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Weight Loss Forum / Low Carb / March 2004Need advice on breaking a stall...
I've been lurking here for about a month, and have discovered that a 'stall' is common around week 3 or 4 of Atkins. What I'd like is advice on how to break the stall I'm in. Oh, and since I *have* been lurking... just for you, JC, 879 calories, 8 carbs today, with an average of *about* 1200 calories and somewhere between 12 and 22 carbs a day & walking 10+ miles a day on TOP of being a very busy mother of 5, one of whom is handicapped ( burning *roughly* 6000 calories a day ), and trying to fit in 30 minutes of Tae Bo and 30 minutes of an old Tony Little Target Training tape every day too. Sorry to everyone else, and I don't know if it's my imagination, but that guy REALLY jumps all over people for no decent reason. Anyway, I don't take aspartame, I don't take Splenda, I have the tip of a toothpick worth of Stevia in a cup of herbal tea once a day, I don't drink coffee, 'real' tea, or sodas of any kind. I'm an absolute tee-totaler, I don't even use wine in cooking. I'm drinking *roughly* 100oz of water a day. I've cut out the nuts that I added when I finished the two weeks of official induction, and now I'm guessing that I'll have to cut out cheese as well. Still, I went down to 263 on the 10th and ever since then I've been 'bouncing' between 268 and 263 - today I'm 265, which was really discouraging after finally getting back to 263 yesterday. It could be building muscle bulk, which stinks, but which isn't all that surprising since I threw shotput in high school and know bulking up that way definitely *CAN* happen to me - plus I don't exactly have 'supermodel' willowy bones - more like I-beams for a skyscraper, but honestly body fat SHOULD be dropping off me like crazy and even my tape measure says nothing's changed. Advice on breaking this stall would be greatly appreciated, thanks. 5'10" 300/265/160 19.25" lost from bust-waist-hips. Since 2/17/04 -- Melissa Robitille >I've been lurking here for about a month, and have discovered that a 'stall' >is common around week 3 or 4 of Atkins. What I'd like is advice on how to >break the stall I'm in. This isn't a stall, it's a plateau. No reason to do anything but keep working your plan. Susan If you're in a hurry, try a fat fast. Otherwise, wait it out for a little while and see what happens. Btw, you're not burning 6000 calories while taking in 1200 and staying at the same weight. You are mistaken at some point.  SignatureMost of us probably aren't in danger of eating too little. :) Becky P. > I've been lurking here for about a month, and have discovered that a 'stall' > is common around week 3 or 4 of Atkins. What I'd like is advice on how to [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > -- > Melissa Robitille > If you're in a hurry, try a fat fast. Otherwise, wait it out for a little > while and see what happens. ****** I've heard a fat fast mentioned, but I don't know what one *IS*. Two or three people have said something about them, but haven't said what they are - so.... What's a fat fast? ( I'm definitely in a hurry - I'm aiming for 160 by New Year's Eve, and that's a bit slower than I'd *like* to go ) > Btw, you're not burning 6000 calories while taking in 1200 and staying at > the same weight. You are mistaken at some point. ******** *shrug* That's what Fitday says when I enter in what I do. Make the bed, get dressed, clean the house, endlessly chase the kids, haul 30+lb toddlers around, take care of my 3yo's medical needs, walk 10 miles, do Tae Bo, do 'weight training' ( that Tony Little thing - I figure, I use weights, it's weight training, if light effort ), cook, clean some more, do laundry, usher the kids through homeschooling, cook, clean some more, do dishes, do the kids' NYC Ballet Workout with them ( hey, they've got to have Phys Ed! ), grade the kids' papers, put laundry away... Beyond that there's dealing w/ my 3yo's various therapists ( speech, physical, occupational & his deaf mentor ) and that kind of thing. 5'10" 300/265/160 19.25" lost Since 2/17/04 -- Melissa Robitille > > Btw, you're not burning 6000 calories while taking in 1200 and staying at > > the same weight. You are mistaken at some point. > > ******** *shrug* That's what Fitday says when I enter in what I do. fitday's calculations for calories burned are waaaaaaaaaaay generous. take them with several ginormous grains of salt. also, please learn to quote properly. A fat fast is where you eat 1000 calories or less per day of 90% or more of fat. For most people, the mainstay of the fast is macadamia nuts. Google for more specifics. SignatureMost of us probably aren't in danger of eating too little. :) Becky P. > > If you're in a hurry, try a fat fast. Otherwise, wait it out for a little > > while and see what happens. > ****** I've heard a fat fast mentioned, but I don't know what one *IS*. Two > or three people have said something about them, but haven't said what they > are - so.... What's a fat fast? ( I'm definitely in a hurry - I'm aiming for > 160 by New Year's Eve, and that's a bit slower than I'd *like* to go ) >> If you're in a hurry, try a fat fast. Otherwise, wait it out for a little >> while and see what happens. