Stalled or gaining on induction??

[babik1sses]

Anybody know much about the Fat fast?

[johnny31]

Originally Posted by nicklj

All that I have eaten for the last 3 days is catfish (sometimes fried, sometimes baked) and eggs scrabled in I can't believe its not butter. Is this a good lowcarb diet.

No, because eggs and catfish do not provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and "run" efficiently. Are you following Atkins (since this is the "Atkins Induction" forum)? If you are, you should read/re-read the book and follow the plan there.

Originally Posted by babik1sses

Anybody know much about the Fat fast?

The Fat Fast is only recommended for those who are very metabolically resistant and can't lose weight any other way, even by doing a "clean" Induction. Dr. Atkins warns us that the Fat Fast might be dangerous for anyone who does not have a very high metabolic resistance. If someone cannot lose weight during Induction, he/she should first go to the doctor and test for yeast overgrowth, hyperinsulinism and thyroid issues.

The first 4-5 days of the Fat Fast are a 1000-calorie diet, during which one has five 200-calorie meals spread throughout the day (approx. one meal every 4 hours). Possible 200-calorie meals include 1 oz macadamia nuts or macadamia butter, 2 oz cream cheese or Brie, 1 oz tuna/chicken salad with 2 tsp mayo and 1/4 avocado, 2 deviled eggs made with 2 tsp mayo, 2 oz sour cream with 2 tbsp black/red caviar, 2-1/2 oz heavy whipped cream topped with SF syrup, 2 oz high-fat pate, 2 egg yolks with 1 tbsp mayo. The fat percentage in the diet is 75-90%.

After the first 4-5 days, if the Fat Fast worked and one managed to lose weight, one should try the Modified Fat Fast (MFF). Here one increases the calories to 1200, spread between 4 300-calorie meals. One continues the MFF for a week, sees how it goes and then moves back to Induction.

I imagine you are asking this just for general knowledge, right? Because according to one of your previous posts, you've lost 7 lbs during the first week of Induction, so you are definitely not a Fat Fast candidate. How's your weight loss going now?

[babik1sses]

Thanks for the reply and good information post. I was wondering because I see it every so often and was curious =) Weight loss is good I'm on 3rd week of induction and have lost 12lbs total. I dunno why I'm discouraged, maybe because I lost so much weight the first 2 week and expected it to be the same rate? Unrealistic I know , I know!
I guess I need to re evaluate some items I'm eating and maybe try other foods too. I'm a instant gratification person which is BAD!

[babik1sses]

Oh and wanted to mention that Livestrong.com is awesome for writing down all the food you eat and breaks it all down to percentages of fat and carb! Makes it way easier for a busy working mom like myself. Also has a counter for exercise and how much water I am drinking!

[johnny31]

12 lbs in 3 weeks is fantastic! That's 15% of the weight you needed to lose when you started Atkins.

Some of the weight we lose during the first week of Induction is water weight. When switching from a high-carb to a low-carb diet, our bodies burn through the glycogen stores and because glycogen is stored with 3-4 parts water, quite a bit of water is lost too, not only fat. Now that water is gone, so you are losing fat. That's a good thing, because fat loss is what you care about.

Did you take body measurements to see how your inches change? Losing inches is the best indicator of fat loss. I've seen Atkineers who dropped several dress sizes without losing a pound.

I'm not sure if LIVESTRONG tracks vitamins & minerals and compares them with the RDAs, but check that you get all the micronutrients you need in your diet. Certain vitamin/mineral deficiencies can slow down the rate of weight loss.

[johnny31]

Forgot something... Also, as you lose weight and become smaller, weight loss will naturally slow down. The amount we lose (like, X lbs) is relative to the amount of weight we have to lose.

Editing to add: You can also set mini-goals (without deadline is better for some) other than weight loss. For example, walking a mile in X minutes instead of Y. Or running X miles. Or lifting X lbs more than you did last week. These are all proofs that you are becoming more fit.

[babik1sses]

Ok so I was looking through the threads and found something excellent to read while on induction and your past the 2nd week and your wondering why you haven't lost any weight as much as the first two weeks!
It's very realistic and puts things in perspective .

Common patterns of weight loss:From tracking a *lot* of people who
become assimilated into the lowcarb lifestyle (hehe...resistance is
futile!) a pattern emerges....

the 2 week induction is pretty heady...weight lost just about every
single day, enormous and unbelievable amounts of weight loss are reported.
This is often followed by complaints that weight loss "stalls" or that
the rate drops to only 1 pound per week. (if that).

Many people just don't know that fat-loss ...the actual goal when on a
weight-reduction" diet, is rate-limited. In other words, the human
body has factors that prevent more than a certain amount of fatty-acid
release from storage...and even more factors that prevent those released
fatty acids from being used up instead of stored back into the fat
cells.

A priority of the human body is survival. Anything that threatens its
survival results in the cascade of events to maintain the previous
status quo. Water fluctuations are one way the body does this.
OK...so you done good on Atkins' during induction...lost 10 pounds the
first 2 weeks.

Maybe 7 the first week and 3 the second. But, whoa!
Weeks 3 and 4 there is NO loss! And weeks 5 and 6 is only 1/2 pound
each! So... what gives?

Initially, the body jettisons the water attached to the glycogen stores
that we diligently deplete to get into ketosis...this accounts for
about 3-5 pounds of water.

