not just your average stall

[merryjoan]

I started the Atkins diet back in September of 1999. I lost 36 pounds and was really feeling great. I had more to lose but was confident that it would keep coming off.

Not only did more NOT come off, the pounds started creeping back on without any explanation. I wasn't cheating. I started playing around with the diet thinking that maybe something I was eating was causing the problem. (ie. cheese, etc.) Nothing I did worked. I started lifting weights but this only bulked me up and made me look bigger. It didn't help to get the excess fat coming off again. I then started an exercise program but that didn't help either. (I didn't exercise for only a couple of weeks, I exercised for MONTHS!!!) All through this, the Ketostix were still turning purple.

I have not given up because when I add too many carbs I hate how I feel. Eating low carb is the only way to go for me. I hate how sugar makes me feel and how tired and "foggy" carbs in general make me feel. :cool:

With the Ketostix still turning purple, this does not make any sense to me at all and I would be ever so greatful for any help you can give me.

Something else that recently "popped" up was a friend told me that I'm not digesting my food properly so I started taking enzymes two weeks ago.

Thirty-two of the 36 pounds I had lost are back on and I am VERY unhappy about it as I have NOT been cheating and the Ketostix are turning purple!!! :cry:

[razzle]

I appreciate your honesty. It must be frustrating to feel like "I'm being good" but not get the promised reward.

My advice? First, check the tips link (in the orange bar) and read the stall advice (tho it sounds as if you've tried)

Drink plenty of water

Make sure you're getting a minimum of 2000 calories a day--most mentors here would advise more. Lowered calories will stop weight loss, especially for the veteran dieters among us.

Enjoy the health benefits and feeling better. Switch your focus to eating for health (eating only real foods, ending artificial sweetener addictions, and so forth).

Do whatever sort of exercise you can and enjoy, even if that's only Oxycize-type breathing tapes.

Realize that not everyone can be a small size--some of us are just genetically larger. I know that's not what the weight-loss books would tell you, but I think it's true. Read Chuck Forsberg's wonderful
Adiposity 101 (http://www.omen.com/adipos.html) for more info on the truth about obesity and weight loss.

I've not lost much myself--30 pounds in 19 months--but I'm also coming to a place of gratitude for the body I do have. I'm lucky to be alive and to have the pleasures of the body I enjoy...it's a shift in thinking that has left me considerably happier than scale-watching.

HTH!

[colinjn]

Razzle gave some pretty good tips.

Something is telling your body to store and keep fat. You said that you tried eliminating dairy, etc. I assume that you have tried eliminating the obstacles that Dr. Atkins writes about: coffee/tea (ouch), aspertame, nitrates, and drugs.

How about the "fat fast" that he recommends for stubborn cases? I agree with Razzle that the calorie count may be the culprit. I also found that the ketosticks were an inaccurate guide as to actual weight loss, and I think Dr. Atkins addresses this in the question section of the book (or perhaps it is in the question section online) All it means is that you are burning fat as a fuel. That fat could be coming straight from your diet. The fat fast is also restricted in calories, which then puts your own fat into play.
I prefer it over a protein fast. They do work, but make me a bit nervous ( that's another topic).

The comment about body type is an interesting one. Should an endomorph try to achieve a low fat percentage? Or, is it perfectly natural to "carry a few extra pounds"? I personally know of only one endomorph who achieved a low body- fat level. It took a lot of discipline and he was justifiable proud about the achievement; However to my eyes, this new body always looked a bit like a Picasso painting. Not quite the picture perfect result he was hoping to achieve.