Is this normal?

[cram]

My wife and I started on the induction phase Friday, January 2, 2009, so today is day 6. We've been weighing ourselves every morning. I went down a pound, one day, a pound and a half, the next, and yesterday I was two and a half pounds less than I started. My wife went down a pound at the most, and was pretty depressed about it.

This morning, I am back at my exact start weight, and my wife is a half pound heavier. We've been following the induction phase to a T. Is this normal?

[liv]

Re: Is this normal?

Although weightloss is not linear and there are days that we may go up a bit because we ate a lot of salt or due to hormonal changes, that does not sound right.
Can you list everything you and your wife eats and drinks and then let see if anything jumps out? Also are you on any medications that may have an influence here?

[Brook]

Re: Is this normal?

I disagree. I think it's totally normal- for several reasons.

You are going to lose faster than your wife- significantly faster usually- because you're a man. It's a biological fact, and one none of the women I know are ever thrilled about (tyvm ). Depending on where she is in her cycle, she may be fighting water retention among other things, add to that digestive/elimination differences. Chemistry, food amounts, water consumption, exercise, exercise intensity, etc etc etc . Throw in the differences in your bodies reactions to sodium and you have a giant recipe for all sorts of differences.


You are only 6 days into this. Stay off the scale!!! This is exactly why we tell people to stay off the scale. If it throws you off, shakes your motivation, or depresses you - stay off the sucker. Its the least accurate way to measure/gauge your success anyway. You are both going to go down/up/down/up/plateau/up/down/up - it's going to just do what it does. . Worry about the things you can control and don't sweat the stuff you can't. It is not a linear process. You are going to experience ups and downs with it, and sometimes they're rather significant. Heck, I can go up and down 5-7lbs over the course of a single day!

I'd suggest listing a couple of days worth of menus just for good measure and peace of mind for both of you, but you can tell her right now- if she's expecting to lose at the same rate you are or even trying to keep up with you and be comparable, she's embarking on an endeavor in

[liv]

Re: Is this normal?

But they are not losing, they are gaining.

In addition to what you are eating, drinking and meds. Let us know if you are exercising too.
Did you guys measure? Sometimes we lose inches but not pounds. And that is perfectly fine.

[Brook]

Re: Is this normal?

The gain isn't at all uncommon either, liv. And it's not really a gain necessarily. It's more likely 6 days of watching very closely and learning what their natural body fluctuations really look like than it is a liklihood that they're gaining FAT. The scale doesn't mean squat. Sodium, weight of food in the body, bathroom habits, water consumption, exercise (which if just starting will typically put at least a couple of pounds on at first as the body acclimates) are all reasons why they'd see it on the scale and have it be an inaccurate reflection of what's going on. Pounds don't mean squat and it's way too early to tell what inches are doing.

[Sherri]

Re: Is this normal?

Hello cram,
I agree with both Liv and Brook to maybe list a couple of days of your menu
It is perfectly normal for the scale to fluctuate throughout your weightloss. It's your body's natural rhythm to weightloss.
As you lose weight you will recognize a pattern. EVERYONES is different.
Very important....DO NOT WEIGH EVERYDAY! Dr. Atkins explains to only weigh once a week.
Sherri

[misplaced southerner]

Re: Is this normal?

if i weighed myself every day, i'd shoot myself. 14 days. wait. patience grasshopper. an old pro here told me once "work the plan and the plan will work for you."

post those menus and let's see if there are any hidden culprits but be patient. this is going to be more than a DIET, it will be your new LIFESTYLE. you don't wanna be stressed about that!

[cram]

Re: Is this normal?

Thanks everyone. We eat eggs with either bacon or ham for breakfast. We both take a salad to work for lunch, lettuce, cheese, ham, chicken, bacon, black olives. I usually eat pork rinds for a snack during the day but Tammie doesn't like them. Then at night we eat meat and a hot vegetable like broccoli, asparagas, or green beans.

That's pretty much been the menu for six days. Based on what I used to eat I'm guessing this has got to be better for me.

