Could someone out there please review my Day 1 consumption and tell me if on track?

I'm not sure how to bring up and use the "journal" that I've heard mentioned, perhaps I could get some instruction regarding that as well.

Breakfast: 2 eggs & 2 oz. Canadian Bacon cooked in 1 T butter, 2 cups decaf coffee

Lunch: 4-5 oz. chicken breast, 12 cucumber slices, 1 cup canned chicken broth, 1 1/2 oz. cheddar cheese, 1 cup herbal (decaf) tea

Dinner: 2 Italian sausages cooked in olive oil, 1/2 cup slices mushrooms &b 1 clove garlic sauteed in 2 T butter, 2 cups salad (romaine, a bit of fennel, 3 cherry tomatoes, 3 baby (1 1/2") carrots, 1/4 oz. pepperoni, 1 t grated parmesian) with olive oil & vinegar dressing

Snack: 1 cup diet jello, 1 cup decaf coffee with 1 T heavy cream & 1 packet Equal

I counted everything (even the carbs in eggs) and came up with about 20 carbs for the day. Did I get too fancy? Should I be cutting back on the salad additives? Please let me know what you think.

Oh yeah, one other thing that I noticed was that I got awfully tired midday...I could have napped all afternoon but worked through it by going grocery shopping. Is that fatigue to be expected early on?

Thanks to all who have taken the time to review this. I look forward to any responses/comments.

It's normal to be tired at first as your body switches chemistry. It needs different enzymes to burn fat vs. carbs so for awhile you will be tired. Also adding potassium, ca and mg and a multivit will help.

Now for the diet. Go on over to the journals and post your daily food intakes there and people can comment for you. Also head over to www.Fitday.com and input everything (make sure the amounts are correct) and you'll receive a definitive breakdown.

Ok now on the food:
Be careful about the cherry tomatos they contain a lot of carbs further carrots are a no no on induction. Next chicken broth, canadian bacon, italian sausage, pepperoni, you're doing a large sodium load so be prepared for water retention. Further if these contain nitrates and citric acid you may stall your weight loss.

On Atkins he says not to eat anything not on the induction food list. Sugar Free Jello isn't on the induction list that I can find. He also says no Equal. He also says to drink lots of water. I don't see any water listed? Did you drink any?? Coffee and tea aren't water. Now this may not help if this is the Mayo clinic diet I don't know what that is. So if this is all allowed on that diet. Please disregard everything I said.

Keep hanging in there! You started and that's what counts!! We all end up tailoring our diets to meet our own personal needs and you will find what does and doesn't work for you personally by trial and error.
Jo

jo's comments are great....I just wanted to add, any time you wanna invite me over for meals, do! it all sounds yummy.

Thanks Jo (and Raz)! I will certainly keep the sodium loading in mind as I plan my meals from here on out. I guess I might have been suffering from an information overload as I read through the Atkins book, as I guess I didn't notice the that some of the things I included were not on the Induction list (like Equal, especially). But in answer to your question about my drinking water...yes I drink 9 10 8oz. glasses every day.

I finished day two, yesterday, and when I weighed this morning I was down two pounds (which thrilled the heck out of me). I used a keto-strip last night and it only registered "Trace". Do you think that's because it was so early in the program?

And Raz, if you're ever in the neighborhood, give a yell. I'd be happy to cook you a diet meal (although my fattening cooking is a hundred times better...but we won't talk about that).

Thanks again, guys!!

Hi there!

From everything I have read on here about the ketostix (I don't bother with them personally), "trace" is just fine. It indicates you are indeed producing ketones. If you start getting into the darker shades, it means you're dehydrated. I doubt you'll have that problem though, if you're downing 80+ ounces of water a day.

I have found that because I so drastically changed my WOE, even the little slips didn't affect my weight loss. The bacon I ate the first 5 mos was cured with one form of sugar or another, however, it still got me 25lbs lighter. Also, the holidays are always a bog. I ate white things (bread, potatoes, ect.) and still managed to maintain through the holidays. Now I am adjusting my food type and intake to get jump started again. I could be frustrated having been stuck 20lbs from target for the past two months, however, all I have to do is try on a pair of pants or a blouse that was tight when I started, and that keeps my mind comforted enough for me to stay with this WOL! The fact that I maintained during the most difficult time of year with all those goodies floating around work and home encourages me in that when I get to the point of maintenence, I know I can handle it!
I also DON'T step on the scale more than once a week. If I could force myself, I would only use the scale once a month.
Keep up the good work!
All the advice you'll find here is absolutely wonderful! You'll find all kinds of help reading the journal entries, all of us go through periods of stall, then the whoosh fairy appears, and we're on our way again. The journals may help you find what worked for someone else may work for you.
Also, the recipies and information is wonderful!
So glad you have shared your GREAT START!!!!
Keep drinking the water!
Murp

CeeTee,
Hey noticed you haven't started a journal yet.
Here's a link to get you started. Once your there, just click new thread and that will be your journal. Looking forward to reading it!

http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdis...ne=&forumid=116

Later,
Heather