week 5 atkins and no weight loss for three weigh ins.

bluecatlady

Full Member
Sign, I was relly hopeing Atkins would be a better diet loss wise than slimmers World, but it's not. I loat consistantly and quickly there (3lbs per week ave)

Monday 7th was my third weigh in at the same weight! I lost 9lbs over two weeks of induction (which was disappointing considering my size) and have not added more carbs to my daily diet and have stalled (no weight or inches), completly, very VERY disappointed.

I have added three things to my Induction diet,
week 3: 30g peanuts once =no loss
week 4: under 100g strawberries twice in one week=no loss
week 5: one Atkins book desert that had 2tsps of splender in it. How can anyone be that sensative to sweetner!!!!! = no loss

No nuts I can live with but there is no way I can live without something sweet ocassionally and if I can't eat berries what am I to do??

One more weigh in and I'm going to have to pack in Atkins which im pretty upset about, I can't go a month without weight loss, I've got so much to lose I'm lookiing at five plus years at this speed!!!!

I'm pleased for others but It's driving me mad hearing about other peoples 4-6lb per week consistant losses, I just don't know what's wrong with my stupid body!!!!
 
Hi bluecatlady, I understand your dismay...my losses seem minimal too.

I have been following Atkins 20g carbs (the odd day here & there 25-30g) ...thursday is the beginning of week 11 for me, and I have lost 9.3kg ...which seems like such along way with about 40kg still to lose.

Stick with it, and learn what your body can handle without stalling or gaining. Remember that this is not just a diet, but a new way of eating.

Enjoy the journey to the new you x
 
Welcome to my world....

I have PCOS. This means I am severely insulin resistant and probably also leptin resistant. This also means that the weight goes on instantly - yes, artificial sweetener in a dessert and I don't just not lose, I actually gain weight - and it is very very difficult to lose weight. Last week I gained 2 lb. I am trying to 'reset' my leptin resistance - only way to do this is to stay at 20-30 grams of carb for possibly as long as 3 months. So that's what I'm doing.

Hang on in there. Make sure you are drinking enough water - that's something else that can stall me, if I don't drink enough.....
 
It's a real shame it's not working for you, and I do wonder why. People are obviously built very differently! Trouble is of course that if it is something like leptin resistance or really stubborn insulin resistance, to fix it you'd have to just keep plugging away, and who's going to bother doing that when they see no loss? If Slimming World works, obviously you're going to do Slimming World.


The only thing I can say is that when it comes to berries, peanuts etc you may have a problem with them now, but as your metabolism recovers it should be more able to handle things like that. That's why they're farther along down the OWL chain, to give you more time. So it's not so much that you would never be able to have them again, more that you can't handle them now.

Can't say I blame you for wanting to go back to what works. Hope you see some movement on the scale this week. Try being strict with induction, see if it helps. Otherwise, chalk it up to experience I guess! :(
 
i have had the same experience.

i lost a significant amount in the first 6 months, but with many stalls and sts's along the way.
now, over a year on, i have lost nothing else, in fact i am 10lbs up.

i am being berrated by my dr to lose more weight.
but i just can't bear to think of any other woe's. i just like the way atkins makes me feel, the bloat is minimized, the hunger is easily satisfied, i just wish the fat would shift too!
 
If it's not impolite, may I ask about hormones? Ladies cycles and whatnot- what's going on there? Might provide a clue.

Tazbabe what have you tried? Fat fast, OWL, induction, the lot? What about exercise, or watching calories?

Sorry, I just find it fascinating when it doesn't work, because it seems to me that by finding out why, we can figure out the best diets for different people. It does seem like very low carb has its limits, and doesn't suit some people. So what happens then? Back to calorie counting? Is it maybe a food intolerance, or perhaps stubborn leptin resistance? I've no idea how you'd go about discovering if you were leptin resistant, can't see a GP bothering to refer you to a specialist, or a specialist bothering to check, they're all "eat less move more". I wonder if metformin (given to people with PCOS and diabetes) might help, if it's insulin related? We really need a switched-on doctor to be looking into people who are struggling to find out why.

