For the second time I am back on the low carb Atkins diet. The first time I did it about four years ago I lost 35 pounds fairly rapidly. This time I have been on it for 2 weeks and went into ketosis after the third day. At this point I am almost as purple as the stix register and showing "large" amounts of ketones in my urine, but...I haven't lost ANY weight. I have been following the regime to the letter and am becoming a little frustrated.
My first time doing this diet I lost 14 pounds the first month...and I did NOT gain it back...in fact I lost more after coming off Atkins by moving to a more balanced low fat and zero sugar diet but adding small amounts of carbs. I just have been at a plateau for the past year or so. I still need to lose about 30 pounds and wanted to jump start things with the low carb diet again.
I guess my question is this...How can I be so far into ketosis & still not be showing any weight loss? This just doesn't make any sense to me. I appreciate any answers, ideas or general encouragement. Thanks in advance for your response.
Re: Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet
Quote:
Originally Posted by marti_girl
I guess my question is this...How can I be so far into ketosis & still not be showing any weight loss?
You say that you "wanted to jump start things with the low carb diet again". This, in my opinion, is where you went wrong. I don't agree with the concept of "jump starting" a diet. Jump starting never comes to any good in the long run. It implies a lack of patience and one thing you need for maintaining a long term healthy diet is lots of patience (patience that you can maintain for the rest of your life).
Perhaps it's time to forget about Atkins and "ketosis" and just eat a diet that consists of all-natural whole foods that are low in calories (and it doesn't mean that you have to count calories). Eat fruit, vegetables, whole grains in limited amounts, legumes, nuts and seeds in limited amounts. Lean meat should be limited to a 3 ounce serving. Forget about processed foods like baked goods or cereals made with flour. Forget about anything that has added sugar or corn syrup. Forget about anything that has added sodium.
All you have to do is:
1) wave goodbye to Atkins and ketosis.
2) wave goodbye to processed foods.
3) wave hello to patience.
Good luck.
Last edited by JohnR41; 09-14-2009 at 07:38 AM.
Reason: Spelling
Re: Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet
I appreciate your opinion, but it didn't answer my question.
My question is how can I be so far into ketosis, meaning I am burning fat instead of sugar for energy, and not be losing any weight.
Re: Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet
Quote:
Originally Posted by marti_girl
I appreciate your opinion, but it didn't answer my question.
My question is how can I be so far into ketosis, meaning I am burning fat instead of sugar for energy, and not be losing any weight.
There are only 3 things that can change: 1) your body 2) your diet 3) exercise. Or perhaps a small change in each one of the above?
1) How can your body change? The only thing I can think of is that you might have developed insulin resistance.
2) Your diet: Is your diet is exactly the same as it was 4 years ago?
3) If you think back to 4 years ago, were you expending the same amount of energy? Perhaps you had a job back then that required more physical work?
Of the three items above, I tend to think it might be insulin resistance or pre-diabetes. Your body converts everything you eat into glucose and glucose stimulates your pancreas to produce insulin. However, if your cells won't accept it(resistance), your blood supply will be high in glucose and insulin. And scientific research indicates that excess insulin may cause the body to burn calories less efficiently.
Have you been to a doctor to have your blood glucose level checked?
Last edited by JohnR41; 09-14-2009 at 09:01 AM.
Reason: spelling & choice of words
Re: Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet
I can't say I am sure about your answer either, but I have heard from a few people here on Healthboards that said that the 2nd time around on Atkins, it didn't work as well for them for some reason. I can't say I'm sure what exactly causes it, but it seems like the diet just wasn't as effective the 2nd time around for many people.
I once tried low-carb, but I did a motified version. I didn't eat any fattening or fried meats. I ate all lean protein and then lots of veggies. I ran out of ideas of things to eat though, so didn't stick with that for too long. Now I eat mostly lean protein, healthy fruits, and veggies, with moderate carbs. I limit my carbs and try to eat the healthy ones. I stick with a suggested range, but at the lower end. I also get most of my carbs from the fruit, not really bread products.
I've known a few people who had to slightly tweak the diet the second time around to make it work as well. Perhaps try a mixture of low carb and lower calorie, and watching the fat levels. Also, have you started any new workout routine? Is it possible that you have put on some muscle mass? Whenever I first start a new routine, I typically gain weight first, THEN I lose.
Re: Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet
Quote:
Originally Posted by tUrRrRa
I can't say I am sure about your answer either, but I have heard from a few people here on Healthboards that said that the 2nd time around on Atkins, it didn't work as well for them for some reason.
Good observation! Could it be that a high percentage of overweight people are boarderline diabetics or pre-diabetics? And could it be that the Atkins diet aggravates their condition? I'm not an expert on the Atkins diet but I have read a little about it. What does it take to get into ketosis? And could that process be harmful to people who are boarderline diabetic?
If you cut down on carbs and eat lots of animal fat and animal protein, what happens? One thing might be that people are not getting enough fiber. And fiber is extremely important for the regulation of blood sugar. Fiber is just one thing I'm mentioning for the time being but there could be other aspects beyond that. It's the whole diet.
Last edited by JohnR41; 09-15-2009 at 08:09 AM.
Reason: spelling
Re: Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet
The reason for your inability to lose weight is most likely caused by the fact that you are suffering from ketosis. Ketosis is considered an unhealthy metabolic state. Ketosis can raise cholesterol, cause kidney failure, kidney stones, gout, osteoporosis, bad breath and increase your risk of cancer.
For goodness sake please take care of your body and try a healthy weight loss method, such as a balanced diet full of whole grains (no refined flours or sugars), plenty of fresh fruits & veggies and of course lean protein.
If you feel the need to try something drastic, try clean eating, it will eliminate many foods that can contribute to weight gain without being restrictive and unhealthy. Clean eating is simply eating unprocessed or minimally processed foods. No unnatural laboratory created foods.
Or try simply reducing the amount of carbs you eat, but be sure to eat enough to stay healthy-just be sure they are healthy carbs.
Re: Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet
I also am on Atkins and I jump started it with a very strict diet for 3 days and lost 8lbs but when I started the Atkins 2 weeks ago and followed it to the letter I havent lost 13. I am very frustrated. I too am turning the ketosis purple but the weight is not coming off. Have you gotten his latest book? It explains in detail a lot of things but I am puzzled also. I have 25# to lose and if you can break through let me know how you made it. I also am in Roanoke.
Last edited by moderator2; 11-26-2009 at 05:08 AM.
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Re: Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet
I was in the same boat after I quit smoking 2+ years ago, after doing Atkins on and off for 35 years, I could not help gaining about 35 pounds no matter what, until....I found the low carb, high fat, moderate protein way of eating and quickly dropped more weight than I had gained from stopping smoking. See, I was low carb, but I was eating too much protein which our bodies can turn into sugar. Perhaps that is your problem too.
Good luck!
Question for someone familiar with Low Carb diet 
