Please help advise me why I'm not losing weight before I give up!

[thecertaintyofchance]

Hi

A bit of background. I'm v small boned 5ft 2. Pre children 12 years ago I did the Atkins diet and maintained a weight of 7stone 10 without much effort on this WOE.

After my first 3 children I tended to go back to carb and got back down to about 8.5 stone. Whilst pregnant I crave carbs unfortunately so do put weight on.

The problem arose with my last pregnancy. I literally ballooned. He is now 3 and I still weight 11.5 stone. I have flirted with several diets since he was born. I did sw for 3 months and lost 2 pounds although I did stick to it. I am greenly a healthy eater. Lots of fruit/veg. I don't drink alcohol. My downfall is probably portion size and bread.

Anyway 3 weeks ago I came to the realisation that I have to do something. I look as though someone has put me in a fat suit. So I went back to the tried and tested low carb.

I am eating lots of eggs and meat. Fish, full fat plain yoghurt as a snack with a handful nuts. Salad and veg as well. I have gained 2 pounds in that time and feel very low. I know I can stick to this WOE as I have done it before but I can only stick to it if its working. I am craving fruit.

I assume that this issue is I have done this so many time now that my body is confused? If so will it work and when? I have huge willpower when something is working but not when it isn't! I know dairy can be an issue but it hasn't been in the past.

Thanks for getting this far!

It is harder when you've been on several failed diets. The real key to getting weight off and keeping it off seems to be consistency over a long period rather than throwing in the towel and trying something new. Its as though the brain gets used to you trying and tells the fat cells just to hang on and you'll give up!

If you look back through some of the old Boot Camp threads you will see people who have struggled for several weeks before they beat the fat cells into submission and got a whoosh of weight loss.

Have you upped your fat levels? You say you are eating the right things but then you say you are eating nuts and yoghurt as a snack. The idea is to eat things that will satisfy you and do away with the need to snack. Do you dress your salads? Are you adding butter in cooking? Nuts are not usually recommended if you follow BootCamp. They can get quite carby in quantity and lots of people who like nuts can struggle to keep amounts low.

Hope this helps. Biwi will probably be along later. I don't think shes at home yet so her internet access is a bit spotty.

Thanks yes I maybe do need to up my fat intake.
So far today I have had cheese omelette cooked in butter, handful of cashew nuts and lunch was just a pack of king prawns and a dollop of mayo. I did but an avocado but it was disappointingly un ripe.

It's encoyraging to know there may be a whoosh of weight loss. I just made myself very depressed squeezing into a tummy control costume in the saibsburys changing room. My arms are larger than most people's thighs.

Oh and can I eat too many eggs. I'm having 2 every day for breakfast but often having 2 more on my salad at lunchtime.

Lots of silly stories about eggs still around but they're fine! Cashews aren't ideal as they are one of the higher carb nuts. Like peanuts, they aren't true nuts, they are legumes. The best choice is macadamia but they are expensive. Almonds are a good choice. Theres a list on the Boot Camp spreadsheet. Not sure how to put a link but if you look back to one of the old BootCamp threads theres always a link in the opening post each week. At the bottom of the spread sheet there are tabs to useful info and I'm sure theres a list of nut choices.

Are you drinking plenty? You often need more than you would think. The bigger you are the more you need. Preferably water, but you can use herby tea bags to help out if its a struggle. As you go over to fat burning you will produce ketones as a by-product. You need to flush them out to keep fat burning at an optimum level. If they build up too much they tend to slow down the rate you lose.

Thanks v useful I will drink more.

You mentioned you lost 2lb after 3 months on SW, I would say this might mean there is something perhaps impeding your weightloss. I lost 2stone in 3 months on SW by really sticking to it. I'm happily low carbing now and able to maintain my weightloss but just 2 lbs really struck a chord with me.
Might be worth seeing your GP for a blood test and checking your thyroid levels.
Apart from that let 'water and fat' be your mantra

I have had my thyroid checked. It does feel as though something changed in my last pregnancy. But then I'm in my 40's now which may play a part.
What is really odd is that my weight stays pretty static whatever I'm eating good or bad.

Ok am 4 weeks in on Monday and have lost 1 measly pound.
Yesterday I ate:
2 egg cheese omelette for breakfast as I do everyday.
Handful of almonds and small glass full fat milk.
Lunch was chicken, lettuce, cucumber and egg.
2 slices roast chicken and a cheese string.
Garlic mushrooms in creamy sauce for tea.
Full fat greek yoghurt mixed with double cream and sprinkling of cinnamon for pudding.
Lots of water.
As I said up thread am 5 foot 2 and 11.5 stone so plenty to use. Am ready to give up.
Advice please.

