curious wrote:
:: JJ,
::
:: As I get closer to my goal weight (within 7 lbs now), I have the
:: EXACT same question. I put on and took off 10 lbs in 1 week. That
:: had to be water stored as I know that while I ate sugar, I didn't
:: eat an extra 35,0000 calories to put on that weight. Neither did I
:: undereat this week 35,000 calories to take off the 10 lbs. In fact,
:: I just went back to eating the way I ate 2 weeks ago.
::
:: Since I don't know what I'm doing either, I've wondered if going on
:: maintenance enables a person's glycogen stores to build up slowly so
:: you don't notice it,

It very well may if you do it as Atkins suggests, slowly increasing carb
intake as you creep to goal...

:: because in spite of the fact that you are
:: building up glycogen stores, you may continue to lose weight
....just
:: at a slower rate, stay .5 lb week instead of 1 or whatever...When I
:: "hit it" with a sudden influx of carbs, I build them up suddenly and
:: add back quickly, not giving the body time to adjust while
:: continuing to lose.
::
:: When I put on that 10 lbs, noone else seemed to notice. I was still
:: getting those compliments, people wondering how I did it...only I
:: could tell, apparently, as my family didn't seem to notice, either,
:: in fact, they snickered at me when I told them I could feel the
:: difference. So, my response to Roger's question, my goal is a
:: certain number, and not "how I look" because we can all talk
:: ourselves into "I'm not that bad", but numbers don't lie...and it is
:: more of a reality check...at least that is my take on it.

Numbers do lie! I've seen plenty of normal weight people who have much too
much bodyfat, and little muscle. It is not hard for an objective person to
look at one's body and decide if there's too much fat or not. Do you think
a 290 lb contest-ready bodybuilder is too fat? And I'd bet you money if one
of those guys/gals showed up to stage with a spare tire around the waist
there would be some serious laughing going on.

If your goal is simply to weigh a certain number, you haven't thought about
this enough. Bodyweight number goals are nice to have on any weight loss
program, but for those with a lot to use, number goals really aren't that
useful. A bodyfat test would be much more useful and could be used to make
a number goal have some kind of meaning. But an honest & objective person
who is keenly interested in being lean can make a good determination by
simply looking in the mirror, and pinching fat.

::
:: I am going to get to goal first, and then work on going up to
:: maintenance more diligently, and try to go at least a little below
:: goal...I can see that I'm going to have to in order to stay down
:: there...but I'd be curious to know how people have done it without
:: gaining weight back.
::
:: I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have used low
:: carb as a strategy for losing weight and not necessarily who plan to
:: use it as a way of life for the rest of your life. Some of you may
:: have changed over to a simple calorie counting or more balanced
:: approach (meaning not necessarily LC) to eating...what strategy did
:: you use to "go off" the diet...

Oh....I see....you're the one who never really belived in LC in the first
place....it was always to be a temporary thing for you. Okay. Carry on.