bloated while on low carb diet?

[SatinRed]

I was readiing some postings of the low carb diet on this forum and was actually motivated to try it out since i'm going on vacation soon and need to look fit!  I intend to lose at least 10 lbs, at most 20. and i thought i could do it in about 2 weeks worth to make it to vacation.  It's been exactly a week yet i feel bigger at my stomach or something that looks like i'm bloated.  I did have that sh**ty feeling that i should have during this diet twice; i couldnt even walk. I think I've only lost 2 lbs. I do keep a food diary. I've been eating under 20grams of carbs daily although I know i've added butter to my mushrooms, is this a no-no since it's should be low fat? I ate tuna, beef, chicken. lettuce, broccoli, mushrooms, cucumber, tomatoes, eggs.  I don't eat fruits but I did eat cherries one day during that week.  Also I know eating many small meals a day is good but is it appropriate for this diet? cuz i only eat 2 times day w/ normal size meals.  I feel myself eating less though but I think I still look the same a week b4, as in not getting fit.  Am i doing anything wrong and any tips?

[misscloey]

Hi
I think it would benefit you to eat more and more often. Fat is not really the enemy on this diet without the carbs. Yes, you should try to stick with leaner meats and plenty of green veggies ie.. lettuce, broccoli, spinach etc.
Sometimes cutting back too much hinders your fat burning ability. You must keep the furnace burning at all times. Eat every 2 to three hours. Eat until you are satisfied. Do not forget to exercise a bit as this will keep your bowels moving. Even a 15 minute stroll will do the trick. Also do not forget the WATER, it flushes all the toxins and keeps your metabolism burning. I too have constipation and bloating ocassionally, when I think about what I have and have not done it always makes sense to me why I am bloated. I have a hard time just sticking with the meat. I MUST have plenty of salad or other fibrous veggies to stay regular. I find that daily exercise also helps me ALOT. I don't think it would hurt you to maybe get some Metamucil or something like that, to help you. Also, watch your sodium intake that will always cause bloating. Good Luck.l    

[misscloey]

Let me give you some idea of what I eat in a day. Maybe you will see the difference
6:30 am Breakfast-   2 eggs and 5 egg whites scrambled, sometimes topped with mozzareela chesse and onions, peppers, mushrooms tomatoes.
Black  coffee

9:00 am - Snack - 2 string cheese wrapped in low sodium turkey breast

12:00 Lunch - LARGE green sald, 8 oz chicken breast, Sugar free ice tea

2:30  Snack - 3-6 oz tuna drizzled with balsamic vinegar, celery sticks


5:30 Dinner -- Large salad or green veggies, 6-8 oz fish or turkey or chicken or beef.


8:00 -- Sugar free jello with sf cool whip or carb freedom fudge bar, or sometimes berries and whipped cream, or a protein shake.  

At all of these meals I eat until I am satisfied (not stuffed)

I think it would really benefit you to eat alot more than you are. Do not be afraid to add a little olive oil or butter to your meat or veggies. I think it helps move food through the digestive tract.

[barn babe]

Misscloey, great menu there.

Satin, you might want to start tracking your food intake in fitday or another database to see where you are. If you were really carbed up before you started low carb, it could take more than a week to get into ketosis.  Noticing that your stomach is bloated or sticking out or whatever is such a subjective symptom that can't really be ascribed to anything specific about the diet. You might have some gas from eating a lot of veggies - it could be anything.  

Stick with it, though, and results will come!  Like misscloey said, adding butter or olive oil is fine. A lot of folks can eat higher fat content while keeping carbs very low.  

I think it can be many small meals or a few big meals - it's whatever works for you. Especially in the beginning, don't go hungry.

[misscloey]

Hi Barn

Still doing well on diet. Lost another 4.5 lbs. Did you ever answer my question about alcohol? Your slackin' Barn!! Anyways, my question was, do you, or can you drink a little while doing LC? I enjoy a glass of red wine or two per week. Do you see any harm in this? Do you think it will slow my progress tremendously? Please let me know your opinion on this when you have a chance. Thanks.

[misscloey]

I stand corrected. I fun lovingly hinted that you did not respond to my question on the wine subject, and if I had not been "slacking" on reading the rest of the posts I previously posted on, I might have seen that you DID answer my wine question. I should have known better. You a slacker? I hardly doubt it, my motivational friend! I think I will deal with whatever stall it causes as long as the progress remains steady. Sometimes I just NEED a glass of wine. Thanks for being here for all of us. You are so inspirational for me. I mean it. You have helped me realize that if I set my mind to this, I CAN do it. After so many years of running in circles looking for the magic answer to my weight loss (unsuccessfully I might add), you have helped me to see that the power to accomplish it was all there inside me the whole time. Wow, the mind is such a powerful thing to waste. My mindset was my worst  enemy, I see that now. I hope to one day be as strong minded as you are. YOU'RE MY HERO (Jk) but, I do admire the heck out of ya!            

[barn babe]

Jesus, have you dropped more than one dress size already?!? You rock!  : )

Misscloey, you are doing all the work - don't thank *me.*  It is not easy.  People who have weight issues must struggle every day - every day - because you can't just stop eating to "kick" the habit!  Alcoholics can stop drinking.  Drug addicts can stop using.  But people who have issues with food have to keep eating, so it's a life-long struggle in a different way.  

I think low carb solves the problem for so many folks.  Going hungry is the kiss of death when trying to lose weight, and with low carb, people naturally eat less food because it's so filling, and their blood sugar stabilizes, so they don't have appetite swings and cravings. It works!

