I NEED HEEEEELP!!!

[Spotsandstars]

So I'm about to enter my 4th week of low carbing and I've lost......nothing!
I'm obviously doing it drastically wrong so please someone help me?
I'm at least three stone over weight and I'm the past diagnosed with pcos. Sugar consumption at the beginning of lockdown was ridiculous so I decided to quit sugar and all carbs (not ones in veg apart from all root veg, they've gone!)
It was a huge change for me and as someone who has done slimming world for years I wanted a better relationship with food for good and quit the addiction of sugar.

Breakfasts have consisted of scrambled eggs in butter with smoked salmon and avocado or spinach leaves etc or fried eggs with occasional decent bacon OR 40g porridge oats with alpro almond milk (I thought oats occasionally were ok but maybe not)

Lunch always salad with olive oil as a dressing or maybe mayo. Chicken breast or salmon maybe with a bit of avocado. Sometimes prawns in a omelette. Sometimes salad with feta etc.....maybe I shouldn't have any cheese?

Dinner - always what the family are having but without carbs so I may make a spag bol (not a jar but from scratch) and have the meat sauce with cauli rice or broccoli etc. Or roast chicken dinner without the potatoes.

I only drink a couple of cups of tea a day so not much milk but I'm good a drinking water. Alcohol is limited to weekends and I'm not a massively drinker. Dark chocolate when I'm desperate over 70%.

Sometimes in evening, I have some berries with full fat yoghurt and occasionally some nuts.

Please help!

Your diet sounds fine for low carb, even the oats (if not too big a portion, fibre is important!) Are you tracking cals as well, you might be burning less than you think at the moment as we’re all more sedentary so could be worth looking. Are you being considerate of portion sizes? The content you’ve listed here doesn’t ring any alarm bells

I think you might just be gearing up for a ‘whoosh’ not a technical term but common with low carb, nothing lost for a while and then a chunk comes off in one go.

Thank you for replying, I'm actually so sad that I've not lost anything, I was so proud of myself for getting rid of the sugar. It's made me feel very low and tearfull (not hormonal!).
I've not been counting calories obsessively as hoped I wouldn't have to, is that what everyone does? My BMR is 1710 should I be aiming for very much lower than that? Are you very strict on calories?

How much water are you drinking? You need lots! When I'm on the wagon (I'm not just now!!) I aim for at least 3.5l a day

I reckon about 2 to 2.5 litres a day on a good day. I think it should be 3.5 too. It's so hard to drink that much without feeling sick! Can it only be the water intake that's stopped me loosing anything??

You say your BMR is 1710 - is that what you’re eating?

I’d suggest you go online and use a calorie deficit calculator to work out how many calories you need to eat to create a deficit. Then, buy a decent set of weighing scales and track everything. It sounds onerous - it’s quick. If you’re eating the same things on a weekly basis an app like my fitness pal becomes very quick.

I suspect you’ll find that your deficit isn’t big enough to promote weight loss.

Personally I’d also cut out the oats - if you’re doing low carb then do it, at least for a decent time period while your body adapts. I’d also cut out the milk - it’s carby. And look at the alcohol you’re drinking: no-carb alcohols are vodka, gin, white rum.

All that said you’re doing a great job - it’s frustrating when something doesn’t work and often with low carb there is a fairly simple explanation so hopefully this helps.

Hormonal issues such as PCOS can affect your weight loss upon switching to a low carb diet. It sometimes takes a little longer for weight loss to begin in earnest. At four weeks you are really only just fat-adapted and the full adaption time low carb can easily take twice as long. Do you feel any slimmer? The first weight to go is the visceral fat around the organs which slims the waist. Do you have a before picture you can use for comparison? Have you taken measurements? We often lose inches from our waist and hips without the scales moving. Do you wear a belt that you can see whether it's on a tighter hole? Or a pair of trousers where the waistband was a little tight that you can try on for comparison? You may very well have lost fat without losing weight and it will show up in the fit of your clothes. On one Low Carb Bootcamp we had someone who lost two dress sizes without weight loss!

