Is it possible that increasing my carbs could get me out of this stall?

[Zarabelle]

Hi Guys

I posted my menu on review my menu forum and look forward to advice on their but was just wondering..... do you think increasing my carbs by 5g could get me out of this weight stall or is it best to start losing again before increasing the carbs?

I currently eat around 25g carb. Mainly induction food plus 5g from a rung (I am up to alcohol and have not found any of the rungs - except alcohol - to be a problem).

Should I try going up to 30g? I have cut out coffee (I only usually have 1-2 cups per day) which has not worked and I miss it!

Yesterday I had - tomato and onion (small amounts) omelette with cheese, cheese and bacon salad with avocado and mayo, burger, cheese and mayo and raspberries and cream. 25g on fitday (logged very carefully and measured ingredients). I also have 100oz + of water a day.

Today I had scrambled egg with smoked salmon for breakfast, I will have baked avocado with cream and bacon for lunch and then a tuna mayo salad with red onion, 1 tomato and cucumber tonight (could add pine nuts) and raspberries and cream for my treat/dessert. Without the pine nuts, this comes in at 19g carb - 68% fat, 22% protein and 9% carbs.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Zx

[ValidRouge]

Zarabelle, this is my opinion based on some success from other low carbers. I always take advice from people who have had SUCCESS.

Anyway, Yes, I would increase my carbs. BUT, ONLY through vegetables. I would ditch the dairy and the berries and the alcohol and go back to 25 grams of veggies ONLY for a few days until you start losing again. THEN I would go to 30 grams of veggies, then 35 grams of veggies, going higher and higher JUST WITH VEGGIES until you stop losing. Then back down 5 grams to see if you start losing again. This will show you your CCLL. Most people don't have food intolerance to veggies (although some people do have intolerance to the nightshade family which is tomatoes and pepeprs and eggplant I believe). This will take you several weeks, if not a couple months.

THEN, replace some of your veggie carbs with 5 net grams of carbs from dairy. ONE dairy type at a time. Cottage cheese one week, ricotta the next, etc. To test your body's sensitivity to those foods.

Pay very close attention to not only weight gain, but to your MOODS. If you find yourself craving, you know you've found a trigger food. If you find yourself very grouchy and irritable, you've found a food to which you are intolerant. Food allergies don't always make you break out in hives. Food allergies can manifest themselves with symptoms such as bloating, fatigue, irritability, etc.

You'll do yourself such a huge favor if you move slowly, cautiously and with purpose through the rungs. Don't rush them.

[Zarabelle]

Hi ValidRouge

Thank you for your help. That does make sense. Although I lost eating berries (CONFESSION - I ate berries even during the first two weeks as I know they didn't stall me last time), I guess there is nothing to say that I wouldn't have lost more!

Can I clarify a couple of things?

When you say ditch the dairy - do you mean go back to the levels allowed on induction or ditch it completely?

The berries and alcohol I can do without so no problem. Would you take out the nuts and seeds and then introcuce again after all the dairy add ins?

I actually haven't had any cravings since starting as I have kept away from the frankenfoods and sweetners (except for occassional diet soda or splenda sachet).

What are your thoughts on coffee? Do I really need to give this up? I agree with you that it is probably the cream (I eat a lot of it) and berries that could be stalling me.

Thanks again for your advice. I value it so much. You have done so well - AMAZING!

Zara x

[ValidRouge]

I think, then, it's time to eliminate that stuff and get back to the basics. You are only eliminating things for a very short time when you consider that we are changing our eating habits for LIFE in order to lose this weight and KEEP IT OFF. A few weeks of elimination is a drop in the bucket. If those foods truly don't cause cravings, then it should be no problemo in dropping them for any amount of time.

You could start out by keeping your dairy consumption to the induction acceptable amounts which is 3-4 ounces of hard cheese per day and 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream. That's it. Now, if you suspect that you are intolerant of dairy, you would be a lot better off eliminating it NOW and save yourself a lot of frustration. I lost the majority of my weight enjoying cheese and dairy. However, once I got into premaintenance my weight loss came to a screeching halt. There were several culprits, hidden high fructose corn syrup, dairy and processed meats. When I eliminated these things, my weight loss continued (albeit slowly because I was at/below my goal of 185). I will go up on the scale as much as 5-6 lbs if I add ANY dairy back into my diet. The same with processed meats (bacon, ham, deli meats, etc.). I think back now to how much faster I might have lost if I'd cut them out a long time ago.

Dairy, nuts, alcohol and grains are KNOWN stallers. They are KNOWN to be allergens to a lot of people (lactose intolerances, celiacs/gluten intolerances, nut/peanut intolerances, etc.) As I said before not everyone has the INTENSE/acute symptoms of the intolerance but milder symptoms.

Take them out of your diet completely, get yourself losing again and then add them back one at a time. Then you can know exactly what foods you can and cannot eat to lose weight and FEEL GOOD.

Dr. Atkins also has us add foods back to our diets in a very specific order. That is for a reason. We add them back in according to the impact they have on our blood glucose/insulin levels. I would stick to the way that Dr. Atkins says to. He had a reason for it.

As for coffee, I would guess that the issue with that is the amount of cream that you are consuming IN the coffee. Caffeine also stimulates appetite. So, if you are drinking caffeinated coffee it could be triggering the munchies and you might be eating more allowable food than you would without the caffeine. Remember, decaffeinated coffee STILL has some caffeine. I am a decaffe coffee drinker (black) even though I know it is increasing my hunger. It's one of my downfalls and I'm constantly trying to "get off the juice" so to speak.

[Zarabelle]

OK, that's clear. Many thanks.

I am going back to induction plus OWL rung 1 - veg and that's it. Will stick to 25g and then when I start losing again, I will increase (week by week) by 5g until I hit my CCL and then replace 5g veg with 5g rung 2 (slowly) and so on.

I drink coffee black and am happy with decaff so will switch to that immediately. I actually don't feel hungry after having coffee. In fact, it kills any hunger pangs/cravings for me and will be my substitute for my beloved berries until I can add them back again.

You are quite right that it is not worth rushing it. I am so committed that I stayed on plan during vacation and quite frankly would eat just meat and veg if that's what it took! I am definitely on the WOE for life now so am not in a rush (although would like to see a weight loss week on week of course!).

Have just amended my menu for today to take out the berries and cream and add another tomato and some cucumber. This gets me to exactly 25g carbs.

Thanks again, I will let you know how I get on.

Zx

[ValidRouge]

Good for you! Since you are obviously committed and willing to do what it takes, I have no doubt of your success.

Keep us updated on how it goes for you.

[SunnySmile501]

You've gotten very good advice, so I will just tell you my experience. I had a lot ot lose, so I stayed near induction levels for several months. My weight loss started to stall, so the board I was on at that time (eDiets) suggested that I cut down my carbs even more. I gained! I got mad because I love my veggies and I pigged out on them and lost 5 pounds that week. When I upped my carbs I started losing at a fast clip once again. I have found that you have to change up the diet and exercise all the time so your body doesn't get used to the 'new normal' and bog down.

Sunny!

[Zarabelle]

The scale is moving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it! It moved down .5 pounds this morning - after almost 3 weeks (in fact, I was showing 1 pound up yesterday so it dropped 1.5!).

Thank you so much guys! x

I missed my berries but not as much as I missed losing weight!

[ValidRouge]

Yay! Congrats to you.

[Zarabelle]

2 pounds down this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so happy!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much xxx

PS Now I know I am going in the right direction, I am really going to try not to weigh in until next Wednesday (I normally WI twice a day - morning and night!)