Hello,

I've been doing Atkins 20 since 3-23-18. I'm a female, 35, 5'3", started out at 178lbs. Initially all was good the first 2 weeks, I lost 6 lbs. April 4th I hit 172 and have been stuck there since. Fluctuating between 172 and 171. So to my question is there something I am doing wrong?

I always get 20 net carbs and generally all but 4 are from veggies.
mostly cauliflower, spinach, zucchini, iceberg lettuce, cucumbers
I've totally eliminated sugars, fruit, and do not snack on low carb bars.
I cook all my food.

Normally breakfast is coffee with 2Tbs heavy whipping cream, butter, coconut oil, and 1Tbs of flax meal.

next meal, cauliflower rice 1-2 cups
1 chicken thigh, cooked in butter
lettuce or okra

next meal.
zucchini 1 cup
1/2 cup of beef
cooked in butter
2 cups spinach

snack
1 whole cucumber
and a minimum of 80oz of water not including 1 or 2 La croix sparkling water

that's pretty much a typical day
calories average between 1200-1400. Tough I read I shouldn't be concerned with calories so the past 2 days I've been able to hit 1500 not deducting exercise calories. I eat anywhere from 100-150g of fat, 60-90g of protein and carbs of course 20g with the majority coming from vegetables.
Is my fat too low? Protein too high? It has been very disappointing to read others results and not have the same experience. I know everyone is different and 6lbs is better than nothing lol. This is honestly the first time I have stuck with anything this long and I'm really hoping this will get better. Thank you for any help

Izzy

Hi, Izzy. Sounds like you're doing great. Keep going! Keep doing what you're doing. It all sounds excellent. A big part of the weight loss, or should I say success with weight loss, is patience. Stick to what you're doing and be patient. Your experience is common. It happened to me, too. The first month, I netted a 7 lb. weight loss. Your body is getting used to the new routine, and your cells are holding onto water for dear life to maintain homeostasis (i.e., bodily function status quo).

Again, it's important to just stick to what you're doing, and eventually - not too long from now - your body will start to "whoosh" - let go of the excess water and get used to burning fat for energy.

Dr. Atkins used the term "fits and spurts" in his book(s) when describing the ongoing weight loss process. That was my mantra while losing. It helped me remember it takes time, patience and persistence, and weight loss is a downward trend rather than a straight shoot from up to down.

It's only been a little over a month. Hang in there!

Barb! Thank you I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I was missing. I am definitely going to stick with it. Hopefully you are right about the water, which since you mentioned it, I take in a way more than I usually would a month ago(16oz on a good day) but have been urinating like normal.

Thank you again.
Izzy

I have restarted Atkins after many years and also a diabetic. The first couple weeks I lost 7 lbs. Then come to a stand still then week later it started again then for a stand still again for a total of 14 lbs. I may not be loosing numbers on a scale but I have gone down a pant size and all my shirts that were snug now fit way loose. You may also during these stand still times be loosing inches instead ( which I like better ) Your food looks great. The only think I may try differently is mabe add some food to your breakfast besides coffee. Scramble a couple eggs or something small at least to get your body going in the morning. Keep up the great work.

Welcome Izzyd,
It is a somewhat common pattern of weight losss that the first two weeks of water weight loss is dramatic, but then week 3-4 nothing as your body adjusts. rtj is right, and here is a good explanation of why that happens. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=365499

But if you are still fluxuating around 171 and you go a month without a loss of scale weight or inches, then you should possibly consider some of these tips. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=460202
Dr Westman's first tip on the video is not to drink your fats...2T of heavy cream is allowed on his clinic plan for the day, no coconut oil in coffee, just enough butter on vegetables to satiety, etc. The Atkins 20 using net carbs is a good plan but if it isn’t working for you then maybe consider using 20g total carbs for a while.

Thanks for the advice Jey100.
I cut the coconut oil and butter from my coffee and I’ve gotten to 169 but still continue to bounce back up to 170 every few days or so. This is getting frustrating, but I’m sticking with it. Is there a sweet spot with grams of fat and protein I should be hitting? I might just go 20 total carbs if nothing changes. Thanks for the advice everyone

First....





As to the ratio, Dr Westman (who developed his clinic plan from Dr Atkins) keeps it very simple. Total carbs 20g, moderate protein for your size and activity, fat only to satiety. If you use those Keto Calculators seen everywhere, the % of fat must include what is coming from your body fat stores, and impossible to know that. Too many think you must Eat that 75% as fat, not true. Just don’t be hungry. 60-90 G protein seems OK for someone 5’3”, but you can get more precise with this other info from Phinney & Volek. https://blog.virtahealth.com/how-much-protein-on-keto/

Ignore the scales, enjoy your food, note how your clothes fit, look for NSVs like less inflammation, fewer cravings, etc. Dr Westman said in the May 1 meeting that even though we read about people who lose 100 pounds in 50 days, his thousands of clinic patients over the years tend to average about a pound a week (and don’t write about slow, steady weight loss). You are doing well, hang in there.

Sounds like you are consistently eating very sound LC choices. Janet provides excellent advice and I've highlighted the part I believe will give you a good option if you're truly stalling. Note that for many of us, it took time to become fully adapted to burning fat as energy, which is what this eating approach trains your metabolism to do. There is a lot of flexibility as you go forward in being able to vary healthy food choices, and the one thing you must keep in mind is that if you find yourself still hungry given your present meal choices and amounts consumed, you can add more. Some have a knee-jerk reaction from other dietary experiences that this approach still limits food, and that's not true and is counter productive. Adjust your portions to eat the quantity of healthy food that keeps you satisfied. Keep your meal times separate and avoid random snacking.

Managing the fat portion of your way of eating in the early days is very important. I've seen people seduced by the siren song of bulletproof coffee or fat bombs and wonder why they can't continue to lose inches or weight. That's one of the areas that I had to adjust along with cutting back on the amount of butter I consumed as well. Once I did that, it all fell into place. This is where Dr. Westman's advice is so important. You're off to an excellent start, stay consistent, make small corrections when necessary, and enjoy the journey!!!

Non-scale victory (NSV). Great acronym!

I learned a different way to measure weight loss.

Weigh in as many days as possible, 7 is ideal but not necessary, some weeks I have only 5 but most weeks are 7. weigh ins

AVERAGE the whole week's numbers. THIS is the number I use for measuring weight loss.

It adjusts for the little ups that can be mentally defeating.

The benefit of the daily measures is to look for the constant UPWARD trend, which will help catch a misstep, like adding a food that is having a negative effect.

Also adapting to this new way of eating takes weeks. Just hang in there with op eating and you will reach your goal.

Good luck!!!