Discouraged

[stjksmith]

Hello, I am really needing to hear from someone who may have gone though what i am going through.... i have been doing the Atkins diet for three weeks now and haven't lost a pound... I have not cheated, not once... I must say that my clothes do fit me better so i can tell i have lost some inches, but really, to have been so good and not even see a little weight loss. I am thinking all kinds of bad things... Like maybe this new way of life (thats what i call it) isn't right for me... Maybe my body is telling me that it's not the right thing to do..... since i have started i have done some kind of exercise at least 5 times a week weather it be walking or bike riding and i have even started bowling on friday nights. I am just getting very discouraged because the scale isn't showing any progress... I don't weigh every day, i only weigh once a week, i think if i weighed every day i would go out of my mind.. many years ago... 12 to be exact when i did the Richard Simmon's Deal a meal i did so good on that, the pounds were coming off and i could see results.. i do remember hitting a plateau but at least in the beginning i was watching the pounds come off every week...

well i am not gonna drag this on, i was just wondering if anyone else might have had the same experience i am having... My main concern is that this isn't the right thing for me to do.....

Thanks so much for listening.. Terry

[TeriDoodle]

Hi Terry!

My name is Terry, too!

I'm going to say what you already know is coming: Be patient.

The second thing I'm going to say is that you should start a journal in the forums journal section and post your meals so that the experts around here can help you figure out a way to jump start that weight loss!!

The first thing that comes to mind is one of two things, either you're not drinking enough water or not eating enough calories. Those are probably the two most common "mistakes" that folks make in this new way of eating (WOE). Are you familiar with fitday.com (http://www.fitday.com)? It is a great way to keep track of your food intake....and post those daily counts in your journal too. Did you know that you should be eating a minimum of 10-12x your body weight in calories?

That's a good place to start.... Try really hard to keep the faith. Visit and post often, ask all the questions you like, and spend hours doing research on current threads...there's tons of info here!!!

You'll do just fine. :D

[wbahn]

The fact that your clothes are fitting better is proof that you are losing fat - and probably a fair amount. The lack of scale movement is due to a combination of two things - muscle growth and water retention in the now empty fat cells.

On calorie restricted diets, a high percentage of the weight you lose is muscle mass. If you have a history of such dieting your body may have significantly less muscle mass than it needs. Plus, if you are exercising more than you are used to your body will build muscles to support that. Now that you are supplying the protein and fat that it needs to fuel the muscle building process it will restore that lean mass and build new muscle as necessary. Let it. Lean mass is metabolically active which means it will burn calories 24 hours a day - about ten to fifteen calories for every pound of lean muscle.

The water retention in empty fat cells is also quite common and everyone's body is very different on how long it lets that go on - but the longer it goes on the faster the weigh loss when it comes off the plateau.

The key very much is to be patient.

I also recommend starting a journal and listing what you are eating and drinking so that others can look it over and make suggestions or make you aware of some of the effects that some people experience with some foods.

Keep the Faith!

[LittleAnne]

Hi Terry, I fully agree with the previous 2 posts. I do remember a least one other post in the last two months very similar to your own, so you are not alone and as shown by your clothes, you have lost fat to muscle.

Be patient and the scales will move. Have you taken your measurements. If not, do so now. These often change when the scales don't. I've not had much weight loss over the past 6 weeks, one or two pounds, but have lost 11 inches. So that spurs me on.

Keep faith with low carbing. All good things come to those who wait.

[razzle]

You've done so well! A three-week stall is pretty short after such a good weight loss and is totally normal. We have members here who have had four or eight month stalls--yet they felt so good on LC, they kept on, and eventually the weight moved again.

Read the link in the orange bar at the top of the page called low-carb tips and find the plateaus link--there is good advice there, such as trying no dairy. Also, sometimes after months on the program, people let "just a bit" slip back in, and just a bit of sugar every day can stall the hyperinsulemic--for this reason, going back to exactly what you did at the beginning is a good idea.

I know it's hard to be patient with weight loss, but do try. Since LC has to be a way of life permanently (or the weight will all come back on quickly), it doesn't really matter how quickly we get to goal. It'll happen at a time and rate that our bodies deem healthy. In all areas of life, we can be very very good and get no praise or rewards; one of the hardest but most worthwhile lessons is to keep being good anyway and trust that the future will bring us better things.

[hymntonink]

Hello. I'm coming up on my 3rd week of Atkins too. I have done a lot of research, but I am NO expert, or even close. Hehe. But just from what you said, that your clothes are getting looser, and you are exercising 5 times a week. I bet the scales haven't budged because you are gaining muscle and losing fat. So the weight I bet evened out. Are you taking your measurements? So many of us follow the scales only. But measuring tapes don't lie. =)

Hang in there. Keep up the good work.

Kirsten

[imready]

I agree with everything said here. I haven't seen a loss in weight since week 2, but I have measured myself twice (today was the second time) and I am losing inches! Keep the faith. We are here to support you!

[Melberry]

I was the same as you not too long ago. At the time I had started going to the gym and doing aquaerobics. I am pleased to report that the weight has started to move again! I had taken my measurements before I started so I was able to ascertain that I had lost cms - just not seen the scale move like I so desperately wanted. It is now! I understand your frustration but keep on and you will be rewarded.

Melberry
:)

[Heather]

Hi Terry, my weight stalls for longer periods of time at weights that I was once at previously for any length of time. Could you possibly have been at this weight once before for any length of time?

Just keep on sticking to it, like said here before, patience is the key.