Low carbed - lost weight - stopped - put it all back on

[krepsly]

God I'm so annoyed. A couple of weeks ago I was on here boasting about my rapid weight loss on low carb diet. I started off at 10st 9lbs and within a week or so I was down to 10st 4lbs. But I hated the diet and stupidly thought I'd keep the weight off if I went back to normal food with small portions - well guess what, got on the scales this morning and I'm 10st 8lbs.

I'm so annoyed and disapointed. HOW DO YOU STICK TO LOW CARBING??? I really want to but I can never last more than a week. I feel like crying tbh, all that hard work and it's just come straight back on.

i know how you feel but you need some perspective - it's not really 'all that hard work' if it only took you a week!

how low are you going? are you eating most veg except for potatoes? personally i am still learning and struggling a bit with snacks and out of the house eating.. but at home i'm happy with my recipes.

'how you stick to it' sort of depends on what your weaknesses are - if it's sugar then you need to cold-turkey as it's like an adiction imo.

by hard work I mean the feeling of starving myself for a week I went about it all the wrong way, I had hardly any decent low carb stuff in the house so half the time ended up feeling really hungry and tbh the weight loss could have been down to how little I was actually eating rather than what I was eating.

It's totally my own fault I've put on weight, I've been eating crisps, chocolates, big bread cakes - everything I couldn't eat whilst low carbing so it's no wonder really.

I just wish I could stick to a low carb diet because I know it works

It only works for a week!! Losing 5 pounds in a week is way too much. Just do less carbs, and give yourself a long time scale, like 6 months

I think thats half my problem goodtimes, I want instant weightloss and if it doesn't happen I get disheartened. I put too much pressure on myself because I want to be slim so much and I end up starving myself and making myself uphappy just to get skinny. Then of course - comes the comfort eating.

low carb shouldn't leave you hungry - i have had a two egg omlette with cheese for breakie, am having avocado and prawns for lunch and not sure about dinner for now but i know i won't be that hungry when i get to it..

you can't get slim in a week (if you've got more than a lb or two to lose).

krepsly - sorry you can't get slim in a week, the first week of a diet its fluids etc you loose, so of course you put it back on when you eat normally again, esp if you ate crisps, cake and chocolate, what do you expect??? Its not magic, and hard work isn't one or two weeks, its several months of sticking to it. You can't really loose more than 1-2lbs per week of body fat. Weight loss is not instant.

I started my diet in October, until January did low GI, low fat, since Jan/Feb have being doing low carb. Was 12 5 in October, 10 5 by Jan/Feb and 9 3 last week.

Then went away for a week, including a wedding, hotel breakfast and some meals out. Ate everything at the wedding but did exercise some caution rest of time, eg, choose low carb options as far as possible in restuarants and hotel breakfasts, didn't have ice creams crisps and chocolate even though DC/DH having, skipped the roll, potatoes, apple pie from airplane meal etc. But ate some carbs, eg licks of DC's ice cream, a small brown roll when in a bakery. Put on 1lb in the week I was away which I was happy enough about.

Also to answer your other question - HOW DO YOU STICK TO LOW CARBING??? - well you have to find a way of eating, whether its low carbing or otherwise that works for you in the LONG TERM. Changing your diet for 1-2 weeks is a pointless waste of time.

Don't try low carb unless you have been to supermarket and done a big low carb friendly shop!

I tried pig to twig low carbing a la "Idiot Proof Diet" but the lack of fibre and low fat dairy didn't work for me, so I do dukan, but with protein and vegetables every day - and as I have reached my target weight I can add now some other things too. I also use myfitnesspal so if I do want a higher carb treat I make sure I have a 1200 calorie day instead, and it has to be a small treat!

If you want to eat crisps, chocolates, and big bread cakes on a regular basis then you should accept your current weight as being what you will weigh.

Now I look at chocolate or crisps and think - do I want to eat that or do I want to stay slim. It doesn't have the same attraction when I know eating it will undo all my hard work.

I agree with others. Dieting isn't a quick fix. You find a lifestyle that suits. One that includes a healthy enough diet to maintain a healthy weight and enough exercise to keep your body ticking over nicely.

You can only lost 1-2lbs of fat a week. That is true. So when you starve yourself you lose water and lean tissue and of course it goes back on because you need it.

well said forever

A 1wk low carb diet wont work for a life time. You are kidding yourself if you think it will.

Read the Idiof Proof Diet and see if you think it will work for you. It is working for me and I am rarely 'starving' if I am it means I havent drank enough water or I havent eaten enough the previous day. There is no need to be hungry on a low carb diet.

Also wanted to say that with any diet should be possible to loose half stone in first couple of weeks. I certainly did and it wasn't low carb initially. You can't say a diet "works" just because you loose 5lbs within the first week or so. It works if you keep on loosing over longer term (say 2 months minimum) and you can stick to it.

As jaxtellers says low carb diet is a lifetime commitment. I agree reading India and Neris's book, as they do make this very clear.

Don't give up! I agree with fluffles - sugar (and, IMO, grains) are an addiction and if you stop eating them you will eventually lose the desire to eat them and it will all get much easier.

Agree with everyone else - do a big shop and start again. Make a big pot of soup and keep it on the hob so if you're feeling nibblish you can have a small bowl. Hard boiled eggs are also good to have on hand to prevent slip ups.

If you do slip up don't make it worse by thinking you might as well go mad and start again tomorrow - there's nothing magical about a 24 hour period, start again right away. Every good choice has a benefit and will lead to long-term healthy eating.