weight loss setback therorys.... page

[bogeygolf]

Hi ALL...

I found this site around 2 years ago when I first started eating primal/paleo. I never have been "by the book" convert since I never cut out dairy/cheese.

Here is the a very short discreption of my journey. I implemented the low carb lifestyle very strictly. My diet consisted mostly of cottage cheese, cheese, fish, salads, various meats, almond milk, protein shakes and berries. Snacks included slim jims (I know bad) and nuts. Over the course of 6 months I lost 30 pounds and 6 inches from my waist. I went from 215 pounds with a 40" waist to 185 and a 34" waist. I held this weight for over a year and did so allowing myself to cheat once or twice on the weekends (pizza, a sandwich, etc). Over the holidays this year I fell off the wagon to some extent but not full blown. I would say 65% of my nutrition was still within the regimine that i initially lost weight on.

During the holidays I noticed I was slowing gaining weight...maybe at the clip of a pound every 2 or 3 weeks. I am now at around 192. That's a net gain of around 8 pounds and I noticed it is all accumulated as fat around my gut. For several weeks now I have been VERY STRICT regarding my diet but have not been able to drop any of the added weight.

I always felt that this lifestyle changed the way your body uses food for fuel and that that we actually used fat for fuel in lieu of carbs. It is extremely discouraging not to be able to drop this weight using the techniques that I originally used. Any thoughts as to why this is happening?

One wild card in the mix may be that I started on Flomax in December for prostate issues and that maybe the medication has some affect on Blood Glucose levels but there is not any published data to support this.

Thoughts?

thanks for your insight.

[otzi]

Could you give us a brief rundown of sex/height/weight/age? Makes a huge difference in advice!

[emmie]

One of the first things to do when weight loss doesn't seem to be 'working' is track intake for a few days. Both Dr. Atkins and Dr. Michael Eades have reported that in their clinical practice two impediments to weight loss are "carb creep" and "calorie creep." That is, we think we're eating as we did to lose, but, in fact, we're eating more than we realize.

You might want to check your intake. No matter how 'good' your nutrition, you won't lose without a caloric deficit.

[smartuko]

Play around with some intermittent fasting.

[bogeygolf]

Could you give us a brief rundown of sex/height/weight/age? Makes a huge difference in advice!

Male, 6'-0", 192, 51.

[bogeygolf]

Could be.....but when I first started losing weight, I did not count calories and ate ALOT. But I will start using Fitday again. I did do that initially to track carb intake.

[dacec]

One of the first things to do when weight loss doesn't seem to be 'working' is track intake for a few days. Both Dr. Atkins and Dr. Michael Eades have reported that in their clinical practice two impediments to weight loss are "carb creep" and "calorie creep." That is, we think we're eating as we did to lose, but, in fact, we're eating more than we realize.
.

So true! I logged in to ask a question about how on earth I gained 1 1/2 percent body fat all of the sudden. In order to have a clear picture to present here, I averaged out my carbs/fat/protein for the last week and saw a startling trend....my carbs had creeped up and I had no idea! I had been hovering around 50-60 ish grams of carbs. In the last 3 days I had not worked out and my carbs creeped up to 77-82 range, not a huge amount but clearly enough to impact my body fat percentage. Bingo. There was my answer.

[otzi]

One sad fact that's hard to come to terms with for many people, is that the restricted diet used to lose weight needs to eventually become the maintenance diet.

This is especially true for us guys over 40.

As you get older, you need to take in less calories than when you were young.

If you were maintaining 250lbs on 4000 calories, cut to 1800 to lose 50 pounds, and stalled--your new maintenance level is 1800 calories. To lose more, you have to cut more--say to 1500--then stick with that new lower number.

One huge mistake for grown men, is to cut calories, lose weight, then add calories back in thinking they can maintain on a much higher number than they lost with.

Here's some things that helped me maintain my 100 pounds of weightloss over the last 2.5 years:

Add starch back into your diet--this helps regain any lost insulin sensitivity. Eat 1 or 2 potatoes or a cup of rice, squash, plantains, or sweet potatoes every day.

Skip breakfast, eat a small lunch (salad, potato, fish), and a bigger dinner--then no snacking after dinner!

Your Flomax may be making you retain water--if it is, talk to your doc.

[bogeygolf]

thanks otzi

[bogeygolf]

Here's some things that helped me maintain my 100 pounds of weightloss over the last 2.5 years:

Add starch back into your diet--this helps regain any lost insulin sensitivity. Eat 1 or 2 potatoes or a cup of rice, squash, plantains, or sweet potatoes every day.

Interesting you say this. What is the theory behind it? I have often wondered if my strict limiting of carbs could hurt in some way.