On Jan 21, 2003 I started Summersizing (Low Carb). I gained weight. On Feb 20, I switched to Atkins to further reduce my carbs with the induction phase. For the first two months on my new low carb plans I gained 10 pounds on top of the 100 pounds that I have to loose.

I had been a yo yo dieter all my life and do not know if that is contributing to my weight gain when everyone else looses alot on this woe. Over the last 2 years I had lost 100 pounds thru low/no fat and high carb diet ( pasta 2 times a day). I still have 100 pounds more to go. Since I was stalled for about a year I figured low carb was the way to go instead of low fat to shed the last 100 pounds.

I went to see the doctor in March and found out that I have a fibroid tumor the size of a tennis ball. Could that be causing my initial weight gain? For the last month or so I have maintained my weight. Just recently I have further reduced my carbs. Also about a month ago, I started a large regement of vitamin and mineral suppliments per the Atkins book. I did find out that one of the multi vitamins that I was taking had fructose in it and stopped taking it about a month ago.

Could I be eating too many calaries? I am going to get a scale and measure my salad quantities but I did not think I went way over my carb limit. Even if I did, I have a hard time beleiving that the few extra carbs is causing my gain and then stall after years of eating tons of sugar, chocolate and starch and general overeating.

Here is what I have been eating:
My breakfast is usually 4 sausage paties(0 sugar) with 1 - 2 slices of cheese or a 2 egg omlet with bacon, ham,turkey, mushrooms and cheese.

Lunch is a cobb spinach salad (about 1 -1 1/2 cups) with artichoke, ham, turkey, cucumber, tomatoe,mushrooms, green onions and cheese with oil and vinager dressing (Newmans) mixed with a teaspoon of half sour cream and mayo and seasonings (no sugar). I may also add some additional slices of meat if I have left overs from dinner and are really hungry.

Sometimes I have some tuna fish(home made no sugar or bad ingredients) or cheese as a snack during the day (morning or afternoon) if I am hungry.

Afternoon snack 4 times a week (I know this is bad but I must find a woe that includes some chocolate daily or I will never stick to it): Home made chocolate mousse with 3 oz of heavy cream, mint extract (no corn syrup), splenda and wondercoacoa (fat free, caffine free, and sugar free).

Dinner is some meat or fish with onions, asperagus or califlower. Sometimes I add velveta cheese melted on top or butter. I might add mushrooms too. If I use condiments it is Atkins so they are sugar and starch free.

8 pm snack, most nights ( okay I know 2 snacks are bad but remember what I weight and how much I used to eat. Limiting myself to 2 legal snacks is a HUGE reduction for me.): About 3 oz of home made ice cream with summersweet or splenda, heavy cream, water, wonder cocoa, and vanilla)

Am I eating too many calories? Could it be the cream? I try to slowly eat my lunch over 1 1/2 hours so I am not so hungry. Same with breakfast. Dinner I eat fast as there are a million things I have to get done at night. Sometimes I will eat 2 russell stover sugar free mint paties after lunch. I chew Atkins gum and suck on Atkins mints to try to reduce cravings and the need for always having something in my mouth.

I started walking at lunch maybe once a week. I will try to do this more as my work load eases of during the summer.

Any and all suggestions would be very appreciated. I must loose this weigth for my health. I need to find a woe that I can live with the rest of my life and not loose the weight and go back to my old woe as I had done so in the past. I think that low carb is the way to go for me but I do not know why I am not loosing weight. I know chocolate is something that while I may be able to do without for a couple of days, it will always be in my diet even if it is sugar free and low carb.

Please help!

Have you seen a doctor and had bloodwork done? You could have an uderlying condition, such as a thyroid problem causing you too gain. Also are you taking any meds?

Have you calculated exactly how much carbs you are eating? Even though you are comparing it to your past eating habits, you need to be below 20 grams of carbs. If you are eating daily 25 or 30 or 35 or 40 grams, your body will not lose. However, I am curious as to why you are gaining, also.

