Stalled or gaining on induction??

[free2bedanny]

12 pounds. I feel pretty good and I am starting to notice a change in my overall appearance. Keeping me motivated to keep going. Best part. Blood pressure 114/80 which is low for me. Trending in the right direction.

[cvalero]

I am on my 10th week of induction and just crossed the 40lb mark. My loss pattern is similar to others as far as stalls and losses. The first 2 weeks I lost almost 20 lbs followed by 2 weeks of no losing, only 2-3 lb fluctuations in my weight. Then one morning I woke up and I was down 3 from my lowest point. Next day another 2. Then another almost week long stall followed by 2 days of losses. This is the pattern that I have followed throughout. Sometimes by stalls were a little less than a week, sometimes a little more, but it seems the stall right after big induction losses is a repeated theme here. Nothing feels better than to be battling all week for nothing then all of a sudden you wake up to a new low weight.

[Jool]

Originally Posted by cvalero

Nothing feels better than to be battling all week for nothing then all of a sudden you wake up to a new low weight.

Thanks! This is good to know. I'm brand new (well, my second time around) and while I lost some water weight really fast, in my second week I have already stalled.

What are ya gonna do but keep it going, though? LOL. Its not like I'm going to give up my healthier eating lifestyle. I know it will come off eventually, just disheartening to see the scale go down so quickly, then - nada.

Thanks to earlier posts regarding cutting out convenience stuff like Atkins bars and shakes. I have been making them a major part of my day (they are aptly named: "convenience" !) so I will do alternatives to those and see if that helps. Thanks for being here everyone!

Jool

[Black Betty]

I lost about 10 pounds in two weeks; great. I went through induction flu near the end of that and didn't eat enough, so I gained two pounds back. Then I noticed I hadn't had a BM in three days. That's quite the backup for me, so I drank some Smooth Move tea. I lost four pounds. Today I'm back to where I was after the induction flu. Ugh. I just need to stick with it. I haven't exercised in a few days. That might be the problem.

[canadiandude1965]

From the end of March until the past two weeks, I had lost 34 lbs (17kg) and everything was going swimmingly. However, these past two weeks have seen me stall out and hover around 81 kg (180 lbs). Last night, I felt strong nausea for some reason along with cold sweats. If I were female and pregnant I could understand but I'm neither. It is, as Jool states, disheartening when you've gotten used to seeing the numbers drop then either nothing or they rise a bit.

My theory has always been that your body has to accustom itself to your rapid weight loss and therefore, after big losses, it needs time to allow your skin to tighten a bit etc... Imagine what we'd look like if we all dropped 50 lbs at once....that's a lot of sagging skin lol.

[DarleenMB]

I have been "low carbing" since january and have gained 20 pounds. Evidently I'm doing something wrong (ya think?!)

So this week I began tracking every single carb. did you know coffee contains carbs? That half and half has more carbs than heavy whipping cream?

Since I'm just restarting I can't really say with confidence this is going to work. What I'm doing is adding 1 TBS of coconut oil to my (decaf) coffee along with 2 TBS of HWC. I have one of those before every meal and one about 4 PM. Breakfast is 2 eggs and 2 slices of nitrate free bacon. Lunch has been 3 oz of turkey breast with 1 TBS mayo topped with one slice of ham (about 2 oz) with a touch of mustard, roll up and eat. yummy! Dinner is some sort of protein and maybe, maybe not, 1/2 cup appropriate veggies or salad made with homemade vinaigrette. So far my total calories have average 2000 per day, fat about 70-74%, protein in the 20-25% range and carbs at 5% or less. Yesterday I had 178 grams of fat, 23 NET grams of carbs and 111g of protein. Day before it was 176g of fat, 88g of protein, and 28g of carbs.

I lost one pound Wed and one pound Thursday then nothing yesterday or today. sigh.

So I'm just going to keep going for a few weeks and see what happens.

[Scarllette]

I started induction 9/6/11 and as of today, I have lost 10 pounds. I feel better and have noticed my wanting to eat all the time has disappeared. I love that "skinny" feeling you get when all the bloat is gone and your stomach feels flat. That alone keeps me motivated!

[mishelena]

Bejewelme....Wow! You are really a great inspiration, I also did this diet 5 years ago and I am 42 as well... I went back to my old ways and gained back every pound plus 10 more. Back then I really didn't have to work at it and give so much thought to what I ate, like what percentage was fat, protein etc. I have a hard time eating enough fat. I've been back on Atkins since July 28th and lost 17 in that first 2 weeks and then nothing! I am spoiled because 5 years ago it was pretty much a pound a day.

