Please help with my distraught wife!

[dixonge]

The wife is having a bit of a crisis moment this morning. Here is the basic crux of it.

Yesterday I posted at having lost down to 228, a net loss of 13 pounds since January 8. I spent a few weeks plateaued where my weight fluctuated until I discovered the carbs in Splenda and half-and-half which were affecting my daily carb counts. I brought that back down and am losing again.

But not my wife. She started on January 15 and lost five pounds after about three weeks and has floated back up ever since. This morning she is one pound under where she was when she started. Her carb intake this entire time has been below 20g of carbs per day, most days have been around 10g.

She's distraught and nothing I have said this morning has helped. She thought she could handle the lifestyle change with a bit of Lavash bread and flax-seed waffles and flax cereal, but now she thinks she will have to go total zero-carb and eat nothing but meat and the thought has evidently pushed her to the edge. Lots of tears today.

Any ideas?

[EDIT! She also believes that if a very-low or zero-carb diet gets her down to her ideal weight, she will be stuck there forever and will never be able to add any carbs back for fear of gaining the weight back. This seems to be a BIG sticking point for her]

[drivemenervous]

Dix, post your wife's menu, and have her jump on here and join a group! The group I am a member of is really great, she is more than welcome there. We have bi monthly challenges, currently we are Springing Into Action. The gals there are a lot of fun, and very encouraging and supportive.

We will be able to help your wife, I'm sure of it.

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by drivemenervous

Dix, post your wife's menu, and have her jump on here and join a group! The group I am a member of is really great, she is more than welcome there. We have bi monthly challenges, currently we are Springing Into Action. The gals there are a lot of fun, and very encouraging and supportive.

We will be able to help your wife, I'm sure of it.

Clarification - it seems her *main* concern is that when she gets her carb levels low enough to lose weight again that her body will get used to it, effectively locking her into that level of carbs and that she will never be able to add carbs of any kind back to her diet. She'd rather stay where she is at than do that. Part of the problem is that she rarely gets into ketosis and loses weight unless she is under 10g of carbs per day.

[NOTE: we are not subtracting any sugar alcohols from our net carb counts]

[drivemenervous]

Originally Posted by dixonge

Clarification - it seems her *main* concern is that when she gets her carb levels low enough to lose weight again that her body will get used to it, effectively locking her into that level of carbs and that she will never be able to add carbs of any kind back to her diet. She'd rather stay where she is at than do that. Part of the problem is that she rarely gets into ketosis and loses weight unless she is under 10g of carbs per day.

[NOTE: we are not counting any sugar alcohols in our net carb counts]

Ok. How long has she been consistently "low carb?" I need to see her menu in order to find out what is wrong. You need to be highly motivated in order for any diet to work, and that includes consistency. I think that part of her problem is that she sees you being very successful, and she doesn't see those same kind of results right away. This can be very discouraging.

I learned the hard way that if you keep your carbs under 10 grams, you will not lose weight. I am at a steady 15-20 carbs a day, including lots of low carb veggies. I am losing weight like crazy, as are my friends. If she tries to starve her body, it will automatically store as much fat as it can, which will not only prevent weight loss, but it will also cause her to gain. Then, when she decides to start eating again, she will gain like crazy. I cannot emphasize enough how important veggies are. A salad a day will make a huge difference. Has she read the book? I am not on Atkins per se, just a low carb diet modified to my own needs.

It can take as much as two weeks for ketosis to kick in, depending on your body. Your wife needs to take a deep breath and find her motivation. She needs to educate herself on low carb as much as possible, and I'm happy to answer any questions. After I can look at her menu, I can give her a lot more pointers and encouragement. There are other things that will help jump start her weight loss, but the key is getting in the habit of healthy eating.

[drivemenervous]

She will not gain weight if she adds in the right carbs (slowly). Going directly to "bad" carbs will make her gain weight.

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by drivemenervous

Ok. How long has she been consistently "low carb?" I need to see her menu in order to find out what is wrong. You need to be highly motivated in order for any diet to work, and that includes consistency. I think that part of her problem is that she sees you being very successful, and she doesn't see those same kind of results right away. This can be very discouraging.

She is probably more motivated and more consistent than I am - she's a stickler for details. She measures everything.

Originally Posted by drivemenervous

I learned the hard way that if you keep your carbs under 10 grams, you will not lose weight. I am at a steady 15-20 carbs a day, including lots of low carb veggies. I am losing weight like crazy, as are my friends.

