Help with the diet please...

[333_inAug05_269_inFeb06]

Hello,

I am very grateful to find this forum. I have been doing Atkins since August of 2005. My starting weight was 333 lbs. I am 6'4" tall also... As of this morning I weigh 269 lbs. Needless to say, I am happy with the results thus far! But, I need some input and support from others because nobody around me is on the diet!

Basically I still eat a lot of food! Here are the changes that helped me loose my first 60+lbs:

I started walking a mile a day on the treadmill - 5 days a week religiously.

I limit my carb intake to no more than about 25g per day.

I still eat a lot.. My appetite went down some, but I still eat heavy. A typical day for me might look like this:

Breakfast- Atkins chocolate/peanut butter bar and Atkins Vanilla shake AND a stop at Sonic for two breakfast burritos without the tortilla in a box - basically egg, sausage and cheese. A 44 ounce iced tea.

Lunch - Big salad with grilled chicken, bacon bits, cheese - and ranch dressing - also sometimes a hamburger patty with cheese in addition to the salad...

Dinner - Large meat portions - chicken or beef, lots and lots of cheese - green veggies.

I snack a lot in the evenings on cheese. I also drink at least a gallon of water a day. I realize that caffeine may be my next vise, but I am curious for input from others about this...

I dropped weight like crazy at first, then it slowed, but has still come off consistently up until a few weeks ago - now I seem to have stalled around 270 lbs... I want to reach 235 - my goal weight... I would appreciate any input and support!

Thanks in advance,
Brian G

[ValidRouge]

Brian,

If you read around this site, you'll see LOTS AND LOTS of posts on exactly what I'm about to tell you.

At minimum, get rid of the bars and shakes. I'd also lose the iced tea and limit the cheese to 3 oz per day. If you make those few changes, I'll bet your weightloss jump starts again.

Here's a link to the acceptable foods list for the induction phase:
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=6071
This is for your first two weeks on Atkins, and lots of people return to it whenever their weight loss stalls or if they eat something that's not on plan. Keep in mind, you really only need to do this stage for 2 weeks. You can choose to do it longer, but you don't have to. The induction phase is NOT the entire plan!

Here is a link to the Ongoing weight loss phase
The OWL Carbohydrate Ladder
This is where you will add lots of variety back into your diet and CONTINUE to lose the weight. This is the phase of the plan that teaches you how to eat lots of foods, more vegetables, dairy products, nuts, fruits, legumes and YES WHOLE GRAINS!

You'll see this harped on over and over: read the book if you haven't already done so. It was a real eye opener for me.

Good luck, and welcome to ADBB

[allierw26]

First of all, welcome, and congrats on your loss so far!

I agree with the above post....the shakes and bars could not only be stalling you, the "frankenfood" ingredients in them could be causing you to crave...thus making you want to eat more and not allowing you to feel satisfied after you eat. Do you have a copy of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution 2002? (DANDR for short). If not, it will really give you a lot of guidelines about the different phases of this way of life. The forums will help you some, but not give you the in depth advice that Dr. Atkins gives in his book!

ETA--also, it is very normal for your weight loss to slow and even stall occasionally. You've lost quite a bit, and sometimes your body goes through adjustment periods.

[wannabethintoo]

Atkins is supposed to be an appetite suppressant WOE. You're supposed to only eat until satisfied...not full or stuffed. If this concept is not working for you, you may want to look into limitting your portion sizes/calories.

And get rid of the bars and shakes.

Oh and congratulations on the weight lost so far....excellent!

[sombersusie]

I agree, give the bars the boot! That should help with some of the cravings. Instead of sonic how bout frying up some bacon at home? You never know what sonic may be putting in the burritos as a filler or for 'taste'.
The others are right too! Go back to the induction lists and start anew. Your taste buds will change and you won't crave those nasty bars anymore and your cravings should go down amazingly, and your weight too!
Good luck, let us know how you're doing....

[ttdriver]

I agree with everyone .. nix the frankenfoods, let the natural appetite suppressant of ketosis work for you and stop eating when you're satisfied NOT STUFFED.

Great job on the exercise too!!

Betty

[america57]

Hey Brian, you eat like my husband! He's a big guy and he has a big appetite! I'd like to see the two of you in an eating contest! Did you know that we found out that IHOP puts pancake batter in it's scrabbled eggs to make them fluffer? That has made us very wary of fast food places. If you are eating there a lot, go in, ask to see the manager and ask him to tell you about the eggs. They probably aren't fresh eggs, they are probably some kind of reconstituted mix that have other things added, so check that out.

Also, it's time to bump up the exercise buddy! If you want to eat that food, you gotta burn that food! Try going up to a mile and 1/2 then two miles, maybe start lifting some weights, now that spring is coming and you are looking good, try getting out and walking around your neighborhood, climb some hills and you'll see the weight dropping off again real soon!

[333_inAug05_269_inFeb06]

Thanks to everyone for the words of encouragement! I am going to make some more changes and see what happens!!

Brian

[Isabeau]

You can do it! Real foods are the way to go for sooo many reasons. Congratulations on your success so far.

[Sheshy]

Hi Brian,

Wow, congrats on the loss so far, awesome!!

You've gotten some great advise...a little menu tweaking and step up the exercise a bit will get the weight loss moving again!