Is there anyone who can give some advice? I have been on the Atkins for about a month and lost 3 lbs initially, but have gained it back. It is due to my overeating, I am sure. I had some doubts wether this was for me, so tried another low carb diet, taking me out of Ketosis, and therefor giving me all my cravings back plus my lack of self control. What stage of the Atkins should I be in if I only want to lose 10lbs or so? I am walking for excersice and doing a pliates 20 min video each day. I am drinking lots of water, and eating lots of veggies, salad. Is it possible to eat too much fat/ calories? I would really appreciate anything. Thanks!

Yes, it is possible to eat too many calories, but you should be able to eat 10-12 times your body weight in calories with no problem, as long as about 70% of those calories are coming from fat. I can't believe the amount of calories I can eat in a day and still lose weight at a better than average pace.

Also, since you don't have much to lose, you're not going to lose it as fast as someone with a lot more to lose. A good amount for you, I would think, would be about a pound a week (now keep in mind that's only advice--nothing more).

Do you have an account at FitDay (http://www.fitday.com) You might try tracking your food there to see how you're doing on a daily basis. It really helps me, because if I cut my fat intake too much my weight loss virtually stops. If I don't keep track of my FitDay I don't eat enough.

Best of luck to you!

With less than 10 pounds to lose your wieght loss is unlikely to be easy. I'm sorry to say this, but the body naturally holds on to a certain amount of fat. However, that is not to say that it is not possible, but will take just a little longer.

Yes, as already said you can eat to much and for your current weight you want to be eating around 1300 calories daily. You may need to look carefully at the food you eat inorder to do this.

Keep up the exercise and every success.

You are also 5'8" in height so your current weight is pretty close to ideal. Losing to the stated goal may not be a good idea.

You may want to change something about your shape and perhaps exchange some fat for muscle. But be prepared not to care about the number on the scale. Successful LCers generally tend to be heavier than they expected when they look good.

You should be on On-going Weight Loss or Pre-Maintenance for this. Your exercising is probably why you didn't SEEM to lose many pounds - you were gaining muscle while burning fat.

Remember that Atkins developed his LCing plan because of the HEALTH BENEFITS to his heart patients; losing weight was just a by-product. If you have those big cravings, then sticking with the higher carb level is probably a very good thing for you to do.

But a "higher carb level" doesn't mean 'eat lots of sugar and starch' because that seems to provoke cravings for you (a symptom of insulin oversensitization). Do a search of the net for the "Glycemic Index" and see what foods are "lowish". Those are the ones to add.

If you stay on the Pre-maintenance levels, your body will lose the tiny bit of extra fat you might have and just be much more healthy in general.

Tofi is sooo right! I can now get my butt into a size 6! Even when I was in the upper 120'S I wore a size 9, maybe if luck a 7. And to do that I was starving myself! One really has to allow themselves to weight more and not worry about it.

Thank you for all the replies! I am not quite sure how to exchange muscle for fat and how long it will take ect. I am okay with the number on the scale, but I am not okay with my but and legs being as jolly as Santa's!! I ma serious, the jiggle is scarey! I am doing Pilates "Buns, Hips and Thighs" 5 days a week, for 1 1/2 weeks now. I guess I am tired of not seeing results. I was a low fat dieter, watching what I ate, trying excersices anf the gym, but always seemed to buly up, but never losing fat.
How do I do this? Thanks again so much!

also, how do I know how much fat and calories to eat? It seems that if I only eat 1300 calories with all that fat, I wouldn't be able to eat that much.

I have never payed attention to calories on this diet. I just ask myself "whats the most fattening thing I can eat". I know this sounds crazy but when Im going hardcore on the diet I dont have trouble losing. I messed up today and felt reallllly guilty. Im afraid if will be after Christmas before I can go another long spell without cheating. Only you can answer the ? is this diet for you. What works well for one doesnt guarantee working well for another. From your stats , I cant imagine you being unhealthy. Im 5'4 and to be within my limits I can weigh 120-140.

Basically, how the muscle gets added is through a diet adequate in protein. When you reduce the carbs and increase the protein, your body gloms on to that protein like it's been absolutely starving for it (which if you've been LF like you say, it most likely is starving for it) and at the same time, your body will burn the fat.

Here's a story about my youngest daughter who is on Atkins and what happened with her. She started out weighing at about 205 pounds. I wish I'd have taken her measurements at the start but I didn't. She lost about 5 pounds on Induction, then her weight loss just stopped. I measured her shortly after the Induction period and used The Zone's body fat calculator. At that time her lean body mass was less than 100 pounds. Basically we're talking marshmallow girl here with about 50% fat to 50% LBM.

The halt in weight loss after Induction is very typical, during which times the body tends to re-adjust itself so we weren't real worried. A couple of weeks later she still hadn't started losing anymore weight, and a week after that she hadn't either. Oddly enough, I was noticing a huge difference in her body shape and the way her clothes were fitting. I pulled out the tape measure and compared the results with the previous measurements, then used The Zone's body fat calculator again. She had not lost one single pound on the scale, but had gained somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-4 pounds of lean body mass. Basically, she was burning the fat and had replaced it with muscle simply from eating adequate protein. This is a girl who absolutely hates exercise, and all she added to her daily routine was a half-mile walk to the mailbox and back.

I don't remember just how long she went through this no weight loss time, but I could absolutely see the inches falling off of her during the entire time. Ultimately she gained about 8 pounds of lean body mass. Now she is seeing the scales move again, but her measurements is what kept her encouraged during that no loss time.

One thing to keep in mind is that fat has about four times the volume of muscle. So imagine looking at one pound of fat (like 4 cubes of butter) vs. looking at one pound of solid muscle (about the size of 1 cube of butter in comparison)--the volume is going to be significantly different.

This is how your body will lean down and you can weigh the same as you do now.

Keep at it and be patient. It can take several weeks to start noticing a difference from an exercise program, but it will help. Being consistent and eating properly (as in getting enough protein to build that muscle tissue that you want instead of the fat you don't, drinking plenty of water and eating high nutrient veggies and low glycemic berries). It seems that what you really need isn't a lower scale weight, but more toning and muscle tone.

Thanks for all the support! It has given me the encouragment to keep going unitl I see some sort of results. The measurements haven't changed yet either, but they probly will in the next couple of weeks assuming I do well over CHRISTmas. Thanks for telling me your daughter's journey, it's encouraging, and good for her!! Yeah!