i stopped losing weight

[mothergoose5]

Hmmm....I lost 6 pounds in induction, but now that I am owling...no more loss of inches or pounds. I am eating so little, and all the right things. What could be wrong? Has anyone else had this experience?

[not2late]

Re: i stopped losing weight

Hmmm....I lost 6 pounds in induction, but now that I am owling...no more loss of inches or pounds. I am eating so little, and all the right things. What could be wrong? Has anyone else had this experience?

What are your stats? start weight, current weight, goal weight and height.

How many net carbs are you eating daily?

What rung are you on?

What OWL foods have you added and how much?

Post a complete menu. Please include the amounts of the foods you are eating and please indicate the OWL food and amounts you are eating. Be sure to include any condiments (mayo, mustard, etc.) And the amount of water and non-water beverages you are drinking. And the amount of sweetener and the types of sweetener you are using.

[vek]

Re: i stopped losing weight

It happens to me very often when I'm eating too little. I loose pounds for a week or two and it stops. What I do? I take 2 days where I eat a lot. Of course, the ok things, no sugar or candies. But I eat a lot. For 2 days. Of course, I'll end up with 1-2 pounds more. But it will give a "reboot" to my body and I'll start loosing again for the next 1-2 weeks untill...again I eat too little and again I must "restart" the computer!
This is how my body works. 6-7-8lbs down, 1-2-3lbs up, 6-7-8lbs down, 1-2-3lbs up... I do this for a year now and...no more plateaus! The body just need a "reboot".

[mothergoose5]

Re: i stopped losing weight

Thanks for responding. I am about 5'2". Tiny frame. I started around 117 pounds. My goal is 105. I am now between 110-111 depending on time of day. I am staying under 25 net carbs.
My average daily menu has typically been

a cup of tea plain
2 slices of roast beef with swiss

5-7 cubes of chicken with lettuce, parmesan, oil, garlic, salt
7-10 pork rinds with a TBsp sour cream

a small steak or similar size piece of chuck roast or fish
1/2 cup cauliflower with cheddar cheese
half a cucumber


I drink tea all day hot and iced. It is unsweetened and without cream or sweetener. I have always taken my tea this way, so it is nothing new.
I added sugar free jello at some point during induction, continued to lose weight, but have recently quit with the jello since it is just not very yummy. I added a handful of blackberries yesterday.

Any thoughts? A friend suggested that perhaps I should be eating more, as this is fairly low cal. I feel fine, plenty of energy, i am just a bit disappointed at the slow/stopped weight loss.

[Georgiana]

Re: i stopped losing weight

My average daily menu has typically been

a cup of tea plain
2 slices of roast beef with swiss

5-7 cubes of chicken with lettuce, parmesan, oil, garlic, salt
7-10 pork rinds with a TBsp sour cream

a small steak or similar size piece of chuck roast or fish
1/2 cup cauliflower with cheddar cheese
half a cucumber

Is this an OWL menu or an Induction menu? Because there are not enough vegetables there. Even during Induction, which is the most restrictive phase of Atkins, you should be eating three cups of vegetables per day. Half a cucumber is about 1 cup, then you are eating half a cup of cauliflower... and some lettuce. During OWL Rung 1, you should have added 5 net carbs of vegetables. If this 5 net carbs were to come from lettuce, you'd have to eat about 6.5 cups of it. Are you eating so much lettuce?

Since you introduced berries, I assume you're on OWL Rung 4. Is this correct? What did you introduce during OWL Rung 2 and 3? Or did you just skip these rungs?

Atkins is a high fat diet and your menu seems to be lacking fat. During Induction, the percentages you should have aimed for are 65% fat, 5% carbs and 30% protein. They don't change very much during the first rungs of OWL. Are you using any/enough fat in cooking/dressings to have ~65% of your calories coming from fat?

How big are those 5-7 cubes of chicken -- 4 oz, a cup, half a cup? How small is the "small steak"? Your calories seem to be very low indeed.

