Gaining weight, after week 1. A rant :)

I agree with Joy Mc- time to reread the book. Guacamole is an in moderation food as are nuts- aka almond milk, also the cheat day is important.

It sounds like you may be eating past being full, into being stuffed- I think the idea is to feel satiated not stuffed, might want to make sure you are getting enough H2O.

I believe that putting drugs into your system, be they prescribed or other can end up being stored in fat and make it harder to lose weight in the future, perhaps the medizone is hurting you?

I'd suggest sticking to the program for a solid 2 weeks, ditching or moderating the in moderation foods, limiting the excersize, and see what happens. Also take measurements as they are more important than weight.

On a side note- a lot of Almond milk has added sugars, does yours?

Simple answer: You're eating too much. That's why you're gaining weight.

(I say this from experience. I am also a compulsive overeater who can pound back 2-3 pounds of food in one sitting)

Long answer: Since you're not a very large person to begin with, you need to count calories/control portion sizes if you want to lose weight. The only reason the book tells you not to count calories is because it might discourage people from sticking to the SCD.

(yes, those fist and hands in the pics are to show portion size. I weigh my food on a digital kitchen scale and keep a food log. Did you know a serving of meat is only 4oz? Not a pound. LOL. I know. That's ridiculously small. Now I eat about 6oz of meat/fish with about 1.5lb of veggies. And a liter of water. And maybe some protein pudding as dessert. Yeah, for one meal. But I only eat 3 meals a day)

Optimally, you should limit calories and portion sizes, as well as cut back heavily on oils, fats, and carbs (except beans but these should be skipped for dinner).

I (as well as many of us regulars here) noticed you were posting LOTS of questions that went along the lines of "Can I eat ____? Is _______ ok? Why isn't _______ok to eat?"

Most of those answers are "no" If you have to ask, it's probably not ok to eat.

I would suggest that you stop trying to get around the system and accept the principles as it is. It works, even for thin folks (I'm 5'6" and went from 126lb to 116lb 17.3% body fat. LauraCox, the mod of this site did one better and is at a smokin 105lb 12.5% bf.)

And a week is hardly enough time to gauge the effectiveness of anything properly, don't you think? Give it some time to tweak/reduce portion size and calories and it will work.

Hi, Em!

I will echo the other answers of JoyMc and wombat and say that you are probably taking the "eating as much as you want" thing "too literally". Tim Ferriss has written some vagueness in parts of the Slow Carb Diet that are highly prone to individual interpretation.

In order to lose weight, you really have to eat a bit under what your body determines as "maintenance". Obviously, if you eat more than that you WILL gain weight.

That being said...it seems you KNOW where you went wrong. This diet DOES work, but it looks like you have your heart into it just not the body part. That is EASILY remedied with a calorie lowering tweak and making the portions SANER.

If you are already close to your goal weight of 123 or 120 lbs, I'd try to go for 3 meals and omit legumes from dinner. If you find you are still hungry. Have a smaller meal later at night like a chicken breast (lightly seasoned) and some steamed veggies.

Don't omit the legumes from breakfast and lunch. Be sure you are getting 30g of protein in the morning within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning. Get in your lunch 4 hours later(or 5) and be sure there is at least 1/4-1/2 cup of legumes with it. Have a nice, legume-less dinner and be sure you are drinking 3L of water a day.

Do that....and I think you can break through this. Don't give up! You want to give the plan AT LEAST 6 weeks before you "deem it not working". It DOES work, seriously. After 22 weeks on the plan, I've lost 55 lbs. Have faith!

emwags, you have not gained fat unless you were eating fast carbs and it does not sound like you were. You are either retaining water or waste. Or in a part of your cycle that could influence things. Or the scale is jacked up.

You are supposed to intentionally spike your intake on cheat day. Sounds like you didn't.

You also did cardio. TF specifically says that too much exercise can cause problems.

I would advise the opposite of what others are posting here (except that I agree you should read the book more/again.)

I'd say crank up the proportion of protein and legumes in your meals, go NUTS on cheat day, and lay off the cardio, for sure.

I know. It goes against all "conventional wisdom". That's why it's an ingenious diet.

One CAN "stuff their face and lose", if what one is stuffing in there are not fast carbs/processed foods/sugars. But the beauty of these foods is that there is no inclination to literally stuff oneself to bursting anyway!