hello new & need help
 

here is a copy of an email I sent to the yahoo list from this group :) hoping to get something so I can let Hubby know right away.
OK this email is to actually find info to help my Hubby :)
OK we have been on the Atkins program since last week Tuesday so a week now. I have not been following the induction stage to a "T" because I am still nursing twins and am not finding I need to at this point :) Just want to be supportive of Hubby :)
OK here is the thing, Hubby is just over the 300 mark not sure exact number he just says he is 10lbs on the scale :) our little joke :) the scale goes to 290 or 300 sorry don't remember.
Well he woke up today had his shower and put clothes on that he did have room in before this program but now is skin tight and had troubles doing up his jeans :( he really was not happy and I just don't know what to say AS I worry very much because of health reasons.
does someone here have some ideas that could help??? I printed out the Fat Fast program that is on the Atkins site BUT thought maybe some of you can help :) maybe a few of the guys here could give me ideas this way he will relate and will feel some hope :)

Thanks sooooooooo much
Leslie
Mom to 5
Wife to a wonderful supportive Husband :rheart:

hello :)
there must be someone that can give me some suggestions??

Leslie :roll:

Hi Leslie :wave: :wave:

I can't really give you specific advice because you didn't give us alot of information to go on, but I can tell you that he needs to stay on Induction at least 2 weeks before you make the drastic decision to try the Fat Fast.

You mention that you have not strictly followed Induction (which is a good idea if you're nursing twins :daze: ), but has he?

Maybe if you post a couple of days foods here or on the Fitday site (see sticky at top of Newbie forum for info if you don't know about it already), some of the well-informed people here can give you some specific hints.


Good luck!!

Hi Leslie,

It's hard to make a guess here, but I can think of a few things to check. Might not hurt to post a day or two's meals so people can take a look at that and point out any issues.

Do you know if he is in ketosis or not?
He may be eating too much salt/sodium and retaining water

I didn't lose really in my first 2 weeks (though I had my clothes feel looser).

Maybe somebody else has more ideas, I'm no expert :)

hello I guess I didn't give enough info :daze: sorry about that :)

OK I am not following the program to a "T" well because like I said "nursing twins" LOL right now they are my program LOL :D
BUT YES my Husband is following the min 20 carbs a day induction stage.
here is 1 day meals
breakfast=1cup coffee/3-4 scrambled eggs with "real" butter/3 slices of ham or pork with a spoonful of mayo.

coffee break=1 cup coffee

Lunch=2 chicken backwithlegs/1 coffee

coffee break=1 coffee

supper= steak with 4oz cheese & pickle & spoonful mayo/big glass of water

snack=pork rines(sp?) /big glass water or diet sprite

he is showing traces of ketones BUT at one time he was in Lg ketones stage.

I don't know if he drinks water at work so I didn't add that BUT with what I see here I think I should ask him to drink more water if he has not :)

does this help a bit better :)

Thanks
Leslie

Hi - his menu looks pretty good - except Maybe the pickle depending on what kind it is, and he should have some green veggies like a spinach salad or other low carb veggies.

The cheese and pork rinds could be causing him to retain a lot of water. Anything the least bit salty and I puff up like a balloon!!!!

Maybe now with the menu up some others will be able to help more. Yeah nursing twins - would be a program - I lost tons of weight nursing just 1 :D

Where's the veggies?? Other than the pickle (which would only be loosely defined as a veggie) I don't see any. Even on induction, you are supposed to have a minimum of 3 cups of veggies daily. The reason that his pants are getting tighter could very well be bloating due to constipation. He doesn't appear to be eating too much, so the addition of some veggies for the fiber should help relieve the bloating and constipation.
His carbs look pretty low as well, but adding some veggies should help that as well.

Is he drinking water? Ths will help with the bloat issue. His body will hold onto water unless he is getting a fresh supply.

I hear yah all :)
I just took that day because I remember it so well LOL he has eaten cuccumbers with oil and vinager and I guess I am forgetting the size of meat. the steak is about the size of a big dinner plate and the Ham and pork is about finger thickness and size of cake plate. Pork rinds for snack is a big bag :) I guess I need to keep this clear so we can get better info, sorry everyone.

when I mention veggies he does get worried about the carbs maybe we might be going about this all wrong.
OH and sometimes for a snakc at night we have rootbeer with whipped cream :P very tasty but for me it was hard on the stomach.

