Been at it 2 months and just cant lose.

[Blondie302]

This is my 3rd time doing low carb. My first time was brief, in Jan 2003 I lost 28lbs the first month. Fell off track sometime in month 2. I begain doing lc again around April of 2009 and lost 47 lbs in 6 months. During that time I was an active member here and was pleased with the weight loss.

Fast forward to this year (after putting the weight back on due to going off the lc plan). I start lc on March 6th and have only lost 11 lbs.

Im 38 and started at 305 lbs. I made it to 290.6lbs the other day and today am back at 294.7lbs.

Three weeks ago I went from a totally sedentary lifestyle to walking 3 to 4 miles per week. My plan is to work up to 7 miles per week, 1 mile per day. Still, after years of sitting, 3 to 4 miles per week is a huge milestone for me.

I eat 20 grams of carbs per day or less. I do not have any cravings. Im fine with what I eat. My diet consists of chicken, beef, pork cooked in ways that leave them carbless, along with green beans, turnip greens, and salads. I have 1/2 cup of V8 each morning to try to get *some* other kinds of veggies in me (5 grams of carbs per half cup).

I really wanted to lose 100 lbs in a year, maybe even 120. At this rate its just not even logically possible to think that I could and its such a bummer.

I just dont know what else to do. I am not on any medication except a blood pressure pill which I have been on for years, even when I did lc before. I just feel like 11 lbs in 2 months is so low on this type of diet at the weight im starting at.

Anyone else go through this and have a suggestion? Thanks!

[camel?]

I totally understand your frustration and impatience. It feels like a long road.
But I hear a couple of things in your post:
"I do not have any cravings. Im fine with what I eat. "I start lc on March 6th and have lost 11 lbs"
That is actually very positive, if you think about it!
A bonus is that the slower you lose weight, the more likely you are to keep it off, statistically!

So other than that, you would like your losses to be faster. However, it is a long road, and you do want to make it a sustainable one. Do you want to lose it just to gain it back again? I noticed in your stats that you started "strict LC april 6th". From experience, when I get "strict" I start to get really impatient. Like, here I am working SO hard, and its not coming off any faster!! GRRR!! It makes me really discontent.
Personally, I'm better off finding a level of low carbing that is comfortable for the long term, that doesn't make me crazy and impatient. Let the weight come off slower, and try to enjoy the ride a bit more.
Follow the 80/20 rule instead of being "all or nothing" (make good choices 80 percent of the time and don't sweat the other 20%).

There's more to losing weight than carbs too. Get lots of sleep. How is your stress level? These things are huge when it comes to how fast or slow you lose weight.

Eat nutritionally dense foods to nourish your body. Heal your digestive system if you need to (GAPS diet, then transition to Atkins). Its great you are walking -- you are probably building muscle!!

Love your life, every step of the way. Enjoy the benefits you are already experiencing --
energy, clothes just a little looser, lungs that breathe in the air fully!!! Focus on the positive and appreciate the good things about your body~

[Blondie302]

Thanks for your response.

On a side note, the April 6th part in my profile was from a few years back when I did LC. I need to update that.

Im happy to report that today I finally broke the 290 lbs mark and am at 289.5. It felt SO good. For the past 8 or 9 days I have went back and forth from 292-296 lbs and just couldnt make the scale move. The motivation is back!

One thing I did change, I no longer use -any- Atkins products in my diet. Im strictly meat and green veggies now, with unsweet tea. I dont know if that made a diff, but its worth it to see the numbers on the scale drop.

Im officially at 15.5lbs down since March 6th. Still not nearly as much as in the past, but I'll take it ;-)

[camel?]

That's GREAT!!

[juhanna]

sometimes it's good not to use scale, but measure yourself instead, that way you won't be so stressed over few lbs I decide tostick to the plan without scale and only do it once a month, other than that I'll be meassuring myself instead..

[MargeGunderson]

I'm fighting the same slow-progress and not-used-to-exercising battles you are! Yes, at a lower weight, but the struggles, frustrations and demotivation spells are the same.

