Hello, I am new to this forum but I started Atkins 6 weeks ago. I lost 7 lbs. on induction, but since then, NOTHING! Two weeks ago I went back on induction, but still NOTHING!!

Here is a "typical" daily menu for me. Yes, I measure and count everything, an old habit (but a good one) from Weight Watchers which I attempted several years ago, then gave up after seven months of rigid points counting, excruciating, torture hunger, and NOTHING.

BREAKFAST: omelet made from 2 large eggs, 1 oz. cheddar cheese, 1/2 Tbsp butter.

LUNCH: Chef's salad made from:
romaine lettuce,
6 grape tomatoes,
1/2 avocado,
2 sliced olives,
1/2 oz. cashews or almonds,
1/2 oz. crumbled Greek cheese,
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil

SUPPER: 1 grilled chicken breast or 6 oz. lean meat, stir-fry vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, french green beans, frozen or fresh) sauteed in olive oil.

SNACK: First drink all the water. Then can have snack. I count out 12 macadamia nuts (=1 oz.) as a snack allotment, OR 1 string cheese (cut in bits)

EXERCISE: 3-mile walk 6 days a week unless it is a downpouring rain or blizzard.

Do I need to cut out the cashews in the salad? Substitute the lemon juice with vinegar? Or something else?

Welcome, Angelette.

Are you still in ketosis?

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

I test the strip first thing in the morning. It has never turned more than the very faintest pink. So I don't know if I am in "ketosis" or not. I would guess not.

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG????

Forgot to mention that I am not taking any prescription medications (which was mentioned in the Atkins books).

When I joined Weight Watchers 4 years ago, I also did not lose any weight for 6 weeks. I went to the Dr. and he did not find any thyroid problems. He prescribed Xenical which I took and lost 20 lbs. Being on an extremely low fat diet at the time the side effects were not so horrible. Of course when I stopped taking the drug my weight plateaued and for 7 months I followed the program and lost 1 lb. a week, gained it back the next week, etc. etc. During this time WW caused a weight loss in my wallet of $370.
It is clearly not in their interest to help people reach their goal weight quickly.

Now I am afraid that I will never lose weight NO MATTER WHAT PROGRAM I FOLLOW. It is very discouraging to see NO CHANGE.

Welcome Angelette,

Ok, first of all... take a deep breath and calm down. You are not doing anything wrong (as far as I can see). Your menu looks awesome!
I *would* like to ask a couple of questions:
1) How much water are you drinking? and
2) How much do you need to lose? What is your weight and height and age?

It **is** possible that you are VERY metabolically resistant to losing weight, but giving up now will only hamper your progress and quite possibly contribute to the overall problem.
I tell people that they have to imagine that they are in a game of "stare-eyes" with their body and they CANNOT *blink* first!. You basically have to tough it out. If you are eating and exercising as you say, the weight WILL eventually move... but you have to be tough and not throw in the towel first!

One thing you are doing *wrong* is testing your ketones in the morning... According to Dr. A and other things I read, your best ketone reading will be at night -- before you go to bed. That *may* be why you are not seeing more than a slight response on your strips. Then again, I lost 50 pounds without ever registering more than *trace* to *light* -- largely because I drink a lot of water and this dilutes the ketones in the urine. But do NOT slack off on the water just to see more of a response!

Please hang in there and give this woe (way of eating) more of a chance. Don't stay on induction; indeed, you may need to up your carbs (with more veggies and some berries) to get the scale moving again.
I truly wish you the best of luck and hope that you will keep posting with your progress...

Summer


www.herstorygirl.com

Dear Summer:

Thanks for answering my question.

I drink 2 liters of water every day. I also drink coffee (2 cups in the morning w/ 1 kg Splenda & milk which I count as 1 carb each) green tea, herb tea and sparkling water.

I am 50 years old (that would be very "metabolically" resistent I guess), I am 5'0" and weigh (shame) 165. My goal weight is 110 because I have a small frame (size 5 finger)

Everything looks really good except for the tomatoes, cashews and lemon juice. You might want to forego those until you have begun to lose a little better. I only lost 6lbs during induction and have lost quite slowly, I'm staring 50 in the face and very metabolically resistant too. Are you drinking full caffeine coffe too? You might want to wean to half-decaf. When I started exercising, my weight came off a little more steadily, but I am still in the "slow as a glacier" club. I'm fine with that 'cuz I am eating this way the rest of my life. I stall REGULARLY and I am okay with that too........patience is a virtue. Tweak things every now and then, drink your water, exercise and stick with us. It will happen, I'm confident of that. Your in MY boat. (or we are in the SAME boat I should say. )

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!