Not much help, I'm afraid but I do sympathise!
 
Thank's for the input everyone. I really don't know what's going on and I'm hating it since Atkins is so easy to stick too!!

I am hypothyroid which is definatly slowing things down, and I keep being told my medication is the correct dosage, even though I still have underactive symptoms but doctors won't medicate me properly. My gp won't reffer me to an endocrinologist even though It's very likely I have an autoimmune disease, not that I can find out as they won't order the bloodtest to find out as apparently hypothyroidism is not considered important enough....lovely huh...I'm in the process of complaining and getting my deserved refferal.

I really don't want to change back to slimmers world, I just feel rubbish on carbs, all those carb slumps and IBS pain. Nasty!! I also don't know how I'll do SW without bread or wheat or gluten all of which I've cut out of my diet for the better!! I guess the only plus is potatos.

I have two more weigh ins before I'm going to end up off plan for a week on holiday where there is very little option but to have the odd carb but since I now don't like Milk I'll be avoiding starbucks latte's lol...and I know...I don't like milk now, it's too sweet...I'm almost heartbroken!! Still craving it thou...

I'm not gaining weight which I guess is a start but I can't keep on like this and I can't believe I'm so sweetener resistant but mind you I don't really like it anyway and my good it gives me the WORST heatburn!!

I'm glad my sense of taste is changing rappidly but I'd love to be able to eat something a little sweet.

Fingers crossed I'll loose a lb this week and at least one the week after. That'll keep me going but sadly I am comming to the realisation that It might just take four years to loose my excess weight...my god that's frightening. I was hoping for two.

I might just be that badly metabolically damaged and have to give it more time, but where do you/I draw the line. 2lbs a week on SW or nothing here...?

I've also upped my water intake incase it's that stalling me.
 
some valid thoughts, some of which i have had myself!

the fat fast appeals to me, as a shock tactic.

i don't think my lifestyle ie shiftwork helps, it is very difficult for me to have a proper routine.
but there are 3 of us in this house, all eating the same way, and i do seem to be risistent to something, as the other 2 are doing fine.
tbh, it is really getting me down now.
i try so hard and get nowhere.
 
Bluecatlady - Are you avoiding goitrogens like brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower? They have a thyroid-suppressant effect, which is unfortunate because they are perfect veg on Atkins! Their effects are lessened a lot if you cook them well. The untreated hypothyroid may well be what's making the difference. I can't claim to understand it but I read that doctors often only test for T3 and not T4 (or something), and the standard meds will not always work if your problem is T4. I hope this makes sense!

Tazbabe you make me want to cry! I feel your frustration. :(
 
That's the problem Boggins I'm having to fight to find out what is actully wrong and how to properly fix it. The standard tests are not in depth enough. And Taz, I feel your problem since I'm trying for the third week to find out what is stalling me. It's a total drag. I hope you figure out what the problem is.
 
Some bits of info might be helpful - I've just been re-reading Dr Briffa's book Escape the Diet Trap - which I can wholeheartedly recommend, by the way, it is my lifeline at the moment because he talks about this exact situation that many of us are in. I keep looking things up, there is so much info.

Anyway - he was saying about underactive thyroid, and how this can actually be triggered by restricting calories. One of the mechanisms that the body puts into action when food is in short supply is to reduce the production of T3, this hormone maintains the metabolism and reducing it will tend to prevent weight loss.

So, very important not to restrict calories, otherwise underactive thyroid can be made worse, and weight loss gets even more difficult.

Make sure you are getting enough fish and seafood, these are good sources of zinc and iodine which are important for proper thyroid function.

And beware of soya. There are some digestion inhibitors in soya protein isolate which can lead to a deficiency in some nutrients, and soya generally seems to have the capacity to impair thyroid function. Tempeh and miso seem to be the best forms of soya as they are fermented and are not processed to the same extent as other forms like the vegetarian 'mince' for instance.

And thinking about all that, I haven't been eating nearly enough fish recently myself....... now there's a thought for lunch, tuna with mayo. :)
 
Low carb can also affect the thyroid though, is the problem. And it's the less tested-for kind, I believe- T4.

