Hi I am sure that you will ( or someone) have the answer to my question.

Since starting this WOE (day 7 today) I have been basically guessing what to eat each day. I have been sensible and added a little fruit and lots of veggies and salads and so far I have lost 5lbs, which is very pleasing. My aim (I'm not sure if I posted this here) is to lose a fair amount of weight for my holiday which is in a little under two weeks, but I wish to continue this way of life as it suits me.

When I return from my holls, (I will, obviously bring a bit back with me which I then intend to lose again) I would like to start checking on the amounts of carbs I eat every day to enable me to have a sensible weight loss per week.

Now what is puzzling me is, at what level do I start. I am sure someone here with all this knowledge can suggest a sensible starting amount.

I am approx 12 stone and 5'2" and need to lose around 2 stone.

Can also someone tell me which foods are the best for fibre. I would like to use most of my carbs on fruit, veg and salad, I also would like to have a little rice and pasta now and then. Do I still have unlimited fats or do I need to cut those back?

Such a lot of questions!!

Jan

PS I bouth the book Protein Power but haven't had chance to read it yet, perhaps the answers will be in there?

Jano,

I wish it was as simple as 'how many carbs can I eat in a day?' Sorry, luv, it is more complicated. And YES, Protein Power does give some answers.

There are now probably dozens of people who have written a book on their plan for low carb dieting. And each one is quite different from the next. They are all saying bascially the same thing, but it can be done in many different ways. For anyone who has access to a library or book store which carries a few of these books, you can read as many of them as you can tolerate, and chose which one suits you best.

Protein Power does have an answer, but plan to curl up in your bed for a long weekend to get it read.

Some LC books forbid most fruits, others balance the diet with small amounts of fruits, lots of vegetables, and a nice portion of protein. Most ban potatoes, white bread, corn, beets, and anything made with sugar. If you search online for "glycemic index" you should find a couple of sites that let you know which carbs are best to eat, and which not. Anything with a high glycemic number is basically bad news for us.

It means the sugar in that food hits the blood and makes our bodies squirt out some insulin to help those sugar molecules get into the cells. But some of the carbs make our blood sugar level rise too high, and the insulin works too well, and forces sugar into the cells, and leaves us with a blood sugar level that is too low. Low blood sugar is what makes us hungry and makes us unable to keep our heads out of the ice box (refrigerator) looking for some brownies, cake, or something.

Pasta, by the way, is generally not allowed except for some who say whole wheat pasta, a small serving of it, is okay once in a while.

Then there is the deal about weight loss. At first there is a change in burning the sugar we eat for energy to pulling fats out of our bodies to burn as fuel. During the change we lose a large bit of water, and so we are so excited about how much weight we lost. (By the way, over here in the US we don't quite know how much a stone weighs!) Then we get into the next phase, and it really slows down. I won't get into what follows next. But be prepared to slow down your weight loss. In fact, you should not lose more then one or two pounds (is that the same as three pebbles?) each week. You should not lose more than that because it would not be body fat being lost, but possibly muscle tissue or something else being sacrificed.

Well, as I said Jano, it is all a bit more complicated than just knowing how many carbs to eat.

So, on holliday, maybe you will have a bit of extra time to read?

Good luck, and please come back here and let us know how it is going. And always feel free to ask questions. There are some smart and very supportive people here who love newbies.

I hope you all aren't finished with this thread. I'd like to add some of my own thoughts.

I've been on this program for almost a year. I lost about 50 pounds in a little over 2 months. I sincerely believe the following:

This is not a DIET!!! It is a way of life.

In the beginning of the program, you should keep your carb count at 20 grams a day. Your calorie count should be no less than 1500 a day.

Carbs should be gotten from vegetables, protein, and dairy products.

I ABSOLUTELY do not believe that sugar, pasta, rice, bread, flour, etc are good for you...Think of it...were those items available in the stone age? (By the way, potatoes are really high in carbs)Didn't those people live off of meat and vegetables? They didn't have all this refined crap (sorry) that is available these days. And...what of all the preservatives that are used to keep them available for longer periods of time...do you really want them in your body?

