Hi,
I'm new here and was wondering if you could take a look and see if I need more or less of anything. I've lost 13 pounds in a little under 2 months, it seems like everyone is losing more faster.
Here's a typical day.

Breakfast
2 eggs with either ham chunks, bacon or 1 slice of cheese

Lunch
2 cups mixed greens
1/2 small cucumber
2 slices American cheese
1 grilled chicken breast
2 teaspoons of bleu cheese crumbles
bacon bits
sesame oil dressing

Snack
1-2 small slim jims(3 is a serving) or 1 string cheese

Dinner
Flank steak
broccoli
asparagus
if I only have 1 veggie I'll have a celery stick with cream cheese and olive chunks

Snack
CarbWise or Atkins Advantage bar or CarbSmart fudge bar

I also drink at least 72 ounces of water each day, this is not new though, I've always done this.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thank you!
Alli

From what I have read here some people cannot eat the LC bars, so you might want to try and go without those. Just a suggestion!!

Another thing though don't compare yourself to others, everyone is different in how quickly they lose, stall, gain or whatever!!

Good Luck

That looks like a pretty good menu to me, but I would also get rid of the bars, mostly because they're 'Frankenfood' and they do cause a lot of people to stall. I read one person's post, though, where they said the CarbWise bars worked a lot better for them than the Atkins bars. With the focus of Atkins being on whole nutrient-rich foods, I'm not even sure why they make that stuff.

You can also set up an account at http://www.fitday.com and enter your food daily. It's very handy because it tells you how many calories, carbs, fiber, etc. you've consumed for the day. You can also check your nutrient count to see if you're getting close to 100% RDA on vitamins. I really like that feature.

Additionally, if you find yourself not losing weight, try eliminating the salty foods (Slim Jims, ham, bacon) and using them only occasionally. I usually allow myself a couple of servings of salty food a week, because much more and I start harboring water (but not everyone does that).

Best of luck to you!

Hi Alli

I would say that your menu is pretty good. Don't know how many calories it contains, but you want to be eating around 10 times your current body weight. So as LilaCotton has suggested have a look at Fitday.

You do not say how old you are in your profile. I firmly believe that as you get into your 40's and 50's it is generally harder to lose weight, particularly if you have a history of dieting. I am one of those who have and I lose weight slowly. 13 pounds is not to be sneezed at and we all want to lose weight fast.

Just keep focussed and stick to it. The weight will go in time. My photos below my signature fairy tell my story of ongoing weight loss.

The way I like to think of it is 13 Lbs is a small fuzzy animal.

I also highly reccomend fitday

maybe also try walking more or doing a bit more exercise or changing your routine in some way, that usually works for me too.

Good luck,

MJ

You're losing weight faster than I am. I've been doing this WOL since August 18 and I've lost 17 pounds. But you know, that's 17 pounds gone forever. This is a way of life, not a quick fix diet. Losing weight is not a race to see who wins, so comparing yourself to others is only going to cause you heart ache. Let your body find it's own way as you continue to feed it good, whole, healthy foods.

The suggestions you received about how to adjust your menu are great so I won't reiterate them.

Just relax and enjoy the great foods you're eating.

shortstuff

You might also cut out the processed meats. Slim Jims are loaded with sugar as are most hams. Also are the bacon bits real bacon or processed mystery food? It could be better to crumble your own.

You are doing great on getting your veggies in. That salad looks really good. I eat about the same thing, a huge mixed salad with chicken breast, for lunch.

Hi Alli,
First I'd just like to say congrats on the progress! It's all good!
Second, I'd like to also put in a vote for Fitday.com. It can help you get a more accurate picture incase of carb creep.
Your meal plan actually looks pretty good. Watch out for the frankenfoods.
Keep doin' what your doin' and your on your way to a fitter life!

I think that 13 pounds is excellent. The only suggestion I would make is to replace the american cheese slices with cheddar or some other lower carb variety. American cheese slices are not too bad, but they have higher carbs than other cheeses.

I agree with what LittleAnn said about age. Age is a big factor in speed. BTW, you didn't mention exercise. Even though you're lo carbing, you need to walk and burn calories and get air in those lungs. It'll come off if you are diligent! Good Luck!

I can't eat the Low-Carb bars. It kicks me out of ketosis, and stalls my weight loss. What I do when I get a craving for something sweet, is I will eat ONE BITE of an Atkins low-carb bar... one bar lasts me all week. You didn't say if you were in ketosis or not. That is your best indicator. Good luck! Mike

Thanks to all of you for your input and support. I am in ketosis and I am not exercising. I KNOW, I KNOW, I need to start a regimen. I also am going to start using fitday and see where I stand that way.
As for the bars, I look forward to my 1 bar that I will have in the evening from the moment I get up in the morning! Pretty pathetic I know, but I really enjoy them. I guess I'm going to have to take a break from them a bit just to see if it makes a difference or not. HOPEFULLY it won't
Oh yeah, I am 33 years old. Thanks again for all the input and I am ALWAYS looking for advice or tips!!

Alli