Help, I don't want to quit..

[ValidRouge]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

That's great advice Kathy, and I agree about how our bodies will do WILD things in order to get their carbohydrates. Each CELL is addicted! Wow, that's powerful!!!!

[Duinai]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

I am ALMOST 100% positive that your problem is generally related to TOM. Every woman is different, and we all adjust to our body changes differently. If you read in WOMEN section, and also I recall - lots of frustrated ladies complained about TOM here and there.... you will see that you are not alone. Maybe your case is just extremely bad, is all. I remember, some folks mentioned about retaining of up to 10 lbs of water during TOM... some around 5-7. Some are fortunate to get rid of the water in 2-3 days... but some have constant struggle for 2-3 weeks ( imagine get your 10 lbs of water... struggle for 3 weeks .... back to normal self for a week.... and have it all back again for another 3 weeks... rinse and repeat ) Me, personally, retain about 2-4 lbs of water and it takes around 10-14 days alltogether. Summer is worse.. winter is better. Salt and spicy food may add more water.

Good luck to you,

Dui

[carbless_in_seattle]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

unfortunetly If I dont do a plan cheat i'll just be bloated and the scale will not move

Sounds like your "planned cheat" method isn't making the scale move either.

If it is, then keep doing it.

You said you need advice from someone who will stop talking about the cheating and just about the water issue. But...they're directly related. Everything you put in your body is related to water retention and weight.

drinking water keep you from retaining it, I'd be willing to bet that you're not drinking enough water. Also, how do you know the 20 pounds is strictly water weight? do you have a water weight scale?

You know, some peoples bodies take a while to react to the way that they're eating (ie: someone will gain weight 5 days after a cheat), or, someone will eat perfectly and not get a drop for a week. So it could be that you're not attributing the right things to your fluctuations.

most peoples weight goes up right before they lose, also.

This thread is really frusterating because retaining 20 pounds of water is not a side effect of atkins. It's something that is unique to you, and has to do with how your own body works. So just asking people who are on the same diet as you, wont help when the problem isn't related to the diet.

go see your dr. ...maybe you have diabetes or a thyroid problem or who knows!

[*Oh~My~Gosh*]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

<<but can i please get someone who can actually read my post and take it for what it is.. can you please forget the aspect of cheating, can i have someone with an open mind who realizes a planned cheat is not a cheat but a required part of weightloss for some people...>>

WOW! Talk about a slap in the face to those of us who tried to help.

Here we follow DANDR 2002. We all try to do it by the book. So the info given here is done with that experience. And we do not condone cheating. Planned or not! That is sort of like saying "Honey, I didn't cheat on you because we didn't kiss." It is still cheating. If you want we can pretend that it is an okay part of doing Atkins..no wait...we can't. You are going to get tough love here. If you want honesty then this is the place. They tell you it straight here. Whether you like to hear it or not. But it is given to you when you ask and most of us do try to help. Why waste your time and ours with platitudes of telling you it is okay? Where in the Atkins book does it tell you to reload? Did your experienced Atkins person tell you you need to do that every month??? Once you decide to do your 'reload' you are now doing a modified version of Atkins.

So...once a gain...in my helpfull...but closemindness...I urge you to see a doctor. You may also want to get a yeast test and cut out your cheese. Personally I would have tried climbing the rungs first (well second...after the doctor) instead of undoing all my hard work by cheating...um...er...I mean...reloading.

Best of luck to you. I hope you figure this out. REALLY!!

LOL I didnt mean to slap you in your face lol... but I really think it's more like "Honey, I didn't cheat on you... Yeah, I touched another man's lips but he needed CPR"

For some reason the reloads are needed by body... i'm actually here because I am sick of them, I hate doing them they make me feel like a faluire but its either do one or be bloated, stagnate for months and very uncomfortable... So no I don't consider it a cheat... But I understand what you all are saying, I just think......

Personally, I think 20 lbs of water weight is a serious medical issue and you should see a doctor immediately!

Second, it truly doesn't sound like you are ready to do the Atkins plan as it was written. I understand that you are doing your own version of low carb, but please understand that this board follows and gives advice from the 2002 version of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. There are other low carbohydrate diet support groups that are not plan specific. You might get more of the response you are seeking from one of those groups. If you want to pursue the Atkins plan, as it was intended, then you've got to be open to receiving advice based on that plan. Right now it seems as though you've already made up your mind about the type of advice you want to receive.

