Hi everyone! I started low-carb a week ago and am sad that I'm not losing faster! It's hard to eat this way and I guess I need encouragement to keep going. I only lost a bit over 1 lb in one week, and for all this work, that seems small! Help me stay on this diet! I want to be thin again. By the way, I'm very active (3 kids and a YMCA membership, swim, walk, clean house, garden...) but my fat cells just hang on and hang on. HELP!

Okay, so apparently no one has any ideas for me. Gosh, I'm stumped. I keep reading about all the weight people lose when they go lo-carb and I want some of that success, too. By the way, I can't do Atkin's Induction. Tried that several times and was so miserable and flipped out at the total lack of carbs I freaked, so I'm doing this other diet, which I'm tolerating better. I just really, really want to look and feel better.

There are plenty of people here that provide a wonderful support system. All you really need to do is find a plan that you can manage with, and understand why this WOE works.. once you stop looking at it as a "diet" and more of a lifestyle, it is alot easier.. This is not something to start and stop later, it is an adjustment to the way you choose to eat.

It's not uncommon to lose a wee bit slower when you have less to lose. It's only expected to lose 10% in the first 2 weeks. I started this quite some time ago-I have only lost a few pounds, but I have lost many inches! I have gained alot of muscle and look better than ever.

I would recommend that you choose a plan first-read the book so that you can stick with it. Atkins is not totally devoid of carbs. Maybe you should read Protein Power. I will admit that it's very difficult making the change to low-carb WOE. But once you've adjusted it's really great!

I just really needed to know I wasn't alone here. I admit, I only have 25 lbs to lose (give or take) so I won't lose as much. Thanks. I do look at it as a WOL, and I'm trying to make the change. It's hard, but I really, really want this. Thanks for the help!! Just hearing from you makes the hi-carb food in this house seem much less appealing!

You only waited 29 minutes between the 2 messages. This board is not "staffed". It is just a collection of people who want to help each other. Many have jobs and kids and other responsibilities and are only online in their so-called free time.

That was great advice above: be patient and see this as a way of eating forever, not a diet. Most people who give up expect a fast loss for weeks & that they'll reach goal in a month. After the first 2 weeks, it's slow.

You seem very active so you could be gaining muscle while burning fat. The scale might not show a loss, but how are your clothes fitting? Sounds as though you have been on other diets - perhaps low cal or low fat - and you probably need the protein in this way of eating to make muscle repairs.

Jeanner is right: Atkins has 20 grams of carbs daily for 2 weeks, then increases gradually. Carbs are that limited for 2 weeks only. Can you stand a little boredom with eating for those 2 weeks in order to get the losing started?

Look at the right side of this page. There is a link to "Which Low Carb Plan is Right for Me?" Click on it and read. Whichever one you choose, READ the BOOK completely, thoroughly and repeatedly. Be sure you really understand how to do it.

You can also browse through people's journals and see how they eat. And how they manage frustration.

Go to the Newbies Questions section on the pulldown menu and click on the thread "Hot Links". You'll find answers to questions you haven't thought of yet.

All the best.

You guys are great to answer. I feel like I'm working so hard and once again, this morning the scale is stuck like glue at 164. I'll keep trying! I'll look at some of the links and try to get re-inspired to go on and pray for some movement. I realize that for some 164 is a dream weight, for me-- it's where I've been stuck (between 160 and 166) for the past 2 years since my daughter's birth.
I sincerely appreciate the support, though. I need to not feel alone in this and I need to hear it'll get better. Patience is not my virtue!

Jeannie

Please don't weigh yourself ..... at least not every day! It will undermine you so badly. Go by a tape measure and please give it more time.

Also pick a plan, and read everything you can about it. You will be so much better off.

Remember if you've been a yo-yo dieter etc.your body and metabolism will need time to adjust and heal!

