Metabolism?!?!

[Thinker]

Hey kids -

I posted about a week ago that I was going to substantially up my carbs for a week to see what happens. I also upped my exercise. Basically - I've been in a 6 month stall where I'm even gaining!! I'm panicked.

So...here's what happened. I ate some nuts & apples. I upped my salad consumption (which is already high) and...one morning....I had pancakes. All that said - I didn't go insane. I didn't have ice cream or other nonsense. I'm guessing that I wanted to be around 50 - 60 grms per day - but I was probably more like 80-100.

I gained 8lbs!

Here's the good part. I immediately went back to induction and almost all 8 fell off me in two days and the weight is still dropping - though slowly.

Here's the question - what can I do to up my metabolism w/o having to resort to a carb week?? Any ideas??

- Thinker

[Kate113]

I'm sure someone will come along soon with a better answer, but it's my understanding that if you up your exercise while sticking to the plan, you can boost your metabolism.

[not2late]

Originally Posted by Thinker

Hey kids -

I posted about a week ago that I was going to substantially up my carbs for a week to see what happens. I also upped my exercise. Basically - I've been in a 6 month stall where I'm even gaining!! I'm panicked.

So...here's what happened. I ate some nuts & apples. I upped my salad consumption (which is already high) and...one morning....I had pancakes. All that said - I didn't go insane. I didn't have ice cream or other nonsense. I'm guessing that I wanted to be around 50 - 60 grms per day - but I was probably more like 80-100.

I gained 8lbs!

Here's the good part. I immediately went back to induction and almost all 8 fell off me in two days and the weight is still dropping - though slowly.

Here's the question - what can I do to up my metabolism w/o having to resort to a carb week?? Any ideas??

- Thinker

That 8 pound gain and 8 pound loss was most likely due to water weight. Fat loss is our prime directive, not water loss, so your experiment really didn't do anything beneficial to your metabolism.

I wrote in your last post that moving onto a proper OWL phase would be the better route rather than a willy-nilly approach. I still stand by that.

You might want to re-read the sections in DANDR 2002 about the uses and abuses of Induction, particularly about how the see-saw effect of increasing and decreasing carbs can hurt your metabolism more than help it or "jump-start" it.

[Bren]

Up your exercise!! Maybe try eating more frequently. Eating, CORRECTLY that is and exercise are sure fire ways to boost your metabolism!
What phase are you in? If you are still in induction I would highly reccommend you move on to OWL ! That has been know to break a stall.

[loliloli]

hmmm... theoretically u eat less or up your exercise... though you reach a point where you can only eat so little and so much exercise but want to lose more ... I'm kinda stuck at 120 now thoguht I wanted 10 less, however I do eat lots and even have ice cream and i don't gain as long as I do my 5 times a week 1-1.5 hour gym (30 min run + 30 walk + weights)

[2big4mysize]

since we can up our carbs drastically when we up our exercise as Dr Atkins shows in the CCLL charts in DANDR up your exercise while moving to OWL and seeing. Some folk need more fats about 70% and slightly less protein inorder for their bodies to lose. you could check that out too.

Are you having some protein some fat and some of those healthy carbs every meal? balanced fueling will keep your metabolism going.

Also check your lean body mass as scale weight loss shouldn't be anybody's validation of weight loss on Atkins. We are constantly adding muscle mass while shedding fat mass and the sclaes can't tell the difference. Most folk know I blew right by a healthy goal weight for me cause I added 7 pounds of lean body tissue and was underweight at 14% body fat.

[Kent]

My suggestion would be change up your cardio exercise a bit. If you are biking, try running or something else different. It was the only way I could get myself out of stagnant periods. I changed to running to spur the final 40 pounds to leave my body. The body gets used to certain plateaus or activities. Even though the activities burned the same # of Calories, the results certainly improved.