Hello everyone! Bare with me but, I have a few questions to ask. Here is goes... :0) I started my atkins diet a week ago monday ( 3-22-04) and I have lost five pounds, but I seem to be at a stand still. I bought the strips that tell you if you are in the right stages or not, I seem to be right in the middle. UHHH I need some help I think. I am eating the same things that my fiance is eating, yet he has lost ten pounds.( WE just had a baby girl on 3-3-04 & we are getting married on July 10th of this summer and I need to loose about 60 pds so you can see where I might need help) Can you tell me what I might be doing wrong, also,I bought some endulge chocolate bars by atkins, it says that it only has 2 carb grams...but, I read the back and it says 16 gram of total carbs but, someone told me that I can subtract the 3 grams of fiber and the 11 grams of sugar alcohol which would make it 2 grams...is that true? I'm SO confused, can you help??? I have cut out my salads until my strips go to a deep purple, but I still think that I might need to do something different...Can ANYONE help me please!!!!THANK YOU...sorry that this is so long...but, I appreciate your help! THANKS!!!!

Are you breastfeeding as your childs main source of food right now? If so, you really should only be doing the maint phase.

Jenn

Yes subtract the fiber and sugar to bring you to the actual count of 2 g's. But if your in Induction honey, you really should skip the bars for now. They stall most people. You have to have at least 20'g in form of vege's.

Can you post a typical days menu so we can pinpoint where you might be going wrong.

Hang in there, and congratulations on the new baby and soon to be wedding.

And if your breastfeeding, you should probably be doing Maintence phase. IMO.

No...I can't breastfeed...thanks for your concern though :0)

Hey girl,
Welcome! Atkins has changed my life and I love this WOE (way of eating). If you stick with it, it will pay off. Hey, but concerning the strips, testing for ketosis is either "Your in it" or "Your not". The darker color purple may even mean your a lil dehydrated and need to drink more water. Showing up just even a little trace is, yes, your in ketosis. I test light pink most days because I drink so much water, the days I skip out, I'm much darker.
And dont worry, its been said on this forum that guys sometimes have an easier time losing. Be it their metabolism, their make up, whatever. But dont compare yourself to your husband, your doing GREAT! A 5 pound lost is wonderful and it means your doing something right, just keep that up.
And..the endulge chocolate bar may have 2 "net" carbs but those other carbs are sugar alcohols which stall many, INCLUDING ME =) That might be a reason your not losing as much. They are also a No-No for induction as well. Once your through induction, you can add one in slowly and see how you react with it. I eat one every once in a blue moon and if you just HAVE to have something chocolate, GO FOR IT. Its much better than reaching for the real thing if you really just have to have chocolate.
And also..cutting out your salads wouldnt be the way to go. Salad is VERY low in carbs and you need your veggies for the day. This is VERY important. I really doubt that cutting out your salad will help anything but even hinder your weight loss.
Just keep it up and make sure your eating your veggies and drink enough water and you'll be fine..and cut out those sugar alcohols for awhile..I bet once you do that you'll REALLY see a difference. Hope I"ve helped you a lil! Good Luck!
Brittany

heidismile, it says in your profile, you have read "Atkins", which one was that? Anyhow, I'll try and answer your questions.


It is quite normal to not lose weight for a few days after losing. You need to give your body a chance to catch up.


You cannot measure your weightloss against your fiance's, especially because women lose SLOWER than men do. Also congrats on the new baby!


First of all, why are you even eating the LC candy? You should really stick to a clean, whole food induction for at LEAST the first 2 weeks.


Cutting out your salads is one of the worst things you can do. The vegetables and lettuce's are where you get your carbs from that you CAN eat!

The best thing to do, is first, open an account at http://www.fitday.com to keep track of your food intake. Atkins is a high fat diet, you burn the fat you eat, to burn the fat on your body. Keep a ratio of about 70-75% fat, 20-25% protein and 5-10% carbs.

melissa

Congratulations on your new baby girl!!!!! Stay healthy for her -- I know exactly how you feel in wanting to be a certain weight by a certain date but I promise that if you follow this WOE properly you will feel better, look better and be healthier even if you don'tt get to your goal by July.

First things first -- I believe that you may have to reset your expectations -- it will be very challenging to lose 60 pounds in 4 months. This is not a quick weight loss diet. Everyone loses at their own pace -- you cannot necessarily decide what that pace will be even if you do Atkins perfectly.

Your Husband has lost more because larger people lose faster than smaller ones and in general men lose faster than women.

First tip is to skip the bars -- the sugar alcohols can cause severe cramping and diarrhea AND, for some people, they cause weight loss to halt. You are better off eating real food.

Second tip is to eat your salad! Not eating salad (or other veggies) will not help you lose -- in fact it will just make things more difficult because your body needs the fiber and nutrients. Going below 20 gms carbs will NOT make you lose faster...in fact some people have stalled because they went too low in carbs. You might want to go to Fitday.com and keep track of carbs there.

Drink your water, eat PLENTY of fat and be patient with yourself. The good news it that with this WOE you will look smaller at a higher weight than if you were eating in the traditional low fat, high carb way.

Take care of yourself. Ask more questions here. We are all here to support you!!! Best wishes.

First of all thank you ALL for your kind words, brittnay, you just make me smile!!! you have such an upbeat personallity! I love it!!! ok here is my menu

Morning
Eggs and bacon with crystal light

snacks either cheese or sugar free jello

Lunch
Tuna, bacon, pork rinds, more crystal light

Snack
Olives, cheese, turkey

Dinner
Pork or chicken, or steak
Broccoli with cheese, olives

Snack at night, usually the atkins ice cream, half cup 4 grams of carbs no sugars.

Thank you all for your help, you truely made me smile!

I would get rid of the jello, crystal light, and pork rinds and oh my GOD the ice cream even if it is Atkins for now. for first 2 weeks at least of Induction.

Use more fats too. Olive oil or coconut oil, this sustains you longer so your not hungry all the time and I find I lose alot quicker when my fat intake is up to at least 80%.

Good luck,

OK thank you...I will cut those out! :0) Wow, I just love this support...I tell people that I'm on this diet and all I get is ...that diet is sooooo bad for you. I know that it's just lack of knowledge that makes people say that. I am so happy that I found this site..thanks again for everything...also..any idea for dinner tonight :0)

Check out the kitchen threads. Go to HOME above and then scroll down. You'll find so many YUMMY plates there.

I personally eat alot of chicken and steak, cooked, no drenched in oil.

Hey, we are all going through the same thing, so your sure to find all the support you need here. You landed in the right forum.

Hugs,

OK I will check that out. How do I add people to my buddy list, when I try to do so, it says I don't have permission to do it. I would like to add you if that is ok? Im learning the things that I can do here...Im so excited :0)

On my post or anyone else's you want to add click on their buddy icon, not yours.

This should add them to your list.

Then next to your log in name everytime you log on it'll say, New Post, Today's Post and Buddy list.......whenever you want to write to a person on your buddy list just click on Buddy list from there and all the names will pop up of the one's you've chosen. Simple huh?

Have a great day.

If you still can't do it then maybe you need to have a certain amount of post before it allows you to do it. Meaning you may have to post more till you reach some number that will enable you to use the buddy system.

I think!

Just in case it doesn't work.

Yup, you need to have 25 posts to use the functions, i.e. Private Messaging, Signatures, etc.