I have been on the Atkins diet now for a week and a half. During those days I have gotten fatter. Is there any hope for me? Has anyone else had this problem? I eat only protein except for a salad at dinner time. I drink lots of water. It's very depressing trying to change my eating habits to just gain weight. I've gained about 2-5lbs. I weight train 3 times a week and do cardio 2-3 times a week. My clothes all don't fit me anymore. Can someone ofer me some words of encouragement?

Hi Angie,

Have you read the book? And are you following it correctly?

There are many mistakes people can do to adversly hinder their efforts. Best thing to do is write down everything you do, food intake amounts, calories, water, exercise etc. You might want to start a journal here where other members can checkout your daily progress and give you some helpful hints.

Don't dispair, a week is not enough to see results, and some of us lose fat and gain muscles, so the scale won't show it immidiately.

Wa'il

Thanks for responding. I read the book 4 times. The book says not to worry about how much you eat for the first 14 days, as long as it's protein. The book says to not worry about anything but your protein intake, since this is a diet you are supposed to be able to stick with. If there are to many restrictions, as far as calorie counting etc., then I am afraid It will be something I will not be able to do for the rest of my life. Is counting calories that important? Did I misunderstand the book? But what you are saying is to not give up anyways? You are saying that I will eventually see results????? Is there anyway doing this diet will make me gain forever instead of losing?

Thanks,
Angie

list a typical day of food, everything you eat and drink. We will see if we can help.

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with cheese, two sausage links

Lunch: two 4oz chicken breasts

Snack: bacon

Dinner: Hamburger patties (2) or Brats(2) Or steak (1) with a salad w/ 1Gram Carb. ranch dressing a 1/4 C. of tomatoes

And to be honest with you I am always starving. So let me know what you think!

Thanks A Lot!!!
Angie

Hi Angie!

To answer your question about calories, I think that it is rather important to watch your counts for at least a while until you get into the "zone" where you will experience ongoing weight loss and optimum level of protein intake for your weightlifting.

If you will read backwards about 2-3 weeks in Natruska's journal, you'll understand just how important it can be! She's been LCing and lifting for quite some time and experienced her greatest losses most recently when she INCREASED her calories so that she would have a 600 cal/day deficit rather than 1000+/day, which apparently put her into starvation mode.

It is unfortunate that for some it needs to be a rather scientific endeavor, requiring a bit of record-keeping and tweaking to see what works....but what exactly is the alternative??

And I suspect that could be what is going on with your experience so far.... if you are hungry, you should eat. Just make sure you eat good sources of protein and whole foods. You probably need to increase your carbs a little too for your workouts. Marlaine's journal is very complete also if you'd like to review it. She's also working out intensely.

Have you discovered www.fitday.com? I suggest exploring that site thoroughly and keep track of your intake for a month or so. Post the results in a journal here also, along with your daily menus and we can better help to evaluate when there's a problem.

Hope this helps!!

Just a couple additional notes to Terri

Check the sausage and the cheese, some are higher in carbs than others, I also would leave out tomatoes for a bit.,

Increase your protein and green leafy veggies for a while and see what happens.
I also didn't notice that you were not listing any water!!Half your weight in ounces with a minimum of 64 oz per day.