Ooohh...I am really sorry you are feeling down Lynnar! I totally feel your frustration. Please don't give up. Consistency wins in the end. One thing that I want to add to Azure's excellent advice is that I was like you too with the whole "food journal" thingy! I NEVER thought I'd do it...NEVER! But, after getting so frustrated after hitting a 4 wk stall, I finally gave in and started. I find that www.thedailyplate.com has more pre-programmed food in it and I haven't had to manually enter any foods making it a whole lot easier for me. With that said, one thing that I am learning is that at the end of the day CALORIES DO MATTER. Unlike how I originally thought when I started Atkins, I'm finding that while certain foods have more "thermogenic" qualities and thereby take more calories to digest than others, it is still down to the same concept CALORIES IN - CALORIES OUT = WEIGHT LOSS/GAIN. You exercise and that's great. Congratulate yourself for that cuz that's helping your metabolic rate. How do your clothes fit? R they loser? What about your BF%? There are so many other ways to gauge success other than the scale (which we are all addicted to!), but you may be making more progress than you know! This is just my thoughts and I couldn't just not say anything. I hope my post in taken in the context in which it was meant...to be helpful, encouraging and educational. Wish you the best. Joyce

:hug: Oh, Lynn! Don't get discouraged and definitely don't give up! Seriously, I would keep track of what you're eating--EVERYthing you put in your mouth for a few days then log it into FitDay and see where you're at. I think with Atkins it's possible to eat more than on a higher-carb diet and still lose weight. With that said, Dr. A also says that even then, if you're getting too many calories, it's still not going to result in weight loss! Most people can regulate by hunger on Atkins--because ketosis is an appetite suppressant, but that's a general rule.

I would also encourage you to have your thyroid levels checked with your Dr. If your thyroid is out of whack, your metabolism could be lower than it should be, which would cause a weight stall/gain, even at a good calorie level.

Lynnie Love: I'm sorry you are feeling down. The scale is so upsetting sometimes. If you look at some of my old posts exactly the same thing happened/happens to me. I stopped using the scale and have pretty much popped on once since then. I've been relying on my measuring tape. Don't give up though! I too can't keep up with fitday. I use a little spiral notebook to write everything down and hold myself accountable. Mainly the problem with the scale for me was focus too much on the destination and not enough on the journey. Does that make sense? I was making myself miserable. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!!!
OX
sc

Hello All! Hope this posts actually reaches you:

Well, it seems my time here at 3FC has come to an end. As you all know...I have always been one to "speak my mind". I am also open to hear others opinions. Sometimes, I agree to disagree. This is me. However, at this time, I am unable to enjoy the one thing that made me choose 3FC's forum over the 50 million other forums on the net. That is "free expression". Recently, I was engaged in what ended up being a pretty heated discussion with harsh words being thrown back and forth. I felt disrespected, censored and ostrisized and I fought back.

<-- edited discussion per forum rules -->

So there ya go...as to the reason I must depart. But before I left, I just wanted to say how nice it was chatting with all of you and send you all my very best...specifically the following people:

SIC - What can I say...you are the best! Stay the way you are (big/small/tall/short)...I LOVE YA! You are one **** of a lady!

Lynnar - All the best to ya...try not to be down...I'll send you my "positive vibes" and stay with your exercise...at the very least, it'll make you hang around alot longer for your daughter!

Nasus - It was a pleasure to have met you in cyberworld! You seem really nice and I wish I could've gotten to know you better. Hang in their girly! All the best!

Petra - Oooooh Petra...I was really diggin you! Your a doc, PP'r and an ex PA'r...how could I not love ya! Seriously though...I love the way you dance to the beat of your own drum. You have all the creditials in the world and could totally be "preachy"...****...we pay for people like you (Doc's) to be preachy to us! But your not...you are open-minded, intelligent and kind hearted. Take care of your doggies....I see why you love them so much...Yeah...I've fallin too for little MAX! Maybe we'll bump heads of the protein power threads one day!

