I discovered www.fitday.com yesterday. I plugged in my food information and the calorie count was around 2000! I weigh 128 so my caloric intake should be 1300-1600, correct? I am asking because I am still hungry. Or is it NOT hunger? Ugh I am confused.

I see people's journal's where the individual weighs more than me, eats less and is satisfied. What am I doing wrong?

Please advise!

Thanks,
Laura

Hi, Laura! Could you post a couple of menus, with quantities, so we can tell what you're eating? It's hard to give suggestions otherwise

Thanks!

Breakfast:

16 oz coffee
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 pks Splenda

Lunch:

2 scrambled eggs
1 tbsp butter (for the eggs)
4 pieces of bacon (no sugar/nitrates)

Snack:

2 oz (pieces) string cheese
10 Pork Rinds

Dinner

salmon patties

6 oz salmon
1 tbsp butter
1 egg

2 cups leafy greens
3 tbsp dressing
2 oz cheese
12 pieces pepperoni

Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 2004
Fat: 160 1444 73%
Sat: 71 637 32%
Poly: 25 227 11%
Mono: 54 485 24%
Carbs: 27 100 5%
Fiber: 2 0 0%
Protein: 112 446 22%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%


I just realized that I need to fix my journal entry information from yesterday also.

Laura

Laura, the 10 - 12 times body weight is a minimum. Atkins says not to count calories. So until you hit a period of a l-o-n-g stall (i.e., weeks, not days) or actually gain weight, I wouldn't worry about that.

Aside from the fact that you're not eating breakfast, this looks like a good menu to me. Some people advise cutting the caffeine -- it can cause blood sugar problems similar to sugar. So a breakfast of two cups of coffee might set you up to be hungry throughout the day. Try some protein in your first meal.

Another thing to try is the mini-meal pattern -- 5 or 6 small meals spaced evenly throughout the day.

I hope someone else will chime in here -- I'm not the board's nutrition expert, by any means

Nat??

Laura did you check the amounts when entering on fitday?

Most of the default measurements is a cup. Like a cup of eggs, cup of butter etc.

It happens to me all the time. I freak when I hit 2000 calories before I get lunch in and then notice that for breakfast I had a cup of eggs and a cup of butter

I agree though you need to eat something for breakfast. Having just a cup of coffee doesn't exactly cut it

Laura - the most important thing is - ARE YOU LOSING WEIGHT? So many of us have been so brainwashed about counting calories that we start to obsess about the whole calorie thing - today is the first time I have gone to fitday, and the first time I have even looked at my calorie consumption since I started the WOE in July, 2001. I was (and am) losing, so I guess that calorie count wasn't important. And, there have been MANY days I took in more cals than the ratio allowed, I am sure!!!

Good luck
Anna

I was wondering the same things...
i just started fitday.com today. it was kind of confusing, but once i got the hang of it things got a little easier.
i've been on Atkin's for about three weeks, stopping and starting once or twice. I've only lost about 8 # and i'm not sure why. According to the Dr. , i have a strong metabolic resistance. It could also be that during induction, for about three days (one was Easter), i went a little over 20 grams/day. PLUS - i have "baby weight" which i now know why people say it's the hardest to lose.
i've lost an inch here and there, probably due to working out, not this diet.
i decided to be the MOST strict starting today and going till Sunday (by doing Induction). If i haven't lost at least 5 lbs by then, then i don't think this diet's for me.

on the other hand - anna!!! your weight loss is an inspiration!! you've done awesome!! was it easy for you to stick with once you got the hang of it? i would love to hear your story! what a huge success!!!

I had the same reaction, Laura. Are you sure the quantities for your foods at fitday are correct? It really doesn't "look" like 2004 calories.

The suggestion to try mini meals is a good one - it will help stabilize blood sugar and insulin and raise your metabolism. Eating breakfast is also a good idea. Caffiene can cause problems for some - try cutting it out (or at least cutting it down).

Are you feeling better LCing? Have you taken any measurements? Often the losses appear on the measuring tape and not on the scale. Be sure you get some number there too.

I would also make sure you're getting enough water - pork rinds, cheese and pepperoni are all high in sodium and will cause water retention.

