Yes, I will be doing a search of the forum for stall information.

My guess for my stall is:

not drinking enough water. Only get in a couple pitchers (pitcher of beer size) of water daily.

drink DECAFFINATED coffee througout day with 1/2 and 1/2.

eat TOO much.

However, the reason for my post is that I put up a journal for June for comment.

I actually excercise six of seven days a week. At least three if not four I work with weights for twenty minutes, followed by 40-45 mintues on the treadmill at 3 mph and 3 degrees incline, followed by 40-45 minutes on an elliptical stair stepper at level 13 incline and resistance level 8.

The excercise is probably the only thing keeping me from ballooning up.

I have been on the Atkins or my version of it, for a year and three months and have lost only 30 pounds. During this time I gained ten at last Christmas and spent the next five months losing it.

Currently at 177 this is only one pound less than my pre Christmas weigth.

Could use a good slap upside the head.


Terminallyl Fat

There ya go!

Welcome to the forum!

What does your version of Atkins consist of?

Terminal, I just looked through your journal - I noticed two things.

1) no veggies other than an occasional Ceasar Salad - you would benefit from more of the fiberous green stuff. Often when we stall out it is because our bodies have become so used to operating on very low carbs. When very low doesnt work higher levels often do - this is especially true if we are active (as you are).

2) There is no indication of the spacing and / or size of meals. Eating more frequent smaller meals makes it easier to manage protein requirements and to keep blood sugar/insulin levels regulated.

Increasing water, if you are not drinking enough, will make a difference - as you indicated. Doing this, spacing meals out every 3 hours and eating more frequently (if you are not doing this already) and increasing vegetable consumption may be all you need.

HTH
Nat

This is just a *thought*.........

Perhaps (just perhaps) you are doing too much CARDIO. An hour and a half a day 6 days a week is possibly putting too much strain on your body, and it is refusing to lose weight. (I would recommend asking trainerdan or fern in the exercise forum about this, as I cannot claim to be an expert). I would limit your cardio to 45 minutes 4 days a week, keep the resistance training as long as you alternate muscle groups and see how that goes. I know you feel that your exercise is what is "keeping you from ballooning out" but are you sure that is not all in your head, a throwback from old low-calorie, high-cardio days?

The meals are basically lunch and dinner lately, with cheese as a post dinner snack. Earlier dates with eggs were for breakfast although possibly later just because I felt the need to eat something. Same goes for the herring. Just something for the taste buds without eating much.

The food in my journal is in the order (for the most part) is in the order eaten.

The Caesar salad is pretty much a daily staple. Clearly on some days I eat it twice.

I have been drinking more lately but seemingly without any immediate impact. Should it be?

Perhaps eating some cabbage is good. I love corned beef and cabbage, although my freezer is full of steak and salmon. That unemployment check only goes so far.

Cabbage has higher carbs and the corned beef in processed so there are also some more carbs.

We'll see on the excercise. Didn't work out today and will not tomorrow or Tuesday in preparation for a job interview. Although today I had a pistol match and dropped 2.5 pounds. (Likely just water weight but a previous drop like it was a precursor to an actual drop).

My version of Atkins is my understanding of it withoug reading his book in more than a cursory review. Started off working off a pamphet accompanying the detection strips.


Thanks for your input.

I agree whole-heartedly with both Gracie and Nat.... increase your carbs (preferably vegetables or cottage cheese & berries?) and cut back on the cardio. I know it goes against a lot of what we think we "know" about weight loss, but I believe it would be worth a 2-week experiment. With those workouts I seriously doubt you're eating too much.... just not enough of a variety of good foods. I trust you're taking supplements? How's your energy level?

Well today I had some rainbow trout breaded with Progresso Italian bread crumbs (20g carbs) fried in butter. This was great but I am concerned with increased carbs. I'll see what happens.

Large salad with Greek dressing and ham.

Yes, I am taking supplements (alot of them).

Energy is low, but it always is. Especially so the last couple days. It has been plus 90 degrees and very humid. That might be a typical day in Houston but it is killer here in Michigan.

If I ever find a job I am sure the energy level will go up. It really is more of an emotional problem.

Although I haven't lost any weight this month, I am down another belt loop. That is two since the beginning of the month (as per my journal).

Cut back on excercise? Do I want to legitimize slacking?

Terminal, increasing carbs is usually a good idea when one is a) stalled b)not eating enough of them to begin with and c) exercising quite intensely. However, not all carbs are created equal. Increasing with 10g of vegetables is not the same as eating 10g of grains.

Using high fiber vegetables and fruits to increase your carbs will not significantly effect insulin levels as most of these are low GI (glycemic index). The fiber will also slow down how quickly they are apsrobed by your body further reducing their impact on insulin levels.

Cutting down on exercise doesn't mean slacking off It doesnt have to be black or white. Go for a long walk. Lift some weights. Find something of a lower intensity and do that for a while. Give your body a rest.

Nat

I wouldn't be all too worried about your so-called stall. With that much cardio and weight-lifting you probably aren't stalled at all! You seem to be exchanging a ton of body fat for muscle to me.

My boyfriend lost 2 pounds during the last six month on a high protein/low carb diet. He was discouraged while standing on the scale. But good golly! I told him, take a look in the mirror! His stomach is flatter. His chest and arms are more massive. He looks great!

Weight shouldn't be the goal. Muscle weighs more than fat. My sister went from a size 12 to a size 4 in 4 months while only losing 6 lbs. She worked out with a trainer during that time and was on a lowcarb diet.

Weight isn't everything.

Exchange of muscle for fat.

If that were only the case. I admit to being more "toned" but I am no beefcake.

Yesterday I walked instead of doing the treadmill and stairstep machine. Since it was extremely hot I took my shirt off only to have to kid in a car lean out his windon to yell "put a shirt over that"!

What a downer. And I have 13 pounds to my goal.

While muscle does not weigh more than fat (one pound of each is still one pound) it does take up considerably less volume because it is so dense.

And I still think you need to up those veggies

Nat

Nat is right. But what I meant was that you may appear to have the same volume, but if it is all muscle it weighs more than if it is all fat.

For instance, there is a big difference between a body builder who is 230 lbs and a couch potato who is 230 lbs. The 230 lb body builder would have less volume (be thinner) than the person carrying 230 lbs at 40% bodyfat.

Exercise and weight-lifting can make the difference even when you weigh the same. If you are losing body fat and gaining muscle, you may very well weigh exactly the same, but your body volume will be different. You will be thinner at exactly the same weight.

Dear Terminal, Children learn to be cruel very early on. Just go to any elementary school. You've obviously done very well since you are only 13 pounds to your goal. Don't listen to some kid. Rather listen to those who have seen the change in you. I bet you do get some compliments! Don't you? Focus on that.

It's hard enough to get motivated to exercise without someone telling you to do "less" exercise. If you are doing walking, then everyday is definitely NOT overdoing it. Keep motivated and keep up the good work. Remember the last few pounds are supposed to come off very slowly anyway so that you can ease into lifetime maintenance.

More vegetables, eh?

No cabbage will be safe.

Nice photo Natrushka. That muscle has me thinking corned beef.

Terminal, I'm glad you liked the photo. Most people go "ewwwww" - I guess they focus in on the fat instead of the muscle.

Yes, more veggies, less long duration, intense exercise

Nat