[Lalene]

I have been on induction a little over two weeks. I have lost 5 pounds but I really thought it would be more. I went into ketosis easily and I am not as bloated. I don't swell as much but my clothes still fit the same. I don't feel as though I am losing. I have been successful in the past with this plan. It has been a few years since I have dieted and I have since gone and passed menopause. I am 46, 5'7" 338 pounds. Does anyone have any ideas or tips? I do think I might be drinking items that have aspartame and I see that could cause problems. I appreciate anything offered. Thanks

[Great Scott]

If you would post a typical menu it would help us help you. What is your activity level?

[jacquirsw]

Originally Posted by DarleenMB

I have been "low carbing" since january and have gained 20 pounds. Evidently I'm doing something wrong (ya think?!)

So this week I began tracking every single carb. did you know coffee contains carbs? That half and half has more carbs than heavy whipping cream?

Since I'm just restarting I can't really say with confidence this is going to work. What I'm doing is adding 1 TBS of coconut oil to my (decaf) coffee along with 2 TBS of HWC. I have one of those before every meal and one about 4 PM. Breakfast is 2 eggs and 2 slices of nitrate free bacon. Lunch has been 3 oz of turkey breast with 1 TBS mayo topped with one slice of ham (about 2 oz) with a touch of mustard, roll up and eat. yummy! Dinner is some sort of protein and maybe, maybe not, 1/2 cup appropriate veggies or salad made with homemade vinaigrette. So far my total calories have average 2000 per day, fat about 70-74%, protein in the 20-25% range and carbs at 5% or less. Yesterday I had 178 grams of fat, 23 NET grams of carbs and 111g of protein. Day before it was 176g of fat, 88g of protein, and 28g of carbs.

I lost one pound Wed and one pound Thursday then nothing yesterday or today. sigh.

So I'm just going to keep going for a few weeks and see what happens.

Hi

just looking at the stats you have posted, for me 23g and 28g of net carbs would be too high for induction and may be the reason why you are not losing at the rate you want to or should. In induction it should be that net carbs are reduced to less than 20g per day and for some people it needs to be even less than this. For me I would try reducing these further and seeing what impact that has.
I know there are varying opinions on them but are you checking your ketosis with the ketostix, if not maybe try doing this for a few days it is really motivating to see when you are actually in ketosis.

hth

[jacquirsw]

Originally Posted by mishelena

Bejewelme....Wow! You are really a great inspiration, I also did this diet 5 years ago and I am 42 as well... I went back to my old ways and gained back every pound plus 10 more. Back then I really didn't have to work at it and give so much thought to what I ate, like what percentage was fat, protein etc. I have a hard time eating enough fat. I've been back on Atkins since July 28th and lost 17 in that first 2 weeks and then nothing! I am spoiled because 5 years ago it was pretty much a pound a day.

Why don't you post a few days menus for people to have a look at. Do you really count things properly or are you starting to guestimate a bit what things are nutrition wise.
Do you use anything like ****** to help keep an eye on the levels you are eating?
Have you got into the diet mentality of limiting your calories as well as your carbs? I know for me if I do this my body really gets the hump and then doesn't like giving up any of its stored fat.

[jacquirsw]

Well I have done all the advice I have given others. I have counted my carbs (not gone above 20 a day) I regularly check my ketosis level, and have stayed in ketosis. But for my last few days rather than the scales going down when I get on them they have been going up. I did think I wasn't drinking enough so I upped my fluid, but nope another gain this morning.
I am trying to remain positive because I am sticking to the rules so I know that it should be coming off and my scales which do body fat as well are showing a percentage and a half drop in body fat so will keep plodding along and hope that it changes soon.

[Garciadj]

Hi all,
It has been very encouraging to read everyone's posts about the low carb experience and how each of us reacts a little different!
I am 48 yo female, menopausal, 5'4", 143 pounds. I lost 4 pounds my first week, then another pound the second. I'm now at the end of week 4 and have GAINED 1 pound. I have a carb counter and was religiously below 20 grams the first 2 weeks, the following 2 weeks averaging probably 21 grams of carbs. Note these are NET carbs. During this time I've only been in deep ketosis a couple of times (by ketostick), but have not had the cravings that previously plagued me, so I'm ok with that!
Since I'm looking at low carb as a lifestyle and not a quick fix, I'm not as frantic to see the pounds fall off, but it's still discouraging to not see some results as payment for avoiding the junk and sugar!
I DO love my coffee in the morning, but drink it with only Sweetzfree. As to the rest of my diet it's typical LC fare. I get lots of veggies, so I may need to
pay greater attention to how much I consume. My percentages maybe off though, seems my fats are around 60%, protein 30%, and carbs 10%. However this is a guesstimate, since I don't have ******. My calories seem very high (former calorie counter) averaging about 2000 per day.
I have eaten the occasional Atkins bars to get past the occasional sweets craving. I guess what I'd like to ask is this: should I just keep plugging along in this fashion and trust that eventually I'll start dropping pounds again, or should I start looking at maybe more low fat, no sugar choices to get my fat and calorie counts down?
Thanks!
Dena

