If anyone out there can help me I would love you foerever!!!I lost my first 30 pounds doing Body For life.Then I hit plateu for over a month and then decided to join weight watchers,lost seven pounds,and started cheating here and there(because I always felt hungry!)So then someone gave me the Atkins book who lost sixty-five pounds in six months and has kept it off for a few years now.I figured that it was proof enough.So I have been on induction for twoweeks and feel really good I 'm really enjoying eating all this yummy food.So here is my problem and questions.I lost five pounds the first week,really siked about that,but no loss since,not one more pound!!So I eliminated all carbs for one day and then only had 2 stalks of celery yesterday with my protein and still no loss.Should I go longer with no carbs and then ease back into induction,or should I try the fat fast in the Atkins book,or should I just wait for the woosh?!!In case you are wondering here is what I have been eating----

breakfast--2eggs with 3 peices of bacon or sausage links(nocarbs or sugar),decaf coffee with sweet and low
lunch--tuna with real mayo and celery sticks or chef salad with ranch dressing,sometimes a cheesburgrer no bun
dinner-- steak and salad,or potroast and asparagus,or baked chicken and salad
snacks--deviled eggs and sometims sting cheese Please help!!

Hi Manady...first of all, deep breaths and don't panic

From what you ahve said, you have tried BFL weight watchers and now Atkins quite close together and your weight has fluctuated up and down a bit.

I'd say you have confused your body and it is now saying uh oh...what is she up to now

It is not uncommon for people to slow right down after the intital loss on induction...in fact most stop losing for a couple of weeks after induction.

The key thing is to be patient and follow the plan to a T.

It down't help to cut down the carbs to nothing...in fact this can actually slow people down. It is important to get the 20gr of carbs from the list of veggies in induction. Some poeple also find things move along a bit better by adding in a few more carbs.

let your body have time to adjust to this new regime...I'm sure it will respond

...and drink loads of water

Good luck
Lesley

Mandy,

Let me ask you a few questions. If you went off of Atkin's what would you be doing as far as diets go? Would you go back to normal eating or try something else?

There is NO WAY any of us can go every single day losing weight. At some point our bodies need to take a break to readjust itself. You have already lost a lot of pounds so far. How long did it take you to gain all the weight in the first place? While you were gaining did you jump on the scale every day?

When we think of dieting our minds start doing really weird things. We start weighing ourselves multiple times a day. We set unrealistic goals on "when" we feel we should have the weight off regardless of what our bodies think.

Did you know stress can prevent you from losing weight? It also lowers the bodies immune system and we become more prone to catch colds and such.

I am sure you will have a lot of people "talk you out of quiting" but really it is your choice. You are the one that ultimately is responsible for what goes into your mouth. You are the one that has to make the commitment to stick to it or try something else.

Atkin's does work, but you have to be commited to making it work. That means no cheating and sticking to the plan.

Eating zero carbs isn't doing you a bit of good. It is merely making it unbareable to stay on the diet. The carbs are there for variety of foods and to give your body a break from the heavy proteins and fats. Fat fast is for those people that can not get into ketosis to start with.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do. If it was me....I would relax and forget about dieting. This isn't a diet, it's a way of life.

Thanks so much guys.I feel better already.I don't really know what I would do if I quit.That's just it I want this to work for me because so far I love it and I don't feel like I'm on a diet at all!! I guess maybe I just needed to get some reassurance that I was actually doing all this the right way.My mind does do crazy thingswhen it comes to losing weight.It drives me crazy when the scale doesn't move,maybe I should throw it away and just weigh myself at the store or something,once a week.Plus I am feeling frustrated wanting to be at my goal like yesterday!!!Thanks for the advice and encouragement,wish you could send me some patience!!ha ha

Ok guys I added back in my salads yesterday and now I am up two poounds today.I just about cried when I got onthe scale.Please,someone look at my diet in first message and tell me if you think I should try lower calorie version or something.Yesterday I had three egg omelet with1/8cup of cheese,decaf coffee.Lunch I had 1/2 of my chef salad with ranch dressing.Early lunch so I at three I had a baked chicken leg quarter and salad with ranch dressing,dinner I had a bacon cheese burger,no bun dipped in mayo,diet coke.Is this too much food?Should I try more lower fat meats and veggies?I thought this was supposed to be kind of high fat,and I thought from the book that I was doing this right. I'm discouraged,technically I have only lost three pounds in two weeks.What if I gain again?

Perhaps you missed that the first time.

Stop stressing over the numbers on that scale. I gain 4 to 5 pounds EVERY day, then I lose them by the next morning. When we consume beverage and food those items do not all of a sudden become weightless. If you ate an 8oz steak you will GAIN 1/2 a pound until that item is digested and you go to the bathroom.

Stay off the scale if it is driving you crazy. Weigh yourself once a week, or once a month.

It is phyiscally imposible to gain 2 pounds in a day. Why? It takes you eating 3500 calories more than you are burning to add a pound of fat to your body. There is no way you ate that yesterday or the day before. What you are seeing is water weight from stress or salty foods.

Take a deep breath and relax. It's gonna be okay and it will work. But not if you are stressing your system out.

