carb consumption question - too few?

[Aways2Go]

After another week on Extended Induction with no weight loss and no noticeable inches lost, I decided that it did not seem to be helping me move any faster towards my next mini-goal (and getting those clothes out of the boxes on my floor!) so I am moving to OWL level 1.

The last 4 pounds I lost was after two weeks of no loss, then a gain of several pounds, then a quick loss of the gained pounds plus another 4 pounds. This was after cutting out aspartame items and a couple other things. But that may be what I am experiencing again (although no aspartame to cut out this time). I would much rather lose in a somewhat more consistent manner (half a pound down overall every several days even if a temporary gain of a pound or so on some days) although I know that can't necessarily be controlled. I know weighing every day is not recommended, but my weight loss has been such a rollercoaster of ups and downs and staying the same for days on end (although down overall) I feel I need to track it consistently to try to determine what foods may be affecting me. I don't find it discouraging, I find it educational. I also think I need to experiment with cutting out some things from my diet that may be contributing to this potential pattern... cream in coffee, a spice mix I have used numerous times on vegetables (although sugar is not listed, I don't like the generic term "spices" on the label which can be damn near anything), etc. I already know I have a few food allergies (shellfish, msg), and suspect I may have others with less dramatic and immediate noticeable effects that I have yet to identify, so I think it may take quite a while for me to experiment and determine foods that may affect my weight loss. Given that, might as well have a more varied menu in the meantime if staying on extended induction is not quickly and steadily moving me further down.

Thanks all!

[liv]

Moving to rung one may just be what is needed. Some people lose better with more veggies.
Not usual to have a bit a pause right after induction though. - the dreaded PISS (post induction stall syndrome )

[Aways2Go]

I hope extra veggies help, Liz - I love them anyways even if they don't, though.

I know about P.I.S.S., LOL! But I thought/hoped I had already gone PAST that - I lost about 18 pounds during a number of weeks of induction (about two months but interrupted two weeks when company was visiting then went back to induction), then weighed the same for a couple weeks, didn't seem to be losing inches inches either, etc. Then gained several pounds over a few days... Re-evaluated my foods and took out aspartame items and over the next week lost the gained pounds and four more. Great! Thought I had the problem solved. Don't really know if it was just P.I.S.S. or the aspartame removal. Maybe both.

Then the same thing immediately started again. Scales haven't moved from the 4 pound loss at all for something like a week, maybe more... now started creeping up again by several pounds. I HOPE this is going to do like last time and fall off all at once again after another few days.

But since it hasn't been just a slow primarily downward drop (I don't worry about a pound up or down daily wobble, even two, as long as it falls off again over the next day or so) I am thinking it is might take me a LOT of time to try to determine what foods affect my weight loss. Hard to tell if, say, adding nuts is making you not lose weight, when you lose weight by staying the same for a week or more, then gaining several pounds, and then dropping all at once - if this pattern starts repeating itself as my body's method for losing, which it seems to be doing at this point. If I eat 3 servings of nuts in a week, I might have to wait through 2 weeks or more of this type of cycle to complete itself to see if the nuts affected it or not. I regularly (pre-atkins) would eat walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, and several others. I'm thinking I will need to try these in groups of a few at a time so over the course of a few months, I could hopefully get through all the items I might regularly eat and see if they bother me or not.

It's gonna be a long trip through OWL for me, I think, to try to determine what interrupts my losing and what doesn't - of course with 100 pounds still to lose, it woulda been a fairly long trip anyhow, LOL! I don't mind much other than occasionally wishing for something completely forbidden like a piece of French Silk pie or some freshly baked sourdough slathered in some creamy butter!
(which I haven't had in probably 8 months or more anyway, way before I started Atkins)

Off to OWL I go! And eliminated the coffee cream and the veggie spice mix for now to see what that does (or doesn't do).

[liv]

I think it is a good thing to take your time in OWL. That is what I did too and I found I got a fairly good relationship with a lot of ingredients that way. Start with veggies and linger there a bit. The body will give in and start dropping those pounds.

[Aways2Go]

Just wanted to add that moving to OWL level 1 got the scales moving again. Or at least I assume that is what did it - I suppose it could have been a coincidence. In any case, I'm happy with it and having a little more variety in my daily diet.

[liv]

That is great. Thanks for letting us know.
Very many people think they have to skimp on carbs to lose weight but it is not necessarily so.

[Aways2Go]

Update for anyone on extended and considering moving to OWL 1 - do it!

I am still losing on OWL level 1, slowly but surely... (realistically it isn't that slow, but sometimes it just FEELS that way when you are in a hurry to lose). I am having somewhere around 23 to 27 carbs most days and seem to be averaging around 2 pounds loss per week. Due to my recent schedule, I haven't been exercising like I should and my water intake has been a little low. My calories, although I don't really count them but FITDAY does, generally are falling in the 1600 to 1900 range, occasionally slightly more. I stay full all the time. I keep trying to reduce my intake of cream and cheese but find it hard more due to convenience, not cravings - though allowed, they do seem to stall or slow some people, and I was hitting the limits on them many days. Also still trying to reduce my overall sodium intake.

I find this diet gets EASIER to do over time - I have never said that about any other diet.

I think over the next several weeks, I may skip rung 2 (dairy) for now as I will probably tend towards having too much of them, and move up to rung 3 (nuts) which I will find more easy to control and ration out.

I look forward to getting to rung 4 (berries) and getting that settled, then going back and working out/working on rung 2. Once I get to that point, I truly think I could stay there for months on end with no problems and no huge need to move up to levels 5 and beyond until I get much closer to goal/pre-maintenance.

[mizski]

Originally Posted by Aways2Go

I find this diet gets EASIER to do over time - I have never said that about any other diet.

I agree. I'm not sure it it is the fact that I understand the advice given in a lot of the posts and the book better or that I'm beginning to figure out what works with my body. Maybe both.

I think over the next several weeks, I may skip rung 2 (dairy) for now as I will probably tend towards having too much of them, and move up to rung 3 (nuts) which I will find more easy to control and ration out.

As a suggestion before you skip dairy, maybe look over some of the recipes you like that might have dairy ingredients like milk, ricotta or yogurt. Some of those dairy ingredients are mighty useful especially when you move up to the berry rung.

Just a thought...I was going to skip over the wine rung as I don't really drink wine but then I remembered that I had a lot of recipes that use it that I really wanted to make.

Anyways, whatever you decide, congrats on your continued weight loss!

[Aways2Go]

Thanks Mizski! I am actually mini-celebrating today, as I am now down 60 pounds from my highest weight ever and am finally LESS than 100 pounds from my goal.

Granted, I may have to adjust my goal as I get closer to it (it's been so long since I weighed around that much, I don't really know for sure what my goal needs to be, LOL!). I might be happy at 210, or I may find I need to go down to 175 or 180. 20+ years of time and changes in muscularity levels make it hard for me to guess.

Nonetheless, it still pleases me. ;-)

[chauber]

Originally Posted by imagood1

When I'm not real hungry I make sure to eat my 1 cup from the "Other" veggie list and a salad. Pumpkin seems to be something that really helps on these days.

I ditto the pumpkin...and I have found that if I eat under 20 grams but have higher carb veggies I lose a little faster. That may be one of those 'it's what my body needs' things.

Good luck!