Mistakes are common among newbies to low carb, but those new to this way of life are not the only ones who might fall into the following 9 traps. Even if you've achieved a certain degree of success, you can easily fall victim to a variety of traps that can seriously affect your weight loss.
While easing up on newbie anxiety (“Am I doing this right?”) can make low-carb dieting feel more like a lifestyle, each of us must discover and work through our own personal triggers that are affecting our ability to reach our goal.
No one expects you to do everything right.
That's what a support-group is for.
So, relax.
Lean back.
And look over the following 9 traps to see if you've fallen victim to any of them. If so, take the needed steps to correct the problem and keep moving forward toward that new-and-better you.
Trap Number 1: Increasing Carbs Too Quickly
A large number of low-carb dieters can't wait to get off of Atkins Induction, so they can start returning nuts, nut flours, low-carb tortillas, flatbreads, fruit, and other carby foods to their diet.
But returning too many carbs too quickly can cause you to go over your personal carbohydrate tolerance level without realizing it. If you have insulin resistance, you have to add back carbohydrates more slowly than those who are insulin sensitive.
The Atkins Carb Ladder is specifically designed to keep weight-loss problems from occurring, as you return carbs to your diet. Even if you climb the ladder correctly, there's no guarantee you won't stall.
If your weight loss has stopped, rather than adding 5 grams per day per week as the Atkins Diet recommends, try adding back 5 carbs once a month, instead. This will give your body a better chance to heal the insulin resistance.
If you have already bypassed your tolerance level and have started to regain weight, dial back the daily carbs you're eating by at least 10 grams per day. See if that kick-starts your weight loss.
Trap Number 2: Not Active Enough
On the Atkins Diet, exercise is not negotiable.
You need to implement a good exercise program, but exercise might not be your only problem.
Most people have sit-down jobs. Washing machines, cars, time-saving appliances and gadgets, and a lot of other modern-day conveniences have whittled down the amount of calories you burn each day.
A hundred years ago, people were burning hundreds of calories more per day than we do. Yet, we insist in eating a large dinner before sitting around watching television, reading, or surfing the internet.
Activity increases your sensitivity to insulin and helps your body deal with stress. However, activity is not just exercise. It includes fidgeting, jiggling your foot, getting up and pacing the room, and loads of other mannerisms you might not be aware of.
Thinner people are more active, but you can purposely do exactly the same thing!
Just as most people tend to overestimate how much they eat, most people also tend to underestimate their activity level.
Don't just assume you're active enough.
If you're not losing weight as quickly as you would like, get up and move around more.
When I switched from being a Culinary Specialist for our local boys' home to an online freelance writer, it cost me 300 calories per day in activity.
Like cooking, what you do doesn't have to be strenuous. A few extra cleaning chores or fiddling around in the garage can add extra activities to your day. Pick up a new hobby, walk around the store, park further away from the entrance, or spend some extra time with the kids.
The idea is to move more than you currently do.
Trap Number 3: Eating Too Many Low-Carb Products
If this trap has you rolling your eyes because you've heard it all before, take a look at the ingredient list on the labels of your favorite low-carb products. You might be surprised to discover that the only difference between a low-carb product and a heavily processed one is the carbs.
While there may be a good reason for indulging in an Atkins frozen meal occasionally, a low-carb tortilla, or a low-carb flour, most low-carb products contain one or more of the following:
- various forms of wheat and wheat protein
- modified cornstarch
- undisclosed enzymes
- various fibers
- dextrin (corn sugar)
- maltodextrin (corn and sometimes wheat)
- undisclosed natural flavors (barley or corn)
- grain alcohols
- chemical-based salt rather than sea salt
- preservatives
- various forms of soy
- caramel coloring (corn sugar)
- citric acid (corn-derived)
Instead of switching from a heavily processed-foods diet to a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet, we've merely switched to using processed foods that are low in carbs.
Trap Number 4: Eating Too Many SAD Diet Imitations
Along with using too many low-carb products, you might have fallen into the trap of trying to imitate many of the foods and recipes attached to your old way of life. Most low-carb recipes use a lot of heavy cream, cheese, crushed pork rinds, sour cream, and high-calorie flours like almond meal, so dieters don't feel deprived.
Although cooking and baking low-carb recipes yourself can be more nutritious than buying low-carb mixes, bars, and shakes, it's easy to lose track of how much sugar-substitute, wheat, corn, and fiber you're using.
Start to become more aware of the recipe ingredients that you're using.
- Are they high in calories?
- Is everything you make smothered in sour cream and cheese?
Trap Number 5: Eating Too Much Fat
Most low-carb dieters don't want to hear that they might have to curtail their fat intake in order to reach their weight-loss goals.
Fat is what gives food it's yummy flavor and luxurious mouth-feel. And it's why many dieters choose a low-carb lifestyle over a low-fat one.
Although a very low-carb, extremely high-fat diet (like Jimmy Moore's version of Keto) is a popular plan that continues to circulate through the low-carb community today, a high-fat diet might not be the best choice for those with:
- intestinal inflammation
- gluten sensitivity
- celiac disease
- a fatty liver
- malfunctioning gall bladder
- lack of a gall bladder
- hyperthyroidism (Graves' Disease)
A lower-fat diet isn't dreadful.