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > bed, get dressed, clean the house, endlessly chase the kids, haul 30+lb > toddlers around, take care of my 3yo's medical needs, walk 10 miles, do Tae fitday calculations are bullshit. to give you an idea, 6000 calories is what a soldier spends in a day long battle, hauling boxes of artillery shells all the time etc. Depending on your weight, your ten miles can be a respectable 1500 calories. Your metabolism is, let's say, 2000 more. That's 3500 calories. dressing the kids etc is, let's not be kidding each other, a negligible expenditure of calories that has already been counted in your basal metabolism. Carrying toddlers around for short distances is not that energy expensive either. > Bo, do 'weight training' ( that Tony Little thing - I figure, I use weights, > it's weight training, if light effort ), cook, clean some more, do laundry, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > dealing w/ my 3yo's various therapists ( speech, physical, occupational & > his deaf mentor ) and that kind of thing. I am sure that grading kids papers is what accounts for extra 2500 calories. Just kidding Fitday is notorious for double counting calories spent. Your regular day activities like cooking and doing dishes are already counted in basal metabolism. Besides, people usually do dishes while something is cooking, so saying you cooked for 30 minutes and did dishes for 10 minutes, when you really were washing dishes while stuff was being cooked, is double counting. Anyway, your 10 mile walks deserve extreme respect, especially considering your 265 lbs weight. If you really eat as little (people often miscount calories, forgetting things like sampling kids meals etc), you will break your stall. i > 5'10" > 300/265/160 > 19.25" lost > Since 2/17/04 You literally go for a 10 mile walk every day? That's about 3 hours of fast-paced, non-stop walking. If that is 10 miles while doing those other activities, then you are double-entering activity. If you are really doing 10 miles of daily walking in addition to those other activities, how do you possibly have time? Mark. > > If you're in a hurry, try a fat fast. Otherwise, wait it out for a little > > while and see what happens. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > -- > Melissa Robitille > You literally go for a 10 mile walk every day? > That's about 3 hours of fast-paced, non-stop walking. > If that is 10 miles while doing those other activities, then you are > double-entering activity. > If you are really doing 10 miles of daily walking in addition to those other > activities, how do you possibly have time? a good question. Especially given that the OP is 265 lbs, which makes it a little difficult to walk 10 miles. i > Mark. > [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] >> 19.25" lost >> Since 2/17/04 > a good question. > > Especially given that the OP is 265 lbs, which makes it a little > difficult to walk 10 miles. I can believe that somebody very overweight can walk 10 miles per day if they slowly build up to it. I'm currently 252, and hike for 1.5 - 2 hours every other day, I love it. That 1.5 - 2 hours is roughly 5-7 miles, and it took me quite a while to work up to that. What I was questioning was walking for 3 hours in addition to all those other things EVERY DAY. Some people wear a pedometer to measure steps/distance all through the day in all activities. If she is doing that and counting it separately as 10 miles of walking and also counting the activities she's doing while walking then of course the activities/calories burned are not going to match up to reality. Mark. >> a good question. >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > then of course the activities/calories burned are not going to match up to > reality. Right. I did not say that it was impossible, only that her numbers seem to be fairly heroic. i > Right. I did not say that it was impossible, only that her numbers > seem to be fairly heroic. *snort* I like that... :D I should tell my DH that. :D Actually, it's 15 steps around my kitchen table and island. SO, that's 1400 laps, or a little less than 7 bursts of 200 laps - I wear my pedometer *ONLY* for walking