OWL stopped working... suggestions?

[scotiagirl]

Hi everyone,

I've been looking through this forum on and off since I started Atkins in January but this is my first time posting.... from what I've seen this seems like a great group and just the place to hopefully get some suggestions for a frustrating problem.

For the first few months I lost weight and inches (about 20lbs from January - May, and 2 dress sizes). I had progressed up to Rung 6 in OWL and had been experimenting at that level for about 2 weeks when, suddenly - an 8lb weight gain. While I had always fluctuated before, never by that much. Worse still, it's stuck and I haven't lost a pound or an inch since. I tried eliminating foods by Rung with no success, and even went back on by-the-book Induction with no luck (ketostix showed I wasn't even achieving ketosis).

So to sum up this long post, has anyone had a similar experience and found a way to turn things around? I do martial arts 3 or 4 times a week, drink lots of water and have about 20lbs more to lose. I am frustrated beyond belief!

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any help

[ErinB]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

What were the foods you added in Rung 6 before you stopped losing and saw the gain?

When did the weight gain happen? Can you describe the steps of what you did since? Such as, waited in place a month to see if the stall would break, then stopped eating a particular food for a certain period, dropped 5 carbs for two weeks ... Like that?


When you say you had been experimenting at that level, what do you mean? Experimenting how?

Adding one food, but only 3 days out of the week, watching to see how it affected you? Can you say the weight gain happened after adding one particular food and/or moving to a particular carb level?

What method did you follow moving up the levels?

[ErinB]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

What I am thinking is that I probably wouldn't have gone back to induction if a certain number of carbs and rung 5 had worked for me before. I probably would have just moved back to what I knew worked previously and given that a chance to work again, at least a month.

I'm concerned you may be causing yourself metabolic issues which could work against you by dropping back too far.

As you can see, I haven't progressed beyond rung 3, though. Hopefully, someone more experienced with moving through OWL will offer some wiser advice than I can give.

[chinadoll]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

Try posting a menu from several days. Also, bear in mind that the smaller you get, the fewer calories your body need to maintain itself. You may have reached the point where you have to cut back a bit on caloric intake. It does happen that way for some folks. Since you are so close to goal, I would expect that your loss might drop to 0.5 pounds a week but I would also be frustrated if the scale was being so uncooperative. What have you been doing with regards to eating just in this last couple of weeks?

[not2late]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

What carb level were you at when you started gaining weight?

What foods did you add in Rung 6?

What happened when you eliminated the Rung 6 foods?

Did you try dropping to your previous carb level?

review your menues carefully. Where you properly measuring your foods? Did you change the brands of any commercially prepared foods (mayonaise, salad dressings, etc.)? Re-read all the ingredients to all the foods you were eating---over the years, I've noticed that some brands change ingredients without notice.

[not2late]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

And are you still losing inches? If you are still losing inches, you are still losing fat weight.

[scotiagirl]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the thoughtful suggestions... you've given me some things to consider.

Erin, the food I added in Rung 6 was tofu. Not much, just a little in smoothies a couple of days a week. The wierd thing is that I was fine with it for 2 weeks. It wasn't until the 3rd week that things changed, and I've wondered if that was because of a meal I had when out for a friend's b-day. I definitely didn't intend to cheat, but in retrospect there was likely some flour, cornstarch or sugar in it (server didn't speak great English). That was back in May, and following that I gave up the tofu and went back to Rung 5, having the occassional glass of wine and stayed there for about 4 weeks... no change, inches or pounds. So then I tried Rung 4 for about a month... again, no change. That was approximately August, and I've been hanging out at Rung 4 (which had previously worked!!) for the last few months without change, until finally getting frustrated enough to try a 2 week induction again just over 3 weeks ago, and... no change.

Chinadoll, my menu for about the last 2 weeks hasn't been ideal because I've been so frustrated. Still no bread/potatoes etc, but I'm not measuring things like I used to, so likely eating too many carbs in general. Prior to that I was being so good and not seeing any results, so I just figured what the heck?! I will definitely consider your suggestion about calories. I hadn't thought of that and it would be worth monitoring.

Here's a typical daily menu (for the past few months, excluding the last 2 "what the heck" weeks):

Breakfast: 2 egg omlette with veggies (usually about 1/2 cup of combined peppers and onion). Cup of coffee with 2 teapoons of cream and little Splenda

Snack: Dozen or so almonds

Lunch: Salad with 1/2 cup romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup green pepper, 1/4 cup black olives, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/2 cup diced chicken, 2 strips bacon, 1/8 cup shredded cheese, ranch dressing

Snack: Mixed berry shake - 1/2 cup mixed berries, 1 scoop protein powder, vanilla extract, water, 1/4 cup cream

Dinner: Broccoli dijon (1 cup broccoli with lemon juice, butter, dijon, sprinkle of toasted almonds), chicken with mushrooms and thyme (baked with a little cream)

Water: About 2 litres a day, more on taekwondo days

Now that I look at it, there might be too much cream in there.

not2late, I hope the above answers your questions as well. Good point about checking ingredients on some brands that I might have gotten complacent about. And no, I haven't been losing any inches.

