Ive been on the Atkins diet now for about 3-4 months.
I started around 251 lbs and dropped steadily to 210.

THEN, i hit a major plateau and sat at 210 to 207 to 211 and back to 210 for about 4 weeks.

I had cut all my aspartame, cut my salads, ( I went back to the induction diet), and even watched everything i ate.

Now, ive broken the plateau and am in maximum ketosis (according to the strips) and have dropped to 203 and dropping steadily

How did I do it? I think I found a trick that has worked for me and possibly for you.

During my pre plateau i did several things.
1. weight training
2. cardio exercise (about 30 mins / day)
3. took a metabolism pill called "xenadrine" (canadian version)
4. was on the WOE and induction (back and forth, trying to find balance) and on aspartame products

during my plateau, I had done the following:
1. continued all my exercies
2. cut my aspartame intake
3. went back to induction to try to kick start the fat loss
4. ran out of the xenadrine and stopped taking the pills

anyways, last week, i went and bought a new bottle of the metabolism pills. guess what?
straight into ketosis and back on track on weight loss.

was it the pills that did it? Im not 100% sure, but i tracked everything I ate, and that was the ONLY difference between my pre-plateau and post-plateau. and 1 day after i started on the xendarin, i was back in ketosis and now am losing my healthy 2-3 pounds / week.

It appears this stuff did wonders for me. I would love to hear if any of you know much about this product, and if it works for you.
The version I have is an EPHEDRINE free version.

Its called Xenadrine EFX and a web site link is at http://www.cytodyne.com

The stuff cost me about $60/ bottle CAD (as I am located in Vancouver BC) and I follow the instructions on the bottle taking 2 in the morning, and 2 in the noon time.

I would love to hear any feedback any of you might have especially any of those of you that have heard or used this product before. And maybe it might work for some of you that are stuck on that frustrating plateau like I was =P

Moses

Moses,

A "major plateau of 4 weeks" is not such a bad thing. In fact, it's quite normal and natural. The body needs time to rest and rejuevenate in between bouts of losing fat. I'd like to encourage you not to think of these slow downs as problems, but as part of the natural path to healthy weight loss.

As far as metabolism boosting products go, anyone considering them should approach it the same way they approached LCing or begining on a supplements routine...by doing background reading and research, and by educating yourself. These products may have side affects that are not compatible with everyone.

I'm not saying that metabolism products are good or bad. I'm saying they are like other things we put in our bodies...we need to be fully aware of what we are doing and why we need to (want to) accelerate things. They have their place. But they shouldn't be considered as a magical solution, or a quick way to get to goal.

Congrats on your weight loss, and on getting things going. From your description it's hard to know whether the pills did the trick, or whether the significant changes you made helped, or whether time was just on your side.

Incidentally, I did try a metabolism booster after a 5 MONTH slowdown. After 3 days all they gave me was major headaches, and I was taking only half the dosage. They work for some people. My body just didn't like them and let me know.

What got me going again was increasing my carb level with healthy vegetables and fruit, focusing on exercise, and going back to the basics.

hmm thats interesting

Increasing your carb level with fruits and veggies broke it for you..

I think im going to stick with what im on right now till i hit the next plateau then Ill give that a shot..
i was going the opposite way! I was trying to cut out more carbs to get past the plateau!

Ill hafto try that =P

Moses,
A lot of people's initial reaction when slowed down is to start to cut carbs. (I tried that too) For some people it works. For others it doesn't. You'd be surprised at how many of us have actually got things rolling again by increasing carbs with healthy veggies and fruit. It's hard to wrap your mind around eating MORE as a way to lose MORE!

The bottom line is eventually people find what works best for their own bodies. Next time you hit a plateau, if your other avenues don't work, it's worth a try.

Here's hoping your next plateau is a very long way off.

I believe you. I really do. I also support you, it's just that ...

Well, I get SO nervous when it comes to these metabolism-boosters! I've tried some of them - none of them worked for me, although some of them made me break out in hives ...

I guess I feel that the LC way is helping us to regulate our metabolism naturally, and that these "supplements" (which are completely unregulated here in the USA) can mess with this process.

Now here I am on my high horse about this - certainly the decisions is up to each individual. I guess it just makes me a little uneasy. All I can say is be careful!

ya
i was very picky aswell.
I did some research on it tho, and theres a good thread about these types of products and certain "stacks" of the active ingredients

for me, i just try to stay away from ephedrine.

well its been a few days since i posted the original post and i dont know what it is but im like in heavy ketosis every day. my mouth tingles like mad, and i can eat up to 50 G carbs of veggies whereas before, when i was trying to find my balance, i coudlnt get more than 20 before i would lose ketosis.

I also found CLA, from TONALIN at gnc. Its a natural product, and theres a thread here somehwere about it too. it works great.

i think im gonna hit my goal weight sooner than i expected!
Ive lost 50 pounds already.
Another 20 im a very very happy man =D

hi moses, when i was almost at my goal i took xenadrine to break out of a stall, and i superceeded my expectations, i lost more than i had plan to, now whenever i take a day off and eat carbs i take the pills the next day and it is really easy to get back on track

thats awesome! Yea its been doing wonders for me!

I find also, that for me, major exercise also breaks it...
so when i sneak carbs in and lose ketosis, all i hafto do is pop a xenadrine or go workout for a few hours

and having lost so much weight, and in shape, its so ez for me to do my favorite sport (ice hockey) for a few hours and guaranteed, im back in ketosis

regardless of what i eat!

I even pushed it the other day and had like a major major serving of fruit salad. over 150 g of carbs or so it worked out to be.

played ice hockey for 2 hours after, and in the morning, was back to heavy ketosis!

I recently went to mexico on vacation, needless to say i ate carbs for 2 weeks, gained 8 pounds it took me like 4 days to loose it this stuff is amazing, and i have no side effects from it, when i work out i have to watch it because my boyfriend told me if i loose one more pound he won't speak to me. and i really loose fast, now is just for maintainance, but is good to know i have it, for those hard days.

I tried it aswell, but didn't loose anything on them.

I now do this:

30 mins before I eat breakfeast I take two L-caratine pills
10 mins later I take a chrominim pill

at breakfest I take two Atkin multi-vitamins, 1 vitamin E, and 1 calcium tablet.

then before my next two meals I take an additional Chominim tablet 20 minutes before each meal, and a calcium tablet with both these meals.

It's worked for me

wow! i saw ur stats and its amazing havin to lose mre than u intended
how long did u do atkins and its induction phase? care to share some tips onhow u did it coz youve got me very much impressed there!

well, first I did induction for most of the diet since OWL used to make me crave, it took me like 7 to 8 months to loose all the weight, did aerobic exercise 3 times a week for 1/2 hour, no eating after 7:00 pm, and whenever i cheated i would use xenadrine to help me get back on track, If yo want to see before and after tell me where to send since I am a little self conscious to post pics, If I can do it anyone can.

ok..u can send it to me at irongirl~info.com.ph.... that way i woud have the motivation to not lose hope and persevere....ryt now im on the third day of induction(a looonngg way to go) but i believe one could lose like at most 10 lbs. in the first two weeks ryt???
i,too use xenadrine and exercise like 2-3 hrs everyday...wish me luck!

YOu go Girl!!

I went to a health store and the clerk and I read the label and it's full of regular vits you can get in Atkins products for less. They want $ 30.in the US for 2 week supply.
I would rather save that and have lippo suction in
2 years

I sent it, thanks, I know you are going to do it, as far as the liposuction aproach, to each its own, I don't need, I am happy I did it on my own.