I'm on day 16, and still doing induction. I've only lost 5 pounds. I did get up to 7.5 pounds, but I gained 2 1/2 back. I did have one bad day, this past Sunday (had one cookie and a sliver of brownie). My journal has all the gory details. And, I know most people will yell at me for this, but I've been weighing myself every day. I've told myself today that I will NOT do that any more.

So...I need some honesty here. Could the cookie and sliver of brownie have done me in? Am I eating the wrong foods? I just started exercising today, since Dr. Atkins' book says you might want to avoid it for the first 2 weeks. Am I being a whiner and I should be thankful for my 5 pounds and be quiet?

I know everyone is different, but I must admit, I was hoping for more weight loss at this point. Am I being unrealistic?

Please - constructive criticism and a boot in the a$$ are welcome

While on induction, you've lost about 10 percent of the total you need to lose. That is totally normal, average, and expected. The fact that you slipped up once and were still able to lose 10 percent of what you need to lose means you are doing better than average.

Celebrate your success. This is not a race.

A word of warning -- you may well not lose any additional weight for the next two weeks or so. I hope that doesn't happen to you, but if it does, remember that you are not alone. Stick to low carbing and the numbers will start going down again.

Hi -

I just looked at your journal and you seem to be eating very well and healthy by the past couple of days.

Now relax.... it takes time.

First of all - yes carbs make you retain water and if you cheat expect 2-3 lbs the next day or two until you flush it.

Second - you need to weigh the same time everyday (if you are insane enough to weigh each day LOL - me too!) because food and drink has weight.

Third - you are a woman and retain water monthly - I was up 7lbs this month and had to come in off the roof (kidding but that is hard to swallow).

So take a breath and just keep eating well and it will happen for you.

All the best.

Me, too! Suddenly, 7 whole pounds which weren't there just a few days before. I've gained water weight before at TOM, but never this much. Now, another week later 5 of them are gone and I'm still waiting for the last 2 to leave. What a bummer!

If you're loosing any weight take some joy from it. No it's not going to melt away overnight, as we would all love for it to do. I recently stayed at 150lbs for over a week, but finally this morning another pound was gone. It takes time, I'm sure you've heard patience is a virtue. Enjoy and celebrate small goals (not with food mind you), so that the large goals don't seem so overwhelming. Stay strong and determined and eventually you'll get there, as we all will. Believe it or not that bite of brownie or cookie will slow you down even more, so try hard to avoid those things especially on Induction. We all make mistakes, so don't beat yourself up, but don't continue to give into tempatation either or slow will become stall. Good luck.
God Bless,
Amy-Lynne

The cool thing about Atkins is not fast weight loss but the fact that after several weeks you no longer crave junk. And you get to eat! May be slower at first, but I strongly feel that it is a lifelong plan and that you can obtain your goal without much difficulty.

Don't sweat over the scale. I have learned that it goes up and down each month several pounds. But the good thing is that even though it flucuates, the overall trend is definately downward!

Good luck, hang in there and happy LCing!

Great advice already...just had to add my experiences...

When I graph my weight, it goes to a new valley/low, climbs back up a bit, plateaus, then heads down, and hits a new low. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I do weigh everyday, because I like to....but I try not to get too caught up in the fact that it might go up, because the trend is downward...

Adding exercise might make you *seem* to gain weight, but it really won't. Tired, sore muscles retain water, but they let go of it quickly. Whatever you do, DON'T stop exercising if the scale goes up. It will eventually come back down and keep heading down, quicker than if you weren't working out.

HTH,

Amy

Thanks everyone - sorry for whining. I'm down a pound today, so I appear to be back on track. That was the first time I cheated, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Now I do, and I will NOT do it again! LOL

Have a great day