RODNEY
 

Hi Rodney,
thank you for your interest, I haver a question though.. I think you can't mean 7 grams of chicken... is that 7 ounces? I didn;t now about the amount of 150 grams of protein, but I will make sure I get that. I get approx 2500 cals a day, would that be enough to lose weight?

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate this! will keep you all informed about my progress (or lack of it <g>)
Vilica

bodyfat
 

Grams v. Onces Oops!
 

Dear Vilicia,

Oops! Yes, you are correct: I meant 7 onces of meat, not seven grams. Good catch.

There are a couple of ways to measure body fat.

My wife and I just bought a digital scale with built in body fat measuring system. It uses electrical impedence to give a pretty good estimate of body fat.
You can also buy calipers at GNC and "pinch an inch" at your waist then use the table to read your percentages.
Or, you can buy the Weider ABS magazine that's out on the news stands right now. I uses your weight and waiste and a chart to give you your bodyfat. All these measure come out at about 23% for me, so I have to think they all work pretty well. I like the scale the best though--big, plain numbers, no guessing.

Since you actually know how many calories you are eating (and 2,500 sounds good for an active woman like you), you can look at your actual lean/fat% and tell in a week or so if your diet is working. Then you can adjust up or down on calories or carbs or protein or whatever and you'll be basing your choices on solid information. You'll do great!!

Best wishes,

I too just got the scale that reads body fat.... yuck. Not sure I like this information :daze:

I have to wonder about these scales though...
My percentage was 35% (which I can believe)
but other members of my family who are VERY lean (surfers, very active and thin) were at 27% and 30%.

(FYI got mine at Sears on sale for $40)

Hello everyone, just found this thread as I was lurking to find some encouragement. I have been stalled for about a month now..started Atkins on June 20, 2002, and so far have lost 40 pounds. But in the last month, nothing. Still committed to this WOL though. After reading the posts, I see many things I can "tweak", too much caffeine, too much sweetener,,too much diet pop...and I intend to do all that. I have already increased my water intake, that was a hard thing for me.

Rodney,,I have a few questions for you.....
How do I figure how much protein to eat a day?? I go to fitday but it doesnt tell me how much i need, just how much I have had that day. I can figure my calories, but how about the protein.? I would appreciate any input!! And as for exercise....I am 55 years old, and work a full time moderately active job,,tell me some easy things to do to break myself into exercising. You know,,,a beginner workout or something, what is the best thing to start with??
Glad I found you all,,,your determination has "tweaked" mine!! :D

CYA lighter :wave:

How much protein?
 

Dear MusicMama,

40 pounds? Wow! Great job. It sounds like you are doing lots of things right already.

For protein, I like to get 1 gram per pound of lean mass per day. Active bodybuilder types take in 1 gram per pound of total mass per day. In active folks might only need .8 or .9 grams per pound of lean mass. For example. If I weight 140 pounds with 100 pounds of Lean Mass (muscle and bone) and a moderate activity level, I should do fine with 100 grams of protein per day. For more information, get the "Protein Power" book.

For exercise, you might just start walking 3-5 minutes per day. After a week of that, add 1 minute per week. It might be more fun to make these additional minutes half walk and half a fast walk or jog. Work up to 15-20 minutes, then take a week off and start over.

For weight lifting, get the book "Power to the People." My body loves deadlifts and heavy weight and short sets. My workout is done in my living room and only takes 10 minutes but really really helps me.

Good luck.

Finally! I have found someone experiencing the same problem I am having. I did Atkins in 2001. I lost 60 pounds in 4-5 months. Looked and felt great. Then, I got sick (meningitis) and decided I need to quit smoking.(1 year ago this month). Guess what? I gained every ounce I lost back!!

So here I go again. I have been LCing since Jan. 6, 2003 and have lost a total of 5 lbs. I can't believe its not working! Am I destined to carry around this weight forever? Augh!! I try not to get discouraged but the weight is going nowhere!

The turtle club, can I join too?

you were right, Rodney!
 

Good Job Willeke!

I wish I were having that kind of sucess. I think I am destined to be stuck in my rut!

