Prior to Xmas I was down 31 pounds to 178 after 9 mos. Abandoned the diet for Xmas and quickly went up to 187. Got back on the diet immediately post Xmas but have gone UP!. Am now at 190!! three mos. later.

Only carb intake is with my coffee creamer. Decaf coffee. May have had a problem with cough drops for awhile, but have also stopped that but to no avail. Haven' t had a cough drop in three weeks but have gained since.

First, have a screwed up permanently? Is my body now reset to a a highly sensitive state to any carb or calorie intake?

Second, what will it take to get back to losing?

when U low-carb for a period of time and then go off for awhile, it does change your metabolism and can be harder to lose. Immediately I can tell what one big problem is. You arent getting ENOUGH carbs. If U cut out carbs completely then you can stall your weight loss. Do U have a journal here? I would suggest writing down everything U eat and drink in it. Make sure U are getting in 20 grms of carbs a day in the form of veggies. Drink lots of water and take supplements. It still may take U a couple weeks to get back on track but U will. Good luck.

Terminal, unless you're eating nothing but fats and meats you have been eating carbs - it can't be avoided. Your body does need some of them - this is why Induction (the most severe phase of carb restriction) is <20g of carbs and not 0 carbs. Often eating too few carbs, just as eating too many carbs, will stall you.

Without knowing just what you are eating and drinking and how long you've been eating and drinking this way it is difficult to offer advice. I suggest starting up a Journal, in the appropriate subforum, and keeping track of your menus. I would also include any history of yo-yo dieting and medical conditions that can effect fat loss.

As Gale pointed out, LCing then not LCing repeatedly is a way to stall your loss. Do this enough times and eventually not even LC will work for you

I would also suggest pulling out your copy of DANDR and re reading it - Induction is intended for 2 weeks, OWL should follow. When optimal results are deisred they are often best achieved by following the plan to the letter.

Nat

Thanks.

What is DANDR?

Have been eating some carbs. I like corn beef and cabbage. The cabbage, although low, has carbs. I eat an entire medium size cabbage.

Have been eating alot of eggs cooked in bacon fat.

The fat is left from eating alot of bacon. Love it, but was eating a package at a time.

I also should be getting carbs from beans and franks.

Other than the Borden's Dairy Creamer, that is the extent of my carb intake.

But for at the last two weeks have been fairly strict, not eating as many beans.


I am, to say the least, very disappointed in myself.

DANDR is Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution - his most recent book.

Do as the others suggested and start a journal here and list everything you eat in it. Also list the totals for the day - calories, carbs, fat, fiber and sodium. You can get prtty good estimates of these either from the nutrition labels from the foods or by using www.fitday.com .

I also notice a pattern in your description that indicates that you are off the "diet" mindset. You go on a "diet", then go off the diet for Christmas and then go back on the diet. That's the mindset that creates the yo-yo dieting pattern. You need to break that mindset if you are to have permanent success and, as you can already see, if you don't break it now it will only become increasingly more difficult in the future.

So focus on accepting that this is a permanent change in your lifestyle and your eating habits for the rest of your life. You won't be sorry that you did but you will almost certainly be sorry if you don't.

Keep the Faith. We are all here to help you out as much as we can. You CAN do it.

actually the only time I went off it was over Christmas. Prior to that I stayed on it for eleven months since inception.

The Xmas breakdown was at the most two weeks, before returning to the diet.

Since returning to the diet on Jan. 1 the only definitive off diet item has been the cough drops.

The rest of the food has all been the same food I had eaten throughout the diet, although perhaps in greater quantity as comfort food. Out of work and stressed.

Have been eating the bacon all along, the beans, the cabbage etc.

Granted, I would kill for some non diet foods.

Baked beans can have 20-30 carbs per half cup. I think you need to modify what you are eating to include leafy greans, and green vegetables.

Corned beef may have chemicals, flavorings, and definately extra salt which may make you retain water. Bacon also can contain those things and most bacon has added sugars.

Fresh, unprocessed, untampered with foods work best with Atkins. Try cutting the bacon, the corned beef, any deli meats, etc. Use plain, ground beef, steak, fish, chicken, eggs. Eat one salad with lunch and have a 2/3 cup serving of vegetables from the list in the book with dinner. If you've been eating cheese, try to cut that to just 3 oz. or less a day.

Is dairy creamer real cream? Or is it some powdered chemical stuff? Real cream is allowed 3 oz. I believe per day. Some people cut caffiene but others it has no effect on their losing. But one must consider that coffee (aside from it's small carb count) could be a staller.

www.fitday.com is a free place to find out exactly what you're eating and how it breaks down into calories, carbs, fat and protein.

You can also visit other people's journals here to see how they are doing on their plans.

Elihnig

I would definately get Dr. Adkins book and make a list of the foods you can have and start fresh here. I would CUT all the beans and franks and also the corn beef and cabbage, VERY high in salt. Starting over with the proper foods will help you. Good luck.