Good luck on your plan.

I, personally, have given up far, far more foods than you. I've been stalled and have had gains for far, far longer periods. But, I do not allow or plan cheats. All they do is UNDO all the hard work you've already done and throw your body's internal chemistry into a turmoil. Blood glucose and insulin levels are too dangerous to be monkeying around with in my opinion.

If you cannot, or will not, adhere to the Atkins plan, I urge you to research other plans and find you that you CAN adhere to.

Really, Because I think it sounds opposite like I am really ready to do Atkins, that i am committed and do the plan as it's written.... and if not for bloat I wouldn't veer off plan... I'm not doing my own version at all, The Atkins plan clearly gives ways to break though stalls and plateaus, i'm using a method someone with atkin's knowledge prescribed and it works well...it may not be in the 2002 version, but even the atkins diet plan is different today they allow breads and fruits on induction(which is weird to me and i dont follow) but the carb reload could very well be atkins approved today.............

TOM water weight gain and bloat is incredibly common. But, that's common on ANY way of eating. Actually I've found that my symptoms are less severe (sometimes imperceptable) on Atkins, as compared with my old high-carb way of eating.

I suggest you post a menu. Show us foods, amounts, how often you eat. You could be consuming something that causes water retention or a food that you have a sensitivity to.

What phase of the plan are you on? Extended Induction means you just do induction for longer than 2 weeks. Rung 1 means you add more induction veggies. It sounds like you're eating "low-carb" but NOT Atkins. I suggest you move to Rung 1, eat more veggies, and eat a wider VARIETY of veggies. Woman can not live on onions, cabbage, romaine, and cauliflower alone. And ditch the diet soda, the sugar free candies, and any other junk not explicitly listed on the induction foods list. In the words of the wise and successful Brook, "Low carb junk food is still junk food."

If you haven't done so already, read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (2002 Edition) because it explains the science of the diet. Atkins is a diuretic diet, which means that low-carbing actually gets rid of water weight and water retention, if done properly. Yes, you lose some water weight in the beginning, but it's not all water weight. If it were all water weight, I'd be dead, since I've lost about 100 pounds...

And not to beat a dead horse, but a cheat is a cheat is a cheat. Your body doesn't know what to think. You give it fats, then you give it carbs. It probably went on strike from weight loss and won't cross the picket line until you define your terms and stand by your chosen plan. This is a prime example of yo-yo dieting, and like Elsie said, it can really mess with your metabolism, and your mind.

I'm no doctor, but I think what's happening has nothing to do with Atkins. IT sounds like either a medical issue, or something to do with the yo-yo cycle. I would go to a doctor and get checked out.

For breakfast I'll have a salad which consist of a hand full or letucce about and half ounce of cheddar cheese, raw onions 1 sliver chopped, about 4oz of chicken or beef, if its beef pan cooked and crumbled, if it's chicken its baked or grilled..only seasoning on the meat is salt and pepper some types i'll add a lil mustard to the salad..

Lunch will be baked pork chops with onions i dont eat the onions i discard them and broccoli with a little salt and real butter...

Dinner will be the same as lunch or breakfast.. somtimes i eat 4-5 times i day i eat when i'm hungry.. i usually stay withing the 1500-1800 calorie range rarely do i go over 2000...

I ping pong back and forth between induction levels and rung 1 some days i feel like having alil more veggies...when i left rung 1 i gained...

I've been on this plan 6 months first 3 months were completley clean and i still gained so I dont think sugar free candy and diet soda have nothing to do with it... and i only have them on occasion, i like something sweet once in a while cant live on meat, veggies and water all the time... I mean i have a bag of candy which only contains 6 in the whole bag at purchase and they are still 3 left and they have been in my purse for months so i dont eat candy often...

Unfortunetly my body started acting up 3 weeks into low carb, it went on strike for weeks with no carbs... its only when i gave it carbs did it get back to work and my body goes on strike every month until it gets its carbs lol, i've waited it 2 months and my body stayed on strike, i've heard stories of people waiting a stall out for 6 months to a year, and then only losing a pound a month after that...i refuse to do that just for the sake of people saying i''m not cheating, i know i'm not cheating, i'm doing what i have to do in order to jumpstart the weightloss process... I know its not all water weight.. every month i balloon up to 255+ that's pretty much where i peak so i'm thinking i've lost 15 pounds in actual weight and the rest is just water weight that comes back every month for whatever reason...(maybe because its suppose to be there lol)

[eclectikat]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

THanks Joy, I can't take credit for it, although I have no clue where I heard that phrase, it just resinated with me.

