I'm looking for some information for my DH. Last spring he was having a terrible time losing weight on low carb. He went for allergy testing and discovered that he was eating quite a few things (like nuts) that he was actually allergic to. His allergies were severe enough for him to start allergy injections and he has been receiving allergy injections for several months now. He took a break from low carb for a while because he was frustrated with not losing, but started back on low carb again the first of this year after regaining all the weight he had lost and has actually gained 3 pounds in the past month. Since I can see he's smaller and he's been weight training 3 times a week, I'm writing this off to muscle gain, but could the allergy shots be interefering with his weight loss? I couldn't find anything in Dr. Atkins' book about this, but it seems reasonable to me. I know that eating foods that you are allergic to can interefere with weight loss, so it makes sense to me that having substances that you are allergic to injected into you (even if it's for a good reason), could do the same thing.
My other possible thought is that he's also sensitive/allergic to some things that he's still eating like dairy, eggs or cheese.
Any thoughts??

I highly recommend reading the book "Lick the Sugar Habit". I know your questions doesn't deal with sugar, but the book offered me a whole new insight into allergies in general.

From my experience, yes, allergy has a lot to do with preventing weight loss, and so do allergy medication, so a natural approach is the way to go, IMHO. By "natural" I mean avoiding allergic foods by gradual elimination, and using mega doses of vitamins and minerals, by gradually testing for what works best as a combination. It can be a lengthy process, since each change needs at least a week to determine its usefulness.

Wa'il

Thanks, I'll look into it. Unfortunately, it's not just a matter of food allergies; he also has multiple pollen, mold and mildew allergies as well and they have been getting progressively worse over the past several years to the point that he opted to begin desensitization therapy with the hopes of being able to at least reduce if not completely get off his oral meds. Considering that he has a major phobia of needles, that's saying a lot about how bad things had gotten.

I used to get allergy shots too...started out at 2 every week, then down to 2 a month. When I started massage therapy for my fibromyalgia I found my sinuses improved too. Less than a year later I stopped the allergy shots. I am now pretty well symptom free and don't take ANY allergy meds any more! I will very very occasionally use a 'Breathe-Right' strip, but I have a box of them I've had for 3 years and I still have most of them left.
No, the shots did not affect weight loss/gain. I'm more inclined to think medication may affect it instead. Tell him to go ahead and start the desensitization treatments, but if you can afford massage therapy I'd add that to it. Get the therapist to especially massage the neck and back of head attachments. Also address scalp adhesion.

Hi! I have allergies to ragweed, mold, and many foods including eggs, bananas, etc. Last May, I was taking Allegra, Nasalcrom, and Patanol (eye drops) and getting allergy shots. I came across a book called "The Amino Revolution" by Robert Erdmann PHD. It is ten bucks on Amazon. Anyway, I took the recommended amino acids for my allergies, not really thinking it would help, but I was desperate, and miracle of miracles IT WORKED!!! Now it is almost a year later, I am off ALL allergy meds, off the shots, and my allergies are in control No more sinus infections, no post nasal drip, no itchy eyes, fantastic! It took a full three weeks to totally kick in.

My DH takes the recommended aminos for stomach problems, and his acid reflux is gone. He is off the tums and Prevacid. It is just great stuff, please, try it! I cringe when I hear about people with allergies, esp. food allergies, because, man, did I used to suffer! This book was a Godsend to me, and I have recommended it to alot of others, and three of my friends wiped out their allergy problems. Wow, I should find the author, and get some royalties or something. Anyway, I hate to preach about it, but it really helped me, and I was one sick girl!

Lisa, good luck to your DH, I hope this will help him!

-Jess