Ok, I'm officially experiencing Post Induction Stall. :::SIGH:::

[pdxchix]

So, I've been on Atkins since June 24th. I went from 182 to 175 in 8 days - June 31st. It's now July 11th and I haven't seen anything on the scale move at all. That's nearly 2 weeks of stall. In fact, I weigh 177 today!!!

I have been working out, following plan to the tea, registering dark purple on the ketostix every time I check (I check many times a day). I know everyone is going to say it's water. I'm getting really frustrated. I had a goal and now I am not going to achieve it at this rate. I should have stuck to a protein shake diet this month. I'm so depressed! Arghhhhhhhhhhhh......

[Elizellen]

Have your clothes got looser?

[pdxchix]

Yes, they have gotten looser but I really don't understand how this could happen.

[MelTin]

You are not experiencing a stall, A stall is a month without losing pounds or inches. You will probably only lose an average of 2 pounds a week long term on this diet. Your weight doesn't care about your goals. You just need to continue with the plan and be patient.

[Alaskansonya]

Oddly enough, if you are exercising while losing weight, you can lose inches without losing pounds...the pounds will catch up to you and have a loss very shortly I am sure...Maybe you could re-analyze your daily food routine? Make sure you dont have hidden sugars, sodium, etc?

[imagood1]

I'll say it -- how much water do you drink a day? Purple on the sticks tells me you are dehydrated and need to drink more than you are drinking now. Another thing, you are only suppose to check at the same time once a day not over and over.

[IrishIrish]

This is an older post by one of the mods here from a while back, but it still rings true.

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ot-linear.html (Weight loss is not linear)

[pdxchix]

Originally Posted by imagood1

I'll say it -- how much water do you drink a day? Purple on the sticks tells me you are dehydrated and need to drink more than you are drinking now. Another thing, you are only suppose to check at the same time once a day not over and over.

I thought that was a GOOD thing? (Purple on the ketostix)

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by pdxchix

I thought that was a GOOD thing? (Purple on the ketostix)

Any change in the color of the ketostix means you are in ketosis. A darker color might be caused by dehydration, consumption of certain types of fats (e.g. butter, coconut oil), exercise, etc. A lighter color might be caused by exercise (yes, it can make the color either lighter or darker), drinking more water, consuming foods rich in long chain fatty acids, etc.

It's enough to test one time per day, unless you want to see how drinking an extra glass of water or walking 2 miles affects the color. Do not test first thing in the morning, after exercising or when you have your period. It's best to test 2 hours after a meal, around the same time every day (e.g. after breakfast, since most people have breakfast at a fixed time daily).

How much water are you drinking?

Are you taking a multivitamin? Being vitamin/mineral deficient can stall or slow down your weight loss as well. What veggies are you usually eating. Maybe you can post one or two menus here (include quantities)...

But if you are losing inches (fat!), that's what will make you look better in the end, not weighing -X lbs on the scale. Since you've lost inches, it means you've lost fat. Muscle weight can account for the unchanged weight. What exercise are you doing and how often? Also, when you are losing fat, the fat in the fat cells will temporarily be replaced with water (so you'll see little or no change in weight, even though you've lost fat); then, when the water content in the cells reaches a certain threshold, a chemical will be produced which will "push" this water out, so you'll experience what people around here call a "whoosh".

So you see, the scale is a pretty dumb tool, and does not distinguish between fat, muscle and water weight. As long as you're losing inches, I wouldn't worry about (no) changes in the numbers on the scale.

[Alaskansonya]

Originally Posted by Georgiana

But if you are losing inches (fat!), that's what will make you look better in the end, not weighing -X lbs on the scale. Since you've lost inches, it means you've lost fat. Muscle weight can account for the unchanged weight. What exercise are you doing and how often? Also, when you are losing fat, the fat in the fat cells will temporarily be replaced with water (so you'll see little or no change in weight, even though you've lost fat); then, when the water content in the cells reaches a certain threshold, a chemical will be produced which will "push" this water out, so you'll experience what people around here call a "whoosh".

Georgiana, I really learned something here myself. I had known about the "whoosh"...but I didn't know about how that process went about...thanks for the really great info...you explain things really well!