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  #1   ^
Old Mon, May-12-14, 12:43
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
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Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default 10 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Stall

10 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Stall on a Low-Carb Diet
Stalls and Plateaus on a Low-Carb Diet

Many of these suggestions came from a conversation Laura Dolson had with Dr. Eric Westman. Dr. Westman is an associate professor of medicine at Duke University and the director of the Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic where he has been treating obesity and diabetes, using a low-carb dietary approach, for many years. He has many published research papers to his credit, and is the co-author of The New Atkins for a New You, among other books.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lo...b-Diet.htm?nl=1 (links within article are here)

Quote:
It happens to almost everyone -- your weight loss s-l-o-w-s down, or seems to grind to a halt. Sometimes you may even start regaining some of the weight, and there aren't many things more demoralizing than that! Here are some tips to help you in this situation. Not all of them work for everyone, but they are all good things to try to get you back in to weight loss mode.

Many of these suggestions came from a conversation I had with Dr. Eric Westman. Dr. Westman is an associate professor of medicine at Duke University and the director of the Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic where he has been treating obesity and diabetes, using a low-carb dietary approach, for many years. He has many published research papers to his credit, and is the co-author of The New Atkins for a New You, among other books.

Remember - Weight Fluctuates Even when we're taking in the same amount of calories as we're expending, weight fluctuates. The amount of fluids, fiber, etc, in your body changes from day to day, and the scale, of course, reflects this. It's actually best not to weigh each day during the weight loss period -- once a week is plenty. Even then, there may be weeks when you don't show a weight loss, even though you may be losing fat. You may be gaining muscle, for example. So don't get too fixated on the scale.

On the other hand, if a month has gone by with no weight loss, you may be in a stall. In that case, here are some things to try.

1. Don't Let Carb Creep Creep Up on You!

This the most important point, and a VERY common problem. It happens to almost everyone, where we let carbs back into our diets in a haphazard way, often without even realizing it. Most of the low-carb diet studies which track what people eat over time find this to be true.

Low-carb approaches such as the Atkins Diet do encourage increasing carbohydrate after the initial very low-carb phase. It's important to carefully follow the guidelines as to how fast to do this and when to stop. This is helpful, because it encourages very conscious awareness of the carbohydrate you are eating and how it is affecting you.

Tips to Combat Carb Creep

Keep a record of everything you eat in a typical day -- don't leave anything out! Measure your food as much as possible to be as accurate as you can. Then use a carb counter book, app, or Web site such as Calorie Count to enter in all the food and find out how much carbohydrate you're consuming. Some persistent souls are able to keep ongoing food journals which is ideal (mobile apps can be very helpful with this), but on a practial basis, doing a day every now and then can work well for most of the rest of us.

Watch your portions! It's easy to get carried away with foods that have "just a little carbohydrate". Nuts, cheese, and cream all have small amounts of carb, and if you eat too much, it adds up!

6 Foods that May Have More Carb than You Think

Start Over - If, for example, you have been following the Atkins Diet, go back to the Induction phase and start again, being careful to follow the plan exactly.

2. Eat According to Your Hunger

One of the very best things about a low-carb diet is that your hunger should adjust so that you are taking in fewer calories. If you are eating the right amount of carbohydrate for your body, the food cravings you may have been experiencing should calm down. (People often talk about "feeling normal around food" and what a wondrous experience that is.) If you're still feeling urges to eat when you aren't hungry, you may be still eating too much carbohydrate.

Combat Cravings

How Much Carbohydrate is Right For You?

That said, it is perfectly possible to override your actual hunger signals. Don't do that! If you aren't hungry don't eat! Also, don't stuff yourself -- just eat until you are no longer hungry.



3. Nix the Alcohol

Dr. Westman tells me that some people are more sensitive to the effects of alcohol than others vis a vis weight loss. Some can drink moderately, while others can't. So if your weight loss is stalled, it's worth trying to cut out any alcohol you've been consuming. In any case, be sure you count the carbs in those drinks!
Alcoholic Beverages on a Low-Carb Diet
4. Exercise!

Dr. Atkins called exercise "non-negotiable" for a reason. One thing that happens when we lose weight is that our metabolism slows down. Although there is evidence that this happens less on low-carb diets than on calorie-restricted ones, it still does happen. One way to combat this is with regular exercise. It works best if the routine includes some strength training.

It has been shown that, while exercise is not vital for weight loss, it may be essential for maintaining a substantial weight loss. In particular, vigorous exerices (even in short bursts) can improve the functioning of the energy-producing organelles in our cells called the mitochondria. People with insulin resistance (i.e. people most likely to respond to a low-carb diet) are more likely to have difficulty with optimal mitochondrial function, so exercise may be even more beneficial for them.

