Well, I have only lost 4 lb on four weeks of induction (17 Dec to 14 Jan), this being my second try at Atkins.

I have decided to do the 'fat fast'. Boy was I ever hungry yesterday, but preservered and left the brie cheese until the evening meal.

Has anyone else done the 'fat fast', and did it work?

Thanks.

I did it about a year ago. I intended to go for 3 days, but gave up after 2. At first I was hungry, but that stopped on day 2. It got me back on track after a stumble, and got me back into ketosis. If I remember correctly I did it on cream cheese: an 8oz package each day. It was a yucky way to eat for 2 days and I haven't touched cream cheese since. But, hey, it worked.

I used it several times ~8 years ago, but found cheese or cream cheese just made me hungrier, and 3 bigger "meals" worked better than 5 micro-meals (which just made me constantly think & obsess about food). I modified it a bit, but stuck to the principle of 80+% fat by eating ~1250 cals/day, getting 50-60g protein & the rest fat (mayo & butter mainly) - that was the lowest I could go without experiencing hunger pangs.

The fat fast did jump start my loss, but then I'd stall for a month. In the long run I lost the same in 3 months with 5 fat fasts as I lost on 3 mos on induction without having to endure hunger. So I stopped using the fat fast and just went on meat, eggs & fat to get past stalls without the calorie constriction, but with 80+% fat.

lol I use an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese too!!! Just one day at a time. TOO austere.

Are you doing the 5 small meals a day??

Atkins says that if you can do any changes to your induction foods that puts you closer to FF you can get those pounds moving. It does mean counting calories and carbs. ANd less austere than FF.

Have you rechecked your food intakes that might account for the lack of weight loss? I write in my foods in a journal just in case I hit a snag.

Thanks for all the responses. I have checked labels and made sure as much as possible that I am over 75 - 90% fat on this fat fast. I didn't have my reading glasses with me when I bought the pate and it is only 56% fat, so DH will have to eat that.

I barely made it into ketosis on induction, but hopefully with fat fast I can get the purple. Whether that results in weight loss at all, one can only hope.

I am doing 5 small meals a day. God, I was hungry yesterday.

LOVE the macadamia nuts. I might be hooked. Lucky I have a food scale to weigh the little buggers.

I will report back with any results.

I am desparate to lose the weight I have put on, and will do the fat fast for five days, and see how much weight I drop, then rip that Climara patch off and try for another week. It might be the damned HRT patches. I started Climara at the same time as Atkins.

The choice between sweating, sleeping and fat right now is sweating and sleeping, if it will help me lose the weight.

Hey lady--- I don't use a hrt patch, I get custom blended stuff that allows me to loose weight. Bio-identicals!! NOT synthetics. You can get progesterone OTC but not estrogens and not testosterone. I use a blend of all three and LC to keep hot flashes under control.

Right before Christmas I was loosing 2-3 pounds a week WITH HRT.

I found Dr Christiane Northups book The Wisedom of Menopause [very helpful. Overloaded with information. I've had to read it several times to get everything. A chapter is devoted to one subject but other details are in another chapter. THe body is complex.

By reading this book I had the courage to push my doctor into giving me testosterone. Yes I am a woman, but we produce this hormone in our ovaries. I was tripping a lot and dropping things and my joints were puling apart. O get a low dose and don't grow facial hair. LOL

I think y ou found your cause!!!

Climara IS bio identical..it's one of the newest RX'd made by a pharmaceutical that is. There's also Vivelle, Vivelle dot, Estraderm...whole bunch of them now that most insurance will cover (so wonderful..at least to me, cuz I was one of the first to get this compounded and have to pay out hundreds of dollars for the pleasure and safety of)

I, also, had transdermal cream made by a compounder.

DId this include testosterone or on ly the progesterone and estorgens ? Because compounding costs a bundle!!! OB/GYN didn't offer anything else.

Update on fat fast: After three days on fat fast, I have lost just about 1 lb, and there has been no change in measurements. But I am going into a mild ketosis.

My first try at Atkins (2011) did not register anything on ketostix.
My current induction (2012/13) has shown only a mild ketosis on the ketostix (one block up from neutral)
Yesterday I was showing mild ketosis (2 blocks up from neutral)

Will keep you posted.

I have removed the HRT patch in a bid to see whether the Climara is hindering the weight loss.

GREAT TO HEAR FF IS WORKING!!

You actually won't know if it is the FF or the HRT if you do both at the same time , or rather, remove the HRT and do the FF. My suggestion is keep using the HRT to see what the FF can do for you first.

WOw you are moving fat fast!!! GOod weight loss!!!

I liked the ketostix-- fun to try to get them to go pink. NEver got to anything purple. BUt I knew I was losing because I used a tape measure and the scale told me too.

I'm doing a modified FF today.

Thank you Arielle, hey how did you get that weight ticker on your signature?

You have a very good point. I have two weeks more 'patches' in supply, so I could just put another patch on and see if I lose weight.

I am reading an excellent book online about why some people get fat and others don't. Here it is. http://www.cybernaut.com.au/optimal...ary/eat_fat.pdf

http://www.tickerfactory.com

Hopefully I copied the link correctly. THe new format allows you to change the data at tickerfactory and it automatically changes here. Much easier. Once I have made the ticker, I saved the page on my Favs list with my password as I am forgetful. It is fun to play with and keeps me inspired!

I will try to read that book. I have a sneaking suspision that I don'e agree with us have a defect, rather we were not designed to eat refined carbs. Until about 5000 years ago we were hunter gathers-- with millions of years of that kind of eating, I don't think we are supposed to be eating grains like we do. I won't bore you will a long rant. OFf to read!!


UPDATE--- I've been reading that book-- what a fun say to read about low carb living and eating. I do enjoy his labels--makes it a bit funny. I actually think it is the skinny people who have the defect-- I would survive the feast and famine cycle, the skinny who cn't gain would not. ALso, I read in another book the majority of people who gain easily are about 75% of the population. Seems to me that means they historically survived better to reproduce more offspring.

Off to read again!!

Great read-- skimmed most of it. Well done. And it was written , what?, 60 years ago. When will the american medical doctors wake up!!!!

:-) Thanks Arielle, and yes I can see your point of view. I am Mrs Fatten-Easily, as hyphened names are just all the rage.

Me too!!!

My brother thinks 10 pounds is a HUGE amount to gain!! lol ANd at 190 pounds I shouldn't lose anymore--I"m big boned. I don't listen to him! lol

Thanks for that link, Mintaka

If you haven't read the work by Banting it refers to here is a link to a webpage where you can download his "Letter on Corpulence" (written over 150 years ago) in many different formats

http://archive.org/details/101161673.nlm.nih.gov