I have never heard that you can go *too* low - definitely not in any of Atkins' books ('72 or DANDR). Why do you think that you lose weight only at higher levels? I mean, what causes that?

Originally Posted by drivemenervous

If she tries to starve her body, it will automatically store as much fat as it can, which will not only prevent weight loss, but it will also cause her to gain. Then, when she decides to start eating again, she will gain like crazy. I cannot emphasize enough how important veggies are. A salad a day will make a huge difference. Has she read the book? I am not on Atkins per se, just a low carb diet modified to my own needs.

Yes, we have read the book(s) and this is our second time on low-carb.

She is definitely not starving her body. She is eating bacon and beef and eggs and rarely has any sort of hunger cravings.

Originally Posted by drivemenervous

It can take as much as two weeks for ketosis to kick in, depending on your body.

She actually did get into ketosis about 2-3 weeks into the diet. She hasn't measured since.

Originally Posted by drivemenervous

Your wife needs to take a deep breath and find her motivation. She needs to educate herself on low carb as much as possible, and I'm happy to answer any questions. After I can look at her menu, I can give her a lot more pointers and encouragement. There are other things that will help jump start her weight loss, but the key is getting in the habit of healthy eating.

We consider ourselves fairly well educated on low carb. In addition I just finished reading Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories.

Here is her typical menu:

Breakfast: Flax-based 'bread' + egg + small amount of shredded cheese
OR flax-based hot cereal

Lunch: chicken or hamburger or steak

Dinner: chicken or hamburger or steak
OR flax-based waffle

I should also add that she does 5-6 hours of Jazzercise class per week, and I've seen her in class - she doesn't do anything half-way - she does the top level of effort and intensity and uses a Polar monitor to ensure that her heart rate is in the target range for the maximum amount of time.

[pepperette]

I'm gonna jump in here, like other threads and ask:
Where are the veggies?
I am diabetic on Insulin, and I eat approximately 30 carbs a day. I started a new job that I walk a lot, and just started coconut oil. I lost 9# from 1/16 to 2/19. I am a slow loser and Insulin does not help. I eat salads, and veggies. I think your DW needs to expand her food options.
JMHO

[drivemenervous]

If she is exercising that much, she is probably gaining muscle. Has she noticed a change in the way her clothes fit? I have a friend who does Jazzercise, and she loves it! She feels better and she notices a difference in her clothes.

What does she put on her chicken, hamburger or steak? Anything? And where are the veggies? Yes, you CAN go too low on the carbs, it says so in DANDR, and even '72 encourages veggies. Besides that, if you do some research on this website, many people will tell you that is not nearly enough carbs. Even if your wife is full, her body will go into starvation mode because it is not getting enough nutritious foods, like veggies. The body will store fat, as I explained earlier.

One of the great things about this diet is that you don't have to measure everything. You can eat as much as you want as long as it is the right foods.

[Determinedtolose]

Also, the flax could be stalling her too. That stalls alot of people.

[drivemenervous]

Originally Posted by Determinedtolose

Also, the flax could be stalling her too. That stalls alot of people.

True! Which actually brings me to my next question...regularity! LOL Is she regular?

[fancyface]

I have found that I lose weight more easily when I am eating between 30 -35 carbs a day. If I go too low (around 15 for a few days) -- the weight loss slows. I believe the trick is finding your individual amount of carbs ---- and letting most of your carbs be veggies. I sometimes have a hard time eating enough carbs and just try to be sure to keep them somewhere between 15 and 35g per day.

[Snickerdoolers]

I agree, where are the veggies? She could be having 2 cup salad w/ lunch and 1 cup veggie at dinner.

Flax stalled me also, i won't be able to add that till maintence level.

[PamB]

No veggies? Also, I could not eat the flax "one minute" muffins without gaining

[Frisco]

For my 2 cents, my DH is having similar issues this time around with slow losses, as the thread discusses above - we have also pinned it down to lack of veges - they are so important!

The other important aspect to me personally is measurements. I can go for a couple weeks without losing a pound, but my measurements change. As I understand it from others on the board here, your body losing fat, but may retain water in it's place for a while, eventually you lose this as well as your body adjusts, then the scale moves.

To keep my motivation going forward I follow the Atkins advice from the DANDR to keep track of my measurements as well as the scale and Ketosis status to re-enforce that I am doing well on my path.