So here I am, not giving up, but wondering where to go from here. I'll check brands, look at calories, but from a strictly Atkins perspective - stay at rung 4? Change rungs? I know this WOE works, so I'm sure I'm just missing something!

Thanks again everyone, and sorry again for the length!

[chinadoll]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

Hang in there and keep working through it. Things will break eventually. SOme folks have hung in through six months stalls and their bodies eventually decided to lose again. It is frustrating but it does happen and you may just have to stick it out.

[Aways2Go]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

As far as the ketostix not showing... isn't is possible that the tae kwan do exercises are burning off the ketones and thus, none might show on the sticks?

I know a lot of people here are dead set against putting much (if any) stock in the ketostix, that having a darker or lighter color is basically meaningless, and that some people lose weight just fine and NEVER turn a ketostick any color at all, but just thought I would throw that thought out there.

Personally, I have always been able to turn the ketosticks a very light pinkish color, and during spells when I am losing no weight, sometimes I check because I find it find it encouraging that I haven't inadvertently somehow thrown myself out of ketosis. Admittedly, sometimes the color change is almost imperceptible, and will change within a few hours l if I happen to check again later. So yes, I understand ketostix are not the be all and end all and for some people, virtually useless, but I still use them from time to time and find it encouraging, even if only mentally. Dr. Atkins did point out that they will stop turning once you get near your CCLL, and since they have worked for me thus far, I will continue using them here and there to help me determine that point in the future.

[not2late]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the thoughtful suggestions... you've given me some things to consider.

Erin, the food I added in Rung 6 was tofu. Not much, just a little in smoothies a couple of days a week. The wierd thing is that I was fine with it for 2 weeks. It wasn't until the 3rd week that things changed, and I've wondered if that was because of a meal I had when out for a friend's b-day. I definitely didn't intend to cheat, but in retrospect there was likely some flour, cornstarch or sugar in it (server didn't speak great English). That was back in May, and following that I gave up the tofu and went back to Rung 5, having the occassional glass of wine and stayed there for about 4 weeks... no change, inches or pounds. So then I tried Rung 4 for about a month... again, no change. That was approximately August, and I've been hanging out at Rung 4 (which had previously worked!!) for the last few months without change, until finally getting frustrated enough to try a 2 week induction again just over 3 weeks ago, and... no change.

What was your carb level when you added the tofu?

When you went back to Rung 4, did you lower your carb level or did you keep it the same?

Chinadoll, my menu for about the last 2 weeks hasn't been ideal because I've been so frustrated. Still no bread/potatoes etc, but I'm not measuring things like I used to, so likely eating too many carbs in general. Prior to that I was being so good and not seeing any results, so I just figured what the heck?! I will definitely consider your suggestion about calories. I hadn't thought of that and it would be worth monitoring.

Here's a typical daily menu (for the past few months, excluding the last 2 "what the heck" weeks):

Breakfast: 2 egg omlette with veggies (usually about 1/2 cup of combined peppers and onion). Cup of coffee with 2 teapoons of cream and little Splenda

How much is a "little Splenda"?

Snack: Dozen or so almonds

Nuts are limited to 1 ounce, with the exception of cashews which are limited to 1/2 ounce. How many ounces is a "doze or so almonds"?

Lunch: Salad with 1/2 cup romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup green pepper, 1/4 cup black olives, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/2 cup diced chicken, 2 strips bacon, 1/8 cup shredded cheese, ranch dressing

How much ranch dressing are you using? How many carbs are in the amount of ranch dressing you are using? What are the ingredients to this ranch dressing?

Snack: Mixed berry shake - 1/2 cup mixed berries, 1 scoop protein powder, vanilla extract, water, 1/4 cup cream

What berries are in the "mixed berries" you are using? See, not all berries have the same carb amounts: 1/2 cup of strawberries is approximately 5 net carbs, but 1/2 cup of blueberries is approximately 10 net carbs.

What are the ingredients in the protein powder?

Dinner: Broccoli dijon (1 cup broccoli with lemon juice, butter, dijon, sprinkle of toasted almonds), chicken with mushrooms and thyme (baked with a little cream)

This looks okay, but how many carbs are you consuming for dinner?

Water: About 2 litres a day, more on taekwondo days

This looks okay too.

AGain, how many carbs are you consuming daily? And how many carbs were you consuming daily when you were losing pounds/inches?

[ErinB]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

This is improbable but I saw one thread where a member was trying to figure out why she had gained a chunk suddenly and after a bunch of troubleshooting she discovered the scale was the problem. Somehow it had been moved from the zero mark, so she wasn't starting at zero when she checked her weight. Just throwing this out there in case ...

[msanjelpie]

Re: OWL stopped working... suggestions?

Yes the cream has a ton of calories... In my strawberry shake I changed from the heavy cream to low carb yogurt. Tastes pretty much the same but a lot less calories...

Do you use fitday.com to track your daily carbs and calories?