still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby Willijan » Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:20 am

earthwalker7 wrote:hey all,

I have been at zero-oil starch-based diet for 2 years.
And amazingly I have been *entirely* and 100% unable to lose weight.
Yes, I have hypothyroidism, but that's not a satisfactory reason for the lack of progress, especially when so many other people are making gains and I *am not*.
I'm overweight but not obese, male, 40 year old, moderately active.

I did however in desperation manage to drop 68 lbs by doing a water-only fast (two 2-week fasts, and one 30 day fast).
But once I started eating, the weight started to creep back up.
And doing extended unsupervised water-only fasts is not something I want to have to keep doing.

I practice intermittent fasting now, and eat just lunch and dinner, with the first meal no earlier than 1pm.
That helps slow the weight creeping back up, but does not stop it, and certainly there is no weight loss.

Here's some sample diet logs from this week.
It's not MWL as there's a few fruits in there, but it is SS, as it's zero-oil starch-based.

L: 1 cup white rice, salad (tomato, cucumber, onion), 3 sweet potato
D: 2 cans garbanzo beans, salad (tomato, cucumber, onion)
------------------------------
L: 1 cup oats, 1 cup white rice, salad (tomato, cucumber, onion), 3 sweet potato
snack: 3 green apples
D: 1 cup w. rice, salad (tomato, cucumber, onion)
------------------------------
B: ancient grain salad (1 cup brown rice, qinoa, veggies)
snack: 2 bananas
L: 1 veg burrio bowl
D: 3 serv beans + veggies, soy milk, 6 tomatoes, tomato sauce
------------------------------
L: raw veggie spring role (no oil, just rice paper), veggie pho (mushrooms, veggies)
snack: anicent grains salad (1 cup brown rice, qinoa, veggies), 3 bananas
D: wraps made of 2 cups oatmeal + zuccini + mushroom + totato sauce


quote from soraya:
Postby Soraya » Mon Mar 26, 2018 10:01 pm
"It sounds great to hear about people loosing so much in such a short time; not me. I am glad, in a way, to know that I am not the only one. It has been a real struggle.

I am in the same boat. I have been on WFPB for over seven years and have gained 20 pounds in the past four years with 30 over. Since February 4th I have restricted the caloric intake to 1200 or less a day. That did the trick. I lost 10 pounds in the first month (some of it water) but nothing in the second month. In the past two weeks I have managed to loose another two pounds.
I am only 5'2" at 138 LB. My goal is to weight 120."


soraya and earthwalker,
You can take satisfaction in the fact that you have stuck to this diet, and are improving your health even if your weight is not yet where you want it. You have done a lot to make it work, it sounds.
There has been a lot of good advice on this thread. earthwalker: Re: hypothyroidism, have you seen your doctor about this? It seems it could be the key to your lack of weight loss, especially if you have worked on the concept of calorie density.
One other thing, have you determined the number of calories you are eating? If not, you might want to go to cronometer.com and find out how many calories you are eating and see if they are appropriate.
soraya: Are you feeling hungry with a calorie intake of 1200 or less? One thing, you say you are on WFPB, which can mean many different things. Are you eating any oil? Are you eating any high fat plant foods? If you are, that could possibly explain your whole problem.
I was not overweight (according to BMI standards) when I started this diet, and I have lost about 20 lbs. easily, not doing any fasting, calorie restriction, or even MWL. I don't know that I could have borne the frustration if I had the results you are having so far! You should be proud of yourselves.
I hope you both find something that works! Let us know how it goes!
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby f00die » Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:21 am

abit wrote:...
1 pound dry beans
Either small red, black, great northern, pinto, cranberry
Packages say these are around 350 calories for the entire pound
1 cup dry lentils
Package shows this to be about 400 calories
...

there is no way these numbers specifically are correct.
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby bunsofaluminum » Tue Apr 17, 2018 9:47 am

Does anybody remember PinkRose? His meals consisted of green veggies, which he ate first. His chief starch was red yams, which he ate "as dessert" (that is, he ate up all his veggies first, then ate the starch portion until satiated). Living in China, yams were the main source of starch, but he also had rice. But he preferred the yams.

Point being: Eat the greens first, and finish up with the more calorie dense starches.
JUST DON'T EAT IT

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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby metabolica » Wed Apr 18, 2018 12:58 am

Start counting calories. CICO works no matter what you eat. Figure out your TDEE and eat a few hundred below that level. Don't go below 1,200 a day. On a PB diet, that's still a shit ton of food. I did the Rice Diet for ten weeks and that was about 800 a day. The weight fell off. I maintain higher than that now, but not much higher. I use My Fitness Pal to track my calories and never go above 1,300. I can't eat ad libitum anything and I don't eat ground grains anymore, they're a trigger food. I stick with rice and potatoes as my starches.
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby f1jim » Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:29 am

For those that can't seem to make progress thee is another answer.
Start a journal in the Journal forum and scrupulously log every morsel that passes your lips. It won't take long to figure out where the issues is assuming your thyroid issue is completely controlled.
No one here can look over your shoulder 24/7 and we have almost zero info about what one eats. The logging of all food gives us the tools to evaluate your diet completely. It will be as informative as your honesty.
What have you got to lose?
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby Pudgypumpkin » Sun Apr 22, 2018 9:21 am