Tanz

dear Tanz
 

Thanks Rodney, I will try that little workout,,,,sounds like a great way to break in to exercising. :)
today I went to Barnes and Noble and bought the new Atkins book,,,as well as a new carb counter and diary. I am writing everything down,,,,getting back on track. I have been sloppy with the carb creep I think.
Thanks for the input ...I will let ya know how it goes!!


Cya Lighter :wave:

I must be a real slow turtle.
 

Hello Karen, I was told to come to this forum, that it might help. I read all the questions and I can answer no to most if not all. I don't eat hardly any dairy. Maybe a 1/2 c. cottage cheese every now and again. Less than 1oz of cheddar cheese with 2eggs. I do eat 2slices of bacon for breakfast. Salad and meat are my main menus. Not much on veggies,but I do like them. Stayed away from sugars/potatoes/starchy foods all together. I have no problem doing that. I lost 30lb on a 1500 diabetes diet I got from work(a doctor's office). Every since that loss I haven't been able to lose any more. At least not the way I want. I've been on the Aktins diet for 9 days and lost only 2lbs. I'm still not in ketosis and don't know why. Well, I'm going to stop for 1 day and restart again. Maybe I can do it right. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Not giving up. maxine

Why no cheese.. I thought atkins allows cheese. I have feta and gouda with my salads..is thats whats stalling????HELP! :p

He allows cheeses but you have to watch the carbs. No diet cheeses.

I am a turtle
 

Hey guys, I need help. I am starting back on Atkins today for the 2nd time. I had been on it since right before Christmas and had only lost 5 pounds. I didn't measure until just lately but I knew my clothes fit better and I felt better but I got discouraged and fell off of the wagon for a week. I wonder if I am not eating enough but I am hardly ever hungry, try to keep my carbs below 20 grams daily, try not to eat cheese if I can help it, I drink at least 64 ounces of water /day. I still use caffeine because I work nights and have to stay awake. I drink 2-3 diet sodas/day. I try to walk a mile 2 times/week at least. I take blood pressure med every day and 1 week of hormones every three monthes which really messed me up. I barely show ketosis but I was showing some. Help. :(

Turtle - I might be one!
 

I was encouraged to check this board out on the general site and glad to read all the posts here. ( a question though, why do these run consectutively from 'old to new' when the board opens?) At any rate, I began 1-5-03- 239# - dropped 8# and 8" "YEAH!"
I never seemed to get into ketosis - with only one stick turning the next color from beige. I do have thyroid nodules - only 'watching them ' according to my doctor. Bottom line is, I am remaining under 23 grams of carbs daily and I am stuck there.

My 'baby' daughter is being married 6-14-03 and I my goal is get down to a solid size 14 by then (16-18 now) and sure would love to be in the under 200 range. My true goal is 160 but I want to be realistic. Slow and steady wins the 'race' - as turtles this must be our way. :p

Looking forward to hearing more from you other terrapins!

Jan

For Tawnya
 

Hi...

I was stalled too, until I cut out the artificial sweeteners in things. That was last week, I decided to try it, and now I'm down another 2 lbs. I'll take them!!! I was eating a diet jell-o dessert I found in Atkins' book. Guess it's a no-no for me. Also may have been eating too many nuts. Too easy to just pop another one in and not really count it. One leads to another and another and pretty soon I had 9 more carb grams in my count. I have now been experimenting with Splenda and don't seem to be affected by it like I may have been on the aspartame.

Main thing I've decided is to keep up with this woe even if I stall. I figure it this way: Need to firm up as I go along and the stalls give me time to do that. Then lose more, then firm it all up. Do you exercise? Anyways, hang in there, if nothing else, don't you just feel better all day long? :hyper:

Videochick

Probably a Turtle But Happy!
 

Hi -- I'm a new member of the Forum, been reading the posts for awhile and finally decided to jump in and join. I think I'm a turtle -- started LC in Sept 02, and decided I would NEVER get on a scale but just go by my clothes, because from past experience I know I lose extremely slowly. I'm only five feet tall and have (alas) really small bone structure so I figure it will just take a long time. I drink coffee, eat things with aspartame, and probably could "tighten up" and lose faster but somehow I feel I would rather lose slowly than feel so deprived that I drop out. I am hardly ever tempted to cheat! But I also am not setting myself any unrealistic (I think) goals. I figure if I can fit back into some of my size 8's after a year of this and I can live LC for the rest of my life who cares if I lose it slowly? So does that make me a turtle or just not very strict with myself?

