Exercise and Weight question

[Amara]

Hi I am really nervous. I started the diet on Feb 26,2009 and lost 31 pounds. I started to exercise and now the scale wont move. It is just staying the same. I am still doing the diet correctly but kinda feeling depressed. I needs some support because I did cheat last night. I am feeling that the diet has stopped working.

[kibskix]

you're building muscle, and that muscle is retaining water. when you start working out, you need to take measurements because your weight is going to be effected by the added muscle. you're -still- losing fat, but you won't see it as often with the muscle being added. the diet doesn't magically stop working when you work out, dont worry! you will actually lose -more- inches from workout out than from not, so you may have not lost much, but still go down a size.

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by Amara

Hi I am really nervous. I started the diet on Feb 26,2009 and lost 31 pounds. I started to exercise and now the scale wont move. It is just staying the same. I am still doing the diet correctly but kinda feeling depressed. I needs some support because I did cheat last night. I am feeling that the diet has stopped working.

Yes, you are probably gaining muscle or retaining water from exercising. You could also post a menu if you want us to take a look over it.

Are you eating enough? If you are exercising, you will probably need to increase your caloric intake.

[Amara]

Thank you kibskix and Georgiana for your replies. I feel much better now that I know I should be losing inches. My daily menu is lots and lots of water, diet green tea that has no carbs or sugar. I eat a piece of baked chicken and 2 adkins shakes. I know that I should be eating more but I am not a big meat eater at all. I have a sugar and junk food addication so without being able to eat those I really dont have an appetite. If I need to change my diet to lose weight I will. Please let me know if I am doing something wrong.

[Georgiana]

Are you eating any vegetables? You don't have to eat a lot of meat on Atkins. Most of our calories should come from fat.

Can you post food quantities? How big is that piece of chicken? Are you eating anything else besides chicken and shakes?

[Amara]

I do eat a salad like one a week with cucumbers and tomatoes. I use a tablespoon of ranch dressing that has no sugar and 2 carbs. The chicken is 4oz. I feel good on the diet and have more energy than usual.

[Georgiana]

Ouch, you should be eating 3 cups of vegetables per day. You don't have to eat them as salads if you don't like salads. Cooked veggies are just as good. You can also use them for dressings, soups, cauliflower pizza...

You can stop losing weight if you are not giving your body the necessary vitamins and minerals, so vegetables are very important.

4 oz of chicken and 2 shakes is simply not enough food and all this will do is slow down your metabolism. Furthermore, about 65% of your calories should come from fat and only 30% from protein -- with chicken and shakes, I doubt you are eating enough fat.

Did you check the Induction menus in DANDR 2002? They will give you an idea of what you should be eating.

[Amara]

I will start eating more vegetables as of today. I want to thank you for your help. I will check out the menus also. You have been alot of help and it is greatly appreciated.

[chinadoll]

Your body may be adjusting to the addition of exercise and you may also be in Post Induction Stall Syndrome which is very common after the initial rush of the first few weeks. There is a whole thread on this. Are you losing inches? Then you are still losing fat. You may be a wait and whoosh type too. You need to be patient and see what your body is going to do and how it is going to react. This WOE often loses weight in a non linear way (Weight loss is non linear is another thread you should read) You need to be able to wait out these times without throwing in the towel. As long as you are doing the work you have to trust that these temporary pauses will pass.

All three of these boldface lines have threads that may be helpful to you. Bear in mind that only a rare number of people continue with the quick consistent weight drops you get in the first couple of weeks. After that your body settles into its own weight loss pattern. Working through the glitches helps you learn about YOUR body's weight loss patterns so you will become less frustrated as you learn what to expect. You have had a phenomenal start but it is unrealistic to expect your losses to continue at that pace or with that consistency. Hope this helps.

[kibskix]

i bet its the lack of veggies! if my carbs are too low, i won't lose weight. i'm actually amazed you've lasted this long just eating chicken and shakes, i couldn't do that. make sure to read the stickies in the 14 day induction thread, and print out the list of acceptable foods there. theres lots of other things you can have, and veggies are super important, but only the right kinds first, then you add in others higher in carbs later. i bet you'll feel a lot better and start losing again when you try it! good luck!