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[Stephen M (Ethesis)]

A lot of guys in the "heavy" range (i.e. my friends and me, guys at 240, 300, that sort of thing) report immediate responses on the diet.

However, people closer to their ideal weight or a good BMI, tend to take a bit longer before it really kicks in.

A good example is this thread:  http://boards.sethroberts.net/index.php?topic=800.msg8008#msg8008

At three weeks, she suddenly started to feel the diet.

There are lots and lots of similar examples.  Most of them are women at or near what the charts say is an appropriate BMI.  (Ok, I think BMI charts are often a little off.  I qualified for nationals in a weight class sport at 172 ... and I was 5'6" then.  Now that I'm older and closer to 5'5" I'm expecting to be able to get to 160.2.  I sure would have been happier if the weight class was closer to 168).

You can find similar posts to the one I linked to all over the boards.  Some people even gained 2-3 pounds over the first 14-17 days, then lost it later.

But, if it isn't working for you check two things.

First, are you female, close to your proper BMI or atheletic?

Second, are you using enough calories?

A guy using two tablespoons of sugar a day probably isn't getting enough.  At 3 tablespoons of oil equiv. calories, I was barely able to maintain.  It took four when I started.  I backed off to two.  Now I do three in the middle of the night and 200 calories of protien in the morning (instead of breakfast).

I find it takes me three in the night to get the effect of 2 at 10:00 a.m.  But taking it in the middle of the night sure is more convenient.

I've rambled.

The bottom line is that it can take a while to start working, both because on some people it just takes longer and for others they need to find the right amount of calories to get an effect.

[Stephen M (Ethesis)]

Ok, make that as long as seven weeks.

http://boards.sethroberts.net/index.php?topic=1283.msg8854#msg8854

[Stephen M (Ethesis)]

I think that this is because many people who are near their BMI target have kept thier weight below their set point by diet and exercise and it takes a while for the set point reduction to catch up to where they are.

[terio]

I posted something about this in the "Why am I not losing weight" section.  I have been at this for almost 3 weeks and have not lost a single pound - not one!  The really strange thing is that my weight has stayed exactly the same for most of this time period.  I weigh myself every day, first thing in the morning, and normally I will see a fluctuation of a couple of pounds over a week.  But now the scale says 150 every single morning!  So here is what I think is going on:  I gained 5 pounds over the winter, but  lost it a couple of months ago using the South Beach Diet.  I think that perhaps my set point has gone from 155 to 150 using SLD and that is why my weight has been so freakishly consistent.  I am hoping that in the next couple of weeks my set point goes to say, 147, then down to 144, etc. 

I do feel like I am eating less, though I haven't had the same kind of experiences that many of you have of being stuffed after eating a cracker or something.  I did notice the other day that I was starting to feel hungry at lunch time, but couldn't think of anything I really wanted to eat.  I settled on a salad, since that seemed the most appealing - normally I would have headed to Taco Bell.  Then yesterday I went out to eat with my husband and son at Schlotzsky's.  They both ordered their usual sandwiches, which looked enormous!  Much bigger than they looked the last time we ate there.  I had a chicken and avocado wrap, which came cut in half.  I ate the smaller half and was totally satisfied, didn't even consider starting the other half.  So I think that it is working for me.  In the meanwhile I have no problem downing the oil and am looking forward to those wonderful skin, hair and nail improvements.  Plus I feel much calmer.

This also supports what Stephen posted about those with "good" BMIs being the slowest to get started.  My BMI is actually in the good range, I am just vain and want to be thin and beautiful again.  In the past I have felt that I looked my best at 135 lbs.  I am 5' 8.5" and have weighed as little as 115 in my twenties, and I ate everything in sight then, so I know what too skinny is and I don't want to go there.

[94S10 (a.k.a. Truckman)]

I think that this is because many people who are near their BMI target have kept thier weight below their set point by diet and exercise and it takes a while for the set point reduction to catch up to where they are.

I'm beginning to believe that I am some life form from another planet. My BMI is 35 which is so far above where the traditionalists say I should be for my height I can't even see it and yet I was unable to lose any appreciable weight IN SPITE OF eating considerably less. I am classified as a non-taster (yes, I checked my tongue in the mirror)  and am the only one in the poll who is and can't lose weight. I feel like the proverbial "red haired step child" in this forum. 

[frenata]

m beginning to believe that I am some life form from another planet. My BMI is 35 which is so far above where the traditionalists say I should be for my height I can't even see it and yet I was unable to lose any appreciable weight IN SPITE OF eating considerably less. I am classified as a non-taster (yes, I checked my tongue in the mirror)  and am the only one in the poll who is and can't lose weight. I feel like the proverbial "red haired step child" in this forum. 

Yeah, you've been in the back of my mind as somebody who's flat not responding. It's valuable data, because I'm guessing most people who don't respond just go away without saying anything. I don't remember your regime, but one thing I've learned lately: I get excellent appetite suppression from any oil I've tried, but it seems I only lose weight on ELOO. I don't think it's any magical quality of the olive, I suspect it's because that's the only one I truly can't taste. Don't know if that's any help, but I'd sure feel better if you lost a few pounds 

[Butterfingers]

94S10, I'm wondering if you have any underlying medical problems like insulin resistance?  Just curious.
I am still wondering how this diet works with that kind of a problem.

[Stephen M (Ethesis)]

I think that this is because many people who are near their BMI target have kept thier weight below their set point by diet and exercise and it takes a while for the set point reduction to catch up to where they are.

I'm beginning to believe that I am some life form from another planet. My BMI is 35 which is so far above where the traditionalists say I should be for my height I can't even see it and yet I was unable to lose any appreciable weight IN SPITE OF eating considerably less. I am classified as a non-taster (yes, I checked my tongue in the mirror)  and am the only one in the poll who is and can't lose weight. I feel like the proverbial "red haired step child" in this forum. 

Well, as you continue to eat considerably less, I'm wondering what will happen in the long run (the next month or so).

[94S10 (a.k.a. Truckman)]

94S10, I'm wondering if you have any underlying medical problems like insulin resistance? Just curious.
I am still wondering how this diet works with that kind of a problem.

I've never been tested for that so I don't really know. What would be the common symptoms?

Well, as you continue to eat considerably less, I'm wondering what will happen in the long run (the next month or so).

I"ve actually stopped taking the oil for about a week now. This was because of no weight loss after 7 weeks I felt it was time to cut my losses (or lack thereof)  . Ironically, my appetite is still very depressed. Today I had a small bowl of Special K with some blueberries for breakfast, 1/2 of 1/2 of a paninni sandwich for lunch and a can of sardines for dinner (trying to boost my Omega-3 ratio). Yesterday I had only 2 small meals. And my weight doesn't budge......odd.

[Stephen M (Ethesis)]

94S10, I'm wondering if you have any underlying medical problems like insulin resistance? Just curious.
I am still wondering how this diet works with that kind of a problem.

I've never been tested for that so I don't really know. What would be the common symptoms?

Well, as you continue to eat considerably less, I'm wondering what will happen in the long run (the next month or so).

I"ve actually stopped taking the oil for about a week now. This was because of no weight loss after 7 weeks I felt it was time to cut my losses (or lack thereof)  . Ironically, my appetite is still very depressed. Today I had a small bowl of Special K with some blueberries for breakfast, 1/2 of 1/2 of a paninni sandwich for lunch and a can of sardines for dinner (trying to boost my Omega-3 ratio). Yesterday I had only 2 small meals. And my weight doesn't budge......odd.

That is odd.

My thought would be that as long as you aren't gaining weight, you might as well keep the appetite suppression going.

You might want to try a week on the diet, a week off, repeat, for a while, and make sure to take a tablespoon of sugar, mixed in a cup of water, along the same time you take the oil.  I find I get much better results when I do that, as do many other people.

Wish you luck.

[Butterfingers]

94S10, I'm wondering if you have any underlying medical problems like insulin resistance?  Just curious.
I am still wondering how this diet works with that kind of a problem.

I wasn't confident in my ability to define this for you so I went to the web:


    * A condition in which the cells no longer respond well to insulin. As a result, the body secretes more insulin into the bloodstream in an effort to reduce blood glucose levels.
      www.alwaysyoung.com/glossary/g-j/g-j.html

    * A condition in which the body doesn't respond to insulin properly. It's often linked to obesity, hypertension and high levels of fat in the blood.
      www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DA/00050.html

    * the inability to use your own body's supply of insulin effectively. Among normoglycemic people, the body converts food into blood sugar for energy; insulin is produced by the pancreas in order to help get the blood sugar into the cells. When insulin resistance develops, the body becomes "resistant" to insulin's effect---it doesn't work as well anymore. ...
      www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/gd/gdglossary.htm

