Brick Wall

[Bob M]

I'm stuck! I'm up against a brick wall and have been for a couple of weeks. The first four weeks of induction I did so well I lost 19 pounds. I was doing so well. I am sticking with induction as I still have 30 pounds to lose and liked the rate of 5 pounds a week loss. Then all of the sudden done. I have not changed anything and have examined everything I eat very closely for anything taboo. Nothing is wrong. I am doing everything right no cheats no mistakes no loss. My chiropracter (which I go to about three times a year) suggested that I am on a plataue and that everyone hits three in their weight loss programs. I had one when I lost the first 20 pounds on my original low-fat low calorie diet and that was when I switched to atkins after a couple weeks of being stuck. I guess its real possible that I am going to get stuck every 20 pounds. Yesterday was the first day of week six and I am still sticking to my guns of full induction. Does all of this sound correct? Am I spinning my wheels? Should I just keep doing what I am doing? Should I try to change something? How long should I expect to be in this no loss mode? By the way my test strips show negative some days and slightly positive other days and when I was at full good weight loss they never showed higher than just barley pink barley positive but I do drink tons of water every day.

[Lyssie]

Re: Brick Wall

umm. People *do* plateau. It's normal. That doesn't mean that you won't start losing again. Sometimes your body just needs to readjust to the fact that it's lost that much before it starts losing again. If you wait it out, it'll cave in and put out. Are you taking measurements? If you're still losing inches, but not pounds, it's not considered a plateau. You could always move into OWL and see if the higher carb counts get you back into losing since you've been on induction that long and don't have that much further to go.

[zencyn]

Re: Brick Wall

Lyssie has very good points. You lost a great deal of weight in a short period of time and your body needs time to readjust. Do keep track of your measuerments, too. And I think quite a few people here would suggest that you start climbing the carb ladder.

[Bob M]

Re: Brick Wall

Yes sorry I didn't mention measurements are dead stuck also as well as the darn mirrors are stuck. I have been exercising around three times a week its too cold in Colorado for me to walk but I do crunches, leg lifts on my back stomache and both sides, push-ups, toe touches straight down and toe touches alternating arms, bends from side to side, twist from side to side and then ride my stationary bike till my legs give out.

[Tracie515]

Re: Brick Wall

You should move up to OWL When i stalled after induction someone told me that and i did. Started losing weight again!

[julirama723]

Re: Brick Wall

The others have given great advice. I would suggest moving to OWL to see if that helps. OWL is designed as the main weight loss phase, a time when you add back in healthy carbs in a certain order. Like Tracie, my weight loss really took off when I moved to OWL, and I regret not doing it sooner!

[sallyseachange]

Re: Brick Wall

I agree with the others... I'm sure you won't regret a move to OWL.

[Outback Jess]

Re: Brick Wall

Hey Bob, congrats on the weight loss, it seems one of the things happening now is lifestyle for you. I have noticed that most people only focus heavily on weight loss while on a diet, maybe you need to also shift not only to OWL, but to a lifestyle mentality...
Where you get into the groove with eating and exercising and living life, and let the weight come off as it will.
I am speaking from this perspective because it's one I have sough to develop. I use to get up and live for the diet, and it was a diet, now I get up and live for the day and all in it, I eat carefully, but I don't live to eat, food has settled down. I do want to loose weight, but now I am enjoying the process in a slightly different way...
My focus is not micro mananaging daily consumption just for weightloss sake...
I want to focus on all sorts of things and just grab food when I need it...letting my body handle the rest.

[sallyseachange]

Re: Brick Wall

Well said Jess. This is so true imho... changing ones mindset is a major step in the right direction... for life!

Hey Bob, congrats on the weight loss, it seems one of the things happening now is lifestyle for you. I have noticed that most people only focus heavily on weight loss while on a diet, maybe you need to also shift not only to OWL, but to a lifestyle mentality...
Where you get into the groove with eating and exercising and living life, and let the weight come off as it will.
I am speaking from this perspective because it's one I have sough to develop. I use to get up and live for the diet, and it was a diet, now I get up and live for the day and all in it, I eat carefully, but I don't live to eat, food has settled down. I do want to loose weight, but now I am enjoying the process in a slightly different way...
My focus is not micro mananaging daily consumption just for weightloss sake...
I want to focus on all sorts of things and just grab food when I need it...letting my body handle the rest.

[irlandes]

Re: Brick Wall

I will be posting my experience on that forum soon. But, with my 2 years experience on the Induction diet (I have what Atkins called metabolic resistance) I have two other tips on brick walls.

1. Get the numbers. If you can find them where you are, get test strips. Atkins called them something else, but in the US they are called 'ketone test strips'. I don't know URL policy on product brand recommendations, so let me just say you can find them in most drug stores. I happen to buy mine at the 'most visited chain store', sometimes known sarcastically as the China outlet store, they are in the pharmacy section, and have a brand name based on reliability. They cost around $7 for 50 at that store.