I have been a yo-yo dieter, at least in the past. After the first child I lost over a one-year period and got back to 140. Stayed around there until prego with #2. Gained a bunch of weight again. This time it took almost 2 years and a gym membership to get back to 140. Weight doesn't just fall off of me, by an stretch of the imagination!!! It goes kicking and screaming. HEE HEE

Now, with my daughter at 19 months and I'm still holding all the weight, I'm working soooo hard to get back down to a normal weight again. I have picked a plan, but it ain't Atkins. As stated above, tried that many times, can't handle the level of low carbs. Actually get miserable.

I'll try the tape measure. If you've lived with a life-time weight problem, like me, you understand my level of frustration!

I have lived with this lifetime of fat and weight. All around my mid-section for the most part. I just know that this time when I lose that I want it to be permanent. in the past I did quickly-i.e., starving myself via low-fat and low-cal. I also know that as soon as I started eating "real" again I gained it all back unfortunately. I also lost sooo much lean muscle with previous weight losses.

I have made my "new" goal to gain more lean body mass and keep it. I have also made it a goal to lose body fat-not muscle. Some people will lose faster than others. I try real hard to not be frustrated by it, otherwise it will do no good other than undermine my goals and determination!

Stick with - trust me you will see differences. Unfortunately my first big difference came in my upper body. I went from a 38D to now a 36B. The good new is that it's now finally beginning to move off my buddha belly!

Hi Jeannie ,
I am right there with you babe, I started Atkins on July 31 and have not lost one ounce. I have been scouring the support boards and have been so encouraged by all the great advice that I have made a commitment to stick with it. Are you feeling better physically ? I admit this has not been easy for me either, but I refuse to throw those two weeks away. Keep at it, maybe soon you will see some changes somewhere, if not the scale, maybe energy wise. I'll be looking for more posts from you and hoping things will get moving soon for the both of us.
Cindy

I really do appreciate the support. It's frustrating, but I was soooo excited about finally just taking the bull by the horns and saying "I'm going to do this." It is hard when the scale says, "Oh, no you're not!"

Looks like we're in the same boat both weight wise and where we want to be (basically).

I think my fat cells are just saying, "I just know she'll send down a Snickers if we wait long enough." Stuborn little..."

Well, I just have to win this for my own mental health Hey fat cells, listen here - "Get lost!"

I'll keep an eye out for you too. Keep truckin. Let me know if the scale moves.

Oh-- I do have more energy -- that much I've noticed.
Jeannie

i'm one of those slow losers too, but i think part of it is the high expectations we get when we read books and success stories. especially about men. they seem to really thrive on these woes.
i plan to make my self a success story to encourage people like me and people like you. don't give up. i'm going to make it.
glad you are exercising. all that plus the protein is probably building some nice muscle, which you will no doubt see soon.
if need a buddy you can count on me.
vendala

I feel so much better already. I really appreciate the support. The success stories are amazing and I see all these great numbers. People saying, "I lost 5 lbs in the first week!" I took of 15 lbs the first month." Then I look at my scale and say, "What in the heck is wrong with my body!"

With all the help from you fellow low-carber's, I know I can do this.

I started over two months ago and I did not lose at first, and I do not lose quickly. I am definitely a turtle. But, I stuck with it and s-l-o-w-l-y the pounds are coming off. My clothes are so loose, almost time to buy some new ones. It does work if you stick with it. I have found that too much cheese and too many macadamia nuts slow me down. They don't stop my loss, just slow it. I am getting lean all over, i can actually feel the difference in my arms and face. People are asking how I did it, and i have two friends that are now converts and we have a ball talking about the diet and what we eat. One of my friends is also a slow loser and we are both doing the fat fast right now for a few days because we were at a stall. I allow myself an occasional treat, but get right back on track. I had an ice cream with my daughter the other day and did not even go out of ketosis. I am losing about a half a pound a week. Stick with it, you will not be sorry. Everyone here listened to me whine for about a month, lol. Thanks everyone! Cheryl