I am new here + Some Advice wanted!

[yoni]

First off, I would like to introduce myself.
My name is Yoni, live in Jerusalem, Israel and follow a strict Kosher diet.
I am a 27 year old Male and single. I am around 5'10' -5'11" (not sure).
I started Atkins about 4 weeks ago. I only weighed myself after week 1 and I weighed about 237 Pounds.

Now for my story. I never really went through much of a withdrawal period. I guess I wasn't really hooked on Carbs as much as I thought. Week 2, I lost about 5 Pounds.
The problem is that since then I have only lost about 4 pounds.
As far as I know, I have been strict, trully consuming very little carbs (well below 20 grams).

My average diet has been:
Breakfast:
3/4 Egg Cheese Omelet (the Cheese was like 0.2 grams of Fat per 100 grams of cheese , I think thats just about nothing)
Sometimes some Iceberg Lettuce with it, but not every day.
I have started to throw in a bowl of Onion soup with Cheese the last couple of days.

Lunch:
Shwarma ( a middle eastern style meat, that spins on a rotating skewer and cooks itself slowly, it is storebought, and the sauces on it are mostly Oils and seasoning (at least I think so)
Again some more Lettuce.

Supper:
I tend to eat 1/2 to 3/4 of a chicken. I don't really season it much, I just put the pieces in a pan, cover it, and cook it for an hour. Not the tastiest thing, but I like it. (I experimented with some Garlic Powder and Pepper tonight)


I will eat 2 or 3 Hard boiled eggs in the evening sometimes.

One thing that I do have is on Friday nights, I have a cop of red wine and a half a piece or so of bread (my mom makes it from the 30/70 kind (30% white, 70%whole wheat).
Again Saturday morning, same thing one cup of wine and a half a piece of bread.
then Saturday night, one last cup of wine.

I do this for Religous reasons, I am going to look into cutting down, if I can, but as of now, I have been doing it. How bad has that been for me?

As you can see, I don't have much of a variety in my diet, but that is one of the things that I like about Atkins, I don't mind eating the same thinng everyday.

Again, my problem is, I am not losing the pounds. I am definately losing inches, as my pants are not quite staying up, and I can see the loss in my face. Other people have also told me that they can see the loss. But where is the weight going if I am not losing it? Is it worth buying the Ketosis strips to see if my body is actually in Ketosis?


That's about it.

I am always open to any interesting recipes. As I am a single guy, without a normal Oven, I only got one of those over-sized Toaster Ovens that I use, the recipes should be pretty simple.


I appreciate any advice or tips you can all offer.

Thanks,
Yoni

[Analog6]

Yoni, I think you need to eat more vegetables and maybe cut the chicken at night back to 1/4 or so. There is a wide variety of vegetables you can eat. At night (I am no longer on Induction, please note) I have a stir fry of veges made from (not necessarily all of these every night):
carrot (small amount, not more than 2 oz),
green beans,
snow peas,
yellow squash,
cauliflower,
broccoli,
zucchini (courgette),
red onion and anything else tasty. In winter I ALWAYS have some sliced bulb fennel in it, tastes great. Perhaps you could add the veges to the chicken pan or do them separately.

Otherwise, your menu looks fine. You will get more comments and advice, count on it.

[Laurenfra]

The first thing I would offer would be to measure. Many of us will stay the same weight for weeks or more but loose inches. It helps to know your body is changing even if your weight isnt!

Are you drinking enough water? You should have approx 115 oz a day

[Elizellen]

Although it is fairly normal to experience slowing down of weightloss after a few weeks on Atkins (read this excellent thread called 'weightloss is not linear' about the problem http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=5090 (Weight loss is not linear) ) it may be that the regular wine consumption is having an effect.
Our bodies will use alcohol as a preferred 'fuel' and burn that up before working on the fats and carbs we eat, in effect 'suspending' any weightloss till it has all been used up, as well as storing any extra fat/carbs for future use!!

Is it acceptable in your religion to only have one sip of the wine and a few crumbs of the bread instead of eating all of it?

[yoni]

I try to drink about 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day.
As for the wine, I am looking into how much I can cut back. As for the bread, that is the minimum.

As for the measuring, I never did measure myself, but I used the same belt and I can see it getting loose on me.

Thanks for your responses.

[Isabeau]

What stage of Atkins are you on? When you say "as far as I know I've been strict" that leads me to believe you haven't read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and perhaps even though you are doing a low carb diet, not the Atkins diet so it's difficult for us to say what needs to change, if you know what I mean. For example, bread of any kind is not allowed until far into the OWL stage. Congratulations on the weight you've lost.

[yoni]

Outside of the the things that I mentioned my doing on the weekends I have been strict. My reasons for using the "as far as I know" was more towards, not being 100% sure that the stuff I am eating is OK.

As for the 2 slices of bread, I have no choice. Religion does come before everything for me.

[2big4mysize]

of course your Atkins has to include your religious beliefs or it can't be your way of life WOL. Can you use a different lower carb bread or does it have to be made by mother in special pans with special ingredients?