I drink tea all day hot and iced. It is unsweetened and without cream or sweetener. I have always taken my tea this way, so it is nothing new.

Are you counting the carbs in tea? Does the tea contain caffeine? How much water are you drinking? And how much tea?

[sallyseachange]

Re: i stopped losing weight

Seems to me to be a rather small amount, so you could be veering into starvation mode where your body will hang onto weight for dear life.
Also, you need to eat more veggies. Three cups a day from the acceptable induction list, preferably two cups salad and one cup "other" veggies. If you can make the salad nutrient dense veggies rather than iceberg lettuce, it would be good.
Careful of pork rinds, which have high sodium and can cause water retention.

If you eat a bit more, I'm sure you'll see your losses pick up.

Edited to add: Georgiana and I posted at nearly the same time, so sorry for any repetitions of what she says (all of which I endorse)

[mothergoose5]

Re: i stopped losing weight

Thank you for the quick responses. I am definitely trying to do OWL now, not induction. I will try adding more veggie carbs with cauliflower,asparagus and broccoli. I was worried about overdoing it since I have seen conflicting counts on the number of carbs in these veggies. I also reasoned that I could have more sour cream or cheese if I limited the vegetables, and given the choice I would rather eat more dairy. I will try increasing fat and calories. I would love to add more berries or some sugar free peanut butter or candy. Is it safe to do that yet?

[Georgiana]

Re: i stopped losing weight

Thank you for the quick responses. I am definitely trying to do OWL now, not induction. I will try adding more veggie carbs with cauliflower,asparagus and broccoli. I was worried about overdoing it since I have seen conflicting counts on the number of carbs in these veggies. I also reasoned that I could have more sour cream or cheese if I limited the vegetables, and given the choice I would rather eat more dairy. I will try increasing fat and calories. I would love to add more berries or some sugar free peanut butter or candy. Is it safe to do that yet?

Berries can be added in OWL Rung 4. Sugar free peanut butter can be added in OWL Rung 3.

Sugar free candies are sweetened with sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols either give you bathroom issues (diarrhea, bloating) or you are metabolizing, in which case they should be counted as net carbs. We have also seen many people on the Board that are stalled by frankenfoods, so if you decide to try them, you're taking a risk. It's your choice, but keep in mind that you are allowed max. 3 servings of sweetener (or sweetened foods) per day.

When counting the carbohydrates in foods, just pick one carb counter and stick to it. But one cup of, let's say, raw broccoli has pretty much the same net carb count no matter what source you use.

I forgot to add. Most of your net carbohydrates should come from vegetables, so you cannot swap veggies for diary.

[not2late]

Re: i stopped losing weight

Thanks for responding. I am about 5'2". Tiny frame. I started around 117 pounds. My goal is 105. I am now between 110-111 depending on time of day. I am staying under 25 net carbs.

I plugged your stats into a BMI calculator Calculate your BMI - Standard BMI Calculator

AT your current weight, your BMI is 20.1 which is right in the middle of the normal weight range.

It is a possibility that you have stopped losing weight because your body has reached it's "normal" point.

What is your exercise program like? Toning your muscles might be a better option for you than losing weight at this point.

[mitzimarie]

Re: i stopped losing weight

I am about 5'2". Tiny frame. I started around 117 pounds. My goal is 105.

What is your age? And while I acknowledge that we are all different, I must say that I would be a skeleton at 105 pounds. Are you sure that isn't too low? What kind/frequency of exercise are you doing?

You have been given some very excellent advice. I agree that your calories and fat look low. And Georgiana is correct... most of your net carbs should come from veggies, so I wouldn't advise swapping out veggies for dairy. I tried that on my first attempt at Atkins, and I never reached my goal weight and wasn't able to maintain the losses I did have. Not to mention the fact that you really do need veggies for vitamins, minerals, and to go *potty*. This time around, I embraced veggies and was able to reach goal.