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Stubborn Weight Loss on Induction Anyone?

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guppi4ever
guppi4ever Posts: 14
in Social Groups
Hi - I started Atkins Monday, Nov. 4th.. and I'm getting so discouraged. My starting weight was 151.8. Today is November 14th and I am sitting at 149.6. I have been at this weight since last Saturday. Actually, I went up for a day or so, then back down. I'm watching carbs, counting carbs, measuring foods - except my proteins like a chicken breast...

I feel like I want to quit. But then I read all these people's posts where they are losing 4, 5, 7 or more pounds in the first week alone! I keep going one day at a time..... The problem for me is, I have weighed 151 for the past year. I've tried getting it down.. and it won't budge. I do work outside through the summer. Hard work.. I'm doing landscape stuff and for hours at a time. I'm drenched when I come home. I move boulders, lift topsoil, move plants, etc. I come home, I weigh EXACTLY the same, right down to the ounces. I thought my scale was broken! I went and bought new batteries.

I knew winter was coming and for me, that meant snow and bitter cold temperatures. I have Raynauds and I cannot be out in it.
So, I'm afraid of going up in weight - not to mention, I have wanted to go down in weight for quite sometime. I know medications can play a roll, but I cannot go off the ones I am on. I did look each and every single one of them up and none have any carbs (lol)..

I just do not know what to do anymore. My house is very small and the space is very limited. I have a treadmill in the basement, but it is extremely cold down there. I have no space for it up here. I'm not making excuses to not exercise.. because I can use my TV programs to do other things they have available..

I had just hoped I could see better results with induction. Is anyone else in this boat? I see so many people losing fair amounts of weight. I want to lose like that also.

Replies

  • LavaDoll
    LavaDoll Posts: 595 Member
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    this sounds very frustrating.

    would you consider opening your food diary?

    that is typically the best place to start in terms of looking at what is going on in there, and perhaps offering some help.

    also, for those resistant to loss, even on induction, there is the Atkins Fat Fast - i was doing induction for the second time around (90 days induction, 60 days phase 2, then back to induction and i am now on day 25...) and i noticed my losses were s-l-o-w.
    Then i found some posts about the Fat Fast, and while i am not all-in on that, it made sense to me.
    I had noticed I had higher losses the weeks my fats were higher.
    So I upped my fats, cut my proteins, and all but eliminated my carbs - which were mainly coming from veggies and some atkins bars. My losses have increased.

    You may want to look into the Fat Fast. That may get you jump-started towards loss.
    There is a lot of info on this out there, but here is a link i just found on it: http://www.wikihow.com/Jump-Start-the-Atkins-Diet

    Finally, do you have anything else going on medically?
    I am hypo-thyroid, and my endo is closely monitoring all my labs and progress while i reduce my weight.
    Back in May, we agreed the best plan for me was Atkins, and i am so happy i brought up my weight concerns with her.
    You may want to see your doctor and talk to them about your frustration.
  • sb4480
    sb4480 Posts: 199 Member
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    A few questions:

    How tall are you?

    It could be that you just don't have a ton to lose. I'm 5'6" and 151 is within normal weight (BMI) for me. Not that I want to be 151, but technically I'm "ok" weight wise. It's so much harder for me to lose at my size/height versus someone who has much more to lose than I do.

    How much water do you drink every day?

    For me at 5'6" 145.5lbs sedentary I need to drink 75oz MIN, so I try and aim for 90ish to get the extra liquid. Make sure this is straight water and not tea, coffee, soup, diet soda or crystal light.

    How much fat are you consuming?
    Net carbs are only part of the equation. Atkins is low carb, high fat, moderate protein. Check your macros and recalculate using this calculator (http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/). Input those percentages into the MFP custom goals screen and track with that.

    You say you watch carbs, but what's your target? <20g? <50? You might need to drop down drastically or do a fat fast to jumpstart your ketosis again.

    Have you tried testing with ketostix to see if you're in ketosis?

    What's your work-setting like? Are you in an office building? Could you bring sneakers and do laps inside the office using stairs? I work in a largish building and there are women who walk the length then go down 2-3 flights of stairs, walk back a length and go up 2-3 flights. Could be a way around the lack of exercise.