Be sure to get the type which produces ketone measurements in 15 seconds; the others make you wait 2 minutes. Dip them in your urine stream, wait 15 seconds, then compare the color to the color on the container, note the numbers. If you get the two minute type, you will find yourself suspended in your bathroom, holding a urine soaked piece of paper for two minutes at a time. Not your finest use of time.

The test strips will detect as low as '5' which would take maybe, um, 4 months to lose a pound. At that level of fat burning, you are going to detect no loss at all on a daily basis. Even at 20, it would take a month to lose a pound. You would still be burning fat, though, and this is important to know.


2. Atkins said, don't count calories. That makes sense up to a point, since the Atkins diet is different than the AMA approved 'guaranteed to make you fat 95% of the time' diet.

However, one of my brick walls prompted me to, ONE TIME, count my calories for one day. I was eating pretty much the same thing every day, partly because I am in the Third World with minimal variety avaiable. I learned I was actually eating around 2500 calories a day.

I was eating A LOT! Like 5 eggs and corresponding amounts of meat, for breakfast.

The Atkins diet is supposed to be fool-proof. Some of us have special capacity to make fools out of ourselves. Sigh.

I cut back to 2 eggs and corresponding amounts of meat for breakfast, AND STILL WASN'T HUNGRY, which proved I was really eating more than I needed to keep from being hungry. I started burning fat again, and did NOT continue to count calories, since all I needed was a coarse adjustment.

[Lyssie]

Re: Brick Wall

Please do not listen to the advice about the ketone testing strips. It's not correct. I test very low on those (since I drink a ton of water) and have been losing 2-3 pounds per week in February.

Also not mentioned is that they are not following the rules of "eat until sated" not stuffed. Just because you *can* eat 4000 calories a day, does not mean that your body is not telling you to stop before you reach that point.

There's nothing wrong with keeping track of calories. A lot of us do. Just because you don't have to count calories doesn't mean they don't count.

[Maerow]

Re: Brick Wall

I didn't keep track of calories until I was at the tail end of my weightloss. I was having a serious many months stall, and when I finally checked my calories, I was having over 2,000 a day.

I check my calories now, but I am still on atkins 100 percent. Atkins leaves me feeling full longer, I cherry pick foods that are low carb, low cal, and still leave me feeling full. I have gotten down to 135 (my original goal weight) being perfectly content and not hungry.

NOW, however, I want to get rid of a few more vanity lbs. I am female and I am supposed to have a little fat on my tummy and thighs if I am eating a healthy amount. BUT I live in a society bombarded by images of perfect bodies, and dangit I want a flat tummy. I WANT ONE. So to break my miserable six month+ stall I decided I had had enough of my body being obnoxious and happy at 135 and I was going to make it obey. So I slashed my calories down to 1,100. And I am hungrier in between meals and I try to go to bed a little hungry. I am using atkins agressively to help me stay fuller longer and make this process easier.

I know I am being silly, and I should be happy where I am. But I have one month and 20 days before my first and last wedding day, and dangit the time to be silly is now. :P

But no. This early into your weight loss you shouldn't really have to be counting calories. You just need to gauge when you aren't hungry and stop eating when you are almost full. Stalls *will* happen, they are normal. Take it from me, unfortunatly.

[Bob M]

Re: Brick Wall

Thanks Maerow

Good luck.... I have expected to have a hard time at the bitter end. I hope by then I have some energy back and can workout to help my way through it. Vanity pounds are real pounds in my book. Male female doesent matter fat is fat. I really dont want to settle for chubby in the end. I could easily choose 180 as a goal weight but that was what I weighed 20 years ago and in really great shape. I can only guess that now the only shape I know is that of a Christmas tree I will probably need to get to about 170.

[Maerow]

Re: Brick Wall

Also...one last thing. I know people have said there is a starvation mode...and while I do believe that, I also believe that there is a limit to it. No way in flaming heck can your body hold on to weight if your calories are just too low. YES if your calories are borderline too low, then starvation mode kicks in, and a lower metabolism will keep you from losing weight...your body will maintain on the lower calorie amount.

People in concentration camps, and that brazillion model didn't have fat on their bodies. There is a limit to what your body can handle. The trick is finding where that is, and not going too low and hurting yourself...have to be careful there. >.<

I wish I could call a meeting with my body and explain what I want to it, would help alot, lol.

[Lyssie]

Re: Brick Wall

I'm all for the meeting with body thing. When you figure out how could you let me know??

I'm one of the advocators of the starvation mode. This is because I was eating 900cal/day. I lost weight, yes. To a point. I also stopped losing for about 6-8weeks, at which point I started eating more calories and more carbs and started losing more than I had lost in a long time.