"Saffire" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:In article <uWQ8e.14530$L64.13782@okepread07>, mattandkrysti@cox-
internet.com says...
Quoted message said:My wife have been on a low carb diet for a few now. I'm very proud of
her
and try to support her anyway possible so here I am posting our question.
She seems to have hit a weight loss barrier. Her max daily carbs is 10g.
A
friend of her's mentioned that she ran into the same situation and ended
up
cheating, but as a result of that 1 day cheat, she claims it kick-started
her body back into burning fat and she broke through that 'weight loss
barrier' by two pounds shortly thereafter.
Hi Matt, welcome to the group!
A "stall" at two weeks is not only common, but USUAL. It's not really
a stall, though. A stall is generally defined as 6 weeks or more
without any weight loss. In the case of low-carbing, the first two
weeks are more about changing the way of eating and adjusting to
burning fat for fuel instead of glucose.
The impressive loss during the first two weeks is mostly water because
there are about 4-5 molecules of water bound to each glycogen molecule
stored in the liver for emergency fuel. As a person uses up that
emergency store during the first two weeks, the water is shed. After
THAT what they lose is usually fat, which takes longer. It's not so
much that they've stopped losing weight as that they've stopped losing
WATER. They just stay the course and it will start up again, but at a
more sedate rate of 1-2 lbs a week (except (for women) during PMS, when
they will most likely gain WATER temporarily).
That subject comes up so frequently that I think I'm going to put the
above answer in a file so I can just cut and paste it from now on :-)
As far as a "cheat" kick-starting weight loss, I've heard that, too,
but haven't tried it. I would NOT try it at only two weeks in,
however. I think that's more for someone who has a firm grip on the
new way of eating and has a better idea of how their body responds to
various foods.
--
Saffire
205/142/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333
I agree with Thaffy. The human body was designed at a time when there were
no grocery stores, and the oiginal humans were not guaranteed a meal three
times a day, or even once a day. When food was plentiful, the excess was
stored as fat (and still is). When food was scarce, the body used the fat
(and still does).
The human body is basically a carb-burning machine. Protein is necessary
for tissue regeneration, and fat is necessary of support of joint
lubrication and nerve cell insulation (I remember this from college, but
that's been a few years and things might have changed since then).
The human body was designed to go into starvation mode if calories were
insufficient to meet the daily demand. This meant conservation of fat, and
a decrease of energy (and weight loss) if too few calories were available.
Although it may seem paradoxial, I think that weight control can be better
achieved by maintaining a caloric intake close to the norm (and avoiding
starvation mode) and reducing carbs as part of that intake. People on
low-carb diets do tend to naturally eat less and lower their calorie intake,
which can lead to the starvation mode.
I do not believe in the philosophy of many, that if lower carbs is good, no
carbs is better. I believe that this philosophy is detrimental not only for
good health, but also for weight control.
I also think that Thaffy is hot.