Nat

You just answered your own question, Keri. Starting and stopping will only succeed in confusing your body to the point where not even Induction level carbs will work for you. Either LC or don't - but at least give it an honest try. Do Induction for 2 weeks as written, by the book, to the letter and then decide if this 'diet' is for you. During this time get your hands on as much information as you can about LC and make the decision as to whether you can see yourself eating this way for the rest of your life. LC as a WOL is the only way it will work - we must change our behaviour and learn a new way to eat. The old one obviously didn't work, or none of us would be here If Atkins isnt the plan for you then maybe something else is - check out the link in the right hand margin "Which LC plan is right for me?"

Nat

Thanks everybody for all your input!!!

Water - nope, I am not drinking nearly enough!

Measurements - I didn't weigh myself until last week and I have not stepped on a scale (procrastination on my part ). I took my measurements only yesterday, so I will wait a week before I take them again. I am so afraid that somehow I am *terminally unique* and that this WOL will work for everyone except me....

I never officially went through induction, but I have been keeping my carbs under 30. Like today my total was 24. Maybe I should just go for it!

I guess I have been LEARNING how to prepare my food, shop, change my eating patterns before being strict and to the letter regarding Atkins. Maybe I am afraid of committment? Actually, it is more accurate to say that I know myself well enough to know that I am a perfectionist and that I set myself up for failure. I am afraid of committing 100% to the plan, because I am afraid I can't do it. I wanted to see if I could be disciplined enough to count my carbs, prepare my foods, go through the sugar withdrawl.

Perhaps I should just make a date to officially do induction to the letter. *taking and deep breath* I know I sound really crazy and I REALLY appreciate everyone's patience so far.

Laura

What a wise woman you are, Laura Just go for it.

Thanks for posting your doubts -- I'll bet a lot of us go through a very similar thought process. The "all or nothing" perfectionist aspect is a real problem for a lot of people (me included -- I'm a Very Imperfect Perfectionist.)

It helped to think of this as a learning process. We make mistakes. That's not failure. It's a mistake, practice. You have to fall off a bike a couple of times before you can ride.

Good luck. Go for it.

Keri-T:
Thanks for the words of encouragement! Right now, I am having extremely slow weight loss (the closer you are to your goal, the slower the weight comes off), so your comment really brightened my day

Anyway - we have 14 horses, along with various, assorted other animals, and 3 kids (ages 11,10 & 8). My husband got a great temp. job out of state last summer, and I was left to take care of all these needy things by myself! Our horses kept escaping (Houdinis!) and myself and my children had to go find them, catch them, and bring them home, as well as exercise them, groom them, feed them, etc. At 5'3", and 195 lbs, I was experiencing severe short breath, exhaustion, fatigue, rashes where my legs were rubbing together, etc. when I had to walk these horses the 1/2 to 1 mile from where I found them. Even grooming them was making me short winded. At that point I knew I had to do something - your average 36 year old should be able to walk 1/2 mile without all those symptoms. I have NEVER done well with restricted calorie diets, and had heard of Dr. Atkins, so I decided to try this WOL. I followed (and still follow) his book to the T - exactly as he writes it. I have, of course "broken" the diet several times - Thanksgiving, Christmas, my B-day, Easter. BUT - otherwise, I have stuck to it. During Induction I lost about 9 lbs and was THRILLED because I was eating whenever I wanted. I have never counted calories - just carbs. The weight continued to come off at about a rate of 2 lbs per week - not lightening-fast but very steadily. Of course, I hit points were I lost nothing during the week - or 2 or 3. At that point, I would reread the appropriate sections of DANDR, figure out my mistakes (if any), and climb back "on the wagon" if I had made mistakes (or "broken" the diet). Invariably, I would see a 4-5 lb weight loss one morning after my "stalls". The "secret" to this WOL is two-fold - STICK TO IT and think of it as a WOL - not a diet. If you adjust your mind set to "I am always going to eat some variations of the foods I have now, plus a little more as time goes on", you will be able to be much more creative with your food, as well as hop "back on the wagon" after a "break" much easier. The second pointer is to constantly make adjustments to your food intake (what you eat, not how much). Try new meats, cheeses, look at your favorite "regular" food and figure out how you can come up with something LC that resembles it, find new favorite foods, and by all means do NOT get caught up in the "perfectionist" thing. Some days you may have an intake of 40 carbs. So what? As long as the MAJORITY of the time, you are within your CCL, a slightly higher day will not hurt. An occasional "break" (1 day only, tho) won't kill you, either - notice I said occasional!! This is a WOL - you have to make it work in YOUR life. If you are sticking to it diligently 99% of the time, you WILL lose weight!!

Good luck,
Anna