Hi everyone,

I'm still a newbie to the forum, but have been on Atkins since July.
(Still not quite used to making a post!
I've been on Induction for about a month and a half, but I've fell off the wagon 2 times so technically, I'm on my third induction.

The first two times, I lost a lot of weight. I was purple on my stix and I 'felt' like I was in the fat burning metabolism.
I was also happy to have found out that my resistance was low.
However, this third time, I don't feel any of those symptoms. I have not lost any weight for 10 days and my stix are beige with a hint of light pink.

Could it be that going on and off induction have made me metabolically resistant to fat-burning mode? I've heard that your body will adapt to become most 'efficient'. I miss the feelings I had when I first started Atkins It really felt great. Felt like I was using fat for energy..
No longer feeling that and seeing no change in my body, is making me feel discouraged.

Any insights on what is happening to me? Can I do something to 'jump-start' my metabolism? (besides the fat fast..)


happy low carbing

Excersise

Keep at it. I think you do become a little resistandt over time but two tries shouldnt do it. check very carefull y what you're eating. Make sure your carbs are low enough and your calories are high enough.

Good luck.

Hello everyone, thank you for the replies!
I do exercise very regularly. I'm a big fan of Tae-bo!
And max, thank you for saying two tries shouldn't do it. I was so hoping that someone would tell me that.

Red cutie, thanks for the link. I went and calculated my body fat. And yes, I had entered my height in cm! (I am about 5'5"-5'6")
It tells me I have 20% bodyfat, and 96 lbs of lean body mass.
I am on the borderline of being healty/underweight, but I have these stomach layers that fold.
They put my self esteem down, so I wanted to do something about it. I'm happy to say that I no longer eat chips or crackers by the bag! Thank goodness, but it would be nice to know if I was burning fat. If I have grown metabolically resistant and not burning fat, I was thinking maybe I should move onto the less restrictive OWL phase?

happy low carbing

Do you think Zone will be a better plan for me?
I'm terribly missing my fruits. Oranges and peaches are calling my name.

Thank you Red
I have been exercising regulary for about 4 months.
I notice a HUGE difference in my stamina, but my stomach problem is still there.
I see that you are rooting for 20%, I never really taken into account my body fat percentage before.
Your stats look great. What a progress!

The first two times on Induction, I managed to go down to 114 lbs. That's probably why I'm discouraged now. You know, seeing that you were once there, and that was only 2 weeks ago. sigh..
I guess I'll finish my full 14 days of induction, for the first time and move onto OWL.

Silly question, but what is IMHO? It took me couple of weeks to figure out TOM and WOE.


Rose

Rose7, IMHO = In My Humble Opinion! There is a list of these acronyms somewhere on this site, but for the life of me I can't find it - I'm also a newbie! Someone else can tell us?

rose and velvet, look at the top of this page, you will see an orange bar-click on"low carb tips" then scroll to the bottom of that page and click on "low carb lingo" and it gives you most of the acronyms you see here

hth

Rose

A great way to exercise the stomach is one of those exercise balls.... you lay over it and when you do crunches the range of motion is far more than when laying flat on the floor, plus it really cushions your back and feels great as well which helps motivate you to want to do it....I have a treadmill, professional Total Gym and one of the balls plus handweights and using the ball is my favorite exercises to do.

You might also try Pilates or Yoga for abs. They both focus on strengthening the core muscles wonderfully.

What are you shooting for stomach wise? Most women will have a small round there even when they are at the lowest area of ideal weight and body fat. It has alot to do with genetics, having children and many other things. A perfectly flat tummy may be extreamly hard to accomplish depending on your body type. One thing I have noticed though is many men tend to like that small round. I've heard quite a few comment on how its the perfect pillow and too hard of tummies are just unappealing

As for peaches, my SO bought some that have been sittin gin the fruit basket rippening. The smell was driving me nuts. Instead of sitting down and gorging, or totaly denying myself, I looked up thier carb content and GI rating. I found while I couldn't have a whole one, I could eat half and still stay well under my 30g allowed on OWL. I threw one into the blender with my 1/2 cup of yogurt for the day and am enjoying it now.

[QUOTE=LadyBelle]You might also try Pilates or Yoga for abs. They both focus on strengthening the core muscles wonderfully.

