Frustrated

[Eltwinwin]

I'm frustrated and hope you can help me. I’ve controlled my carbs in the past and lost 50 lbs.

Two years letter I need to get back on the wagon. I lost 20 lbs in about two months and now am stuck. I’ve been 282-285 for the past 30 days. I’ve stepped up my workout to cardio and lifting to 6x a week. I’ve been eating much smaller portions and very few carbs. I can't seem to break thru this plateau. I take plenty of men’s vitamins, extra b6, and chromium and stay away from complex foods but still with no success.

I don’t recall it taking this long last time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[not2late]

Re: Frustrated

I'm frustrated and hope you can help me. I’ve controlled my carbs in the past and lost 50 lbs.

Two years letter I need to get back on the wagon. I lost 20 lbs in about two months and now am stuck. I’ve been 282-285 for the past 30 days. I’ve stepped up my workout to cardio and lifting to 6x a week. I’ve been eating much smaller portions and very few carbs. I can't seem to break thru this plateau. I take plenty of men’s vitamins, extra b6, and chromium and stay away from complex foods but still with no success.

I don’t recall it taking this long last time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Okay, before we can advise you, we need to know a few things....

1. What phase of the Atkins Diet are you currently on?
2. Are you using anything like protein shakes?
3. Have you added anything new (like food) to your menu.
4. Post a typical menu or two.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Frustrated

also check your inches lost as many times with new exercise programs folk loss fat mass and add muscle mass and some fluids too but the scale doesn't know what the total mass changes were only the effect of gravity on that total mass amount so if you lost 3 pounds of fat mass added 2 pounds of muscle mass and 1 pound of fluid mass then you will still weigh the same even though you are smaller cause muscle and fluids are denser then fat.

When you up your exercise workouts your muscles will super hydrate as they are genetically oprogrammed to "save" you from whatever is forcing your to make them work so hard cause nobody does that for fun according to muscles. Once the muscles learn that the new load is their normal load they will release the fluids and you will get a dramatic scale weight loss too. Brook has posted about adding 5 pounds in a week every time she changes her exercise video.

Happy low carbing

[angelstar]

Re: Frustrated

How many carbs a day are you having? Maybe increasing ur water intake as u have increased ur exercise might help?

[Eltwinwin]

Re: Frustrated

to: not2late 1) I don't know. I've been on it about 2 months 2) I drink an EAS Advantage Edge Shake most mornings for bfast. I try to stau away from all processed foods. 3) Nothing new comes to mind. 4) EAS Shake or bacon & eggs (bfast), fish or brats + cabbage (lunch), cheese/peperoni sticks (snack), meatloaf/chicken (dinner). I use plenty of Helmans Mayo w Hot sauce mixed in as flavor and use lots of it in place of katsup, tarter & bbq sauce.

Yes 2big I do notice I drink tons of water and don't seem to expell it. My waist doesn't seem to be going down as I wear shorts but my wife says she see's a difference in other areas. How long until I see the water loss? It's been like this for about 30 days now.

Angel, I have about 10-20 carbs per day for the past 2 months.

Thank You all so much for your help and insightful comments!

[not2late]

Re: Frustrated

to: not2late 1) I don't know. I've been on it about 2 months 2) I drink an EAS Advantage Edge Shake most mornings for bfast. I try to stau away from all processed foods. 3) Nothing new comes to mind. 4) EAS Shake or bacon & eggs (bfast), fish or brats + cabbage (lunch), cheese/peperoni sticks (snack), meatloaf/chicken (dinner). I use plenty of Helmans Mayo w Hot sauce mixed in as flavor and use lots of it in place of katsup, tarter & bbq sauce.

Yes 2big I do notice I drink tons of water and don't seem to expell it. My waist doesn't seem to be going down as I wear shorts but my wife says she see's a difference in other areas. How long until I see the water loss? It's been like this for about 30 days now.

Angel, I have about 10-20 carbs per day for the past 2 months.

Thank You all so much for your help and insightful comments!

Have you read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, 2002 ed? I only ask that because it concerns me that you do not know what Phase of the diet you are in and that's pretty basic information.