    * As defined by Atkins Nutritionals Inc, "reduced sensitivity of the body to insulin's effect on blood sugar. When there is ongoing intake of excessive carbohydrates, there is a corresponding flow of insulin responses; over time, the receptors become less sensitive and can no longer transport the excess glucose, resulting in fat buildup, insulin resistance and ultimately type 2 diabetes."
      sheknows.com/about/look/5271.htm


I have a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and one of the symptoms is some level of insulin resistance.  For about ten years I had increasing low blood sugar episodes a few hours after eating where I would get shaky, weak, sweaty, and light-headed.  Some people say that is because you are eating the wrong foods.  However, this would happen even if I ate so-called healthy or high-fiber foods.  When I finally figured out what I had I started taking glucophage 500mg. after each meal and the low-blood-sugar episodes practically disappeared.  (However, they started again the first week I started taking the oil mid-morning and I still haven't figured this out.  That's why I'm wondering how SLD reacts with insulin resistance). 

Anyway, in women insulin resistance can have such symptoms as increased facial hair growth, scalp hair loss, irregular menstruation, weight gain (especially middle-body), skin tags, dark, leathery skin between the thighs or under the arms, acne, and I've even heard lipomas (which I have had three, and had one large one removed).  Some of these same problems can happen in men.  I probably missed some.  In some of these conditions, the insulin resistance doesn't cause the problem directly, but it causes hormonal changes that result in the problem.
   

[chrianna]

ust chiming in--not to theorize about why you're not losing weight even though the appetite suppression is working.

i also have PCOS though i can safely say it is under control right now since a laparascopy in dec in which the dr. drilled my ovaries.  i'm also on yasmin and spironalactone.  they seem to do a good job of controlling/minimizing the symptoms i've had.

i have never been diagnosed with insulin resistance although i know it was just a matter of time.  my overall cholesteroal has been high and lipids as well and apparently i have a fatty liver.  i have lost weight and i haven't had any low blood sugar episodes though again i'm not IR.  i haven't been able to get this low in the last three years of diet attempts.  i've been hanging around 171 for the past three days but i'll take it as again i haven't been this low in years.

why am i posting here?  i guess to point out that you can have PCOS (with most of the symptoms butterfingers mentions) but not be IR.  i see SLD as part of my ongoing "happy ending" as well as my two beautiful miracle daughters to years of struggling with PCOS.

i can see where taking sugar water may affect one's diabetic or IR condition but how can oil do this?  a mystery . . .

it would be interesting, butterfingers, or someone else, to tell the women on PCOS boards about SLD.  would it help them or just make their problems, with PCOS or IR or both, worse?

[Butterfingers]

. . . . you can have PCOS (with most of the symptoms butterfingers mentions) but not be IR.

Chrianna, sorry not to mention that.  You are totally correct.

i can see where taking sugar water may affect one's diabetic or IR condition but how can oil do this?  a mystery . . .

That's exactly what I was thinking--a mystery  . . .  it's gotten a bit better lately since I started adding a teaspoon of sugar water after the oil and drinking the water slowly over 5 or 10 minutes.  Hope it keeps working.  I tried using one tablespoon of sugar in water instead and had a really bad low blood sugar reaction.

it would be interesting, butterfingers, or someone else, to tell the women on PCOS boards about SLD.  would it help them or just make their problems, with PCOS or IR or both, worse?

Actually, I DID post a message on the PCOS pavilion asking if any PCOSers had heard of or tried SLD, but I haven't received any replies.  I'm a bit timid of posting any information there about SLD until I have some positive results to report and have a strong belief in the method.  I'm still experimenting and hoping for the best!

[maybelline]

I am female, somewhat close to my BMI and athletic (i.e. I have a lot of muscle)
what should i be expecting on the diet
will it ever work for me?

[Stephen M (Ethesis)]

I am female, somewhat close to my BMI and athletic (i.e. I have a lot of muscle)
what should i be expecting on the diet
will it ever work for me?

Odds are it will improve your blood work (the HDL/LDL levels and such), improve your skin condition and hair, and suppress your appetite.  For that alone it is worth taking the oil.

Whether or not you will lose much weight is a good question.

http://ethesis.blogspot.com/2006/10/shangri-la-diet-ditto-foods-hydration.html  and the links there for my thoughts and a link to the check list on the board of things to try and do.