Let me just start by saying that I'm not whining!!!! I realize that I didn't gain the weight in 10 days (as it was so kindly put to me by a member here) however I went to the doctor 12/10/01...and weighed in at 182 pounds and almost died (and did cry the entire way home) When I began Atkins induction 2 weeks and 4 days ago I was 176 pounds....then was thrilled to see I lost and was down to 166 last week.....now I'm at 169-170....did have my period.....so I chaulked it up to that.....bought the strips today....beige as beige can be....no ketosis I'm figuring.....very sad....very dissapointed....and I have been so good....why?

why? because those little strips dont really do a good job of measuring anything - with the possible exception of stress! Please have a look at this thread:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...7100#post247100

People have been losing fat on a LC WOL for years and if you asked them about their ketostix they'd give you a blank look - most of them have never heard of the evil little gimicky things.

Obviously what you've been doing has been working - keep at it and realize that your body isnt going to lose all its fat in one constant downward spiral - it happens in fits and starts. You're just fitting right now

Nat

an older model of feeling depressed had it this way: external event happens...then you have a thought about that...then if the thought is negative, you feel angry (outward manifestation) or depressed (inward).

What if, instead, the process is more like this: a brain chemistry change occurs.... then you 'feel' depressed... then you go looking for rational reasons for why you feel that way to explain the sensation.

If the second model is more accurate, then part of what happens when we feel upset with (whatever) in LCing is that we are experiencing a common (if maybe not normal) brain state. We probably experienced it a lot, and we probably are used to treating it with carbs, which do give relief, temporarily. The problem is, in the long term, they deepen the depressive state at its chemical roots. Staying off carbs gives you a chance to recover to physical normal...and if you don't in a few months, maybe there's a serotonin problem or something else that would respond to other treatments than LC.

rationally, you must know that a six pound loss in two weeks is very very good. And yes, weight gain at TOM is common. I quit weighing 10 days before, myself, and don't weigh again until it's all behind me!

ketosis during menses, however, is very uncommon. Try again in a week, at a different time of the day. As Nat says, the ketostix won't tell you everything (and some people, they never tell anything!) But I suspect in a week, they'll say something different to you.

HTH! hang in there.

Nat and razzle have given you some golden advice. I'd also suggest creating a journal for yourself so some of the more experienced folks can check out what your eating to see if you might have some issues there. Also check out www.fitday.com
Jo