New and confused

[cybrangel]

I began the Atkins diet on July 12, 2008. My goal weight is 120 lbs.
As of this morning (July 18th) I weigh 142.6. I have two boys. One lives with me and one lives with his dad. I love to work on computers, go to concerts and swimming.

I already have questions about this diet and I'm hoping to find good advice in relation to my successful but confusing results.

As I stated, I went from 148 to 142.6, but at one point I was at 141.4. The next day after I weighed 141.4, I got on the scale and was at 142.6 and the scale hasn't moved the last three days. Is this normal?

Should I be losing some everyday? Is it normal to gain back, even though I am still following the induction phase?

[flpooh19701]

It is possible to gain a few pounds particularly if your body is building muscle. Induction can be tricky so I would suggest looking for any hidden carbs. A big staller for me is heavy cream.. it's allowed but it stalls me. If you don't already know, surprising to me but coffee has carbs so if you are drinking multiple cups of coffee and not counting those carbs it could get out of hand quickly. Although, there is one member that I know of that doesn't have a problem with the carbs in coffee. If you post your daily menu we can take a look and point out any potential problems you may have. Also, how much water are you drinking? WATER is a MUST. Minimum 8 8ounce glasses. I recommend the rule of thumb 8 8ounce glasses plus an additional 8 ounces for every 25 lb you want to lose. HTH

[cybrangel]

I have been drinking about 6-8 bottles of ozarka water every day.
I do not drink coffee or tea. Occassionally I do have a half of a diet rite soda.

Samples of Menus:

8/16/2008

breakfast: scrambled eggs w/ owens sausage
lunch: grilled salmon and two hard boiled eggs.
dinner was 2 grilled pork chops and deviled eggs
I had 5 bottles of water and one and a half diet rite soda.

8/17/2008 (busy day)
breakfast: scrambled eggs w/owens sausage
lunch: leftovers from breakfast
snacks: 3 pickles
Dinner: Hamburger patty and four cubes of cheddar cheese
I had 10 bottles of water and a half diet rite soda

[flpooh19701]

At first glance, Where are your veggies? Also, there are carbs in your eggs so don't forget to count those..that surprised me at first. , I'm not sure how many you have a day regularly total. Your deviled eggs , Are they made with salad dressing or mayo? IT should be mayo. My first thought though is you've got to get your veggies in there. Try that and I bet you start losing again. I'm surprised you aren't constipated. I actually think judging from your menu that you aren't getting enough carbs (believe it not). Do you have a copy of the ATkins 2002 edition? IT's well worth the read and I refer back to it often. I wouldn't worry about the soda myself. Dr. A says 3 servings of artificial sweetener preferrably splenda (bleck in my opinion). Be careful on the caffeine though. In some people, including myself it causes my insulin to go screwy and I also end up starving all day because of it. I have to confess, I drink diet soda with aspartame regularly and it has not stalled me. IT's a chance I take. If in the future I stall and can not attribute it to anything else then I will be forced to cut it out completely. VEGGIES VEGGIES VEGGIES

[ValidRouge]

Also, check your sausage for sugars, nitrates, nitrites, etc.

Do you use www.fitday.com ? You want to make sure your FAT is around 65% and your protein NO MORE than 30%. Fat is our friend.

[flpooh19701]

YES I agree fat is my best friend! I increased my fat yesterday and today, da dada da.. I am down 2.4 lb overnight! I LOVE IT! Ok yes, I shouldn't be weighing every day but I just had to check today..

[kirbychristian]

One: mild weight fluctuations from day to day (a pound or two) are normal, not just for this diet, but all the time. If you were going up 5 pounds, I'd be concerned but a 1-2 pound fluctuation is normal.

Two: you are going to drive yourself crazy if you weigh every day (trust me, I've been there). It can lead to disappointment...disappointment leads to anger, anger leads to frustration, frustration leads to cupcakes (trust me, I've been there too!) Back away from the scale...make it hard to get to if you have to...put it on a high shelf and only pull it out once a week. (I'm still working on this myself...I compulsively weight myself SEVERAL times a day so it's a struggle not to weigh in constantly)

Three: hang in there. What you are experiencing is perfectly normal...you will achieve your goals if you stick to it. Good luck!

[cybrangel]

You are right, I need vegetables. I am adding in more today. I am constipated but that is normal for me. I take Amitiza for this, and I stopped taking it to do this diet. I just assumed it was my norm.

[cybrangel]

That is something I don't think I checked for (nitrates). I did check for sugars though and it said there were none and no carbs.

[cybrangel]

I hope I can start losing like that again lol. Thank you all for your advise!