Written by Jan Jackson in May 2001,  on the Low-Carb_in_the_UK Yahoo group

I had been meaning to write something on this for ages..  so, recycling FTW!

The Atkin’s 2 Week induction phase:- heady stuff, weight loss nearly every day, usually enormous and unbelievable amounts!

This is very often followed by complaints of “a stall” or only losses of “just 1lb per week”.

Many people don’t know that weight loss is rate limited, in other words the body has factors preventing more than a certain amount to be released from storage and even more factors that prevent these released fatty acids from being used up instead of stored back in the cells.

This is called the set point principle.

The priority of the human body is survival, anything that threatens that results in a cascade of events to maintain the previous status quo.

Water fluctuations are one way the body protects itself.z During induction you may have lost 10lbs during 2 weeks, possibly 7lbs 1st week and 3lbs 2nd, then weeks 3& 4 – no loss! & weeks 5&6 only 1/2lbs each- so what’s happening?

Initially the body jettisons your carb-burning enzymes whilst building fat-buring ones(around 3lbs), and the water attatched to the glycogen stores that we diligently deplete to get into BDK. This amounts to 3-5 lbs water. In addition muscle stores of glycogen are not being replaced when used, which will account for most of the rest of your losses. All in all maybe 0.5lbs fat metabolised during 1st week & maybe same 2nd, so only 1lb fat lost, but 9lbs water and enzymes.

The body senses this diuretic effect, and the sirens go off, ‘WARNING! Water loss occuring… New thing! get back to status quo!!”

The Brain tells body to produce vasosupression antidiuretic hormone – more water is retained and so, no weight loss is registered on the scale.

Fat loss is still occurring however- maybe 2lbs per week- because BDK is firmly established and appetite surpresssion is in effect- but water is hiding that weight loss.

The body is preventing dehydration and that is a Good Thing. However, from the perspective of the scale this can be very discouraging, and why we all say “Get the tape measure out!”

Which is why the mantra ‘Water retention hides weight loss’ is helpful!! Water retention will mask ongoing weight loss for as long as the body retains the water.

We can combat this by drinking more water but we can’t overcome this natural mechanism during the initial water loss phase of Atkins.

By week 5&:6 things start to get back into balance and the scale will begin to reflect true weight loss – which is still rate limited.

Individuals vary but max weight loss runs to about 2lbs per week- under extreme optimal conditions or 1% of body weight whichever is the lowest number.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: EVEN WHEN SCALE IS IN STALL- FAT LOSS CAN BE OCCURING. DONT USE SCALE AS AN EXCUSE TO UNDERMINE YOU PROGRESS!! GET THAT TAPE MEASURE OUT!

Gluten is “Wheat Protein.” It is what gives dough its elasticity. Low-carb baking recipes use soya flour, whey powder and ground nuts as their main “flour” ingredients, and none olf these have any Gluten in them. Hence, breads do not rise as like when strong bread flour is used, pastry is damn near imposible (I know, I’ve tried!), pasta does not roll through the machine properly… The list goes on.

It is funny old stuff, Gluten. It is also the cause of quite a few peoples food intolerances, as Gluten clogs up the action of the Villi on the stomach wall in a lot of people. These little finger-like things wave the food down through your stomach, aiding Peristalsys. They also absorb some nutrients out of your food as well.So, if they get clogged up, they cannot wave about, or absorb things, and so your digestion is impared.

In the UK it is a job and a half finding anyone that sells Gluten, but in the desparate search for edible, enjoyable bread, I had to find it! Importing Vital Wheat Gluten Flour from Bob’s Red Mill would have nearly tripled the price of the Flour!

It took me three months dedicated looking, before a local baker suggested asking the local Weigh and Save! I found another supplier in my local Herb and Spice stall and Lakeland also sell it, as “Dough Enhancer” in tiny tins, for £7.00 a pop.

However, the best national place to get it is from Flourbin.com. Last time I checked (12/09/2011), it was £2.25p for 500g. Do a shop search for “Gluten Powder”. These people sell lots of other baking sundries, apart from flour… Nuts and Nut flours (ground nuts) Vegetable gums for thickning things, herbs and spices… the list goes on. Their shipping costs are a little steep though, as they are primarily a wholesaler & so used to shipping in bulk, so I always plan to buy quite a few things when I use them!

The obvious application for Gluten is in bread and pastry making, but you can use it to dust down rolling out boards as well, or use it where a *dusting* of flour is required. However, be aware that if you use too much, you may end up with a very rubbery product! I did that with a set of pasta I made.. it took 50 minutes of boiling to get it to “al dente”! lol!

Oh, and if you want something to do with that Gluten once you have it… Check out the best bread recipe on the planet!