hi Vivian,
I sneaked a peek back at the journal you'd started previously, and noted a few things that may be culprits for difficult weight loss ... whether you're following Atkins or not.
First ... fibromyalgia (me too
). Being unable to do vigorous exercise will definitely make things slower and more difficult. And the medications can interfere with weight loss too. I'm assuming you're taking meds to help your sleep ... such as amitriptyline or doxepine? These tricyclics are a mixed blessing ... they help you to feel at least somewhat restored in the mornings, but they do have weight gain and altered carbohydrate metabolism as a side effect with long-term usage. The effects aren't drastic, but enough to make things a bit more difficult. The carb effect is best offset by following a reduced-carbohydrate diet, even for folks who don't have a weight problem. If you're also taking painkillers, muscle relaxers and/or NSAID's, these will interfere with weight loss as well. It's not impossible, just more difficult. Don't stop taking your meds though in hopes of speeding up weight loss ... you need to relieve your pain and stiffness, and achieve restful sleep so that you can function. It's a balancing act.
Have you had your thyroid function checked lately?? Low thyroid symptoms can mimic and overlap fibro symptoms. Not to mention it will slow your metabolism and make weight loss difficult.
Caffeine may or may not be a staller ... I suggest you consider cutting out coffee, or at least cutting back to one cup a day. Coffee has carbs
... a 10 oz mug is 1.3g ... plus the carbs in any sweetener and/or cream used. And yes, decaf has the same carbs too.
Those Atkins bars contain controversial ingredients which can be stallers for some people. Glycerin, polydextrose, sorbitol, maltitol and similar ingredients ... these are synthetically produced carbohydrates which the manufacturers claim will not cause blood sugar to rise, therefore they don't include them in the total carb count on the label. But, they ARE carbs, and if you did count them ... you'd discover that those 2g bars actually have 14 or even 20g carbs in each one. Now, everybody's different and some people can devour those bars with no problem, but time and time again, I see members post here "help I'm stalled" ... When they cut out the daily "low carb" bars .... voilą, un-stalled!
I noticed the menus in your journal didn't include a lot of vegetables or fiber. Trust me, with fibromyalgia, and the meds we need to take ... you want to have plenty of fiber to keep things regular. Constipation can lead to bloating and fluid retentioin, and sluggish digestion will make it more difficult to shed lbs. YOu might want to have a look at the article
Low-carbing and Intestinal Health, which you can find by clicking on "Low Carb Tips" from the orange menu bar near the top of the page.
Don't give up ... even with slow weight loss, the benefits of low-carbing and reduced blood sugar and insulin swings will be very helpful for your fibro and over-all health. It's helped me a lot
Doreen