average monthly weight loss?
 

:wave:

Hi,

I did atkins 4 weeks ago, lost 8pounds in 2.5 weeks, but then went off of it because I didn't seem to be losing anything
after that. Well, I'm back on it now, trying to get back
down to the weight I was, because I gained back 5 of
the 8 pounds. Been on it for 2 days now, and I'm
wondering, how long do you think it would take someone
to lose about 85 pounds? I have looked at all the success
stories but none of them seem to say how long it took...
what is the average loss per month on this? thanks.

average weight loss
 

Hi Dtermined
I can only tell you my own experience,I have been following Atkins for almost 11months and have lost 66lbs so far.
I lost 13lbs during 2 week induction and 37more lbs over the next 2 1/2 months(50lbs in 3 mnths).Of course that means the last 8 months I have only lost 16 lbs, but I still feel really great.I think your rate of weight loss relies alot on your attitude and plan of action,I began losing again when I started to exercise on a regular basis.The more physical activity I add to my schedule the better I seem to feel.Well, good luck, stick with it long enough to feel the euphoria of taking back control of your own body :p

Take care, AHD

Hi determind!

It is very helpful to your quest for weight loss if you stop thinking of Atkins as a "diet". If you lose 85 lbs & go back to the way you were eating before you will probably gain all that weight back (and then some). :rolleyes: Been there, done that, & it won't happen again. This is a permanent life style change. Not something you stick with just until you lose the weight that you want. It took me a while for that to really sink in, but now I'm totally committed to taking responsibility for my own health and well-being. :hyper:

You can always come here for unending support & help whenever you need it. This forum is the greatest! I hope you stick with it!

Hi there dtermind..

Most medical people will tell you that a pound a week is a healthy weightloss. It's a fact of life...it's going to take time. And everyone of us is different, so really, the only way for you to find out how long it's going to take is for you to do it. The thing is......the time is going to pass anyway. Why not just get on with it and one day, you will wake up and realize that you are thin.

I know how you are feeling. If you read the beginning of my journal, you will see that I was anxious for ALL of the weight to fall off of me too. Fortunately, I found this forum and with the help of the folks here, I managed to stay with it. Here I am...going on 7 months of LCing and I've lost 49 pounds. That works out to an average of 7 pounds a month, but I've had weeks go by with no loss and I've also had weeks where I had a bigger loss. But it all averages out.

Hang in there and give it time. Two important qualities in successful LCers are patience and perseverence.

Marlaine

for women with healthy metabolisms, they can expect 10% of weight-to-lose gone in induction period (2-3 weeks), a short stall, then settle down to an average loss of 5% per week. So a 8 pound loss in 2.5 weeks is right on target. You could expect to lose an average of 4-5 pounds per month thereafter. In a year, you'd be 60 pounds lighter, which is a whole lot better than being 10 pounds heavier, eh?

The above posters gave good advice, but I'll reiterate it. This is NOT a diet. If you go off and on it, eventually even this won't work for you--if low-cal already doesn't work for you, then there will be no way for you to lose your excess body fat. The truth is, metabolic obesity is not curable. It is only treatable--and LC is a treatment (as is reasonable exercise), but it is a treatment that must be applied every day for the rest of your life.

Also, you might experience a 6-month stall...or a slow-down in loss. If this is the way you eat for the rest of your life, though, what does it matter how long it will take? It'll take as long as it takes, and there's very little we can do about what our body decides is a healthy rate of loss.

Thank you everyone, for the great advice and
encouragement..it is Always nice to know that
I'm not the only one with a weight loss problem,
I've had it all my life, in fact i've never been thin,
and I'm really looking forward to getting healthy
and living better. I know that it is a way of life now,
not just a diet, and I plan on stickin' with it. I've
been reading success stories about all the people
that've lost weight on this and how great they feel
and I will be one of them over time. I've tried every
other frickin' diet out there, this is the last resort.
I recently did weight watchers and I felt so hungry
and starving all the time that I thought I was going to
go insane, that's one thing I love about the Atkins,
I don't seem to ever be hungry and the cravings are
going away. Well, again, thank you to everyone for
telling me what's up, and good luck to all of us on our
success!

Hi Dtermined!

Be patient with yourself and try not to focus too much on the scale. Everyone looses at a different rate, so what might be normal weight loss for me may very well not be normal weight loss for you. I have a co-worker who has been doing this less time than I have and has lost more weight. It would be easy to start feeling frustrated and a even a little jealous if I didn't remind myself that we are all individuals so it's pointless to compare my rate of loss to hers. I'm going to be following this WOE for the rest of my life, so I've just decided to focus on how much better I feel eating this way and now much healthier I am since I started and let the weight come of when it does. Above all....don't stress about how much you loose each week. Stress causes stalls. :)

Hi there!

