I thought Atkins said if you have a LOT of weight to lose, to stay on induction for much longer- like, within 20 pounds of goal weight? But I must say - this is what frustrates me about this board! Such conflicting advice - what Ive been hearing from any other "experts" is that lower is better, and they never go over 20 grams even well into maintenance!

I have not had any major stalls on my current stint of being a low carb eater, but back in the 80's, when I did eventually reach my goal weight, I remember some major plateaus. I remember 200 lbs was tough to break through, and that was 30 lbs from my goal weight at the time. I remember fishing around and tweaking my diet with fasts, more exercise, less carbs, etc. until the scale finally started moving again. The thing is, I can't say if what I did actually helped. Maybe I just didn't wait long enough. I also remember that stalls were rare when I had a lot to lose but became more frequent the closer I got to goal. So I know they are coming and that is one reason why I am paying attention to this type of thread.

I can see the argument of increasing carbs for a while in that it might perk up your metabolism and then when you resume your regular LC diet plan, the scale might start moving again. It might be worth a try if you are to your wits end with the current stall.

I don't know what I'll do when I get into my first major stall. I hope I am strong and outlast it. I hope you figure it out and don't get too discouraged. Know that others have had stalls that lasted much longer and eventually did keep losing. I think you can get through this and the title of your thread will not be your future.

The book I read (NANY) says if you have a lot of weight to lose you MAY stay in induction for a long time. They recommend you start in OWL if you have no more than 30 to lose (I realize that is not your situation), and you "should" switch when you are within 30 lbs of goal, but you MAY switch to OWL after the second week. From the beginning, Atkins has advocated moving up the carb ladder and it is the thing that distinguishes Atkins from earlier LC plans such as Dr Stillman's Quick Weight Loss Diet. It is a brilliant way to transition from low carb levels to your personal threshold without losing control. It's there to support for you. And if you want to explore the rungs, one food at a time, it can take a long time, well over a year. However, you may not be mentally ready to venture on to it. I just wanted to offer what was good advice for me in case you were ready.

The beauty of a board is that you WILL get conflicting information and the reason you do is that different things work for different people. You've been trying cutting your calories/carbs, but it is no longer working. Judy and I are merely suggesting you try something different. I've been on LC boards for going on 4 years and for every piece of advice that helped someone lose, the exact opposite worked for someone else. We are all individuals with individual solutions to our weight problems. You won't know what will work for YOU till you try it.

Liz is absolutely right about all of this. I know that there are people here that stay on very low carb( under 20 a day) in their maintenance. There are also those that don't and eat upwards of 50-100 grams of carbs a day. I'm one of those people and I lost my weight more than 8 yrs ago. So I think that this is working for me and my body.

You need to find what works best for you and staying open to other ways of doing low carb is going to help you find your success. Try to not stay so rigid in your thinking about the 'right' way.

Well I think everything is conflicting, just because everyone differs.

Many say don't count calories. I say yes. But it is based off my own bodies experience.

For me the most frustrating thing, is not having the full understanding of what my body needs.

And I think basically, I am going to start meditating more, specifically tuning into my body and asking what does it need to loose the final amount of weight. And see what my intuition produces.

I been doing that some, getting decent results. But this hunger really is the thing that is killing me.

For the 1st time(and I mean 1st time ever on this WOE) 2 days in a row, I was no longer hungry. Literally I was full and didn't want to eat a anything, I literally skipped lunch one day. Didn't eat a salad at dinner the next day. I was so full. it was a nice feeling.

Must be nice to feel that way, always wonder what people talked about here.

But my experience is different I think I am different from the norm on this WOE with feeling full. Don't know why but my body is doing something different.

Nothing had changed, everyone knows I eat the same dang things over and over again.

When I started doing stalls back in October/November, I came to the point of having to accept if I didn't loose anymore and be okay with it.

Otherwise, I would get constantly frustrated, stressed, depressed, and worried I would go back to my old ways.

So I accepted it, but didn't mean I don't get frustrated sometimes but I am no longer tying all my happiness to getting this final amount off. But I still was tying some seriousness to achieving the result.

Then I moved into knowing, just in the last 2 days, I will get 175 it is just a matter of patience, listening and tuning into what my body is telling me. but of course I had to do my vent last friday's post, to allow me to move into that space. I had to let my feelings out in order to let something new come in.

And when tuning in above all my body, soul is telling me to be happy, have fun and enjoy life knowing that it will come off. Don't waste time on fretting on it anymore. It will come off I know it will, just move, breathe and enjoy my success up to this point and everything that I have gotten back into my life through the weightloss I have had.

keep doing what I am doing and I will get there.

So that is what I am doing. LOL... I was going to give my body a talking to and what happened was my soul gave me a talking to telling me to lighten up and enjoy life.

So that is what I did this long weekend!

I spontaneously got my hubby to start dancing with me during a song, while I was cooking my meals on sunday. Got him to wiggle his booty, laugh and enjoy...He doesn't dance. Went to the lake yesterday, read a book while hubby windsurf (I couldn't windsurf cause of that time of month, heavy flower). It was nice and relaxing. Next time I will windsurf. I journalled some spiritual/life discoveries I have realized within my own life. Laughed and had fun with my dogs.