How is the exercise program going?

I'm so glad it's working for you.  I got on the wait list for Gary Taubes' book, which comes out in September. I hope it changes some of the mainstream thinking on low carb, but I have my doubts. : (

Keep up the great work!

[SatinRed]

HI thanks for the advices ladies.
Barn - I do put my carb totals in fit day and I eat under 20g or under per day. I wish I was burning as much as misscloey but it's almost 2 weeks and I only mangaged about 4 lbs.  That's still ok for me. I'm still trying!!! Not giving up yet. :)
Also I notice that you recommend something like lean meats and eggs only at 1st.  I dont know if i messed that up w/ some veggies.  I like broccoli and cucumbers so I've been eating that. Dont know if that's a good thing.  Well anyways, thanks again.


Any more recipes would be great also!

[peekawho]

If they make a low carb wine, I'm IN!!!!!!!

[barn babe]

Satin, those are really low carb veggies. You can keep eating those. If you stick to LEAN meats only, trim off the fat, use egg whites, etc., you can lose more quickly, but it really isn't necessary. So you lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks? That's terrific. Some of that will be water weight from using up your glycogen stores, but who cares? It's weight you no longer carry around.

I don't think eating veggies is "messing up." There are all kinds of low-carb plans, some include veggies, I'm trying  one now where I don't eat veggies, but I did eat veggies for years on Atkins. It's really your personal preference.

You will lose at your own pace, we often can't control the rate of weight loss. But if you stick with it, you will probably eventually see a fairly large loss, like 3-4# overnight. That's common, too.  

Nice work!  

[barn babe]

Yeah, is there a low-carb wine?! The hard liquors don't have carbs, like vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, whatever. But I don't drink those very often. : (

[peekawho]

Dang.  I'll drink whiskey if I have to, but wine is my drink of choice.

[misscloey]

Satin - Do not give up and get discouraged. You have to realize that the way you are eating is healthy. You are doing nothing but GOOD for your body. So you lost 4 pounds. Wow, that is awesome! Alot of people don't realize that your weight shifts daily. Sometimes more water sometimes less water. Your fat moves around also. But trust me, it will eventually start to drop if you stick to it.Hormones also play a HUGE part in weight. QUIT looking at the scale and go by the way you feel and how your clothes fit, it is a much better indication of your success. Sometimes I think the scale can be our worst enemy. If you get on it and it does not say what you want or think it should say, it is very easy to throw in the towel. You start thinking that everything you did all week and all the extra effort to exercise and give up something you may have wanted to stuff in your mouth (but didn't) was a waste of time. That is not true!! Every successful day is a step in the right direction. I have learned to concentrate on each day at a time, it is much easier for me to stay focused. A long term vision for me, is daunting. I start thinking about "how am I going to deal with 4th of July" all the BBQ's and beer. I would always put off my 'diet" for another week to get through whatever event was coming up. You are doing very well Satin. Do not compare yourself to anyone. We are all unique, and therefore, so will our rate of weight loss. Pick up a bag of sugar and carry ot around for a few minutes. You will 'feel" the difference in the weight that you lost. Keep up the good work!! I am proud of you.
Barn, yes down about 13 pounds. I feel awesome. I have lost a whole size.
My exercise routine is going well, I get up at 5:00 every morning to get my one hour in.If I don't the day gets away from me!! Making it work is key to success!
      

[barn babe]

Misscloey is right. Forget about your old habits or tossing in the towel. If you are trying to lose weight, then clearly what you did before didn't work for you. Changing habits is not easy, especially around food. Isn't it something like 3 weeks or 6 weeks for a habit to set in?  It takes that much "repetition" for us to get it ingrained as a pattern and for it to be part of our repertoire.

Before you put junk food or whatever it is you crave into your mouth, ask yourself if eating it will move you further down the road towards your goals, or will it set you back?  Eat something high-protein and/or high-fat in its place. Or don't eat anything and put off eating. Research coming out about intermittent fasting (IF) indicates that it has the same benefits as calorie restriction in prolonging life.  Add to IF a low-carb diet plan, and you'll be getting an enormous bang for your nutrition buck.

[aianna]

lost 3 killos in just one week just by following the low carb diet. Great and i am happy BUT...today i do not know how and why i eat a  medium size loaf of garlic bread..can i still continue ? does this diet still work??? please answer me.
airanna

[misscloey]

Keep on going! Don't let a slip up turn into a landslide!! It's ok, it really is. It happens to all of us. The one thing that most people don't realize is that old habits are soooo hard to change overnight. Believe me, I was the BIGGEST bread junkie EVER. I love bread, sourdough, garlic bread, pizza dough,any bread. If I can do it, so can you. I still miss it, mostly at a restaraunt before dinner. But, I pass on it and order a sald immediately instead. You need to find a way to make it work for you. You have to forget about the garlic bread fiasco and jump back in there. I have been doing LC strictky now for about 1 month and have had some carbs. I do not really want to call them "slip ups" because I CHOSE to eat what I ate. I did not feel guilty about it , and moved on with my diet immediately.Still seeing success, it may or may have not slowed down my progress. But, it satisfied my craving and I was done thinking about it. If you learn and practce on controlling your mind and your thoughts instead of letting it control you, it will be much easier. My own mind was my worst enemy for so long, now I get it. Keep up the good work and don't give up.    

[aianna]

hi ! thank you so much for your support. after beating myself up today i went to gym and i feel good.  i will always remember to  " NOT LET A SLIP UP TURN INTO A LANDSLIDE"  ....thank you once again.

arianna