I really need some help here. I've been on Atkins for almost 3 weeks and have been following what I think is a good eating plan. Obviously not though, since I've lost nothing to speak of and my clothes are just as tight as before. If you all would be so kind, please take a look at a couple of days of typical menus and see if you notice anything that could cause me not to be losing ANYTHING....

Thursday:

2 egg omlette with diced ham, feta & cheddar cheese & 3 black olives
1 cup coffee (regular) 1/2 tsp half & half

Tuna (in oil) mixed with mayo, celery, onion
small salad w/ ranch dressing

Grilled chicken salad with egg, bacon, ham, cheese, & ceasar dressing


Wednesday:

1 boiled egg and smoked sausage
coffee

Steak (it was lean) with sauteed onions, mushrooms & bell peppers
Stir fried veggies
Small salad w/ranch dressing

Grilled chicken
green beans

I drink 2 to 3 liters of water daily

To me this looks like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but obviously I need to tweek it somewhere. Any help will be much appreciated. I'm not too discourage yet, but something needs to start happening soon!

have you put these things into fitday.com? I find that I only lose when my fat is 65-75% of my total calories. Thursdays menu seems a bit light in the fat department. The onions are a bit higher carb and the coffee might be causing an insulin response. It affects some people.

With 20 pounds to lose, unfortunately, your rate of loss might be a bit slow.

Hi,

try to eat more fat and veggies rich in fibre like broccoli or spinach.
Yes, I feel your pain but I've noticed that people with relatively speaking 'little to lose' tend to lose slowly. Don't give up - this will work for you. Are you getting any exercise, walks etc? This can trigger the weight loss too!
Keep on fighting, you WILL start losing!

Take care

Alina

Do you Exercise??? i find that working out regularly really makes a big difference. and as someone mentioned earlier you should enter your food intake in Fitday.com it may make you aware of something you are not seeing.....Good Luck

I do try to use fitday whenever possible and after reading your posts entered Thursday's food. Fat appears to be only 57%, but 3 cups of salad registered at 18 carbs. I'm trying to stay close to 20. I thought I was supposed to be eating 3 cups of salad during induction. Also, the stir fry veggies from Wed. which consisted of broccoli, zuccini, onions, peppers, shrooms show up at 20 carbs. Based on the eggs and other stuff eaten I showed over 30 carb grams for both days. I love veggies , but starting to think I should just eat meat and limit my veggies even more? I appreciate the feed back.

I know we are not supposed to count them, but when I first started the scale was not moving either. I found that I was eating right, but still nothing. I bought those glucose stick things too. I was not getting into ketosis at all. So what I did was kept eating those things, but staggard my calories. One day I would eat 1,200 cals. other days I would eat about 950 and then some days 1,300. You get the drift. I found that didn't let my body get used to the same amount of food all the time. It was funny I started dropping weight after the third day of doing that. I still do it now.
xcarbqueen

I also make sure my carbs don't go below 15 and not above 20 for the day. Watch that smoked sausage too. Sometimes it has a lot of sugar in it. I'm new at this also, but found out quickley that these things helped. Also, half and half has some carbs in it. I buy heavy cream (yum) it has no carbs. I get most of my carbs from salad and veggies. I also weigh and measure everything. I found out that eye balling it wasn't accurate.
Hope to be of some help.
xcarbqueen

Please don't limit vegetables, they are mandatory. Most of the carbs you eat should come from them. Up the fat by using olive oil, butter etc
The weight we lose in the beginning is water, maybe you don't retain so much and the weight you will lose will be fat weight.....
This is working but not in the same way or speed for everyone....

Best of luck to you!

This is my experience at trying to lose a little over 20 lb.:

I use fitday and eat between 70/75% fat. Increasing my fat intake brought me out of a 3 week stall. I avoid products like half-and-half, which contain milk.

I also exercise 3 times a week. I was a real couch potato and thought I would never manage to move my butt!

I am a regular coffee drinker and if the weight loss is slow, I am still losing.

Remember, try to stay goal-oriented rather than goal-obsessed and you should get results.

By the way, have you noticed any change in your energy level? If you feel more energetic, it means that something has already happened.

Agnès

You didn't mention whether you are taking any medications...? Many meds that aim to keep us 'healthy' prevent or seriously slow down weightloss.

Do you take your supplements? Is your body getting all the nutrients it requires to function at top performance?

My personal view point on your menu is that you are doing wonderfully. You're lucky you LIKE veggies, lol. It's a daily struggle for me to get my entire 3 cups included in my meals. The smoked sausage can definately be a hidden carb time bomb, so watch them, but otherwise it looks wonderful. Perhaps try adding in a lil olive oil or butter when you cook your meals to add the fat. Drop the half and half and do a bit of heavy cream instead. Also, you mentioned being at about 30 carbs after counting veg/egg/cheese etc. Is this where you want to be? Regardless, your meal choices are superb in the great scheme of things.

I would venture to say your lack of loss could definately hinge on something unrelated to the common induction (ie meds, yeast, a food intolerance, etc). I had to cut out nearly all my cheese to move the scale to my liking. I hated it.. still do at times, lol - but it was worth it to me.

Good luck to you!

Nice to see you, Mel!

I see that you are keeping up with the program and losing nicely!!

Agnès

I might be wrong, because I'm too lazy to use Fitday, but it seems to me that fitday doesn't subtract fibre from the carbs -- that's why you're get 18 + grams for your vegetables alone.

If you get into the complete nutritional information on each vegetable, it will tell you how many grams of fibre there are, and you can subtract those. There should be a lot.

Thanks for the support. This board is really helpful and all I can do is just keep trying. I am going to make a conscious effort to add more fat. Gonna cook a pork roast this weekend. That should do it! I do know I need to get off my butt and walk more often...ya'll know that's the hardest part... As far as supplements, I take a multi vit, a calcium and a vitamin e every day. Are there other supplements that should be taken? Again thanks!

Fitday does have the fibre on it, right under the carbs. Are you subtracting your fibre? Maybe your net carbs are too low. Then there is the exercise thing. If you are doing a lot, it is more critical that you get the 20 net carbs and enough calories. Don't think that is a little is good, less is better. Well, unless we're talking about butter! Pork rinds are a great way to up you fat and calories and not much else. I actually tried the "Cinnamon Toast Crunch" trick. It works! It tastes just like it and goes snap, crackle, pop to boot!

Agnes!! You're 56% of the way there!!! WTG girlie! Now.. to get that tortilla pie recipe thingy from you....