End of induction, getting discouraged

[MikeInJapan]

I really don't know, but I guess I better decide today.

I'm about to go for a walk, but when I get back I'm gonna read the end of the induction chapter and see what it says.

Any suggestions from anyone here?

[MikeInJapan]

Originally Posted by Driven

Hey man even if you 'only' lose 2lbs a week for a year, that's 104lbs!.. You're off to a great start!

You're right, but after the first few weeks you wouldn't be losing water, so I wonder what they actual loss would be.

I take your point though, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

[my31168]

I went on extended induction and only lost a few more pounds. I started OWL yesterday. Before you decide, read all the stickies out there about OWL and the book. I conducted research on this site for about a week before I decided. I wanted to know all the facts before I started/decided what was best for me.

Here is the link:

Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) - Atkins Diet

Let me know if you need anything else. Michelle

[liv]

Can you tell us in detail what you have been eating - sort of a typical menu.
Do you exercise?

I would not worry about that calorie drop - you hit ketosis and it is natural to drop low - it will pick up again.

I would just assume that this is your path - some start slow and pick up after a bit. It just works that way.

[MikeInJapan]

Do you exercise?

Yeah, I walk about an hour a day. I'm thinking of starting a little weights too.

Originally Posted by liv

Can you tell us in detail what you have been eating - sort of a typical menu.

Sure.

Here's a fairly typical day:



And here's my FitDay overview:



The 16th and 17th arent accurate, as I didnt log all my food on those days.


Cheers

[mizski]

Originally Posted by my31168

MIZSKI, I can't seem to find the view button. I don't have FitPC though.

Maybe that is only something FitPC does? Do you know?

I usually scroll down to the bottom of my graphs and subtract the number of fiber from carbs.

Thanks for your help in advance. Michelle

Hi Michelle, the net carbs feature is only available on FitDay PC. The download version has additional features from the online one.

[PeteinVA]

Mike gosh the Fitday stuff copied/pasted so well! (I don't know how to do that hehha)

Your weight graph looks spookily like mine. Down two, up one, down one, up two, down three etc.

As the others have said your weight loss is steady and predictable. Your calories, carbs, protein fat breakout looks good. You're burning more than you take in and your menu looks good.

It doesn't look like you have a problem to me and a little tweaking never hurts. You may find eating a bit more could help i.e. calorie intake.

Best of luck for continued success!

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by MikeInJapan

Maybe I could try to increase my protein serving each meal.

You could do this, but add fat with it. Keep in mind that excess protein is converted to glucose and can interfere with weight loss.

I'd like to eat more salad, but I don't want it to raise my carbs.

Undereating calories and/or carbohydrates will slow down your metabolism. So while you might believe that eating as little as possible of each is a good idea to lose weight quicker, it is not true. Furthermore, undereating calories on a low-carbohydrate diet has a negative impact on your thyroid. So you need to make sure you are eating enough.

Originally Posted by MikeInJapan

Thanks. The reason I'm getting discouraged is because it was so fast at first (I guess that was mostly water), but now I seem to be having a lot of days with no drop at all.

Yep. The initial loss is mostly water weight. Now you are losing primarily fat. That's a good thing! Take body measurements too. Don't go exclusively by the scale.

The thing is, in the book it says eat until you are satiated, but don't stuff yourself. Well, to get the 1900-2000 down now, I will have to be stuffing myself a little.

Sometimes, you need to fight against the appetite suppressant effect of ketosis in order to prevent undereating.

Why is it so important to get so much fat?

It is primarily the ratio of fat to carbohydrates that fuels lipolysis/ketosis. In ketosis, fat is your body's main source of fuel.

breads

Nut breads can be added in OWL Rung 3. For Induction, you can make Revolution Rolls, or flax crackers, or flax muffins. For flax, see the limits in DANDR.

pasta

Maybe... egg soup noodles? This is a recipe Megs posted: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...p-noodles.html (Induction 'Egg' Soup Noodles). I haven't tried it though.

Can you find spaghetti squash in Japan?

You can make zucchini tagliatelle. I made this recipe a few times and it's very good: Zucchini "Tagliatelle" with Mint, Cucumber, and Lemon Recipe at Epicurious.com

rice

What about riced cauliflower?

chocolate

SF cocoa/chocolate can be added in OWL Rung 3. Of course, if you have a chocolate addiction, it might be wiser not to.

Now it seems I'm stuck with some form of meat, some salad and some cheese.

If you simplify it this way, then before you were "stuck" with some form of starch and sugar. Try new recipes. Find substitutes for the foods you were eating before. For example, mashed kohlrabi tastes better, imo, than mashed potatoes. You just need to find new foods that you like.

Oh, also that since I started the program, I have seen a number of things saying research on red meat shows eating more than about 400g a week raises cancer risk by about 20%, so I have really been trying to cut back on steak.

Yeah... I know the study you read. But you probably haven't seen this news: News | Breaking News | Feedstuffs

Of course, in the end it's your choice what source of protein you prefer. But I don't trust that study.

Originally Posted by MikeInJapan

Will do. Thanks a lot. One more question though, should I continue induction, move on to OWL? (lol, I'm sure the book, which I'm going to read some more of today, will tell me).

My advice would be to move to OWL. And add more veggie (net!) carbs to your menu, or else your weight loss will slow down. Make sure you are also eating enough.

You might want to re-read Chapters 12 and 13.

[MikeInJapan]

Thanks for all those suggestions Georgiana. I'll definitely try the riced cauliflower. Tried to buy one last night but they were sold out

Well, third morning today on exactly 128.4 kg. So I guess this is a mini-stall.

And yesterday I tried to eat more too, I got in 2,239 kcals and 24 net carbs.
Also drank a fair bit of water and walked twice for about 30 mins a time.

Annoying. Starting to wondering if I'll just stay on 128.4 forever.
I decided to stay on induction for another 2 weeks at least though, and try to shift some of this weight (surely the scales have to start moving again eventually, right??).

[my31168]

Mizski - thanks for the update on the FitDay.