I started Atkins mid June and have lost 20 pounds so far. I was 115 (I'm only 5'1") and am now 95 pounds. My goal weight was 100 pounds, but when I reached 100, I thought my thighs could still afford to lose some fat, so I continued to keep my carb intake at around 20-30 a day. Well, now that I'm at 95 lbs, I still want thinner thighs and to get rid of more fat around the tummy area. I keep telling myself when I get to a certain # of pounds, I will start to increase my carb intake, but when I reach that #, I just can't get myself to up my carbs. My husband thinks I have a carb phobia. I do eat around 20-30 carbs a day (veggies, fruits and low carb bread). I guess my question is, is there a point when I will no longer lose weight even though carbs are only at 20-30 a day? I just cannot get myself to take in more carbs. If I do eat an extra piece of fruit or something, I freak and think that I will put on weight the next day. Oh, and I still look forward to having the number on my scale go down. Do you think I'm headed for trouble? Please advice.

i'm no expert
but that doesn't sound good at all

and you will lose weight if you keep on eating 20 grams of carbs
your body will first take it from the fat (which is sounds like it has used) then it will goto the muscles and other parts. breaking down anything it can turn into energy just so it is able to survive

as you can well imagine
this is not a good thing

uh oh...better add in some fruit or something!!!

An addiction to losing, pushing yourself below what you once considered a healthy weight, following eating habits that make you worry weather or not they are healthy, and poor body image can all be major pointers to an eating disorder begining.

Do you think there will ever be a weight you will be happy with your body? There will always be fat there, that is part of a healthy body. 20 - 25% body fat is healthy for a woman. Even with intense training and raising lean mass like an athlete you could probably only press it down to 15% and remain healthy. Instead of focusing on the scale, why not start a workout regiment that includes weight lifting to improve lean muscle mass? That will also help tone and improve specific areas.

The low carbs probably isn't going to kill you, but you are missing out on a wide variety of nutricious foods like fruits and fresh dairy. Having that low of carbs won't make you lose lean muscle mass either.

However, as low as you are getting and pushing it more and more it looks like your cutting more then carbs. How many calories and how much protien do you get in a day? Inadiquet protien and calories can cause health problems. Are you micromanaging each meal for not only carbs but calories or trying a low fat version of Atkins? Do you skip meals in order to keep carbs down?

Get rid of the scale.

This sounds like a problem to me; surely you don't want to lose muscle mass or bones? Try to focus on how good you look, enjoy new clothes and the variety of foods you now can have.

Best wishes

Alina

Hey rain! Im the same way. Started out at 149, goal was 130. Didnt feel the need to add more stuff in cuz I liked what I was eating. Im now down to 112.5 (I was up 1lb this morning..scary..). I am 5'7" almost and thats pretty under for me. I also have a hyperthyroid problem. I now have to GAIN weight back which is a whole lot worse then just having the same number appear on the scale each morning. I am adding 5 carbs every 6 days. Today is my 1st 30-35 NET carb day. It feels so good to be thin, and to enjoy shopping, and to recieve so many compliments..except now the compliments have turned into, are you okay? Are you sick? Do you have an eating disorder? Do you eat at all?

Hey rain, its me again. I tried sending you a PM but you box is full. I thought maybe we could team up and do this together. I could sure use the support, and seems like you could too. We have a similar problem ya know?

I actually have a friend who several years ago went on this low carb diet also. She got as low as 92 pounds because of her obsession with losing, and ended up in the hospital.
There is a very fine line between anorexia and low carb when you get THAT LOW with weight for any adult person!!! But you feel that since you are eating, then everything should be fine, but PLEASE start eating more carbs, I am very concerned about your weight.
Someone said throw away the scale, but the thing is, a person that could possible have an eating disorder will NEVER see themselves thin, but the scale doesn't lie, and the scale will hopefully tell you to START EATING MORE CARBS!!!!
I hope no one find this post offensive, I am just concerned about this persons mind-set along with weight loss.
My goodness, I am 5'4 and have reached my goal today, and yes I am thinking I would actually like to lose another 5 pounds, but boy do I feel good about where I am right now!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck!!!!
Heidi

