The scale finally moved!

[onmyweigh]

Weighed in this morning and I was down 5 pounds from last week. I started at 220 and now I'm at 215. Finally! The scale had only gone down one pound for days!

Don't give up you guys! I guess it takes our bodies awhile to adjust even when we're doing everything as right as we know to do it.

[Georgiana]

Congratulations!

You took body measurements too, right? How did those change?

Are you feeling better than you felt pre-Atkins? No more cravings? Increased energy?

[chinadoll]

Good for you for being patient.

[onmyweigh]

Yes my measurements went down 2 1/2 inches so far. The differences I've seen so far is I'm not as hungry and I don't have the low blood sugar "shakiness" (if that makes sense) that I used to get, especially if I had pancakes for breakfast. A couple hours later I'd be a mess needing to eat something or my hands were shaky and I felt awful.

I still feel like I want to eat something sweet. Wondering when that craving will ever leave? Might be because I serve sweets to my kids, yet I'm not having it myself. Actually last night they served themselves ice cream (oldest is 14 so it wasn't too much of a mess!) and I stayed away from it! Not sure why I still have cravings for sweet stuff.

I hadn't paid much attention, but I think I do have more energy. Used to be when my toddler (I have 5 boys!) was sleeping I'd want to take a nap as well. Now I'm getting things done during that time that are hard to do while he's awake. So I guess I do have more energy too.

The Keton strip was purple last night but VERY light. According to the chart I only had a trace of ketons working in me. So I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong when it comes to that. Does it take awhile to kick in too?

Thanks for your help!

[Georgiana]

Good job for noticing other benefits of Atkins, not only weight loss!

Originally Posted by onmyweigh

The Keton strip was purple last night but VERY light. According to the chart I only had a trace of ketons working in me. So I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong when it comes to that. Does it take awhile to kick in too?

The color on the sticks does not matter. As long as it changes color, it means you are in ketosis. It does not necessarily mean you are following Atkins correctly though. Also... even if the color does not change, you could still be in ketosis.

Ketone testing strips only measure the concentration of excess acetoacetone (this is a ketone our body makes) you spill over into the urine at a given time. The concentration will be influenced not only by the number of excess ketone bodies (actually, excess acetoacetate only!), but also by the volume of urine. So things like water intake, time of the day when you test, foods you ate, exercise will all affect the color on the strips. The strips are a tool, but they are not reliable.

Do you notice any of the physical signs of ketosis, such as reduced appetite, different odor of your breath, sweat and/or urine, different taste in your mouth?