Hi there! Your story sounds like it could be my life! The yo-yo dieting...



My personal opinion is that probably not. However, if you are on medication of anykind...might be hampering your weight loss!



I'm curious how recent? Maybe you haven't given yourself enough time? You should register at fitday.com (it's free)...that way you can see exactly what you are eating..plus, your fellow low-carbers here can help you better by seeing what you eat! Remember that on atkins induction the most is 20 carbs per day.


On atkins you are suppose to eat 10-12x your weight! I'm still having a problem with that one...


I totally agree with this...I have snacks everyday!



I understand where you are coming from there. Have you tried the peanut butter chocolate cups on the recipe board? They are really yummy!! My dd thought it was a reeces cup!

Sound to me like perhaps you need to go back and read the book again and refresh yourself on "atkins laws" lol...or go here

http://atkinscenter.com/Archive/2001/12/15-325810.html and read the part about induction again. Maybe there is something that yo will read and have an "aha" moment. Know what I mean?

You'll get there...I personally think the whole part to making this work..not just atkins..but any woe is to find what works for you. Everyone is different...and I think you are on the right path...may just need some tweeking!!

HTH!

Just out of curiosity, perhaps you should put your foods into Fitday.com, just to get some idea of how many calories you are eating. It may be more than you think, as you are taking in a whole lot of cream. Maybe calories aren't the problem, though, and you should ask your doctor if the fibroid can have any bearing on your weight gain. Best of luck on all fronts. - C.

Bloodwork was done after about 2 months eating low carb. No thyroid problems. Cholesteral was 216 overall with trigl at 44 and HDL at 85. Blood sugar was normal at 95. I am low on Iron and I am anemic. I started taking prescribed Iron pills. I have been using progesterone cream. No other medication.

I have been drinking lemon seltzer water ( just water and natural flavorins - zero sugar). I also have added regular tap water to my diet. I drink about 6 -16 oz bottles of water daily, sometime more. I never drink coffee nor alcohol.

I tried to do fit day but did not know weights of meat or veggies in omlet nor salad so I want to weigh them and I'll let you know what they are.

I was supprised to see that people can not loose weight on 25, 30, 40 grams of carbs. In the past I ate an estimated 300-400 carbs a day alone in pasta let alone the chocolate cakes, brownines, bagels, etc. My whole day of eating was all CARBS. To think that I can not loose weight after giving up all sugar, starch, flour, starchy veggies, etc is strange. I would have thought I could eat 50-100 carbs and still loose weight.

Should I try a day or two and eliminate all veggies to see what happens?

That is me! Rad my journal..I did a fitday for the day prior to staritng this woe...I ate over 500 carbs that day!! I used to drink a minimun of six pack of coke...the real stuff!!




JIMO...I wouldn't cut out veggies...eat your mandatory veggies...if you want to cut out something..cut back on the cream, cheeses, etc. But still get some!!

Hello!

A few "red flags": the Velveeta cheese. Isn't that pretty carby? (I honestly don't know, it's too expensive for me. )

All that cream. The calories really add up. On Atkins, you're limited to 2 fl. oz per day, if I remember correctly. Cheese is limited, also: 4 oz.

It looks like you aren't getting enough protein, but it's hard to tell without the specific amounts. I know you were just giving us a general idea of what you're eating.

Another "red flag" is that fibroid. When you have gyno problems, your hormones can really go out of whack and it affects your appetite and metabolism. Same thing if you're taking birth control pills or hormone replacement. For me, it was like having PMS constantly! I couldn't stop eating.

Best of luck to you - feel free to start a journal if you're interested in more specific feedback, or if you just want to vent.

Ideally on Atkin's you don't have to worry about counting calories. But for those who do you should keep your intake 10 to 12 times your current weight. There is nothing wrong with your afternoon snack, I have that one myself! I question what your total carb intake for the day is. The ice cream has at least 7, I make it myself with the Atkins recipe, and I counted up 7 at breakfast. Sorry sausage patties usually have 1 carb in them. I also think sausage and bacon can add to retaining water.