If you eat too many carbohydrates, they end up being stored in the body as FAT. Obviously, the same goes for too many calories (I actually have the nerve to say that I miss having a 4000 calorie day once in a while, but my body thanks me for not doing so.).

My husband went on this program because he had high blood pressure and diabetes. As long as he stays with this program, his counts are within normal limits. I know when he cheats/goes off the program. His face turns purple from his high blood pressure, and/or he can't stay awake because of the sugar high and lows. There is definitely something to be said about staying and maintaining on this program.

There are no high carb items to be found in my house. I keep fresh vegetables (including many salad vegetables, meat, cheese, fish, coffee, tea, and whipping cream (for the coffee) stocked in my kitchen .

On occasion, I will buy a small box of crackers for "Happy Hour" snacks. More often than not, celery and/or lettuce is used (for dipping in the tuna, crab, or clam dip that I make).

This program has been a lifesaver for me in more ways than one. I can't stress enough how important it is to me after having struggled with my weight for so long. It's easy to follow a "diet", but what happens when you have reached your goal? You don't need to be on a diet any more and you think you can resume eating the way you did before having gained all that weight. This is a forever program for me. Sure, I am human and will have the occasional pasta night and the occasional tiramisu, but for the most part, I will stick with my salads, veggies and meat.

I feel better than I have ever felt in my life, and I don't have those sugar high and lows. I definitely have MUCH MORE energy (now, if I could only find an outlet for it!!!).

I"m sorry to ramble on. I fervently believe that this is the best program I have ever found in my life, and beliee me, I've done the majority of those out there. I wish I had my scanner so that I could (also) show before and after pics of myself.

Whatever any of you decide for a program, make it a life changing program...don't call it a diet. And remember...if you cheat on your program, you are only cheating yourself out of looking and feeling as good as you possibly can.

My best to and for you all,

Lee

Hey Lee ~ Nice to see you! It's been a while BUT you did share some pics with me and you've done terrific!

Some great points made in your post and I totally agree! We understand how we came to this point and must definately have the opinion that we cannot return to our "old" ways if we are to maintain our lost weight and healthier lifestyle.

J

Ok here's my problem with the paleolithic diet. And how healthy humans were in our pre-history. Well, first of all people were dying awfully early and signs of malnutrition are rampant in the remains that we have been able to examine from those times. If we are trying to argue that our bodies did not evolve to deal with large ammounts of refined sugars and the huge levels of sodium found in everthing though, I am totally in agreement. I think a balance needs to be struck. I cannot swear off all white flour and white sugar for my entire family. My mom did that with me as a kid and I gorged on it as soon as I got out from under her watchful eye, trading my whole lunch for one small forbidden candy bar. The reality of the world we live in is that we are one over fed country in a world without enough to eat we need to eat smarter and teach our children the same.

My aim is to educate myself and my kids on what sugar and carbs are actually doing to your body. I am sure that carbohydrates are necessary to maintain organ function, I think the more fibrous those carbs are the better. But, I am not at all convinced that my body or anyone elses really cares whether I'm eating x- ammount of brown rice or x ammount of twinkies. It has an insulin reaction based on how many grams of sugar it is able to pull from the food. That's it. Whether we are cavemen pigging out on berries when they are in season or chewing on stalks of grass, our bodies did evolve to deal with carbohydrates. That the westernized diet is now higher in carbs is inarguable. We need to learn discipline. It's simply too much of a good thing.
I don't think that eliminting carbs all together or following a paleolithic diet will result in anything but gout and the same malnutrition that plagued our pre-history.

Now on to my diet. I've thought about this thread all weekend. I think I see two problems, 1- is that my diet makes the assumption that super low-carb diets are dangerous, thus it's not a way of eating that i'm going for but a way to take advantage of low carb weight loss for a short time, and that may be inherently foolish. Also it can't sit well with you all who see this as a life-time commitment. Like please let me exploit your diet and then tell you why it's so harmful. Frankly that aspect sucks.
2- I'm not buying that low calorie diets over the short run will begin to eat my organs. I read a bunch about this and 900-1300 calories a day with multi-vitamins in an obese but healthy person is not going to be harmful if followed for a few months. I have plenty of fat stores to use up. The stumbling block seems to be my body hitting starvation mode. But the rhythm of higher calorie days and moderate exercise has thus far kept that from happening.

