wendyloohoo
07-05-2007, 02:26 PM
Hi PP Lo-carbers,
I'm not new to PP or to low-carb, but I am new to this forum. I read the first PP book in 1996 and had great success at losing 65lbs. I then of course, skipped maintenance and went back to my old ways. Gained it all back and then some. In 2002, I lost 45 lbs doing protein shakes. Gained it all back, of course. Then again, in 2005, I did one of those Dr sponsored shake programs (similar to Optifast) and lost 25 lbs. But stopped because of the cost involved. Now at my heaviest weight, with high blood pressure and staring diabetes in the face, I decided I needed to do something because I didn’t want to be on meds for the rest of my life. About 2 months ago, I discovered Kimkins, which is a low carb/low fat program and have been following it, but it is incredibly strict – basically just meat and salad and caloric intake below 1000. Which in and of itself isn’t horrible for the short term. Gastric bypass patients do not consume much more than 500-800 calories in their first year. The program is advertised as an alternative to gastric bypass. As of Sunday 7/1 I had lost 21 lbs on it since May 21st. I should be sooo happy, right? But I’m not. I’m terribly unhappy with the little variety, which perhaps is just my lack of imagination (however how many ways can you eat eggs, chicken breast and salad?) But I figured I could be unhappy for a short time. Then something strange happened. On Tuesday morning, I woke up feeling a little bloated and swollen. I got on the scale and had gained 2.5lbs. This did not make any sense to me, since I am drinking about 90 oz of water a day, walking for exercise, and keeping my carb count to around 15 per day. (notice I did not say effective carb count, because on the Kimkins diet, there is no effective carb count, all carbs count even fiber). It’s not my TOM. And, I keep a log of every bite I take in a program called Weight By Date, so it did not make sense that I would gain so much weight, even water weight, when I had not cheated. I am on high blood pressure meds (Diovan HCT) and Metformin for Insulin Resistance/pre-diabetes. Neither have made me retain water – especially the Diovan as it’s combined with HCT which is basically a prescription water pill. (I have other issues with the Diovan because now I am often dizzy which I attribute to weight loss and lo- carbing.) I also use a pedometer religiously and yesterday, after mowing my lawn and walking for 45 minutes and doing all the running around, barbecuing etc, I logged 12697 steps. This morning I was up another 2.5 lbs. What the... (insert your favorite expletive here)? I still don't know what's going on, but I'm staying the course on low- carb, but have decided to go back to PP because the variety of food is great, and there is no emphasis on low fat. Although most Kimkins followers eat only between 500 - 800 calories a day, my calories never fell below 1000. I just could not imagine going below 1000 calories since I am exercising. However I didn't eat much more than 1300 cals a day plus. I’m hoping that I have not made my already sluggish metabolism slower by eating so few calories. I’m tall and larger framed so my BMR is around 1800 calories based on height and weight. It’s fantastic to lose quickly, but not at the expense of my health in the long term. So, I’m back, and it’s great that there is now a PP forum and so many great recipes. The first time I did PP there wasn’t much in the way of support (everyone thought I was nuts, actually) and there were virtually no low- carb products on the market to work with. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.:slywink:
Wendyloohoo
I'm not new to PP or to low-carb, but I am new to this forum. I read the first PP book in 1996 and had great success at losing 65lbs. I then of course, skipped maintenance and went back to my old ways. Gained it all back and then some. In 2002, I lost 45 lbs doing protein shakes. Gained it all back, of course. Then again, in 2005, I did one of those Dr sponsored shake programs (similar to Optifast) and lost 25 lbs. But stopped because of the cost involved. Now at my heaviest weight, with high blood pressure and staring diabetes in the face, I decided I needed to do something because I didn’t want to be on meds for the rest of my life. About 2 months ago, I discovered Kimkins, which is a low carb/low fat program and have been following it, but it is incredibly strict – basically just meat and salad and caloric intake below 1000. Which in and of itself isn’t horrible for the short term. Gastric bypass patients do not consume much more than 500-800 calories in their first year. The program is advertised as an alternative to gastric bypass. As of Sunday 7/1 I had lost 21 lbs on it since May 21st. I should be sooo happy, right? But I’m not. I’m terribly unhappy with the little variety, which perhaps is just my lack of imagination (however how many ways can you eat eggs, chicken breast and salad?) But I figured I could be unhappy for a short time. Then something strange happened. On Tuesday morning, I woke up feeling a little bloated and swollen. I got on the scale and had gained 2.5lbs. This did not make any sense to me, since I am drinking about 90 oz of water a day, walking for exercise, and keeping my carb count to around 15 per day. (notice I did not say effective carb count, because on the Kimkins diet, there is no effective carb count, all carbs count even fiber). It’s not my TOM. And, I keep a log of every bite I take in a program called Weight By Date, so it did not make sense that I would gain so much weight, even water weight, when I had not cheated. I am on high blood pressure meds (Diovan HCT) and Metformin for Insulin Resistance/pre-diabetes. Neither have made me retain water – especially the Diovan as it’s combined with HCT which is basically a prescription water pill. (I have other issues with the Diovan because now I am often dizzy which I attribute to weight loss and lo- carbing.) I also use a pedometer religiously and yesterday, after mowing my lawn and walking for 45 minutes and doing all the running around, barbecuing etc, I logged 12697 steps. This morning I was up another 2.5 lbs. What the... (insert your favorite expletive here)? I still don't know what's going on, but I'm staying the course on low- carb, but have decided to go back to PP because the variety of food is great, and there is no emphasis on low fat. Although most Kimkins followers eat only between 500 - 800 calories a day, my calories never fell below 1000. I just could not imagine going below 1000 calories since I am exercising. However I didn't eat much more than 1300 cals a day plus. I’m hoping that I have not made my already sluggish metabolism slower by eating so few calories. I’m tall and larger framed so my BMR is around 1800 calories based on height and weight. It’s fantastic to lose quickly, but not at the expense of my health in the long term. So, I’m back, and it’s great that there is now a PP forum and so many great recipes. The first time I did PP there wasn’t much in the way of support (everyone thought I was nuts, actually) and there were virtually no low- carb products on the market to work with. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.:slywink:
Wendyloohoo