No ketosis for a month! Help!

[bugout429]

Here is a link to my profile on Fitday. http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=bugout429 I haven't lost any weight, and I haven't been in ketosis for almost a month now.

I am guilty of eating one Atkins Advantage bar a day and I occasionally have coffee, but can this really be what's hindering my progress? Please advise - I'm really scared to move onto OWL when I'm not even in ketosis yet!

[Iapetus999]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

I didn't see any exercise on there (only looked at a couple days)
Overall calories seem a little low.

I'd definitely drop the bars.

[shrinky]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

Am by no means an expert, and I'm going to sound like a school mistress, but on the basis of what's working for me, I'd say no alcohol at all, not even once, no bars, no vindaloo, nothing processed, no Starbucks. And if I were you I'd eat much more of the stuff you are allowed, like the salmon, eggs, cream cheese, chicken (and the rest), because your helpings seem on the small side. Hope that helps!

[Doris M.]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

The atkins bars absolutely interfere with my weight loss - so I say get rid of them! I will use them while traveling if my schedules are wierd. I had one in my purse for 2 weeks in New Mexico - and managed not to eat it! I am not always that good about it, but I DO know that the bars are not induction/weight loss friendly.

[Enchantedraisin]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

it's the Atkins bars!

Trust me!

[2big4mysize]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

well even without the bars you are too high in your protein and too low in your fats to be doing Atkins. You have more proteinthen 30% your total cals. your fats will always be your primary calorie source while you are doing Atkins even At goal. up your fats and you should return to ketosis ofcouse when you do that you will need to lower your proteins slightly too and remove the bars till you have a good handle on your ketosis. the alcohol will stop the ketosis till the alcohol is burned off so you should be skipping that too while your ketosis is geting going again. a couple of days of Induction and then you should be ablew to return to OWL still in ketosis and get your fat burning going.

happy low carbing.

[Sallyb]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

What kind of time frame does it take others to get into Ketosis? It really varies
for me even if I stick to the same eating plans and activity from between 2 and 5 days.

Many thanks
Sally

[Brook]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

Takes me about 2-4 days, depending.

Bugout- I'm going to echo everyone else here. Drop the bars. There's no such thing as mythical magical carbs that don't count. It'd be lovely if there were, but there aren't. Depending on what bars you're eating, you could be almost doubling your carb intake via sugar alcohols.

Sugar alcohols absorb slower, but they *do* absorb.

Repeat after us :

"AhhhhhUmmmmmmm.
Bars are bad.
Bars are evil.
Real food will carry me through.
AhhhhhhUmmmmmmm."



~Brook

[bugout429]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

Ugh, I know those bars are evil. I have a friend that works at Trader Joe's that gave me boxes of them when I first started Atkins, and they're here at my desk at work, and they come calling me every day at 3:30. I thought it'd be a waste to throw them out, but I think I've realized that they are the enemy and I will make a ceremony out of discarding them.

Regarding my proteins, I don't really know what to do about that. As it is, I choose fattier meats and cheeses, but they all contain proteins too! So what do I do? More dressing on my salads? More butter on my veggies? Do I need to just consume more fats, or reduce my protein portions? As far as not eating enough, I eat small portions not because I'm trying to limit my calorie intake, but because I hate the feeling of fullness and protruding stomach. Especially in the summer, when there's less material to hide beneath.

By the way, I'm going here for lunch today: http://www.taorestaurant.com/tao_lunch_menu.pdf I'm trying to plan my selections in advance. Because I don't know what's in the salad or what dressing they use, I was going to select app: Chicken Satay, main: New York Sirloin, skip the dessert, and have a small side salad when I returned to work to get some veggies in. Are my choices ok?

[Moochiecat]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

This is probably way too late to help you, but golly, there doesn't look like much on that menu is Induction friendly other than the sirloin and we can't tell if it has a sauce on it or not. The satay has peanuts and no doubt sugar in the marinade. I'd ask what was in the salad and ask if I could get my dressing on the side, or if I could have oil and vinegar instead.
That's a lot of money to pay to only be able to eat the sirloin....don't they offer other selections in the way of salad or veggie dishes?



Re: the bars, I echo what the other's say.
You have become a victim of a version of 'carb creep' where you've let things creep into your diet that shouldn't be there. Time to get back to basics and read the chapter on Induction again (since technically you are in Extended Induction) and come back to real foods. You are basically doing well, with the exception of the bars, processed snacks and the foods like vindaloo, where you aren't sure what all could be in them, so it's just time to tidy up your choices. I have to do that occasionally myself.

It also would be helpful if you posted your start, current and goal weight so we know where you're at.

[bugout429]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

Hi Moochie, thanks for the advice. I think I did ok at lunch, I had the salad (turned out to basically be mixed greens with some water chestnuts and a couple edamame thrown about, maybe 6) and some olive oil, the wok-seared sirloin and some grilled shiitake mushrooms. It was quite nice. Their desserts were beautiful; my mouth was gushing so hard I could barely speak while the rest of my table enjoyed theirs! But at the same time, I did feel better knowing that every dessert I skip is one step closer to a thinner, more beautiful, me!

[bugout429]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

Ok, I've been following a clean induction regimen since last Thursday, August 11. Six days, and I'm only just now starting to feel the effects of ketosis. I'm constantly thirsty, mouth tastes metallic, pee smells a little different... it's still an early stage though.

I can't believe it took me 6 days to get back in! No wonder I've not been in for a month, I don't think I've ever gone 6 days without either an Atkins bar or alcohol. So this is what it takes, huh?

That makes me nervous, now, because i feel like, if it takes me this long to get back into ketosis, then when I start OWL, I'll have to go through this every time I add back something that causes my body to go out... does it get easier? The longer you stay in ketosis, does it get easier to get back in if you slip out somehow? I feel like my body is particularly resistant to staying in.

advice please?!

[Finelly]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

OWL isn't going to make you go in and out of ketosis. You add carbs gradually, 5 grams at a time, until you find the place where you are no longer losing. While Atkins asks everyone to stay under 20 grams in induction, 20 grams is not the place where ketosis begins. Ketosis can occur at any level. For example, many people probably would go into ketosis at 35 grams of carbs per day. It's just that 20 is the guaranteed point.

Not to worry! Also, for some people, the physical signs of ketosis manifest a couple days after ketosis starts, so it may not have taken you 6 days!

[pjade1]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

Yep, those darn bars. I had to get rid of them after I quit losing weight the first time I tried this WOE. I haven't bought them since. They seem to stall my weight big time.

[wannabethintoo]

Re: No ketosis for a month! Help!

So while we're on the topic of ketosis. Is it the fact that we eat low carb that puts us in ketosis or simply the fact that we are burning fat? Can we be in ketosis on a low fat diet (eating high carbs). I've always associated being in ketosis with low carb eating.

When I'm exercising, it takes me a little over 24 hours to get into ketosis.