So- now the bad news- I think that once I get to 150 pounds that it is going to be nearly impossible to maintain. I read my book's maintenance section carefully and I'm just not buying it, you do more vigorous exercise for shorter periods and gradually add 100 calories a day per week untill you start to gain weight back.
Something tells me that this is just not going to work. I think I'm teaching my metabolism that we can get by with very little.

I am going to increase my calories during my ON days by adding more protien and fat I'm thinking to 1100 calories and OFF days up to 1500. It may slow my loss and I was so enjoying the 4 pounds or so lost a week. But I would rather have my body much closer to a maintainable metabolism at the end of this.

As far as the carbs being too high... I don't know about this. but from what I read your body uses 1100 calories of glycogen from the liver each day, that would be your stored carbs, after that it looks to protien and then to fat. My book says that the exercise 5 hours a week keeps the body from dipping into protein stores like muscles and organs, and seems to favor burning fat stores.

I think as I lose more weight I may need to reduce my carbs a bit but for right now it feels right and I really like having some liberty with my Days Off to eat "normal" foods in smaller portions.

So, those are my conclusions. I think every body is different and mine is doing pretty well with this. though I'm losing some hair. what's that about??
My Dr. warned me that it happens with low-carb diets initially sometimes.

I totally respect you ladies who are getting by on much less than I. I think there is room for all sorts here.

With respect,
SunDrop

Sun Drop - Let me first say that I in no way meant to offend you or belittle your plan. I sincerely did have a bad experience from a nutritionist and I suppose I listened just because he was a doctor and I thought he knew what he was doing. It's now been about four years and my body is still reeling from what "his" way did to my metabolism. My questions/ attitude's were from concern, not intended to be critical.

From your post you obviously have done much studying and thinking about not only your plan but what you understand is realistic for a lifetime woe. You know the old saying "fear of the unknown?" Perhaps that's where some of our comments came out. We've become familiar with some of the more known LC plans, Atkins, Hellers, Protein Power, etc.. Your plan did seem extreme and in not being familiar perhaps some of our comments came out more critical than inquisitive.

Again, I apologize and hope I've not offended! We're a pretty loving group here and I couldn't stand the thought to intentionally hurt anyone.

J

MamaJ, (and others kind enough to respond)
You did not offend me in any way. I thank God that this forum is here because there is just no one IRL to discuss all this stuff with. I'm not a band wagon type person, I'm very progressive/alternative. I do crazy stuff like refuse vaccinations for my kids and vote for Nader because I research and research everything, and doctors, allopathic medicine in general freaks me out. I won't take their "word for it" on anything. This diet, this book, was a huge leap of faith and scared me to no end. That first time I hit ketosis and woke up all night peeing I felt really panicky and worried even though I had read all about it. Coming here and being able to read about real people's experience and success with this way of eating helped me a great deal.
I wish everyone health and happiness. I see the beauty in you all.

I just ask that I am given the same chance to learn from my mistakes and sucesses as you all have. And I'll continue to share them with you as long as I am welcome to.

with respect,
SunDrop

Sundrop,
That was very well thought out and I must say I like the soul searching you have done. I was the one that brought up the calorie count. I do think that 1100, and 1500 calories a day is a much better choice. Yes you will lose more slowly, but 2 lbs a week is very safe and when you get to the maintenance you will have done it long enough to know what will work for you.

I do agree on the carb thing (please no one shoot me) i do think all calories are created equal and we have to learn to ballance and make choice. Low carb works if you stick to it. I think that that is true for all plans.

I too disagree that for maintenance you will have to increase your activity level. We have to pick a WOL that will work long term. WW offers a fairly good maintenance that you may wish to look at. I know you are not on that but the principle will be the same.

I too wish to say no offence. We are a nice supportive group here that TRUELY we are looking out for you and your health.

Be well,
-L

Someone told me that not enough fat in your diet causes hair loss. It's pretty hard to believe that a low carb diet could be too low in fat! That's my only advice, unless you have PCOS. That causes hair loss too!