Greetings, and thank you all for routinely contributing and helping others such as myself with information in regards to Atkins and other lifestyle ways of eating.

I started over a month ago and I have to admit that I have NEVER been as rigid on what I ate before – I followed the induction phase to a T. I never cheated but did have a glass of wine during that period. Anyhow I was very excited 3 weeks after starting and finally stepped on the scale (I refrained for 3 weeks) and I was shocked to find I had lost only 2 lbs. I was totally disheartened. However the next week I lost what must have been almost 11 lbs so I can attest to the fact that it may take longer for some to start but when the engine starts it REALLY starts.

Anyhow my question is one that I am having a serious problem in answering -- that is portion size or more importantly, what is a correct portion size for various meals? See, I have gotten such conflicting information; in some articles or even with the Atkins books I have it says to "eat as much as satisfies you". I know that one of the major problems I had before was definitely portion size. I live as part of a society that covets All You Can Eat restaurants and places that give you triple burgers for the price of a single burger. I mean if you are spending your money you will obviously take the triple even if you can't finish it. It's a totally feeding on our need to get the best deal but simultaneously killing us.

I noticed that when I cut my portions I instantly started losing weight again. Now what is a portion? I figured that if I was making a salad (what I make for lunch each day) that has maybe radicchio, half a tomato, some green peppers, some cheese (parmesan) and finally either a chicken breast (usually half of one now) or half a can of Tuna and about 6-7 green olives all lovingly covered in olive oil, red wine vinegar, and tons of black pepper… I figured it couldn’t get better than that. Before I was having the same salad but I would make one that was HUGE and essentially all ingredients were doubled. It’s really hard for someone like me to understand how such a salad could prevent you from losing weight since it’s SOOOOOO much better than what I was eating before. Thus to end this saga, this 3 part mini series, I just wanted to ask some advice on how to make sure I am not eating TOO much. That’s my last problem. I test myself each morning with those KetoSticks and I am always moderate which is 40 mg/dl or about a dark pink but not quite purple yet. Obviously I am losing weight but I want to make sure I am burning the fat and not strictly from having reduced my portions to the point that I am hungry and don’t feel satisfied for fear of overeating. Anyhow have a fun or simple way to judge how much chicken or how much salad or how much of this or that is enough for one meal?

Thanks for everything

Claudius

I use my fitday.com to calculate how much I'm eating. I don't worry about portion size as much as I do to make sure I'm getting 10-12x my weight in calories (which by the way I'm not since I'm not hungry) and that my carbs stay below 20 (14 today after fiber subtracted) and that 70% of my calories come from fat. I figure if I stay at those ratios I'm following this WOE pretty well. My meat portion is usually 6+ounces, once you get used to this -and I've only been doing it for a week- you pretty much know what adds carbs and what doesn't. I feel pretty safe with how I'm doing this.

Hi Claudius and congratulations on your weight loss so far.

Okay, hard question here. What is a portion size? In DANDR Dr. Atkins gives measurements for what different portion sizes look like. I don't have my book up here with me but I do believe those measurements are right around the induction section. Either just before or just after. Quite frankly though, a portion is going to mean something different for everyone.

I have a suggestion for you that may alleviate your concern about portion sizes. Its called fitday.com. This is a delightful website where you can get a free membership and track your success by the day. It will also help you track your carbs, fat and protein intake. You should keep your fat between 65 and 70% of your total intake, your carbs around 5% and the rest is protein. Your calories (although it's not really necessary to track those) should be 10 - 12X your weight - at least this is what I understand from hanging around this website quite a bit. As your weight goes down, your caloric intake will go down.

I'm quite short (less than 5'), in my 50's and successfully lose weight at around 1800 calories a day. Everyone is different and it takes a little adjusting now and again, but you should NEVER EVER feel hungry. If you do, it something with a high fat content and your hunger should go away.

Oh, on fitday.com, make sure you select your serving size choices very carefully because whoever did the programming has a delightful sense of humor. Example, mayonnaise defaults to 1 cup!! I think that's a hoot and there are several other things that default to some really crazy measurements.

Good luck to you. You are doing great so far so just keep on keeping on and you'll do fine.

shortstuff

I still have the clear your plate mentality so I just measure or by now can tell. I eat a piece of chicken breast about the size of my hand, all my burgers are 4oz since my butcher just pre-packages them for me that way.

Other than that I use the size of your fist or palm of your hand as a fairly good amount for me. If I find I am still hungry after that I will take more, but I am learning to listen to my bodys signals instead of wanting everything I see even if I am full.

For salads I make really large salads and Just scoop a cup or 2 of it and I measure the rest of my veggies by cups.

I am not all that worried about my portion sizes as much as how hungry I am. I also eat many small meals throughout the day, or half a meal now and the other half a few hours later.

I also find that when TOM nears I eat more than usual.

Fitday is a great tool and I highly reccomend it.

