I tried Atkins a couple of years ago but didn't really do it right or stick with it. July 16 I started seriously. I've been pretty digligent, but it sure is slow going. I lost 3 lbs right away, which I figure was water weight, then I've been flirting with the last 3 for weeks. I've lost no inches at all. I keep my carbs under 20 a day, only have one cup of coffee and one Diet Coke a day. I cut out my daily glass of white wine to just weekends. I haven't cheated at all with any sweets, starches, or breads. It hasn't really been hard for me to do that, either, but I really need to see some progress. I take L-carnitine, CO-Q, Basic #3, Dieter's Advantage, Essential Oils, Vit E, potassium, Vit C everyday. My husband is very supportive and never tempts me to cheat.
The only thing left is more exercise. I know I don't get enough, so that's my objective this week--to do more everyday. After reading some of the conversations here, I guess I shouldn't be too frustrated, but I am. Not enough to stop, though.

I've read some of the comments by others, including moderators, and see advice to eat more carbs (veggies, of course). However, the reason I'm eating less is because the Atkins diet recommend either the fat fast or moving in that direction to get things moving. So, I did. I'm I misinterpreting? Please help!

Hang in there! Watch out for hidden sugars- you may not be aware either that Diet sodas contain Aspartame, which can slow weight loss in some people- try Diet Rite, no aspartame and still tastes good. I started Atkins in June and lost 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks. In total I have lost 27 pounds now- so, it can be done. The weight loss does slow down here and there, but try adding more exercise in. I hit a plateau at 135 lbs, but started a different type of exercise and the weight started to drop again. Everybody loses at a different rate- so don't get discouraged. Check in your Atkins book about why you aren't losing weight- they offer a variety of reasons that you may not be losing and some helpful ways of getting past that. Also, assess the carbs that you are eating. Remember- with Atkins you should be getting your carbs entirely from veggies the first 2 weeks. If you crave the sweets, like I do, try the Atkins Advantage bars- the chocolate peanut butter ones are to die for. Good luck!!!

Hi Carol, welcome!

First up, I'd like to congratulate you on losing 24% of your weight. You are actually doing quite well! Yes, I know it seems slow and I also know (believe me, I know!) just how frustrating it can be when you want to lose as quickly as Dr Atkins seems to promise.
You see, you don't have a huge amount to lose, and the folk in Dr A's book who lose massive amounts are usually folks who start at a much heavier weight. It seems to be that we lose proportionally to the amount we have to lose. In fact we can expect to lose 10% during Induction, then maybe 5 to 10% per month after that. So you see you are right on course.

Having said that, how about starting a journal here and posting your actual food intake? That way we can more easily assess what's happening.

I'd be very reluctant to jump straight into the fat fast. That should be kept for the metabolically resistant. You definitely don't fall into that category.
On this site, we define a stall as no weight or inches lost over six weeks.

About the Atkins bars - I was going to warn you away from them! Many (not all) folk are stalled by low carb bars. They contain "hidden" carbs, known as sugar alcohols. For more info on them, check "The truth about low carb sweeteners info" to the right of the screen.
I had fierce sweet cravings at first, but found they were controlled by taking L-Gutamine. Now I have absolutely no cravings, even for chocolate - and I was the world's worst chocoholic!

All the best to you, matey.

Rosebud

Thanks for the replies so far! It helps to hear from people who have been there. I guess I am doing okay. Maybe one way to look at it, the initial 4 lbs were water and now that I've been able to maintain that for a month, it must now be real weight. Anyway, it isn't hard to stick with it, although everything Atkins says isn't true for me. I'm hungry & I ate 2 hours ago! I've been reading the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet and am considering switching over since it seems to address what seems to be missing for me.

My fitday.com entries are shared at:

http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJour...Owner=carolsofl

Hi Carol,

If you're hungry, eat! Have some cheese or other fat and protein snack. Maybe your meals need to be a bit bigger or to have more fat if you're hungry so soon.

Your Fitday meals don't look too bad although "tweaking" is always possible. I would decrease the protein a little and increase the fat.
The folks with experience here have found that aiming at around 70% (of your calories) fat, 25% protein and 5% carbs works well.
I don't know how to move your entries to the bit of Fitday I use where I simply feed in all I've eaten and it comes up as percentages.