The more I let go of it accepting first and then knowing it will be. The better my relationship gets with my hubby. The happier I become, enjoying my new freedom from the excess weight, and the new freedom from the stress and seriousness of loosing this weight.

I think the seriousness, and stress I created was absolutely needed when I started. But know it is time to move into a different space and that is one of celebration and enjoyment.

You will get there... Have faith in your ability to loose the weight and that you know what to do to get there

Liz and Judy - thanks for your advice and patience with my frustrations ;-) Can you please talk me around this one? are you saying that moving up the carb ladder could BREAK a stall? Here is the way I always pictured it: - start adding carbs and/or variety AS LONG AS you are still losing. Scale back when you stop losing, since it may mean you've hit your threshold. So I was reasoning that since I'm currently NOT losing, the last thing I want to do is add in carbs. But do you think that switching it up a bit might have a positive impact? Here is what WAS working, and I don't think it is really recommended by anyone as it seems unhealthy - if I fast for a day or two, I can lose a couple of pounds, and then by going back to regular eating maintain that until the next fast-and-drop. (so it doesn't seem to be just water). But in my 6 week no scale experiment I did NOT fast because I thought that was getting to be risky little game - so I ate regularly every day and then didn't lose. I did try to vary the CALORIES up and down, though - some days quite low and others higher. That apparently didn't have much impact.

Yes, I think that switching it up will have an impact on your body. Our bodies adapt over time...this is a fact. Sometimes we have to shake it up a bit to get it to WAKE UP!

well, I might give that a try then. Guess it will have to be berries (although I don't like them much....maybe strawberries with whipped cream?) since nuts are a binge trigger for me.

I've been freezing asst berries and using them to make yummy smoothies.
I use:
1 cup berries,
1/2 cup raw kale,
2 tbsp. chia seed meal and
sometimes a little coconut butter
8-10 ozs water in my Magic Bullet.
Frozen berries give it some thickness.

I also wanted to show you my lunch salad for today with the counts:


Your Food Diary For:  Tuesday, May 27, 2014  

Breakfast Calories .....................................Cals Carbs Fat Protein Sodium
Coffee - Coffee 1/2 0z Half Half, 2 tablespoon 4 ....2 ....6 .......2 .......50 

Lunch
Good Seasons-Salad Dressing Italian/2tbsp-..130... 1 ...14 .....0 .......320 
Avocado - Fresh Plain Avocado, ...................125 .....8 ....11... 0 .........0
1/2 th of an avocado (1 oz) 
Black Olives - Black Olives (Medium), 7 olives 35 .......1 ....4 ....0 ......105 
Cucumber - With peel, raw, 0.5 cup slices .......8...... 2....... 0 ...0 ........1 
Fresh - Grape Tomato - Cgirl, 9 tomatoes .......18 .....6 .......0 ...3 .......12 
Raw - Sugar Snap Pea Pods, 1 -/3 CUP ..........35 ......6 ......0 ....2 .........0 
Chicken -thighs -Baked Skinless Thighs, 3.5oz..207 ....0 .....11 ..26 ......87 
romaine- 1 cup chopped.................................8......2.........0......1....... .3


totals for the salad + coffee = calories-566 carbs-26 fat-40 protein-32 sodium- 528

Its very easy to add in carbs when you broaden your veggie choices. It doesn't have to be berries but berries are nice.

Thanks, 2thin for your patience with *me* and your willingness to try something new. It's sometimes hard to give advice because you don't know how it will be received. And, yes, the advice may seem counter-intuitive, and I can't guarantee it will work for you, but it has worked for others. And even if it doesn't work, going up a bit in carbs, then back down again, may be enough to get you losing again.

I think Judy's suggestion of increasing the carbs in your salad is a good one, particularly for the first week. Try 25 NC, only increasing the carbs and not introducing a new food. You want to be able to determine, if you stall, if you exceeded your carb limit.

If you do OK with the 25 NC (that is you do not gain nor have cravings for sugar-y foods), then NEXT week introduce a new food. Melons (but not watermelon) are also on the list of low carb fruits, so maybe you like them better than strawberries? There's really no point in introducing foods you really don't like or never plan on eating. I never tried beans and legumes at all because I have no need nor interest in trying them. Are all nuts a trigger for you? At some point you should probably try them, but not till you are comfortable. I can eat 1 oz of almonds (measured out on my scale) without triggering cravings, but if I exceed that 1 oz, I'm eating them all afternoon.

And remember, whatever food you reintroduce first - only 5 net carbs (or even total carbs, if you are more comfortable with that smaller amount). You don't want to overwhelm your system with sugar. It's not used to it and it could cause wild blood sugar and cravings.

Good luck. Keep up posted how you are reacting to the change. If it feels wrong, you can always go back to what you've been doing and basically wait out the stall. I once stalled for 4.5 months of eating perfectly. No loss. Nada. The next month I lost 5 lbs, then stalled again for another several months. That's how it is (for me) close to goal. Hopefully you will be luckier!