You don't mention exercise on any of your posts. the one and only thing i've ever agreed with katie hopkins on (sorry to mention her) is eat less move more. I did it and shifted 2 stone. in about 12 weeks.

for me i found it was easier to not cut out everything "fun" (i hate the idea of low fat mayonnaise, and low fat ice-cream etc - would much rather have none at all...its not proper food!) so i just ate less of it. maybe only a dessert once a week, but snacked healthy, on almonds, fruit, carrot sticks/ cucumber sticks etc. but made sure i was always active. walked 10,000 steps a day - get the app "pacer" for your phone, and take phone everywhere with you. I was amazed initially at how inactive i was.

i also stopped eating meat as often. More leafy greens, more beans and pulses, and nice meat once a week or so (roast chicken, or a nice steak or something).

have just seen that you have a toddler as well...so mage ignore my more exercise thing..! i imagine that having to run around after a 3year old is exercise enough.!

I don't do formal exercise but I definitely don't sit still. I must run up and diwn2 flights of stairs a million times a day.
Effectively ive given up sugar and was under the impression is be a stone lighter by now plus I would feel better. Sadly it's not happened.

Maybe do BIWI's uber camp to get things going?

Might be too much dairy - some people find it stalls them.

Might be the nuts.

Have you done the low carb boot camp before? There's one starting on May 11th.

I don't think it is essential to exercise in order to lose weight.
I would suggest that you may be dairy intolerant. Can you try and cut out milk/cream/cheese for a few days and see if things change. I would give this a go before packing in all together.
Good luck

Also sometimes when following low carb, the scales do not show a loss but clothes feel looser.
Why not have a read of the current thread running in Low carb. It's all fully explained there. Sorry but I don't know how to link to the thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/low_carb_bootcamp/2362084-Inbetween-BCs-Thread-2?

Theoretically your body shouldn't get 'used' to LCing and therefore resist it. IME however I've found that I needed to tweak things a bit to make weight loss shift after going back to LC on a subsequent occasion.

You say you're craving fruit - you might find that cutting out dairy means that you can tolerate more fruit and some of the carbier veg and still lose weight.

I dunno, I tend to see craving fruit as an indication I'm having too many carbs - if I suddenly want orange juice and other sweet fruits I usually know I'm not actually being as careful as I should be. But I'm extremely sensitive and have to be quite careful.

If I cut out bread I lose weight. But I find it hard to cut it out completely. So I have a few days with no bread and other days with one or two slices. I don't think two Too much fruit shouldn't relly be a problem if you are sticking to five a day. And try not eating after 6 pm or so as I find that helps me. Nuts also could be a problem as they are very high in calories. I love them but don't eat them often for this reason. Can't seem to stop eating them once I've started.

Just to add I think you are having far far too much fat in your diet. I went on the Atkins a few years ago and I blame that for getting gall stones. So be careful as they're incredibly painful. Had to have gallbladder out in the end.

Thanks Holger

Fat is fine. If you are properly eating low carb.

Calories isn't an issue with low carbing. It doesn't work that way (unless you are at or very close to your ideal weight in which case it does become important to watch overall intake). It will be the carb count of nuts, and the fact that it's very easy for a small handful to become a bigger handful, then once a day becomes a couple of times a day, etc.

About fat intake, low carbing is not a forgiving way of life, you cannot eat low carb/high fat and 'cheat', as it's the combined intake of fat and carby foods together that causes health problems.

High fat diets in themselves do not cause gallstones. A gallbladder is designed to release bile in response to fat in the diet and a healthy gallbladder likes to have lots to do (a simplistic explanation but accurate)

An extreme restriction of fat in the diet (such as on very low cal) will stop the gallbladder producing bile often causing sludge build up and could go on to form stones.

Another possibility is that you developed insulin resistance in or after your last pregnancy. This is likely what happened to me. I found out entirely by chance a couple of years ago that I had developed type 2 diabetes and that's why I had been putting on weight. I adopted a low carb lifestyle and lost three stone. I have reversed my diabetes with very low carb eating and will not develop any of the associated long term health problems. I'm not cured though - if too many carbs start to work their way inTo my diet it quickly overwhelms my system and I quickly put weight on. If that's the case with you then you will need to watch out on fruits and 'healthy' carbs as the body does not differentiate - all carby foods will cause problems.

If you are determined to lose weight, and more importantly improve your health, and would like to keep going with low carb I would strongly suggest signing up for the next boot camp. It's very helpful to do it alongside others for help and support, and there is a very good set of resources to help you understand the science behind it.

I would stop eating a handful of nuts as a snack. You only need a few.

Diet Doctor is a very good book. His theory is that you need to eat complex carbs and protein every meal/snack and loads of water. Also, you don't need to eat huge portions.

Thanks.
I'm willing to cut out dairy and nuts but then I will not be eating high fat. It will be more low fat low carb? I thought it was the fat that keeps you full? I suppose I have relied on cheese, cream and nuts to provide the fat to keep me from feeling hungry.
Will look at boot camp as well thanks .