Weight loss stalled-please rate my menu!

[shabutter587]

Please help! My weight loss has stopped....


My daily typical menu includes:

Breakfast:

piece of string cheese OR
atkins shake OR
hard boiled egg

Lunch:

2-3 eggs (fried or scrambled) with slice of american cheese
2 pieces of turkey sausage or 2 pieces bacon (both have no carbs, no sugar)

Snack:
3 cups of english bkfast tea or orange pekoe tea with 1/4cup cream and 3-4 splenda packets

Dinner:

5 Broiled Chicken Wings with 2 TBS hot sauce OR
1 piece of baked chicken OR
3 hamburger patties (about 4 oz each)
1 cup romaine lettuce OR
1/2 cup green beans
12 oz coke zero

Snack:
1 cup pork skins OR
3 pieces salami, 3 pieces pepperoni (says 0 carbs on box)
4 square miniature pieces of colby cheese

Can you give advice of what I may be doing wrong here? I have been on atkins for 1 month now. I am in ketosis. I have lost 14 pds so far and need to lose 40 more. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

[liv]

How long has it stopped for? It is very normal to see stops. You have to get used to them. More will happen.

Your menu is pretty good. I have a couple of minor suggestions for you.

I think you could eat more vegetables though. Especially if you are on rung one. Sometimes vegetables helps things move again.
If I was stalling I would probably cut out the shake - stalls some people.

You are over doing sweetener. Only three per day. They can trip you up too.

[shabutter587]

It has stopped for about 1 1/2 weeks. I do know that I am consuming to much artificial sugar, but I LOVE black tea with cream and splenda. It's the only thing that makes me feel like I'm not missing anything. I will definitely add more veggies. My husband has been ragging on me about not eating enough. Thank you for your advice.

[OzLover]

Atkins shakes are also known stallers for many people. Take a look at the ingredients~~. As mentioned more veggies & less sweetner.

Good luck!

[chinadoll]

More veggies, at least 80 ounces of water (plain water) a day, cut the sweeteners to allowed levels. And patience. Weight loss is not linear. Many people experience stalls a month or so in. You just have to wait it out without cheating. Changing up your exercise sometimes helps too.

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by shabutter587

I do know that I am consuming to much artificial sugar, but I LOVE black tea with cream and splenda. It's the only thing that makes me feel like I'm not missing anything.

I also loved lasagna before Atkins and yes, I did miss pasta and starchy vegetables in the first day of Induction. But one of the purposes of Induction is to "break addictions to foods such as sugar [...]" (DANDR, Chapter 11, p. 122). So instead of feeding your addictions so that you feel like you're "not missing anything", you should work on breaking them. This means going as far as eliminating Splenda and other artificial sweeteners during Induction, because "for people addicted to sugary, high-carb or high-glycemic foods -- just as for alcoholics -- moderation simply does not work" (DANDR, Chapter 11, p.122).

Don't forget that it's not only Splenda that counts towards your sweetener intake, but everything that is sweetened (e.g. Coke Zero, Atkins products).

As the others have said, aspartame is not allowed on Atkins as it may stall your weight loss.

Atkins shakes stall many people and most of them contain ingredients not allowed on Induction. While it is true that convenience foods are mentioned in DANDR, the book also says that we should only have them in case no "legal" food from the list of foods acceptable during Induction is available. This may happen a few times in a year (e.g. your flight is canceled and you can't find any "legal" food at the airport), but those who eat them during Induction almost always do it because 1) they are too lazy to prepare a good meal or 2) they think of the Atkins bars/shakes as desserts. None of these attitudes will help one learn healthier dietary and lifestyle habits, which is what Atkins is all about.

Pepperoni. Just because it says 0 carbs on the box, it doesn't mean they are "legal" -- manufacturers are allowed to write 0 if a product has <0.5 g of carbohydrate. You must check the list of ingredients and make sure there is nothing there not allowed during Induction.