teenage stall

[helenw]

We have been eating low carb for a year and a half. We avoid the "white" foods and eat mostly meats and plenty of vegetables. My question is about my 16 year old. She had about 30 pounds to lose. Over the first year she lost 15 pounds but hasn't lost an ounce since April. In August she reduced her carbs to a strict 25 per day in an effort to restart her weight loss. (previously had been more like 35, not including a few french fries here and there) In Sept she went to strict induction. Nothing happened. Last week she reduced her calories as well hoping to get something started. No result. To my shame, I just realized yesterday how little she's eaten in the last week. She says it was desperation and frustration and she went hungry, eating a tiny breakfast and only lettuce at lunch in an attempt to starve the weight off. She realizes now that was a mistake but my question is this- should she go back to 20-25 carbs a day, or should she eat more for a while just to get her body out of starvation mode?

[kebaldwin]

Let me start by saying -- I have no idea how heavy your daughter is. I have no idea if 30 pounds is appropriate.

1. Your body will go into starvation mode if you do not eat enough calories. Depending on your size and body -- starvation mode is usually around 1,500 to 1,800 calories. Not only is this dangerous -- it makes it harder to loose weight.

This is not a starvation diet. This is a low carb diet. You can eat as much as you want but you have to eat the right foods.

2. IMHO, young people (those under the age of 25) should not have to go on induction. Their metabolism is usually high enough that just cutting out the high glycemic stuff is enough. Probably your little cheats here and there are another problem.

3. What supplements is your daughter taking? There are a lot of prescription drugs that will make it harder for you to lose weight.

4. What kind of exercise is your daughter doing?

5. On this diet you often build muscle while reducing fat. Did you take measurements? You can be getting smaller (something only detected by using a measuring tape over months) even though your weight does not change.

6. Have you read the FAQs?

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/viewforum.php?f=58

In Atkins later books, he breaks food groups down into "eat regularly", "eat in moderation", and "eat sparingly".

Atkins for Life ISBN 0-312-31522-8

I would recommend that she eat all the foods listed under "eat regularly" that she wants. With some supplements and exercise she should get into great shape. I would stay away from foods listed as "eat in moderation" and "eat sparingly". I would treat "eat sparingly" as "never eat on purpose" and "eat in moderation" as "eat only on special occassions (sparingly)".

[helenw]

Thanks for the response. I think her goal is sensible- to be 5'7" and 145 pounds. I haven't read Atkins for life- I will pick it up today. As for exercise, other than walking, she doesn't do a lot. She's tried a variety of sports but hasn't found anything she finds fun, which means she sadly lacks followthrough. No medicines, only multivites. Sounds like she needs to go back to our regular way of eating and just wait it out.

[Dieselbud]

This jumps out at me:

eat mostly meats and plenty of vegetables

An Atkins diet should be mostly FAT (65%), then meat (30%), then veggies (5%)

[helenw]

Dieselbud, is that the case even with teenagers? That might be her problem, but I'm really concerned about a lack of vegetables and whether her nutritional needs would still be met. We avoid the high carb vegetables but don't measure the low carb ones, which is why she was usually about 30-35 carbs in a day. Will a supplement make up for eating less veggies?

[Dieselbud]

We should all be taking suppliments anyway

Do you ever get her to check her ketones??

I am not so sure about the ratios for kids, but I do know that in order for our bodies to BURN fat, we must EAT fat.

The fats we are using are not the harmful kinds.. they are all natural and not the hydrogenated or 'trans' fats, which we try to avoid in this house like the plague.

Try adding some butter, mayo and olive oil to her meals, and see if it makes any difference. Will she take capsules?? Pick up a bottle of Salmon or Omega oils at your pharmacy (I don't recommend the Atkins brand, they are too expensive)

Get her to take at LEAST 3/day........ I myself take up to 9/day!! Another way to do this is to drizzle a TBSP of flax oil over her salad dressing. DO NOT HEAT IT as it will go toxic. Flax is an excellent form of the omegas we need to promote a healthy heart (and brains for those kids that are still developing)

I bet you will start to see amazing results...... keep us posted

[Dieselbud]

Oh, and just try to ensure that her veggies come in the form of green leafy ones (not iceberg lettuce, those don't have much nutritional value), broccoli, cauliflour, green beans and peppers are also an excellent choice.

Try not to avoid any veggies other than what is on the restricted list (such as carrots, potatos and corn)...

It is hard for someone to go over their carb limits in the good veggies, as long as they are using a good portion control

Oh, and keep the skin on the chicken too

[kebaldwin]

If the person you are giving advice to was in bad health, middle aged, or more than 20% over weight -- I would recommend strict induction.

Strict induction (what i consider your advice to be) would not be harmful to the young lady -- assuming that she does not appear skinny. It would be worth a try if she wanted to do it. However, I think that she is probably building muscle and losing fat so although the scale won't change -- her inches are changing.

