Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

[MrDegree]

Hi Everyone !

I have a question and in need of some advice etc.

I have been on extended induction for around 9 weeks (including regular induction). I have lost 22/23 lbs (depending on the time of day, I am a scale freak, ehem).

I have NEVER cheated, not once, however, I have noticed my weight loss the last 3-4 weeks has only been around 1 lb per week more or less. I generally drink the proper water amount, around 4-6 16oz-20oz bottles of water per day, plus I treat myself to 1 Diet Caffeine Free Dr. Pepper per day.

My typical meals, is generally a low carb single or double Carl's Jr. Cheeseburger for lunch, with only Lettuce, 1 slice tomato, and a bit of onion (no ketcup).
Or I make myself a small breakfast steak and some green/dinner salad or some egg omelet, usually the cheeseburger or lately a bit of El Pollo Loco chicken which is near zero carbs.

For dinner, I will typically eat a steak with eggs and a side dinner salad or just a steak and salad and dessert I will typically eat a stalk or two of celery with low carb Ranch Dressing, the salad dressing on the salad is low carb Italian like less than 3 carbs, if that.

My appetite since being on Atkins is much much lower than prior to the diet.

I know I should be eating more meals and possibly slightly smaller portions. But I just don't get hungry and never was a grazer or snacker. I do not wake up hungry and my first meal is at noon-ish after waking up around 7/8am in the morning.

So...

Is 1lb per week "ok" ? Should I be eating "more" in between meals even when I am not hungry ? That just doesn't seem right, I really don't start getting hungry until 11am or so and I eat dinner around 5:30/6pm and if I get hungry after dinner is when I eat some celery and ranch. Should I start OWL and throw in some berries and see if that helps ? Do I even need "help" and should stay the course ? I am not really sure, this the first diet I have ever been on.

It just seems since I am basically following induction food rules, eating when I am hungry and not eating when I am not hungry, I should be losing more than 1lb per week. I have not stalled ever, but it seems my weight loss in weeks 1-4 @ 18lbs was much more progressive than weeks 5-9, (4-5lbs) and my habits are pretty much the same as far as I know.

Here are some stats:

Goal: Lose 30lbs as soon as freakn possible.

Goal weight: 179
Starting weight: 209
Current Weight: 186ish.
Lost ~6inches from Waist

Age 34 / Male and adorable.

Thanks in advance for your time and any input/help you can provide.

[julirama723]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

Great job on your weight loss so far!

Weight loss is not linear, or regular. It is common for your body to resist losing weight after periods of high or rapid weight loss--as long as you keep drinking water and eating healthy meals (make sure you're eating enough fat) you body will figure out that you have available food sources and will give up the weight eventually.

I would suggest eating a small breakfast--this will jump start your metabolism. If you don't eat, your metabolism slows down to conserve the energy that is stored in your body, rather than burning the fat that you want it to.

Don't necessarily force yourself to eat--eat when you are hungry. I like to eat a good breakfast (omelette or mock danish) a salad with protien for lunch, a snack with fat/protien/carbs, and then a good dinner. Sometimes (once a week or so), I'll treat myself to an induction-friendly dessert if I'm ravenous or have had a huge workout.

Have you been logging in your food at fitday.com? You should be eating 65% fat, 30% protein, 5% carbs. If you eat too much protien, it actually converts to sugar in your body, and if you aren't eating enough fat, you might be hungry or unsatisfied.

Also check your measurements. Muscle is more dense than fat, so while you may not be losing "weight" per se, you are probably losing inches!

Hope this helps and good luck to you--your progress is great, keep it up!

[sallyseachange]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

Congrats on your weight loss up to now!

As Julirama says, loss is not linear... it goes sometimes in fast mode sometimes slow, but if you eat right, it will go. Also, in the first couple of weeks you tend to lose a lot of water weight so, initially, more. The closer you get to goal the slower the pounds go...but go they do. Hang in there!

Not sure about some of the products you're eating. We don't get those over here and for sure someone will be able to advise you better. I'd urge you to stick to 'real' foods as much as possible. The less man has interfered with them, the better!

Dr A says you should eat every six hours. If you aren't hungry, try to just eat a few olives, or a small piece of cheese. This will help keep your metabolism more active.

You mention your portion sizes might be too large. The key here is to try to only feed your hunger...but don't go hungry!

As for the move to OWL, well some people do find their weight loss increases when the make the move. I see your goal weight is only seven pounds away, so yes you should move to OWL so that you have time to move through the rungs and learn how various foods affect you.

Here's to your continued success!

[Elizellen]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

I agree with what the others said, it is past time to move on to OWL to allow you to find your CCLL and see if any foods affect you adversely!

Dr Atkins tells us to lose our last 5-10 pounds in the third stage of Atkins (premaintenance), so start reading up on how to do OWL (ongoing weight loss) in the correct way - more veggies, then dairy, then nuts/seeds and then berries BTW!

[MrDegree]

Thanks !

Thanks for your input everyone. I think I will try to get down to 184lbs then start OWL for my last 5lbs. So maybe one more week or so on extended induction. I mentioned berries because Dairy does not agree with me, so I stay away from that except for some maybe a slice or two of cheese a day. I am allergic to nuts so that step is completely off limits for me, so I guess you're right, stepping up on the veggies THEN berries for me.

I also slightly forced myself a light breakfast (1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese and 1 hard boiled egg) and I worked out for 1 hr today and will probably do that all next week. I am hoping the extra meal and the extra exercise will help my metabolism kick into gear more. Of course the test is really tomorrow to see if I work out then too .