BAB - Oh my sweet Drew Barrymore lookalike...but sooo much better! I'm sooo going to miss reading your stories. It swept me away for a moment to Thailand! It's the only vacation I've had all year (well, mentally that is:lol:)! I am soooo proud of your accomplishments. You are beautiful, talented and smart, with a heart of gold. You are also a fiesty one too! Unafraid to speak your mind with a well-balanced way of looking at life. Open-minded and all that good stuff. I'm thinking at the rate you are going you will reach goal way before you expect! Anywho...good luck to you. I'll be waiting for your new book to reach B&N's!

*EDIT* Oh..SoulB - Couldn't forgetcha! I just wanted you to know that I have much respect for you (one of few Vegans here) as you are an inspiration for strength and independence! I hope everything works out well for you and DH! Keep doing you and good luck (although I know you won't need it).

As for me...well, I've accomplished what I set out to. I've gained total control over my eating/exercise habits. I've lost a great deal of weight and most importantly fat! I'm pretty lean and feel healthy (with the exception of the cigarettes which I will battle on my own or perhaps reach out to a "help me stop smoking help group")! I'm okay...I have become my own "drill sargeant" and my own "workout buddy" and my own "motivator". I have been for a while, but I stayed here cuz I liked chatting with you ladies (in general) and giving helpful advice (sharing my experiences). But really, it's okay for me to go. It's a shame it had to be this way and while I do feel that the treatment of me here by some has been "dispicable" I'm really okay to move on. Love to you all! Peace. Joyce

Joyce, I'll miss you. I love your enthusaism. And I appreciate you're truly trying to help. Hope you check in here once in a while. I know you'll continue to be successful.
And thanks to everyone else who took the time to encourage me. I feel a little guilty whining so much, but it really does help, especially when I get the nice responses. I guess I keep going on Atkins and I'll look at the other journaling site. Gotta go home and make sure DH is cooking the pork chops like I told him to!!!

Lynn, you sound like me. I get that way too. Discouraged depressed, expecting it to all happen over night. I lost really well last week, now this week for the last two or three days, nothing.

I think it is normal. Our bodies drop a bunch of weight and then some mechanism steps in and says HEY slow down there!

Just keep on keeping on. The weight loss will start again, stressing about it will only make it harder to lose, those stress hormones you know....

Make sure you eat breakfast (which is what I think I've been doing wrong, not eating early enough). Eat 6 meals a day if it helps to keep your metabolism revved up. (small snacks for the in between meals).

Drink lots of water, don't eat lots of salt. Recheck to see if you are really still on induction level. Do you do the ketostix thing? Sometimes that is a reassurrance.

Today I was noticing my pants and how huge they look on me all of a sudden. I don't remember them looking this way even a few days ago and I know if anything the scale has taken a brief upward swing and hasn't settled back down yet, although it seems to be trying to. Still we can keep on losing fat on this diet without really losing pounds for awhile. Remember that. Use a tape measure if you are inclined to get discouraged, and measure. Weight isn't everything. Weight can involve retained water (which will happen if we eat too much salt, or are on low carb, but not drinking enough water).

I'm not one of those who believes in consuming gallons of water and forcing it all down, but I do try and make sure I have plenty particularly when I'm thirsty.

Hang in there. It hasn't been that long. Remember too that one deviation during induction can throw off the whole process for a few days. If you've been really good and everything else is ok then I would try cutting out the splenda. I really believe that it stalls me. I try and avoid it but lately I've let a little creep into my diet and that is just about the same time as I stopped losing. Hmmm. must be more than a coincidence don't you think?

Lynn - sorry to hear you've been feeling so down! Totally understand - it's so bloody DISHEARTENING when the damn scale stays still, and worse when it goes up. I've been glaring at mine this past week, trying to will it to go down and wondering whether I just misread it in the first place - maybe it never WAS at 214? How has it gone up to 215? What did I do wrong? This morning it seems to think I'm at 212. Please God it stays there - whether this is as a result of missing lunch yesterday (very much not normal) or because I'm feeling ill today or because my TOM has just arrived (maybe I was retaining water in PMT?) or WHAT, I don't know. I just know that it's difficult not to react emotionally to the damn scale.