In terms of your menu, Atkins is not a high protein diet. It's a high fat diet. Too much protein converts to sugar. On Atkins, protein comprises only 30% of our total daily calories. You only list one type of vegetable, so I'm assuming you aren't eating at least 3 cups of the allowed vegetables daily? As for processed foods: sausages, pepperoni, even those shakes are processed.

I really think you should take the time to read the book and learn how to do Atkins correctly. I know that sounds harsh and I'm sure there will be people PMing you or responding in this thread that I'm being a real SOB. But too many people do Atkins the way their co-workers' daughter's boyfriend's cousins' mother-in-law's landlord's nephew's neighbor's insurance agent's secretary's dog groomer's wife is doing Atkins. And that's where people run into problems both in terms of weight loss and in terms of their general health.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Frustrated

I agree with the advice not2late gave you. Here at ADBB, and in my "real world" experience I've seen people fail time and time again making the mistakes you are making. Since you've come here seeking help, it seems that you DO want this to work and you ARE making the effort. Since you are making effort, let's get your efforts focused in the right direction so that you SUCCEED!

1) Definitely read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution version 2002. That book is full of all the how's and why's and when's of the plan. It's a real eye opener, that's for sure.
2) Ditch the shakes...they are so sabotaging to most people's plans. You will see thread after thread after thread on this site about how they don't work. I can give you my own personal experience...I had been doing the plan without using a single bar or shake, low carb candy, bread, ice cream the entire time until about a month ago. I quit smoking and turned to them as crutches...and I didn't even overindulge...and I gained 8 lbs and have had one heck of a time getting my cravings back under control, getting those 8 lbs back off, my mood swings came back with a vengeance! They are just evil in my opinion.
3) Find recipes to make your own bars/shakes from NATURAL food sources that we are allowed to have! Check out the food and cooking section of this website.

[Eltwinwin]

Re: Frustrated

In my defense, I did read it many years ago. I guess that's why I did so well then as it was fresher in my mind.

I still thank you and will chalk it up to tough love.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Frustrated

((((((((((Eltwin)))))))) If you can read it again, do it. I go back and read mine, or parts of it, often. I'm always finding stuff I missed the first go around. Check out the FAQ's section here too. It's got all of the basics and how's, if not all the why's.

We do practice tough love around here, but let me tell ya...it pays off if you look at the Loser's Lounge thread, the Before and After pics, and the Success Stories.

This website is a WEALTH of information and there's lots and lots of reading that can be done here in addition to the book.

As for your menu, eliminate the shakes, add some vegetables, try for fresh meats (limit deli meats, pepperoni, etc.) and make sure you get your water in...and see what happens. I'll bet that your weight loss kicks in again. Be sure to keep us posted!

[not2late]

Re: Frustrated

Dr. Atkins made several changes to his diet over the years. In the 1972 diet, veggies were limited to salad-type vege for 1 week, then other higher carb veggies were added on week 2. But it was still a high fat diet. By the time he published the New Diet in 1992, more veggies were added to the diet and there was a caution to avoid processed meats due to the nitrates and added sugars. In the last revision he did, more veggies were added.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Frustrated

So, the moral of the story is......

Eat more veggies! LOL

We sound like a bunch of mothers or grandmothers on here chanting the mantra...."Eat your Vegetables!"

[bizzlekitty]

Re: Frustrated

Take the time and read the book and read everything here on the phases, etc.

I have had several friends trying to "low carb" it their own way and have not had as much success as I have doing Atkins by the book. While I don't see anything wrong with doing low carb nonAtkins, I do feel that if you have significant weight to lose (over 100 lbs) doing Atkins correctly is your best long term solution to losing weight in a healthy manner while feeling good about it. I think this is especially true if you have other issues that may slow weight loss, such as PCOS or thyroid issues.

I have learned so much from on weight loss and why things do and do not work for low carb and Atkins. There is so much information out there available, some good, some bad, that it's nice to have a bastion on knowledge and support to help us all get lose weight and get healthy in a way that works.

One of the biggest keys to Atkins is the veggies. They are essential and where your carbs are coming from. This isn't "no carb or as few carbs as possible" as a low calorie diet. This is healthy carbs from veggies and OWL foods, where you might actually lose weight better with more carbs than at Induction levels.

Good luck!