Not losing help....

[Tiggs14]

I'm hoping their are other that can share their stories with me. I'm beginning to feel discouraged and I want this to work. I don't want to quit.

I started induction October 29th. I lost 15 pounds during induction. I then moved up to OWL Rung 1. I exercise for 30 minutes a night using the elliptical and have stayed on plan 100% every single day.

The first week of OWL I gained 2.5 pounds and they've hung around. Monday will mark the start of week 5 for me and I'm discouraged that I haven't lost anything since I finished induction and that I'm holding onto the 2.5 pounds I gained after induction. I'm working so hard giving it my all and I'm beginning to question whether this is working for me.

I know a post induction stall is normal but is it normal to last this long this early in the game? Nothing I do seems to make the scale go lower. I've been using Fitday and my percentages of fat/protein/carbs look good. I drink 12-16 glasses of water a day and my Ketostix's are turning dark pink.

Any advice...any stories to encourage me?

[Hudson]

Re: Not losing help....

Hum Tiggs looks like a mystery.

15 lbs the first 2 week is very good. Which should indicate that you will lose with some ease.

I can only offer a few suggestions:
Be patient - it just never is a linear progression. Promise yourself 3 more weeks before you consider giving up.
Could someone be adjusting your scale. It happened to me once. My wife did not think my scale was accurate so she adjusted it. Wow I lost 4 lbs.
Concentrate on what you eat - not the exercise.
Read the book again to see if you are missing something and for inspiration.

YOU CAN DO IT

[Tiggs14]

Re: Not losing help....

Thanks Hudson. I'm really puzzled over this as well.

I know what I'm eating is all totally legal. I never go over the 3oz of cheese allowed in a day and don't eat anything outside of the induction food list.

As for the scale. It's a digital one so there is no way to adjust it (that I know of anyways). We just purchased a new one with the fat and water % on it and the numbers are the same as the old one so it's definately not the scale.

I'm going to stick it out and see what happens. I'm just a bit boggled as to what's going on.

Thanks again for your help and encouragement.

[blue996]

Re: Not losing help....

Hi Tiggs,

After induction (I lost 6.5 pounds) my weight loss slowed down. Some weeks I would lose nothing and now I am losing every couple of days. I firmly believe that staying the course pays off. Are you now in OWL? I found a few changes I made kick started my losses:

- I reduced drinking coffee to only on weekends (and then it is decaf) which in turn cut my heavy cream consumption right down
- I replaced the coffee with herbal tea
- I reduced the amount of bacon I was eating and now only have it twice a week
- I increased my higher carb veggies like peppers and reduced eating empty calorie foods like lettuce
- I increased my fat percentages and reduced protein slightly (my fat is sometimes up to 70%)
- I eat up to or slightly over my BMR which is 1600 calories

All this resulted in 6 pounds coming off over the past two weeks. I also weight train 2 -3 times a week and do cardio three times a week.

I know how you feel because I was stuck for a few weeks and it is very frustrating but trust that this works. It really does! From a second timer I know it works and it works well.

[Tiggs14]

Re: Not losing help....

Thanks for sharing.

I calculated my BMR and have I'm not reaching it. I'm not a coffee/tea drinker and am not taking in cream. I don't care that much for bacon because of the salt in it. I may have a few slices of it once a week. My fat is nomrmally in the 70% range as well. I'm going to alternate cardio and weights for the upcoming weeks and see where that lands me.

I have moved up the veggie rung. I eat a 3 cup salad for lunch with green onions, mushrooms and cucumber and use a tbsp of mayo as the dressing for it. I eat either cauliflower or brocolli with dinner.

Thanks again for you help.

[warbishop]

Re: Not losing help....

Well, before u get too discouraged, consider this. When I first started atkins my first time around(currently doing it again since i have a gained 12 pounds back. I lost 48 pounds the first time. ), I lost about six pounds during induction but then I did not lose but 1 pound for almost 33 days. But even then I could tell i did feel better and some of my clothes fit better, especially around my neck. I could tell i was losing there even when the scales didnt reflect it. Then, all the sudden, I started losing the weight at about .75 pounds on average a day. Some people, for some reason, go through periods like this and it really can have a mental impact that can lead to many people quitting but dont. Stay the course and try and excercise some too, that will help break those stubborn spots.