After five years of virtually zero activity due to pain and mobility issues, I'm finally finding stuff I can do that actually gives me a bit of a workout both resistance-wise and cardio-wise. During the same five years, I developed an addiction to refined junk food carbs, which made up about 80 percent of my diet up until Feb. 1, the other 20 percent being caffeine... that put about 55 pounds on what was all my life up to that point, a thin, or too-thin frame.

I've never had any middle gears; I'm either in reverse or fifth and I'm finding it applies as much if not more to exercise and weight loss, so it's been a struggle trying to figure out what's causing a nearly two-month stall this early into it all.

If you're able, strap on wrist and ankle weights are a huge help to me. It hurts to walk about the same with or without them, so I figure it's making the most of the limited walking I can do. That, and a used exercise bike a friend kindly acquired and brought over, so if I do pass out from overdoing it or wacked out blood sugar, I'm safe in my own (carpeted, mercifully!) place and not in a ditch or the road somewhere.

At first I had to remind myself to do a few lifts with each limb every hour or so (wearing the weights all day when I'm home or any other comfortable place), now I find myself just doing them without even thinking about it, a lot more often than once an hour! A great way to sneak in exercise without really taking up any more time out of your already busy day.

Also have my Wii going again after figuring out how to hook it up to an old TV that has no RCA jacks, so the tennis in training mode, the boxing in training mode, and the bowling are giving me some variety, still safe in my own place.

Frustrating as it all is, we just have to hang in there, not obsess over the scale – cortisol will pack that blob around your gut and hold tight to whatever is there – and trust how we feel and how our clothes fit/feel.

When I started this, I resolved to only weigh once a month. Then started obsessing over it, weighing daily, depression when the needle doesn't move, or moves in the wrong direction, and wow, maybe that's part of my stall, too?

Haven't weighed for a few days now and it's been a struggle, but it does make me more attuned to the non-scale victories we all cheer and post about! Thinking I'll balance it with weekly weigh-ins for now just to monitor if I'm doing anything right, but not look at that number in isolation; instead look at it as part of the overall package and goal.

[Blondie302]

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. Im a scale addict. Always have been and probably always will be. Im on it every day, sometimes multiple times per day. Im fine with seeing fluctuations and know to expect them, its the stalling and time these fluctuations are lasting thats getting me. Last week was great, I went from 293'ish to 285.2 lbs. I was stoked because I had finally gotten over the stall. Today, back to 291.4. Its just so disheartening. Never in my past few times of doing lc was it this hard.

I really had hoped of losing 100lbs by next March (I started this in March of this year) and given my past experiences with lc, I knew 100 lbs in a year was obtainable, especially since I was walking and being active this time. Now, I just feel so far from realistically being able to achieve my goal. I would have to lose approx 8.5lbs per month from here on out to make my goal and 3 months in Ive only lost about 15 lbs. So, this early in, Im already a month behind and if I did continue with this, the more I lose the harder it will be to lose that 8.5 lbs a month.

Sometimes, you just want to throw your hands in the air and say to heck with it. If I could make sense of the 5lb gain in 2 days it wouldnt be so bad, but I cant, therefore I dont know how to fix it. Seeing 285 had me sooo pumped. I knew the 270's were near.

Now, its just all blah to me. Still sticking to lc though. Just tired of the stall. I use StartYourDiet.com to track my weight. My goal was supposed to be 282 by Friday. Will never make it now.

[camel?]

Losing weight is like riding the waves, you go up and down all the time. I've gained 5 pounds according to the scale too. Lots of things can cause your body to retain water. Salt, exercise, hormones even the weather, among other things.
I totally understand your impatience, but your body doesn't know about your schedule and goals! You gotta go with the flow sometimes, and know that it will come off, eventually. The slower it comes off the more likely it is to NEVER EVER COME BACK!

[Mfit4Me]

Totally understand where u are coming from. I started induction April 30th and have lost 5 pounds. I did notice that I'm losing inches according to my clothes. So I'm guessing you are probably losing more inches. Congrats on the weight loss!

[JCWANNABE]

I see that you have not posted in a while, but saw your post it the daily weighers forum. I just wanted to come on over and lend my support. Way to hang in there in the tough times! You can do it!

[MargeGunderson]

Wow, I click on this, am all impressed at how kind and thoughtful JCWANNABE is to come offer encouragement, then I see she is my neighbor to the north, representing our fine state very well!

