Ahhh! Ok, here we go...

[HeatherJL]

Breakfast: 1 organic lean hamburger patty w/ slice 2% cheese. Low carb ketchup
Beverages: 2 cups coffee, 1 w/ heavy cream, 1 with half & half- 4 splendas total; 16 oz water

Lunch: Garden salad with grilled chicken, gorgonzola cheese, italian dressing
Beverages: 1 diet soda, 16 oz water

Snack: Cup hot tea w/ 1 splenda & half & half

Dinner: Either chicken breast/2 chicken franks/lean red meat along w/ broccoli. Everything cooked in good olive oil & flavored w/ vegan oil spread, salt, pepper & garlic powder
Beverages: diet ginger ale, 16 oz water

Snack: Hot cocoa (25 cal, 3 carbs) w/ whipped cream

Ok...go easy! I'm fragile!

[Georgiana]

Oh my, this is going to be long.

Here we go...

Before making observations on your menu, I just want to remind you that during induction,

• [1] you should be eating most of your carbs from veggies (2 cups salad veggies, 1 cup veggies on the 'others' list)
• [2] at the end of the day, you should have eaten roughly 65% fat, 5% carbs, 30% protein... you can use FitDay for figuring this (FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal)
• [3] you should count net carbs (i.e. carbs minus dietary fiber), not carbs... the net carbs should be below 20 g

Other things...

• [4] Atkins is not a high protein diet, but a high fat one... while on Atkins (no matter of the phase you are at), your protein intake should stay at ~30% for the day
• [5] too much protein is transformed into glucose (aka sugar)... and, as the Germans would say, das ist nicht gut
• [6] you are allowed maximum 3 servings of sweetener per day (1 serving = 1 package of splenda or equivalent sweetener)
• [7] coffee can stall some people, others (me included) have no issues with it
• [8] diet sodas are known stallers (in fact I don't only stall after drinking one, but GAIN)
• [9] you should drink +64 oz of water (this excludes coffee, diet sodas, etc.) per day
• [10] each serving of sweetener counts as 1 net carb, even if this is not written on the package
• [12] each ounce of cheese should be counted as 1 net carb, even if it has less than that... and you are allowed to eat max. 4 oz cheese per day (only aged cheese, not fresh cheeses - fresh cheeses are things like cottage cheese for example)

******************

Now your menu...

Originally Posted by HeatherJL

Breakfast: 1 organic lean hamburger patty w/ slice 2% cheese. Low carb ketchup

From [4], you don't need to eat lean meat or low fat cheese. In fact, these low fat foods might give you more protein than your body can deal with, and then you reach [5]. Many low fat products are also very high in sodium. For some of us (e.g. me ) sodium is an issue as it causes water retention. Your sodium intake should be around 1500-2000 mg per day and you can figure it out when entering your foods in FitDay.

Check the ingredients in ketchup and make sure there's no sugar among them (sugar goes under many names, no only plain 'sugar').

Beverages: 2 cups coffee, 1 w/ heavy cream, 1 with half & half- 4 splendas total; 16 oz water

See [7] for coffee.

As far as I know (someone will correct me if I'm wrong), you are not allowed half & half during induction because of the high milk content.

4 servings of splenda are more than you are allowed, see [6]

Lunch: Garden salad with grilled chicken, gorgonzola cheese, italian dressing

This sounds good, just make sure you don't overeat cheese. The maximum allowence is 4 oz.

Also check if the Italian dressing has sugar among the ingredients. If it has, it's not allowed.

Beverages: 1 diet soda, 16 oz water
Snack: Cup hot tea w/ 1 splenda & half & half

See [8].

Moreover, you should count 1 serving of sweetener for each serving of diet soda. A bottle of soda usually has something like 2.5 servings if I remember correctly, so that makes 2.5 servings of sweetener. Add this to your 4 servings in the morning and to the rest you have during day (in tea, etc... you got the point) and you are way over the sweetener allowence.

Again, no half & half.

Dinner: Either chicken breast/2 chicken franks/lean red meat along w/ broccoli. Everything cooked in good olive oil & flavored w/ vegan oil spread, salt, pepper & garlic powder
Beverages: diet ginger ale, 16 oz water

I don't know what "diet ginger ale" is, but it's again a possible staller and it contributes to the amount of sweetener you have in a day.

Snack: Hot cocoa (25 cal, 3 carbs) w/ whipped cream

Make sure the cocoa doesn't have added sugar.

******************

Try to follow [1]-[12] to the letter. You should also check the posts marked with 'Sticky' on this board and read the book.

I saw another post of your where you said you're doing extended induction. Extended induction should only be done by those people who have a lot to lose and/or have a high metabolic resistance (there's a table in DANDR about this). You definitely don't have a lot to lose and the reason why you haven't lost weight until now is probably due to not following the induction 'rules'. I would recommend you to start two weeks of clean induction, make sure you do them correctly, and then move up the rungs. The weight WILL come off.

Since you don't have a lot to lose, the pounds will go down slower than for someone who has an excess weight of 100 lbs for example. During induction, one typically loses 5-10% of the excess body weight... so if you have 20 lbs to lose, you should expect a loss of 1-2 lbs. (I know, it's , but patience is rewarded in the end).

One question before I end... Are you exercising? How much? What exercises?

Ok...go easy! I'm fragile!

Was this harsh?

[HeatherJL]

Not harsh...honest! Thank you! I'm going to take all of your advice & re-do a clean induction phase by the rules!

[Skeptika23]

Originally Posted by HeatherJL

Not harsh...honest! Thank you! I'm going to take all of your advice & re-do a clean induction phase by the rules!

See? Not scary at all!!!

[HeatherJL]

Thank you for the advice!

[liv]

*Definitely too many sweeteners - your splendas, and the diet drink puts it way over the 3 you are allowed.

*You are not drinking enough water. At least 64 oz - plain water. Don't skimp on this. Join us in the November water challenge if you want to challenge yourself

*Make sure you get enough fat - so you do not overdo the protein part. Lean hamburger ??? And just chicken breast - indicate more protein than fat. Don't be afraid of the fat. How about some eggs? They are very healthy.

*Don't be afraid to eat. You must not let yourself starve and eat too few calories.

*Make sure you have 2 cup salad veggies and one cup from the other list. (Or three from the salad veggie list - Whatever is your fancy)

But you should know many people see a stall in the third week. It is called PISS. Post induction stall syndrome. So just go through - do a little bit of clean up of your menu - and you will be fine.

[HeatherJL]

How do I eat less protein and more fat w/o over-doing the dairy...?

[Georgiana]

- olive oil on your salads
- eggs
- butter
- flax meal
- chicken with skin
- regular meat instead of lean meat
- full fat cheese

[HeatherJL]

Oh, hmmm...ok. Thank you! I'm going to re-do my menu and really plan & be diligent about my use of sweeteners, etc.

[Skeptika23]

Coconut oil has become a favorite of mine... use it all the time for just about everything. Nice flavor.