stalled! but mathmatically i should be loseing!

[nt2b4gtn]

i have stalled out for bout 2 weeks. the only issue i see is that i eat 1500 cal a day. according to my activities i burn roughly 4000 calories a day. there for i should be losing about 1/2 a pound a day! mathmatically its impossible to burn more than u intake and not lose weight! or am i not seeing this right?

[Hopin2Lose]

If you are really burning that many calories and only eating 1500, you are doing more harm than good. When your body senses it's in a huge caloric deficit, it slows everything down and goes into starvation mode. Are you eating when you are hungry? If you are burning that many calories, you really need to eat more...especially since you are a male. 1500 is more like a typical female intake and that's not even enough if a female is heavy into exercise. Good luck.

Bree

[msanjelpie]

Our fat cells don't know arithmetic... they know the fat is gone so they fill up with water... jes in case the fat comes back... once they realize the fat isn't coming back, then they let go of the water... you gotta be more patient and wait it out...

[FwL]

Originally Posted by msanjelpie

Our fat cells don't know arithmetic...

Ahhhh... you beat me to it

The whole premise of this diet is based on the notion that 'calories eaten minus calories burned equals weight loss or weight gain' is not the whole picture. There are many factors that play into whether the body is storing fat or burning fat.

[chinadoll]

Bump your calories up to about 1800-2000 per day and I bet you will start losing again. Your body is holding onto everything because you aren't feeding it enough.

[SunnySmile501]

Quote:
Originally Posted by msanjelpie (stalled! but mathmatically i should be loseing!)
Our fat cells don't know arithmetic...

Originally Posted by FwL

Ahhhh... you beat me to it

The whole premise of this diet is based on the notion that 'calories eaten minus calories burned equals weight loss or weight gain' is not the whole picture. There are many factors that play into whether the body is storing fat or burning fat.

Both of you beat me to it! Good answer!

[liv]

That is what we have been taught to believe - calories in - calories out. But it does not work like that. The body is not a thermodynamic machine.

[Goodbyefat27]

Hi! I totally agree with everything that previous posters noted but thought I would add a few other thoughts. I had the same stall on week 3 and I did all of the following to try to break the stall. I increased my calorie count, cut back on aspertame, limited atkins bars, drank more water, and monitored my dairy intake. What are you using to keep track of your intake? I personally use sparkpeople.com and it has a ton of resources and trackers to help with tracking your progress. Also remember that just because you aren't losing pounds doesnt mean your not losing inches! I learned that was the case for me. Pounds weren't showing on the scales but the inches told the true story! I wish you luck, keep with it the weight will come off!!

[emanuel83]

Everything being said is really good. Something I'd like to add that I noticed last time I really hit Atkins. Because we consume so much protein, we give our muscles a lot of food for growth. If you're working out (which you should be and must be if you're burning 4000 cal a day) then you are bound to see a lot of muscle growth and strength. Keep in mind this depends on how much protein you're actually consuming. Remember that muscles weighs more than weight, so you can still be losing fat but at the same time gaining muscle. Maybe it sounds cliche. I had a stall one time for a few weeks like you. I noticed that my strength was improving steadily, and my jeans fit a little better everyday.

My suggestion is to wait it out, don't lose your determination. Tweak your diet a little bit by eliminating any high fat foods, artificial sweeteners, etc. It is very possible your body needs a little bit of a change to start burning fat at the rate it did before your slump. Hope this helps.

[SunnySmile501]

Originally Posted by emanuel83

Everything being said is really good. Something I'd like to add that I noticed last time I really hit Atkins. Because we consume so much protein, we give our muscles a lot of food for growth. If you're working out (which you should be and must be if you're burning 4000 cal a day) then you are bound to see a lot of muscle growth and strength. Keep in mind this depends on how much protein you're actually consuming. Remember that muscles weighs more than weight, so you can still be losing fat but at the same time gaining muscle. Maybe it sounds cliche. I had a stall one time for a few weeks like you. I noticed that my strength was improving steadily, and my jeans fit a little better everyday.

My suggestion is to wait it out, don't lose your determination. Tweak your diet a little bit by eliminating any high fat foods, artificial sweeteners, etc. It is very possible your body needs a little bit of a change to start burning fat at the rate it did before your slump. Hope this helps.

Atkins Induction is high fat, moderate protein. 65% to 70% fat to 25% to 30% protein; 5% carbs. You get into ketosis by the ratio of fat to carbs. Excess protein cannot be stored by the body as such, so it is converted to glucose and stored as fat.

You also can't build muscle just by eating a whole lot of protein. It doesn't work that way. You build muscle and lean body mass by taking in adequate protein and strength training exercise. If you are doing heavy duty exercise, then your protein can be higher--as long as you use it all up before you go to sleep.