INCREASING CARBS FROM VERY LOW TO MODERATE

Back when I first started Atkins in March 2009, I did Induction for three weeks and then moved to Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) for an additional four and a half weeks.  During that time, I:

Lost a total of 11-1/4", which included:
3/4" around my neck
3/4" around my bust
1-1/4" around my midriff
1-3/8" around my waist
2-7/8" around my navel
1-1/4" around my hips
1-1/4" around each of my thighs
1/4" around each of my calves

Lost 0.022 off my waist-to-height ratio
Lost 0.010 off my waist-to-hip ratio

Lost 2.2 points off my body fat percentage
Gained 2.2 points onto my lean body mass percentage

Lost 4.1 pounds of body fat
Gained 2.1 pounds of lean body mass
Lost 2 pounds on the scale

Looking back on those numbers now, they look pretty darn good.  But all I saw was that I had only lost 2 pounds on the scale in seven and a half weeks, which is a total of only about a quarter of a pound per week.

I talked to Colette Heimowitz, the Atkins Nutritionist, told her that I had only lost 2 pounds, and she suggested that I reduce my food intake.  Together, we came up with this plan:

1400 calories
106g fat (68.4%)
91g protein
19g total carbs
8g fiber
11g net carbs

Over the next 15 weeks, I slowly started adding in more fat, protein and carbs, and was steadily losing scale weight and body fat.  At the end of that time, my food basically looked like this:

1637 calories
122g fat (67%)
101g protein
30g total carbs
15g fiber
15g net carbs

During that 15 weeks, I:

Lost a total of 11-1/2", which included:
1/4" around my bicep
1/2" around my bust
1-1/4" around my midriff
1-1/8" around my waist
2-5/8" around my navel
2-1/2" around my hips
1-1/4" around each of my thighs
1/4" around each of my calves


Lost 0.018 off my waist-to-height ratio
Gained 0.019 off my waist-to-hip ratio


Lost 4.4 points off my body fat percentage

Gained 4.4 points onto my lean body mass percentage


Lost 9.6 pounds of body fat
Gained 0.4 pounds of lean body mass
Lost 9.2 pounds on the scale

This was better progress, but then everything fell apart, and I started gaining again.  If you read this blog with any frequency, you know that I have been gaining and losing and gaining ever since, usually with no rhyme or reason.

I have been reading a lot lately about how staying very low carb for a long time can have a detrimental effect on thyroid function.  Obviously, this is not true for everyone, but it might be true for me - my thyroid function has been decreasing and my metabolism seems to just be shut down.  I gain weight very quickly, and it is really hard to get it back off again.

I have decided to try to increase my carbs up to a moderate level, rather than the low level that I have been at for the past couple of years, to see if it will help my thyroid function and metabolism.

I am going back to a modified version of the plan Colette gave me over two years ago, as far as the total calories go, but I am going to increase total carbs by 2 per day and decrease fat enough to keep me at 1400 calories per day.  I am also lowering the protein to the lowest level that is recommended by Atkins for my height - 71g of protein daily.  I started on this plan on August 9, 2011.  Below is the starting point and the ending point, which will fall on September 8, 2011:

August 9, 2011
1401 calories
106.3g fat (68.3%)
71g protein
40g total carbs

September 8, 2011
1401 calories
79.6g fat (51.2%)
71g protein
100g total carbs

I have completed 5 days of this new plan, and my food today will look like this:

1401 calories
101.9g fat (65.4%)
71g protein
50g total carbs

One of the other considerations of this new plan is how it will affect not only my body fat, but my blood glucose.  I have started testing my blood glucose on a regular basis, and so far, it has not gone out of normal ranges eating this way.

When you only eat low-carb vegetables, it is a challenge to get those carb numbers up.  So I have started having a serving of fruit per day and also full fat Greek Yogurt.  As the carb numbers climb, I will start adding starchier vegetables, like squashes, and even an occasional tuber, probably yams.  I ate a peach the other day, and it was like heaven!

Here are my beginning stats:

August 9, 2011
Total inches - 286.375", which includes:
12.25" neck
11.5" bicep
36.5" bust
31.5" midriff
32.25" waist
36.625" navel
40.25" hips
22.875" thigh
14.125" calf

0.512 waist-to-height ratio
0.801 waist-to-hip ratio

53.4 pounds body fat (36.2%)
94.2 pounds lean body mass (63.8%)
147.6 pounds on the scale

Because I love charts, I have decided to track my progress on this new plan with charts.  And here are those charts since I started this five days ago:

I tracked my food five days this past week on Fitday.  Here is the breakdown of what I ate:

I take my full measurements every Sunday.  In the past 5 days:

I lost a total of 1", which includes:
I lost 1/8" around my neck
I lost 0" around my bicep
I lost 0" around my bust
I lost 1/8" around my midriff

I lost 3/8" around my waist
I lost 1/8" around my navel
I lost 0" around my hips
I lost 1/8" around my thigh

I lost 0" around my calf

Lost 0.006 points off my waist-to-height ratio

Lost 0.009 points off my waist-to-hip ratio

 Lost 0.3 points off my body fat percentage

Gained 0.3 points onto my lean body mass percentage

Lost 1.3 lbs. of body fat

Lost 1.1 lbs. of lean mass
Lost 2.4 lbs. on the scale

Days Completed - 5

Days To Go - 28