    Good luck!
  • guppi4ever
    guppi4ever Posts: 14
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    Hi
    #1 - How do I open up my food diary? I'm not sure how to do that.
    I had also read about doing the fat fast.. but I will be TOTALLY honest here. It scares the crap out of me. I'm 54. And although
    I get the whole idea of Atkins, the idea of slamming that much fat into my system is scary. I see my arteries just swelling shut.

    #2 - I am 5'4" tall.. Being this weight is NOT good. I do not feel good either. I have fibromyalgia, I suffer with osteoarthritis and have Raynauds. I am on long term disability, so I am at home. Which is Michigan. So I am in cold weather. Not something I can be running around in outside, due to the Raynauds. I thought the induction would get myself motivated to start my exercising shows back like I used to do. 2 summers ago, I was determined to get the weight down. I started out at 174. The highest I ever weighed in my life. I was a body-builder for crying out loud!! Back when I was 30. Now with all the problems I have, I cannot do what I did before. It's so disheartening. In any case, 2 summers ago, I went the healthy route and just cut the junk, started eating healthier, cut sugar and breads (not completely, but quite a bit). I was walking every day.. up to 5-7 miles a day. I broke my foot................. its been all downhill since.

    Now, my foot has never healed right - I can't get in the proper shoe, my feet hurt every single day. I thought by doing the induction, I could get that weight off and just try to keep it off by eating healthier through the winter months.

    I just can't tell you how excited I was to start this program, only to be let down. I am bored with the food also. I have Atkins frozen dinners in my freezer because I thought I could have those - but I have not eaten them, because I feel like I will gain. I have had an Atkins shake in the morning, because I cannot tolerate eating eggs every single day. And eating salads or veggies non-stop every single day is not too inviting either. I'm trying to switch it up.. I like the idea of the Atkins bars.. and the shakes.. but am I really allowed to eat those? I feel guilty!!!

    And lastly - I am adding Vanilla CarbMaster NonFat milk to my coffee in the morning with 1 truvia packet. Each cup is actually 2 cups. The nonfat milk has 0 net carbs per serving - which is an 8 oz glass. I thought I could have that..

    I have not gone and bought the brand new book.. I had the original book, and now the New Revolution book. Which deals with the net carbs. I can't imagine the new book being that much different, so I am going by this one.

    I am going by less than 20 net carbs per day.
    I am using the Ketone strips every morning. I hit between light and moderate on one day - then it has been at "Light" the rest.
    But it took about 5 days for me to get there.

    Something isn't right... any help? Opening the diary is fine.. I just don't know how.
    Thank you!!
  • penguin817
    penguin817 Posts: 20
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    To open your diary, go to settings at the top of the page, then click on Diary Settings. There you can change it to public.

    I too have had a slow start, only 7 lbs down in 3 weeks, but I am keeping with it.... I keep looking for the Ketone strips, but can't seem to find them in the store?
  • guppi4ever
    guppi4ever Posts: 14
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    I found my Ketone strips right near the pharmacy section... You could even ask them and they will show you. It's right by all the diabetic items. Thank you for letting me know how to open the diary. Today wasn't the best day... I ate a late lunch and now I don't want to eat dinner...... and it's already too late. What I did eat was good tho. So hopefully I will be ok. I'm just full from my late lunch.
  • penguin817
    penguin817 Posts: 20
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    Just make sure you are eating at least 1000 calories a day
  • penguin817
    penguin817 Posts: 20
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    Ok, thanks for opening your diary, here are my suggestions, and this is just my observation. I am NOT an expert, nor do I claim to be, but this is what I think needs to be changed in the way you are eating to improve your weight loss experience.

    #1 drink MORE water, at minimum 8 glasses of 8 oz per day, but strive for 10

    #2 avoid sugar alcohols, specifically in the Atkins bars, although they say they are safe for all phases they have a negative impact on induction phase.

    #3 switch from 1/2 &1/2 to heavy cream.... You use a lot of it, and there are carbs in it which add up when you use so much, switch to heavy cream in your coffee and you don't have to count carbs.