I, too, am relatively thin in my upper body, arms and legs, but I have a chunky waist and "pot" on my lower abdomen that won't go away.

Since December of 2002, I have been eating less than 10 grams of carbs/less than 1000 calories per day. I have severe TMJ, so I do not chew (because it causes severe headaches). I get most of my intake in protein shakes and a little cottage cheese, eggs, or diced meat that I can swallow without chewing.

I have not cheated. (Take my word for it; I would not be frustrated, and would not be writing this forum if I could explain my weight gain through cheating.) I can no longer get into the pants I wore last May.

I do 2 hours a week on Pilates/Yoga and Strength training with a personal trainer. I do 30 minutes a day on my own, on the off days. This too has been since last December.

I've been low-carbing most of my life, because I found through trial-and-error that it was the only way to lose weight. The Eades books and the Atkins books have been my "bibles".

My situation is made worse by having PCOS (Poly-cystic ovarian Syndrome).

Can anyone offer suggestions on why I am gaining weight on such a low-carb, low-calorie diet. (by the way: I tried increasing calories, but not carbs, and I gained 4 pounds in a week.)

At under 1000 calories and that much exercise you have basicaly thrown your body into starvation to where it will hang on to anything it gets. This could also be why you have what you think of as a "pot" belly. Many anorexics or other people who get underweight and aren't adiquetly nutricioned will develop gas, swelling, and store fat there. The more they starve and try to get rid of it, the worse it gets and the smaller the rest of thier body gets, making it appear even larger.

You probably aren't severly underweight looking at your height, but with that much exercise you should have a higher lean mass. Get your bodyfat checked. Getting to your goal weight might mean sacrificing lean weight. Those height weight charts are often far off the mark and can have you shooting for something unhealthy for you personaly. With the protien shakes and other forms of protien you may be getting enough protien to build muscles, but that rebuilding still takes energy i.e. calories. When you start to lose lean mass, yoru weight will stay the same as a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, but yoru pants will be tight and your measurments larger as fat takes up more room then muscle.

First get your body fat checked and shoot for a healthy percentage there, ignoring the scale. Talk with a doctor or a diatician that supports LC and have them help you form a plan that has enough carbs and calories for you personaly. You might try writing the Atkins center, but from what I've seen of people who write them you basicaly get the pat cut and paste from the web site. Mention to your trainer what your diet is like, but be prepared for a lecture. You may gain weight at first as your body take a while to figure out that food is coming in and will continue to come in, so it's ok to release stores. You may also gain weight from your muscles rebuilding and growing larger.

Wow thank you all for the great support and information. I have not been checking cuz I had a terrible cold.
I've had to drink something hot constantly to soothe my throat, and it was really hard to find something caloric free except hot water.
(When I drink green tea, I always have to add Splenda and those carbs really add up!)
One discovery though, the SF Ice Tea Mix from Da Vinci, is actually tastier as a hot tea! (Tastes sort of 'run-down' served cold)
These are calorie/carb free and it really helped me out with my throat.

I am definitely going to check out the exercise balls, yoga and pilates. I was looking through some video selections, but I am still skeptical how these exerciese can help you burn fat.
(I always did hardcore cardio). However, I heard that many people lost inches doing these.
I've seen those exercise balls in Discovery store, but Ladybelle, do you have your personal fav for yoga/pilate video?
There are so many of them, and I'd appreciate your opinion on some that you've tried!

I've also heard that men like the rounded abdomen. What i want to get rid of is that extra layer right around the backside of the waist, i think they are love handles.
I could never ever get rid of them, nor do I know a way of exercising that spot.

On a happier note, I think I finally broke of my 'resistance' After reading several stall threads, I just stuck to clean menu w/o snacks and bars and such, and my weight was down a bit.
Also, I was able to go to the bathroom after 3 days of painful constipation(sorry to talk about this).

I've began modified OWL and it's keeping me more 'sane' (I was too obsessive during induction, always counting).
I had some strawberry and it was delicious!
I also had some crackers and wine at some point, but still in ketosis. I'm truly understanding for the first time that moderation is the best way to go about weight management.
One question though, Ladybelle, you've mentioned eating yogurt. Can I eat them? I noticed even the plain ones have 14 g carbs in them!