I once attended a healing pshycic seminar where the host talked about how to begin to heal yourself ( I know its way out there...) but he talked about the act of visualization and suggested that when attempting visualization that you visualize your own body on a cellular basis... that resonates with me also. We are made of billions/trillions of cells and his exact words were : " have a dialogue with each and every cell in your body and tell them what you expect... you own them, they do not own you...Once you take command they will follow." Again... I know its way out there coming from a fairly grounded person... but IT helped me understand me.... And so far in this journey I have understood myself more in the last 3 months than in the last 39 years!

[carbless_in_seattle]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

Isn't the point of atkins to become healthy? Weightloss is a great perk of atkins, its pretty cool that when people become healthy they look better too!

Carb loading is only healthy if you do it right, and very few people know how to do it right. It's a body building thing, and it totally messes with your body in every sense of the word, and unless you know exactly what it's doing and counteract the negative through exercise and supplementation it's dangerous and unhealthy.

excess carbohydrates that you do not use for energy get stored as fat.

did anyone ask if you were measuring inches and not just weight?

also, get a new scale! Honestly, if you have a scale that is out of whack it can do all sorts of things. for instance, i was at my boyfriends parents house and i stepped on their scale and it said 166, i jumped off, got back on and it said 150, got back off, got back on and it said 160....!!!!!

[Elsie150]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

Okay....I will agree to disagree with you on the cheating thing only because you haven't seen a doctor yet so you don't know if something else can be done about it. And because I honestly don't believe that even if you did need to 'reload' that it would have to be done on a monthly basis.

I honestly want to know what you are eating to make the water weight drop. I am not going to learn to be open minded about it unless I learn more.

I do commend you for reaching out for help and for sticking to Atkins the other days of the month. And also for listening to the answers here. Please remember that you came to a board that tries to strickly follow 2002 so you may have gotten different answers on a different less strict board. But you can you imagine the damage we would be doing to the newbies if we were lax about any of the rules...it would be so unfair to them.

So...sounds like you are going to continue to 'reload' but are you going to take our advice to see a doctor about it? That 15-20 pounds is not supposed to be there.

[carbless_in_seattle]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

"Carbohydrate loading causes more water to be stored in the body (each gram of carbohydrate stored requires an extra 2.7 grams of water)"

[Elsie150]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

Besides what you are eating to make the water flush....I forgot to ask one more question...it should have been one of the early ones...are you taking any new meds or vitamins.

Also...just in case it is a 'female' problem please go and get checked out...that is nothing you want to fool around with.

[brandywine1241]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

Do you write down everything you put in your mouth? Do you weigh your portions? The free online program Fitday is a good way to keep track. Maybe a months worth of data or so might give you a clue as to what is going on.

And by the way, did you have this water retention problem before starting low carb?

[*Oh~My~Gosh*]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

For me ,sometimes the only way to exit of the floating is making a planned cheat, i know that is no the right thing, but it works for me.
I go to the movies bought nachos with cheese and the other day i begin clean induction, and this really works. Please don't give up this WOL works and is so easy to follow, think about all your progress and be positive. Forget the weight and focus in the measurement, in the way your clothes fit. Dont quit, Be positive.

Thanks, glad i'm not the only one lol, MMMmm nachos sound good lol....

