakfast and a Reward Meal if I'm not too hungry, I just do brunch and the Reward Meal. It has helped me a lot to eat really good Complementary meals. I love salmon so I've decided to go ahead and treat myself to it every so often instead of being too budget minded. Check out the recipe section below too. I love the Cheeseburger Soup but I don't use too much cream in it because it's just too rich.
I hope this helped a bit! I'm sure other chicks will chime in with their thoughts soon.
Chickadee
Oops, forgot to say this! I'm 43 and my first goal is to lose 70 pounds, and eventually to lose 105 pounds. So far I've lost 32 and I plan to just keep plugging away!
Oh you'll love the plan sheltie and welcome to our low carb group!
I am also doing a versio of the Heller's diet--CALP which is the Carbohydrate Addict's Lifespan Program. Same method as CAD but less stricter on the measuring out of stuff I do believe. I agree with Chcikadee, get your hadnds on a book and read as much as you possibly can. Not any one low carb plan fits one person so look into many others. As for doctors and weight loss?? Well they have NO clue about what really works, just a bunch of mumbo jumbo they were taught in med school that SHOULD work in theory but in practice fails miserably. Stick with us and you'll lose weight, feels MUCH better and be happier! Oh yeah, and please do join us on the daily thread (or the cluck as our Ruth calls it!) and let us get to know you!
Hi Sheltie and welcome to the Board. Maybe you can borrow the book from the Library while you wait for yours to come.
In the meantime snoop around in here and ask all the questions you like.
By the way, I too gain on the WW diet if I eat the carbs they recommend. Luckily my doctor listens to me. Lucky for him too!
I started my diet on 11/29/01. No starches are allowed. That is the hardest part I think. There is a list of things you can eat, and fruits are allowed. I think this seems a bit different than the other low carb diets since on those you can have pasta, rice, etc. So far I have lost 9 1/2 lbs, but have so much more to go. It seems like if I go slowly, it will take about 2 years. But I really want to lose the first half quickly, in about 4 months. I have limited my caloric intake to about 400 calories a day, and have been walking 30 min. a day. I am hoping that I can lose 5 lbs. a week for the next 4 months. I am worried that it won't work, and would love any suggestions. I have been eating 2 pieces of fruit each day, and perhaps I should cut that out because of all the sugar. Perhaps I should stick to carrots? I was wondering how much meat most of you eat on a low carb diet.
400 calories a day! Your body thinks it is starving and it will send a message out to store fat! You have to eat to keep your metabolism working, and keep your strength up. You will feel so weak and yucky that you'll quit dieting. I eat at least 1800 calories a day, and that seems high, but on low carb I still lose weight. I eat a good bit of meat, but also vegetables, cheese, and even the occasional piece of fruit. Some programs stress the combination of foods, some the types of foods, but either way, they do stress that you have to eat. If you allow yourself to get ravenously hungry then you will overdo it on the no-no's and end up gaining. Also, drink plenty of water to flush the toxins out of your system and help you lose water-weight. Check out the books on the different programs, and ask questions here on the boards, see what is working for everyone else. Good luck!
Amata,
You may not like this post, but here goes! 9 1/2 pounds since Nov. 29 is really, really fast. You are doing a lot of harm to your body if you are truly limiting your calories to 400 a day. Instead of losing, you will go into "starvation mode" and your body will hang on to every little bit it can and screw up your metabolism to boot. That is not even close to enough calories for your body to function normally. There are a lot of sites on the internet that can give you information on how much you should be eating in order to lose safely.
Every plan I've ever tried (and I've been on every diet imaginable!) stresses not losing more than 2-3 pounds a week. You want to lose fat, not muscle or lean body mass. If you really can lose five pounds a week, you're doing more harm than good. I guarantee you that everyone here wishes they could lose 5 pounds a week just to get all the weight off immediately too, but it's not realistic and it can't happen in a healthy way.
My suggestion for you is to get some low-carb books and read every word. Protein Power is well-written and has great explanations about the science of weight loss and the way your body works. I follow the Heller's Carbohydrate Addicts Diet and find their books very interesting too. A lot of people here are doing Atkins which, to me, is the most restrictive of the plans. I've learned something from every one I've read though. Most of the plans limit fruit because of it's high carb content (carrots too!)
Keep walking, but rethink how fast you want to lose the weight because it's unrealistic and, IMHO is just setting you up for failure.
I hope you don't think I'm slamming you, I just have learned a lot about this stuff in my journies and felt that I had to speak up.
Chickadee
I read your post and hon 400 cals a day is not enough. I agree with the others that posted. Your body goes into starvation mode on such a restricted diet and you do lose vital muscle not fat.
New to low carb diet..
Oh yeah, and please do join us on the daily thread (or the cluck as our Ruth calls it!) and let us get to know you! 
