I started atkins in late November and lost a great deal of weight the first 2 weeks a little the beginning of the third, then nothing, now a gain of 2.5. I am about to give up. I don't understand. My ketosticks are still purple, I'm drinking my water. I havent cheated at alllllll.At a complete loss.............

Hi Andie!

As you're discovering, weight loss is only rarely ever in a steady downward line. There will be ups as well as downs along the way and some weeks with no apparent change at all. It seems to be quite common to have a brief stall or a few pound gain after the initial quick losses of induction as your body tries to sort out what exactly is going on.
Think of it this way; in the past 5 weeks, you've lost 14.5 pounds. That's nearly 3 pounds a week and a pretty impressive weight loss.
Stick with it and give your body some time to reassure itself that all is well and weight loss will likely resume again soon.
Just a warning, though. Now is NOT the time to start dropping calories or carbs further as that may just serve to convince your body that its worst fears are true and that a famine has truly begun. Keep doing what you've been doing and be patient.

Is it that "time of the month"? We girls tend to retain water around that time. Are you eating enough fat... 70% of your calories should be coming from fat. Strange, but eating fat actually makes you lose fat. It is also common to stall and not lose weight for a while, as your body adjusts to the initial weight loss. I had a week and a half stall right after induction, then lost 3 lbs in one night. Please be patient.

Yes, rest assured--this is normal. I think everyone of us went through this and really scratched our heads, LOL. During this time, though, the inches usually still drop. If you haven't taken your measurements, do so. They're just as important as your weight (maybe even more important).

Times to watch for water weight gain (probably your 3 pounds) are as follows:
Salty foods, not drinking enough water, TOM, PMS and/or ovulation.

I have to agree with Lisa--you've had an astounding success so far! Pretty soon, your body will catch up. Just hang in there.

Andie, have you added veggies to your diet? The last time I looked at your fitday account veggies were few and far between. Veggies are very, very important. They not only will help you lose the weight you want to lose, but they provide you with wonderful phytonutrients you need for health AND help keep the constipation problem away.

You really need to have your veggies and keep your fat intake up around 70% of your daily calories. It works!

shortstuff

Your fitday entries are very erratic but from what you have entered I would say you are eating very badly.

Your diet is not very well balanced at all, you HAVE to eat vegetables.

enter your foods in fitday everyday and make sure you enter EVERYTHING that passes your lips.
This way you will be sure there is no "carb creep" and that you are still sticking properly ot the diet.

I dug back a ways in the fitday entries you DO have, and see some problems. It seems to be chock-full of processed meats, quite a few of the lc fake foods and scarcely any mention of veggies. I don't want to sound harsh, but that's a combination sure to have you retaining water and stalling.

I recommend trying a nice clean induction. Real meats, LOTS of veggies, and to take a break from the processed lc products.

Now that I've read through your fitday journal, l think I should amend that statement somewhat. Your carb intake is consistenly very low (ie very few veggies) and often well below 20. You may find that by increasing your carb intake closer to 20 through the addition of more vegetables from the allowed list that the erratic bowel behavior and stomachaches mentioned in your fitday journal may clear up somewhat. In other words...you just might be constipated.
Vegetables add variety, fiber and lots of healthy vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that your body will thank you for giving it.
Staying well below 20 grams of carb also gives you nowhere to retreat to if and when you do happen to hit a long stall.