In addition, muscle stores of glycogen are not
being replaced when used...which will account for the rest. All in
all...MAYBE 1/2 pound of fat was metabolized during the first week... and
MAYBE 1/2 pound of fat was metabolized the 2nd week. Of that 10
initial pounds, only 1 pound was fat and 9 pounds water...

The body senses this lack and sirens start shrieking:
Warning! Warning! Losing water... new thing...got to get back to the
status quo! Brain tells body to produce and release that vasopressin
antidiuretic hormone....more water is retained, and no weight loss
noticed.

Fat loss is still occuring, MAYBE even 2 pounds per week, because
ketosis is firmly established and appetite supression is in
effect...but water retention is hiding that continuing fat loss.

The body is
preventing dehydration with this mechanism, and that's a *good* thing.
From the perspective of the scale, it can be discouraging.
Which is why the mantra: Water retention masks fat loss (repeated
frequently to oneself ) is helpful.

Water retention will mask ongoing fat-loss for as long as the body
retains the water. We can combat this by drinking more water...but we
aren't going to totally overcome this mechanism during the initial
water-loss phase of the Atkins diet.

By weeks 5 and 6, things start to get back in balance, and the scale
will begin to reflect the true fat-loss...which, as mentioned before is
rate-limited.

Individuals vary, but max weight loss runs about 2 pounds per
week...under extremely optimal conditions... or 1% of body weight.(whichever is
the lower number)

Take-home message: Even when the scale is in a stall, fat loss can be
occuring. Don't use the scale as an excuse to undermine your progress
Hope this can shed some light for you as well!"

[dbkate]

The scale is always my undoing. I'm tempted to throw the thing out but I'm too attached to it. LOL. I should be satisfied that I'm feeling so much better - IBS under control, joints no longer swollen, energy up, walking easier, less bloated ... ah well, I still haven't weighed myself since Aug 31st. That's good, I guess.

[wndyw1]

I did so well during induction, but tried to go above 20. My weight loss stopped at that point. Does any body else find that they need to stick with 20 carbs a day to lose?

[johnny31]

Originally Posted by wndyw1

I did so well during induction, but tried to go above 20. My weight loss stopped at that point. Does any body else find that they need to stick with 20 carbs a day to lose?

What is your degree of metabolic resistance based on your 2-week Induction weight loss?

[CiCiMagee]

I have been in the Induction Phase for 7 days now. I used the Keto strips and they say that I am in Ketosis but I have only lost .4 pounds. I have limited by carb intake to 12-15 carbs a day. I also limit my calorie intake to under 1700 calories per day. Is this normal? HELP

I don't want to give up but I just don't understand how limiting calories and limiting carbs can lead to such little weight loss.

[baumann93]

I am in the middle of week 3 of induction - already lost 14 pounds. My diet is not really a strict Atkins - it is Atkins taken to the extreme as the amount of carbs I consume a day is nearing 0 (I am taking multivitamins to compensate). Also, I am pretty much starving myself to expedite the weight loss. Last time I did this was 5 years ago - I lost 25 kilograms in 2.5 month - I know this is not very healthy but I am not patient enough to accept a pound or two of weight loss a week.

My goal is to get to about 190 pounds quickly (I am 6'1") and change my diet to be of Atkins maintenance. Good luck to all.

[lindsaylou]

congratulations to everyone who's losing on the Atkins diet!

I feel somewhat discouraged on this diet.. I posted on Yahoo! Answers & quickly learned that wasn't the right thing to do - everyone who replied was pretty much saying to stop the Atkins plan immediately because it's "so bad for you." But this is the first real diet/lifestyle change I have tried to lose weight & I desperately need to lose weight!

This is only my 4th day on Atkins & I have been feeling nauseas during the day for 2 or 3 days now, but I can't figure out why... someone on Yahoo said it was because of imbalance in diet; my mom suggested lactose intolerance (I've been eating eggs & cheese quite often) but I've never experienced any intolerance to lactose before...

I'm not giving up yet. I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this type of nausea in their induction, or if anyone has tips for me?

Thank you

[2big4mysize]

it is part of what is called induction flu by many your body is responding to your low blood sugar levels as it tries to build rapidly the new "fueling" stations you are going to be using in your cells. Also the new higher protein diet can act as a diuretic and if you make poor veggie choices you can become depleted in water soluble vits and minerals like potassium which can cause a temperary blood pressure drop making you feel nausea too.

[StephStu]

I can't seem to find my tape measure, so I'm going today to buy another one. As I reported earlier, I have an easier time now buttoning once unbuttonable pants, but my scale is stagnant. However, I feel like it's wrong, because (not to be gross) I can weigh before and after a large BM and it doesn't move, when it should register at least a pound lighter.

I'm giving up on the scale, increasing my exercise, and just keeping on keeping on as best I can.

[time for change]

Please post some photos!! Very exciting!!

[easwann]

Please keep this going, very inspirational!! So glad to hear that this 3rd week can be a stabilizing week. Stabilize away!! I feel better than I did 3 weeks ago, and I am not gonna quit!

[easwann]

Well what a difference a day makes.. I am so glad I found all these inspirational posts because I hung in there and noticed a 2 lb loss this morning. I know these posts kept me on the right track. I feel better than I have in a couple of years...I had dropped to 199 a few years ago, and I want that feeling back, so THANKS to everyone..Lizzie

[2big4mysize]

congrats on shedding that body fat and not shoving high carb foods in your mouth as you waited out the sclaes.