Thanks ,I'm going to try and relax,and have my husband hide my scale and only let me have it once a week.That stupid thing can ruin my whole day!I just figured that if I weighed myself at the same time every morning,then I would know by the numbers that I need to analyze what I had eaten the day before,that way it wouldn't get away from me.It will be scary for me to wait a whole week to see the scale,the whole time I will be thinking what if it says I went up three or four pounds?But you are right I need to stop stressing,I'm just one of those high strung,impatient, worry warts!Wish I could be happy with my weight and just live life without the worries of the scale or the size of my jeans.Anyone out there feel my pain?-ha ha

heheheh

You are going to be a nut case when you get to those last 10 pounds

Yes I feel your pain. I am lucky if I lose a pound a month I am changing my over all body composition but maintaining the same weight. It's weird weighing 146 pounds and being able to get into a size 8 and being able to breath. The last time I had a size 8 on I weighed 132. Huge difference of being IN shape than out.

Mandy, you have come a long way!!! Congratulations! I just started myself... and as a few said to me:

1. don't look at the pounds... but how are you doing with the inches, re-shaping of your body? every morning.. my stomach feels "flatter" if that is possible....and I know it is because my clothes feel/fit different.

2. do you feel better eating these foods? I sure do... blood sugar is leveling out......i don't have the highs and lows I used to have after eating carbs.

3. I had started a thread, "fear of weighing in"... you should read it.... everyone's comments were helpful!

One thing that is hard and I am slowly accepting it is ---that it took me years to get where I am.... and hopeful it will take under a year to get where I want to be. So everyday is the first day of my good eating habits (I don't call it diet--) for the rest of my life....

take care,

M-

Mandy...Stay the Course!! It's the best answer and it gets easier after you pass the induction period, and get used to making your favorite things into LC foods. I have all kinds of stuff that "feels" like a potato, because I'm allowed to use butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon bits.... You will do the same, and you won't be on a "diet" at all! You'll just be living your life without gobs and gobs of carbohydrates and sugars. And once in a while...you know...you're the boss if you want to indulge. It's just about breaking habits, finding a new place, and maintaining the ground.

I am probably the slowest loser on this board...and yet I keep popping my head up and writing about LC'ing because for me, there really isn't another choice. My body has been confused enough!

Get through induction, then we can start sharing recipes!! You'll LOVE doing this WOE in the longrun.

Mandy: I just wanted to give you a few more words of encouragement. This is a way of eating for the long run. I lost about 14 pounds right away and then it slowed down to a crawl. I have lost a total of 18 since August. It just takes time!

I actually gained six pounds several weeks ago and it took me until now to get back down to where I was.

On the other hand I have gone through at least one whoosh when your body can lose several pounds at once. It was pretty strange, I felt bloated the night before and then got up the next morning and I was 2.5 pounds down!

I also watch the scales too much but I don't let it bother me. It's just such a pleasure to get on the scales and see that I am down 18 pounds!!

Hang in there. Make this way of eating work for you. It works for me!

Katie

mandy:i have not been losing weight too, after the first week of induction that i lost 7lbs. i haven't lost again (i have been on atkins for a month)...but it's okay because i'am not gaining weight anyways, i guess everbosy goes through this stage...not losing but later on they said, i will start losing again...hang in there

I really needed to hear this, Thankyou Lesley

I lost well in Induction, lost about 13 pounds, from my stats its clear I’m still there I've basically been on a stall for the last fortnight (weeks 5 and 6 of Atkins)

I haven’t eating very much salads from the start, and get about 15 grams of carbs a day mostly from dairy.

I used to eat tomato sauce (ketchup) even on induction! But managed to cut it out just after I finished induction.

I've been doing heavy weight lifting quite successfully since the start, and I did cardio during induction, that too has dropped, I now live in the country where I don’t really like running (no foot paths, no street lights, fast traffic or no traffic etc)

I thought it could be the lack of cardio in the last fortnight, BUT it seems that cardio is not that effective for weight loss, but is only really for burning calories, and I my calories are not to high about 2.2x my weight.

Any thoughts about my stall? I have noticed ALOT of the foods I eat have alot of sodium in them.

ps. I started taking l-cartenine, l-glutamine and COeQ10 yesterday, so that may help, even if only with muscle development.

-jake


-----------------------------------------
Not even leaning off the wagon.

Hi,everyone!I'm still here,no more weightloss yet.I figure that I like this way of eating,I feel good,so I'll just keep on truckin' like everyone says.I will say one thing though,it will be hard for an impatient person like me to keep on without losing for a long amount of time.I almost feel like I'm one of those people that weren't meant to be thin.I've done every diet/weightloss program there is and can't ever seem to get past this point.It' like my body doesn't want to weigh any less than 170 pounds.I sure looked really good at 140.Unfortunatly I got there in a very unhealthy way--starving,taking diet pills and over exercising.I would be happy with 150 at this point.Before I ramble on has anyone reached their goal weight with verrry long stalls in their journey?Just wondering.Really need some insperation right about now.I just can't seem to undersand why some people lose so much quicker than others.I am very disciplined with my eating and exercise on a regular basis.Don't really want to quit any more,just want some results soon.Anyone find that certain modifications helped through a stall?Thanks everyone for your help and please pray for a woosh for me!!!!

You've been low-carbing since October and you've already lost more than 50% of the fat you wanted to lose.

Look at it this way: You could be where you were before in a year from now, or you could be less fat in a year from now.

Anyone - especially women or those with a damaged metabolism from yo-yo dieting - who take on low-carbing as their new lifestyle take a while to reach their goal.

I know, we all want it now, but it doesn't happen that way. Your body knows what's best even though your mind thinks otherwise.

Relax and enjoy the ride. It prepares you really well for maintenance, which you'll be doing for the rest of your life.

Karen