At a Loss

[Roadwalker]

My first two weeks have been a struggle. The craving I could handle they would go away the same with muscle soreness and fatiuge but this morning I was down only 2lbs. ? You may ask what have i been eating well its averages out around 1800 -2200 cal and is about 60% fat 40% protein I dont eat more than 10-15 gram of carbs for fear giving in to cravings. My clothes feel less tight and my hunger has gone away in the last two days I bet I"ve only eaten around 1000-1200 cal a day.
I thought i would be happy with a pound a week but this is induction and its supposed to slow down from here. I'm at a loss and losing motovation. has anyone else lost this litttle in induction? I've got 98lbs to go and at least im not gaining but the fear, for me, is only two pounds away. Could use all the advice I can get.

[potatofree]

Could you list the foods you're eating? 10 grams is really not enough carbs, and it DOES matter where they come from.

Maybe someone can spot a problem and help you along!

[RCFletcher]

Hi Roadwalker,

have you done low fat, low calorie diets before? If so it could be that your body is using all that lovely protein you're eating now to repair damage done to it before. If it is rebuilding muscle you won't notice much weight loss but the fat will still be going away.

I'd aim for 70% fats, 25% protein and 5% carbs if I were you. Increase the mayo (for fats) and allow the full 20g of carbs (which should be coming from salad and veggies by the way).

1000 - 1200 calories is n't enough. You body might think you are starving it and start to hang onto all the fat it can rather than burning it!

Think healthy food. a salad or veggies with every meal. Lots of nice fatty meat. Avoid special low carb bars or any of that type of thing.

Drink loads of water. The 8 times 8 ounces a day is a minimum. As you have a lot to lose it should be more.

Take up some excercise - even if it's only walking around the block.

Be patient - we are looking for a long term healthier you for the rest of your life - not a quick fix.

Good luck.

[Roadwalker]

I'm feeling better this evening. The weight is not really as important as I would have thought. This is not my first time with low carb. I did it for a month about 3 years ago but i was unable to give up the carb foods. Big time addicted. So this WOE is more to avoid the crash binge eating cyle than to lose weight. I thought a pound a week would be great and that's what i've averaged.
I tend to be a perfectionist so I'm not keeping a food record. If I did a missed day or serveing would, in my mind at least become a unrecoverable failure.
I have been able to get a few days of typical eating down at food day. Thats how i got my calori and percintile info. I eat Two meals a day Ya i know i should eat more but its better than the one mega meal i used to eat."like a whole faimily size pizza" Meal one could be 2 or 3 eggs with 1oz cheese and 2 strips bacon thick Or 6oz of meat and a cup of raw spinich. The second meal can be a big salad of dark greens mostly raw spinich 5-6 cups with 12 oz of fatty meat pork or beef. Latly Ive gotten some salomi and have 4oz of that with 3oz of cheese and call it a meal oh I put like 4-5 tablespoons of dressing on the huge salad but its homemade low carb like 1 gram of carb per tablespoon. I also have had 4 light beers over the two weeks. Today was another low hunger day so I ate like 1200 cal's. Its weird i eat somthing and my hunger goes away. Most of the time it goes away before I'm done with my plate. Before I would eat tell i was physically stuffed and then still be hungery for about an hour. Well thank's for the advice I'll try and be a bad politician and stay the course.

[Karen]

So this WOE is more to avoid the crash binge eating cyle than to lose weight. I hear 'ya, but I think you'll be really happy with the fat loss side effect. :)

What might work for you - and it also keeps your metabolism running high - is splitting your meals into 5-6 smaller ones a day. It works well for recovering carb addicts because it also keeps your blood sugar stable. Remember to drink tons of water.

It's weird when you start and realize what true hunger is like and what it's like to actually feel full. I found it to be one of the most liberating things I had ever experienced in my life!

Karen

[odyssey]

Fitday.com allows you to go back to the day before(even months before) and put in your food or exercise so if you forget to do it one day you can go back and fill it in.

[JRichards]

Keep Deli meats like salomi to a minimum and try and cut down on your veggie intake. Take a look at the acceptable food list on the Atkins site. It is really helpful!! (to me anyways)
Also for sweet cravings I make light jello and whip up some whipping cream with splenda.
Good Luck!!

[odyssey]

ummm .. NO do not cut down on Your veggie intake, just make certain you are getting Your 20 carbs per day.

[cs_carver]

I had to let go of the thought of quitting altogether. Made a decision to be here for 90 days before even thinking about changing and when that passed, made a decision to stick it for a year. 7 months into it now. There is SO much relearning!!!!! And for some of that, my body needed to be fat or there would have been too much going on to handle. At least, that's what I believe now. I've learned to adjust to the clear head. The higher energy level. The lack of food cravings. The lack of hunger. Shopping in different aisles, carrying different snacks; etc etc and so forth.

The longer I stay here the more I learn, too. Just bonked on a tiny little bit of corn syrup--something that NEVER would have broken through the general state of fog before. Now, it's a totally UNACCEPTABLE hangover and I'll never eat corn syrup again (to the best of my ability).

Stick around. It sure is better than any alternative. I didn't gain the weight overnight and my life won't be very much different if it takes three more months or two to get the next 5 or 6# off.

[kathroon]

Although I am in the second week of my induction and making good progress, I have to agree with everyone else. The best thing about Atkins is that it puts you in touch with the real feeling of hunger. cs_carver said it great!! I can identify with what you are feeling. I used to stuff myself till I was so full and feeling sick. It is really a great feeling to be liberated from that behavior. Anyways good luck and keep trying... remember you may have to keep looking at what is contributing to your weight loss slowdown and make changes. Not everyone metabolizes the same way.

[Roadwalker]

Any advice on how much I should be eating. Today was another light eating day maybe 1200cals. I could eat more but It wouldnt be for hunger in fact I have'nt felt hunger for 5 days. Well I shouldnt say no hunger its just this new hunger is somthing I can say "no not right now maybe later" to. Eating 10 cal per pound would put me close to 3000cals and i just cant fathom that much. Well maybe I could but it woulnt be low carb.
Thanks for all the insightfull comments. I will try to use foodday and will drink plenty of water.

[kathroon]

Isn't that great to see your hunger in a whole new light and be in control of it? That is fantastic!! Don't force yourself to eat when you don't want to. It will all happen in due time when your body adjusts to all the changes you are putting it through. Good luck!!! Keep us updated with your successes!!!!!! We love to hear them.

[odyssey]

I too had a difficult time getting enough calories in in the beginning and there was no way i could fathom eating almost 4000 calories back then lol
What I did instead was found some places online that calculate one's basal metabolic rate(bmr). I then took that figure and "tried" to average that amount of calories per day. I didn't always make it but as time went on it was easier to choose foods that would put me around that level most days. Many people believe that if you *consistently* stay below your bmr your body will go into starvation mode and weight loss will be slower. From reading this forum I would say that one's mileage will vary on this, possibly depending on how much low-calorie dieting the person has done in the past. Your doctor can perform more accurate bmr testing on you to find out *your* specific bmr and you can then multiply this by a percentage according to your activity level to see how much you burn per day.

As to how to up one's calories if they need to, i added more fat to my diet(after reading a very informative thread about it on this forum). I started cooking my vegetables in butter or bacon grease and i switched from the extra lean ground beef i had been accustomed to, to ground round which has a higher fat content. i still haven't been able to often eat the ones higher in fat content though, like ground chuck very often. Additions like this increased my calories and my fat percentage without necessarily increasing the volume of food i was eating.