Hi Jim and others who experience stalling,
The older we get the greater our propensity for insulin resistance. 
Hence, what worked for you a year ago might not work exactly the same now.

The problem, in my opinion, with every low carb diet book that I've read 
is that while the authors seem to have a pretty good grasp of the 
science and they usually provide relevant menus but none of them seem to 
have a clear sense of the variables that the dieter could be monitoring 
and how the dieter should be interpreting changes in these variables. 
For instance, just monitoring your level of ketosis offers a great deal 
of information. I have often found my level of ketosis had dropped and 
had to look back over the previous day's food to figure out what caused 
it. I would never have known there was a problem and might have 
continued to make the same mistake repeatedly had it not been for using 
Ketostix.

I developed a program that has worked very well for a number of people 
I've worked with to help them lose weight. It is a system that requires 
monitoring fasting BG, morning BP, pulse, weight, and level of ketosis, 
on a daily basis combined with weekly body measurements and monthly 
postprandial BG at one, two, and three hours after eating a test meal 
with moderate carbohydrate content but no sugar.  This system works very 
well and if a stall in weight loss is experienced, there is usually a 
clear, fairly obvious explanation.  I worked up a book proposal but 
haven't had much luck selling it to a publisher.  My editor at Penguin 
says that it is too daunting a process for the reader. An editor at 
Basic Health Books just said he didn't want my book. I know from working 
with people  who want to lose weight that they do not find it difficult. 
They tell me that the daily feed-back on their progress is helpful and 
encouraging. Nonetheless, I can't seem to get a publisher interested.... 
perhaps because I don't have an MD. I'm still trying to sell the book 
proposal but in the interim, here is a thumbnail sketch of my program:

You should take one week to establish your base measurements before you 
begin the diet. (I know you can't do that Jim because you are already 
working on the diet.) Then, allow three days to get into ketosis - less 
if you can either fast or drink only olive oil for your first day's 
sustenance.  Once in ketosis

1. Your fasting BG should be below 6.0 mmol/L or 110 mg/dl during the 
first few weeks and below 5.5 mmol/L or 100 mg/dl after that.
2. If your fasting BG is staying high, you are either eating too much 
carbohydrate or getting too much protein.
3. If your BP is up and your fasting BG is up, then carbs are the likely 
culprit, especially if your ketone bodies are low or gone.
4. If your ketones are high, your fasting BG is low and your weight is 
stalled, then you may be eating too much salt.

The interpretation information (such as the above) will fill a whole 
chapter, but I thought, since many of you have talked about stalling on 
weight loss, that you might be interested in getting a sense of how my 
program works and the above are the most important points. All of the 
principles used to interpret these self-monitoring test results come 
from the books (Taubes, Eades, Cordain, etc.) and discussions that are 
kicked around here on this list. So the information isn't anything I 
have invented or anything. I am just putting the information into a 
format that allows a dieter to have a handy reference text to see what 
might be causing a weight loss stall, or a shift out of ketosis, or a 
spike in BP, etc. I am still writing the book, and none of the chapters 
(except the intro) are finished, but I am getting close to completion.  
I hope to have a publisher by the time it is done. In the interim, I 
hope that some of you who are experiencing stalls will benefit from the 
above.

best wishes,
Ron








On 26/01/2011 12:49 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:
> I weigh myself on New Years Eve and I am 170.2 pounds.  Normal paleo 
> weight for me -- not trying to lose weight or do anything special is 
> about 155.  Being that it's a new year, I decide to lose those 15 
> pounds.  Method: low carb paleo without measuring protein or anything. 
>  No alcohol.  And I will resume regular high intensity weight training 
> after taking a break for a few weeks (with only intermittent workouts 
> during that time).  I'll continue this plan until Valentine's Day and 
> then allow myself a bottle of wine as a reward.
>
> After week one, I am at 165, a loss of five pounds.  Good.
>
> After week two, 165.
>
> Week three (now): 165
>
> Huh?  No weight lost in two weeks?
>
> I am not at all discouraged.  Maybe I've replaced lost fat weight with 
> muscle.  But it is slightly curious.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Jim Swayze
> www.fireholecanyon.com
>