    #4 keep your daily carbs BELOW 20

    #5 each sugar substitute packet also has a half a carb in it, you need to count those. If you are adding 3 truvia to your coffee, that is 1.5 carbs you need to account for.

    Water is a hard one for me, but I put four bottles out each day to make use that I drink at least my gallon needed, then anything extra I drink is a bonus. See if making these changes help. Good luck!
  • guppi4ever
    guppi4ever Posts: 14
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    Thank you for your tips!

    It's interesting... I started out drinking heavy cream in my coffee... then switched to the low carb Vanilla Carbmaster..
    because the net carbs in that was 0. AND it tasted great! THEN, I thought I wasn't getting enough fats or something, so
    I went and bought the 1/2 and 1/2. The only issue I had with the heavy cream was that it spoiled quickly. And of course, the cost.
    I will go back to using it though.

    As for the Truvia packets, I use 3 a day. I count all of them - but counting them as net carbs, they are 0. Which is why you see a zero on the diary. This is why I am so confused. I will now add 1.5 carbs.

    The total carbs that I have has usually been under 20 - but now that I am looking at "net carbs"..... I use the sugar and fiber columns and subtract that off the carbs......... and I'm under.

    I wondered about those bars!!! I wasn't sure if I should eat them or not. I actually just bought some more of them today, because I have such a hard time eating in the morning. Those were actually perfect.. but I DO enjoy the shakes. Now I'm not sure what to do with them!

    It is hard for me to drink the water.. I actually drink Propel. It has zero carbs. When I drink the large bottles, they are counted as just over 3 - 8 oz glasses. And the smaller ones count as just over 2. I drink just over 1, through the night, one in the morning, 2 through the afternoon, or more - 3 up until midnight. I try for more, but it's hard!! LOL

    The other problem I have found, is that I have been staying up way to late, lately. Because of that, I am not getting up as early as I used to.. and this is related to the weather change also. So therefore, I don't eat before 11am. That throws my lunch off, then my dinner.. SO, the last few days, I have messed up and just today, I never even ate lunch. I'm gone all day long and not hungry because I ate such a late breakfast.

    I do know one thing. I have gone 2 weeks and lost 2.2 pounds. I'm not happy at all. I'm only giving it another week, at best. If nothing changes, I'm just going back to what I did before. I'm extremely disappointed. I've cut out so much of the things that I enjoyed. I was eating high fiber bread, snacks, breakfast bars, sandwiches, mashed potatoes... all kinds of things. I gave all that up and I cannot lose anything? To me it hardly seems worth the money I spent on the groceries and the time I spent logging... I bought the Ketones.. And every single day I get up hoping that it will be different - only to get on the scale and it has not changed at all. The last few days I have had that "I don't care" attitude, almost. I've often felt that maybe I just needed to "carb up" and then hit this again. We used to do that in body-building. But doing rollercoaster dieting is just not good..

    I'm growing very tired of trying to get this weight off. I really thought this would work. :frown:
  • tenagreear
    tenagreear Posts: 26
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    Ketone strips are at Walmart in the pharmacy in the diabetic section. I can sympathize with your frustration at the slow loss but keep at it. This is my second round of Atkins and the first time was so easy. Not this time! Maybe it is the age...55 (yikes!). I am 5'3" and started 2 weeks ago at 156.6. This morning I am 150! Whew!! I am very healthy and very active so I thought I would see that huge drop the first week too. I think my issue is I eat very healthy due to diabetes so there was really no shock to my system. I have always used heavy whipping cream in my coffee and have stayed away from sweets. I have been allowed 60 g of carbs a week so that is what I had to change. No more sweet potatoes and low carb bread for awhile for me. It is worth it because this does work! Don't give up!! As for the water I drink like a camel. Whenever I see my weight going up I double the intake. I think that is why I put some weight back on. I just wasn't drinking enough. Weight loss is never easy and you have it harder due to your health. However keep in mind we all have issues which is why we are sharing this journey. Support is important! Good luck!! And remember keep your goals realistic. Slow and steady wins the race.

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