Atkins-3/14/03
174/144.8/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

Angelette,

You can do this, sister. I have about every "resistance factor" known to man. I was your age when I started this, pre-diabetic, wearing an estrogen patch (which they can peel off my cold dead body), refused to give up coffee & tea (the mug for which they can pry from my cold dead fingers), was (still basically am) a couch fauxtato, and ... hmm, did I leave anything out? Probably.

My rate of loss was VERY slow, with many plateaus, but I felt so much better eating this way (with my blood sugars having normalized very early on) that it was pretty easy "not to blink", as Summer so perfectly puts it.

As Barb said, while you can't change your age - if you figure out how, please share , any little tweak you do can alter your metabolic status.

We're all pulling for you!

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

The lemon juice and cashews probably aren't appropriate for induction, but you're using them in fairly small amounts, so it probably isn't that important. Vinegar and lower-carb nuts would make better choices.

It looked like a good healthy meal plan to me. If you're showing color on the strips, then you're experiencing ketosis, although you may not be burning down the house this week.

Keep up the pace. It sounds like you're doing okay.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

Thanks for your kind replies. I can substitute vinegar and almonds for the lemon juice and cashews, and stop snacking on the cashews. That seems so trivial, though.

The reason I had such a panic attack is that my daughter's wedding is in 5 weeks! She got engaged on Thanksgiving. I begged her to make the wedding in the spring, but she said that she and her fiance "don't believe in lengthy engagements."

Now half that time is gone, during which I was being so faithful to the lo-carb plan, and I started to get desperate because I haven't dropped even one dress size.

To make it worse, the groom's mother is this stick figure little thing.

Angelette, if you have the energy, add some exercise if you haven't already. Get yourself some 5 or 8 lbs dumbells from a department store like Target or Walmart (if you have them around you.) Come up with 8 exercises you can do and add two more repetitions every 2 or 3 days. Weight training is a sure-fire way to up your metabolism. Start slow and rev it up when you can. Cut out those "trivial" bits and see what happens. You'll be beautiful at the wedding anyway, no matter what!!!!! And Have a great time!!!!

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!



Atkins-3/14/03
174/144.8/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

I don't generally advocate this, but if you really want to drop serious weight just for this occasion, you might consider atkins' "fat fast" -- he describes it in the DANDR book. Basically you keep to 1200 cals a day and eat like 90% fat (icky).

In the long run this is NOT NOT NOT NOT the way to go. You will want to heed the advice of Barb and Maggie -- fellow "vertically challenged" ones like you and me that have GOTTEN the results we're both after. However, I can certainly understand wanting to drop some extra weight for your daughter's wedding.

Who cares if his family is rail thin! You're beautiful at any weight!

-Kristen
165/158/120

The mother of the bride is ALWAYS beautiful!

Rave
232/174/130
57yo. 5'2"
Started Atkins 6/1/02

Angelette, This may be a dumb response cause I am fairly new and not too knowledgeable, but are you getting enough fiber and/or going to the bathroom? If you are nervous about the wedding, maybe you r just slightly off...hormones, nerves, etc. Enjoy the wedding, have fun, and pretend you didn't lose the weight purposefully...you know so you wouldn't upstage your daughter. Lol
Peace, Joanna
PS - and as for your future in-law
Sometimes I think the only people I am prejudice about are skinny beautiful women....smiles....only a joke....peace again

Angelette,

You aren't drinking NEAR enough water. Immediately double your intake to 4 liters.

Other than that, your plan looks excellent aside from the cashews.

Also, it is VERY common for peope to lose a few pound in the first 2 weeks and then NOTHING for 2-4 weeks thereafter. I know it stinks but your body just needs a break from the weightloss and will resume losing when it's ready.

DO NOT continue to do induction. Stick with OWL and stick to the basic foods like you've been eating. Meats, eggs, green veggies, and healthy fats. That's about as basic as it gets and the most direct path towards weightloss.