Setting realistic Weight goals
 

I'm hope you can all help me come up with some realistic weight loss goals. i started the Atkins Diet a 5 weeks ago and have lost 5 pds. I am still in the induction phase. I have decided to remain in the induction phase because i seemed to go into an immediate stall. I lost 4 pds the first week but then I have been flucuating between 4-5 pds ever since. I have loss 3 inches from my waist, 1 inch from my hips, 1 from my thighs, and 1/2 inch from my upper arm. I am wondering when I should move pass induction. I did try a week ago but ended up gaining a pd. I dropped back to induction and it came right off. But I am worried I may never be able to move pass induction and I know that is not a realistic way for me to eat for the rest of my life. I guess i am just looking for people with similiar experience and how you progressed through the phases.

Allison

Hi Allison!
I can see that we have similiar weights and goals, so I thought I'd let you know my story so you can see this is sort of typical of Induction. I started and within the first 8 days lost 5 pounds! Yipee, and then, the next two days gained a pound lost a pound, lost four pounds, gained two and a half back, eventually lost two more pounds somewhere between days 9 and 12. I would go through the forum reading other people's journals that read; "I lost 15 pounds in the first two weeks!" And be ready to cry/give up/drop below 20 grams of carbs, etc. But, I think those people start out with more to lose, so the initial weight loss is more (10% during 14 day Induction and 5% thereafter is the numbers I always see kicked around) And, yesterday I actually fit into a tiny t-shirt that I haven't worn in a year. So, the scale can be kinda crappy to you on the way down but if you measure, or do the "tight clothes test" you will probably see that you are indeed losing fat from areas of your body.
Also, the one great motivator/inspiration/aid is the journal. I highly recommend everyone to start one. You can keep track of your daily menus there and others in the forum can peek in and give you encouragement, advice, tips, etc. Everyone here goes out of his/her way to be helpful and friendly.
Also, you might want to check out fitday.com to keep track of your carb intake.
--jasmine :wave:

Allison:
You're only 18% over your target weight, so you should expect slow loss relative to folks who are 50% over their target weight. Don't try to compare yourself with someone who lost 10 lbs. in two weeks if they have 100 lbs. to lose. Stick with it and shoot for 2-3 lbs. per month and you'll do fine.

Hi Allison,

It sounds like you're actually right on target. You have relatively less to lose and why 140 pounds, anyway? Wouldn't that be really skinny for a mom who is 5"7? I guess we all know what weight we look (looked) best at, but I've always heard the lose rule of thumb is to aim for a previous weight, often one from college or univeristy, when one felt and looked good. I'm only 5"7 as well, yet at 150 pounds, I'm really skinny! So maybe you also need to think abotu your weight goal- it might be too low for your height! I'm big boned, so 140 would make me look sick!
Good luck- I'll be rooting for you!
Kathy

Thanks all,

You reconfirmed what I was already expecting. I think I was very hyped up after reading the book and reading success stories on the internet and really expected to loose 10 pds the first month. As I realized that wasn't going to happen I started to get frustrated, especially as my dh. who has about the same amount of weight as I have to loose, was loosing all his weight. I just had a little "whoosh" and am down 2 pds!!! Which would put me at 7pds in 5 weeks and I am okay with that.

Kathy, I had always weighed 140-145 pds till about 2 years ago when the weight crept on probably due to anti-depresants I was taking at the time. So I feel that is quite a realistic goal for me. That puts me in a size 8-10 dress which is how I like to measure my success. Thanks for your words of encouragement and congratulations on your phenomal success!!!

Thanks again for the encouragement.

Allison

Hi Allison, Hey you're a scrapper too! I found that I was moving really slowing using a pure ATkins diet, the fat was really slowing me down. I know, I know, people are going to say I'm wrong, but that's what my body was doing. I cut back on the fat/ and therefore calories and I'm losing like crazy. I'm making sure I get plenty of lean protein and veggies. I'm also going very very low CARB (about 30 ECC) I'm staying away from HEAVY CREAM and full fat CREAM CHEESE!

Just my thoughts...

