[wowwieholmes]

Dear All..

Have been following the Induction phase diet faithfully--water, foods and the rest. Weighed in at FOUR weeks of induction and had lost a total of four pounds--big deal. NOW, I weigh myself this morning and I have gained back one of the four pounds lost approaching week five--I am going backwards! Frankly, I am demoralized.

If I had done weightwatchers with this level of faithfulness I would have been further down the line but the concept of fat burning has opposed to losing muscle mass--at age 60 that is important--really made sense to me.

My ketostix still says mid ketosis but I am wondering when, if ever, this is going to kick in for me. By the way, my husband is also on it an he has lost 12 pounds.

Any body have any experiences they can share. I am a logical and methodical person and am hoping your insights might help.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

Carmen

[kasandrasikl]

Can you make a food journal for a couple of days and post it up here?

[wowwieholmes]

Hello..

Thanks for answering--can definitely do that and present for your review. Cannot figure out why I am so totally committed and getting no results. Read in Atkins book that L-Cartine and CoQ might help so started that yesterday.

Thanks for writing--hanging on by my fingertips on this one!


Car

[kasandrasikl]

Also, what is your current weight and what is your goal weight? If you don't have much to lose, it may take a while (so i have read). And 1 lb a week is still progress, though I understand wanting it to go a little faster. Another thing, I personally didn't do induction nearly that long (3 days) because I wanted to get more into a manageable state quickly. My diet now seems to fit something I could do for a lifetime, and if it didn't then I would just gain it all back. So, maybe you could move onto the next phase and try to embrace your 1lb a week with a more manageable diet. Thats still 50 lbs a year!

P.S. I am no atkins expert, in fact, I have only read FEW parts of the book. These are just opinions of mine, so let some of the other "Experts" chime in. I just know that the questions I am asking will help them because thats what they asked me

[JJascaxal]

Hi Myers,

I can understand your frustration, especially when your husband is seeing such great results.

If you went from a very low calorie diet directly to Atkins, you may have started out in a starvation mode. That's when your body adapts to a very low calorie diet by becoming extremely efficient in its metabolism. Do you have low energy, sleepiness, slow heart rate, shallow respiration? If that's you, you should be sure to eat plenty of fat and calories during Induction to break out of the starvation mode. It does slow your weight loss, but it's worth it to get your metabolism humming. You want to be able to take in as much food as you need without feeling hungry and feel energetic too.

If you haven't started an exercise program yet, now is the time to start. Atkins, like any weight loss program, requires exercise. It's non-negotiable. Choose an activity that you will enjoy and do it at least half an hour almost every day, but aim for an hour a day.

Here are some of the activities that I have found to be fun and effective:
Dancing: I play Dance Dance Revolution on the Playstation and I'm 52! It's great exercise and an hour goes by before I know it. I always break a sweat.
Hiking: I found several trails near my office and try to go faster and farther each time, even running up hills as I get more fit.
Bicycling: I bought a small bike just for exercise.
Shopping: Ok, but it's a lot of exercise to go to the biggest mall and push your grandson around in a stroller at a very fast pace for a couple of hours. Wear comfortable shoes and do as many laps as you can within two or three hours. It's ok to stop and shop once or twice during each lap.
And there's always the pool, treadmill and weight machines at the Y.
I'm planning to take up horseback riding too!

I have a friend who lost 85 pounds on Weight Watchers during the same time I lost 85 lbs on Atkins. For me, a low calorie diet makes me feel deprived and hungry and I was always dealing with cravings. I don't feel that way on Atkins.

Good luck! I hope you stick with it and give us progress reports.

Karen