[jacquirsw]

Hi

I wouldn't try and lower your fat content but I would maybe try and lower the total calorie content a bit. Also register with ****** it doesn't cost anything for the basic stuff and is really helpful.
What would a typical days menu look like for you?

[Garciadj]

I've been looking more carefully at HOW MUCH I've been eating, rather than WHAT.
Breakfast: 2 egg Spanish omelet w cheese- 4 net carbs
Black coffee
Lunch: salad with protein(tuna or chicken) - 4 net carb
Half an avocado
Dinner: protein entree with cooked vegetable - 5 net carbs
Sugar free jello with splenda sweetened whipped cream
Snacks: Pork rinds- 1-2 servings (0 net carbs)
Home made beef jerky (1-2 oz 0 net carbs)
10 stuffed green olives
1 oz cheese (string cheese)

I've found that my protein is likely high at 130+ grams per day. Maybe this I why I've not LOST weight. I've been working on increasing FAT and decreasing protein. I may also increase my net carbs a bit to offset the protein. My reading suggests that the two sources of fuel (weight) are CARBS & Protein. Since my carbs are already low, it must be too much protein! I've found it's difficult to increase fat and still keep calories down, so... Will keep at it this week and see where it takes me.

Dena

[jacquirsw]

Hi Dena

Are you also counting the carbs in your snacks as they are not shown here. the 13 for your main meals is great, but the avacado, olives, cheese string and whipped cream will all have carbs in as well and may be taking you over your personal carb allowance.

half an avocado is 7.4 carbs
olives 1.1 carbs
half a cup of whipped cream 1.7 carbs
cheese 1.6 carbs

total 11g of carbs although there is also some dietary fibre 6g that still makes another 5g of net carbs (and I have had to guesstimate a bit on the portion sizes for things.

you are doing all the right things though so it is just about making it right for you.

[Garciadj]

Hi,
Yes, all carbs in snacks are counted too. I have a carb counter app on my iPhone called Carb Manager & every morsel of food is logged. The whipped cream was only 2 tbsp and grams of fiber are subtracted to give me net carbs. In those instances where the food is my recipe or not found, I'm able to enter the data, including carbs, fiber, sugars, fats, protein, etc.
According to Atkins book, I should be able to eat protein till satiated, but I think that this is misleading. Too much protein, even when keeping my carbs very low appears to stall me.
I have heard about using a "fat fast" to kickstart ketosis. Can you tell me what this is?
At this point I'm now back up 2 pounds, but I've decided to increase Fat, keep net carbs less than 25g per day and try to reduce protein. This has increased my fiber as well and seems to be helping with digestive slowness, so at least I FEEL better, even if the scale remains unimpressed!
Since I'm looking to change my overall eating habits in addition to losing a few pounds, I'm ok with this for now.

Many thanks!
Dena

[Linda1960]

You may want to try just counting ALL carbs, rather than figuring NET carbs. When I follow net carbs, I gain.

Also, maybe you should only weigh in once a month like Dr. Atkin's urges us to do in his book. There's a reason for that.

When I did Atkin's years ago, I got so frustrated with the ups and downs, and stalls, during the first two months, I almost gave up! Then I re-read the book and saw that we should only weigh in ONCE A MONTH! That was my "light-bulb moment".

When you weigh in once a month, you see your "overall loss" for the month, and you don't have to deal with the head games of all the stalls, and fluctuation that went on during the month, because you are unaware of them! That was enlightening for me, because now I was seeing the downward trend, and looked forward to my weigh-ins.

I just started induction this past weekend, and plan to weigh in at my completion of the first two weeks of induction, not any sooner! Then I will put the scale away, and plan to pull it out ONLY once a month on a given day. Some of you may want to try this. I learned the hard way the first time I did this, and found this to be the way to go! It really takes the stress and pressure and anxiety of the weight fluctuations out of the equation. Relax, eat, enjoy the food, and weigh in monthly! I'll think you will be pleasantly surprised; and will enjoy watching the downward trend of your weight loss!

