Quote Originally Posted by tctrek View Post
I thought gluten might be my problem, but was tested and I actually have no food allergies. But I feel the pain of any women who eats fresh/whole foods, exercises, yet cannot get the needle on the scale to budge. That has been my life for 10 years.

At the risk of thread drift, I will mention here that after many years of inability to lose weight, I asked my doctor if I could go low carb. She said "go for it"... It's been 5 weeks - I did pretty much straight Atkins with 20 grams of "net carbs" the first 2 weeks and adding 5 grams per week. I took 4 days off when we went to the beach, but other than that, I've been staying on track.

What I am finding out is that I am carb-sensitive. Reducing my carb intake has lifted my energy to new levels. No more sleepy afternoons at the office. I don't stand at the vending machine trying to choose between Snickers bar or chips. I have no carb cravings!! I am sleeping better, too and feel energized when I wake up in the morning!

I am riding my bike early in the morning on an empty stomach (not long distances- say under 25 mi.). I'm drinking zero calorie Powerade for electrolytes and I might eat a shot block or two while riding. Then, I have a low carb protein shake post-ride. I'm eating tons of green vegetables, salads with chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef and eggs. I just started eating apples this week... I had eliminated all fruit for the first 5 weeks. I'm drinking about 80 ozs per day of water, green tea and/or Powerade. Stevia in my tea.

Unbelievably I am losing a pound a week. I am the person that could eat 1200 calories per day and actually gain weight!! I'm the one that can ride or go to the gym every single day and not lose weight. I'm post-menopausal and have hypothyroidism and have battled weight issues for 10 years.

I don't know if my stupid body will adjust to the low carb and figure out how to hold on to the weight again, but I am changing forever how I eat. I had blood work done after 4 weeks and my glucose/insulin levels are "perfect".

I recommend talking to your doctor -- I think there are many women out there who are carb sensitive and could benefit immensely from this dietary change.
I too, think that I'm carb sensitive as I've had the same problems with weight loss, diagnosed with hypothroidism for 20 years, and now menopause has set in. Nothing has taken the weight off even though I bike 50 miles on some days and watch my food intake. Have you found the new atkins eating plan difficult to do? I need to investigate to see if there's any low carb breads at my local panera bread, as I love to eat sandwiches on occasions. Where do you find your lo carb shakes at? Did you find it difficult to start out with the 20 gms of carbs? Thanks