Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

[shaniac]

Hi everyone!
Can someone please help me figure this out. I've been on strict induction for over 2 months now and have not gotten the slightest shade of pink on the ketostrips. I THINK i mite have lost an inch or so but its so slow that it might just be in my head. As far as the scale goes I've put on 13 pounds in this 2 month period. Im 21 yrs old and weigh 143 pounds at 5'4". Two years ago I was 108 pounds, never had a problem with my weight, ate ALOT and pretty much all junk, ate pizza and burgers everyday, family sized bag of chips before bed kinda thing. Had an extremely fast metabolism i guess cuz i was pretty inactive too(god i miss those days). Anyway then I got on inderal (betablocker)for migraines in early 2004 and from then till early 2005 i gradually put on weight until i reached 132 pounds. At this point i thougt enough is enough and went on a low calorie low fat diet and exercised like a maniac. My weight came down to 125 in 2 months but it was torture, was constantly ravenous, no energy etc and couldnt stick to it very long. By June 2005 i had gained back all the weight and then some and was still constatly hungry even after a massive meal. Then I tried south beach but still kept gaining. Now ive been on atkins for 2 months, ive been following induction perfectly and have still put on more weight. I do have more energy it seems and not as much of an appetite as before and do feel better in general but its just so depressing that im not losing any weight. I got off the inderal 3 weeks ago but still nothing no weight loss! Why is this happening is it just because of the inderal can that alone really make such a huge difference to my metabolism? Ive even tried tweaking the diet, tried cutting down on cheeses, cutting down on creams, removed pork rinds and splenda entirely...the last few days ive now started counting calories as well and trying to keep it to 1400 cals a day which isnt too difficult since i dont have much appetite.
Could the inderal still be in my system, how long will it take? Can someone please help me it seems so hopeless.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

welcome to ADBB

first did you see your doc for your preatkins blkood work and checkup? if so did it all comeback fine?
Did your doc say you were retaining fluids because of your meds or just adding fat mass?

What are you doing for ther mandatory exercise part of the Atkins?

If you have no appetite you are in ketosis. appetite suppression is a side effect of ketosis as is increased thirst, change in the smell of your urine breath or sweat, a different "taste" in your mouth and an increase in energy any of all of them will be enough to tell you you are in ketosis.

Now back to your Atkins eating. Are you eating according to chapter 11 of DR ATKINS NEW DIET REVOLUTION 2002 edition? are you stopping your eating each time you eat when you are no longer hungry even if you have acceptabkle foods still on your plate room in your tummy and/or carbs in your budget? Atkins isn't a stuff yourself plan it is feeding your hunger and stopping. Only eat in response to hunger. learn your hunger signals. Make sure you are not feeding your thirst as both control cwenters sit side by side in the brain and spillover occurs. if you don't think you should be hungry but you think you are feeling hunger drink water and wait 20 min hunger gone? it was thirst.

The only time we eat when we are not hungry is if we are in deep ketosis and our appetite is so suppressed we are forced to eat by Dr Atkins cause it has been 6 hrs since our last meal.

Have you posted your menus so folk can see what you are eatting and see if it needs tweaked to asssit you in doing a proper Atkins induction.

rememeber if it isn't listed on the acceptable foods lists then it shouldn't cross your lips per rule 5.

Happy low carbing.

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

Thanks so much for the quick reply.
I got all my bloodwork done and it was all within normal ranges but I was on the southbeach diet at the time so could that have effected to make it come out normal? I asked my doc abt it and she said it doesnt make a difference. As for the meds every doctor (3 doctors in total) Ive asked has said betablockers dont cause weight gain (the only place Ive heard it does is in the Atkins book and on blood pressure forums where people have had the same complaints, most of them also said that their doctors said the same thing to them as mine did.
I have got the decreased appettite and more energy. I have always drank alot of water though (over 3 litres a day) because I get dry mouth so maybe thats why the ketones dont show up in my breath or urine? But theres not even the slightest trace on the ketostix.
Im definatel not over eating, i eat every 4 hours or so and a small meal just because if I dont I feel a dip in energy.
Im extremely careful about only eating foods on the induction list, and not all of them either because some of them make me gain. I only have a max of 3 cups of salad veges a day (the other veges make me gain) and not all the salad veges like tomato and stuff only leafy greens which have like 1 or 2 carbs per cup. my daily carb intake is well below 20 gms a day.

Heres my menu:
Breakfast: 2 to 3 eggs fried in ghee with 1.5 ounces of cheddar or cream cheese.
Lunch: 2 chicken fillet breasts with lettuce and low carb ceasar dressing
Dinner: 2 cheese burger patties with rocket and spinach salad.

I split the meals up if i feel satisfied halfway through and save it later for a snack.
If I am hungry between meals some cheese and water is always enough to fill me up.
Does this look alright to you? Do you know why it is that inderals supposed to slow or prevent weightloss, is it water retention or fat gain? And how long till its out of ones system.

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

oh yea and i walk abt 12 km a week, since i walk to college.

[Desertthorn]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

Shaniac, I also take beta blockers and they do not but on weight but they sure don't make losing any easier. Dr Atkins, Dr Schwartzbein and Dr Sears all to a one say to get off the beta blockers. NOW saying that, its not as easily said as done, it has to be under medical care as you just don't quit taking beta's. It can be very dangerous, which is why I still take them.
I have lost 30 pounds taking them, but its been a slow process.