One last item - I have to watch my intake of sugar alcohols in the induction phase - it's okay for me when I'm maintaining, but severely slows me down in induction or OWL. I am one of those that loses so slowly that I stay on induction for an extended time period until I am very close to or at goal (I've done this once before in 2004). Then I slowly add in more veges, berries and such and splurge with sugar alcohols only once in a while.


Good luck.

[BellaHMB]

Im sorry, but is this thread a maintenance issue? Perhaps it would better on the main boards?

Bella

[dixonge]

Adding vegetables back in is doable. I've never read anything from Atkins about minimum levels of veggies, but it's worth a shot.

I agree about measurements, but the wife has not felt much in the way of clothes being looser.

Regarding sugar alcohols, we are not consuming any. That's one thing that changed from last time around - we are avoiding the protein bars with the misleading 'net carb' counts.

Originally Posted by Frisco

For my 2 cents, my DH is having similar issues this time around with slow losses, as the thread discusses above - we have also pinned it down to lack of veges - they are so important!

The other important aspect to me personally is measurements. I can go for a couple weeks without losing a pound, but my measurements change. As I understand it from others on the board here, your body losing fat, but may retain water in it's place for a while, eventually you lose this as well as your body adjusts, then the scale moves.

To keep my motivation going forward I follow the Atkins advice from the DANDR to keep track of my measurements as well as the scale and Ketosis status to re-enforce that I am doing well on my path.

One last item - I have to watch my intake of sugar alcohols in the induction phase - it's okay for me when I'm maintaining, but severely slows me down in induction or OWL. I am one of those that loses so slowly that I stay on induction for an extended time period until I am very close to or at goal (I've done this once before in 2004). Then I slowly add in more veges, berries and such and splurge with sugar alcohols only once in a while.


Good luck.

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by BellaHMB

Im sorry, but is this thread a maintenance issue? Perhaps it would better on the main boards?

Bella

It depends - we're both technically in induction (or attempting to be).....20g of carbs or lower.

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by Determinedtolose

Also, the flax could be stalling her too. That stalls alot of people.

I hesitate to mention this one to her at all. She's been struggling to lose weight but the one thing that has kept her at it is the convenience of having a couple of bread-like substances that aren't super-expensive and taste good. Flaxseed-based waffles and bread, specifically. Take that away and she is left with nothing but meat and eggs and I think she'd rather scrap low-carb altogether.

[Determinedtolose]

She can try the Rev rolls or Oopsie rolls. They are very good substitutions and can be used in the same way as bread.
There are a few threads on each.

[scandalouslyglam]

Originally Posted by dixonge

I hesitate to mention this one to her at all. She's been struggling to lose weight but the one thing that has kept her at it is the convenience of having a couple of bread-like substances that aren't super-expensive and taste good. Flaxseed-based waffles and bread, specifically. Take that away and she is left with nothing but meat and eggs and I think she'd rather scrap low-carb altogether.

Hello there,

It is very nice of you to seek out guidance regarding your wife's struggles.

I hate to bring this up but, This cannot be done properly without SOME Veggies. Is she anti-vegetable? Also, if she is eating the flax based products, is she drinking enough WATER to flush the Fiber out? If I eat a Flax muffin I HAVE to almost double my water intake or It literally sits in my tummy like a rock.

Good luck to you both!!

[BellaHMB]

Originally Posted by dixonge

It depends - we're both technically in induction (or attempting to be).....20g of carbs or lower.

Yes, that's why I thought asking this question on the induction forum might get alot more answers...I do agree that the bread substitutes are probably slowing down her weight loss. Good luck!

Bella

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by BellaHMB

Yes, that's why I thought asking this question on the induction forum might get alot more answers...I do agree that the bread substitutes are probably slowing down her weight loss. Good luck!

Bella

Oh, I misunderstood your original post. Yes, definitely an induction topic.

I honestly don't remember posting it under maintenance.........

Can someone move it?

[RiotGirl08]

Originally Posted by dixonge

Adding vegetables back in is doable. I've never read anything from Atkins about minimum levels of veggies, but it's worth a shot.

Seriously? And you've read the book? Which book are you following? I know for a fact that Atkins says for induction (which is what you posted you and DW are doing currently) to get 10-15 of your 20g of carbs per day from induction friendly veggies. He does limit it to 3 cups of veggies per day, but that's a lot of veggies.

[BellaHMB]

Originally Posted by dixonge

Oh, I misunderstood your original post. Yes, definitely an induction topic.

I honestly don't remember posting it under maintenance.........

Can someone move it?

I would repost your original question under the Atkins Induction forum

Bella