I would also increase the vegies. Did you know that you subtract the carbs from fibre? That means your carb counts are actually quite low.

I'd still suggest you start a journal here. Many of us post our food in our journal here and go to Fitday to get the stats. The beauty of a journal here is that others can pop in regularly to encourage and support and also just for friendship.

Keep up the good work, matey!

Rosebud

I've been on Atkins for 2 solid weeks. I think I'm eating way too much protein at dinner. After the first week, I lost 6 lbs. Then jumped up 3 lbs. Don't know what is going on. Always hungry at dinner time. Not eating any snacks after dinner. Doing a little excersize too. I'm 180 lbs and 5'5" . HELP!!

Hi there Lucy,

I can only ask you the same thing I asked of Carol - how about starting a journal here and posting your food intake.
You'll find the info on how to start a journal at the top of the Intros in an "announcement."

If I know exactly what you are eating, it will give some idea of what to suggest.
Meanwhile, are you eating enough fat? And are you eating enough? Almost all of us come to low carbing after trying (time and time again!) low fat/low calorie diets. It's difficult at first to get your mind around the fact that you need to eat lots of fat! Many of us have slowed our metabolisms in the past with the low calorie diets, so it is very important to eat enough - usually at least 10 times your bodyweight is needed.

I'll be looking out for your journal, Lucy!
All the best to you, my dear!

Rosebud

Right now I'm satisfied with my progress. After reading comments in all of these forums and my own experience, I've decided that what I viewed as slow weight loss (1) wasn't really slow at all and (2) my body just needed to adjust. It now seems to be in a whole new mode. Unfortunately, I find that I'm hot! I thought I was rid of hot flashes, but frequently I get them again. No sweating, just hot. I read some other comments somewhere here about that, so I guess it isn't that unusual.

Carol, being hot is a good thing! It usually means that your metabolism has revved up a notch or two.

Good on you for being satisfied with your progress. And who knows, maybe the hot feelings will be the precursor of a bit more progress for you! I hope so.

Cheers.

Rosebud

i've been in induction for slightly more than 1 week and lost abt 2 pounds over the first 1 or 2 days and stopped losing till now..

it may be that my TOM is approaching or that i may be doing something wrong but i watch wat i eat as much as i can. Pp usully experience difficulty in losing weight or even gaining weight when its the TOM right? does this start before the TOM or only when its actually here?

don't eat too much protein
I have found that excess protein turns into to glycogen and is stored as fat.

I've been going from 176 to 177.5 lbs for two weeks now. I don't want to eat carbs anymore but I do want to stop overeating.
I've been eating 12 oz's of protein for dinner most of the time along with my 2 cups of veggies. Now I am going to eat less protein and more fat. The problem is where do I find this extra fat? Cheese, creamed veggies? Help!

lucy

Food journal
Bkfst:
Atkins crustless quiche (little more that 1/8 pieceCoffee with half&half and splenda

Lunch:
two slices of provolone cheese
three slices of turkey meat
2 1/2 tblsps of mayo

Snack:
low carb bar (3g carb = sugar)

Dinner:

3 chicken thighs with al the skin
grilled 1/2 green pepper
two tblsps diced canned tomatoes with olive oil, garlic powder
three mushrooms


Snack:javascript:smilie('')
Dazed
1 cup of sugar free ice cream

over 8 cups of water each day
vitamins, L-carnatine, phsillium at nite

Hi-

I'm no big loser, as I'm still on induction, but....you posted that you eat "bars".

Bars contain hidden sugars which translate into carbs...try cutting those out and see what happens!

good luck!

stacy

Lucy, the best way to add more fat is to, um, add more fat!
(Sorry!) What I mean is to either add lots of butter to your vegies or stir fry them in olive oil. Add mayo to whatever you like and make lots of sauces from meat drippings, cream and butter.

And Smittlem is absolutely right about the bars - they contain hidden carbs in the form of sugar alcohols. (For more info on sugar alcohols, read "The truth about low carb sweeteners info" at the right hand side of your screen.)
They are YMMV thing though, some folk have no problem, but many do.

Cheers!

Rosebud