Water weight?

[onmyweigh]

The good news is I did everything according to Atkins as far as I know yesterday. The only thing I can think of I did wrong was I had some slivered carrots on my salad at Ruby Tuesdays yesterday. My food was chicken, vegies, and mashed cauliflower. There was a cream sauce on top of the chicken, which I hope was made with cream and not milk. Anyway, the bad news is even though I did everything as right as I know, I gained 2 pounds. It's only my third day on the diet (this time!) but it's discouraging. Last time I did this I lost most every day of Induction. It's no where near my TOM, so I can't blame it on that (I know all the women are thinking that).

Any advice? I'm not giving up but just frustrated!
Thanks!

[NOWandTHIN]

The sauce on your chicken may not have only had milk in it but sum form of starch as well to thicken it....you cant be too sure with restaurants. Try looking up the nutritious facts for Ruby Tuesdays to see if you can figure out exactly how many carbs u ingested.

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by onmyweigh

The good news is I did everything according to Atkins as far as I know yesterday. The only thing I can think of I did wrong was I had some slivered carrots on my salad at Ruby Tuesdays yesterday.

Yep, that was wrong. Carrots are only allowed from OWL Rung 8 on.

There was a cream sauce on top of the chicken, which I hope was made with cream and not milk.

You need to know exactly what is in the food you eat, not just hope the ingredients are "legal"; especially this early on Induction. If you don't know the ingredients in a food, then simply don't eat it. If you need to eat out, then ask for chicken without sauce (or ask what the ingredients in the sauce are), salad without carrots, etc. The sauce could have been made with milk and flour.

I gained 2 pounds.

I seriously doubt you gained 2 lbs of fat overnight. At least part of it is water weight.

It's only my third day on the diet (this time!) but it's discouraging.

If seeing weight gain is discouraging, then you might want to weigh yourself less often. Some people can weigh daily and can track their weight without panicking for little bumps. Others freak out for every few pounds gained, and for them is better to step on the scale less often. You need to figure out what works best for you.

Last time I did this I lost most every day of Induction.

Until yesterday, I had this quote in my signature (from DANDR 2002, Ch. 21, pp. 281-282):

To think that the present will be just like the past is another mind trap. Alarm bells ring when I hear someone say, "But I'm not losing the way I did ten years ago." It isn't ten years ago, Ace. I wish I were ten years younger, too. [...]

Then they tell me, "But back in 1994, I lost 20 pounds in two months without exercising." Get real. It's not 1994. Send all complaints to Father Time, Box Office Eternity.

Those two pounds you gained should come off soon if you stay on track. But read the book, if you haven't done so already. If you read it, then re-read it; there is a lot of information there. And make sure you are following the plan correctly as per DANDR, not just the way you think is correct. You need to inform yourself about this WoE in order to be successful and make it a lifelong eating plan.

Happy low carbing!

[mizski]

Originally Posted by onmyweigh

The good news is I did everything according to Atkins as far as I know yesterday. The only thing I can think of I did wrong was I had some slivered carrots on my salad at Ruby Tuesdays yesterday. My food was chicken, vegies, and mashed cauliflower. There was a cream sauce on top of the chicken, which I hope was made with cream and not milk. Anyway, the bad news is even though I did everything as right as I know, I gained 2 pounds.

My guess is that if you ate the entire meal, you ate too much (meaning too many carbs) and went way over 20g net carbs for the day.

I like Ruby Tuesdays and eat there often when I go out to dine. I like the fact that I can pre-plan what I can have from their website info by either jotting it down on paper or usually, putting it in FitDay (I have a lot of their menu items as custom foods).

I like their salad bar as I can select exactly what I can have and in the amounts I can have. Also, their Smart Eating menu is designed for low-carbers and that makes things easier too.

OK, back to your dinner. Here's how that stacks up (without knowing exactly what you had):

Mashed cauliflower - 9g net carb
Green beans or broccoli - 5g net carb
Salad dressing - 1-6g net carb depending on which type
Parmesan cream sauce - 1g net carb/oz. (2 TBS)

Total so far: 16-22g net carbs

plus the veggies in your salad

if you had the Smart Eating Chicken Bella with the mushrooms & artichoke hearts w/the sauce - 6g net carb

And that's only 1 meal for that day! Add to that your other meals and it's easy to see how quickly you can go way over on your daily carb allowance.

So, it was a learning experience. Now you know. Ruby Tuesday's is a great place to eat while on Atkins but some preplanning is needed. I usually get a small salad bar and then take most of my side veggies home for another meal.

Another thought from personal experience, no matter how well I plan and how good my numbers are in FitDay, I either stall or gain a bit for a few days afterwards. I'm thinking it's probably because of all the sodium in foods prepared outside the home. It does come off by the end of the week but if I ate out often....well, I don't think I would be as successful in my weight loss. HTH

[onmyweigh]

I did have the Chicken Bella with artichoke hearts & mushrooms. The salad I made from their salad bar and forgot and put some carrots on my salad. I believe everything else was good on Induction.

Thanks for your responses. I didn't think about looking up the menu online before going. That's a great idea!