Are you by chance eating any shakes or low carb bars.... They are worse than beta blockers.
Post what you ate yesterday, as the experts might see something that you don't

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

I weaned off the betablockers over a period of six months with regular visits to the doc. Ive been off them for 3 weeks now. Any idea how long itll take before my metabolisms back to normal like it was 2 yrs ago? Uve lost 30 pounds while taking them, just how slow a process was this? How long have u been on atkins? How much do u exercise per week? In the first month of atkins i used the bars once in a while in skool when i had no other option but then cut those out completely aswell cuz they triggered cravings for me. The last month has been a perfectly clean induction.

My menu today:
2 chicken fillets with small portion of iceberg lettuce and low carb ceasar dressing.
7 chicken wings baked with salt, pepper and tabasco
1 fillet steak with melted blue cheese and baby herb salad with olive oil.

this is split up into smaller portions if im satiated halfway thru my meal and eat the reamians later as a snack.

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

wat on earth is going on here it just seems impossible that i could be losing at such a slow rate, specially when i had a super fast metabolism my whole life until i started the inderal. have u ever heard of cases like this where theres just no obvious reason why the loss should be so slow?

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

i would try the fat fast but ive heard watever u lose on it comes rite back after u go back to induction...do u think i should try it?

[Brook]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

shaniac- I reached a point where I had to recognize as a 160lb woman I didn't need to be eating TWO chicken breasts or TWO cheeseburgers. Depending on the size fo the meat portions, you could easily be over-eating for your size. People tend to radically underestimate the amount of calories they're consuming.

Add to that that if your body is used to your walking 12km a week as part of your LIFESTYLE, then you need to add in exercise above and beyond that. That's like a busy mom of toddlers trying to say chasing kids all day constitutes exercise or a construction worker saying they get all their exercise at work. Those things don't constitute exercise -they're part of your lifestyle and exercise is something in addition to that.

I'd suggest a much bigger variety of veggies and measuring how much dressing/cheese/etc you're really using. Like I said, people tend to radically under-estimate their real usage and while it may not be what you want to hear, I have a feeling that's part of what's going on with you.

I wish you success.
~Brook

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

Thanks for the reply brook, i have in the last couple of weeks started halving my portions and eating them later as snacks if im hungry. I suppose the metabolism slow down naturallly with age. Just not used to it as I said before I always had a huge appetite and never had to watch wat I ate. Anyway will definately try cutting down on the portions some more. Im pretty busy with college but vacations starting soon so ill be rejoining the gym. How much exercise would you recomend, would an hour 4 days a week or so be enough? How much do u exercise? wow your pics are really inspiratonal btw.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

sorry I ddin't get back to you we had a storm and the power went out.

As Brook said to not be hunger that is a lot of food even if you spit it for other times. When we do the 5-6 meals a day those are small meals not full sized meals. Are you tracking your foods on one of the free online sites liek www.fitday.com it looks like you might be too high in protein and not high enough in fats for Atkins you want 65% of your daily claoric intake in the form of natural fats either as plain fat or from a mixed protein and fat source. You only want 30% of your total cals to be protein as excess protein will conver to sugar and that could be accounting foryour energy dips.

Since you are already walking how about adding more walking with an eye toward running? there is a wonderful procram on the www.coolrunning.com called Couch to 5K many here used it to start running.

Yoiu can join any of our exercise challenges for some added motivation. make a topic in the exercise forum asking for suggestions and you will get a lot more replies.
Dr Atkins tells us in our DANDR to do bith resistance and cardio exercises.
The BFL program is great exercise if you are a weight lifter. If you like exercise videos keep talking with Brook she has a vast collection and can suggest ones to fit your level of fitness and/or injuries.
You are right about the water diluting your urine concentration of ketones as that is all the stix measure. The stix topics in the FAQ cover that.

Glad you weaned off your drugs with doctor care. Since your tests were all normal we can rule out a medical cause for your not losing.

Try to add a much free exercise as you can too go the long way places, park at the rear of the lot, take the stairs use a bathroom further away from your next class and sprint to class


HAppy low carbing

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

I think youre right about the servings, I could probably afford to downsize them abit. I guess Ive just been so used to put away massive servings my whole life, didnt realize. This might sound funny but could you give me an example of what a small serving is cuz i thought 2 chicken breasts was a small serving! Oh and also could u give me an approximation of how many calories I should be consuming everyday, 1200 or less? I can go with eating less food without being hungry but I eat the amount I do because I thought thats how much I needed for energy. Could you give me an example of an ideal menu for me with 65 percent fat because sometimes I worry that Im eating TOO much cheese rather than not enoungh. Thanks!

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

Actually thats alright I just joined the fitday thing it has all the info i need. Thanks for all ur help

[2big4mysize]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

use fitday as a tool to help you monitor your foods. Cheese is limited to only 4 ounces of aged cheese and/or creamcheese during induction and then you get more during OWL

[shaniac]

Re: Been on induction for months and no ketosis!

heyy im in ketosis!!!!!!!! its my second day and i feel great and the fat is literally just melting away!! it feels like im losing by the hour, everytime i look in the mirror im thinner. just wanted to so say thanks for all your advice. i had just been eating way too much protein. just wish id posted something earlier rather than followed atkins the wrong way for 2 months. thank you so much!!