Starts Out Great Then Really Sucks!!

[Willam]

:mad: Sorry but I’m getting really frustrated with this Atkins diet. Like so many others, the first few weeks of the diet are great and the pounds fly off. Then the weight loss simply stops and there is little that can be done to start the loss again. It’s at this point that so many people, in frustration, try the off the wall fasts and such to start the loss again. I’ve read about the water, egg, meat, fat and so on fasts. I just refuse to do extreme things like this.

I’ve been on the diet for almost 5 months now and I’m really getting sick of the meat, eggs and vegetables. How many ways can this be prepared and still taste good. And why should I care anymore if I’m doing low carb and still not losing. I have not lost one pound in 3 months!!!

I thank Dr. Atkins for the great start but would have to tell him that after the beginning, his diet really sucks! There has to be a better way.

Bill

[LilaCotton]

Willam, I know frustration--am going through it myself. I'm still not ready to throw my hands up just yet because I know if I return to my old way of eating I'm going to go through blood sugar problems and gain back all if not more than the weight I've lost so far.

As far as food goes, what part of it are you having problems with? Have you checked the recipe section? There's a lot more to eating this way than meat, eggs and veggies. Basically, we've thrown out the flavorless foods and replaced them with things that taste really good. Do you eat burgers wrapped in lettuce instead of bread? That's how I eat them and didn't know burgers could taste so good. Sure, I miss the fries or onion rings sometimes, but this way of eating doesn't dictate we remove them from our lives completely. Have you read 'Atkins for Life'? If not, pick it up at your local library and take a gander through it. It has great menu ideas as well as showing foods to eat liberally, in moderation, and sparingly. Some of my favorite foods are ones that if I ever manage to get this weight off, I will be able to add back sparingly--and those are the foods that shouldn't be eaten in heavy doses anyway. ;)

[Aprilellen]

Willam are you drinking plenty of water and excercising or reading the lables of everything you eat you could be putting yourself into a stall without even knowing it if your eating franken foods stop for awhile or up your water start a journal so that maybe someone can help you start losing again dont blame atkins for your stall or platau it happens to everyone at one time or another you might need to go back over everything you ate for the past 3 months give it a try what can it hurt...Aprilellen

[CindySue48]

It is tough.....and frustrating.

For help, try posting some of you daily food intakes. Exercise routine too. There are a lot of people on this board that are great at spotting things that can interfere with your weight. Or maybe you need to increase your carb level a bit. Some members have reported an increase in weight loss when they temporarily up their carb levels for a short time. Or your goal! 180# for a 6'tall man (by your profile #s) is a good size, especially if you're physically fit.

Hang in there. You're eating healthier and doing good for your body. That's important.

[Chairface]

Hey William,

Sorry to hear Atkins isn't all you hoped for. There are many low-carb plans out there now, perhaps you would be happier trying something like CKD or South Beach.

Also maybe your goal weight is just too low, I am also 6 feet tall and I think 165lbs would be very hard for me to reach. Approximatly 15 years ago I lost all my exess weight on Nutri-System. At goal I was 185, and I was very thin (not very healthy though). You know yourself better than anybody though, but something to think about. Have you had your bodyfat % measured by a pro?

I wish you luck in whatever you choose to do.

[Lisa N]

Willam, I was thinking along the same lines as Nelson. 165 is a very low goal weight for someone who is 6 feet tall and male. Perhaps your body thinks it's already at a good weight and is resisting further weight loss for that reason?

[bfdzio]

I must say, I got to 165 as a 6 foot BIG male...not one of those real small people.

You know the secret if you're stalled and can afford it, take a break. Some people will consider this a bad idea, but in my experience, I never did a weekly low-carb and not lost, and now i'm down to 165 from 245. Take a break, then come back, or do a CKD.

[nowonder]

There are many factors that may cause a stall on this diet, as indicated by the questions above... And there are a lot of people on this forum who have been there before you. We can help.

So what phase of Atkins are you in? How many carbs a day are you having? How often do you cheat, if at all? What kind of exercise are you doing? How much water? Are you on any medications? Are you taking any vitamins? Have your measurements changed?

Weight loss does slow down as you get closer to your goal, but it shouldn't stop for 3 months unless that is the right weight for your height. I highly recommend you put a few days worth of food into fitday.com, then post a link to it here.

--nw

[Willam]

Thank you all for your suggestions and support. I have read each reply many times seeking an answer to my problems with Atkins. Again, I thank you all.

My typical diet varies very little from day to day.

Yesterday
Breakfast
½ cup measured Fiber One Cereal
1 Multi Vitamin
Lunch
8 Shrimp & 2 Scallops
Dinner
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 cup frozen vegetables. (I have a freezer full of them)
3 Ritz Crackers

Today
Breakfast
½ cup measured Fiber One Cereal
1 Multi Vitamin
Lunch
1 can of green beans with 1 tablespoon of alfredo sauce.
Dinner (later)
2 small fish patties. Sometimes it’s chicken or beef.
1 cup frozen vegetables or tossed salad.
Probably 2 eggs.

During the last 5 months I have NEVER tasted any kind of diet bar, diet shake, dessert, cookie, cake or sweet thing of any kind. I have had about 5 slices of low carb bread. I did have one serving of Dreamfields pasta (Wonderful). I have never had any kind of regular soda. I do not eat nuts or snacks and during the 5 months a potato or bean has never touched my lips. My rule has simply been that if it’s starchy, made with flour or contains any form of sugar then it’s off limits. I have had about 6 fast food hamburgers but have always tossed the buns. I have also eaten at a buffet several times but ONLY have broiled fish and large salad. On rare occasion I’ve had sugar free Jell-O or an avocado. I also avoid fruit because of the high sugar content.

