Ok...need advice (once again, lol)

[Nikouli]

I have not lost any weight since the first week or so of induction. My start date is on my profile if you need to refer to it. I HAVE been losing inches, (and hopefully fat) b/c my clothes are looser and so on. I am also not exercising, so I don't understand how I could be building muscle. So, my question is...how am I losing inches, and not pounds...while not working out or anything? Could it be that I am naturally muscular and that just by eating a lot of protein I am keeping and/or building muscle without working out?

I have cut out the bars for a long time now, and I am pretty much still on induction type foods...

I would just like to see progress on the scale as well.

Please help

[DorianH]

How many inches are we talking about?

In general, sure you can lose inches and not pounds- your weight shifts and changes as those fat cells begin to get smaller.

[Nikouli]

I actually never measured so I wouldn't know. I am just going by the way my clothes feel, and the way my body looks.

[Nikouli]

maybe I need a new scale? lol

[flourchild]

It's very common to lose one and not the other; happens to everyone. I know of a woman in Maintenance who dropped a whole size a year after reaching goal, without losing more weight. Stuff rearranges itself, you know? Regardless - enjoy the progress, whichever form it takes!

[Kris T.]

Maybe start exercising? I remember the phrase "exercise is non-negotiable".

I seem to lose faster when I exercise...

[Nikouli]

Well it's not that I am unhappy with losing inches over weight. I'd rather lose inches b/c I think it means more. I am just curious as to WHY I am not losing pounds. I am going to start exercising..I just need to get the motivation to start. I already have 10/10 Callanetics...and I want to start walking again as well. Maybe that will help.

[Nikouli]

Well, I guess there is no answer...

[berries&cream]

I think if the scales aren't moving, something is likely wrong. I know many disagree, but except for water weight, lowering calories should cause you to lose fat.

Sure per volume muscle weighs more than fat, but it takes calories to make muscle, so the overall weight should still be decreased.

It is very possible though you are in a plateau period. Your body may be holding onto more water, to fill up emptying fat cells. It may be shifting things around and allowing water to build up while the fat is used up.

But I would still reexamine your calories in, calories out, and make sure the math makes since.

So why would you lose inches but not fat? Water replacing the fat. Water is more dense than fat. That means per pound of fat replaced with pound of water you would be 10% smaller, since the density of fat is 90% that of water. You could store water to replace fat with no noticeable difference to calories in and calories out.

[Nikouli]

Thanks B&C

I have also been looking through the yeast/Candida thread and I think that may be one of my problems with losing weight as well. I am going to be incorporating ACV into my diet..along with the CO that I am currently using. I am going to try my darnedest to cut most cheese and peanut butter/peanuts out. If these things help I will have my answer I suppose!

[xfatchik]

I remember when the scale wouldn't budge but the inches kept dropping. A big PLUs in my book. I'd much rather lose inches anyday!!!

[anniemo]

Originally Posted by Nikouli

Thanks B&C

I have also been looking through the yeast/Candida thread and I think that may be one of my problems with losing weight as well. I am going to be incorporating ACV into my diet..along with the CO that I am currently using. I am going to try my darnedest to cut most cheese and peanut butter/peanuts out. If these things help I will have my answer I suppose!

that could definitely be a problem. and i've heard (maybe some of the atkins pros can chime in here since i'm not on atkins) that some people start losing more once they go up the carb ladder. i've definitely seen posts about people who lost on induction and then stalled until they decided to add some more carbs in. you should join our candida/yeast challenge (on the challenge board) if you need some support. there are tons of great recipes posted!

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

Originally Posted by Nikouli

Well it's not that I am unhappy with losing inches over weight. I'd rather lose inches b/c I think it means more. I am just curious as to WHY I am not losing pounds. I am going to start exercising..I just need to get the motivation to start. I already have 10/10 Callanetics...and I want to start walking again as well. Maybe that will help.

Nikouli,

If it makes you feel any better, I am a notoriously slow loser, but I eat clean, and I work out and lift weights with strict commitment, all of which has resulted in inches lost, muscle gained, and a huge reduction in body fat. I am leaner than I have ever been, yet since March, the scale has only dropped about 7-8 lbs.

I couldn't care less about the frikkin scale weight.

I look at myself in the mirror and pat myself on the back, because my diligence has paid off, and I care more about what I see in the mirror, my energy and fitness levels, my strength gains and how my clothes fit than a MEANINGLESS number on a scale.

Keep up the great work, be proud. You are on the RIGHT TRACK!

[Nikouli]

Thanks annie, I will def check out the thread!

[Nikouli]

Originally Posted by WATCH-ME-SHRINK

Nikouli,

If it makes you feel any better, I am a notoriously slow loser, but I eat clean, and I work out and lift weights with strict commitment, all of which has resulted in inches lost, muscle gained, and a huge reduction in body fat. I am leaner than I have ever been, yet since March, the scale has only dropped about 7-8 lbs.

