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I am going into my 4th week now. Week # 3 I only lost 1lb altogether, and I was following plan 100%. I must also say, that I have been working out diligently 6 out of the 7 days last week! Rather than getting frustrated, I did some searching through the various threads, and found this to explain what is happening. I feel confidant now, that with continued excercising & staying on plan, the weight loss will soon start to show on the scales again! It pays to ask questions, and do some research before panicking!
PISS (post induction stall syndrome) is NO REASON TO QUIT
(1) When you start Atkins induction, your body dumps a lot of water
along with the stored glycogen, and there are other hormonal things going on
that promote water loss. So you lose several pounds of water, sometimes
more. You may even get slightly dehydrated at first. (2) As you continue on
induction, your body begins to adapt to the reduced carb intake. Water
retention is gradually normalized, so that you are no longer dehydrated. A
pound to several pounds of water weight may gradually return. (3) As the
small amount of water weight gradually returns, you're also gradually
burning fat. The water weight increase is offset by the fat loss, showing a
net slowdown or even "stall" on the scale, sometimes even a small increase
on the scale. (4) As you continue low-carbing, the gradual loss of weight in
the form of body fat will finally start showing up, and you'll start seeing
the scale moving down again. This whole process may encompass a period of a
month or more. Seeing the scale stop changing, or even a small increase in
weight is therefore pretty normal for many Atkins dieters, and is not a
reason to drastically change the diet or start doing a radically hypocaloric
thing. It is always a good idea, at any stage, to be careful about your carb
intake, to make sure you're correctly charting your carb intake.
If, after four weeks past induction, you are not seeing the scale start to
move, then you probably want to look at ways to get past the stall. A true
stall is not diagnosed, by the way, unless you've gone 6 weeks without loss
on the scale or in inches. Methods such as counting calories, stepping up
exercise, increasing or decreasing carb intake, cutting out certain types of
foods can be tried, preferably not all at one time (so you know what is
working and what isn't). Also be aware that on low-carb diets, many people
(not just women) seem to lose weight intermittently, rather than gradually.
They will go along sometimes for several weeks with nothing showing up on
the scale, and then all of a sudden, in one day or over a couple days, lose
several pounds. Nobody seems to know why, but this seems particularly common
to low-carb dieting. Patience is a good trait for low-carb dieters to work
on.
PISS (post induction stall syndrome) is NO REASON TO QUIT
(1) When you start Atkins induction, your body dumps a lot of water
along with the stored glycogen, and there are other hormonal things going on
that promote water loss. So you lose several pounds of water, sometimes
more. You may even get slightly dehydrated at first. (2) As you continue on
induction, your body begins to adapt to the reduced carb intake. Water
retention is gradually normalized, so that you are no longer dehydrated. A
pound to several pounds of water weight may gradually return. (3) As the
small amount of water weight gradually returns, you're also gradually
burning fat. The water weight increase is offset by the fat loss, showing a
net slowdown or even "stall" on the scale, sometimes even a small increase
on the scale. (4) As you continue low-carbing, the gradual loss of weight in
the form of body fat will finally start showing up, and you'll start seeing
the scale moving down again. This whole process may encompass a period of a
month or more. Seeing the scale stop changing, or even a small increase in
weight is therefore pretty normal for many Atkins dieters, and is not a
reason to drastically change the diet or start doing a radically hypocaloric
thing. It is always a good idea, at any stage, to be careful about your carb
intake, to make sure you're correctly charting your carb intake.
If, after four weeks past induction, you are not seeing the scale start to
move, then you probably want to look at ways to get past the stall. A true
stall is not diagnosed, by the way, unless you've gone 6 weeks without loss
on the scale or in inches. Methods such as counting calories, stepping up
exercise, increasing or decreasing carb intake, cutting out certain types of
foods can be tried, preferably not all at one time (so you know what is
working and what isn't). Also be aware that on low-carb diets, many people
(not just women) seem to lose weight intermittently, rather than gradually.
They will go along sometimes for several weeks with nothing showing up on
the scale, and then all of a sudden, in one day or over a couple days, lose
several pounds. Nobody seems to know why, but this seems particularly common
to low-carb dieting. Patience is a good trait for low-carb dieters to work
on.
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