Has anyone experienced this not working the second time around?

[lc4good]

I lost a fair bit doing low carb last year then sort of fell off the wagon for a bit over the winter...didn't do too much damage luckily but have been back 100% legal for about 10 weeks now and have my head properly back in the game and feeling really good for having done so. (I should also say I have had tremendous success in years past losing 125 lbs in 12 months - kept it off for a few years and let bad habits creep back in)

The problem is that in spite of 10 weeks perfect eating, I have yet to lose a pound or an inch! What could possibly be the problem? It's not carb creep...I keep very close watch and am always between 20 and 30 total carbs - the same level that allowed me great success in the past.

Any ideas?

[livinright]

My standard list of things that can cause weight loss problems:
1. Make sure you're eating within 200 calories of your BMR (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ ) with your fat % over 60. (75% is even better) If you’re in induction phase, 12-15g of your carb grams should come from vegetables. OWL, aim for 30 -40 carbs with 75% of carbs coming from vegetables. (Aiming for an average trend on this, not daily perfection)
2. If you're eating any bars, shakes, sugar-free candy, gum, or alcoholic drinks, try going without them for a couple of weeks and see if that helps.
3. Foods that are fermented, moldy or yeasty can cause problems for some people at a certain point.(That point can be at induction) Kraut, pickles, vinegar, soy sauce, mushrooms, cheese, dairy in general, nuts...and dried spices that have been around a while.
4. Artificial sweeteners and caffeine affect weight loss for a very small % of people.
5. Thyroid function and medications can also affect weight loss.
6. You could have a food intolerance. Common ones include eggs, soy, milk and cheese.

On my first round of low carb, I had to pull all of the foods from #2, 3 and 4 out and test them individually to see what my body liked. For me everything I listed in #2, plus most dairy, all commercial salad dressing and olive oil (my body is weird. I know of no one else who has issues with olive oil) had to be eliminated for me to get past the 160 pound mark.
It can sometimes be like a little experiment with your body as you try to find what foods work best for your individual body.

And don't forget to revisit your Dr. Atkins book for other reasons for no loss. (The chapters on metabolic resistance, yeast reactions, engine stalled? and food intolerance should be most helpful) I had to do this recently myself. A medication I was taking was the culprit. Had I not picked the book up again, I might have just given up instead of finding my answer.

[WereBear]

Somehow, we are never as young as the first time we low carbed. :)

I got dramatic results going on Atkins. Now, I'm struggling to lose ten or so pounds from a year of being sick, taking lots of antibiotics, and struggling with upset stomachs that were soothed with high carb foods like black beans and sweet potato.

But if we hang in there and convince our body we mean it... it works.

[Nancy LC]

Livinright's list is good, but she forgot gluten. Check your foods closely for that too. I'd definitely look into thyroid.

[Gilly07]

Sometimes too much protein can cause a stall with me, eat as much fat as possible but go overboard on the protein and its Stopsville! :lol:

[livinright]

Livinright's list is good, but she forgot gluten. Check your foods closely for that too. I'd definitely look into thyroid.

I never thought to add gluten to the list. I guess I assume anyone doing early level Atkins isn't eating gluten. But it is added to many foods.

[JEY100]

Christina has a great list of tips to consider, and here are some more by Dr. Mike Edes, leaning more to some pyschological reasons for problems the "second time around":
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/low-carb-diets/why-is-low-carb-harder-the-second-time-around/
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/lipid-hypothesis/why-is-low-carb-is-harder-the-second-time-around-part-ii/