Since the ice cream is heavier and higher in carbs that the afternoon snack you might want to switch them around and have the lighter one before bed. Also you should go above 3 to 4 oz's of cheese. I think velveta is higher in carbs that normal cheeses.

You could try tracking what you eat for a few days on fitday.com , that will give you a good idea of the calorie intake if your think that is the problem. Most people like to keep there daily fat intake around 65 to 70% also. But these are just tweaking ideas! Like I said, ideally you only have to count carbs!

ALSO check with your doctor, if sounds like for some reason your are retaining a lot of water! Make sure everything in OK on that front!

Kristine ,

There is no cream limitation on Atkin's that I ever heard of, I could be wrong. But the afternoon snack, or very close to it was in Atkin's book, using 3 oz of cream.

Hi and welcome!!!!!
My first thought on your trouble may be hidden carbs (which is part of my problem) and perhaps more than 3-4 oz. cheese. I find snacking of pork rinds helps if the salt does not bother you and drinking lots of water is very important.

Back to the hidden carbs: I was a great coffee drinker who switched to decaf but was not aware coffee has carbs. Check the Hidden Carbs Inspector for info, and Fitday.com is an excellent suggestion.

Are you taking any medications that might be affecting you?

I hope some of the suggestions are helpful and good luck with you LC experience......also good lluck with the fibroid tumor (which also may be a factor)

Dianne

Personally, I have to count calories, and others on this site have said the same thing. If I ate all that I felt like eating, I'd gain, even with Atkins! Unless I am down to 1500 or so calories a day, with regular vigorous exercize, I don't lose a thing...

hiya. i think you should go to fitday.com and faithfully enter everything you consume for a few days. that will give you a better idea as to what's going on.

i'm a firm believer in keeping things very simple (i have to or i get confused ) and i see some fairly high fat / slightly complicated things going on in your food.

also i've read others on this board write that after many years of yo-yo dieting, it takes a bit for your system to settle down!

go to fitday & enter everthing and don't give up. there is an answer in there somewhere.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I may be eating more velveeta cheese than I should. I love cheese and like it melted on eggs and meat. Any suggestions of a different brand of cheese that has less carbs but melts?

I will TRY to limit my 2 snacks a day to one a day. I found a scale that I had at home and will weigh my ingredients for the salad and omlet and plug into fit day. I will let you know tomorrow what the totals are.

I drink only water and at least six 17 oz bottles a day not including the water I drink to take all the vitamins.

I am low on iron and anemic so I have been prescribed an iron pill. I am also using progesterone cream. That is the only medication. I will ask the doctor is the fibroid is doing something to my hormones to see if that is causing the weight problem. I hesitate to ask the doctor anything since she was not thrilled about Atkins and suggested the ADA. She is an internest so she does not know about nutrition. I have an appointment with an endocrinologist in June ( earliest I could get). Blood work was good, no thyroid problems and blood sugar was 95 normal.

Keep those suggestions comming! Something has got to give and I am hoping it is the weight

lol, I hear that!!!

YOu know, I think I would cut out the velveeta all together...monterey jack melts nice..or even plain old cheddar!

If you like the 'cheesy eggs"...lately I have been making egg crepe and filling with what I call "my gravy"...it is 1/4 cup ricotta cheese and splash of cream..salt pepper...it thins out..but thickens back up as it cools...very yummy!

if you're keeping to induction levels.

From the Atkins website:
(Under Acceptable Beverages)

In addition to at least 64 oz. water per day you can have "Cream, heavy or light (limit to two to three tablespoons a day; note carbohydrate content)".

As others have already said, cheese in excess of 4 oz. can stall some people. Velveeta is nice, but it is kinda loaded up on carbs. A way to maybe get cheddar and other cheeses to melt 'nicer', is to maybe add a touch of heavy cream to enhance the smoothness.

Again, Fitday may help a lot in figuring out your caloric intake and percentages.

Good luck!
Nikki