Can someone help me out. I was on South Beach but have made a switch to Atkins to have a change. I've been on it for about 11 days and now weight loss. I'm sticking to it and I'm working out 4 days a week! The sticks are turning pink-purple...help. Here is a sample of a menu.

Breakfast- coffee, 1-2 hard boiled eggs

lunch- breast of chicken plain or Atkins shake or 2 eggs

snack- 1 string cheese

dinner- chicken or lean meat with about a cut of veggies (green beans, salad with olive oil)

Once in a while I'll have a spoonful of lc peanut butter made with splenda. My work outs are very intense and I felt I could use it before my workout. They are one hour of hard cardio.

By the way, my stats are no longer correct, I've gained weight.

A few things - you may be losing inches but gaining weight due to increased muscle mass. Remember muscle weighs more than fat.

Also - the bars may be causing your stall.

And finally - it could be that you have already reached your goal weight. At 5'6" 120 pounds sounds rather thin, to me.

your probably right about the shakes and bars. Back to blaaaa food lol! I never reached my goal weight of 120 and actually have gained and am closer to my starting weight. If I was 120 i would be very happy! Thanks for the advice.

I don't think I wrote that clearly. What I meant by goal weight is that sometimes what WE want for a goal weight and what our bodies want are two different things. It could be that 120 simply isn't realistic and that your current weight is where you ought to be.

it's probably true. I've kind of been thinking that but wishing it wasn't the case. Thanks for your replys!

Hi your profile says that you are following the south beach diet, and it seems like you are trying to follow some sort of atkins induction....What are you trying to do ? If you want to do a clean atkins induction you will have to ditch the shakes, and up the fat, Before you do anything you should get clear on what plan you are following so we can help you more . Good luck

i just have not changed my profile and am following atkins. The reason why i eat lean meat is 'cause fatty meat makes me gag. I'll try eating more fat. Maybe some bacon but i can't seem to find the no nitrate kind. And I agree that the less weight you have to lose the harder. after I had my baby i was losing so fast i couldn't buy any clothes but now it's slow to nothing. Is it possible to be in ketosis and not lose? I've heard yes and no...very complicated. Thanks for all the replys

Yes, it's possible. There are epileptics who follow a ketogenic diet to control their seizures, and they don't starve to death, so... the reason is that ketones are produced from burning both body fat AND dietary fat. Now, that doesn't mean you should slash your fat intake to "make" yourself burn body fat - if you're not taking in enough calories, your body will fight back by drastically decreasing your metabolism, and that's counter-productive.

It really sounds like you're trying to get below your set point, so I think you have to ask yourself, "how hard am I willing to work for *the rest of my life* to be five pounds smaller?" Because whatever you do to *get* there, you will have to do forever. Your body will always fight to get back up to its set point.

Good luck, but be realistic and remember that we ladies need a layer of fat on our butts and thighs whether we like it or not...

Your right about how hard i would have to work to stay five pounds smaller. I did get there once but i do enjoy to eat and the diet restrictions were really hard. Thanks for all the input. I'll cut out the shakes even though I love them and try to just be heathy. I need to get rid of the evil scale

That's hilarious...and SO true...hadn't really thought about it that way. This is a keeper, thanks for sharing.

Hey you can be healthier by just cutting out some carbs, if you have an atkins shake it is better than a bagel, have a bar instead of a doughnut, just cut back on the carbs and you might lose that 5 lbs over a while, make this a way of life not just a "5"lb diet fix . You don't have to do LC to the extreme to see the great benefits .

Good Luck and visit my journal if you have any questions

Thanks for all the help. I'm going to keep on going and throwing away the scale...it's evil lol! Hey Hbmich where about in good 'ol Mich are you from?

are you drinking tons of water, and why do women need a layer of fat on their buts and thighs explane pls.
hmmm