[jbird111]

Foods that work great for me for getting right into induction are: pouring lots of flax or olive oil over salads. And eating skinless boneless sardines in olive oil-- I get mine at Trader Joe's -- if you've never had them--tastes like tuna fish.

[nereyda08]

I have a question. How many, about/on average, ounces of protein should I be eating per day?

[kristym]

Home made beef jerky? I make that and the recipe uses TONS of brown sugar...A LOT OF CARBS THERE!

[kristym]

Lost 8-9 in 14 days then did a boo boo yesterday: ate 2 peppermint patties Not sure why they just called to me.
So been good today and hoping to lose some more this week.

[Susannaj4]

Originally Posted by CharlieGirl

I have just recently rejoined these boards after almost four years away. I did Atkins before and lost twenty pounds. (I am post-menopausal and an extremely slow loser)

I have plenty of sympathy for those of you in ketosis who are not seeing a pay-off on the scale because I have been in that situation myself. But realize that this doesn't mean you are not losing fat! One of the oddities of Atkins is that sometimes when you are losing fat, your body thinks it will keep those fat cells at the ready by filling them with water. If you look around on these boards, I'm sure you will find many references to this phenomena. Anyway, maybe my experience will help you:

I went on Atkins for the first time about four years ago. It was June 1st. I lost about four pounds in the first week of ketosis; second week two pounds; then ... nothing!
Week after week I had the bad breath and metallic taste in my mouth so I knew I was in ketosis, but the scale stayed the same. The only thing that kept me on Atkins was inertia --- I had lost most of my appetite, which was nice, and the diet was actually easier for me than my normal way of eating, as far as food prep.

Still, for two months, no weight loss, not an ounce. Then, when I had given up hope and was not even weighing my self regularly (too depressing), I suddenly lost 10 pounds! No one loses 10 pounds of fat in one week unless they are starv-ing. "Something" strange happened. The next week I lost six pounds.

When I say I lost this weight I don't mean that it came off a little at a time through the week; it was one day there and the next day gone. Since that time I have had many people tell me of similar experiences. I hope you will stick to it and stay on the diet. Think of it as an experiment in this very (in my opinion) weird way of losing weight.

This is the main reason that I have come back to Atkins is because I know the plateaus are just that. For me anyway. I have also decided not to weigh myself because my scale is possessed. I really want one on those that measures everything instead on the needle just moving directly to YIKES.

Also, everything has to be tweaked sometimes. Please don't get discouraged because you feel better but the scale says that you aren't thinner. Measure yourself. Try on something you couldn't wear before. How close are they to fitting or are they too big?

[Janan75]

Originally Posted by Linda1960

You may want to try just counting ALL carbs, rather than figuring NET carbs. When I follow net carbs, I gain.

Also, maybe you should only weigh in once a month like Dr. Atkin's urges us to do in his book. There's a reason for that.

When I did Atkin's years ago, I got so frustrated with the ups and downs, and stalls, during the first two months, I almost gave up! Then I re-read the book and saw that we should only weigh in ONCE A MONTH! That was my "light-bulb moment".

When you weigh in once a month, you see your "overall loss" for the month, and you don't have to deal with the head games of all the stalls, and fluctuation that went on during the month, because you are unaware of them! That was enlightening for me, because now I was seeing the downward trend, and looked forward to my weigh-ins.

I just started induction this past weekend, and plan to weigh in at my completion of the first two weeks of induction, not any sooner! Then I will put the scale away, and plan to pull it out ONLY once a month on a given day. Some of you may want to try this. I learned the hard way the first time I did this, and found this to be the way to go! It really takes the stress and pressure and anxiety of the weight fluctuations out of the equation. Relax, eat, enjoy the food, and weigh in monthly! I'll think you will be pleasantly surprised; and will enjoy watching the downward trend of your weight loss!

