I can't tell whether you're male or female, your age would be helpful too.

Have you ruled out thyroid problems? If you've read Dr. Atkins books, you probably know that is an often overlooked but very real and common reason. The first time I got stuck on Atkins I already suspected something was wrong because I didn't feel so good, a few months later I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

Overexercising, believe it or not, will diminish thyroid hormone output, slowing down your metabolism. Here's an excerpt from an interview conducted by Mary Shomon, creator of the www.thyroid.about.com information site with Dr. Ray Peat:

Mary Shomon: You feel that excessive aerobic exercise can be a cause of hypothyroidism. Can you explain this further? How much is too much?

Dr. Ray Peat: I'm not sure who introduced the term "aerobic" to describe the state of anaerobic metabolism that develops during stressful exercise, but it has had many harmful repercussions. In experiments, T3 production is stopped very quickly by even "sub-aerobic" exercise, probably becaue of the combination of a decrease of blood glucose and an increase in free fatty acids. In a healthy person, rest will tend to restore the normal level of T3, but there is evidence that even very good athletes remain in a hypothyroid state even at rest. A chronic increase of lactic acid and cortisol indicates that something is wrong. The "slender muscles" of endurance runners are signs of a catabolic state, that has been demonstrated even in the heart muscle. A slow heart beat very strongly suggests hypothyroidism. Hypothyroid people, who are likely to produce lactic acid even at rest, are especially susceptible to the harmful effects of "aerobic" exercise. The good effect some people feel from exercise is probably the result of raising the body temperature; a warm bath will do the same for people with low body temperature."

In fact, anything the body perceives as too stressful will activate production of cortisol which definitely interferes with weight loss. I was doing EVERYTHING wrong back in '00, eating too much soy, doing 45-mins. aerobics 6X/wk and I couldn't lose weight either, so take it a little easier and you'll find that in this case "less is more".

Further in that interview, Dr. Peat recommends the use of coconut oil for normalizing metabolism. I'm starting to use it today!

To view the entire interview click here:

http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic.../ray%2Dpeat.htm

For more about coconut oil:

www.mercola.com/2002/mar/24/coconut_oil.htm