IMHO someone that only has 10% of their body weight to loose and her age could eat low glycemic (mainly meat, eggs, cheese, and veggies), exercise and do fine.

IMHO strict induction is the fastest way to lose fat.

If she wanted to do strict induction -- it would not hurt her. But it seemed that there were problems with her following strict induction.

In other words - low carb is better than giving up on the induction diet and going back to eating higher carb.

[helenw]

Thank-you both. Your advice is much appreciated.

[kebaldwin]

I myself take up to 9/day!!

did you read Omega Zone? do you track your HDL / triglycerides? Have you had that other blood test?

[Dieselbud]

No, should I?? And why is that?

[Dieselbud]

OK, I just re-read my post... I take up to SIX a day, not 9!!

9 is the total number of suppliments I take a day

BFAST: 1 (sometimes 2) salmon oil, 1 CLA, 1 multivit

Lunch:2 Salmon oil, 1 CLA

Dinner: 2 Salmon Oil, 1 CLA

I only take 1 with breaky, because if I take more, the fishy burps makes me sick to my stomach until I have a few good meals in me.

The bottle itself says to take up to 2 with each meal (3x day)

Do I still need to get those test?

[kebaldwin]

Dr. Barry Sears, who wrote the "Zone" books, wrote one on Omega oils called "Omega Rx Zone". Listening to him talk -- he was all for mega doses of "pharmaceutical grade fish oil" would solve all the world's problems.

He recommends that people start with about ten capsules per day and as their blood levels got better -- reduce that amount.

One easy blood test is your HDL / Triglycerides. I think this relation is suppose to be about 1:1. There was a blood test (AA/EPA) Dr Sears developed to measure when you were in the "Omega Zone" and taking the right amount of fish oil.

I take a mixture of omega oils (fish, borage, flax, safflower) and take four of those per day. Plus I take two safflower (CLA) capsules per day. I also take a generic (Sam's Club) version of Omega Oils (not Dr Sears very high priced fish oil).

I have seen two major advantages. (1) I have had knee problems for over twenty years. Now no more knee pain. The omega fats reduce the inflammation. Inflammation is not only in your joints (arthritis), but attacks all of your body and organs (arteries, brain, heart, etc).

(2) it greatly curbs my appetite.

Anyways, if you are interested in reading more about Omega oils, ISBN B00029ZWPC or 006098919X .


IMHO his website is not very good:

http://www.zonelabsinc.com/servlet/coresysconfig.ZoneLabsComController

Then click on "Zone Science"

then click on "OmegaZone Diet"

My opinion is that Dr Sears does the best job of explaining why and how, in detail, about Omega fatty acids. He only includes fish oil though. Dr Atkins spends some time talking about omega fatty acids in his books also, but not the level of detail that Dr Sears does.

I believe that most fish oil today is distilled today to remove toxins from the fish.

[Dieselbud]

Dr Sears worked with Anne Gittleman on her book "Fat Flush Plan". That was the book where I learned the glory of omegas.

Her plan includes 2tbs of flax oil PLUS 2TBS ground flax (one in the morning and one at night) and she pushed the Salmon oils heavily.

I felt so good on her plan, I lost 27lbs in 2.5 months, BUT it is SOOO expensive and regimented that I just couldn't keep up. (your day revoled around eating, from the time you got out of bed, till you went to bed......... I do not have that kind of time.plus i got really bored, unlike Atkins)

I know my sister has read that book, and she is always asking me if I got my omega's today LOL. She even spends a fortune feeding them to her 3 dogs and 2 cats!!

I htought prehaps your post was thinking I was getting too much, and I was wondering if that was possible LOL.

[One Sweet Shannon]

I hate almost to bring up another possibility as to why your daughter is stalled, but given my own teenage years I feel I should.

Do you know what she is eating all the time? What does she eat at school or when out with friends? Are there off limits foods in your home or where she would otherwise have access to them when you're not around? I would NOT make a big deal of it, but there is a possiblity that she is sneaking food. I know I did when I was a teenager and constantly dieting. I wouldn't ask too many questions, because that is just the sort of thing that would keep me sneaking around. Sneaking food happens when there is an incredible amount of pressure to lose weight. I don't know how often you discuss your daughter's weight, but given that she's already tried basically starving herself there must be a lot of pressure.

She is already close to goal weight. I don't know your daughter's frame size, but if she's large-framed she may already be in the healthy weight range. If she's smaller framed then an additional 15 pounds might be a fine goal. I think one suggestion might be to focus less on food for a while and encourage exercise that will help her tone and become smaller even if the scale is not as cooperative. I would seriously recommend taking the focus off the scale.

Teenage years are tough, and it's during this time that a lot of our habits when it comes to eating and dieting are formed. Now that I am many years past my teenage years, I see the damage I did to myself because of the pressure to lose weight. I'd hate to see your daughter go through the same things.