I would stress that tracking your body measurements are also a good motivator. I seemed to go for weeks without pounds lost, but still kept shrinking.

I'm told that if you are exercising, some fat may be converting to heavier muscles, too.

Also, I reread Atkins frequently. He makes points that are not as clear as they should be. One is that calories do count. For example, he says "induction is not a license to gorge". Others have written books claiming that LC is just a gimmick to limit your caloric intake---and I think they are right, in part.

As for induction, I stayed in induction until I'd lost 2/3 of my weight. I still only eat some of the food from the OWL list, but the fundamental Atkins food choices are why I chose the diet in the first place. I almost ate LC when I was overweight, so it was not too hard for me.

Conversely, I think you have to eat a good amount of the permitted foods to prevent hunger. My biggest problem was (is still) snacking from dinner to bedtime. I try to eat enough at dinner so I'm not tempted.

Good luck--and for motivation's sake try to stay away from the scale on a daily basis. I've weighed myself multiple times a day and my weight has fluctuated up to 10 pounds (!!!) in a single day--so daily weight fluctuations are truly meaningless and only a way to frustrate yourself. You have to believe weight loss is a long term process. A weekly count at the same time of day is the only good measurement.

Stay with it Scrapper
 

[Also, I reread Atkins frequently. He makes points that are not as clear as they should be. One is that calories do count. For example, he says "induction is not a license to gorge". GOOD POINT!

Conversely, I think you have to eat a good amount of the permitted foods to prevent hunger. My biggest problem was (is still) snacking from dinner to bedtime. I try to eat enough at dinner so I'm not tempted.[/QUOTE] ME TOO!

hmmm i guess i don't know how to quote!

Wow, I really found reading this post helpful. I'm 5'8 and I'm thinking about changing my goal to 150. I'm on day 27 of my diet and I woke up this morning really frustrated because I haven't lost even a pound since day 14. I almost even cheated on the diet at a birthday party tonight because I was thinking "What's the point of staying away from all this food that I like. I'm not losing anyway." But I stuck it out and only ate meat, cheese, green peppers and a few strawberries. Pretty good considering I would have inhailed chips and cake just a month ago. I'm going to stop weighing myself everyday because it totally affects my attitude and I'm going to be more patient. I didn't gain all this weight overnight and I'm not going to lose it overnight. I made my fitday acct public. Is there anyone out there who may have time to review it once in awhile or do I have to start a journal? Thanks and good luck to everyone.

mthrmayi2
Start a journal here on this forum and link your fitday so that others can see it. Sign into your fitday and go to your home page, at the bottom there is a public journal section. set it up so that your fitday is made public and it will give you a link that you can put in your journal or in your signature page here on this forum if you wish. That way it will be a lot easier for others to help you out.
Lori

Hi Allison!
Well, I'm one of those spankworthy who lost 14lbs the first 2 weeks of induction, and I was only 32lbs from my goalweight to begin with. BUT! The overweight I've lost so far, was extra lard I'd put on quite recently, through a short period of very bad habits. I think that contributed a lot to my fast weight loss. Now I've been backfrowing around 147-149 for weeks, which is quite frustrating. I think Atkins "reached" my old fat depots by now, and old fat is harder to shake. So if you've been carrying your (moderate) overweight for a long time, that might have something to do with it.

Keep up the good work. You'll definitely see results eventually. :)

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone i really appreciate all the advise and support. I am feeling pretty good today, I was able to wear a pair of Jeans that I hadn't worn in over a year today!!!!

mthrmayi2 good for you for sticking with it, I lost it last weekend and gave up, but luckily came to my senses Monday morning. I was very lucky as I only gained a pound after a weekend of carbs (mostly fruits and vegetables.) Anyway I am happy to say that I lost 3 pds in the last 2 days. This is the first weight loss I have seen that hasn't flucuated since my first week. As you can imagine I am feeling very good. I have also tried to add some exercise to my routine which I believe is helping.

Goodluck to everyone

PS how do I link my journal (from this site) or is already linked? I did fill one out with a typical daily menu. Would love some comments if anyone has time :)