You're doing a great job yourself looking at your stats, JCW, and off to a very strong start! You keep it up as well, and feel free to buzz me any time you need support.

PS: I worked up there in Sedro-Woolley for awhile; beautiful drive worth even the 50 miles each way each day, and beautiful area.

[JCWANNABE]

Thanks! I love it up here. I grew up in Kenmoore, but out here in the "boondocks" is great. You can't drive any where without seeing horses or farms.

Nice to see a neighbor!

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by juhanna

sometimes it's good not to use scale, but measure yourself instead, that way you won't be so stressed over few lbs I decide tostick to the plan without scale and only do it once a month, other than that I'll be meassuring myself instead..

Haha, I'm an idiot. I registered just to say this exact thing. I guess that's why you are supposed to read before you post.

Anyway, juhanna is right. Scales are ridiculously bogus. If you're eating a lot of high sodium food, your going to have a higher "water weight." There are a bunch of other things that make scales hard to judge. In most cases, weight scales are actually what cause people to quit.

Also, if you were doing nothing and you're now walking 3-4 miles per week, you're going to be giving your muscles a good workout. That could be part of the cause as well. You could be gaining back some of your fat weight lost as muscle weight.

My advice (even though I'm a noob here) would be to weigh yourself no more than once a week. Do at the same time every other week (ex: Monday mornings at 7AM). Write it down. On the opposite weeks, measure your waist and legs with a measuring tape. Write it down as well in your logs.

This will make you go much less insane. You'll be less stressed and far more happy with your progression.

When I first tried to lose weight back in high school, I would weigh myself a 100 times a day. Whenever I walked by the scale, I would jump on. I did the same thing when I did Insanity last year. I hadn't lost a single pound, but I had lost 4 inches around my waist.

Trust me, its best for your mind if you keep yourself away from the scale as often as possible.

The results will come as long as you're hitting your goals.

[mydear]

Originally Posted by camel?

I totally understand your frustration and impatience. It feels like a long road.
But I hear a couple of things in your post:
"I do not have any cravings. Im fine with what I eat. "I start lc on March 6th and have lost 11 lbs"
That is actually very positive, if you think about it!
A bonus is that the slower you lose weight, the more likely you are to keep it off, statistically!

So other than that, you would like your losses to be faster. However, it is a long road, and you do want to make it a sustainable one. Do you want to lose it just to gain it back again? I noticed in your stats that you started "strict LC april 6th". From experience, when I get "strict" I start to get really impatient. Like, here I am working SO hard, and its not coming off any faster!! GRRR!! It makes me really discontent.
Personally, I'm better off finding a level of low carbing that is comfortable for the long term, that doesn't make me crazy and impatient. Let the weight come off slower, and try to enjoy the ride a bit more.
Follow the 80/20 rule instead of being "all or nothing" (make good choices 80 percent of the time and don't sweat the other 20%).

There's more to losing weight than carbs too. Get lots of sleep. How is your stress level? These things are huge when it comes to how fast or slow you lose weight.

Eat nutritionally dense foods to nourish your body. Heal your digestive system if you need to (GAPS diet, then transition to Atkins). Its great you are walking -- you are probably building muscle!!

Love your life, every step of the way. Enjoy the benefits you are already experiencing --
energy, clothes just a little looser, lungs that breathe in the air fully!!! Focus on the positive and appreciate the good things about your body~

thanks i know you weren't talking to me... but i needed to hear every word you wrote

[mydear]

Originally Posted by MargeGunderson

I'm fighting the same slow-progress and not-used-to-exercising battles you are! Yes, at a lower weight, but the struggles, frustrations and demotivation spells are the same.

After five years of virtually zero activity due to pain and mobility issues, I'm finally finding stuff I can do that actually gives me a bit of a workout both resistance-wise and cardio-wise. During the same five years, I developed an addiction to refined junk food carbs, which made up about 80 percent of my diet up until Feb. 1, the other 20 percent being caffeine... that put about 55 pounds on what was all my life up to that point, a thin, or too-thin frame.

I've never had any middle gears; I'm either in reverse or fifth and I'm finding it applies as much if not more to exercise and weight loss, so it's been a struggle trying to figure out what's causing a nearly two-month stall this early into it all.

If you're able, strap on wrist and ankle weights are a huge help to me. It hurts to walk about the same with or without them, so I figure it's making the most of the limited walking I can do. That, and a used exercise bike a friend kindly acquired and brought over, so if I do pass out from overdoing it or wacked out blood sugar, I'm safe in my own (carpeted, mercifully!) place and not in a ditch or the road somewhere.

At first I had to remind myself to do a few lifts with each limb every hour or so (wearing the weights all day when I'm home or any other comfortable place), now I find myself just doing them without even thinking about it, a lot more often than once an hour! A great way to sneak in exercise without really taking up any more time out of your already busy day.

Also have my Wii going again after figuring out how to hook it up to an old TV that has no RCA jacks, so the tennis in training mode, the boxing in training mode, and the bowling are giving me some variety, still safe in my own place.

Frustrating as it all is, we just have to hang in there, not obsess over the scale – cortisol will pack that blob around your gut and hold tight to whatever is there – and trust how we feel and how our clothes fit/feel.

When I started this, I resolved to only weigh once a month. Then started obsessing over it, weighing daily, depression when the needle doesn't move, or moves in the wrong direction, and wow, maybe that's part of my stall, too?

Haven't weighed for a few days now and it's been a struggle, but it does make me more attuned to the non-scale victories we all cheer and post about! Thinking I'll balance it with weekly weigh-ins for now just to monitor if I'm doing anything right, but not look at that number in isolation; instead look at it as part of the overall package and goal.

thank you for all the idea's and for helping me look at things a diferent way. i have type 2 diabetes so this has to become a way of life for me, losing weight is a side bonus, i really need to learn how to keep my blood sugar under control. i'm going to get the leg & wrist weights this week

[Blondie302]

Jcwannabe, you are too kind (and ridiculously pretty)

Mydear, Im very impressed with your stats. You are rockin the weight loss. Keep at it girl!

Hawkeye, I have tried to avoid the scales lol. Im just....a junkie. I need 'scale therapy' lol.

[christine65]

I was surfing for other diets besides Atkins. Been on it three weeks, lost the first week, and nothing since. Am staying close to Induction using no Atkins products. No alcohol sugars. Feeling defeated. These notes have given me new ideas.

[JCWANNABE]

Originally Posted by Blondie302

Jcwannabe, you are too kind (and ridiculously pretty)

Mydear, Im very impressed with your stats. You are rockin the weight loss. Keep at it girl!

Hawkeye, I have tried to avoid the scales lol. Im just....a junkie. I need 'scale therapy' lol.

Awwww ! You are way too sweet! The pic is a little deceiving. I have the camera angled up really high so that my chin army is hidden! . There are some more realistic pics on my journal and profile . Thanks though! I will take and ego boost anywhere I can get it!

[Susannaj4]

I have had to cut out so many things that are normally allowed and it gets really frustrating, but it is so nice to see you guys and the encouragement is so helpful.

@blondie302-- i am 38 as well, and discovered that even thoughcertain veggies are low carb, my body doesnt like them even though i do. Ive been gone for a while, so i probably missed this somewhere, but how much do you exercise? Have you had your thyroid checked? Are youmtaking vitamins? Maybe cut outmthe v8 juice for a couple of days? Eating this way is sort of like when we were babies and you had to have one food introduced at a time to make sure you didnt have a reaction to it. There may be something that you dont know you are eating that is making your body say hey gotta hold on to the fat. I cant eat any soy products at all because my thyroid just doesnt like it. Just a suggestion.

[Blondie302]

Susanna, I did cut out the V8 and all atkins products. Amazingly, my stall ended and Ive dropped several lbs in a week. I remember on LC before though it was like that. I would stall for 2 or 3 weeks at a time then drop 8-10lbs the next week. I guess thats my bodies rhythm. As far as exercise, I walk 6 miles per week, 2 miles per day for 3 days.

[Susannaj4]

My body's rythym used to be that i could weigh myself in the morning and then I'd know at the end of the night I'd be exactly 5 pounds heavier than my morning weight. That isn't the case anymore. I can't seem to find it.