Advice Needed - Help me out please.
 

I posted this under the newbie questions but maybe it needs to be on the more experience forum. I an on Week 4 - nothing really jumping out at me as far as weight loss. I started the week before TOM - didn't have any weight loss week one. The week of TOM - my weight bounced up 5lbs - yikes! Followed the induction to a "T" - after TOM week 3 back to my being weight. I've been exercising daily 40 minutes w/ hand weights added. Drink a ton of water (70 - 80 oz. a day). Doing the fitday thing - my daily carbs are ~ 5%, fat ~ 67-68% & protien ~ 28% - my calories average around 1500. My ketone strips show pink & purple all the time. I can say that my fat areas have become very soft & grossly squishy to the touch (like my belly) & I can feel a little difference in my clothes but nothing on the scale - should I see the weight drop, if I stick to the induction even if I am exercising w/ weights? The only thing I see that might be my hang up is my calories ~ 1500 = according to my weight I'm suppose to eat 2000 (weight X 10 ) But how the heck to you get so many calories & stay at 20 carbs a day? Help anyone?

Daily Menu: breakfast: Don's deepdish pizza egg crust - just the egg part made into mini muffin size over ground sausage.

I eat 3 mini muffins a day (so easy to grab & pop in microwave) 2 cups decaf w/ half & half + 3 thin slices bacon

Lunch: usually double qtr lber from McDonalds - w/o bun & everything scrapped off + I usually get their grill ckn & bacon salad & only eat one cup of it a day until it's gone (usually last me about 3 days breaking it down) - take the carrots out & no croutons w/ ranch dressing.

reg. size caf. free diet coke

dinner: steak w/ cheese melted on it & a salad or steamed brocoli - usually 2 cups of my veggies.

and I don't eat anything after dinner ever.

and that leaves all my water I drink.

And I do the Walk Away the Lbs exercise tapes every a.m. before breafast (the 40 min. 3 mile w/ weighted hand balls) At week four w/ or w/o TOM I should show some difference on the scale, right?

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did you work out before you started induction?
have you measured your self?
I am sure you are building muscle which is is heavier then fat (example 1 square inch of muscle weighs 2 times as much as 1 square inch of fat)
So you really have lost a lot of fat but have built a lot of muscle. I would start measuring yourself and that will make you feel better cause i am sure you have lost inches.

If you can feel the difference in clothing, then you are losing fat.

A pound of muscle replacing apound of fat would show no difference on a scale. However muscle is much more dense then fat and takes up alot less room. More muscle means a higher metabolism, better circulation, less cellulite, and a whole wealth of other good things.

If you were on a low fat diet before or just not getting enough protien, then your body is probably concentrating on making repairs first. The weight loss would happen next.

s for the soft and squishy, there is a great thread you should look up that explains how we lose fat. As the fat cells are emptied of fat, water fills the void as a place marker, just in case you need that area to store fat later (for next winter or some caveman thing) When you continue to lose weight, the water will go ahead and flush out, causing what many call a "woosh"

You are also eating alot of high sodium foods. Sausage not only has a ton of salt, but usually has sugars as well. Read the ingredient list on the back of your sausages. Make sure to drink tons of water (at least 2-3 liters a day, probably much more since you exercise) and cut back on the salty foods to get rid of some water weight.

If you don't mind me asking, what's your workout routine? And what's your body type (hourglass, bottom-heavy, top-heavy, etc.)?

Low fat before this - not alot of protein & no exercise!

My body is probably in shock!!! with all these new changes. I know everyone is different - just makes me alittle jealous that a girl I work with has lost 30 lbs in 3 months - no exercise, salty foods, atkins candy bars & not alot of veggies and here I am puttin' along being the good girl & not seeing any scale results - it really sucks!

All of my weight is in my rear! I do the 3 mile Walk Away the Pounds video w/ weighted balls every a.m. before breakfast (4:45a.m.). Basically you're marching in place at a brisk march, with a combo of side steps, kicks, knee ups , kick backs with added arm movements - the workout is 40 minutes long. Last week I started to get the horrid feet & leg cramps but I started taking cal-mag & potassium & within a day the cramping & tender feet went away.

Yeah, my problems are all "behind me" too. :) For exercise, I recommend that you read the book Escape Your Shape by Edward Jackowski. He has created workouts based on your body type, and when you read the book it really makes sense. (Plus everyone who tried it on Amazon got good, quick results.)

I'm guessing that you are a "spoon" like me. (The other body types are hourglass, ruler, and cone.) The basic idea behind the spoon workout is that we do NOT want to bulk our bottom halves any more than they already are—we want them to shrink—but we do (if we’re not overweight) want to add a little more bulk to our torsos. This will bring us closer to the hourglass shape, or at least make us teaspoons instead of ladles.

Some of the exercises he says that spoons should NOT do include lunges, walking on an incline, spinning, working out on elliptical machines—basically anything where your legs are bearing extra weight. If your weights are ankle weights (I can't tell from your post), that will definitely tend to create more bulk in your bottom half.

I have ordered his kit (it’s kinda pricey, but I found it on Half.com) that includes the videos and the equipment I need for my workout. After I get it, I plan to do the routine for a few weeks before reporting on my results here, but I thought it might be something you would want to look into, so I'm mentioning it now.

I've seen the Escape your Shape thing mentioned before under the exercise forum. I may look into it.

My weights are weighted balls you carry in your hands - no ankle weights for this girl. Matter of fact, the instructor, Leslie Sansone does note during the work out - that they do not do any exercises to bulk up the bottom half.

I'll keep plugging along!!!!

I did measure myself last night - I'll have to watch what happens inch-wise.
How often do you measure yourself? - Once a month?

Usually once a week, but sometimes I forget. I have an Excel spreadsheet log that I track my weight and measurements in.

You might also look at www.mybodycomp.com it helps you keep track of measurements, body fat and a numbe rof other things.