The scale will not budge!

[Marilyn N]

I've been on Protein Power since August 2, and had a great start!

But now, the scale refuses to budge. I though I'd get a little further before my first big plateau.

Help! :confused:

[lesleyc]

Hi Marilyn,

hang in there, this is totally normal. During the first two to three weeks most of us lose quite rapidly and then it tails off for a week or two as our body adjusts to the new way of eating.

Ride out this slow down and you will be losing again in no time.

Have you measured yourself? It is highly likely that you will be losing inches even if the scale isn't moving

Lesley

[TeriDoodle]

Ditto what Lesley said! I wish I had a nickel for every "newbie" who went through this same mini-stall! When I went through it I almost ditched the whole plan! I was SO discouraged!! But I distinctly remember another wise member (wbahn) kept me calm and assured. I hung in there and today I'm 24 lbs. lighter! Yea! :hyper:

Try not to get too frustrated.... weight loss doesn't occur in a straight line downwards...so if you can find a way to ride out the mini-stalls w/o getting stressed out about it, your life will be SO much better! Just enjoy your new WOL, experiment in the kitchen with some new recipes, enjoy your new friends here and KNOW that in a year you'll be sportin' a whole new wardrobe! :D

[Marilyn N]

Thanks for the encouragement!

I did try something yummy for lunch (stir-fried zucchini and mushrooms with a boneless chicken breast and a teaspoon of peanut butter and a touch of cream to make a sauce).

It's tough when you know you've been sooooo "good" (like the last day of the summer when the ice cream truck came down our street and I said No, thanks) but the scale doesn't reflect it.

Well, at least the husband unit says I'm shrinking (or is he just being helpful?)

[TeriDoodle]

Well, at least the husband unit says I'm shrinking (or is he just being helpful?) Take it however you can get it, girlfriend! Just smile and say, "Thanks, honey!! That means the world to me." After a while you'll start getting used to receiving compliments and just SMILE :D instead of rolling your eyes and thinking "yeah, right."

Just keep doin' what you're doin'!!!

[Marilyn N]

Thanks, Teridoodle.

I just noticed on your signature the quotation from "The Secret to Low Carb Success". Is this a must read?. I'm the type that uses motivational tools like this. :idea:

[TeriDoodle]

Well, I think it's a wonderful reference book to have on the shelf of any serious low-carber. It's actually a compilation of advice and experience obtained from forums just like this one, but in a nice neat little package: a book. My book is dog-eared and highlighted all over the place. Oh, it also nicely summarizes several of the plans.

Yes, I definitely recommend it. I buy all my books on www.half.com for cheap :D

[Marilyn N]

Well, it's Friday (weigh-in day) and you were right. The scale budged! 4 pounds in the right direction! :thup:
Thanks for the encouragement, it really helps me to resist cheating.

[jude]

Hi Marilyn and Teri,

I'm so glad you posted, Marilyn, because I'm at the same mini plateau. Started LC July 26 and by August 28 I'd lost 18 lbs, then nothing for the past 3 weeks.

I've read a lot here about keeping calories up, (during the first month, mine were never over 1400, and usually much lower) so I've been using a lot of whipping cream lately to increase them. But now I can't help wondering if the cream could be part of my problem. In trying to fix the problem, am I making it worse?
Should I go back to the way I was eating the first month and ignore the calories? Or did the low cal count cause this current plateau? Or, like you, is this just a minor waiting game?

Obviously, Marilyn, whatever you did, it worked.
Congratulations !

I don't mind riding it out, as you suggest, Teri. I just wish I could be sure I'm on the right horse--and riding the in the right direction!

judy

PS--Great minds think alike....I decided last night that Laura Richards book is the one for me.

[jaykay]

Well, I had a long plateau, looked at my diet and decided I'd added quite a lot of dairy, especially heavy cream. I cut it out and started losing again.
There's several theories. One of the most interesting is that since cows are lactating females and their hormones go into the milk and their hormones aren't much different from our female hormones, dairy products affect us a bit like the BC pill (though not enough to keep us from getting pregnant)!.
Apparently its almost always women that struggle with dairy so maybe there's something in it!

