anyone know why I haven't lost a single ounce?

[farewellfigure]

Hi

I started a lo-carb sensible eating diet last Monday. I've radically changed my diet with no 'bad' stuff (cake, biscuits, chocolate etc), have really cut back on carbs (no bread, no processed cereal, a tiny bit of rice and pasta) and am eating loads of veg but only one bit of fruit a day. I can't think of anything I've been eating that is considered really bad for you. I know it's only been 11 days but surely I should have lost something? Just a teenie bit? Oh I've been drinking loads of water as well. I do feel a bit lightheaded and weird.

Does anyone know if I'm doing something wrong? I am soooooo disappointed and feel like giving up. Not good as I have a really really long way to go...like 6 stone would be nice :)

keep going - if your diet is as healthy as it sounds and you aren;t doing any less exercise then you will lose weight.

How much water is "loads"?

Hm, 4 or 5 big glasses on average. Plus 2 or 3 cups of tea. I do need to do more exercise. I don't drive so I walk everywhere but I need to start doing cycling or a class or something.

This is what happened last time. After 3 weeks with absolutely no change on the scales I just thought 'why exactly am I starving myself for nothing?'. It's so frustrating. I feel like all the biscuits, cakes and chocolate I've managed to turn down wouldn't have made any difference so I should have scoffed them all!

I hope you aren't starving yourself. What exactly are you eating?

yes what are you eating - you have to eat a certain amount for you to lose weight if you dont eat enough your body holds onto every calorie
the heavier you are the more you need ,but healthier.
dont diet ,pick good options that you can stick to for life
healthy weight loss is 1lb a week.

Are you filling up with lots of protein instead? And avoiding carbs altogether in the evenings? This can make a lot of difference.

How much fat are you eating - by which I mean are you eating enough? If you've drastically cut your carbs then you should also be considering upping your fat intake to lose weight.

You definitely shouldn't be starving yourself! This is totally counterproductive and you won't lose weight.

Can you post some menus so we can get a better idea of what you're actually eating?

Hi

Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to think someone out there is behind me!

Today so far I've had a small portion of muesli and a fromage frais for breakfast with a cup of tea. I had a handful of cashews at about 11 with another cuppa. Lunch was a mushroom and cheese omelette. Tonight will be a giant bowl of salad with lettuce, toms, cucumber, pepper, sweetcorn, onion, strips of Edam, caesar dressing and a handful of cooked pasta. Oh, I'm veggie hence no meat.

Yesterday was muesli and and apple for breakfast. A soup bowlful of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and grated cheese and dressing for lunch, then a small amount of white rice with a veggie mince chilli for tea. I use a small plate to keep portions down. I did have 2 glasses of white wine as Weds night is date night

I've honestly not had any biscuits, cake etc. The thing is, before the diet I ate pretty healthily anyway. I pretty much always cook from scratch. My downfall has always been cake, cheese, and alcohol. Do you think that because I'm seriously overweight (at least 6 stone) it takes longer to work?

But muesli and pasta are both very high in carbs - if you are not completely cutting out carbs you might be better off calorie counting

oh, thats not enough calories
no wonder your feeling dizzy

if im dieting to lose a few pounds i know that if i eat cheese or yougart i wont shift anything,i cant tell you why, but see if you can cut them out.

I did wonder whether cutting down on carbs rather than stopping altogether is counter-productive. Is that what you mean? I'm sort of in the middle. I just think that being a veggie it would be really hard to cut out another whole food group. Surely though the amount of calories I've cut down must be beneficial though? Is the cheese omelette too fatty as I haven't cut carbs completely? HELP! I'm so confused!

if you are 6 stone overweight you probably need to be on at least 1800 calories. Doesn;t sound like much protein to me but depends how much eggs/cheese you're adding. I'd substitute some cottage cheese at breakfast and cut down on the muesli.

Counting calories isn;t a good way to lose weight in the long term but counting calories initially until you grasp how much you should be eating. Keep a food diary and reveiw it every few days.

on average i lose a lb a week,typical menu
bfast -porridge/skimmed milk/1 sugar
mid morning -1 bananna
lunch - 2 crumpets with jam or w/w bagel w/w cheese salad
tea-ckn kiev( low fat) ,wedges,salad
eve- aero or magnum mini icecream
water and tea s/s mlk 1 sugar during day
on a sat i have a takeaway and usually have 4 bottles of bud

Try a bowl of cereal or porridge for breakfast, same again for lunch, loads of diet drinks to take edge off appetite during the day and a usaul healthy dinner at night, that usually works quickly for me.

carbs aren't poison so no problem having some carbs, also no problem with eggs, or hard cheese in moderation. MEasure the amount of cheese you are adding to your food.

But make sure you're eating enough. Salad and grated cheese (unless you have a pile of cheese) doesn't sound enough to me.

(I have lost 40 kgs btw)

40 kgs = 6stone and a bit

Salad dressing, cashew nuts, cheese, museli - all good foods but ones where you need to be sure to weigh out portions, otherwise you can take in enormous numbers of calories without really noticing.

should add im on weight watchers pro points plan so its easy ,
26 points daily and 49 weekly so i eat what i like within reason.

you can't lose 6 stone over a couple of years by having cereal twice a day IME. It might work to lose a little before going on hols but not to change behaviour and shift a lot of weight.

Ask BIWI on her Bootcamp thread.

She is not nutritionally qualified or anything but has done fab things lo carbing
HTH

good point Higgle - how much is a "handful" of cashews?

Are you using My Fitness Pal? I've been trying to lose weight for a couple of weeks now and I find it's a great tool to monitor exactly how many calories/fat I take in during the day.

I am also trying to reduce my carbs and although I haven't lost any great amount of weight yet, I do feel less bloated which can only be a good thing. I'm not an expert on low-carbing though so can't really give you any useful tips on that front.

But I second the poster who said muesli and pasta are high carb, also muesli can be loaded with sugar depending on the brand. Unless of course you're being very virtuous and making your own muesli! Porridge might be better if you want a carb-y breakfast but without all the sugar of muesli. And whole wheat pasta instead of white if you can.

40 kgs = 6stone and a bit. Thats amazing! Kewcumber you must be the expert then!

Muesli, cashews and fromage frais could be where you're going wrong...

It is VERY easy to over eat all of the above. I'd cut all of them out for starters