Is he drinking water? Ths will help with the bloat issue. His body will hold onto water unless he is getting a fresh supply.


__________________
Tracy

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This is what I said to him today BUT he said that it would not be that much of a difference???? :confused:

Oooh, my. While you don't really have to watch your calories and such on Atkins, I think you shouldn't gorge either. Given the sizes you are saying, that sounds like it might be a very high number for calories. Not sure if that would put fat on if you are in ketosis, but it would supply more than enough energy in his food such that his body wouldn't try to burn any of his fat.

Have you tried http://www.fitday.com

You could put the food in for him, and see where the numbers come out. Shoot for a ratio of 65% of calories from fat, 30% from protein and 5% from carbs. Calories for a day are generally recommended to be 10-12 times your goal weight. I for instance shoot for about 1800-2500 calories. You may not want to be that picky, but I did find it helped me. I had kept on eating the way I used to at the start and was eating a lot of calories and protein and not getting anywhere.

Just a suggestion, use as you wish :)

hi leslie!
I agree with Lisa N, he should have some veggies because these are the one that will do the trick. he can have a big salad (well not more than 3 cups) and some rich dressing (but check the label of the dressing because a lot have sugar).

I was reading this fitness magazine last night and this magazine featured success stories of you know people who lost a lot of weight...and i noticed one thing, they don't seem to eat so much carbs like this is a normal menu:
breakfast:1 egg, two sausages, cofee (with creamer and splenda)
lunch:chicken breast fillet pan fried or grilled, ceasar salad
dinner:steak,salad

and these people lost weight in just a short time and have managed to keep it off forawhile.hopefully this can help your husband. the great thing about atkins is, you can eat as much as you want to, thats why you don't feel deprived ! :p

The advantage of adding veggies is that they help fill you up while adding very few carbs and calories. I almost always put my protein food on top of a salad at lunch and dress is with olive oil and vinegar. That fills me up a lot more than just eating the protein food by itself. Similarly, I usually have both a salad and a cooked vegetable at dinner. If he adds more vegetables to his meals, he should be able to cut back on the quantities of the more highly caloric foods.

For me, one of the most important lessons I have learned from this way of eating is to listen to my body and stop eating when I am full. If your husband is eating a lot quickly, he may be missing his body's signals. He may need to stop and think several times during a meal to see if he really wants more to eat. We don't count calories in Atkins, but calories do count. It is important not to eat when you are not hungry (unless it has been more than six hours since you last ate).

One other thought -- whipped cream always stalls my weight loss. I eat it occasionally, because it makes a good treat and it doesn't cause cravings. However, I never lose when I eat it.

Granted, your DH is a pretty big guy, but these are some very large portion sizes. I know that Atkins says that you don't have to count calories, but he also makes it clear in his book that calories do matter to a certain extent and that the metabolic advantage is not to be used as an excuse to gorge on low carb foods. Does he really need this much food to feel satisfied but not stuffed? Ask him to think about how much he really needs at a meal and to think about eating just until he is no longer hungry instead of eating until he feels completely full. It also seems that he is pretty heavy on the protein, but light on the fat (Atkins is actually a high fat diet, not a high protein one). Increasing the amount of fat will also help him feel more satisfied with smaller portions and keep him from feeling hungry between meals.
Try cutting back on the protein portions and increasing the fat along with more veggies (put butter on the veggies, cook those eggs and meats in butter or olive oil).
I know that guys typically don't think about water retention, but eating an entire large bag of pork rinds is giving him very large doses of sodium which for sure is making him retain water. He may think that drinking extra water isn't going to make much of a difference, but if he's taking in that much sodium, it's necessary.

Is he drinking decaf coffee or regular? Atkins states that regular coffee can affect blood sugar and stall weight loss for some people. If he's like most men, he's probably not drinking enough water, and he needs to drink a lot in order to help flush out the fat he burns. A lot. More than he can imagine. For his weight, 3 -4 liters is probably better than the minimum two that Atkins recommends. And the veggies are a must. If he eats two cups of salad with a high fat dressing before his entree, he'll probably feel full with a much smaller protein serving. :thup: