How long can a stall last?

[Momtofour]

I haven't lost weight in ages. I have been bouncing between 188 and 192 since last January. I thought Candida was the problem so I got serious about eating yeast free and taking supplements to kill the yeast. I lost a couple of pounds and then nothing. I still have alot to lose and I'm frustrated that I can't seem to get the rest off. If I plug my menus into fitday I am doing everything just fine. I don't have too much sweetener. I exercise daily. Is this just a long pause and I may end up losing more later? I am eating Atkins for life, but I was hoping to have more weight loss before I considered myself done with the weight loss phase. Has anyone else had a pause like this and went on to lose the rest of their weight? I really want to lose another 35-40 pounds.

[not2late]

Re: How long can a stall last?

Get your body fat analyzed. I think 2Big stopped 10 or 20 pounds short of her "goal weight" because when she got her body fat analyzed she was well below the normal body fat for a woman.

Review your menu in terms of the amounts of foods you are eating. Make sure you are only feeding your current hunger, not feeding the hunger you had when you began Atkins. Small bodies typically don't need as much food as larger bodies.

[stephbob]

Re: How long can a stall last?

I stalled for the longest time...about 4 months! That caused me to give up, I failed big time, gained 10lbs, then got back on track and started losing again.

I'm NOT suggesting that, obviously lol. I'm sure had I upped my exercise I would have gotten there, slowly. But I'm a very impatient person...Good luck!!

[Heidi3]

Re: How long can a stall last?

I agree with Megs and can tell you that once I stopped at my readjusted goal ..then my stall broke and I lost more weight ...go figure?

besides we are not in a hurry ..enjoy where you are and where your body is now ...embrace it ...maintain it and then see what happens later..you have done a wonderful job you know

[Momtofour]

Re: How long can a stall last?

I have been wondering how much of the weight loss I have left is skin. Gross I know. I have a very saggy tummy and I'm sure a tummy tuck would take 15 pounds off me right away, but I don't have the $ for that.

How do I get a "true" body fat analysis? Are the body fat % scales accurate? I don't have one that does that but maybe I should get one. I think I have plenty of fat left on my thighs, buttocks, and hips to lose.

As far as food amounts. The only way I have been able to lose anything lately is exercising for more than an hour and eating very low calorie. I don't think this is healthy so I stopped that.

I am thinking I have a serious Candida issue. I have eaten fairly yeast free but I haven't stuck to the Gold Standard yeast free diet. That is so restrictive, but maybe I am going to have to do it for some time to get more weight off.

Thanks for letting me vent. It is frustrating for me that the rest of this weight isn't coming off like the first 50 pounds did.

[Heidi3]

Re: How long can a stall last?

you can get a decent one done at most YMCA's they are free if you are a member and if not I think they charge a fee ...but not as much as a private "health club"

loose skin takes time to adjust have you tried dry brushing yet?

[adreliluc]

Re: How long can a stall last?

Hey there,
I've been on a long stall myself - since the end of Feb. About 2 months ago I started getting discouraged and started slacking on my exercise and began snacking on nuts and fruit - gained about 15 lbs! (went from 189 - 205). Other than the nuts and fruit I've been really good.
On July 24th decided to get back on track. I cut out all nuts and fruit and started exercising in the AM for an hour on the treadmill. As of yesterday I'm @ 195 lbs again... So hopefully I'll be able to continue to lose the last 45 lbs!
Good luck... it'll happen eventually just follow the rules.
xo

[Momtofour]

Re: How long can a stall last?

Adreliluc- Good job on dropping the weight again. Nuts are a problem for me so I quit buying them.

[not2late]

Re: How long can a stall last?

Definitely get your body fat analyzed.

Also about your exercising and eating. When you exercise, you burn calories. If you are exercising and don't have enough calories to use for that exercise and for keeping your body alive, your body might not want to lose weight.

So, you might want to figure out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and your AMR (Active Metabolic Rate) and see if you are eating enough food.

[soliwit]

Re: How long can a stall last?

