Hello there. I started the low carb med style diet 6 days ago. Been on the scales this morning and not lost a thing! Feeling upset and downhearted. I would like to lose a stone. I usually am a carb face, eating bread, crisps, potatoes, breakfast cereal, biscuits, crackers and wine every day! Have eaten two small slices of bread all week with salad and went out Friday evening for friends birthday meal and had 3 glasses wine and chocolate cake. (Yes I know) But surely I should have lost something? What am I doing wrong? Been eating lots of omega 3 fish, salads, veg, olives full fat Greek yoghurt, berries, nuts and bar of 70% chocolate over the past 6 days. Drinking water with occasional squeeze of lime and tea with milk and half a sugar (but used to have two) x I see people saying they lost lots in the first week, what happened to me? X

Bluesky, you may be conflating the low carb mediterranean plan with the Fast800?

Thank you alliecat, but I though they were the same basic principle of the med style diet, except I’m not calorie counting like on the Fast800. I think I may have found out this morning what’s been happening! Maybe fluid retention?? I don’t ever usually weigh myself. Thank you for your reply. I’m going to keep trying. X

Bluesky, the rapid weight loss that you’ve read about on the forums, takes place with calorie
restriction and counting carbs, and first 8-10lb losses are mostly the release of water weight.
I lost 50% of my body weight doing the Fast800 for 10 months. I was alcohol free the entire
time with the exception of 2 holidays, when I had 2-3 glasses of wine. My weight on each
occasion was up 1.5lbs the next day, and it took an entire week to shift it. I’m in maintenance
going on 11 months. Today I eat a low carb mediterranean diet to remain stable, but I
still count carbs. I know just where the tipping point to weight regain is for me. What
I’m saying is that not counting and weighing and simply doing a low carb mediterranean
diet would never have resulted in weight loss for me. In my opinion, it’s really a tool
for maintenance when one reaches their target weight. I hope this will be of some
help to you.

Allie

Blue sky – Allie is so right, you do need the calorie reduction to lose weight. I follow a carb restricted med diet also to maintain my weight loss – but I would never have lost the weight in the first place without calorie restriction.

Thank you both very much for your replies and help, and congratulations to you both on your weight loss! Here goes another week! Fingers crossed x

Hi Bluesky
Allie and Krysia are both spot on with their advice. I was wondering if maybe the 5:2 might suit you better. You follow the Mediterranean way of life for 5 days of the week and restrict your calories to 800 calories for 2 days. Weight loss is slower than doing the Fast800 but you could allow yourself the odd treat on the non-fast days.

Hi Bluesky,
You need to remember that the science behind the BSD is that if your carb intake each day is too high then your body does not switch into “fat burning” mode. It isn’t enough to just drop bread and rice etc, you have to check how many carbs are in every single thing you eat. Carbs can be quite sneaky and even things we think of as healthy can add up to quite a high carb count. – You mention you have been eating lots of berries and veg. That could be the problem.
The best piece of advice I had from the lists is to weigh and log everything I eat in one of the apps / websites. I use fatsecret but others use different apps.
While the number of cals control the amount of weight you loose, I know you only want to loose a stone, but the science applies no matter what the amount, loosing weight in a sustainable way comes down to counting the carbs as well as calories.

How is the week going this time Bluesky?

I have no where near the experience of the other advisors who’ve replied to you, but in my 7 weeks on Fast 800, I have avoided counting carbs. I know that is just luck as regards my body chemistry, and maybe when I approach my target weight in the months ahead I’ll need to go that extra mile. But I’m pleased with my loses to date, just from calorie counting AND avoiding high carb foods as sign-posted in MM’s book. For example, I haven’t touched alcohol, bananas or pineapples in all these weeks and when I’m deciding between brands out shopping, I’ll choose the option with the lower carb content – fat and calorie count be damned.

I just wanted to throw my 2-penneth in, in case the idea of tracking carbs etc, becomes a turn off for you because I think it would have been the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ for me, especially in the early weeks. It can work without that, if you’re lucky. Please don’t give up. Good luck.

Alibobs – spot on. There is no mention in the book of counting carbs, just kcalories. In fact, I even missed the bit about cutting out the Big 5 altogether (is it even in there?); I read “reduce or minimise” and kept eating them all, albeit in much reduced amounts and frequency.
The low carb M (Mediterranean) plan is the basis of the Fast800. If you stick with the foods in it and the 800 kcal recommendation, the weight loss will happen.
Best of luck!