Hi everyone. I started Atkins 4 weeks ago and am doing it very strictly. I count every carb. I have one coffee a day with cream and splenda and I cound that. I am not eating any of the protein bars, strictly eggs, meats and one cup of salad with blue cheese dressing. I have only lost two pounds in 4 weeks. My husband is doing it with me and lost 15 pounds. He is eating much more than me. I am drinking 8 twelve ounce glasses of water a day. I went to the doctor to have thyroid checked and it came back normal. I did the diet in 2003 and lost 10 pounds the first 9 days so I can not understand what is going on here. I have a baby who just turned one and I gained a lot of weight with that pregnancy. Any guidance would be appreciated. I am also exercising 4 days a week. I almost lost it last night and went to QuickCheck to get peanut butter cups and chips and cupcakes but I got control of my emotions here. Why can I not lose the way my husband is losing?

Hi Barbara,
Welcome to LCE.

Several things perhaps you can change to get going with the weight loss.
First of all, everybody is different. For some reason, and it's totally NOT fair, guys do lose faster than gals. It's the muscle to fat ratio on guys actually that boosts their wt loss along at a faster rate. DO NOT DESPAIR!

Dr Atkins says the first time on LC is the *golden opportunity*, meaning, each time after that you may lose at a slower rate. I think he also intended for us to continue LC as a WOL(way of life) and not go off and on and mess up our opportunity to lose big...just my take on it

Now...I think you should go ahead and add in some more carbs in the form of LC veggies...more leafy greens, broccoli, green beans etc. Your body may be thinking a famine is near and going into *starvation mode* and hanging onto the fat for self protection. Also, now would be a good time to make sure you are getting enough fat in your daily intake as well...should be around 30-40% of your diet.

Your water intake sounds great, and you are exercising, so I think maybe if you add in say, 5-7gm more carbs per day, veggies first, then the next week add in another 5gm, maybe in the form of an ounce or so of nuts things might get to rolling along better for you.

Please be patient...it really sounds like you are doing everything right...your body just hasn't decided to go along with you just yet!

Post often and let us know how you are doing.

HTH

Shelley

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Shelley
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Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

Welcome, Barbara.

Shelley is right, there is no specific rate of loss that applies across the board ... except that, generally, men do lose faster than women. Probably partially due to larger muscle mass and no pesky female horemone fluctuations to deal with.

I might mention here that about a half a pound a week was my average. However, at the end of two years I had lost well over 50 lbs. It's still gone seven years later. There's something about a very slow process that gives one a real opportunity to make a new way of eating second nature.

Hope you'll make yourself at home.

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Hi Barbara Puts arm around new friend ... "I understand"

Sucks dont it? I am also in a similar situation and I can totally empathise with your situation esp when someone whom is eating more than you is losing tons of weight ... my sister who lives with us and weighs all of 55kg (120 pounds) has lost 5kg (12 pounds) as a 'consequence' of the low carb evening meal I prepare - she consumes roughly 250 carbs a day at work and no exercise ... ARGGGGGHHHH

I am trying different approaches (i.e eating more) and I will let you know if I have any success.

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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
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I'm thirding this Barbara. Just hang in there, I saw a 2 lb loss FINALLY, but it was hard to sweat it out!

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Heather
182-2/27/08

Barbara-Sorry to hear things aren't moving as planned! I know it's frustrating when it doesn't seem to be helping and you feel like you're on-track.

I would echo Shelly's advice to consider upping your carbs, particularly if you're exercising regularly. You may need more than what you're getting, and in reality, it's almost never "too many veggies" that cause problems for us anyway, right?

Also, do make sure you're taking your measurments, monitoring how you feel, and watching how your clothes fit. So many times, these things change at different times than that dang number on the evil little scale contraption. Remember that pounds down is one measure of progress, not to be mistaken for the actually progress on having a more fit, healthy body.

And make sure not to compare your losses with hubby if it's not motivating. It's just faster for men, usaully. It also tends to be faster for people with more to lose, but not always. Regardless, it's highly individual.

And finally, do look out for anything different in your eating habits from before, and don't be afraid to experiment. Sometimes, there is a particular food or whatever that is problemmatic for you, even if it's usally not for other people.

And do make sure you're taking your supplements. When I'm having trouble losing, sometimes up'ping my vitamins that I take can help get it rolling again.

Peace out.

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