Some people have to worry about portion size and some people do not. I have found that I have to carefully monitor my portions in order to lose weight and this has become more of an issue the longer I have been on Atkins (it has taken me almost 17 months to lose the 99 pounds I have lost so far). However, I don't monitor portion size by weighing or measuring; instead, I have learned to carefully monitor myself and stop eating the second I am not hungry. In order to do this, I have had to slow down my eating so that I really think about what I am eating and really think about whether or not I want another bite because I am hungry or because it tastes good and is fulfilling some need other than hunger. When I am hungry between meals, I drink a large glass of water and do something distracting. If I continue to be hungry, I eat, but often I find the between meal hunger goes away without eating. I have also found that regular, moderate exercise (walking at 3.5 or 4 mph, or swimming laps) helps to regulate my hunger and going for a walk often solves the between meals hunger issue for me. However, more intense exercise seems to make me more hungry and I end up increasing my calories beyond the point where the increased exercise does any good with regard to weight loss.

Please remember the reason atkins advocates eating as much as you want is to a) make the diet appealing and b) to get the dieter to be in touch with their natural hunger (not sugar induced hunger).

However do not be decieved into thinking calories are unimportant. Calories are still at least as important as carbs, if not more so. The only way weight loss occurs is if a caloric deficit is created. Watching carbs simply allows a caloric deficit to be made much, much less painlessly than it would otherwise have been . So yes, you do need to restrict your calories to lose any weight, but I wouldn't worry about this too much in the begining. Your body will tend to restrict calories naturally early on. When you get close to goal that is when you will want to start worrying about calories and stuff. For now just stick to induction and the allowed foods.

The reason Atkins works is that you are less hungry. If I were to eat a "normal" American diet (high carb, lower fat) and do exactly what I am doing now -- carefully monitoring my appetite and not eating when I am not hungry -- I would gain weight. I know, I have tried this in the past. The reason is that my blood sugar would be totally out of control. With Atkins, my blood sugar is under control so I can eat less and feel full.

I agree that portion size means something different to everybody. You should eat until your satisfied, but not until you're stuffed. My brother-in-law tried Atkins, and he would eat a 12 oz. steak or 2 chicken breasts at every meal in addition to veggies and about 5-8 oz. of cheese per day. He wasn't losing weight and couldn't figure out why. He admitted to me that he walked away from the table feeling like he'd just had a huge meal. Obviously his portion sizes were too big for him. He gave up rather than adjust them.

I usually eat about 6 oz. of protein in a meal. I eat 3 meals a day and 2 small snacks a day. With snacks I probably have 2 oz. of protein. Sometimes it's just 1 oz. of cheese. With veggies I still stick to the 3 cups of salad fixings or 2 cups salad and 1 cup veggies per day. I'm still at induction level carbs, so that many veggies usually satisfies my carb amount. I usually eat one carb bar per day too. They haven't stalled my weight loss, so they're a nice treat for me. I eat about 1600-1800 calories per day (I used fitday to record everything). Obviously I'm eating less than the 10x-12x rule, but I'm totally satisfied at this amount. Occassionally I'll have a day when I eat 2000 calories, but not very often. I've been losing very well following these guidelines for myself.

I hope you can figure out what works best for you!
Take care,
Bonnie

I never worrry about portion size or calories and I seem to lose fine. The only thing that seems to cause me to gain or stall is if I have way too much sodium or too many sweet treats. I find it way to difficult to calorie count etc. Just seems frustrating. I may lose a tad slower when I am not counting calories or watching portion sizes but it seems like less frustration. HTH

Will eating under 10-12x my current weight stall weight loss and make me go into starvation mode? Especially if i'm exercising?

Well I must say that I am overjoyed by the replies and ideas everyone has posted. Fitday.com will definitely become part of my daily routine now.

As some of you have expressed, the whole idea of feeling satisfied is the key. Many of us, many of my friends just don't know what is a normal portion but worst of all we just don't listen to what our body tells us. What I tried after reading a bit more was to simply eat half of what I decided to eat for a specific meal and place the plate down and continue on whatever I was doing before. What i found was that often I would just not bother with finishing the balance of my meal or that I would simply eat it as my next meal.

However yes the "size of your palm" seems a good idea and also the process of preparing that big salad and then just scooping out 2 cups is excellent and thank you.

Once again thanks for all your help and back to listening to my body... hehe

Claudius

I like the idea of just knowing when you have had enough. I don't have the time to input everything into Fitday. I have tried it and it takes a lot of time and I don't have computhr access on the weekends. I have been keeping a journal to keep track of what I have eaten all day, and to keep track of carbs. I use the guidelines in DANDR with the size of your fist, deck of cards etc. I know when there is too much food on my plate. The problem is putting it back, or not eating it! I do measure butter, oil, salad dressing and cheese. These are the things that I tend to go overboard on.

Wee