LOVE the forum!

thanks, jsandrock

You answered your own question:

The impoortant thing is that you are doing what you are comfortable with and that's all that matters! :D

Karen

...and again
 

Count that "golden moment" question from me too ... This is my second serious attempt at the protein power thing (I lost about 50 lbs in 3 months the first time ... have already gained back 30 of it !!!) and now, sadly, I'm trying again. Anyway, it seems a LOT slower this time. OK, maybe even backwards. I've been on it a week and gained 2 pounds. I swear I've been doing everything the same though! That, and on my first try I lost about 7 pounds in the first week. Any suggestions? (uh, aside from "you shouldn't have gained back 30 lbs")

Thanks!

Hi Karen,
I just stopped by glad I did. I wanted to compliment you every thing I have read that you have written has so much insight I always learn something. Pat S

I have a question - when you cut out Artificial Sweeteners.. does that include Stevia and Opti-Sweet (made from kiwi?). They are supposed to be "natural sweeteners"... I don't think I could manage to cut out ALL sweeteners.

Well, a sweetener is a sweetener, no matter where it comes from. If you crave and are continually drawn to sweeteners, it could be a trouble area.

Usually sweeteners come in a vehicle - a dessert, a cake, a cookie, a bar - so it's not the sweeteners per se, but the over indugence in low-carb goodies that mimic high carb foods.

The insidious thing is you get lulled into thinking that it's OK because everything you're eating is low carb. True, but eating this stuff on a daily basis keeps you stuck in the "sweet trap". Then you have a sweetener addiction to deal with.

If you can have a sweet, say once a week, I don't see a problem. On a daily basis, yes, it could be a problem.

I think that very few people will have artificial sweeteners alone when they crave sweets. I've never heard of anyone eating a packege of Equal by itself. :)

Karen

Karen, that was the funniest thing, I could just see all us locarbers sitting around the table having envelopes of equal. Will you have another, no thanks, I'm full, only one envelope of equal per evening. I'm dieting. Ha Ha Ha. chris :hyper:

I don't kow if I am a Turtle but thanks for the info. I can see where I am making some big mistakes. I love cheese and it ha been a staple. I also have not given up my diet coke but i have cut down tremedously.
thanks for the pointers. I will make the necessary changes and see what happens.
I just love these forums. i have learned sooooo much.

instead of a PM...
 

I wanted to send you a PM, Karen, but your postbox was full, so I thought I'd just send it here, hoping that you visit here regularly!

Hi Karen,
I'd like to ask your permission to quote your message Are You Really A Turtle on the Dutch Atkins list that I'm a member of, and also if I can translate it for them.
I am a qualified professional sworn in translator, so your text will be treated with respect - and expertise, language wise and diet wise ;) .

I appreciate all the support you give on the forum, in this section and others! Just wish I had more time to visit more!
Willeke

Hi everyone,,,I have been reading butnor posting on this thread...but now I have a couple of questions.
I have been on a roller coaster since Janueary, with the same 6 pounds. On and off , on and off....so........
I cut out caffeine,,,gave up my diet soda....drinking more water,,cutting back on the sweetener,,,,,,and the 6 pounds was back this morning!!! My carb levels have been around 25 per day...i am tryin got cut out the cheese,,,but about allthats left to eat is meat! So, for breakfast I had three small cheeseburgers with Mayo...for lunch I am having 2 pork chops. All with water, water,,water. What else can I do?? I have been eating some salad also,,,,with blue cheese dressing. To be very honest...I am discouraged and puzzled as to why the WOE has stopped working. No,,,I havent lost any inches that I can tell....and I am not aboutto pick up the tape measure cause if it said no change I would be in the pits.
Any suggestions anyone?? I am a 56 year old grandmother who works full time in retail..so am on my feet a lot, so I am not sedentary. HELP!!! :(