Thread: One week in

Hi all,
It's been a week now since I began induction and the scale seems to not want to move. I do not have the cravings at all (took 2-3 days), my energy is up and my clothes are starting to feel better (a little at least). I have watched everything I've eaten and 20 carbs is the most I've had each day. Some days have been 15-18 carbs. Any ideas on why the scale seems glued to one point?

Hey I have been on this for 2 weeks now. Dom't worry your doing finr. I'm about to put my scale on the back porch

As weird as this may sound...maybe you're not eating enough.
Maybe I'm crazy but it seems that I've been able to break my stalls by eating more...not less. I just do this for a couple days and then cut back to my normal carbs/cals again.

Eat your full 20 carbs during induction, then don't wait to up them after that. Go right on into the OWL with 25 carbs...then even 30, 35 or 40 over the next couple of weeks as suggested on the Atkins plan.

One of the things that often happens during induction is that one replaces lost muscle tissue. Muscle weighs much more than fat, cubic inch for cubic inch. That's why many people see no loss on the scale, but a noticible loss in inches during induction.

Hang in there, Ed.

Is this your first induction? I redid my induction a couple weeks ago just to get rid of some cravings and found that I didn't lose anything for 6 days after steady losses up to that point. Then I only lost a pound for several days. I found that I do better with 30 carbs than with 20. Like Melissa said maybe your body thinks you're not eating enough.

But I also agree that the inches are a great thing. The pounds will follow eventually.

Ditto all the great advice above!
Can't really add anything more, except to say that everyone is different and bodies respond differently to this woe (way of eating). You may be one of those people who takes a while to "get the ball moving," but once it gets going, it's all downhill...
And if you are losing inches, you KNOW you are losing fat, so it's obviously working for you.
Hang in there & maybe wait a couple of weeks before you weigh again. And take your measurements every couple of weeks, because (as pointed out above), inches lost is what REALLY matters!
Good luck,

Thanks all for your encouragement.

Melissa, I think I'm eating plenty (at least I know I'm full :fork: ). I've been eating lots of meat (steak, chicken, bacon, sausage), a little cheese (very little this time), eggs, and some salad greens.

Maggie, I sit at a desk all day, could I still be replacing fat with muscle?

CushieButterfield, This isn't my first Induction. The first time I was dropping weight right from the start (which kept me motivated). I stayed on Induction too long the first time (6 weeks), but lost over 30lbs doing it.

In addition to the loss of cravings, more energy, etc., I've got the "dragon breath" so I hope I'm at least into ketosis.

I sit at a desk all day, could I still be replacing fat with muscle?

Yeah, it could happen. Especially if you've been sitting at a desk for a long time and not getting a sufficient protein intake. Of course, another possibility is that you're not getting enough veggies (fiber) in which case the lack of loss is sort of self explanatory. Some psyllium husks and lots of water will "cure" that.

Naturally, you'd do best to try to incorporate some sort of activity into your daily routine. There are people (like me) who eventually did normalize our weight - albeit very slowly - without an exercise component, but even most of us who are dyed-in-the-wool slugs eventually want to try to put some tone to what's left of us. I wish I'd started trying to unchain myself from couch/computer chair sooner.

I actually do feel better now that I'm doing something on a regular basis. It took me about a year to find something I could live with. LOL!

Your doing great Ed, hang in there! I agree with the great advice above, especially the 'put the scale away' at least for awhile. Keep on keepin on.

Hi all,

On Tuesday I could put on a pair of Levis that two weeks ago I couldn't come close to getting on (the two ends where the button and button hole are weren't even close to touching). The scale is still mocking me, but my clothes are telling the story.

Now I've gotta read up on what to do after the two week Induction. Last time I did Atkins I stayed on Induction for 6 weeks and lost over 30lbs. Induction really wasn't bad, so I figured why not stay with a good thing. Later I learned that staying on really wasn't a good idea. Guess I better get reading before the weekend.Thanks for the encouragement.

My suggestion for what to do after induction is to start upping your carbs 5 gms per day/per week. Meaning that you go from 20 carbs per day to 25 for a week or two and keep increasing, a bit at a time, until you find your CCLL (critical carbohydrate level for losing). As you do this, you'll also be increasing the diversity of food available and making this a sustainable way of life.

Some info on where to get that extra "5" are here.

Thanks Maggie. I'll have to read up on how to tell when I hit my CLL. Don't wanna go on by it

Well, you might, Ed. But if you do, you back off a few to get back to a reasonable rate of loss. It's a trial and error process, but then so is life, no?

I felt as if, after a year of doing this, I had earned a PhD in mE. You'll learn a lot about your individual metabolism if you simply adopt this as a way of life.

... oh, yeah, and you'll ultimately normalize your weight, too.