Iodine only works to support the thyroid in conjunction with selenium (found in brazil nuts), but be careful not to overdose on either.

EDIT: This is what Dr Eades had to say about low carb and thyroid in an interview online in 1999:

As to your question about thyroid activity: reduced carbohydrate diets (and reduced calorie diets) sometimes decrease the activity of the enzyme that converts T4 (the inactive form of thyroid hormone that is released from your thyroid gland) to T3, the active form. We sometimes give our own patients small amounts of T3 during the weight loss phase of the program. Micronutrients also play a role in this conversion, especially iron and magnesium, so you might want to make sure that you have adequate levels of both. (You need to check your ferritin level (the storage form of iron) before you take extra iron, because elevated ferritin levels are a consequence of excess insulin and a major risk factor for heart disease. Don't take iron if your ferritin level is up.)
 
bluecatlady-

Thyroid just coincidentally is something I've been looking into, as for a few months I've found my hands and feet are really abnormally cold. I thought at first maybe this was just because I'd lost my fat insulation! I've also developed circles under my eyes, and weightloss has slowed. These are all signs of hypothyroid.

I have stayed very low on carbs, like induction level, for a long time, and my reading on the net (and yes, I know the internet is hardly a great source of Truth, but hopefully I stick to reliable blogs!) suggests this may be my problem. Perhaps it is yours as well? In my case, a prolonged ketogenic diet + a gut problem (I got sick on holiday and took antibiotics, which would have played havoc with my gut flora) may be leading to extreme low glucose levels and low thyroid. In yours, pre-existing low thyroid may be made worse by the lack of glucose on induction. In both our cases, the answer may well lie in OWL - upping the carb level.

To that end, I had mashed potato yesterday! :D And I didn't die or gain a stone ovenight! LOL. Upping my carb level has been something I knew I had to do, but was frightened to do, for a long time, but I think my body's telling me I need to.

Perhaps you could try going to 40g carbs a day, adding some more veg and starchy veg like carrots/parsnips? This is going to be my approach from now on. Might be worth trying that before giving up on Atkins altogether. Hope that helps.
 
Really interesting thread ! Thank you for posting x
 
now.....i wonder if i have my eureka?!

many years ago i used to have my thyroid checked every 6 months, and always the result came back as 'borlderline underactive'
i stopped bothering to have it checked and started taking kelp, still take it.

time i wonder to stop taking it and add some complex carbs to my diet? i already eat plenty of fish.

you girls here are just so supportive and so well informed! thank you for taking the time to reply with such helpful info.
 
hmmm....the soya thing too....i have been using soya milk and take a soya protein shake for breakfast on work days........
 
Sounds like it's definitely worth a try, taz. As usual with low carb stuff the science behind it is new and not very well understood, it seems, but is pretty conclusive that prolonged keto diets can lower production of T3. The thyroid itself is not damaged. There's some interesting (if technical) info on Paul Jaminet's site Perfect Health Diet:
Hypothyroidism | Perfect Health Diet (scroll down to "What Happens When There is a Glucose Deficiency?", just under halfway down.
Higher Carb Dieting: Pros and Cons | Perfect Health Diet

Soya doesn't seem very popular, seems people think it can affect oestrogen as well as thyroid (internet wisdom, pinch of salt required). I have switched back to whole milk in my tea, but do struggle with feeling hungry afterwards. I might try lactose free milk or goats' milk. Did almond milk for a while, but it isn't "whitening" enough, if you know what I mean. Cream is just like crack to me, I can't stop!

Goitrogens like brassicas (brussels, broccoli, cauli) should be avoided with low thyroid, so I'm having to widen my vegetable repertoire too!
 
No loss again this week. That's four weigh ins staying the same. I did strict induction last week. Nothing new. I'm completely gutted. Most annoying is I've weighed in at a pound less all week and two pounds down Thursday but today, weigh in day it's all back on. So upset
 
I'm so sorry. :(
What are you thinking you'll do now?
 
V confusing. Do you have daily menus written up anywhere?
 
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