OMG I can feel your frustration right through this screen. I am so sorry you are having such a difficult time. Coming from someone who has been losing slowly I understand your feelings. I SOOOOO DON"T THINK YOU SHOULD GIVE UP. I think that you should remember the reasons you started Atkins and the feelings you had each time you realized that you had lost more weight. REMEMBER that feeling of satisfaction. We both started this journey at similar times and at similar weights. I have not had the same issues as you have, but I have had my issues nontheless. My time of the month is a challenge for me. I am lethargic and actually have so many different symptoms to deal with my weightloss goes by the wayside... but all the while i remain commited to the plan I have laid out for myself. I power through it... even if it is in the fetal position curled up under the blankets.... BECAUSE I know that if I let a few days pass I can jump back in with both feet. FOR me... staying in Ketosis is the critical thing. I have not seen my actual weight on the scale budge for about 2 weeks now. BUT I see subtle differences in my face and my skin and my overall physique as I look at myself OFTEN.
All I can say is that I want to challenge you to look into your eyes... REALLY look and say... do I want to suceed? And if your answer is yes... GIVE Atkins a chance to work... hang in... you might be at a fork in the road... and if you go left and quit... you will surely gain. IF you go left you may overcome the bloating by the simple virtue that your body was testing just how long you could endure this low carb way of life.
IMAGINE the battle going on inside your body. It is as if the carb addicted cells have joined forces to demand carbs, so far they are winning with your planned cheats. I understand why you are doing it, and the science behind it, but remember you are not truly breaking your addiction to carbs by these planned cheats. Your body is not only addicted, EACH cell is addicted. And they are fighting to sustain themselves.
I hope you will perservere and walk throught the pain and discomfort of the bloating and water weight... because the thrill of being on the other side with inches and pounds gone will be worth it.
YOU CAN DO THIS.

Thanks, i have decided to stick with it, I can't let the new wardrobe i just bought go to waste lol...

Sounds like your "planned cheat" method isn't making the scale move either.

If it is, then keep doing it.

You said you need advice from someone who will stop talking about the cheating and just about the water issue. But...they're directly related. Everything you put in your body is related to water retention and weight.

drinking water keep you from retaining it, I'd be willing to bet that you're not drinking enough water. Also, how do you know the 20 pounds is strictly water weight? do you have a water weight scale?

You know, some peoples bodies take a while to react to the way that they're eating (ie: someone will gain weight 5 days after a cheat), or, someone will eat perfectly and not get a drop for a week. So it could be that you're not attributing the right things to your fluctuations.

most peoples weight goes up right before they lose, also.

This thread is really frusterating because retaining 20 pounds of water is not a side effect of atkins. It's something that is unique to you, and has to do with how your own body works. So just asking people who are on the same diet as you, wont help when the problem isn't related to the diet.

go see your dr. ...maybe you have diabetes or a thyroid problem or who knows!

Actually my planned cheat method is working... that's how i got down to 231 the last two months when i lost weight were because of carb reloads like i said i sat there idlely and tried to wait the bloat out for 2 months and it simply did not work.. I am one of those people who eat perfect and will not drop for forget weeks months lol...

Isn't the point of atkins to become healthy? Weightloss is a great perk of atkins, its pretty cool that when people become healthy they look better too!

Carb loading is only healthy if you do it right, and very few people know how to do it right. It's a body building thing, and it totally messes with your body in every sense of the word, and unless you know exactly what it's doing and counteract the negative through exercise and supplementation it's dangerous and unhealthy.

excess carbohydrates that you do not use for energy get stored as fat.

did anyone ask if you were measuring inches and not just weight?

also, get a new scale! Honestly, if you have a scale that is out of whack it can do all sorts of things. for instance, i was at my boyfriends parents house and i stepped on their scale and it said 166, i jumped off, got back on and it said 150, got back off, got back on and it said 160....!!!!!

That would be nice if it was true... most people use atkins to simply gorge on food and eat sticks of butter and loads of bacon and whatever else "unhealthy" food they choose... i'm doing atkins the way i can stand it and where its sustainable for the long term... for me that means what some folks would call healthy, meats and veggies for others it's bacon and mayo and tons of food, i don't condemn anyones method do what makes you happy and successful...

I have two scales at home they are always within 2 pounds of each other, I also weigh myself at gnc and it is within 4 pounds of the scales at home, but i am fully dressed in gnc and just in a tank and shorts at home lol so the gain is expected..so my scales are fine and every one of them is within pounds of each other.....

Do you write down everything you put in your mouth? Do you weigh your portions? The free online program Fitday is a good way to keep track. Maybe a months worth of data or so might give you a clue as to what is going on.

And by the way, did you have this water retention problem before starting low carb?

Yes i have several blogs lol and i use several of those online sites.. i think i want to start a pen and pad food log though...

Besides what you are eating to make the water flush....I forgot to ask one more question...it should have been one of the early ones...are you taking any new meds or vitamins.

Also...just in case it is a 'female' problem please go and get checked out...that is nothing you want to fool around with.

When I reload I eat whatever... plenty of flour, grains, fruit juice whatever... rarely do i drink soda's or eat sweets.. and i do not count calories although i do keep a blog even when i reload so i know how many carbs, cals etc.. i had on those days...