Just want to add my two cents.... :D (wonder if its even worth 2 cents??)

I would like to mention that I know both razzle and Marlaine are both very avid with their exercise programs and have experienced very nice rates of loss. I was stalled (PANIC!) until I began exercising regularly and now it's coming off at about a pound a week. If losing at a good, steady rate is important to you, exercise is essential....not to mention fun and highly addicting!!

Best of luck to you and you'll never be short of support here!! Welcome to the forum!

Hey Teridoodle,

Yeah, i can imagine how much better people do on this
when they excercise. I'm in the middle of moving, but
the place I'm moving to has a fitness center, and I'm
going to try and get myself to go and work out
for like an hour five times a week. I think it would definitely
help me feel better, not to mention lose faster. Thanks
for the advice. One thing I'm really wondering about is:
Do you count the eggs that you have for breakfast..I mean
do you count the carbs in those or say that they're free?
I got the Atkins book recently but it doesn't seem to say
anywhere in there and so I was wondering.
I've been doing okay on this first week of Induction I guess.
I've lost 2.5 pounds so far in 4 days and hoping to lose
more by the rest of the week..it's so weird drinking so much
water, not used to it..I'm drinking over 100 oz a day, (3
of the 34 oz bottles) phew! Anyways, thanks for the support. Take care

Well, I think as long as you're not eating 10 eggs a day, you don't have to worry about the carbs in them. I don't have the book in front of me but I do recall that in the induction section he says you can have eggs and meat as often as you like. If not, I would limit it to 3-4 eggs and then make sure you get your vegetables or salad in (very important!).... before you know it you'll be at you're 15-20 grams a day. Have you discovered www.fitday.com ? It will help you keep track of your daily intake and many here have found it to be an invaluable tool....I use it daily (almost).


As a rule of thumb (your mileage may vary ;) ) you can expect to lose 10% of your desired weight loss with induction. After that it will come off at a rate of about 5%/month.....that is IF you exercise! :D I have found the stationary bike to be a wonderful cardio workout since I can't do anything with "impact". I LOVE it!!
20 mins. 6 days a week of vigorous cycling (you want to get to the point where you at least break a decent sweat) is all you need....you don't even need 5 hrs a week! And do try it in the morning before your breakfast and you will get so addicted to the energy you feel for the rest of the day!

You're doing great. Let me know how I can help!

Hey Teri,


So glad I don't really need to count the breakfast eggs.
I've been eating deviled eggs for snacks too, and that
seems to work out good doing that. I have problems
with low blood sugar ie hypoglycemia, and so I have to
make sure and eat something about every two hours
to keep from feeling faint or run down. Do you know of
any snacks for the day time in particular that work well for
you? It is sooo nice not to be hungry like I've been on
everything else I have done, what a nice change of pace.
For as long as i can remember, I have been a big eater,
or big snacker should I say..seems like I never could
get full..and now I know it's because of all the carbs
I've been eating all my life. I am relieved that I found
Atkins, because diabetes runs very much in my family
and I could be on my way to getting it till now. Anyways,
stationary bike sounds like lotsa fun, i'll have to try that.

Wow you sound exactly like me....I'm hypoglycemic too! Have you checked out the Lo carb recipes link at the top of the page? There's all kinds of ideas for snacks there among other things. At work I keep cheese sticks in the fridge, pork rinds, genoa salami and nuts (a no-no on induction though). I also drink whey protein shakes now which are really handy. I mix those with a little cream and water, Nat mixes hers with berries and her flax oil which is a great idea I want to try soon.

Have a look at my menus in my journal (before April 8, when I started BFL.... I increased my carbs then) and some other people's journals and you'll get lots of ideas! I try to limit my cheese to 4 oz a day at the very most. I stay away from artificial sweeteners as much as possible, but haven't eliminated them by any means. And nuts are a treat, not a staple.

Does that help?

Dont give up!
 

I started Atkins Easter Monday (April 1) and in the first two weeks I lost 12 lbs. (up to the 10th) Since then I hadnt lost anything and I was starting to feel a little discouraged. I was just getting so use to getting up every day and seeing a difference on the scale. Then every day for the past week the scale stayed still. I was drinking about three to four cans of diet soda a day, and I cut that back Because of the artificial sweetner and when I woke up this morning I had lost 3lbs!!!! I also now realize that while seeing the loss every day in the beginning was great, weighing in everyday and not seeing everything was discouraging. DH hid the scale this morning and said he will take it out next monday so I can see how I am doing, because I am just too tempted! I really feel great, and found when I was worrying I just opened up my book to read up on different things or skimmed through here and It really helped to settle my mind. One more tip that I noticed a lot of people keep mentioning, it really does help to accept this as a way of life rather than a diet. You dont feel so alienated from other people that way.

Jenni