5. Try Varying Your Meal Patterns

People sometimes find that they can shake things up by trying a different eating pattern. For example, try eating a larger breakfast and a smaller dinner. Don't eat in the three hours before bedtime. Or try a technique called intermittent fasting where part of each day is spent without food.

6. Strive for Ketosis

When our bodies are primarily using fat for energy, we are said to be in ketosis. A low-carb diet may or may not be a ketogenic diet for any particular person. Some people are in ketosis eating 100 grams of carbohydrate per day, whereas others need to be at Atkins Induction levels. We can tell by testing the ketones in our urine or blood (some are experimenting with measuring ketones in the breath as well).
What is Ketosis?
What are Ketones?
What is a Ketogenic Diet?
6. Try the Atkins Fat Fast

Many a low-carber has found that the Atkins Fat Fast is a great way to break a stall, and Dr. Westman says he recommends it to some of his patients in this situation. What is a fat fast? It is a 3-5 day "diet" of 1000 calories per day, where 80-90% of the calories come from fat. It works by jump starting the body into ketosis. Atkins recommends foods like macadamia nuts, avocados, and cream cheese. It's important not to do this for longer than Dr. Atkins recommended.

If you're interested in the Fat Fast, author Dana Carpender wrote about it on the Carbsmart site, including menu suggestions. She has a Fat Fast Cookbook as well.


8. Try the "Old Atkins" Diet

The diet that Dr. Atkins used for many years was a little different than his later versions. The main difference is that originally he used total carbs instead of net carbs. This means that the fiber is not subtracted from the total daily carbohydrate allotment. Dr. Westman finds that this can be yet another way for people to break a stall.
9. Daily Weighing - and Body Fat Percentage

During weight loss, I do not recommend daily weighing, as it tends to drive people crazy tracking the ups and downs of their bodily fluids. However, when weight loss stops, it has been shown to be a good thing. You can make sure your weight is staying within a "safe range" and if it starts to go up, it can motivate you to take some of the other measures, perhaps increasing the intensity of your exercise program.

Additionally, Dr. Westman recommends considering getting a scale that tracks body fat, not just weight. Even though the the number you get may not be strictly accurate, it will tell you if you are going in the right direction. Sometimes your weight may not change, but you may be adding muscle and losing fat.
10. Medication

Dr. Westman tells me that about 5% of his patients benefit from adding medication to their lifestyle changes. If all else fails, this might be something to discuss with your physician.
Be Patient With Yourself

Everyone loses weight at different rates. Dr. Westman says that in his experience, diabetics lose more slowly, and post-menopausal women certainly lose more slowly (and may need hormonal adjustments). I know one woman who stalled for quite a few years until she made it through menopause and then lost more weight! When weight loss isn't happening as fast as you'd like, or you're waiting out a stall, focus on all the great health benefits you are getting from your low-carb way of eating. You deserve congratulations for making the changes you have to improve your health.
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, May-13-14, 18:51
LaughLola's Avatar
LaughLola LaughLola is offline
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Plan: Low carb
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Thanks for sharing this article; it has helped me quite a bit.
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  #3   ^
Old Tue, May-13-14, 19:41
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inflammabl inflammabl is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 296/220/205 Male 71 inches
BF:25%?
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Location: Upstate SC
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"Try Varying Your Meal Patterns"

Having tried all the others this is what I'm up to now. I may have hit on something now by greatly increasing veggies and reducing fat while keeping protein up. Kinda Paleo. When I eliminated ALL dairy, I actually gained weight. Go figure.
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  #4   ^
Old Sat, May-24-14, 19:24
locarb4avr locarb4avr is offline
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Plan: My own plan
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If one read scientific papers, one should know that we are not along. There are various life forms inside our body interacting with our body. One trick I use ofthen is rotating foods to see body reaction. Apparently, different life form prefers different kind of food. So I have Brazilian Buts day, Beef day, Yogurt day, chicken day, Almond day...Plus low kcal and full kcal days. It seems breaking my years stalling, YMMV.
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  #5   ^
Old Sat, May-24-14, 20:01
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glidergirl glidergirl is offline
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Posts: 261
 
Plan: Dr. Atkins/Dr. Westman
Stats: 204/194/169 Female 5'6" inches
BF:high wght over 204
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Location: North West Florida
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Thanks Janet!
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  #6   ^
Old Sun, May-25-14, 10:14
lizzyLC's Avatar
lizzyLC lizzyLC is offline
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Plan: LC
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Thanks Janet!
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, May-26-15, 14:41
renee1127 renee1127 is offline
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Plan: Atkins 20
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Inflammbl, you eliminated dairy and gained weight? What did you substitute your dairy with that your thibk caused the gain? When I dropped my dairy, the weight was falling off when prior to that I was in a bit of a stall.
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, May-26-15, 18:14
inflammabl's Avatar
inflammabl inflammabl is offline
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Posts: 2,371
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 296/220/205 Male 71 inches
BF:25%?
Progress: 84%
Location: Upstate SC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by renee1127
Inflammbl, you eliminated dairy and gained weight


