I don't know what to do. I've never cried about my weight until this morning, when the scale read 228. All last week I was 228, until Sunday when I was 222/223 and put it down as 224. I got my hopes up thinking that this diet could actually work. Yesterday I weighed in at 228, and though "Oh, it's probably nothing". This morning, 228 again. My friends eat pizza and chocolate, and they manage to maintain their weight. I follow this diet to a tee, and I get the same result as them. I've gone an entire month without binging, I've been eating the right food, drinking plenty of water, exercising, and I've already seem to have met my limit. 12 pounds. Of the 60 I have to lose, I've only lost 12. Nothing ever works out for me. I know, I know, you're going to say it's just a stall. But I don't believe it.

Any chance it's your TOM? It also could be that your body just needs a little routine change-up. Don't lose heart. Not bingeing for a month is a huge accomplishment!! Don't lose sight of that. I hope things turn around for you very soon.

Also, if you've recently upped your exercise, you can gain "weight" without gaining weight. When muscles tear (like in anything strength training or sit-ups, etc), they retain water as they heal. This causes a temporary elevated weight, despite that you're actually smaller in terms of fat and size.

And maybe low carb isn't for you? There's always the chance that you'd do better with another diet, although I know most people would hesitate to say that. You should give it a few weeks to be sure it's not just a plateau.

Rythm, don't you give up now! You could be two days away from the sudden onset of a tremendous losing streak, and since you've been doing everything meticulously by the rules of Induction -- that weight IS going to come off. It might not be as fast as you hoped at first. With me, it took a month to lose the 9 pounds I have lost. I feel so much smaller than before, and I can eat truly healthy foods anytime I am hungry and not gain weight. What other way of eating allows such nonsense? Eating when you're actually hungry? Unheard of. And yet, Dr. Atkins' plan has given us that gift and that advantage.

Consider this before you give up: You've lost 12 pounds. It's only the first month of the rest of your life. There are about 3 months left until Summer (what if you lost 12 more pounds a month by then? That is a lot of weight! You might not lose THAT much, but in three month's you will have lost more weight for certain.) AND someone up there mentioned the nefarious TOM that strikes all of us females every month -- that is going to happen no matter what, just don't weigh yourself the week before or during, then you won't have to see the water retention on your scale.

Don't give up. This diet works on human bodies and is no respecter of persons. And you can always feel free to come here and vent to us anytime you feel down about it, and we will cheer you up. Don't be sad.

Hey,

I don't know your exact situation but when I maintain weight for awhile I try to see that it's an accomplishment too. Maintaining weight at whatever size can be hard and it's good to hear that you have been eating right and exercising. It's about lifestyle not just weight loss, although it's a great bonus when you loss those pounds.

Keep at it, good luck, and see the long term.

Another thing to remember is that when you lose weight quickly (not sure how long it took you to lose first bit) your resting metobolic rate will slow down quite a bit until your body adjusts and it slowly climbs back to where it was...could explain the stall...not sure about the slight weight gain though. Somedays I go up a pound or pound and a half...haven't went down in about a week now...but for me it's prob not eating enough veggies and "STILL" too much cheese. Plus I drank quite a bit last weekend...probably contributing somehow as well, I'm sure. I'm sure if you posted more details of what you're actually eating, the more experience ladies in here will be able to pick it apart and point you in the right direction...either way, don't be so down on yourself...

Just noticed in your profile that you're 16...not sure how being that age affects females...

It affects us all kinds of way Jason.

My guess is it's that time of month (TOM). Did you know that we females gain on average anywhere from 4-8 pounds right before/during TOM and don't lose it until several days after our TOM completely ends? It's true! Doctors consider a gain of 8 pounds of water weight to be completely normal, and some women gain even more water weight than that (sometimes 10 pounds), especially if they give in to a craving for salt or something like that.

Most of us don't notice it quite as much until we start to diet. Since we are watching that scale like crazy when we are dieting, we REALLY notice that 4-8 pounds of water weight gain!

In fact there is no way your weight gain is anything BUT water weight since it went on so quickly.

So please, please don't give up. You have actually lost a ton of weight already, and although I think 12 lbs. is a little much to expect to lose each month, you could pretty easily lose 5 lbs. a month. Just imagine where you will be this summer if you lose 5 lbs a month! Think how much better your clothes will fit and how much more comfortable you will be!

