chesgreen's Journal, 04 August 2014

Before you do that (LCHF), try lowering your Carbs to 100g a day for about a week, and see if you lose. If you lose then your carb tolerance is approximately 100g a day. If you don't lose readjust it again the next week by only having 80g of carbs and see if that starts the scale moving. 

OK will do 

I do the LCHF and it works - but like C said, lower to 100 and see what happens. You can force weight drop by going lower than that but for some the 100g seems to work. The other thing with the weight swings (which i get as well) is the sodium content. I can gain 6 pounds in two days and it's simply water. So use fatsecret to track your sodium levels as well - you may be taking in too much there.  

Ches, what happened to you is the same thing that happened to me on my birthday a few weeks ago: one lousy meal with high fat and carbs after you've been good for a while can lead to really poor results on the scale. The good news is, it's not fat, but it IS "weight". For every gram of glycogen your body stores in your muscle tissue, it takes 4 grams of water "baggage" along with it (google glycogen and water for more on this). The good news is, as you lose the glycogen, you will lose the water very quickly. The bad news is, a "cheat" meal will cost you dearly in the short term. You think this is bad? I went "off my diet" for 3 days on the weekend of my birthday. I didn't even go crazy with beer and pizza, just "normal" food for a few days! I gained 13 pounds in 3 days eating 2500, 3000 and 2000 calories after being used to eating 1200 cal/day. You want to talk about disheartening? It's been 3 weeks, and back to eating 1220/day, I'm down about 9 of those 13 pounds, so it could be worse. Just hang in there and be aware that if you go off the wagon, you may see a huge jump, but it's NOT fat you're seeing. I hope this helps you cheer up a bit and understand better what happened in the walking chemistry set that is your body. :) 

Ches, I have gained SIX pounds overnight. Natural metabolism made it gone by the next day, but it can be startling to see that. Think about how much your colon and bladder can hold and that's step one of understanding. Then factor in that different food metabolize at different rates, and that is step 2. Then the hat trick with "If you were out and ate a lot and drank a lot, you likely didn't exercise between then and a weigh-in." Nothing to see here, really. 

I agree with Eddie with extra the crap in your system to impact the scale (no pun intended). Just make sure you weigh yourself in the morning at the same time every day. If you plateau, blame your scale not yourself, its easier that way. But hang in there and don't give up. If you stick to your plan, you'll drop a little each week (on average). Give yourself a free day each week, but don't go overboard. Your KFC treat after a long wait was fine. I'm just not sure you should have followed it up with your Sunday meal with over 300g of carbs. Your switch to LCHF will help, but see if you can drop it to down to 50g to really kick start things. Good luck Ches! 

Bottom line here though is to decide if you are in or out. You can't binge every weekend and then lose the same 5 pounds throughout the week. Do you enjoy your time with your friends any less if you aren't drinking or eating bad food? Isn't it the fellowship with people that makes the time be fun! 

salt and summertime. Fluid.  

Thanks. A lot of good input from everyone. I am getting better and better with each attempt. I will keep adjusting until I find my groove. It is idiotic to keep restating and restarting and restarting.  

Quitting is not an option. I am working on am awesome success story. I will not disappoint you guys.  

I have salt issues. I work 3 jobs and all are very mobile...2 patient care and one Mary Kay. So Sometimes I have to eat out or starve....I can gain 6 pounds just from restaurant salted food. It takes me 4 days to get rid of the water weight. When I weigh in my best weight is my bottom number and I only freak out if I am up more than 7. IN the winter you can keep fruit and other things in the car... not really an option in the summer. 

You can't sustain a diet where you have to give up everything. If you want a beer, enjoy it. Just accept that what goes in has to come out. In 2004, I got my weight down t0 79 kilograms. Sadly, I have neglected my eating and exercise and currently weigh 98 kilograms. I lost the weight purely through walking and monitoring my food consumption. As long as I was under 8700kj per day, I was happy, eating more food than ever and enjoying a maximum of 3 beers at a time. It's the junk food and fats that you need to watch - not give up. 

@Roscoe63 you bet and thanks for your support. Everyone, give me credit for my openness with you in my diary entries but please look at the big picture. Just a few weeks back I had two to thee drinks with dinner and now I am having one light beer with maybe a glass of red wine. I have been more consistent with logging food check out the month view of my calories. Last Monday, I had a 430 calorie coffee, right now I am doing on a 50 calorie coffee. I am only human and will continue to try, fail and adjust! 

I'm not sure I would agree that it's a try, fail, and adjust type of moment. You are human and do what you can in a day. Like others have said, you must be able to sustain your new eating lifestyle, for life. So with that being said, if you want a beer here and there, I believe that is totally okay! I have a glass of wine here and there and I don't beat myself up about it either. I don't necessarily have a cheat day with food. I eat what I want, only in moderation. I consume the serving size and deal with the calories of the indulgence accordingly. I applaud you for your openness with complete strangers! Not sure I could be so bold! The coffee switch is a big move in the right direction. I wish you much success with your endeavor! 

thanks @ladonna09 and to all once again. You can't cgange what you don't acknowledge and I have studied my buddies histories and I only trust results, not words, and I am charging on, no matter how sore or hungry I may be at times during my rebuilding of the body of my dreams. 

Thanks Bill, I am not looking for tons of supporters, just a few Elite FS Warriors who have my back and will not leave a man/woman behind. I am excited for the future and I will share my pain and success with those willing to join me for the long haul. I never struggled with weight all my life, just the last 20 years. I believe I have what it take to be in best shape in my life as long as fight the fight and never quit. Going offline until this evening. Thanks all again!!!! 

It's an ongoing journey with ups and downs, we learn along the way. The only failure would be to just give up and you're not doing that. Keep at it, you will get there. 

Good Morning! Just joined this site and it was encouraging to read your post. So I had to say thank you for letting me know that their are others out there that ARE human and in this battle of the bulge. I'm in the fight with you my friend and I love your signature...Try, fail, adjust I will definitely bite those words.