Before a typical day was McDonalds drive-thru egg McMuffin combo meals on the way to work. (we carpool and it's 70 miles one way). After I dropped my wife off I'd stop by QT for more coffee and a couple long johns. For lunch I'd eat McDonalds, Wendy's, or a Burrito. Mid afternoon I'd grab a large chocolate frosty from Wendy's. Then Tammie and I would stop at Panda Express or Chipotle's on the way home for dinner.

So regardless of if I lost any weight yet - I have no doubt that I will. I'll tell Tammie to stay off the scale.

Thanks again

[liv]

Re: Is this normal?

What you are eating is looking great. (And yes a big improvement ) Remember to drink plenty of water with it.
Because pork rinds are very salty - sometimes you can retain water after having them (but that is just a temporary thing)

[cram]

Re: Is this normal?

Thanks again. And I did notice today that although I was back up to my start weight of 256, my clothes didn't feel as tight. My wife read the book - I didn't. She said we might be eating to many salad greens for the induction phase. With our work schedules it works out tho - and like I said - it's gotta be better than the drive-thru garbage we were eating three times a day.

[Brook]

Re: Is this normal?

Pork rinds, ham, bacon, olives = sodium overload! That's a *lot* of sodium. You don't say what your stats are (start weight/current weight/goal weight) - so it's hard to take a guess at your caloric needs vs your actual intake. On Atkins we don't count calories, but that doesn't mean that calories don't count. Processed meats like sausage & bacon are just fine to eat 2-3 times a week. Personally, I wouldn't eat them more than that. You should also keep your pork rind intake down to around 1-2 ounces. They're easy to mindlessly munch on and they're pure fat- which is good- but it's also very easy to eat hundreds of calories worth of them in no time flat.

Overall, sounds pretty good, but very high in sodium. If I ate that much sodium, I'd make the Hoover Dam's water retention capabilities look like the amateur hour!

[cram]

Re: Is this normal?

Wow! You're right. I never even thought about the sodium thing. I was too busy focusing on the carbs. Since pork rinds have 0 carbs I was thinking that was just a free food.
I'm 48 years old, 6'0", and my start weight was (is) 256 pounds. Last year at this time I weighed 232, which was still overweight. According to the BMI charts I should weight 165 (at the most). I got down to 165 back in the mid 90's, and felt and looked like crap. So my goal is around 190-200.

[Brook]

Re: Is this normal?

Good for you, cram!!

Ain't no such thing as a "free food"

BMI charts are garbage. They really are. Body builders show up as obese on BMI charts. . Keep an eye on your shape, your frame, your rough body fat percentages, and most importantly - how you feel. I originally set my goal about 15lbs lower than where I'm at now. I'd look like death warmed over at 125-130lbs. I'm too muscular for it. - It is what it is - and I don't care! My pants have a *waist* size requirement on the tag- not a *weight*

Keep up the good work and work the heck out of it!

[superunknown]

Re: Is this normal?

I would not touch the ham or bacon.Most are cured with sugar..I started out eating two eggs over easy every morning for about 6 weeks.Now I only have one egg lightly sprinkled with shreaded mexican blend cheese.I think you may be better off with a piece of leftover chicken instead of ham & bacon.Get a Sam's wholesale membership & keep lots of nitrate free meats readily available for eating..Not to mention they have some killer pork rinds "Lutz"..I keep a barrel of them in my work van..

[goodcelt]

Re: Is this normal?

My start weight on 12/29/08 was 204. I went down in 3-4 days to 198 and haven't seen it since. I seem to be stuck at 201.5 (my scale insists on putting the .5 in there). I have been working out and I feel better but I sure would like to see those pounds drop, even though I know for a fact that you can lose inches and not pounds. It has happened to me before. I also have had my blood improve on this way of eating. But I know how discouraging all of this can be. And for me, I know the older you are, the slower it comes off, which is a drag, but I am going to stick with it.

Just weighed myself and I'm down a pound. 200.5. I'll take it.