Can you help a newbie out?

[Backtomine]

(apols for the long post)

Today is day 14 of Induction for me and I've only lost 4lbs and am feeling really disappointed and confused. Weight aside, I have felt really good since starting this diet. I feel more stable and haven't been hungry. I have read the book and on the whole *think* I've been doing it right.

I am 5'8" and weighed in at 172 and am now at 168. I have stayed at that weight for 7 days now! Early on I was in ketosis, but the sticks were always small/trace. The past two days I have not been in the ketosis, according to the sticks.

I have made a few mistakes along the way, which I corrected:
> I was eating too much salad and have since sorted that out over a week ago
> I haven't been drinking enough water, which I have made a good faith effort to sort yesterday
> I cheated with a few glasses of red wine the first week of induction (although still lost weight that week)

Here's a typical eating day for me:

Breakfast
3 egg mozzarella cheese omelette with 1 oz half and half (cooked in 1oz butter)
2 cups of nescafe with half and half and splenda

Lunch
5 oz can tuna with real mayonnaise
1-2 cups spinach with 1 tbs blue cheese dressing

or
Chef Salad with 2 cups salad

Snack
2 pieces of cheese (no carbs)
coke zero

Dinner
2 beef burgers or Rotisserie Chicken (no carbs)
1 oz spinach/salad with 1tbs blue cheese dressing and mozzarella cheese


My carbs are consistently coming in around 17 per day
My calories are between 1600 / 1800


Can someone please give me a bit of guidance on this? I don't know if this matters or not but I do have polycistic ovaries and I had gestational diabetes (I'm not longer pregnant and not diabetic now, but know that blood sugar is an issue for me)

Sorry this is so long but wanted to paint the entire picture. I'm throwing myself at the mercy of you experienced ones :-/

[SarahWants2BSkinny]

I'm a newbie too, so I am by no means an expert so I'm sort of shooting in the dark here, but I remember reading that some people are really sensitive to artificial sweeteners and it will sabatoge your loss, so maybe cut out the Coke Zero and the Splenda for a week and see what happens? Also, are you making sure that you're only eating 4 oz of cheese total? That can impact it too.

I have heard that people with PCOS do have difficulty pulling off weight in general. Also, I've heard of some who actually lost more weight when they stepped up their carbs just a bit because they found their ideal carb burning rate. I read it in the book somewhere. Just keep at it and don't give up. You can do this!!!

[Backtomine]

thank, sarah. i was sort of wondering about the cheese...and the splenda. ugh. you are prob right about trying it out for a week. hopefully a few more people will weigh in [no pun intended] on the issue

[not2late]

Congrats on your loss!

We can expect to lose 5-10% of the weight we need to lose during the 14 Days. So a person with a 100 pound weight loss goal can expect to lose 5-10 pounds, while a person with a 10 pound goal can expect to lose 1/2 to 1 pound.

According to your stats, you have a 22 pound weight loss goal and you lost "only" 4 pounds. In other words, you've lost 18% of the weight you need to lose during these last 14 days. You have done very well. And there's no reason for you to feel like you haven't lost "alot", because you did.

[Backtomine]

thanks, megs. that does make me feel better.

just out of curiosity, are there any corrections you think i should be making?

[pagliaccia]

I would swap heavy cream for the half&half, at least until the OWL Rung for dairy (#2). Also, I would cut out the Coke Zero, because it contains aspartame, yes? That's a notorious staller for many.

Also, you could consider cutting out the coffee (or switching to decaf), because caffeine is a staller to some, too. I find I can have it without incident, personally, but your mileage may vary. Otherwise, your menu looks great and you've definitely lost an above average amount for your weight!

EDIT: I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as Megs, but I had to take a stab at it.

[Backtomine]

pagliaccia - thanks for the tips. had wondered about the halfnhalf - will check out the heavy cream. hardly a sacrifice! and i can live without the coke zero so will give it a try. i've got two small children who don't sleep - i can't do without the coffee. or at least i really really really don't want to. sniff.

[MelTin]

If you are purchasing the Rotisserie Chicken, it probably has sugar added. Check the label carefully.