Please help me!! Am I the only person to have gained on induction? I'm sure I'm not but I'm so frustrated and depressed with the whole thing at this point I don't know what to do!! If I weren't feeling so much better... I would be tempted to scrap the whole thing.
I need advice but I'm not sure what info I need to provide to help identify the problem.
I was totally faithful (or so I thought) to the diet for 2 weeks. I ate exactly as the Atkin's book advises except maybe leaving out the salads once in a while and not drinking enough water although I did increase to 64 oz a day.
I am diabetic and on many medications for that, cholesterol and one for HBP. I did use crystal light during my induction period. I ate a lot but after the 4th day I was no longer as hungry and cut back.
I did eat bacon a lot and sausage for breakfast, would this have hindered my progress?
I did use ketostix and know that I never got past a trace in my urine.
I don't know what other factors to list that could have prevented me from losing... I'm hoping for good advice or suggestions for the coming week.
I've decided to cut out the aspertame and increase the water, but I'm just not sure what else could help me.
Thanks in advance!

First off, it's quite natural to gain a couple of pounds after the initial induction whoosh. Your body is trying to figure out what is going on, and is most likely hanging on to some extra water.

Secondly, from your description, you didn't exactly follow Atkins faithfully. You cut out some salads, you didn't drink enogh water, you drank (crystal light with artificail sweetner in it) and you cut back when you were not hungry.

I'kk give you a hint. If you want a magic pill to take away the weight, it's called water. Drink it till you float, then drink more til you float away.

Go back and reread Atkins, figure out where you strayed, and give it an honest to goodness no straying try.

AND, don't fret if you gain a pound or two along the way. It's NORMAL. You go down, you go up, but overall you go down if you are doing it right.

Good luck. And if you haven't already posted a journal, then go to the journals section and do that. List in it everything you eat in a day and how much. It will make it easy for others to scan thru it and make suggestions.

sausage and bacon could help you retain water (which comprises most of the induction loss) if you're prone to retaining water, either naturally or as a result of meds.

You're half way to establishing good eating habits...this next week, go all the way. Get rid of the artificial sweeteners, which your body could be "reading" as sugar, and so producing excess insulin to deal with, which would halt fat loss. And yes, add in that water--in your case, you'll want at least 16 8-ounce glasses of water per day. Don't let your calories drop below 2000 for now (you can check your food intake in fitday) but if they get over 4000, I'd guess you're also unlikely to lose.

The best way to follow Atkins (especially for the very metabolically resistant) is with a "KISS" system--keep it simple, sweetie.
3-5 meals a day

- plain meat (not processed) that you make yourself, baked, stir-fried, grilled, broiled, or stewed (and eat the fat or skin)
- fresh green veggies + the allowable white ones like cauliflower--especially raw/as salads
- after induction, berries and melons (but count the carbs)
- butter and oils
- eggs (including home-made mayo only)
- salt and spices
- water

And that's it. No processed meats, cheeses, cream, drinks other than water, shakes or atkins products, tofu, nuts, pork rinds, sugar-free anything, etc. Not even a taste. For most of us, I suspect, this will result in the optimal loss. Some people are "luckier" than others in that they can eat more fake foods and processed foods and still lose...but maybe it's not luck, eh? Maybe those who need to eat KISS to lose are really in possession of a gift that will lead them to eating for optimal health as well as weight loss.

Hang in there! Check out our triple digits club, too--the folks who post there have similar concerns about health and having more than a handful of pounds to lose, and you'll find great support there (as everywhere here, but it's always nice to find a 'home' on a big board like this). Welcome, and keep on trying!