Questions about Atkins

[Georgiana]

Well. I have a good news and a bad news.

The bad news is that you have pretty much wasted five days.

The good news is that you can solve the problem and start losing weight.

Here's what's wrong. During Induction, you must eat 3 cups of vegetables per day -- maximum 1 cup from the "Other Vegetables" list and the rest (for a total of 3 cups) from the "Salad Vegetables" list. Cheese is limited to 3-4 oz per day. Processed meats (salami, ham, hot dogs) usually have sugar or other non-Atkins ingredients (e.g. wheat) added, so check the list of ingredients, not only the carbohydrate content. I'm not sure what kind of bacon you're eating, but check that one for sugar too. Processed foods are also very high in sodium, which may cause you water retention.

Did you check the ingredients in the ranch dressing? There could be sugar there as well.

I think that's about it. Read the book, it will help you tremendously. For the moment, here are the rules of Induction: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...induction.html (What are the Rules of Induction?)

[seraphine7]

Hello,

I am in no way an expert on this diet because I am going through an extended version of the induction phase myself, but I will tell you what works for me. I an an absolute cheese freak. I noticed that you also like cheese. If I go over 4 oz. of cheese in a day, for some reason, I don't lose any weight. I don't know why, but that's the way it is for me. When I read the Atkins book, I specifically looked for the cheese instructions because I could eat it all day, and as I understand it, we should include cheese into the phase but only about 4 oz, which is like 4 grams of carbs, of our 20 grams of carbs a day, should be towards cheese.

I also noticed that you cut down your calories from what you used to eat, why? Maybe you should try not counting calories and just eat until your satisfied, all things in moderation, and maybe your body will come out of the funk its in. Sometimes when we drop calories in our diet our body tends to hold on to the weight instead of letting it go. I hope this helps. TTYS

[GHB]

As the others have said your menu doesn't include enough veges and you're only eating processed meats and chicken. I've been varying my protein and fat daily and I'm consistently losing weight at a rate that borders on scary.

Ditch the sausages, salami, ham and hot dogs and replace them with homemade burgers, steaks, chops etc, and eat your allocated veges! Also all the non-frankfurter style sausages I've found contain a heap of starch in the form of flour or cereal for binders, so all the more reason to stick with unprocessed meats.

If you read the book and follow the instructions I'm sure you will experience amazing results :3 Best of luck!

[Sunshines]

Thanks guys I really appreciate it. I have read parts of the book. I need to get through all of it because I really misunderstood some things. I didn't realize that those things would make such a difference.

I naturally cut my caloric intake down because I am just not as hungry. I kept it down because I thought even if the Atkins diet doesn't work for me, I will still lose weight at this calorie range. Its just strange because I have read places that even taking in around 40 carbs you will still lose weight. A doctor told my mom if she could limit it 60-80 a day she would lose weight. So even if I am taking in these hidden carbs, I should still be very low on carbs. But I guess everyone is different. I still don't get why I am gaining. But now I see why I am not losing. Thank you guys!

[Sunshines]

Oh and Seraphine I went to a personal trainer some months ago to get on a weight lifting plan. She asked me about my diet and said I should get a ton of protein and calcium. At the time I actually did not eat meat (ha ha funny right!) and I exclaimed "Oh I get a lot of calcium, I eat a ton of ice cream!" Sadly, I was being serious and she started laughing so hard and she said that ice cream doesn't count. Okay the point of my story is that she said that women do not process dairy well, which is something I did not know and even though a lot of research indicates that it can be really beneficial for weight loss, she said some women are very sensitive to it and it can cause bloating, weight gain and some other negative effects. People always say differnt things, but I thought I would tell you that anyway.

BTW my terrible eating habits are another reason I am doing Atkins. I was living for the next meal.

[msanjelpie]

As long as you are in ketosis you will lose... eventually...

As far as weight gain, it's probably just water... don't give up just because of that...

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by Sunshines

TI still don't get why I am gaining. But now I see why I am not losing.

If you are in ketosis you are indeed breaking down fat for energy, but it can be body fat or dietary fat. You don't know which one causes the ketostix to change color.

Losing weight is not only about eating a certain amount of carbs -- it also depends where these carbs are coming from. If you are giving your body sufficient nutrients (incl. vitamins and minerals), keeping your calories below what you are burning will always cause you to lose weight. But if your body doesn't get what it needs to function properly, it will try to conserve the resources it has, which means you will either slow down your weight loss, stall, or gain.

Eat all your vegetables, cut down on cheese, make sure you are eating enough fat (around 65% during Induction... and 30% protein), take a multivitamin, exercise, drink plenty of water... you will definitely start losing weight.