Confusing title....I know! But let me explain.....Week 3 of Atkins but an unhappy camper....

Week one: dropped from 154 to 148 was very happy camper
WEek two: dropped to 147 at start of week but by the end of the week was at 149 and was sticking to the same diet as previous week.

My face has lost a lot of weigt, as have my wrists...hello!!!!! my wrists have lost weight - I know this sounds crazy but I could have them photographed on their own and could start a 'feed the starving campaign'....

I am staying on induction for another week to see if I can move from this swinging from 149 (at night) - 148 (morning) thing that is going on. It is driving me nuts!

I seem to be losing some weight but like I say in the wrong places....I know that I am doing this diet right as I am extremlely strict on it but am confused now.

If fat moves around our bodies, is there somehow that I can get the fat to shift from my ass, legs and stomach rather than from the wrists and face....I mean really who looks at your wrists when your sitting on the beach in your bikini??????

Looking forward to some advice on this...

hmm... I'm rather new at this but is it possible that you're being too strict? If your not eating enough your body goes into starvation mode and will hold onto the weight with a vengance. Still, if you are eating enough, the fact that you are losing inches could also mean that if you stick with it you will have what other people call a whoosh. A sudden large drop in your weight.

When my weight loss stalls I always feel like it's my body testing me to see if I'm really serious about this way of eating. You know, like Custer's last stand, if I don't give in I start to lose again, if I do give in my body says "yeah, that what I thought" and I of course gain it all back plus some.

Maybe if you post a couple days of your food log someone will be able to spot a problem that you have missed.

Hang in there and good luck!
Dar

Hi BurkeyB

Congratulations on your weight loss so far. I know what you have described must be frustrating, but hang on in there.

From reading many of the posts over time it is quite usual for the weight loss in week 2 to be minimal or even negative. I lost 6 pounds in the first week and then just 1 in the second. This is all part of your body adjusting to its new food resources. Stick with it and the weight will begin to fall away.

You wondered why your weight was fluctuating during the day. This is normal and you should always weight yourself first thing in the morning after having a "wee". This is when you are at your lightest. I find that I weight 3 or 4 pounds more when I go to bed than I do first thing in the morning. Some of the loss is from water vapour that you breath out during the night, as well as the obvious trips to the lou.

Loosing weight from your face first is very common. I think that is rather nice as it makes you look better straight away. I had not thought about it before, but I also lost weight from my wrist. It is difficult to programme where you want the weight to go from, but as you loose more it will certainly come off of your tummy first. I have lost quite a bit from there and around the bust. Whilst your body will redistribute the fat around your body as your weight changes the best way to make a difference is to do exercises to tone up the muscles, such as resistance training. Since doing body pump classes at the start of the year my general muscle structre has improved a lot.

Keep faith and keep going, it will all come right in the end.

Hey there Burkey You may not have intended to but you made me chuckle this morning. Yes, fat does move about - and yes losing fat from your face and wrists does happen - I've lost over an inch off my wrist alone, I'd rather have lost that around my arm, thank you very much!

How you lose the fat is determined by genetics. It's also going to be the same way you gained it. Women tend (that is 'tend' remember) to lose from the upper body first, followed by the trunk and then the butt/thighs. I would image that you don't have much more to lose around your wrists, so bear with it. The fact that you are losing is a sure sign you're doing it right. Patience Patience!

What it sounds like to me (having lived through this myself): You're still losing fat even though the scales are sticking between those two weights - your fat cells are compensating by holding water. This is common. You deal with water retention by drinking more water. One day you wake up minum 2 or 3 lbs - this is a whoosh. Lost water weight overnight. The fact that those fat cells are holding onto extra water is a sure sign you're losing fat - they only do this when they've been forced to shrink.

Increase your water - and if you haven't done so already, get out a tape measure and take some measurements. When the scales do not move the tape measure usually does.

Nat

THank you Dar Babe, Little Ann & Natruska....

Thanks for taking the time to reply...I really hope that you are all right and that this will pile off or redistribute to other areas....

Natrushka, I don't mind making you laugh, I laughed myself to be honest...My boyfriend really didn't get itwhen I asked him if he thought my wrists looked noticably thin - he thought that that was what I wanted so you can imagine the 'Why do you want to loose weight on your wrists' question......

Anyway, I will keep doing this. I will. I would write my menus down but where and really it's hardly that interesting....but an example...

Sunday:
brekkie/lunch (got up late) : omelette with bacon & cheese +black coffee (I have not managed to kick coffee)
Dinner: 100% beef burger with roast peppers

Monday:
2 slices of cheese for brekkie
lunch: lamb + green beans
Dinner: breast of chicken and salad

Tuesday
3 slices of bacon + 2 fried eggs
lunch: 3 slices of fresh turkey + some veg with butter
dinner: not sure....probably tuna salad

I know I should not be drinking coffee but I just cannot do it...I have to have my coffee - it keeps me sane! Natrushka you have come a long way on the WOL, well done....! I cannot wait for the day that I can say I am nearly there - well done to all of you!

I do need to get more exercise - I am only really getting to the gym once a week at the moment and I have exams coming up which I need to focus on but there is time for both so no excuses!

Thank you for the encouragement! THanks for the advice - if something looks dodgy with my food will you let me know.

TTFN, Miriam (aka Burkey Babe)

If fat moves around our bodies, is there somehow that I can get the fat to shift from my ass, legs and stomach rather than from the wrists and face....I mean really who looks at your wrists when your sitting on the beach in your bikini??????

Burkey You really gave me quite a laugh this morning I feel the same way you do I wish we could pick were it came off from.

Have a great day
Sonja

Congrats on the weight loss. I think Nat has covered most stuff, but didya know that too few carbs can stall your weight loss???? Sure can!!!! Now, don't go crazy and add 50 carbs (or those wrists will get chunky , but don't hang down around 20, either. Also, don't worry about too few cals or your body will indeed go into starvation mode ! Also, many of us have found that increasing fat (in our diets, that is) promotes weight loss - strange but true!!!

About your wrists - got a chuckle, myself - but ....I remember the first time I noticed that mine had gotten bony - I think it's because people have relatively little fat on their wrists, so even a small amount of loss really shows. My butt, however, is a different story.......

Good luck,
Anna

OK, this takes the cake!

The weird thing is today in the mirror, I noticed my face is shrinking as well and rather quickly. Oh, that it could be my ass!

Hang in there! You got a lot of great tips already so I just wanted to say "hi" and tell you thanks for the laugh!

Hello, I'm into my forth or fifth week and still nothing but I'm trying to hang in there! I think my problem is the carb thing, not eating enough so I do think I am in a starvation mode! Can someone go throught the best carbs to consume when in the 4th-5th week of this diet to set my weight loss on course. All responses appreciated!
shadowlady

The best carbs to eat at any time in the way of eating or weight losing are those on the Induction list of the Atkins plan or whatever Protein Power Plan allows. That is mostly salad & green vegetables. White ones are OK (cauliflower, cucumber, spaghetti squash, yellow squash & wax beans). Use tomatoes sparingly - just part of one - and avoid yellow/orange veggies for now (carrots, winter squash.)

Dairy stalls some people so watch the cheese & cream if you are not losing. Also nuts can stall some people.

Atkins says to increase carbs by 5 gm for the 3rd week (= 25gm daily), then go to 30 for the 4th week, etc until you stop losing. However, your best carb level may be higher than thee 25 on induction. So try it out.

Good luck,

BarB