Help!

[Somer05]

So I may be being really neurotic here...but I gained a pound yesterday. For the past two weeks, I've been on induction and lost 9 lbs...then for the past couple of days I have been stalled at 137. Yesterday when I weighed myself, I went back up to 138! I can't think of what I'm doing wrong--I've been following the diet to a T and eating what I normally was to lose weight.

Also, I have a question about chicken wings. Today I might go to happy hour with some friends, and since I have to sit there and drink nothing but WATER , I want to at least have an appetizer. So my question is, is it ok to have hot wings and blue cheese sauce?

[kate58]

It's perfectly normal for your weight to fluctuate up and down and to stay the same for several days. I almost always gain back a pound or two before they go permanently, it's just how it is. I think of it as my body trying to be sure it's ok to let them go, but I know that if I keep eating on plan go they will.

You need to look at the general trend over weeks and months and not sweat the daily fluctuations. I weigh daily cos I'm ok with the ups as well as the downs, but if it drives you crazy then weekly or even monthly weighing may be a better option - lots of people find that it helps to stop them obsessing about the scale.

Chicken wings in themselves are fine, but some hot wings are marinaded or coated with something that contains either sugar or flour. You need to check this before eating them. There are almost no places where it isn't possible to get Atkins friendly food though, so I don't think you'll need to just drink water.

[blue996]

As Kate said your weight can change from day to day, hour to hour. Some days I am up three pounds over my ticker weight. I don't sweat it because I know I am sticking to plan and it's usually just water or TOM.

[Somer05]

Thanks for the help! I wasn't sure if the weight stall/gain is normal. I feel silly complaining about a pound, but if I'm giving up pizza and wine I want results!

Today for lunch I had a chicken tikka salad from this Indian place, which is just spiced chicken on a bed of greens with a mint vinegarette on the side. Tonight I hope I can have the chicken wings with blue cheese or ranch for dinner and not have it affect anything!

[kate58]

You need to be a bit careful when eating out, especially with pre-flavoured foods. For example chicken tikka is made with Yogurt, which is not allowed until the dairy rung of OWL. Some places will also have sugar or flour in the spice mix or the vinegarette - so ask about that too.

I know this seems like a pain, but I found when eating out or from take away places the plainer the food the safer it is likely to be. At home spicier is fine cos I know what I put into it.

[KellyNew4Me2]

One of the things that impressed me about the Atkins way of eating is that I find it actually far less restrictive in the sense that you can eat out with much greater ease than people on those severely restricting "low-fat" plans. If you know in advance where you're going, give them a call and ask the chef/cook what ingredients they use. I'm learning a bunch of appetizer recipes that I think I'm going to use with my friends and family that will be so delicious that nobody will think they're "diet food." Good luck with the tempting environment.