Boy, do I need some encouragement and insight. I am sooooo discouraged! I started off on Atkins on Jan. 1st, and lost about 10 lbs in the first week, and thought I was on my way. Since then, I have only squeaked off about 3-4 more pounds. Mega-discouraging for the amount of time.
I have read nearly everyones tips and tricks, as well as searching the internet for any clues as to what else to try. I have:
* Done the under 20 carbs, no cheating. Honest.
*added chromium pic., linoleic acid, and EPA (3,6,9) to my diet, as well as a well rounded multi.
* Cut back to 10 carbs
*Eliminated caffeine, artificial sweetners, watched caloric intake, increase physical activity, dropped cheese, fermented foods, dropped "processed" low carb foods (like Keto foods), drank lots of water, taking Oil of Oregano for possible yeast condition.
*Tried to "jumpstart" my weight loss by switching back to CAD for 2 days (I gained back 2 lbs).
*Upon suggestions, eaten more fat, less fat, more carbs, less carbs.

Still, the scale will not budge , nor do I feel like I am losing any weight (clothes aren't feeling more baggy, etc.)

My body is completely ignoring me.

On the good side, my high blood pressure fell like a ROCK (completely normal now), and I have energy that I haven't had since I was 15 (and I'll be 39 tomorrow).

Now, if I could just get my body to LOOK like the 15 yr old it feels like. Having my health get better is wonderful, but I am human. I am in this to lose some weight and LOOK better too.

Boy, do I ever need some suggetsions, and encouragement. Never have I tried so hard, without cheating. Never have I been so determined - if it gets down to the point where all I can eat is one boiled tennis shoe a day and water, I'll do it.

I just don't know what else to try.

Help?

Sad, sad Susan

Susan, I have a couple of questions for you (I did a search for your posts and I couldnt find reference to these)

Have you had a history of yo-yo dieting?

Are you taking any medications that might slow your loss?

Did you gain the all this fat in 2 months time?

It sounds like - to me - that looking for the continued 10 lbs a week induction level loss you got impatient and started trying new things. Atkins was working for you - the first few weeks are an indication of that. Playing around with carbs, fat, switching to CAD, this would only serve to confuse things right now. What you need to do is go back to the program the way it's written and have some faith - give it time. You also need to keep in mind that after Induction losses slow down - 2 lbs a week is the upper limit of FAT a woman can lose; 3 lbs a week is the cut off for men. Anything more is water or lean muscle - and that is something you do not want.

Nixing the fake foods, upping your water, staying away from the salty processed foods are all good ideas - but it may still take a while to get you going. If you've dieted in the past this will definitely be the case.

I suggest you take a look through Marlaine's Journal - she started off very slow and got quite discouraged at first, but she stuck with it and today she's melting before our eyes.

Hang in there
Nat

The next thing to try is RELAXING!

You have entirely changed the way you fuel your body and it is usual for your body to go "Huh?!".

If your employer came to you and said "Now we're going to do everything differently. This is changing, that is changing, and we need this by tomorrow..." What would you do? You would go "Huh?!" After thinking about it, you would see that the changes were really great changes that would work well for for you, but you would need a period of time to adjust and incorporate them.

It works the same for your body.

You have lost 14 pounds in about 7 weeks or so. That's incredible! You have tweaked your plan and the tweaks look good. Allow yourself the luxury of letting your body catch up with the changes. Above all, low-carbing is not quick fix weight loss. Doing it slowly will ensure that it becomes your way-of-life. It sounds far-fetched right now because you are frustrated but it is the best way to let the future unfold. Slowly and gently.

Karen

Dear Nat,

The majority of my weight accumulation has been slowly, over the last 10 years or so.

No, I haven't yo-yo dieted since I was in my 20's. (I figured out it just didn't work in the long run).

No, I am on absolutley no medications.

I successfully did the Atkins diet about 2.5 years ago, and loss about 20 lbs in 2 months, but got pregnant after that (had an infertility problem, and in retrospect, I think I have PCOS, as I have ALL markers, except visible confirmation of cysts on ovaries by ultrasound -haven't tried that). Anyhow, I had gestational diabetes with my daughter (controlled by diet), and gained back the weight I had lost. So, I wanted to lose the weight again, and adopt this as a WOL, as I knew I felt infinitely better on it than off it.

I'm familiar with the program, and am not asking for quick weight loss. I went 4 weeks with NO weight loss whatsoever.

Then I lost a lb. and a half one week, and again the next week, and thought I was finally back on track.

Now, I have actually gained 1.5 lbs back.

If I could just lose a lb a week, I would be satified, knowing that within a year, I'd reach my goal.

Susan

Karen,

You may be right. In fact, I was already suspecting that stress may be undermining my efforts somewhat.

My home life isn't very balanced right now, and I don't get nearly enough sleep due to external situations beyond my control at the moment.

I had read somewhere that sleep was crucial to successful weight loss because of something biological that occurs during sleep (I can't remember exactly what).

Maybe this is contributing to the problem?

Susan

Yep! It could be indeeed!

One of the most interesting things about low-carbing is using it as a bigger life tool than just a method of weight loss. Developing an understanding of what you need, when you need it and how you need it goes a long way to making better health and all the good things that go along with it a way of life.

There are things that will always be beyond your control. The trick is in being in control of your reactions. Even though you can't change the external, you can always change the internal.

Karen

Thanks for the support! It really helped me rephrase the situation in my own head.

And Happy Birthday to ME! This morning, 1lb of that 1.5 lbs I put on finally came back off.

Now if I can just avoid the birthday cake!

Hi,

I think the sleep deprivation theory is interesting and if I remember correctly, I read somewhere that it's related to cortisol (The stress hormone) that's produced when we don't sleep enough, and this cortisol and other hormones help accumulate abdominal fat. Yech!!!

I'm going to have a snoooooze now!!!

Ruby

THAT's what I had read - I just couldn't remember exactly what the specifics were. Thanks for the info!

That sounds like me. Maybe I should just get more R&R.

Susan