It's the intermitent cheats with their resultant gain of fluid weight that slow most people down. Every time your body is loaded with carbs, the liver quickly will store them as glycogen (along with additional water). It takes about 3 days for the body to deplete the liver's glycogen supply, and get back to metabolizing fat for energy. So Your body is, in a way, starting over with the weight loss.

Also, with this WOE, weight loss will be rapid at first (the body loses the water stored with the glycogen and generally loses water from all tissues), but then slows down to a steady pace. It is not a quick-weight loss diet. Since it seems you have been on the plan only a few weeks, you have probably reached the "slow" weight loss phase where your body adjusts for a week or two with almost no weight loss. Be patient, eat what Dr. Atkins says to in his book, drink LOTS of water, and you will find an overall downward trend in your weight. You only have about 30 lbs total to lose, which will not fall off as quickly as the weight people with 50+ lbs lose.

You also should check to see if you're taking the nutritional supplements that will reduce your carb cravings (L-glutamine is fantastic for that). Avoiding cheats will help you lose a bit faster.

Lastly, YOU have to decide if you want to eat this way. It is not just a diet where you go on it till you lose the weight. It's a lifelong way of eating that will shed the pounds and keep them off. If you can't do without the carb-loaded foods, then perhaps you should check out some of the other plans (the first link to the right should help you).

Hope this helps.

Joan