Help! My husband is driving me nuts about stalling and ketostix
 

My husband started the Atkins diet in February. I started April 1st. He lost about 15 pounds before I started, but for the last 3 weeks he has stalled on his weight loss. We have been learning more about what not to eat on the induction diet and now have cut out all nuts and have reduced the amount of cheese to only 4 grams a day. I have lost 10 pounds and have the Ketostix to prove that I am in ketosis. He used the Ketostix and found that he was in ketosis, too; but last night when the result came back negative, he was depressed. We do not eat the same foods other that the dinners that I prepare. He eats sausage and bacon and eggs for breakfast. (and has been fixing extra bacon to snack on during the day). He eats pork rinds after work. Up until last week, he was eating the low carb bars for lunch about 3 times a week. The other days he would eat either a fast food burger and/or salad. Dinners usually come from the New Atkins cook book. Should we be "experimenting" with our weekly menu to determine the "right" foods to promote weight loss? We both drink lots of water too. I fear that I may begin to stall too. Help!

Hi 20, Low carb bars have hidden carbs in them and can be as little as 9 carbs a bar...I would suggest taking out the low carb bars from his lunch routine and start having him carrying a lunch with foods he is allowed to eat.. Thats what i do i usualy have left over dinner from that night before or have something made up the night before that i will carry... And to be honest I would try making my own sausage instead of buying it.. Some sausages have sugar and nitrates in them.. You can make you own by using ground pork , sage, black pepper, red pepper, and salt to your taste buds likeings.. And fast food restuaunts can be tempting for soemone who is really addicted to carbs.. :( So i usualy stay away from them... If he feels the need to go out for lunch try a steak house buffett.

Well i have to run for now im at work

Hope some one else can help you

Tammy

Yes, we both agree that he should be taking food from home for his lunch. Today he took a packet of tuna, real mayo, and some deviled eggs. I suggested that we both keep the food journal also. We also agree, no more sausages or pork rinds for a while. I have read a little about the nitrites, but why exactly, are they bad for you?

Hello I dont knwo why to be sure... You can eat porkrinds for a snack if you like just have an ounce or so... Great that he is now packign a lunch for work....You can make your own sausage if you want or go to a butcher shop and tell them to make you some its very simple ground pork , sage, red pepper, blackpepper and some salt.. I have a local buther shop make me some here and it is just great even the kids like it better than regular sausage. hope that helps alittle.. I went out and bought some of them ziplock plastic lunch trays with the lids that I take to work with my lunch..Very inexpensive at a grocery store.. You can put your meat or tuna what ever meat dish you want in teh big part and one compartment holds a cup of salad and the other part can hold up to 1/2 cup of vegies or how ever you want to put it in there.. I find it great and easy... Today was a left over cheese burger patty we had on the grill lastnight with a cup of salad adn 1/2 cup of green beans and took an extra bowl along with strawberries adn cream.. You can find all sorts of foods to take along with him at work so he dont get bord of the same things which soemtimes can be a major problem... :( Good luck in everything and wishing you and your hubby great sucess with your WOL..

Your friend
Tammy

Sounds like what I am going through.

I eat about the same, but also stalled, and then a moderator told me that I wasn't eating enough.

Maybe the bars he is eating don't provide enough calories for a meal substitute. How much does he weigh now?...and does his daily caloric intake correlate with his weight? Also, he may watch out for the bacon. In induction, you are only allowed 4 oz per day., so that may be having some effect.

Please tell him he is not alone. In fact, I gained a couple pounds last week, but now I am more committed than ever. A new refreshed attitude and am going to get back in the gym tonight to push myself through the stall. Please tell him not to be discouraged. Hearing about others in my situation makes me feel better.

OK, thanks for the tips! We went out last night and bought a carb counter book and Atkins orig. book, as we just had the new cookbook. After reading some last night, my husband admitted that he had been drinking aprox 5 cups of coffee a day during work, and was only counting the carbs in the Equal packets. With each 6 oz cup of coffee he was having an additional .8 carbs a day. Also, I think that we are both going to watch the quantity of the items we consume with the artificial sweeteners in them, and try to reduce the amount of salty foods. :wave:

Bacon, sausages, ham all contain nitrates and salt, which can make you retain massive amounts of water.

This is why Dr Atkin's recommends you "limit" your intake of these products. In other words, it is okay to have them a few times a week however it is not recommended as a daily source of fat and proteins.

As far as the low carb bars.....depending on the brand can contain as many as 23 carbs per bar. The effects these have on your system vary from person to person. If you find you are stalling, first thing to toss out are these. Artifical sweetners are next on the list followed by dairy products.

That is the fun part....finding out what you can safely eat that doesn't cause your insulin levels to spike up.

By all means experiment! I have been on Atkin's for a year now and I find I can eat all types of foods without it affecting me into gaining weight. :)

I can actually enjoy having a hot dog while watching a baseball game without having to fret if I am going to pay dearly for it later.