In terms of food, skip the porridge as it's really carby. 40g of porridge oats is about 25g of carbohydrate which is all your carbs for the day in one food! Is your almond milk unsweetened? The unsweetened Alpro is very low carb, the normal version is similar in carb content to cows milk.

For your lunches, don't be afraid to embrace higher fat meats. We call this way of eating low carb but it is really low carb - high fat. Foods such as chicken breast, salmon and prawns aren't high in fat. If you have chicken breast make sure it's skin-on. Chicken thighs are a better choice. You can eat the fat on bacon, don't select very lean bacon. Cheese is good in terms of weight loss but can affect your insulin levels so it's a problem for some people but not for others. I recommend no more than two portions of dairy per day and if you're worried it's affecting your weight loss then try cutting it out for a week.

Do you have a clear idea of which vegetables, fruit and nuts are lowest carb? The Diet Doctor website has excellent free information on this.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/vegetables

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/fruits

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/nuts

I hope the links work, my phone sometimes goes a bit wonky with them.

With the berries and nuts watch your portion sizes. The carbs in berries cans mount up quickly, about six strawberries (depending on size) is a portion. Nuts are hugely calorific so it's best to weigh out about 30g for a portion. They also vary a lot in carb content, for example cashews are high carb, so check out the Diet Doctor link above.

Alcohol can massively affect your weight loss. It's partly the calories, a bottle of wine is 600 calories which easily erases any weight loss for at least that day. There's also the fact that fat burning stops when you drink alcohol as your body has to burn the alcohol calories first. Finally many people find they're more likely to eat when they drink alcohol. You'll know whether that's an issue for you or not. I know I tend to make poor food choices after a glass of wine! In terms of the dark chocolate, a portion is 10-20g per day as this is also relatively high carb.

Well that was an epic post! Any questions?

Thank you all some good things to think about!

I'll cut back on the oats for breakfast (yes I use unsweetened alpro), does anyone have any good breakfast ideas rather than my usual scrambled eggs or eggs and bacon?

I've got some decent scales that I've been using the measure water and fat etc too. The calorie counting is something I've not done (only loosely) I was worried about getting disheartened with it as it's an extra thing to think about but will give it a go.

Some interesting points, I do feel a bit slimmer so maybe there is something in that and maybe I just need to carry on with trusting
I'm doing it right and hope to see results in a month or so time.

My alcohol intake is very small and always a gin and slimline tonic etc so I'm not concerned about that and I definitely don't eat after I've had a drink. Again nuts are pecans or Brazil's as I know they are better, I will weigh them if I have them from now on. I miss eating fruit, does anyone ever have the occasional apple or satsuma?

Thank you again all of you, it's good to have advice and support from people who've done this before.

@Spotsandstars are you signed up for the next Bootcamp? We're starting on 25 May - so lots of help and support there.

I can't really add much to @StuntNun's great post - other than to say sometimes it's all about tweaking things. Things which we think are only small 'digressions' can add up a lot! So I'd look at removing the oats, nuts, fruit, alcohol and chocolate for a bit and see what happens!

Equally, drinking the water is really important.

I feel the same OP, I have less to lose, 2 st, but like you, I have stuck to the keto way of eating and the scales haven't moved. I was eating a hell of a lot of almonds, so I have stopped buying them now as I clearly have no control.

If I was you I'd stop the alcohol, chocolate, nuts, oats and fruit for a couple of weeks and increase water intake, see what happens.

I am struggling to increase my water intake beyond 2 litres. Drinking in the morning makes me feel sick so I sometimes don't start drinking until midday.

@AnotheChinHair have you tried drinking your water hot? It's surprising how different it is!

But water is essential - it really will make a difference.

That's a great suggestion @BIWI thank you. Would liquorice tea work?

Any herbal or fruit tea - as long as they don't contain sugar or sweeteners - and liquorice tea has lots of benefits. But there are also some less desirable side effects - see here

I gained a pound this week. I'm literally on my knees. I've been logging everything today, I upped the water intake a few days ago, not had nuts for a while. I've sorted my macros I think but we will see. I cannot carry on if this doesn't work. Im eating less and healthier than I've ever done and it's exhausting.

If you have your calorie intake and macros I could have a look at them if you like.