It is a bit of a sacrifice to give up pizza, chocolate, french fries, etc., but isn't your health and happiness worth the sacrifice? At least on this way of dieting, you don't have to starve yourself and stay hungry all the time. I mean, any diet involves some sacrifice, but this diet to me is doable whereas starvation diets aren't so doable. Although, people are different, and maybe not everyone would like this WOE.

Please hang in there and post again in about two weeks. Bet you anything those pounds will be gone again and will take a pound or two with them when they go.

My bad day got a little worse. After I posted this topic, I put my stuff on and headed outside to wait for the bus. I looked down the road, only to see the bus driving away. I missed it. As I was walking back up the laneway I broke down and started crying again. It wasn't really about the bus, it was everything. When I got inside my mom asked me what was wrong and when I told her my father couldn't help but butt in and call me a "******ed b-tch". It turns out I didn't even miss the bus, I was just early and saw the bus for another school head down the road. So I get to school and the day runs smoothly until I get home and weigh myself. 228. 228! I ate a big banana, not because I wanted it, but because I was angry at the diet. I know, that's silly. So after I called my mom and asked her if she could pick me up before she goes shopping so I could go with her, but she said she didn't have time. After I hung up I started crying again. After I calmed down, I ate 2 pieces of pie, a handful of macaroons, 2 brownies, and a package of Oreo Cakes. And boy do I feel like I'm going to puke. But I'm not angry at myself. I'm actually hoping I gain a pound or two. At least by doing this I can see that what I eat really does have an impact on my weight. If I weight myself tomorrow and weigh 228 still, I don't know how I'll react...

Thank you for the support everyone. I've read and considered each and every one of your posts. It's nice having a place to vent. Now off to the kitchen to get a tall glass of water.

Awww, honey. I'm sorry to hear you're having a tough time of it. Try to relax and feel better.

Would it be too sappy of me to say that if it weren't for the bad days we wouldn't be able to recognize the good days? And trust me when I tell you this--once this day is behind you, like a week or so from now--it won't seem like a big deal at all. It just all feels like too much right now. Oh and one more thing. You WILL do "bad" things diet-wise. Accept that it will happen and forgive yourself for being human. The shame is not in going off plan, the shame is in not getting back on.

Thank you, girls. I tried to make myself feel better by going out and getting a big healthy salad to eat for lunch tomorrow. It kind of worked, I have a better outlook on tomorrow.

Weird thing is... I weighed myself when I got home... And I went from 232 (right after eating a mountain of junk) to 226 (even lighter than I began with). o_O I am so done with weighing myself. Seriously, if I keep doing this I'm going to go crazy.

It's good to make a fresh start. Remember to be patient. That is the hardest part of any diet.

Resist the temptation to give in and eat like the old days just because your diet isn't working as fast as you'd like. You are only shooting yourself in the foot when you do that.

Time will pass whether or not you are dieting. You can either eat the way that you used to, and be heavier in six months or a year, or you can stick with this diet and in six months or a year, be at your goal weight. Either way, the time will pass. It's up to you and whatever actions you take today, whether you will be a healthier and happier you in six months or a heavier and sadder you in six months.

Rythm, I think you found a good answer all on your own : stop the frequent weigh-ins.

If you weigh in more often than once a week you will ALWAYS see your weight fluctuate, often by 3, 4, 5 or more pounds. FOR NO REASON AT ALL. You can't freak out about it.

What's really important is to take a long term view. Can you committ to a healthy diet and exercise for a few weeks? Then watch the BEHAVIOR and give yourself credit (and rewards) for that, and let the scale fall where it will. Over time diet and exercise will pay off, but for a lot of us it does take time.

I know we all want to lose the weight fast - we're fed up being fat, we're feeling the pain of being overweight, we make hard changes and choices so we feel we should see results at the same time. But our bodies don't lose at the same rate as each other -- I'm one of the slow losers -- I always have been. With extreme effort I lose about 3 pounds a month. With moderate effort (which is what I do in real life) I lose about a pound and a half, two pounds if I'm lucky). But it's going in the right direction, and those small losses add up.

Hang in there, keep on track & try to pat yourself on the back for what you ARE doing well, okay???

Hugs