Finally, a voice of reason!!! I agree. We are all obviously trying to lose unwanted weight, however, we cannot keep running to the scale daily! We ALL AGREE Atkins & Low Carb lifestyles are not the typical way of weight loss, so don't do the other typical things the calorie counters & fat counters do, they "weigh in" all the time. This kind of lifestyle is about Metabolic change, and Metabolic change WILL be like hormones in women, we change all the time right, so the newly developing metabolism will go up & down before it stabilizes somewhat & Even then...it's gonna fluctuate on occasion. You know, my friend & I did Atkins in 2002, we both stuck to our guns (funny, we did NOT plan to do it same time, it just happened) and we were on a road trip with only a pizza place to eat at, so we were over a month & half in at that point, losing weight, feeling good & said, well, we can't always do exacts..we ate a slice each & that shocked our metabolism & NO JOKE, we Both saw a significant drop in weight from just shocking our Systems after 6 weeks on induction strictly, (this is my own personal experience now) but it's a thought, I'm not saying go eat non low carb foods (it may not work for everyone) but maybe try something different & maybe the stalling my go & things resume..

[kristym]

Lost 9-10 pounds in my 14 days so far on Induction. Have cheated once or twice but not significantly (a glass of wine when out to dinner).
I had to go out and buy a belt to hold up my pants. Must be the fat loss is in my belly/waist and not hips, rear or thighs LOL!!!!!

[myluvbugg]

Originally Posted by kristym

Lost 8-9 in 14 days then did a boo boo yesterday: ate 2 peppermint patties Not sure why they just called to me.
So been good today and hoping to lose some more this week.

They make sugar free nypeppermint patties - still a small cheat, but better than the real sugar if you are needed a treat. My weakness is peanut butter cups - they have them sugar free too

[Susannaj4]

Originally Posted by Janan75

Finally, a voice of reason!!! I agree. We are all obviously trying to lose unwanted weight, however, we cannot keep running to the scale daily! We ALL AGREE Atkins & Low Carb lifestyles are not the typical way of weight loss, so don't do the other typical things the calorie counters & fat counters do, they "weigh in" all the time. This kind of lifestyle is about Metabolic change, and Metabolic change WILL be like hormones in women, we change all the time right, so the newly developing metabolism will go up & down before it stabilizes somewhat & Even then...it's gonna fluctuate on occasion. You know, my friend & I did Atkins in 2002, we both stuck to our guns (funny, we did NOT plan to do it same time, it just happened) and we were on a road trip with only a pizza place to eat at, so we were over a month & half in at that point, losing weight, feeling good & said, well, we can't always do exacts..we ate a slice each & that shocked our metabolism & NO JOKE, we Both saw a significant drop in weight from just shocking our Systems after 6 weeks on induction strictly, (this is my own personal experience now) but it's a thought, I'm not saying go eat non low carb foods (it may not work for everyone) but maybe try something different & maybe the stalling my go & things resume..

Also, please remember that just because jo blow can eat this food, and he/she is doing induction, doesn't mean that food agrees with you. You have to find your balance.

And you do have to shock your system. It seems to have a mind of its own ya know

[Susannaj4]

Shoot, I forgot to say that the weighing once a month is a really good idea if you can do it.

[Karen67]

Argghh, I think I am very rarely cheating, but am still not losing much weight! I didn't eat more than a couple of true crumbs of my son's red velvet cake yesterday (I baked it, so I tasted it to make sure it and the frosting were OK). After two weeks of induction I went out with girlfriends for a hard night of dancing and had a few shots of tequila with diet soda (very very very rare - and my contention is I danced this off!). One other evening I had a glass of white wine. Other than that, I have been pretty strictly following induction for over a month - only to have lost 3-4 lbs. I walk about 3-5.5miles five days a week.

I eat pretty simply:

-bacon (or sometimes eggs with a little cheese) for breakfast and coffee with cream;
-protein (usu something high fat like a hot dog, sausage or burger, but sometimes turkey breast) and ~2C salad with olive oil and red-wine vinegar;
-steak or hamburger or salmon for dinner (with a smaller serving of salad, broccolli &garlic cooked in olive oil, small bell pepper (raw) or mashed cauliflower with cream).

If I get hungry outside meals I might eat an ounce of cheese or a little turkey breast or have some decaf with cream. I don't snack a lot.

The only change I think I might make is to cut out the coffee. When I make it I put only two scoops of regular (and 6-8 decaf). I use HWC in my coffee. Now I am thinking maybe I have to let those go too? My plan is to taper it over the next two weeks. I am a little afraid that if I give up my coffee with cream and don't lose weight, I"ll chuck the whole thing!

I do, at least now, feel better without the carbs in my diet. But I am getting bored! I love good food. My plan was to lose the weight on Atkins, and then try what a friend of mine does and go off one day a week or somehow moderate it (maybe ala South Beach). I am not naturally a heavy carnivore so all this fatty meat is not really my thing. Any opinions?