Slow carb diet not working

[Martin]

After seeing the slow carb diet working for a few people I know, I wanted to give it a try too, however it doesn't seem to be working.

I went shopping last week so for 7 days now I've been eating meals cooked from these ingredients:
- pork tenderloin
- eggs
- mushrooms
- onions
- peppers
- carrots
- celery
- lentils
- chickpeas
- spinach
- broccoli
- cabbage
- canned tomatoes
- tuna
- oil and spices

after a week, I haven't lost anything but some water weight (body fat percentage is the same) and haven't felt the lack-of-energy associated with going into this diet. Yesterday I decided to try testing for ketones using the strips and they showed "trace amounts". I did have some wings (light batter and sauce) and some sushi (no rice, a bit of batter), but I don't know if small amounts of carbs like that are what's wrong.

Did this diet work for anyone else? What do I have to adjust?

 

[MrEgo]

What are your portions like? You can gain weight or maintain weight by eating more than you're using.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

The fact that it's "Slow Carb" isn't why their diets are working; it's because they're eating less than they're burning. You're doing the opposite.

 

[Zivic]

After seeing the slow carb diet working for a few people I know, I wanted to give it a try too, however it doesn't seem to be working.

I went shopping last week so for 7 days now I've been eating meals cooked from these ingredients:
- pork tenderloin
- eggs
- mushrooms
- onions
- peppers
- carrots
- celery
- lentils
- chickpeas
- spinach
- broccoli
- cabbage
- canned tomatoes
- tuna
- oil and spices

after a week, I haven't lost anything but some water weight (body fat percentage is the same) and haven't felt the lack-of-energy associated with going into this diet. Yesterday I decided to try testing for ketones using the strips and they showed "trace amounts". I did have some wings (light batter and sauce) and some sushi (no rice, a bit of batter), but I don't know if small amounts of carbs like that are what's wrong.

Did this diet work for anyone else? What do I have to adjust?

first off, it has been only a week. give it time....

also, it isn't about necessarily cutting out carbs. You need to factor in your overall consumption of calories vs what you are burning. Figure out what your maintenance level is and then figure out how much you are eating. If you take in more than you put out, you definitely won't lose weight

 

[Lamont Burns]

Don't use keto strips, they are not reliable in the least.

Small amounts of carbs will knock you out of ketosis if that is your goal... but only temporarily. 1 week is not nearly enough time to make any determination about a diet.

I have done this diet with success. I most definitely noticed a little brain fog the first time I was at net carbs <10 or so in a 24 hour period.

Patience.

 

[Martin]

Well, I don't think I'm eating more calories than normal - perhaps even a bit less, since all of my food is calorie sparse (lots of veg, only very lean meat etc).

Anyway, I want to give it at least 2-3 weeks, so maybe I'll see results by then.

 

[Cstefan]

Might take a bit. Im down 25 since jan1. With 0 exercise yet.

 

[ShreddedWheat]

I have done the Southbeach Diet many times which is similar and have lost alot of weight but it takes a while and you can't cheat at all. Good Luck.

 

[Bulldog13]

After seeing the slow carb diet working for a few people I know, I wanted to give it a try too, however it doesn't seem to be working.

I went shopping last week so for 7 days now I've been eating meals cooked from these ingredients:
- pork tenderloin
- eggs
- mushrooms
- onions
- peppers
- celery
- spinach
- broccoli
- cabbage
- tuna
- oil and spices

after a week, I haven't lost anything but some water weight (body fat percentage is the same) and haven't felt the lack-of-energy associated with going into this diet. Yesterday I decided to try testing for ketones using the strips and they showed "trace amounts". I did have some wings (light batter and sauce) and some sushi (no rice, a bit of batter), but I don't know if small amounts of carbs like that are what's wrong.

Did this diet work for anyone else? What do I have to adjust?

Fixed that list for you, I left in mushrooms and onions, but you need to be careful with those, not more than one meal a day with a sprinkling of those.

My guess is the carbs from the other stuff was throwing you off.

 

[Zivic]

Well, I don't think I'm eating more calories than normal - perhaps even a bit less, since all of my food is calorie sparse (lots of veg, only very lean meat etc).

Anyway, I want to give it at least 2-3 weeks, so maybe I'll see results by then.

what is "normal"? calories in vs calories out. If you continue to eat what you 'normally' did before you cut carbs (in terms of calories) you will not lose weight. figure out how much you are eating and how much you burn in a day. that would be the very first thing I would be doing

 

[KoolDrew]

There's nothing magic about low carb diets. You need to eat less than you expend in a day to lose weight. Start tracking what you eat daily, either in a notebook or a website like www.livestrong.com or www.fitday.com. Aim for 10-12kcal per pound and 1g of protein per pound of your target bodyweight. After these are in place you'll find the rest won't really matter much as far as body composition goes.

If your diet still isn't working, your still eating more than you expend in a day. So either your calorie intake is too high, your underestimating how much you are eating, or your physical activity (NEAT) has dropped slightly.

 

[Jadow]

I've lost 17 lbs since Jan 1 on slow carb, it definitely works for me.

 

[KoolDrew]

I've lost 17 lbs since Jan 1 on slow carb, it definitely works for me.

You lost weight because you ate less. Yes, by changing the composition of your diet you may be consuming less calorie dense sources and maybe the same volume if not more. However, your daily caloric intake was still decreased. There's simply no way around it.

 

[Zolf]

There's nothing magic about low carb diets. You need to eat less than you expend in a day to lose weight. Start tracking what you eat daily, either in a notebook or a website like www.livestrong.com or www.fitday.com. Aim for 10-12kcal per pound and 1g of protein per pound of your target bodyweight. After these are in place you'll find the rest won't really matter much as far as body composition goes.

If your diet still isn't working, your still eating more than you expend in a day. So either your calorie intake is too high, your underestimating how much you are eating, or your physical activity (NEAT) has dropped slightly.

There's no magic, just a biological state known as ketosis. While eating fewer calories will help to increase the amount of fat burned, if you're low carb enough to be in ketosis a certain amount of fat will be converted into ketones regardless of caloric intake.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

There's no magic, just a biological state known as ketosis. While eating fewer calories will help to increase the amount of fat burned, if you're low carb enough to be in ketosis a certain amount of fat will be converted into ketones regardless of caloric intake.

Ketones still have caloric weight. If you ate enough fat, which was converted to ketones, you could STILL add fat mass. Bodybuilders sometimes BULK in a state of ketosis. Ketosis isn't voodoo - it burns more of the calories you eat for digestion, but it definitely doesn't ensure weight loss.