And...if you dont already have one, do yourself a favor and go get a good digital scale. I love mine. The old dial scale i once had really sucked. Also, weigh yourself the exact same time every day to get an accurate idea of what u weigh, preferrably early mornings after you goto the bathroom and before u eat anything. Weighing yourself through out the day will give u all kinds of odd readings due to food you have just eatin and the gravitational pull of the moon on the earth. Same way the moon pulls on the ocean to give us high and low tide.

God luck. be strong.

[Dimple_Flirt]

Re: Not losing help....

I have found that drinking only water helps.I have it right this time around and I'm loosing 1/4 pound per day with out exercising yet.I'm eating chicken breast with veggies,pot roast,Turkey and salmon,shrimp all with veggies and salads.What I'm not doing this time around is eating eggs (not more than 2 per week),cut out bacon , and cut coffee to 1/2 cup ,2 times per week. I've been going down a pound every 3.5 days. I plan on starting the exercise when I hit 250lbs. Hope it helps ...Good Luck

Also watch your calories I'm eating @1200 per day and sometimes I still hungry so I eat extra salmon or chicken to fill me up.I also don't have anything but water after 6pm.6- 10pm is where I would normally do the mindless snacking.

[blue996]

Re: Not losing help....

"Some people, for some reason, go through periods like this and it really can have a mental impact that can lead to many people quitting but dont. Stay the course and try and excercise some too, that will help break those stubborn spots."

Completely agree! Stay the course! And eat to your BMR. When i increased my calories I started losing more.

[Chicklady]

Re: Not losing help....

Tiggs....this is going to sound weird, but see if it applies to you.
I was 250 pounds when i first did Atkins (1995) I noticed during the times I wasn't losing weight, my fat was rearranging itself. Generally, I could only see this when propped up in the bathtub because of the position needed to see this, but bumps or "pocks" for lack of a better name, would develop along my belly apron as I lost weight. Then, when it a "stall" they would smooth out and then the weight loss would start again.

[cherribom1]

Re: Not losing help....

Tiggs have you been measuring inches with a tape measure? Inches tend to shed faster than lbs...

[cgdat136]

Re: Not losing help....

i have had a similar experience. i also started right around oct 29th, just before halloween. i came out of the gates really well.....getting down to 265 effortlessly, then it took a few days....but i was down to 263. then the struggling started......back up to 265, then down to 264, it was just up down up down up down. then one day miraculously, the scale moved down to 261....then 260.5, we have a doctos scale so.......i just watched things going in the right direction and i loved it. and then thanksgiving!!!!!!

so i was just about to call my fir GOAL (mini-goal) but now i wouldn't think of getting on a scale, at least, until sunday morning.

along the way i started this pushup thing.....the enthusiasm of others is just infectious......this (ADBB) isw a great place to be!

chris

[D14965]

Re: Not losing help....

also a thought -- seeing that you are excercising , you maybe replacing lost fat with muscle ( which weighs more than fat) and therefore not registering any loss on the scales. I recommend you take your measurments with a tape measure , record them , and then measure again each week and record your results. The scales tend to do weird things!

[Hoping]

Re: Not losing help....

Ditto on what Donna said! Exercise makes you retain water and helps build muscle. Ooor what about your protein intake? It sounds like you're on plan, but too much protein turns into glucose.
If you're eating correctly, which it sounds like you're doing wonderfully, then the scale will catch up

[grovemonkey]

Re: Not losing help....

Chicklady...

That's one of the most interesting idea's I've heard on the forum. Fat Rearrangement.

[sallyseachange]

Re: Not losing help....

I'll join the chorus of "take your measurements". Often we can lose inches but not pounds for quite some time. Eventually the scale will catch up, unless it's new muscle weight. Either way, it's good.

Have you noticed your clothes feeling any looser?

You could post a menu or two in the Review my Menu forum, in case there's some little thing that's escaped you.

Hang in there. If you keep with the plan you'll be a winner for sure, in the end.