those laps, not all day long - I tried it all day long once and it came up with something *crazy* ( If I recall correctly it was something like 18 miles ), and I'm not about to count the walking I do chasing after little people, so I stopped wearing it *all* the time. As for basal lifestyle on Fitday I selected 'sedentary' because that's what my doctor says I am ( my doctor who has only 2 children, 8 years apart in age... ). So, I'm *guessing* that hauling my 35lb doesn't-walk-or-crawl-at-all-due-to-mobility-delay 3yo handicapped son, which I have to do A LOT, counts for *something*. Anyway, it's not like I walk the 10 miles all at once. Usually I'll do 1000 laps during 'naptime' and fit the other 5000 steps in during laps during other 'slow' parts of the day. *shrug* I used to walk 20 miles a day every day but Sunday, and I used to be Varsity Track & Field before that. I still have the muscles under there, it's just a year and a half of enforced inactivity after having flesh-eating strep A really piled on the weight ( had it abdominally - 85% of people die who get it in their gut, so I *should* be thankful to just be alive, even maimed ) - though of course having 5 children certainly piled on plenty of its own weight. 5'10" 300/263/160 Lost 19.25" ( bust-waist-hips - I don't measure that other stuff ) Since 2/17/04 -- Melissa Robitille > *snort* I like that... :D I should tell my DH that. :D Actually, it's 15 > steps around my kitchen table and island. SO, that's 1400 laps, or a little > less than 7 bursts of 200 laps - I wear my pedometer *ONLY* for walking > those laps, not all day long You walk laps around your kitchen table for 3 hours each day? That has to win the award for the most boring exercise imaginable, congratulations on being able to stick to something like that! There must be a groove worn in your kitchen floor!!! Mark. >> Right. I did not say that it was impossible, only that her numbers >> seem to be fairly heroic. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > doctor who has only 2 children, 8 years apart in age... ). So, I'm > *guessing* that hauling my 35lb I see, so not only you are not really walking as exercise, you also double count everything. You count walking, then you count cooking, then you count grading papers, etc. Plus, your pedometer is quite questionable. I would not believe the numbers that fitday gives you. There seems to be a lot of double counting, triple counting, and miscounting going on. > doesn't-walk-or-crawl-at-all-due-to-mobility-delay 3yo handicapped son, > which I have to do A LOT, counts for *something*. Anyway, it's not like I [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > alive, even maimed ) - though of course having 5 children certainly piled on > plenty of its own weight. Spending 4000 calories exercising can be described as "grueling labor". As in, digging dirt all day long, or [at your weight] walking briskly at 3 mph for 10 hours and 6 minutes, non stop. Homemaking is nowhere close to this level of energy expenditure. I support motherhood and so on, but let's recognize reality here a little bit. i > I would not believe the numbers that fitday gives you. There seems to > be a lot of double counting, triple counting, and miscounting going > on. absolutely. according to the calculator at http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/Calories.html it takes five hours of cycling at racing pace (that's 20+ mph) to burn 6000 calories if you weigh 265. that's a LOT of cycling. chasing kids in laps around the kitchen is better than sitting in front of the tv, but it's not going to burn 6000 calories a day ... at least not on this planet. > *snort* I like that... :D I should tell my DH that. :D Actually, it's 15 > steps around my kitchen table and island. SO, that's 1400 laps, or a little > less than 7 bursts of 200 laps - I wear my pedometer *ONLY* for walking > those laps, not all day long - I tried it all day long once and it came up > with something *crazy* ( If I recall correctly it was something like 18 > miles ), I tried out pedometers in a store, once, during my weight loss phase. Unfortunately, my belly fat was in a jiggly phase, and was taking extra bounces with each step. After counting out 50 paces, the pedometers were reading around 85. LOL Signaturejamie (jamiemck@newsguy.com) "There's a seeker born every minute." > *snort* I like that... :D I should tell my DH that. :D Actually, it's > 15 steps around my kitchen table and island. SO, that's 1400 laps, or > a little less than 7 bursts of 200 laps - I wear my pedometer *ONLY* > for walking those laps, not all day long - I tried it all day long > once and it came up with something *crazy* ( If I recall correctly it > was something like 18 miles ), I wear a pedometer from waking until bedtime. I'm a pretty smart person, but calibrating my pedometer when I first got it was tricky. At first I thought I'd done it right, but then DH pointed out that I hadn't, and I had to re-measure my steps and strides and re-enter them correctly. I think it's pretty likely your pedometer is off by quite a bit. Are you very sure it's correctly calibrated? Have you verified it by using it for a known distance? By my math, your laps add up to more like 5 miles than 10. 