Hello,
I started Atkins 6 Jan 2004 and have lost 24 lbs so far. I am asking this question as I assume that the loss will slow down.

I do have a deadline for a big Family reunion coming up end of JULY. Some questions please.......

1. What is a realistic goal that is possible using only pure Induction for the entire time of approx 22 weeks remaining??

2. Is it possible to avoid a stall?

3. I do tend to eat the same things, only becase I love them. I dont feel deprived or hungry. Sometimes I dont eat enough, and i know that is bad and i am working on it.

4. My meals are mainly.....
Breakfast............Ham or Bacon and Cheese Omelet (but usually only one egg)

Lunch..........Meat of some sort, and Salad with bacon bits, eggs and chees in it with full fat dressing (hardly dieting here!)

Dinner..........Meat and either more Salad as above or Veg.

I love salad and prefer more of it to cooked veg. Maybe I need to check my calories to see if it is too low, but I am not hungry at all.

I do NOT drink or use any sweetners, and do not have access to LC junk food as I live in Europe and this WOL is not popular. I suppose this is what you are reffering to as a "clean induction"?

I am obviously not "metobolically challenged" as my first 2 week induction was loss of 12 lbs which the book says is high. And I did NO excerize at all .

I am now trying to do some excerize, but finding time is difficult. work and house it taking up all my time.

Thank you for your comments or thoughts.

Melissa

Melissa I'm learning that each body responds so differently to this plan that it is near impossible to predict how much weight can be lost in any given period.

Assuming you never cheat, the best that can be said is, you WILL continue to lose weight through to July.

But you will most likely experiences slow downs...sometimes drastic. You may also experience stalls. A stall is NO weight OR inches lost for at least 4 weeks. Often these are necessary periods of time for the body to catch up with itself.

I would try to make this a committed way of eating for life. Beginning Atkins with a celebratory deadline involved can be very stressful because as I said, who knows how your body will respond months down the track?

So honestly, I think your deadline to be 150 is very ambitious but who knows?

I would try and be content in the knowledge that by July, you are going to look and feel so much better than you do now even if you are not at goal. The family will notice too

The 150 is the goal to be at for the rest of my life, I am not expecting that before end of July, BUT OF COURSE ONE CAN HOPE.

I was wondering, doing NO cheating, if 6 mos. it would be fair to say I will at least have lost XX lbs.
I know some loose really fast, and others slow, but in general even with the minimun loss can I assume XX amount?

Is there a place somewhere on this site, without trying to read every single journal, that says " average loss for 6 months is XX?

THank you for your time and thoughtful reply.
Melissa

I don't know of such a site. Average amounts, that is.

Me , for example. I am doing a kind of KISS Atkins induction. That's Keep It Simple Stupid induction. No LC products, no processed meats etc. Just plain fresh meat and veggies. I have 30 lbs to lose and hoped I'd be all done with it in a few months. Well, seems I was wrong. After 6 weeks of faithful eating and excerising I have lost 5 lbs. Just 5. So I know know it's going to take me longer than I imagined. I'm thinking more like a year.

On the other hand, my husband needs to lose 70 lbs. In 6 weeks he's lost 29 lbs without excersiing, drinking tons of water. He snacks well into each evening on lots of cheese, LC chocolates etc. He's the poster boy for "How not to do induction" yet he continues to lose at a cracking pace. Who have thunk it huh?

THAT's how different we all are. I've found out painfully in the past 6 weeks I need to accept that fact.

Realistically....I'd plan on a pound a week.

My initial weight loss was a pound a DAY for the first 28 days. Now it has slowed down to a pound every 5-6 days. A pound a week is on the pessimestic side for me, but that's what I plan on for my goal. That way if I beat my goal, I feel better about it.

Next weight milestone......50 pounds.....March 5. (2 pounds to go.)

I'll give this a shot...

1. What is a realistic goal that is possible using only pure Induction for the entire time of approx 22 weeks remaining??

Realistically, a pound a week you can count on over this period of time. So 22 pounds less.

Realistically, the MOST you could lose consistently would be 2 pounds a week, so a max of 44 pounds. Losing faster then this over that period of time would actually be considered dangerous.

2. Is it possible to avoid a stall?
Umm, Yes and No. Some people just stall, not much you can do about it but the preauctions you are taking (sweetners, junk food) will probably help.

Yes, you can avoid a stall in the following ways:
1. Only weigh yourself once a month! Most so called 'stalls' are temporary!
2. If you should really stall, your best defence is preperation and action. ie - get informed now by reading the stalls board, and know about things like cutting cheese etc.

3. I do tend to eat the same things, only becase I love them.

Oh god, you should see my menu - I don't fitday becuase I shop from the same grocery list each week! Repetition can help you stay on track, keep an idea of those carbs and calories without having to count and worry

4. My meals are mainly.....
Well, it does look a bit on the light side. Hard to tell though, cos I have no way of knowing what a serve of meat or salad is!! I think a one egg omlette in the mornings is a bit light though!! When I had difficulty eating breakfast I would make myself have at least 2 eggs - if I couldn't have 2 at breakie cos of appetite I would boil the second and have it for morning tea.

WoW, Thank you MB99

Just what I needed. Thank you for your time.

My meat is either Chicken, Steak, or Pork.
Unfortunately, I cant stand seafood or fish, (except tuna occasionally with GOBS of Mayo.
I dont measure just eat till full, at least the minimum of 6 oz. sometimes more.

I did forget I do eat pine nuts in my salad for crunch.

One more question please.
Since I eat one egg for breakfast and one on every salad that is at least 3 per day. Are you suggesting to add a 4th!!!!!!!!! This comes from that old insecurites of eggs being bad for you!! Too many eggs possible???

Thanks for all your help in replying.
Melissa

I would just like to agree that about a pound a week for women is about the norm over the long haul.

There have been threads about this before and I'm pretty sure some people were doing up to a dozen a day!

4 is certainly not a problem

I'd try to set a non-number goal. Something like clean induction for x weeks. Or drink x oz of water every day.

The numbers on the scale are different for everybody. Having a specific number to meet could add a lot of stress that you don't really need.

Good Luck!

hey even if you dont lose all the pounds, you will lose inches just keep up the good work, sometimes you might have to change stuff up a little, i need to update my profile but im finally in the 120's and i had to add a few carbs from veggies and stuff. i also quit eating 3 hours before i go to bed and only drink water, that really helped me. just keep up the work, drink your water and like i said the inches will come off, i have been feeling like i have all new clothes because all my size 5's in the closet fit now so its like shopping without spending money.