Ya, weird huh? Here's the quick story behind that. First I noticed that when I eliminated dairy I gained weight... Some time later, I was spending a lot of time out of the office and I noticed my weight was fluctuating up and down much greater than it normally does. I started to look into what I ate when I was in the office and/or ate more of when I went off of dairy. The most obvious thing was my morning breakfast in the cafeteria. I was getting eggs and bacon or sausage. The bacon or sausage was the most obvious culprit but then I notice that the cook was pouring the eggs out of a carton. I asked "What's in there?" He said, "Eggs." I asked "Eggs and what else?" He looked at the label and said, "Eggs and..... citric acid. That's it." Well I felt relieved because there were no hidden carbs in my eggs. A couple of weeks later I circled back on that idea and looked up citric acid and ketosis in the Google and found a link to Lyle McDonald where he states that SOME people find that citric acid inhibits ketosis. Wait, What? Srsly? So I asked my cook if he could make me fresh eggs instead of eggs out of the carton. He said sure and for the next 12-14 weeks or so my appetite declined, my sticks turned more purple and I lost 0.8 lbs per week. Eventually it leveled out again but it was an interesting sequence. At least to me it was.

Perhaps it's not such a quick story.
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  #9   ^
Old Wed, May-27-15, 19:55
renee1127 renee1127 is offline
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Posts: 120
 
Plan: Atkins 20
Stats: 182.6/174.4/150 Female 5'2
BF:
Progress: 25%
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Wow, that's awesome that you got to the bottom of that strange dilemma!! AND you taught me something today, look out for citric acid!!! Eggs out of a carton..... iwwwww....
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  #10   ^
Old Sat, Jun-27-15, 09:31
Birddog's Avatar
Birddog Birddog is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/180.2/175 Female 5 feet 9 inches
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Location: Austin, Texas
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Thank you Janet. I have been stalled the last couple of weeks and regained a pound to two. This is a great. I will reference it often.
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  #11   ^
Old Sun, Jun-28-15, 03:40
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,340
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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You are welcome. Number one is still the most common reason for stall, but from attending his local support group, I also know that only eating when hungry is important. Many end up after becoming fully fat adapted to eating one meal a day. I am doing a more standard protocol for IF now...but it is all the same. DietDoctor just had a good post to add on the topic:

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lose-weig...ing-when-hungry

Also check out Dr Eenfeldt's other Weight Loss Tips in the top tab.
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  #12   ^
Old Tue, Jul-21-15, 13:01
sissyd sissyd is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 148/145/125 Female 5 ft 4-1/2 in
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Can anyone tell me why when veggies are cooked the carb count goes up. I thought I had hid a gold mine when I read the label on broccoli which has 3 gms of carbs per one cup with 2 gms fiber, but according to an Atkins book I have 1/2 cup cooked broccoli is 4.3 carbs. Doesn't seem fair.
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  #13   ^
Old Tue, Jul-21-15, 14:27
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,340
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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Mostly a simple volume difference. Have you ever cooked a big bag of spinach with say 6 cups, and ended up with one cup after the water cooked out? Broccoli is not as dramatic, but the same process. You will be able to fit more broccoli in a cup after cooking. The exact amount of green vegetables, especially the amount of salad leaves that fits in a cup, is not something I feel you need to track that closely. None of us got fat eating too much broccoli but watching the amount of cheese, or cream, or eliminating all nuts can make a difference if not losing.

Last edited by JEY100 : Wed, Jul-22-15 at 03:21.
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  #14   ^
Old Wed, Jul-22-15, 08:05
sissyd sissyd is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 148/145/125 Female 5 ft 4-1/2 in
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Progress:
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Thanks again...makes sense.
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  #15   ^
Old Wed, Jul-26-17, 09:47
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,340
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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Dr Westman posted a new video on the Adapt page, "Stalling on Low Carb" https://www.facebook.com/AdaptYourL...hDydPexEmsTmnIY. Only 5 minutes.

Once you are on the Adapt FB, you will see he has been doing this new series for a while, answering questions from members.
Think this is the seventh "AskAdapt" video, each on different themes.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/AdaptYo...f=page_internal

Last edited by JEY100 : Wed, Jul-26-17 at 09:54.
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