5 miles is still 5 miles, though, so keep it up if you can stay motivated. Good luck. Cate Cate, Do you participate in the 10,000 steps program (try to walk 10,000 steps every day)? There are a lot of them, actually, seems every website devoted to walking or hiking has a 10000 steps progrem... I used to but my pedometer developed a glitch where it would randomly zero out the steps... Now I just count the hours/minutes of an actual walk or hike instead of using the pedometer. Maybe one of these days I'll just get a new pedometer. It's funny to wear one to work, though, people think it is a beeper. Mark. > > *snort* I like that... :D I should tell my DH that. :D Actually, it's > > 15 steps around my kitchen table and island. SO, that's 1400 laps, or [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Cate > Cate, > Do you participate in the 10,000 steps program (try to walk 10,000 > steps every day)? > There are a lot of them, actually, seems every website devoted to > walking or hiking has a 10000 steps progrem... I heard about the 10,000 steps idea on tv while I was recuperating from surgery but I can't for the life of me remember who was pushing it. Then a friend told me she wore one and was trying to get to 5000 per day. I'm working up to 10,000 (meaning I'm just looking for ways to build more steps into my day), but I don't participate in a program per se. I didn't even know there are web sites devoted to it. Currently my normal activity gets me about 6000-7000 steps per day. > I used to but my pedometer developed a glitch where it would randomly > zero out the steps... Now I just count the hours/minutes of an actual > walk or hike instead of using the pedometer. Bummer, but if you know the distance, then you can still count the calories burned and set goals. I don't know why, but the steps idea really clicks with my goal-setting habits: It's really easy for me to think of adding exercise in terms of steps rather than, say, the old drudgery of thinking 'I *have* to get 20 minutes of walking in today.' > Maybe one of these days I'll just get a new pedometer. It's funny to > wear one to work, though, people think it is a beeper. I get that too, which is funny because I'd hate to wear a beeper. I really like mine. It's from Target and it's a Sportline model, about $16. It's clear with blue/green buttons. Cate > I've been lurking here for about a month, and have discovered that a > 'stall' is common around week 3 or 4 of Atkins. What I'd like is [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > imagination, but that guy REALLY jumps all over people for no decent > reason. <snip> > 5'10" > 300/265/160 > 19.25" lost from bust-waist-hips. > Since 2/17/04 You weigh 265lbs and do all that exercise and you only eat 1200 calories a day?? If you're sure that's all you're eating........eat more food. Aim for 10x your current body weight. You shouldn't be eating below your BMR. SignatureJeri 265/189/120 Atkins since 11/5/01 "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." --Henry Ford > I've been lurking here for about a month, and have discovered that a 'stall' > is common around week 3 or 4 of Atkins. What I'd like is advice on how to [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Sorry to everyone else, and I don't know if it's my imagination, but that > guy REALLY jumps all over people for no decent reason. Well - I'm sure he probably has his reasons. If nothing else, acting as an irritant can still provide motivation - along the lines of "oh yeah? I'll show you..." <g>. Some people do well with that kind of motivation. > Anyway, I don't take aspartame, I don't take Splenda, I have the tip of a > toothpick worth of Stevia in a cup of herbal tea once a day, I don't drink [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > official induction, and now I'm guessing that I'll have to cut out cheese as > well. I really haven't heard anyone definitively say that coffee (caffeine) stalled them. More often what I've heard is that it makes people feel hungry, not that it actually stalls their loss. Maybe someone here has heard/experienced differently, though. The only foods I've heard people be certain they could attribute stalls to, were foods with sugar