Well, I'm a 16 year old girl and I'm about 5'5''. I started doing the slimfast diet back in april, and I weighed about 177 lbs. I did 40 minutes of cardio each day, and some weights. Now I weigh 134 pounds, and my weight loss has slowed down alot. I wanna get down to 120. I was wondering if I should start a low carb diet to loose the last 14 lbs? If I do lose weight, will I be able to keep it off? Thanx

ahh...the $64,000 question!

how are you doing? have you read any books on eating low carb? It's useful to have a carb counter book or one of the diet plans if you've never done this before. Most plans have you eating around 30-100 grams carb per day, but there's a lot of variation in amount of fat, kinds of carbs(no white flour? no sugar? no fruit? beans?)

Come back and ask any questions, or just let us know how you're doing!

dottie

You'll be able to keep the weight off as long as you follow a reasonable maintenance plan once you hit your goal weight. If you go back to your old eating habits, the pounds will start piling up in no time.

To choose a good low-carb plan for you, I'd recommend reading "Living the low-carb life: from Atkins to the zone, Choosing the diet that's right for you" by Johnny Bowden. He examins several popular low-carb plans, offering info on it, giving pros and cons; that way he helps you choose the plan that fits better to your needs, so you are most likely to stick with. Then you can buy the book for that plan exclusively if you like.

Personally, I don't count carb grams, but I do have a list of foods that I can have and others that are off-limits until I've reached my goal weight (then I can re-introduce them in small quantities) - mainly by glycemic index. So I'll have raspberries in my protein smoothies, but not bananas. I'll have lots of leafy veggies but no beans, no beets, no potatoes... works for me. I don't do well when I have to count calories or carbs, so I don't want to go into that. Personal preference.

Good luck!

Have you talked to your parents/guardian about this? They might be able to help you also. Are you sure you need to get down to 120 or is it possible you look great the way you are? I'm not saying you should give up on the idea of getting to that weight. But are you sure it's realistic? Just remember if you DO go low carb you will have to make sure to stay with it for the rest of your life. Not everyone can do that. It's possible to make up your own low carb version and eat like that. Good luck in whatever weight loss program you choose!