Weight loss...Do you think I did something wrong?

[lolli]

On a low carb diet. Last week I lost 6.4 pounds.

This week I added exercise and only lost 1 pound :(

What's up with that?

[Catie101]

i wouldn't cut out all carbs. cut out simple carbohydrates and have a decent amount of complex carbohydrates! they don't have as high of a blood glucose level when it hits your blood stream (aka less sugar). what are simple carbs? they include things with white wheat flour or enriched white flour, things such as pasta (with the acception of whole wheat pasta which is complex carbs), white bread, fruit juice, pop, most packaged cerials, candy etc. what are complex carbs? things such as wild rice, oatmeal, fruits, veggies, soybeans, low fat yogurt, buckwheat, etc. the way you'll lose weight is by having small amounts of sugar. I cut out almost all sugar (for health reasons) accept for fructose (fruits naatural sugar) and within 2-3 weeks I dropped about 8 pounds without even meaning to; I didn't work out at all. sugar alone makes so much of a difference. by the way I was in no way overweight and I continued to drop pounds after that without exercise. but those complex carbs certainly give you the energy you need, especially if you are going to be working out. also with your workkout if you are trying to lose weight all over id go for an intense cardio workout 4-5 times a week. this would include things like running, jumping rope, basically anything that really gets your heart racing. don't forget to have a few days of rest a week, your body needs a break in order for it to function in a healthy way.

[paigems]

The first week may have been water weight, which is why it came off so quickly. 1lb a week is still really good, don't get discouraged :)

[Anonymous]

Kheserthorpe knows what he's talking about.

The substance in your body known as glycogen, can hold five times its weight in water. It's also what your body uses for fuel.

When you go on a low carb diet, the glycogen stores are used. And you lose it, and 5 times its weight in the water it was carrying.

Only when your glycogen stores are empty, do you start to burn fat.

Many "fad" diets don't explain this well to their gullible victims, who thrill at losing 10lbs in 10 days, and think wow, in a month I'll lose 30lbs!

No you won't. That 10 is just glycogen and water. A really good diet and exercise plan can lose 1lb a week of fat. And that's what you should bear in mind for any so called fad diet.

Low carb diets will only show you great results in that first glycogen and water loss period. And once you start back on carbs, your body will replace the glycogen and store water again. Boom, all that weight comes back.

It's single solitary pounds that you lose each week after the first "amazing" week, that will stay off.

If you're 100lbs over weight, give yourself two years on the diet, to lose that 100lbs.

It's still less time than it took you to pile it on.

[Anonymous]

low carb diets are a crock of sh*t. BALANCING your diet is far more important than weighting it to one side. Any "diet" with the form " the _____ diet" is anecdotal flim flam.

Consuming less calories than you're expending is the only empirical way to lose weight. Don't go on a diet, just balance your current one.

-consume less calories than you expend

-don't drink your calories (juice, soda, alcohol, etc). They caloric value from a few glasses of orange juice (I admit it, OJ is delicious and I drink it sometimes) is equivalent to eating over 10 oranges, but the liquid form doesn't fill up your stomach.

- if (and when) you have to cheat and drink something sweet, cut it with water (I do that with all my juice)

[kheserthorpe]

When you cut out carbs, the sugar stored in your muscles gets used up. There is a lot of water bound to it. That was the majority of the week 1 weight loss. Week two you actually lost a pound of fat. Do not be sad about what's happening. Water will go on and off.

When I've used low carb diets, I've typically 'shocked' my system by eating carbs one day a week. On that day I've gained as much as 8 pounds, (water) which then vanishes between 24 and 48 hours later. If you keep watching things, you'll see where you are in your monthly cycle can push you up or down a couple pounds as well.

[AltTech]

You probably gained muscle, don't look at this as a bad thing. Your body has to adjust to the workload on the muscles, which usually means adding muscle to accommodate.

Keep at it, you will lose more in the next week because your metabolism will speed up too.

Also, the whole "low carb" thing is a myth. You need carbs if you are exercising. Cutting out carbs is only cutting water weight, which is gained back the second you start eating carbs.

The biggest key to weight loss is exercise. A balanced diet of good carbs, proteins, and unsaturated fats will yield fantastic results and great performance during your workouts.

[lolli]

I only did cardio. Does that make you gain muscle too?

[AltTech]

Yes. But you won't consistently gain muscle only doing cardio. You will burn fat and increase muscle strength.

[martyfellow]

The first week was no doubt all water, or mostly. Plus when you work out, you will have more appetitie and your body will retain more protein to build muscles..which is a healtheir way to lose weight, albeit slower...

Good for you, you're on the right path.

[yopyopyop]

Beware, you'll lose boobs if you melt too much ;)

Also, losing weight is a long term thing. It requires discipline, especially towards food. So do not look after the big loss, take it slow, or it will come back as soon as you stop.

[lolli]

I know! Bye-bye boobies :(

[Xzero77]

Exercise. Your likely burning fat, but also building and toning muscle. Muscle tissue is heavier than fat. So you are losing bad weight, but the muscle increase is masking the fat loss.

[Dimonik]

People need to stop using weight to measure how thin they are. Get a friend to take your measures every 2-3 months and you'll see that weight gain is just you getting physically stronger.

[ItalianBro]

What's the issue? You lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks... that's good!

[lolli]

Cause just 1 pound this week. I thought low carb was supposed to make you lose faster too.

[Deft_maiden]

Maybe you hit a plateau. Besides you are not going lose weight consistently every day/week.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, maybe you did something wrong. Like not exercise enough