alcohols (probably because of getting more carbs than the 'net' they were counting per the label), or soy foods (thyroid slowdown can be attributed to too much soy). I'm sure that as with everything, YMMV - those are just the ones I have heard the most about as causing stalls. > Still, I went down to 263 on the 10th and ever since then I've been > 'bouncing' between 268 and 263 - today I'm 265, which was really [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > off me like crazy and even my tape measure says nothing's changed. Advice > on breaking this stall would be greatly appreciated, thanks. No, a gain of 2 pounds over a single day is going to be fluid (water). I would think it would be pretty difficult to gain that much muscle _or_ fat over a single day, even if you were exercising [muscle gain] or eating [fat gain] like a fiend. And fluid gain/loss is normal, especially for women. I've varied as much as 7 pounds over a three-day period, just in water weight. I also usually see a water gain of a couple of pounds right before I see a good loss. It's very hard for me to tell what part of my 'cycle' I'm in (no periods, hysterectomy 4 years ago - but I still have functioning ovaries so I still have cycles), so I can't tell you at what point this happens for me cycle-wise (i.e. just before my period, just after it, etc). But it does happen pretty regularly. I'm confused by your .sig below, though. You've been on this WOE for a month, have lost 35 pounds, and are worried about a stall? Even if 300 was your highest weight and you weighed less when you started this WOE, if you've lost at least 5 pounds (not including Induction water weight loss) this month overall then I'd say you've done pretty well. Losing 10 pounds a month consistently doesn't seem realistic to me for a woman, especially once you get under 200 (some men seem to be able to do that much monthly without too much problem, though. See Jenny's page at http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/dietpage.htm for the group averages from Carol Ann's monthly challenge). I would think that'd be pretty hard on your body and would also tend to leave behind undesirable results, such as saggy skin. And you'd have to lose 11 per month to get to your goal by New Year's - and that isn't taking into account that people's loss almost always slows when they get near goal. I was losing on average 5.5 pounds a month until I got to 151, hit a three-month stall, and since that broke last month I've lost 4 more pounds. YMMV of course, and if you can lose that much per month without negative effect then I'd say go for it. I just wouldn't want you to get discouraged and give up entirely over not losing as much, as quickly, as you think you ought to be. Losing weight isn't a race, it's a destination - and nobody is giving out awards for making a speed run and finishing 'first', <g>. > 5'10" > 300/265/160 > 19.25" lost from bust-waist-hips. > Since 2/17/04 Stargazer Atkins since Apr '03 192/147/140 Thanks, Stargazer. I had roughly the same sort of hysterectomy you did when I had flesh-eating strep A ( they couldn't fit my uterus back in, so they threw it out ), so you may be right that it could be related to cycles. I sure hope so! I'm finally back down to 263, so I'm hoping that I'll get back to losing weight. I know losing that much weight that fast is probably not doable, but I'm sure going to TRY. Since I'm already maimed saggy skin isn't going to bother me a whole lot! :D ( Note: No, that isn't a statement about hysterectomies, that's a statement about the crater the size of a sandwich plate in my gut, lack of belly button, etc. ) I seem to be 'toning' pretty well, but you're probably right that saggy skin will happen with that much loss that fast. As for my sig, 300lbs was where I was on 2/17/04. I guess I did lose a LOT right off, but stopping entirely right after losing that much was aggravating. Still, maybe all that's finally done, since I *FINALLY* shrank some according to the tape measure! :D 5'10" 300/263/160 Lost 20" bust-waist-hips Since 2/17/04 -- Melissa Robitille > I've been lurking here for about a month, and have discovered that a 'stall' > is common around week 3 or 4 of Atkins. Sure enough, you are in week 4 and therefore you have not stalled. > 8 carbs today ... and somewhere between 12 and 22 carbs a day Staying too low is an extremely common cause of stalls. If all you got from Atkins is less-carbs, you missed most of the book. The part about how everyone has an ideal level for the best loss and it isn't 20. The part about CCLL. Move on to OWL. Increase on schedule until you've spent a week out of ketosis. Your CCLL is 5-10 under that level. |
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