Anyone else doing this.....

  • I'm a weight watcher member and I've been on program since january.
    What I've been doing is when I get stalled I switch to low carb for 3 to about 7 days and it breaks the stall. Doing this I've lost 20 so far and am
    a size smaller.

    I was wondering if anyone else doing this? and is it working as well for them as it is for me?


  • I haven't tried this myself... but there is something to be said about switching up when you hit a plateau. Keep up the good work! 20 pounds is a great achievement!
  • Thanks! After over 100 looks finally a reply but, I think it's called carb cycling from what I've seen online.
  • I've done low carb before and it worked great for weight loss, but it just wasn't something I can do long term and keep my sanity. I lost 80 pounds in a little over 6 months but once I stopped I gained it all back.

    How long has it taken to lose 20 pounds following that plan? Also, does the water retention when you start carbs again not mess with the scale? When you do low carb you drop alot of water weight the first few days, and when you add carbs back that water weight tends to come back, too.
  • You're right - carbs store 4 grams of water for each gram of carb stored. So when you go low carb, you lose but as soon as you eat carbs again, it comes back.

    I question how many plateaus you have really been on since you started in January and you have to be the same weight for 6 weeks to be on a plateau in the first place.
  • Yayyy, Congratulations on your 20 pound loss, that's great! Keep up the great work! :-)

    ~Monique
  • I am thinking of doing a low carb version of WW and luckily I get enough daily points to do it.
  • Quote: I question how many plateaus you have really been on since you started in January and you have to be the same weight for 6 weeks to be on a plateau in the first place.
    The OP used the word "stall" not plateau, so it could mean a myriad of things from a maintain week, to a week where she got bored or frustrated about something.

    OP: I actually think there's nothing wrong with this. Mixing things up healthfully, and continuing to take steps forward. I'm very happy for you that you've found a way to keep the momentum up for yourself. To recognize when you need a change, and then implement it instead of just up and quitting or something.

    Well done. Keep at it.
  • I've done this with calorie zigzagging and had a lot of success in the past. I think switching things up (either carb cycling or cal zigzagging) is a good way to get the scale to move again. Something else I've heard works well is changing how much you eat at every meal. For example, if your dinner is usually your largest meal of the day, try making your breakfast your largest meal of the day (without changing total daily cals) and see if that moves the scale too. Congrats on your success!