I just wanted to let you know I feel EXACTLY the same! I started at 140 (5' 6") and thought I'd be happy at 130. When I reached it, I still didn't like MY theighs (or is it just the cellulite!?) so I thought "just a few more lbs..127...125. Now I want to be 120. People are telling me I look great and not to lose another ounce. But some weird part of my won't feel sucessful until somebody says, "oh your TOO thin!" Weird huh?! I'm worried that I could get out of control. But I'm enjoying the losses and "addicted" to the feeling of sucess and control.

The control is a big part for me. I finally feel like I have control over something. I am trying to remind myself, if I get up to 118 or 120, and I dont like the way I look, it is just as easy to hop back on Induction again, and move through OWL, and do it right. The Atkins book says dont let yourself gain anymore than 5lbs. I think I can I think I can. And Siara, I dont think your post was offensive, compared to some of the replies Ive gotten when posting about some things. Youre real sweet. WTG on reaching your goal.

This is very timely discussion for me, since I'm down to the weight I was when I used to exercise 1 1/2 hours a day (which I just don't have time for any more!)

So I figure I won't go down any further, but I also have a carb phobia, I've been pretty lucky by not having a lot of cravings and I just bop along at the level I was when I was losing.

And I think I look really good! But these posts have woken me up to the fact that I do need to keep an eye on that. Thanks all!

I would say that it can't hurt to add healthy food like fruit and nuts, I've been eating a bit more of those lately. But it's true, everyone is right--there is such a thing as too thin.

Underweight is just as dangerous as overweight, and actually gets bad for you faster!

Very interesting thread. I'm 5'1", I started at 125 and my goal weight is 105. I'm 6lbs away from 105 but looking at myself in the mirror I'm thinking I need to lose a lot more than 6lbs to look better. I know I'm small framed and all but I can definitely see myself being addicted to losing and having this carb phobia once I reach my goal weight.

I would think you are definetely headed for trouble. For your own health, please consider increasing your carbs to maintain a weight. We want to keep you around for a while

Hey guys. Definatly start adding in higher carb fruits and veggies now. If you dont start with small increases in carbs, its alot harder when you almost feel like you have to force it. Have 1/2 a small apple, some cottage cheese, some strawberries, a small peach, spinach, broccoli. In the Atkins for Life book he tells you what to add in first, what to eat regularly, moderately. A Carb Ladder or something. I refer back to it when Im looking for a new fruit or veggie to introduce. My birthday is in a month and I plan on having 1 small corn on the cob, along with a honkin huge steak...I still havent discussed the whole birthday cake issue with the family...My mom is insisting I have at least a bite since its my cake. Mmm..no.

Hi All,

Yes, this is interesting!

I have reached the goal that I set out for me last November when I started. The goal was based on my best recollection of the weight I felt good at and for which I had a wardrobe that looked good. The chart weight I should be at is 175-180 for my height if I were average build. I have a large frame and am muscular, so I thought 190 would be great. Well, it is and it isn't. I still see fat and want it gone, plus I am in-between sizes right now. My conclusion is to loose more and perhaps see how things are at 185. I know I have an addictive and obsessive personality so this thread hit a nerve. It is this type of personality that has allowed me to go in the exact opposite direction with my diet compared to the rest of my life and is the biggest reason for my success.

I am still at Induction level.

But.... when is it enough?

My cardiologist said to me in May (12 pounds ago) "You look great and don't need to loose any more weight".
My GP said to me in August (3 pounds ago) "You don’t need to loose any more weight"
I have heard from friends and family the terms "emaciated" and "skinny" used to describe me. I suppose these terms were meant to be complimentary, but almost had a negative connotation, as bad as "fat" used to.

The photo at the left was taken on July 4th, about 8 pounds ago.

I guess it is a personal matter, as long as you are not dipping too far below the "average" for your height/age/build and are still feeling good, physically and mentally.

Best Wishes,
T.