I have a question that i have been pondering over because i am not losing as fast as i want to and i don't know exactly how to phrase it so here it goes -

is it possible for our bodies to become too comfortable with the way we are eating and figures that this is the amount of calories, carbs, fat, etc... that our body needs and just starts maintaining our weight? for instance, if we keep starting over and over again doing atkins, how does our bodies know that we are trying to be in diet mode??

am i making any sense??

Lisa

I don't know anything about any theories of weight loss.. but I do have experience with yo- yoing! As someone who has struggled with eating disorders I can tell you that it is possible to screw up your metabolism by the yo yo dieting. I also know that people who only have 20 pounds or less to lose will not drop as fast as those who have more than that,because they are closer to their ideal weight. In Atkins he says that what you BELIEVE is your personal IDEAL weight is not necessarily what your BODY will . In other words, I want to weigh 135,but I may stop losing at 150. This does not mean that you can't lose more, just that you'll have to adjust your carbs accordingly until you begin losing again. I don't know if that helped at all. But I do know I really screwed my metabolism up by dieting.

I think that in any diet, we must eventually consider the caloric level that we are ingesting. At some level of weight loss, in order to continue that loss, we must be eating fewer calories than we need at that weight. I am using the Aktins diet plan, and I've noticed that many people on it do not realize how forcefully, in several places, the Atkins book says that we must lower our overall volume of calories as we progress on the diet.

I've been trying to monitor this factor as I progress; evaluate every day how much I am eating in terms of caloric intake overall. I am surprised some days at the need to restrain myself.

Your body "knows" when you are in diet mode with Atkins by the level of carbohydrates you are ingesting daily. Ketosis causes the metabolism to start burning fat. But eventually you reach a point where if you are ingesting as many calories as the body can burn, you cease to lose weight. In the Atkins plan, the trigger is continuing to eat too much protein and fat calories, as well as the potential for having too many carbohydrates.

I recommend that as you go, you monitor how much you are eating. If you are not naturally lowering your food volume, the book offers assistance.

Good Luck!

I know my body got comfortable really quickly at 142. A while ago I couldn't get below 145, so I ate "drastically" for a few day, and it dropped. Now I'm eating normally, as in following Locarb but not really counting, and it's comfy at 142.

In a week or so I may eat "drastically" again, but being stable isn't a bad thing either.

As I become more comfortable with locarb eating, I become more comfortable with my body.

As far as theories of weightloss, I do believe we have to have periods of stable weight before we can lose again. Too much shock can't be good on the body. Actually, I'm just not a good dieter...what can I say.

...er....what do you mean by "drastically"???

I did one full day of the Atkins Fat Fast, then about 2-3 of the modified fatFast but with more cals than the 1200. I basically ate only protein a fat for a days, and actually felt physically better than when I was eating veggies. Then I added in veggies a little at a time, a bit more each day. Today I had a giant lettuce salad with my lunch. I'm not eating tons of veggies though.