I've been on the induction diet for 2 weeks and haven't lost and not in ketosis (using the sticks). I am a health and fitness professional so am aware of exercise and how muscle is more dense than fat but expected to lose by now. I have followed an extremely low-fat diet for about 3 years and am tired of restrictions. I exercise a lot (just ran a marathon) and was fighting with too much exercise and not enought food so researched the Atkins diet and figured I was maybe insulin insensitive and needed to re-establish my metabolic pathway! I am eating only between 8-12 grams of carbs a day. Can someone help? Thanks.

elese - hi and welcome to the forum
pretty impressive stats you have, i can totally relate to the hungry/low fat thing.

your situation is pretty interesting to me. i am kinda in the same boat, but at a much lesser level.
some things that came to my mind,(which is repeating what others have said before)are:
how many calories are you eating a day? post a few day's worth of menu's and let the experts take a gander.
are you drinking enough water?
what's your body fat percentage? if it's pretty low now (which i assume it is), there may not be that much to use as fuel. go to the exercise/cdk forum and take a look around, you may find some answers there.
hope this helps. these were just my first thought.
good luck
brenda

Hi Brenda;

Thanks for your response and your suggestions. I do drink a ton of water, non stop in fact all day. My body fat % is about 20%. I will put my "log" of meals out to get some feedback and thanks again.

Good luck to you with your goals,

Elese

hi Elese!
Just a thought. Are you sure your body is supposed to weigh less. Your profile says you are 5'8" tall and weigh 143. I'm not an expert, but it doesn't seem like you could be that far off your ideal weight. The Low Carb thing could be good for you just so you can eat without being constantly hungry. But don't expect great weight changes quickly when you are already quite thin. Victoria

Hi Elese

Victoria is right you have not got any bodyfat to lose under 20% in a female is classed as underweight . If your body has no fat to burn for energy it will start to burn your muscle which you do not want you should start eating some more carbs to feed your body or you will not have enough energy to do all your running. I am 5ft 9in and weigh 156 pounds but unlike you my bodyfat is 29.5% so I have got bodyfat to lose maybe you are just supposed to be that weight. I wouldn't start mucking about with diets at that percentage of bodyfat just eat sensibly.

I'm 5'8" and also 143.

And I'm far from being a *fitness professional*.

I can't imagine losing 13 more pounds. Where would it come from??

Thanks everyone for your reply and thoughts. It's nice to be able to discuss these things with those who have an understanding of the whole process (it's sometimes difficult to explain it to people who haven't read up/researched low carb concept).

I know I am pretty close to my goal so just going to be patient, I don't feel as bloated and sluggy with this way of eating and do feel leaner. It is nice to not be obsessive about my eating anymore. Like a new freedom!

Thanks again,

Elese