I am soooo nervous! the last time i tried atkins i did it for a while month and ate only what was on the induction menu and thats it. i didnt cheat at ALL..... but i gained weight! i heard a few different things though.... i heard that eating meat that was fresh cut from the deli at the supermarket was bad for the diet, and the bacon i was eating had nitrates in it.... also how do you caculate the ounces of cheese to eat daily? do i need to get a scale for that? here is a sample menu of what i would eat daily on average...
Breakfast:
Eggs scrambled with cheese and ham and bacon
dipped in mayo(somtimes a atkins shake if on the go)
Lunch:
a chef salad with ham cheese and turkey. oil and vinegar dressing
Snack: a low carb atkins bar
Ddinner:
A hamburger patty with cheese bacon and a side salad. oil and vinegar dressing and mayo.
oh and i would drink water too....
I messed up a few times and drank crystal lite beucase i didnt know it was bad. it said no carbs. but that was it. does that menu look lik i would gain weight on it?

PandaManda

I'm sure others will comment. The only thing I wonder about is the cheese, bacon....and the Atkins bar.

I'm very sensitive to the sugar alcohols, so I never touch the bars. I do use the shakes, but I get mine from EAS because I like the taste.

Cheese and bacon can have a high salt content, which would cause water gain. And some people react the same to artificial sweeteners as they would sugar.

Try cutting back on cheese and bacon, or at least make sure you get no more than 3-4 oz cheese/day. Also, stay away from processed cheese, since it often has added sugar.

How much water are you drinking? Have you noticed any retention? (I've been known to gain 5#+ overnight from retention!).

Also did you start an exercise routine? Especially weights? If so, you might have gained muscle mass...and muscle weighs more than fat!

If you've read the book, try going over some chapters again, especially the ones on metabolic resistance. If you haven't read it, please do!

Hope this has been some help. Check back, I'm sure others will comment.

I wonder if you have been on a perpetual low calorie diet for a long time? Is it possible the protein you are eating now is being used to repair lean body mass that was lost with a nutritionally poor diet. If you continue to eat an adequate diet without excess calories you should start to see losses on the scale and inches lost. Drink your water and eat your salads... Good luck....

i definately was eating alot of cheese... should i get the low salt cheese if they nmake that? i am definately not going to eat the bars anymore... they definately could have affected me....would getting a food scale be helpful to me??

I'd suggest you delete all the cheese for possibly a month. If you don't want to delete the cheese, then I'd suggest buying an 4 oz block of cheese, cut it into four equal portions. That would give you a visual idea of what 1 oz looks like. Of buy the cheese sticks. They are usually 1 oz servings.

Did you check the label on your salad dressings for sugar?

Are you eating alot of deli ham and other luncheon meats? Lots of these products have sugar. You have to read the labels carefully.

As already stated, possibly delete the bars and limit the bacon unless you can get nitrate free. Trader Joe's carries nitrate free bacon.

Well i went to the store today to the deli and i got a lb of low salt ham and a lb of low salt cheese. does that sound ok? i thought only the prepackaged deli meats were bad? what about the meat that is fresh cut behind the counter for you? i am cutting out the bars and definately not having any bacon..(just to be sure) do you think it would be a good idea for me to cut out the cheese? I am stilll sooo worried. i am making sure that i am drinking alot of water too. is there any way that i could gain weight on this WOE?

Unless the deli lets you read the label, most packaged or deli meats have SUGAR added. Remember, sugar comes in different names. Like corn syrup, frutose, dextrose, cane syrup.

I'd suggest you delete all the cheese for possibly a month. If you don't want to delete the cheese, then I'd suggest buying an 4 oz block of cheese, cut it into four equal portions. That would give you a visual idea of what 1 oz looks like. Of buy the cheese sticks. They are usually 1 oz servings.

REPEAT!

Did you check the label on your salad dressings for sugar?

Are you eating alot of deli ham and other luncheon meats? Lots of these products have sugar. You have to read the labels carefully.

As already stated, possibly delete the bars and limit the bacon unless you can get nitrate free. Trader Joe's carries nitrate free bacon.

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What I would try doing if I were you in knocking out all the processed low carb food. Such as the Atkin shakes and bars. Drop them for a month and see it things start to kick in. You may personally be sensitive to them. Everyone is different on how there body handles these products.

As to the building and repairing of lean muscels, the scale may move up in numbers but one would think that your clothes should be feeling better if this was the case.

You maybe having a problem with the amount of salt you are eating. As dumb as it sounds, drinking more water should convince you body to let some of it go.

Personally I never worry about nitrates in my bacon. But I don't eat it every day either.

Lastly, you might want to track what you are eating for a while on Fitday.com sometimes you are taking in way more than you think. Try to keep your total calories count around 10 times your current weight. And the fat to 70 % of your total daily count.

Maybe by tracking everyday for a while you will find out which food are tripping you up.

Check out Low Carb Tips located at the top of this page. Scroll down and read Sweetner Information by Doreen.

i would cut out all lc junk food. use vegs carbs only
cut out the cheese or use very little of it. drink tons of water. how in the heck can you gain weight during induction. hmmm you got got some explaining to do! lol

idontno...it is possible to gain weight on induction. Usually those that do have been eating a very protein and/or calorie deficient diet for some time prior to starting low carb and their body is using the now adequate amounts of protein and calories to make much needed repairs to muscle tissue and replacing muscle tissue that was lost which shows up on the scale as a gain. While that may be disconcerting, to say the least, when your goal is to lose weight it's really a good thing and if you stick with it, the scale will start heading downwards again leaving you with less fat and more lean body mass.
Others can gain weight on induction by eating lots of salty foods, getting hidden carbs/sugars from foods they thought were legal (deli meats, low carb bars and candies, salad dressings) or just following the plan incorrectly.
Some can even retain water because they are eating a lot more of a food that they are sensitive to and don't realize it (dairy products and eggs are big culprits here).

PandaManda...

Like the others above, I recommend that you try this again without the processed meats. Use only fresh meats that you must cook yourself, veggies and other unprocessed foods from the allowed list for induction (eggs, for example), lots of water (at least 2 liters a day) and limit your cheese to no more than 4 ounces per day. I would also limit bacon to no more than a couple of slices a few times a week and skip the Atkins bars completely for a while.
From your menu above, you were eating a lot of salty processed meats, some of which usually contain sugar (the turkey and ham) and cheese.
One other question...is the mayo you're using mayonnaise or Miracle Whip? Some use the term interchangably; that's why I'm asking.