Fluctuate but no more loss - input appreciated

[Karespromise]

Background:

I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at the end of November and was put on Lexapro for post-partum depression. I had gained about 50 pounds with that pregnancy (gained 80, lost 40 with my first) and have lost all but 10 of the last pregnancy of it without dieting. I am now on the Mirena IUD birth control (Since Feb) and it caused me to gain about 5 pounds….then I started Atkins.



I’ve been on Atkins for almost 6 weeks. I’ve lost between 9-13 pounds, it fluctuates day by day. I lost all of that the first three weeks and after that I’ve just been fluctuating but not going down. I did induction for 5 weeks and just started on phase 2 last week. I exercise 5 days per week doing a high intensity cardio class for an hour. I drink what seems like a ton of water – at least 80oz per day, often more then that. I’ve still got quite a bit to lose to get to my goal weight but I’m getting frustrated as to why I’m just fluctuating rather then losing. I used to have the mock cheesecake but have since taken that out because I’m wondering if it’s causing me to stall…. I do have one serving of a macadamia-almond-pecan mix everyday , however I haven’t had anything that’s not appropriate on Atkins (ie; sugar, bread, potatoes, etc…)



I know weight will fluctuate daily (I do weigh daily because it tends to keep me on my toes) so I understand the fluctuations but I’m still frustrated that the scale is not going down week by week anymore … All I really want is to hear about what others have experienced along this same vein and hopefully get a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

[Dotultimate]

Hi!


You're doing really well, don't get discouraged.

NOW the nuts. These might not be causing you to gain at all, but they could be jsut the thing that are stopping you from losing weight. You're not at the nuts runs of OWL yet, so you need to avoid eating those until this time.

I know you probably enjoy them the most out of everything you eat, but if you want to lose the pounds, cut them out for a week and see if it makes a difference (it might just be the key).

Also, are you having a lot of sweetner? Either by way of adding it yourslef, or in sweetened products such as diet softdrinks? You need to avoid this, if you're having mroe than 3 serves (equiv. 1 tsp) a day.

Also, if you're a big coffee drinker, try and cut that out for a week with your nuts and see what happens.

What are you eating in a standard day?

[Karespromise]

Thanks for the reply!

I usually drink water only but do occasionally drink a diet soda - only one per day. I was having some mock cheesecake before (Cream Cheese + Splenda + vanilla) but have recently cut that out. I don't use sweetener otherwise and I don't drink coffee.

I will cut the nuts out and see what happens.

A typical day consists of:

Hardboiled eggs (2-4)
Tuna or salmon w/mayo or mustard
2-4oz of cheese (gouda or swiss)
Macadamia nut mix (1-2oz)
"taco" salad - with only the meat and veggies, 2T of sour cream (I cook the hamburger so there's no sugar in it).
1/2 Avocado
Pork Rinds
I just started on rung 1, so I've only been eating 23-24 carbs per day for a little under a week.
On induction I only went over 20 carbs a couple of days and it was only by 1 or 2.

[Dotultimate]

Hey! Thats sounding great.... couple tips though...
Eating pork rinds makes a lot of people stall. They're so full of salt that you gain a lot of excess water from them and they make your body retain weight as a result.

They are fine for a snack every now and again but not as a daily thing...
Be carefull with your cheese, dont eat too much (if you have cheese on your taco salad like i dont you'l find you're eating way more than allowed).

Try and eat some veggies like brocolli, they're great for you and far more nutricious than just salads other than that you're looking ok to me.

What flavorings do you put in your taco meat?

[Karespromise]

I do eat broccoli, cauliflower, & pumpkin sometimes too - but I found that I was having them so often that they'd get boring.

I do tend to retain lots of water weight too - so I bet the sodium in the pork rinds would explain a lot.

I love cheese but I do always measure it. I ate the full 4 oz (I'll be honest, sometimes more then 4oz but always within the 20 carb limit) during induction and it never caused a problem for me - at least not in the first two weeks. However, I have limited it.

Hamburger prepared: Cumin, Oregano, red pepper, paprika, chilli powder, pepper, and salt.

Thanks for your suggestions - hopefully they'll scoot me along my way!

[bythree]

Remember that spices have carbs in them too. I was shocked when i made a meat chili how many carbs were in the chili powder. Granted I did use a lot because it was chili. Here is a link to carb count for everything. I'm sending you the page for spices/herbs but on the top left you can go to any other food. Good Luck and all of a sudden you'll start dropping again. Kathie

Atkins - Carb Counter

[Karespromise]

I never even thought to add up the carbs in the spices! I figured they were okay as long as there was no sugar, or other fillers in them.

Good new though - I dropped 3 pounds overnight... I didn't have the pork rinds at all yesterday so I bet it's been the sodium. I did eat those regularly.