I am having a tough time losing also. But I keep trying to tweak my intake and I know I will eventually find the key to get the final 100 pounds to come off. But I agree it can be discouraging when it appears to work for others but not for me. But I will eventually make it.
Pudgypumpkin - who is working on becoming a Sleekleek!
One potato, two potato, three potato, four - I'm a McDougalling Starchivore!
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby Principality » Tue May 15, 2018 9:19 am

Congrats!
Starting weight : 240lbs, current 235.9 change -4.1
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby bunsofaluminum » Tue May 15, 2018 4:16 pm

abit wrote:Male: 56 yrs old, started SS 215 lbs, current 199 lbs
Still slowly walk 30-60 min daily

Successful follow up
Removed 16 pounds

Finally I am on track. I resorted to temporarily weighing and measuring everything eaten to find out what a serving size actually looked like. Wow; they are so very different than I thought. It has clearly demonstrated where I have been going wrong for so long.

The scale and cup are just temporary crutches though, once I get comfortable with the sizes I'll stop weighting and measuring foods. I'll also stop weighting and measuring my body daily.

I now eat about 900-1200 calories on average in the form of soup; potato, purple cabbage, celery, and broccoli. About 660 cal come from 900 grams of potato and the rest from the veggies. My satiety level is high.

There has been no need to go on a fatty food binge. If I do get extra hungry one day I make a plate full of tasty starches (beans, potatoes, and rice). The hunger leaves, the energy picks up, and I have avoided replacing all the fat.

The reply information has been very helpful; thank you!



this is very cool! you give me hope!
JUST DON'T EAT IT

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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby earthwalker7 » Sun Jun 17, 2018 6:45 pm

@ f1jim I kept a journal and posted it previously. I didn't lose weight, and I don't know why. That's the whole point of the original thread. I am asking people to help me figure out why. I am being honest, I'm not eating processed foods or animal products and in facat gained weight on SS. I lost weight on water fast and frankly on a keto diet (years ago). I have GAINED weight on SS. It's incredibly frustrating, and I've got detailed journals.
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby f1jim » Sun Jun 17, 2018 10:06 pm

I don't see your journal in the Journal forum. Where did you post it?
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby VegSeekingFit » Mon Jul 23, 2018 8:21 pm

abit wrote:Just checking in to stay motivated and connected ...

Previous weight: 199 lbs New weight: 189 lbs

Absolutely agree. Basically anything that helps a person understand what they need to adjust to get their weight to a more healthy level is useful.

Posting and receiving feedback on this forum turned the initial corner for me. Now at about 1 pound a week I am slowly getting results. I eat under the 400 calorie density average line while staying below the resting calorie rate both without being hungry.

I am still learning, updating, and refining how to implement the Starch Solution with Calorie Density.


Hi Abit!

Excellent results! Congratulations!!! I think this is a continuous learning process - and you are spot on!! :cool:

Cheers,
Stephanie
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Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby Lyndzie » Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:32 am

Is the overall trend in the right direction?

Someone charted their daily weight, and it bounced all over the place on a daily basis, but long term it went down. Otherwise, you could look for places to tweak, such as eating a little more veg, starting with a soup or salad, reducing nuts, etc.
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby moonspirit » Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:46 am

-- Question on weight fluctuations --

My weight seems to fluctuate without a noticeable cause. Periodically; it can move up quickly about 7 pounds in a day or two and then slowly over quite a few days come back down. On the daily weigh-in it looks like I'm gaining or stalled.


One thing that helps me deal with the inevitable weight fluctuations (which I now think is mostly water retention) is to average my weight. I still weigh every day, but I average my weight for the week and compare it to the average of the week before. I also (on the same day that I do the average) take my waist and hip measurements, and track these over time. I think that measuring, along with averaging my weight, gives a more realistic picture of what's happening.
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby f1jim » Sat Aug 11, 2018 6:26 pm

There is no magic involved. Adjust the caloric density down or increase the physical activity up, or both.
f1jim
While adopting this diet and lifestyle program I have reversed my heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, and lost 54 lbs. You can follow my story at https://www.drmcdougall.com/james-brown/
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Re: still cannot lose weight on Starch Solution

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Aug 11, 2018 7:00 pm

Hi, :-D

I am curious why you want to lose faster? Looks like you are getting excellent results. It can be hard, but (maybe) consider it a journey, not a destination? For instance, when you reach your goal weight - will you continue on -- or change how you are eating? If you go back to old eating, it may not be much time before weight spikes again (I'm speaking from that experience...)…

Anyway, one thing I found helpful was -- it took you more than 10 weeks to gain X lbs., give yourself that amount of time to lose.

Like Jim said above, you can adjust calorie density (maybe minimize nuts / condiments?). You could probably also increase exercise frequency, intensity, duration. But, are any of those sustainable for you??? With nuts / condiments, maybe they help you to eat more veggies / whole grains and eliminating would make food less palatable ?? Where it could be even harder?

It's taken me 8 months to get "close" to goal weight, but I feel like the building of habits has been a journey, not a destination.

Hope something here may be helpful -- but if not, please understand I mean this with good intent.

Wishing you the best.

Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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