I lost 50 pounds with Atkins before I was pregnant. Now, its not working at all. Why?

[nlewallen]

Hello all, I'm new to this forum and am in desperate need of answers. I'm 25 years old and around 4 years ago I was 195 pounds. I decided I didn't want to hit 200 so I started the Atkins diet and immediately I started losing weight. I'm talking 2 pounds a day when I first started the diet. In no time at all I was down to 150 and I kept it off until I became pregnant this past March. I delivered on January 22nd of this year and after I had him I weighed 198 pounds. I was unable to breastfeed so I started the Atkins diet again in February. Much to my surprise it just isn't working this time. The first time around I used a daily weigh in as my motivation because I was losing so fast. Now, I step on the scale every morning only to be greeted with the same exact number as the day before. What is going on here? I'm eating the same exact menu that I was before I was pregnant. Why isn't it falling off like it did before? I'm so frustrated and depressed because I don't feel like I will ever lose this weight. Anyone have any ideas as to why this is happening and what I can do to fix it? Any input or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[LC-Laur]

Congratulations on your new baby!! :rheart:

It hasn't been that long since you gave birth and I've read that it can take 6 months to a year for your hormones and body to really get back to normal (longer if you're breastfeeding). My guess is that your hormones are still out of whack and that can make a huge difference when it comes to losing weight. Just be patient with your body and stay on plan. I'm sure it is incredibly frustrating, but just look at your precious little baby and I'm sure you'll feel better.

Now... A few other things to check out as well. What version of Atkins did you do before? The 70's version, 2002 or the "new" version? Are you doing the same version this time? I know a lot of people that do the new version don't have much luck on it because it is so much more lax than the others. I LOVE the 2002 version, and that's what I stick to when I'm doing Induction. Are you writing down everything that you eat? You may be eating more carbs than you realize, especially if you use things like Splenda daily. Are you drinking alcohol? Are you getting enough water?? Do you exercise? Did you keep a journal the last time you did Induction? If so, I'd suggest copying your menu's food for food and see if you don't see the same results.

[hkl]

There's a newer version other than the 2002 one??? I'm doing Atkins according to the DANDR 2002... I also lost 53 lbs prior to getting pregnant in 2004 and having my son in 2005. And the past 4 yrs I've diet hopped and now finally opted to just do Atkins again.

[NB-Wis]

I can't exactly speak from experience because I didn't start working on my "baby weight" until my son turned 2 years old. However, I do want to parrot the other post about giving your body time to adjust your hormones back. Not to mention you are under a lot of stress with the new baby.

Just keep at it -- I'm sure it will start to come off.

Congrats on the new little bundle of joy.

[Fialka]

I know this is an old post, but I also want to point out that the first year with a first child can be stressful with little sleep. It is very hard to lose weight with no sleep.

I didn't start to lose until I was regularly getting some sleep about 1.5 years after the birth.
F