I woke up this morning, tested my urine and discover it's that "TOM" (should be TOW for me). I just came off of the TOM 5 days ago, and I started my new pack of BC pills.

I went to go weigh myself, since it's been 4 days...well, I gained 6 pounds! How? I was just 166, now I am 172.

I have been on Atkin's (with only 1 cheat day) since August 10th, 2003. I feel so discouraged and really depressed that my weight is not coming off. Please, I desperately need encouragement. I'm keeping with the Induction stage, and am not consuming any forbidden foods.

MesoMaiden,
Stay with it girl! Obviously, something is going on hormonally! Your poor little body just got over TOM and it's average of 5 pounds of water weight and it's starting again??? Don't beat yourself up! YOu are doing great. By the way, I love your little Low Carb girl! She's adorable!!!

Susan

Hiya!
Stick with it, it's worth it! This is the only way of eating where I've successfully lost more than 10lbs. Just give it time, it's not a quick fix!
As for your hormonal disturbances - remember that there's quite a lot of estrogen stored in fat. As you burn up the fat, the estrogen is released, which could account for your irregularity.
Also, the weight you've put on is pretty much guaranteed to be water retention. Make sure you drink plenty, don't have too much sodium, and see what happens in a few days

Good luck!!!!
Steven

I've been LCing on and off for about a year. When I first started, my periods became irregular and it drove me nuts. (I'm not taking any BC pills/hormones.)

Disruption of normal cycles seems to be one of the negative side effects of low carbing - but in the end I think it's all worth it. (My other side effects were losing massive amounts of hair - it eventually stopped - and big black circles under my eyes.)

My weight will also go up and down 4 or 5 pounds day-to-day, which is why I only weigh myself once a month or so. I don't even own a scale; I go to the grocery store.

The battle to control our weight isn't in the day-to-day details - it's what we're at in six months, a year from now. If I come off Atkins and gain a few and then decide to get my ass in line and stick with it again, I know that in a year I'll still be thinner, even if I'm not thinner today . Trust me, low carbing works.

A suggestion...if you are doing this on bc pills perhaps you need to change the kind you are on. I am NOT a doctor but I do think you should call you GYNs office and tell them what is going on. Is this just minor breakthrough bleeding or the full blown thing? Period irregularities do sometimes go with this diet at times but if your being chemicaly regulated with pills, I would report it to my doc. Sometimes it's as simple as changing brands of pills. I wouldn't worry about the extra weight..it must be water retention if you haven't cheated a LOT. Good luck.

Yeh, we all know that feeling when it ain't happinin'! You feel like you're doing it all right and then the scales don't drop!! I go right back to the book (DANDR) to make sure I am doing "ALL" the things I'm supposed too...lots of water, not too few calories, no caffiene, not too many Supplement bars, etc, etc. Also I'll make sure I'm getting in some time on the treadmill, walking, etc. and I'll come to the forum and search for idea to overcome a stall....and sooner or later those pounds start coming off again. Sometimes in a big whoosh too...so hand in there...it'll happen so long as you stick to doing all the basics
By the way if I ever run into this "TOM" guy who's givin' all the women such a hard time.....

What did you do for the hair loss? Did you take vitamins and supplements...you said it "eventually stopped"...

Yeah I just put on 3 lbs, Im thinking it must be my tom of month, it is suppose to be near......grrrr

I feel much better after reading all of your replies!

Susan and Steven, I am going to chalk it up as water weight. I did have many pork rinds over the weekend (lots of sodium) plus being that my hormones are going crazy, and also I really have not been drinking water. I will cut back on the sodium and drink at least 1.5L of water.

Chelle, that is a really good strategy you have there. I think I might be weighing myself too frequently. Even so, it's the big picture I should focus on, not day-to-day results.

Lori H and saffron28, I can't switch pills because I have a whole year supply in my drawer. These particular BC pills are for skin improvement, and that is the only reason why I'm taking them. I suppose that I will eventually regulate back to normal. *fingers crossed*

Archie, I went through my Atkin's carb counter and my problem is the amount of coffee I consume, and my large salads should be cut down to about a cup.

I'm going to get back on the scale in about a week, but I promise that I will not stray off of this diet. Even still 6 pounds in one month is better than nothing (or gaining) so just that alone will keep me focused!

Thank you to everyone who posted!

Hi! Don't worry about the water weight, I had the same thing, I gained a TON of water weight due to TOM. I went to the doc about 6 weeks ago and found out that my BC pills were too strong for my current weight (196 in Feb, 135 Now). I've been on the new pills one month now, and the water weight gain was not nearly as bad....only thing is I skipped TOM, the doc warned me that if I was barely getting it before I may not get it at all because of the estrogen being burned in the fat I'm losing.

10 more pounds to go! Woo Hoo!
Suzy