Can your body get adjusted to low carbs???

[ElisaM]

I've been doing well on atkins, but I want to make sure that i'm gonna keep lossing while being on induction. I've been on induction for 3 months now. Every now and then I do go over 20 carbs, but I'm still losing which is good. I've been in Ketois everyday, but I'm just scared that my body will get immune to the low carb. How many of you stayed on induction for more than 3 months and kept losing? Should I move on to the next phase and if so what are the benefits? I know I should read the rest of the book, but I want to know first what were your experiences.

[MaryToU]

I have been staying at induction levels now for over 6 months. I am still losing, but much slower now. This is normal since I have less to lose. But the answer is no, you body dose not become immune. It mostly will slow down, and many times even stall out. But give it time and everything catches up.

Also many people have success when they stall to up there carb counts. This is a plan that you can fit to your needs. You want to make sure it is something you can live with. Keeping to low, if you are not feeling satified with what you are eating may lead to you dropping out of the plan.

[sjkling]

i have been on induction for almost 6 months as well...i guess i should call it modified because i try to keep my carbs at 20---but i do have some nuts and an occasional atkins candy bar. i am losing more slowly now, but that's ok....

[potatofree]

I don't know if "immune" is accurate, but I stalled for several MONTHS and couldn't go much over 20g without gaining again.

I'm on CAD now, and finally losing again, at MUCH higher levels than on Atkins. I think my body DID get used to a lower level of carbs, sort of.

I'm sure it's a very individual thing, and I'm NOT critical of Atkins, in fact I may switch back eventually. I just needed to shake things up a bit, and am suprised at the level of carbs I can actually LOSE at...

[NickFender]

I think there are a variety of factors that make it seem that your body is adjusting to the low-carb diet, resulting in slower weight loss over time.

First, studies have shown that a low-carb diet usually results in lower calorie consumption (compared to not dieting). Reports also say that a sustained reduction in caloric intake can reduce metabolism significantly (the so-called "starvation mode"). Put those two together and there might be a gradual decrease in metabolism.

As a corollary to the gradual reduction in metabolism resulting from reduced caloric intake, I think there's a tendancy on a low-carb diet to increase calories over time while still staying at the same level of low carbs. My hypothesis is that this results from learing how to "work the system" over time, i.e., figuring out how to eat more without driving carbs up.

So, my theory (unproven, of course) is that these two factors take effect over time, making it highly unlikely that you will sustain the rate of loss that you acheive in the first month or two of the program. Some of this is your body adjusting (reducing metabolism), and some of this is you adjusting (figuring out how to pack in a few extra calories). When the two processes offset each other, you stall.

Did that make any sense?

[bubu]

Hey Nick...

I really think you have a take on this....We are after all a product of near perfection . And after every division of cells we give it new challenges, ever adjusting to almost anything in this world and still surviving.
I also just have this as my own opinion, mostly from reading and listening to my own body, but I feel we need to surprise it as often as it does us.

Shake it up, wake it up. With new foods and different settings, but still let it know its not starving. I think there is a very fine line one constantly has to find.
Setpoints will hang onto us for so very long it seems when we want to lose ..yet they come and stay also for a good amount of time when we gain...only that was much more fun then. (the endulging part)
Foods we like may very well be the foods we should avoid no matter how low carb they are...just need different ones now and then.
Fuel efficiency, I wished my cars had that as much as my body. And I think you are right, as our body is connected to a brain it will trick us in even more efficiency and preservation.

Same in the gym.....same routine day after day....body sais ...boring!!! what do u want me to do with that TODAY?...sweat noway..am used to it. :yay:

So I think rather than have another tacco salad....I should be going out for a lobster dinner.....my body won't know whats cookin' ha :lol:

[Swoozie]

I've been on a "modified" induction for 10 months now, I've stalled a couple of times for a couple of weeks (VERY frustrating) I would bump up my carbs for 2-3 days (maybe 40-50 carbs/day) then jump back to STRICT, by the book induction. This was usually enough to jump start the weight loss again and usually made up for the "stuck" weeks.

[bubu]

yeah, we may be headed that way.....getting too comfy in the current settings.......gotta tell the body who is in charge...somehow lol

You have lost a lot of weight in very little time ??????

[Zora]

I've been on induction for 6 months as well and have been averaging a loss of about 9 lbs a month. I've cheated a few times, once for 2 wks straight (re-induction was a b*tch) but I havent experienced a stall yet. (knock on wood). I need to get strict again, as I've been slacking this past week.

[bubu]

Hey Zora, nice to see u on ..what happened to SD thread ?
Bubu

[Zora]

Hi Bubu, nice to see you too. Not sure, I was the last one to post and no one has been back. :(