It does help, though, that in the past 2 days 3 people have come up and complimented me on how much weight I've lost. Although it kind of horrifies me too - maybe I just managed to not really look at myself properly before, because right now I'm still horrified by how fat I am, and the thought that I used to be way fatter is kind of shocking. Um.

I'm sorry that things evidently went boom with Joyce. Wishing much healing and continued success with the weightloss all round.

So, I am having a Day Off Work. It is the first time I've been off work in a year and a half, but I've got a definite stomach bug & don't plan to stray far from my bathroom for the foreseeable future. Luckily it's a very easy day for my kids, and only a half-day at that, with most of the time taken up with assembly and 'splash day' in the pool (celebrating the Songkran Holiday, which is basically a holiday where you throw water at each other to cool down because Thailand is So Damn Hot).

This evening we have another play rehearsal. Will I be well by then? Will I carry on displaying NO social skills around the bloke I fancy? What will happen next?

lynnar usually at some point in the weight loss journey you will stall for severasl reasons

1 being you are at a level that the body says hold there I need to catch my breath and I think you are starving me so I am holding on to every thing I got for now. Once you find that you are not starving your self then the weight will whoosh off

2. you are at a point that your body is and was seeing weight loss and much fluid loeave yoru body it is afraid of dehydration to it is clsoing the water works. (slowing it down) this is relieved by stikcking ot the diet and keeping the fluid intake up then the body will see that you are truly losing weight and not dehydrating that will be a sudden wosh of several lbs at once.

3you are losing fat and gaining muscle. if your exercising a lot then you may be replacing the fat with muscle and muscle is much more dense that fat, so you may actually be dropping fat gaining muscle (which will increase your metabolism) and not drop a lb.

just remember to gain 1 lb of fat you need to take in over 3500 cals over what your body burns. so say resting your burn 2000 cals you need to take in over 5500 cals to gain 1 lb in fat in one day. so physically it is impossible (except I can do that) to gain 1 lb in 1 day, so it is water a galon of water weight 7-8 lbs so it is not much to gain 2-3 lbs easily in water retention, in one day. Please remember than when you look at that evil scale. I also am up 2-3 lbs depending on which way I lean I am suffering from the fluid intake battle

han in there we both will be peeing it off in no time.

Hi, I've just been to the Daily Plate website and I do think it's easier than Fitday (thanks Joyce, whereever you are). Maybe I can do some food journaling for a while at least. I was surprised by my carb number (25) and I think I may have put in my salad wrong, but I didn't take the time to investigate. I saw 15 carbs for a salad and my salads are mostly lettuce. I don't even put cheese on them! And I counted my chicken breasts separately! I'll try again tomorrow.
This is my third time on induction this year and I've always believed I was resistant to weight loss, so I really try to keep the carbs low. But I also try to balance it with enough fiber that I don't have to turn to metamucial or something. So I always eat one salad and I was planning to add a second veggie and monitor with keystix to see if that worked. I guess I'll go ahead with that plan because I really do hate that fiberless feeling - if you know what I mean.
Fay, sorry to hear about the stomach flu. Hope you make it to rehersal.
Sherry, I can only wish my pants looked big!! They aren't quite as uncomfortably tight as they were right after Christmas, but I'm not exactly ready to go down a size!
I know there's lots of reason for the scale to stall, but unfortunately I don't think I can claim the fat into muscle one! I do exercise, but I always have so the muscles are kind of old.
But thanks again for all the encouragment. And DH did not have the pork chops on the grill when I got home!!!!

well, I will miss bambi and her off the cuff comments.

Faye-hope you feel better soon. Being sick sucks!