It simply falls in between the typical recommendations for a low-carb diet and a low-fat one.
Trap Number 6: Too Much Stress
When you make something important, such as the number on the scale or the size of your clothing, it results in emotional distress and/or anxiety. In addition to dieting, allergies, and food sensitivities, other modern-day stresses cause the same type of “fight or flight response” your ancestors experienced when their mortal lives were in danger.
Only for us, there isn't any real danger.
We've only gotten our feelings hurt, or we haven't achieved some expectation or ideal we were hoping for. Maybe, you upset the boss or things didn't work out the way you thought they would.
Consistent anxiety keeps stress hormones high. And they won't return to normal if you're stressed-out most of the time.
Cortisol increases your hunger and cravings for simple carbohydrates. It's job is to provide the body with the quick energy it needs to fight or run away from danger.
For that reason, it:
- Encourages the liver to convert glycogen to glucose and then dump that glucose into the bloodstream.
- Prevents the pancreas from secreting insulin, so glucose sticks around.
- Slows down fat mobilization in preference for glucose.
- Initiates the breakdown of amino acids into glucose.
Dr. Atkins suggested you reach for a protein snack to soothe your emotions, but if you're experiencing a slow metabolism, eating more will only make the situation worse.
A better idea is to stop fighting against your experiences and learn to go with the flow that life presents to you.
When you first start to feel uptight, give yourself permission to relax. Take a hot shower or bubble bath, get involved in a fun hobby, call up a friend, or go for a long walk.
The idea is to find something that relaxes you.
Trap Number 7: Not Getting Enough Sleep
While not getting enough sleep occasionally isn't a major concern, the National Sleep Foundation cautions that consistent sleeping problems can impair your metabolism and interfere with your hormone levels.
To keep your blood glucose levels steady, those who don't get enough sleep have to produce almost a third more insulin than normal sleepers do. This makes sleep deprivation a contributing cause for overweight and obesity.
In addition to the increased insulin resistance, lack of sleep also makes you hungrier and more likely to overeat.
Since most low carbers do not count calories, inadequate sleep is an important factor for those not losing weight.
Low carbers are also more likely to interpret tiredness as a need to increase fat intake, rather than sleep, which can cause stalls or even weight gain.
Medical authorities recommend you get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. If getting that much sleep is troublesome or if you have trouble staying asleep, you might want to talk to your doctor about the possibility for sleep apnea. Especially, since overweight is associated with disordered breathing.
Trap Number 8: Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Alcohol is toxic to the body, so when you have a drink before dinner or at a social event, all incoming nutrients like protein, carbs, and fats are immediately stored in your fat cells until that alcohol is totally burned for fuel.
While a glass of wine or a low-carb beer won't throw you out of ketosis, it does put your weight loss on hold until the alcohol has been taken care of first.
Also, keep in mind that wine contains about 8 grams of carbohydrates per 4-ounce serving and that a 12-ounce beer will set you back from 2-1/2 to 6-1/2 carbs, depending on the brand.
According to Atkins Nutritional, Inc., an occasional drink only creates a slight pause in your weight-loss plan, but if you tend to drink regularly, it can seriously disrupt your weight-loss efforts.
In addition, alcohol can increase insulin resistance, which would make the recently stored fat more difficult to mobilize.
Make sure you choose your drinks carefully and wisely, and always watch your fat intake when you drink.
(For more information, check out our article on how alcohol affects ketosis.)
Trap Number 9: You Believe What Worked Before Should Work the Same Way Now
This trap is a major stumbling block for lots of low-carb dieters. They can't get past the fact that things don't stay the same.
Life isn't static.
It's fluid.
What was true for you several years ago, or even last year, might not be true today.
An easy way to look at it is that the amount of calories it took to sustain your original weight of 250 pounds won't be the same amount of calories that sustains 125.
Likewise, the amount of protein, fats, and carbohydrates you can eat will change as your weight normalizes. Lower calories translates into smaller portion sizes; but many low carbers don't realize that.
As your body get smaller, your nutritional requirements go down.
And that means portion sizes have to change.
The amount of fat has to be adjusted to fit the amount of carbohydrates you're eating, and sometimes, you have to give up foods that worked for you when you first started your low-carb journey -- but no longer do.
While that might feel unfair, that's the price you have to pay to stay slim and healthy.
Not everyone is willing to pay that price.
However, when you insist that what worked before should work the same way now, you are setting yourself up to fail.
Stopping short of your original weight-loss goal can be realistic and wise, depending on your circumstances and health status. Plus, going back to your old way of eating because you can't have certain foods anymore will only return you to the life you had before.
Instead of dwelling on the past, or what you haven't been able to achieve quite yet, try to appreciate what you have right now.
Spend some time looking at all of the benefits that have come your way because you have chosen to live a low-carb lifestyle. If you try to push your body into giving up more fat than its comfortable giving up, it might backfire on you.
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