Need help assessing my menu and exercise routine

[Loz_from_oz]

Hi,

I have been on induction for about 10 days now and have lost almost 8 pounds. My starting weight was 189 and I am aiming to get to 154 pounds.

A typical day of eating for me includes:
Breakfast - 2 eggs fried in tbs olive oil with half tomato and quarter onion.

Lunch - quarter bbq chicken with 2.5 cups of mixed sauteed veges (eg. equal portions of red bell pepper, cabbage, zuchini) in 2 tbs butter, about 2 tbs mayo with chicken.

Dinner - about 6-7 ounces of either chicken breast, beef steak, or salmon.
+ either 1 cup lettuce, cucumber tomato with 2 tbs olive oil
Or
1.5 cups of brocolli with 1.5 tbs butter

Lots of water (at least 2 litres)+
3 cups of chinese tea.

I exercise about 4 days a week which including 2 hours of flywheel/spin classes, 2 hours of kombat classes( non-stop martial arts flavoured cardio), 2 hours of pump classes(weight training to music).

I used to be a heavy smoker but quit about 2 months ago and am on patches. I don't know if the nicotine in the patches is known to have an adverse effect on weight loss?

I have to admit that I don't measure out my veges accurately, but, I suspect that I am getting about 12-15 grams of required carbs in the daily intake.

When I started out, I had some hunger pangs, but now I don't feel that anymore, and with a meal plan similar to the above, I feel pretty satisfied.

I haven't lost any further weight after the first 4 days, but I also suspect maybe i should cut down on the protein a bit as I do indulge on the odd occasion and push up to 6-7 ounces of meat at dinner and/or lunch.

I'd be grateful for someones feedback on whether I might be pushing the boundaries of induction a little, or whether I am pretty much in the zone with this.

Thanks in advance.

[msanjelpie]

Enter all of your foods into fitday.com to see what your percentages are. They should be close to 65% fat/ 30% protein/ 5% carbs...

Do you know what is in the BBQ sauce?

We aren't supposed to get 12-15 grams of required carbs from veggies but rather 3 cups per day... 2 from salad veggies and 1 cup from 'other' veggies...

We don't know your stats - How much do you weigh, how tall are you, how much do you want to lose etc...

[liv]

Oh no. Don't cut down. My first thought was that with that kind of work out schedule you are not getting enough food. We eat on this diet. It helps the body relax and let go of the fat.
You are adding oils so that is good. Do you use fitday to figure out how much you are eating? It takes some time but is a pretty good tool FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal

And yes we use Atkins' book here (and not the website. It is run by a company that bought the right to use the name Atkins) So you eat 2 cups of salad veggies and 1 cup of "other" veggie. And that is it.
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...induction.html (What foods can be eaten on Induction?) (What foods can be eaten on Induction?)

Drink more water. With that kind of a workout schedule you need more.
Work out is good.
Are you male or female?

[SkinnyGirlInTransit]

I ran your percentages based on the info you provided and you're pretty close to target:

59% fat, 6% carb, 30% protein + (8 gr of Fiber)

Based on how much you work out, as Liz mentioned, you probably should increase your intake (incl the much needed fat). And definitely more water - 2 liters a day when you work out 2 hours in that day simply isn't enough!

Good luck!

[Loz_from_oz]

Thanks for all your helpful comments - they are very much appreciated.

I appear to have been confused by the 12-15 carb requirement which the Atkins site talks about. Having read through earlier postings on this forum, its much clearer now that this is not necessary. That makes it a little less complicated.

I also understand that the amount of carbs from veges each day may vary significantly depending upon my own specific choice of veges to make up the 3 cups, and, this variation in choice of vege carbs can have a limiting effect on the amount of non-vege carbs (as the non-vege carbs cannot exceed the amount of veg carbs each day).

If say I chose 3 cups of veges a day and ended up with total carbs of only 2 grams, is that ok? That is, if i ate only 2 grams of vege carbs, I would have to eat less that 2 grams of non-veg carbs leaving me with a maximum carb intake each day of less than 4 grams of carbs. Is it acceptable under Atkins to eat so little carbs each day? Of course I would prefer to get as many vege carbs as possible within the rules of induction.

Thanks again.

[liv]

Originally Posted by Loz_from_oz

If say I chose 3 cups of veges a day and ended up with total carbs of only 2 grams, is that ok? That is, if i ate only 2 grams of vege carbs, I would have to eat less that 2 grams of non-veg carbs leaving me with a maximum carb intake each day of less than 4 grams of carbs. Is it acceptable under Atkins to eat so little carbs each day? Of course I would prefer to get as many vege carbs as possible within the rules of induction.

Thanks again.

It is OK in the sense that you are still within the limits of what Atkins considers OK. But I doubt you are doing yourself and your weightloss any favours by limiting yourself just to one item on the list. Variation is good and so is the nutrients.
And you are right if you ate only two net carbs per day that would mean less than two carbs from other sources. So no eggs, no cheese, no sweetener, no coffee, no tea, no salad dressing, no mayo, no nothing