Like yesterday I ate junk, I ate chinese, orange chicken and rice and had some frozen yoguart just because I hadn't had any in so long...

This morning i had pancakes just because I hadn't had any in like a year...

I'll probably have a tuna sandwhich on wheat for lunch a few potato chips...

i usually drink a lot of fruit juice and eat a lot of bread i really want to be carby...

I just read above, where someone said carbs add water... well i think that might be why it works, it adds a little water when i reload and then when i go back on atkins it takes that water it added plus the water that i'm storing.. so literally i'm losing 5+ pounds of water a day for the first 3 days.. usually i lose 7-10 pounds the first day and about 5 the next two days.. the water reduction is almost instant, it only takes 1 day back on Low carb to see results.... and all the weight leaves eventually or there is a loss there is no gain from the carbs...

[*Oh~My~Gosh*]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

I am ALMOST 100% positive that your problem is generally related to TOM. Every woman is different, and we all adjust to our body changes differently. If you read in WOMEN section, and also I recall - lots of frustrated ladies complained about TOM here and there.... you will see that you are not alone. Maybe your case is just extremely bad, is all. I remember, some folks mentioned about retaining of up to 10 lbs of water during TOM... some around 5-7. Some are fortunate to get rid of the water in 2-3 days... but some have constant struggle for 2-3 weeks ( imagine get your 10 lbs of water... struggle for 3 weeks .... back to normal self for a week.... and have it all back again for another 3 weeks... rinse and repeat ) Me, personally, retain about 2-4 lbs of water and it takes around 10-14 days alltogether. Summer is worse.. winter is better. Salt and spicy food may add more water.

Good luck to you,

Dui

Omg!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!! that is exactly how i feel, takes 3 weeks to lose weight 1 week normal and then back to the drawing board...gee whiz!!!!!!! WOW!!!! i'll have to read the womens section...

I think this has to do with tom too from reading my past blog entry's i either didn't get tom or tom came right after a reload.. so maybe my body needs carbs to process my tom or something...

With me though it's more like bloat for two weeks tom for a week (it was 8 days last month wtf!) wait for water to go down for 2 weeks, nothing happens i reload.. lose water within days and the next week up 20 pounds again rinse and repeat *SIGH*

My body is such a weirdo around tom, Tom is around the corner and i started to bloat a few days ago, i waited too long to reload last month and literally got 2 days at a normal weight then began to bloat... I was 8 pounds bloated day before yesterday, ate carbs yesterday and today, just jumped on scale and am down 3 pounds smh...which is odd because most people me included know when you eat carbs the next day you can be up 5+ pounds heavier... but for some reason i lost..

----------------------------------------------------------

Someone above asked how do i know the gain is all water, it's because my belly sticks out like a beach ball over night, people ask me why my belly is so big lol.. and like i said above... usually the first day after a reload I lose up to 10 pounds of weight(peeing like a race horse lol) and 5 pounds the following days... usually within 3-4 days all the water weight gained is gone...

[carbless_in_seattle]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

That would be nice if it was true... most people use atkins to simply gorge on food and eat sticks of butter and loads of bacon and whatever else "unhealthy" food they choose.

This is going to be insulting to the majority of people on this site. Most of the people on this site do atkins the way it was intended (healthy fats, veggies, lean protein). Those who don't are not doing atkins, and they're the ones who have given the diet a bad name to everyone out there including you.

[Elsie150]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

<<most people use atkins to simply gorge on food and eat sticks of butter and loads of bacon and whatever else "unhealthy" food they choose>>

OUCH! Not here. In fact a lot of threads have to do with the appetite supression of Atkins and how we need to make sure we are eating enough. I struggle with that daily. 2 cups of acceptable veggies a day plus one other one. EVERY DAY..no matter where on the plan you are.

Thank you for posting your 'reload' menu. Totally weird why that would work. Why did you choose to do that kind of food rather than say...higher up the Atkins ladder and use whole grains, fruits and beans...those kinds of things? Why not pick healthier alternatives?

The above question is also for you germansano...why that kind of food instead of healthier higher rung ones?

[valleriek]

Re: Help, I don't want to quit..

<<most people use atkins to simply gorge on food and eat sticks of butter and loads of bacon and whatever else "unhealthy" food they choose>> Eww, who DOES that?

Just stick to the plan, there is only one plan, take it or leave it!