Lynn-since I'm the only doc on the board, I'll give myself permission to give you some advice. I don't know if you read my post on another thread about there being no shortcuts to this journey. One of the reasons I had trouble getting back on the wagon is because I didn't want to have to do all the annoying things I have to do to lose weight-plan my meals, journal all my food, spend time talking to other dieters on the web. blah,blah,blah. It's time consuming but if I don't do it, I don't lose. I think more people are like me than not. Not many can lose without doing those things most of the time. The other advice about knowing how many calories you are eating applies. Calories are not AS important on low carb as they are if you are on a low fat/low cal plan but they do still count. You can typically get away with eating a few more but not a ton more. If you journal religiously, you may also discover that you are eating more carbs than you thought.

:carrot: 2 of the three I gained droped off this am. I am glad, it was getting frusterating. Funny it did not seem like I pee'd overly much yesterday. but who is complaining?? Now my ticker is right. I still can not fit into my jeans that are not stretch not even close. the zipper is about 3-4 inches from getting close. (and they fit so nicely last summer. that really kickes me in the butt. ) It just amazes me how eaasily it goets on, whenyou are not looking. I am sure it had nothing to do with the eating of the doughnuts or bread or pasta or several bowls of cereal or the candy. NOTHING!!! :lol: My stretch jeans will fit me for several sizes and that is what I have been living in except sweats and scrubs. It was when I had to get bigger scrubs as i was afraid i would bust out a seam on the road that i got a bit woke up, then the doc and her **** diagnosis Diabeties that kicked my butt.

I just want to say thanks guys. You know I love it here and always have, If I ever go missing can somebody please come and fine me????

petra i agree that you have to do all that to get your life in order. Journal drink plan and stick with your support. even just read but it sure helps to vent and not just about the diet. that is what I do like about this place, you are not judged by who you are, or what you do or how you look. You are a person in need and are accepted as such. One more thing you do need to do is want to change ,desire to change. and really like/ love your self to make the changes. Or you will sabotage your self. the only way to lose is to keep focused and to do that you need to be accountabe for each morsel of food you put in your mouth. I tend to do what I call mindless eating stuff food in my mouth with out even realizing what I have done. and that is why I need to be accountable for everything.

BaB I would like one of those days where you just throw water at everybody. Sounds like fun!!

Well so far, my grain free living hasn't resulted in any major changes on my scale. I think I'm going to give this a couple weeks before deciding I need to make any other changes. There are some other things I could cut out before I get to dairy-because I really don't want to have to cut out dairy.

I go on call today for the next week. It gets annoying afterwhile and I will have to work this weekend. Today is also my nursing home day. I always go out to eat when I am there because it is too inconvenient to take a lunch and because it is just draining to be there I need to get out of the building for a few minutes. I can usually find a decent salad somewhere. Eating out always has a few hazards in it.

Hi Lynn, be sure and double check your entries at the Daily Plate. I used to use it regularly, but I started coming up with a lot of inaccurate (or just incomplete) nutrition info, such as entries for eggs with no protein. The user submit/user edit thing works pretty nicely for Wikipedia, but not so much for The Daily Plate.

Hey, quick check in to report that my ticker is correct again! Today is not my official WI, but I jumped on the scale and it's actually 3 pounds less than yesterday, so all the energy I spent inputting my food must have burned up three pounds!! Just kidding. It's probably a water weight thing altho I don't know what I did to retain and then expel the water. Maybe the brisket I was eating??
Ahh, Petra, no short cuts? No magic pill? Kidding (again). I've been doing this long enuf to know you're right, but I still resent the time spent inputting food.
Thanks Jennifer, for warning me about The Daily Plate thing. I do believe a salad with 15 carbs is not the salad I usually eat. I'll be careful with it. But Fitday never seemed to have the stuff I ate listed. I think the Daily Plate is easier and I'm all about easy. Careful, but easy. I may be back to eat lunch (salad, of course) with you all. See Ya