Hey there.
I am having the exact same problem at the moment, I am at this same old weight since forever, it's just so demotivating.
Actually I was at the verge of giving up right today and see there is a discussion about my exact problem, I too thought it was yeast, therefor I eat 'kiss', but I am so tired of that and it's not changin a thing.
I always got my balances right according to fitday, am doing my excercises, but nothing seems to help, my measures also are the same.
My goalweight, 150-ish, would be the highest healthy weight for my lenght, so it can never be that I put my goal too low and when I look at certain bodyparts I am never at a low bodyfat yet.
It's just frustrating, I want to move up in owl and be able to eat more variations again.
Sorry for whining, I HAD to get this off my chest I guess.......


[edit] THANKS for starting this thread Momtofour

[theredhead]

Re: How long can a stall last?

In answer to your question of how long a stall can last --- try 2 1/2 years! I lost 50 pounds at a steady rate in the first six months or so and then BAM! It just stopped. I tried everything - raise carbs, lower carbs, meat & egg, raise calories, lower calories, more exercise, etc. ad nauseum. In the last year, I gradually started gaining very slowly until I was up 19 pounds. Very discouraging! But I knew that Atkins or at least a low-carb eating plan was what I needed to do forever for my health, even if I never lost another pound. My DH has been successful at losing weight and keeps it off easily by following Atkins still.

About 6 months ago, I realized I was in menopause and that my hormones were screwed up. I found a good doctor who tested everything and has me leveled out again with bio-identical hormones. Slowly, the weight started coming back down and I'm about 2 pounds above my lowest Atkins weight now.

So, I have no idea how old you are, or if you could be anywhere near menopause, but I thought I'd mention it. Also, have you had your thyroid tested? It could be screwed up as well and that will keep you from losing weight sometimes. Good luck! HTH

[Rosa]

Re: How long can a stall last?

I just thought I'd add that your body is GREAT at adapting. Eating less carbs does not mean you lose weight faster.

If you've been eating the same stuff for a long time (It can take only 3-5 days for your body to catch on to what you're doing) you might want to shake it up.

If you've been eating really low carb (<20) for a long time, try a few higher carb days. Your body really won't notice the change until you get above 100 net carbs a day. Make sure they are healthy, non-sugary/white flour carbs.

And BE CAREFUL. Plan a start and an end to this little excursion. 1-3 days should do it. Plan out your meals and stick to them. It will probably bring you out of ketosis/appetite suppression and that could spell trouble.

However....it's worked for me in the past. Low carb is great because it means I'm less hungry and I wind up eating less, but eventually my body catches on and it doesn't work like it used to. I hope you find your solution soon! I know what it's like to keep seeing the same numbers on the scale.

[Momtofour]

Re: How long can a stall last?

Soliwit- I'm glad this thread helped you too.

I know I have much more fat to burn so that isn't the issue.

I don't think menapause could be the issue. I'm only 35.

I had a complete blood work up done in March. My thyroid was tested then and it was fine.

I wonder if it is my portion control. I eat a big breakfast, medium lunch, and a small dinner, but maybe that big breakfast is my problem.

I will try eating some different foods to see if that helps.

Thanks to all of you who gave me some ideas to consider.

[soliwit]

Re: How long can a stall last?

Yah big thanks to all that give different ideas on how we could aproach this !!!
I didn't have my theroid tested since quite a while so maybe I should indeed look into that.
I turned 40 in march so I consider myself a tad too young still to have menopausal problems, but of course you never know, some do start earlier and I do have some weirdness going with my tom (like sometimes it skips a month )
I did try all the other things, like eating a bit more carbs, than less, less calories, more calories, no cheese or other dairy, no nuts, no mushrooms, the whole nine yards, but to no help
I will not let down though, I do have some hard times sometimes (like yesterday, I felt so sick and tired of it....) but I am like a pitbull, once I put my teeth into something I won't let go, I will not turn and stop atkins, but I sure wish I would get a tiny itsy bitsy bit of an award for my job.