I couldn't care less about the frikkin scale weight.

I look at myself in the mirror and pat myself on the back, because my diligence has paid off, and I care more about what I see in the mirror, my energy and fitness levels, my strength gains and how my clothes fit than a MEANINGLESS number on a scale.

Keep up the great work, be proud. You are on the RIGHT TRACK!

Thanks I hope that is just the case! You are def an inspiration in my eyes, so thanks for posting back!

[Goldenrod]

Originally Posted by WATCH-ME-SHRINK

Nikouli,

If it makes you feel any better, I am a notoriously slow loser, but I eat clean, and I work out and lift weights with strict commitment, all of which has resulted in inches lost, muscle gained, and a huge reduction in body fat.

I couldn't care less about the frikkin scale weight.

I look at myself in the mirror and pat myself on the back, because my diligence has paid off, and I care more about what I see in the mirror, my energy and fitness levels, my strength gains and how my clothes fit than a MEANINGLESS number on a scale.

Yeah. What she said.

[NancyH58]

Originally Posted by Nikouli

I have not lost any weight since the first week or so of induction. My start date is on my profile if you need to refer to it. I HAVE been losing inches, (and hopefully fat) b/c my clothes are looser and so on. I am also not exercising, so I don't understand how I could be building muscle. So, my question is...how am I losing inches, and not pounds...while not working out or anything? Could it be that I am naturally muscular and that just by eating a lot of protein I am keeping and/or building muscle without working out?

I have cut out the bars for a long time now, and I am pretty much still on induction type foods...

I would just like to see progress on the scale as well.

Please help

Muscle, like body fat, is controlled by hormones. It doesn't matter if you're working out, if this new way of eating is altering your hormones favorably you will gain muscle.

Lots of people who were very glucose intolerant, running high sugar levels, eating protein deficient diets too might discover that they gain muscle effortlessly on low carb.

Exercise is only required to push your muscle ABOVE your "set point" (so no you won't get a bulky look probably) in the same way that food restriction is only required to push your body fat BELOW your "set point" (so no you won't look ripped without calorie restriction").

But, a more favorable body composition of relatively higher muscle mass and lower body fat is entirely possible simply by fixing hormone imbalances caused by dietary intolerances.

[NancyH58]

Originally Posted by berries&cream

I think if the scales aren't moving, something is likely wrong. I know many disagree, but except for water weight, lowering calories should cause you to lose fat.

Sure per volume muscle weighs more than fat, but it takes calories to make muscle, so the overall weight should still be decreased.

It is very possible though you are in a plateau period. Your body may be holding onto more water, to fill up emptying fat cells. It may be shifting things around and allowing water to build up while the fat is used up.

But I would still reexamine your calories in, calories out, and make sure the math makes since.

So why would you lose inches but not fat? Water replacing the fat. Water is more dense than fat. That means per pound of fat replaced with pound of water you would be 10% smaller, since the density of fat is 90% that of water. You could store water to replace fat with no noticeable difference to calories in and calories out.

Using your logic, if the calories are going into muscle, then the scale would stay the SAME but composition and size would improve.

It's entirely possible the body fat she is losing is helping to fuel the growth of lean body tissues like muscle and bone. This is especially likely if she is getting smaller and szies are dropping.

Hormones control all of this. Men have a hormone profile that naturally makes them build a lot of muscle and less body fat. By that logic, eating the calories a man would eat would result in the same body composition? Obviously not, because the hormone profile would not change no matter how much food you ate (because ovaries will always make estrogen, not testosterone which ultimately is responsible for the muscle-fat difference between men and women).

What we must understand is that food affects hormones too - that's why we are low carbing in the first place! An increase in growth hormone, and a decrease in insulin for an insulin resistant person, as well as numerous other factors could easily lead to loss of body fat and gain of healthy lean tissue without restricting calories or working out.

[Nikouli]

Thanks Nancy! That helped a lot.

[Goldenrod]

Originally Posted by NancyH58

What we must understand is that food affects hormones too - that's why we are low carbing in the first place! An increase in growth hormone, and a decrease in insulin for an insulin resistant person, as well as numerous other factors could easily lead to loss of body fat and gain of healthy lean tissue without restricting calories or working out.

Book recommendation:

Natural Hormonal Enhancement, by Rob Faigin.

He addresses these hormonal issues in very easy-to-understand language. The book is extremely well-researched. He has all the science to back up what he says, but he explains everything so that any of us can get it. He talks a lot about growth hormone, insulin, cortisol, etc. The back of the book has a very detailed exercise plan that, personally, I think it way too complicated, but the majority of the book is very educational and inspiring regarding a low carbohydrate lifestyle and how this affects pretty much *everything* the body does, through its effect on hormones, and tehrefore all the processes *they* regulate.