I don't know what happened. I was a GOOD GIRL for the best 10 days (prior to weigh in). As of this morning I was up to 229.5. I am so upset and depressed. I know, it is only 5 pounds, but I worked hard to get those 5 pounds to leave me! Any ideas of what I am doing wrong?

A typical day for me is:

One scrambled egg (cooked in a pat of butter)
3 Bacon Strips
12 ounces of water

Lunch:
2 Cups of romaine
2 cups of Chicken Breast (I think its like 8 ounces)
Some Mustard
more Water

Dinner
any type of meat (sometimes cooked with pork rind "breading")
1 Cup of Spinach or Broccoli
Diet Rite with splash of Cream

I usually drink about 100-130 ounces of water a day
Snack on slim jims (One Serving throughout the day)
SF Jello with Whipped Cream (snack)

Am I not getting enough calories or fat? I did a fitday and it showed that I eat about 1300-1500 calories a day. Its about 50/50 with fat and protein. Is that too much?

Any ideas to get more in my diet or less if need be?

On a side note, I did start taking L-Carnitine and Oil of Oregano this weekend. (I also take a multi-vitamin, Vitamin E and Hair, Nails and Skin Vitamin everyday).

Thanks so much for your help. I really don't want to fail again. If I don't start losing anything soon, I won't make my goals. Even if I only lost half of my goal this month that would be better than gaining.

Leslie

You aren't failing! Don't beat yourself up over this. I am so up and down I'm like a roller coaster. For instance. last week I lost 6 pounds and I wasn't even trying. I'm not totally low carbing any more because of some pretty obvious hairloss- would be normal if was older but I'm just now turning 29! Anyhow, this week between this past friday and today I've gained 5 pounds. I'm sure a lot of it is water and probably not drinking enough of it, plus hubby bought me an iced tea maker so I've been drinking a lot of tea.
But what I'm saying I go up and down a lot. Hence the reason it's taking me SO long to lose. I used to get really depressed about it, but as long as I don't gain too much, and stay focused on the end result I'm fine. And seriously, I can gain 5 pounds over night and I am not exagerating lol.
Keep your chin up, may eliminate the slim jims, and for me I eat 2 eggs and no bacon- bacon makes me retain water because of the salt. Took me a while to figure that out lol. I try to stay low on the salt intake. SO maybe have 2 eggs for breakfast and put some cheese on them instead?
Good luck and don't get depressed. The fact that you are still trying and paying attention is success in itself!

ouzogirl....

I read through your journal and your foods seem to be ok. The one thing that I see is you mentioned here that you use whipped cream on your jello. Can I ask if you are making it or if you buy it? You may not be getting enough calories...1300-1500 may be too low and your body may be hitting a starvation mode....see if upping it to 1800 helps. Stay away from any of the sugar alcohol treats. I find that not only do they stall me, they cause me to gain. I don't have any problems with splenda, sweet n low or aspartame though.

I gained on ooo, but I was eating sa's at the same time, so it isn't the best comparison. It was great for my sinuses though. I may try it again.

You don't list what you have eaten in the last few days of your journal, so it is hard to tell if there was a trigger for you. Be weary of sausage...that can have some hidden sugars. I can have a slim jim here and there, but not every day. They are great in a pinch though. You may need some more fat in your diet. A lot of us try to incorporate 70% fat, 25% protein and 5% carbs. Can you tell that you are in ketosis? (breath, taste in mouth, urine smell or get some test sticks). Is it that TOM? A lot of variables. That 5 pound gain is more than likely water and you will be able to drop it in no time if you keep your induction clean. Let me know if I can help in any way!

I buy the whipped cream, the Reddi Whip. I thought that was okay because it is only one carb per serving and it doesn't say that they are sugar carbs. I don't use it that often, only sometimes at home. I can just skip it. This past weekend I didn't have any journal entries at all. My younger brother came for a visit and I didn't have time to get to do any entries.

Hopefully it is just Water. We did eat out alot this weekend. Mostly at Friday's where I had low carb chicken and creamed spinach. Maybe its the salt? I guess I never thought about that. I don't know if it is my TOM, I guess it could be (I have extremely irregular cycles). I am just frustrated. I am glad I can come here and vent.

Oh yeah. I do use Ketostix. I have noticed that since Sunday I have not been in ketosis. OR that the OOO may have reduced the appearance of it?

I don't get bad breath as a sign of ketosis, at least I don't think that I do. I chew sugar free gum too. Is that okay? I only chew one serving of it (one serving is 2 pieces, so I just have one piece in the AM and one in the PM).

Can you please tell me what OOO is?

I realize that I'm not doing atkins but I am doing SBD and I am learning about processed meats. They have a lot of salt!! I stay away from them as a rule. You very well could be retaining water from the sausage and slim jim and bacon.

How about canadian bacon in the morning instead of bacon? How about plain turkey slices or string cheese instead on the slim jims? I'd lose the sausages as a meal until you can figure out if you are retaining fluids from too much salt.

Hi Judy,

OOO is Oil of Oregano. The only side effect I have noticed is BRIGHT GREEN urine. Other than that, I haven't noticed anything else.

I guess I need to check on the processed meats. It never hurt me before though. It is just a mystery!

I would love to wake up tomorrow and lose those stupid pounds I gained (and then some )

Don't worry you will;o)

Hey I noticed you're in northern VA. We just moved to VA- we're near Yorktown. Love it here so far and it's beautiful! Well apart from the heat and humidity and all this rain we've been getting.

Anyhow, just noticed that lol. And yes, processed meats- lunchmeats, anything like that has a TON of salt. We buy lunch meat for dh's lunches for work and I usually by myself roast beef- it's unseasoned and unsalted- basically no flavor! But I like to roll it up with some cheese and put some mustard in the middle. Pretty good little snack if you're really hungry. And if you really want to plan ahead you can always roll a bunch of them and put them in ziploc bags and just grab one when you need one.