The other is that eating dairy tends to add carbs and certainly calories.
I wondered if I'd started losing again just cos I cut these.

I've started creeping the dairy back in again and I'm stuck again so guess what's going to go starting from tomorrow!

Worth a try, I've decided I can obviously maintain on dairy, so I only have to cut it out until I get to goal weight, so its not forever.

Good luck, Jay :wave:

[Marilyn N]

I've found that when I have too much dairy (cream, cheese, etc.) that the weight loss just stops too. When I increase my protein by a lot, the scale moves in the right direction. If my appetite is just so-so, and the calories aren't there, the scale also stalls.

It's a fine balance, isn't it?

[jude]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Marilyn N
[
It's a fine balance, isn't it?

Seems more like a vicious circle.....first I learn here that my calories are far too low, so I have to find a way to increase them w/o increasing the carbs. Trouble is, I'm not even a little hungry, so the solution seems to be to cook differently--more butter, heavy cream, etc.

Now you're both saying that dairy caused problems for you, and I must admit I've suspected the same in my case. On the other hand, I've read several posts on this forum that say "fat" is never the problem.

Then the other question is, if dairy is the culprit, I'm back to my original problem--how do I get those calories up?

It's really helpful hearing from people who have similar problems. Thanks !

judy

[jaykay]

Sorry Judy, should have been more helpful, just suggested what not to eat without suggesting alternatives. :rolleyes:

I get my calories up with eggs, olive oil salad dressings, mayonnaise, steak, in fact any sort of protein. Fat is fine, just for me (and maybe you) the other stuff in dairy isn't great for losing.

Yes, I didn't always feel hungry enough to eat, sort of just scheduled eating anyway. 5 or 6 small meals a day helps me.
I make chocolate almond muffins too, which I always seem to find a space to eat with a coffee.

Exercising makes me hungry, in fact the more muscle I build the hungrier I seem to get, so that's less of a problem now. Hope you find a solution for you.

All the best, Jay :wave:

[Angeline]

Hmmmm Chocolate Almond Muffins, now that sounds good...

What's in it ? and could we have the recipe ?

Oh and Jude have you tried nuts ? Those are usually pretty calorific and full of good fats.

Some people say it stalls them but then every food seems to stall someone somewhere, so I guess you can't know till you try it.

ps. Forgive me if nuts aren't allowed, I'm not familiar with your program

[Angeline]

Hmmmm Chocolate Almond Muffins, now that sounds good...

What's in it ? and could we have the recipe ?

[jude]

Thanks Jay.....I think you're right about eating more often.
I agree with Angeline....those muffins sound delicious. I hope you're going to post the recipe. I think that's just the kind of thing I need--more snacks.

Of course, Teri may also be right that this is just the usual
mini-stall that almost everyone encounters. Could be my body is just going thru an adjustment stage. On the other hand, I don't want to sabotage myself unnecessarily.

judy

[jude]

Thanks Angeline.....I'm doing Atkins, trying to stay with 20 carbs.
I did buy some macadamia nuts yesterday, which I'll eat
v-e-r-y slowly because I've heard too that they can be a problem.

I'm also going to stay off the scales for a while. I did fine when I was weighing myself every 10 days, but lately I've been jumping on the darn scales every day--not good.

Thanks again....I can't remember ever being on a "diet" before where the support is there 24 hours a day. I think that, as much as LC, is the reason for our success.

judy

[jaykay]

Hi, I'm just going to post it in the kitchen section.
They are the nearest thing to cakes I eat and keep my 'coffee with cakes' craving at bay. They are also easier to eat in work meetings instead of biscuits, than chicken drumsticks! :rolleyes:

[Marilyn N]

It's stupid question time....

Where is the kitchen section? I REALLY need that recipe for chocolate almond muffins.

[lesleyc]

Go to the home page and there is a Kitchen subforum
broken down into sections for sweet treats, breakfast ideas etc

Good luck
Lesley