Thanks again everyone for your input and time.

With every good wish,

[Desertthorn]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

You know some of us would die for a pound a week. I lose about a pound every three weeks. But saying that, I understand how you feel. You might try fitday to track your carbs cause carb creep happens to the best of us.

[jennyj]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

Age 34 / Male and adorable.

Well, at least we have the confidence down.....now onto weight loss...... Haha!! Thanks for making me smile, neighbor! It's way too hot in California for fall!!
As for the problem at hand, I would have to say that what you're experiencing is totally normal. In my not-so-experienced, learning-as-I-go opinion, your body has probably adapted to it's lower carb lifestyle and is now in a very steady fat burning mode. This is ideal because losing the fat this way is not only healthy, but more apt to be a lasting loss. Good luck!!!

~Jen~

[prfctlildvl]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

From everything I've read, slower weight loss is best. It gives your body time to adjust to your new shape and you won't have so much sagging skin in the end.

Also, from articles I've read, people who lost weight slower tended to keep it off much more so than people who lost it fast.

Congratulations on your lost lbs and much continued success!!!!

[Kent]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

With only 6 or 7 pounds to lose, one should naturally expect to lose slower than you did in the beginning. Just remeber it is a journey or a marathon that you are on, and you are not sprinting to the finish line only to another phase of the diet. I had the same issues or desire to burn up the weight and had to remind myself there is no "after" on this diet. Just keep up the good habits you've developed already and you will be a long term success.

[MrDegree]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

Well, at least we have the confidence down.....now onto weight loss...... Haha!! Thanks for making me smile, neighbor! It's way too hot in California for fall!!
As for the problem at hand, I would have to say that what you're experiencing is totally normal. In my not-so-experienced, learning-as-I-go opinion, your body has probably adapted to it's lower carb lifestyle and is now in a very steady fat burning mode. This is ideal because losing the fat this way is not only healthy, but more apt to be a lasting loss. Good luck!!!

~Jen~

Yes, I live in Southern CA and it has been very hot here. I live on the cusp of the desert and mountains and it was 90 degrees yesterday. I was trying to run a mile and I just about died, it was over 90 degrees here but I for the most part did it.

Thanks for letting me know this is normal, I find the one thing I don't like about this diet is that it seems very "touchy" and if/when things go wrong it can seem hard or frustrating figuring out where things went wrong. When I started losing weight slowly these last few weeks, I started really scratching my head since I have never cheated and am eating the same things I did during induction, in fact, this diet is really a piece of cake for me (pun coming) because I was pretty much a carnivore before starting the diet, and didn't eat a lot of veggies. I think I averaged around 1 piece of pie or CAKE a YEAR. I NEVER ate sweets before. The critical issue was the breads and especially the Tortillas ! Olé !!!

Thanks so much for your help.

[MrDegree]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

With only 6 or 7 pounds to lose, one should naturally expect to lose slower than you did in the beginning. Just remeber it is a journey or a marathon that you are on, and you are not sprinting to the finish line only to another phase of the diet. I had the same issues or desire to burn up the weight and had to remind myself there is no "after" on this diet. Just keep up the good habits you've developed already and you will be a long term success.

Hi Kent. Thanks for your time in responding. You are absolutely right about changing the mindset to there is no "after" on this diet. One of the things I learned in the first few weeks was how crazy it was my eating habits before. I would eat, a lot, like a big burrito for lunch and 2x 32+ OZ Mountain Dews, then probably essentially 2lbs of chineese food for dinner. I practically ate out for every meal before, now I only eat out at the most once a day for lunch and rarely dinner. I don't even eat 1/4th of what I did before (and much healthier too!) and I am definately not looking back.

[MrDegree]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

You might try fitday to track your carbs cause carb creep happens to the best of us.

I checked out fitday.com and registered and plugged in my foods that I normally eat. As I suspected, nothing was really creeping on. If anything, my carb intake was a bit low, based on what I ate yesterday came out to 14 carbs. I should probably up that 5-6 more. That is really a great resource, thanks so much for pointing it out, I am sure it is in the FAQ's everywhere but thanks for taking the time in letting me know about it.

All the best,

[prfctlildvl]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

One thing about fitday - make sure you're getting your net carb count not just the carb count.

You need to subtract out your dietary fibers from your total car count for the day and you'll have your net carb count.

[djfmf]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

yes i find it hard to reach my goal weight because the truth is you don't see a lot of guys at that type of weight for my height, you know what i mean? i use my goal weight to motivate myself to lose as much as i can even though there is a chance i won't ever reach 145lbs. it would be nice to feel just pure muscle around my waist instead of flab but at the moment i'm experiencing both so i just have to keep at what i'm doing.

[MrDegree]

Re: Input Needed: Slower weight loss in the last few weeks.

yes i find it hard to reach my goal weight because the truth is you don't see a lot of guys at that type of weight for my height, you know what i mean?

I know exactly what you mean I am about your same height. I looked awful @ 209/210. Even my current "goal" weight still puts me in the overweight category still, however, losing 30lbs takes me back over 10yrs in my early 20's, also, I am a bit naturally muscular, so a good looking weight for me was around 165/170 not what our chart says which is like 145 or 150. Once I get down to 179 I plan on exercising even more and hopefully can get the rest off by more exercise rather than diet manipulation (which by then should be no manipulation since my diet habits should all be reformed). I am getting to the age where being fit and healthy needs to start being a focus especially since heart disease and diabetes runs in the family, especially diabetes. I walked 6 miles in 3 days. Whereas I don't think I purposely walked 6miles in the last 10yrs