There’s something inherently wrong with this diet It’s not only myself that has encountered this problem. On this forum and others there are hundreds of other people that have found out this diet simply stops working after the initial loss. I don’t know about other diets as this is the only one I’ve ever tried. It seems that this low carb diet just does not work for some people as they near their goal. In reality I guess it never really was about carbs anyway. Cutting out the carbs is just a method to reduce calories by eliminating the foods that contains the most calories. So for me it looks like I’ll be returning DANDR to the bookshelf and become a calorie counting kind of guy. How many calories are in a potato anyway?

Cheers
Bill

[Lisa N]

My typical diet varies very little from day to day.

Yesterday
Breakfast
½ cup measured Fiber One Cereal
1 Multi Vitamin
Lunch
8 Shrimp & 2 Scallops
Dinner
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 cup frozen vegetables. (I have a freezer full of them)
3 Ritz Crackers

Today
Breakfast
½ cup measured Fiber One Cereal
1 Multi Vitamin
Lunch
1 can of green beans with 1 tablespoon of alfredo sauce.
Dinner (later)
2 small fish patties. Sometimes it’s chicken or beef.
1 cup frozen vegetables or tossed salad.
Probably 2 eggs.

Willam...if that's what you've typically been eating, then I'm concerned. The calorie levels of those menus is VERY low. I input what you listed above into Fitday and day one came to a total of 15 grams of carb and 420 calories.
Day two came to 24 grams of carb and 570 calories.
Your protein intake is also very low for a male of your size (41 grams of protein per day for day 1 and 60 grams of protein for day 2 assuming roughy 6 oz of fish for dinner since you said the portions were small). On the first day you listed, you only had an adequate amount of protein for lunch and on your second day, you didn't eat any protein until dinner.
If you want to give up low carb and just go to counting calories, that's up to you, but before you do you might want to consider upping your calories on low carb a lot and seeing what happens. I didn't see you mention the use of any type of fats, so your calorie intake may be a bit higher than what you listed, but unless you are eating a LOT of fat, it's still pretty low.

[potatofree]

I'd like to add a couple of questions..are you eating the cereal dry, or something on it? Also, what type of vegetables are in the "mixed vegetables"?

[Ladycody]

My two cents...no wonder you're bored with your meal options! :-( I would be too. As said above...your calories are too low and I dont see enough leafy green veggies (preferably dark...arugala & spinach?) You can give up Atkins..but I honestly think you could enjoy this WOE if you shake things up a bit in your diet. Quick sample of how I eat and decide if it sounds better than where you're at:

Breakfast:
poached eggs on spinach with a touch of hollandaise OR
low-carb wrap with sauteed veggies & avacado OR
quick snack on grilled chicken from fridge (I do this alot because I'm never tremendously hungry in the morning) OR
1/2 an Atkins Advantage bar (PB) with decaf coffee OR
omlette with fresh veggies & chive cream cheese


Lunch:
Grilled chicken ceasar salad OR
2 slices of roast beef wrapped around arugala with bleu cheese OR
low-carb wrap with grilled chicken and avacado (tsp salsa) OR
Leftover steak cut up into a salad with bleu cheese or ranch OR
Tunafish (or chicken salad) with celery for scooping OR
Spinach salad with crum bled bleu cheese, almond slivers, and garlic/shitake dressing

Dinner:
Steak with ceasar salad OR
Grilled chicken with salad and bleu cheese or ranch OR
Chicken sauteed with fresh veggies and garlic OR
Salmon with alfredo sauce and a veggie or salad

How do those options sound?

Now...couple of notes...I never have more than 4 low-carb wraps a week and never more than one a day (I worry about a possible stall). Also...my menu may look labor intensive...but I cook most of what I eat in 1 or two sessions a week. In other words I'll grill a bunch of chicken and maybe a steak and piece of salmon to have in the fridge so that I can make a meal quickly and only have to cook once or twice a week. Hope you feel a little better about where you're going...whichever route you take. :-)

[Ladycody]

ROFL....just read my own post...can you tell I like bleu cheese?!?!?! LOL...well...obviously you could substitute any dressing or sauce etc that makes you happy there. (goes off to bed chuckling)

[Quinadal]

ROFL....just read my own post...can you tell I like bleu cheese?!?!?! LOL...well...obviously you could substitute any dressing or sauce etc that makes you happy there. (goes off to bed chuckling)
Why? Bleu cheese is the cheese of the gods! :p

[mio1996]

William, I agree with Lisa whole-heartedly. If your only eating 400-600 calories per day (and part of that is Ritz Crackers?) then your body is fighting tooth and nail to hang on to your fat stores--it thinks you are surviving a famine! You probably need more protein and more fat. Chances are that will fix your stall!

[LUCKYLADY]

Willam...if that's what you've typically been eating, then I'm concerned. The calorie levels of those menus is VERY low. I input what you listed above into Fitday and day one came to a total of 15 grams of carb and 420 calories.
Day two came to 24 grams of carb and 570 calories.
Your protein intake is also very low for a male of your size (41 grams of protein per day for day 1 and 60 grams of protein for day 2 assuming roughy 6 oz of fish for dinner since you said the portions were small). On the first day you listed, you only had an adequate amount of protein for lunch and on your second day, you didn't eat any protein until dinner.
If you want to give up low carb and just go to counting calories, that's up to you, but before you do you might want to consider upping your calories on low carb a lot and seeing what happens. I didn't see you mention the use of any type of fats, so your calorie intake may be a bit higher than what you listed, but unless you are eating a LOT of fat, it's still pretty low.

I agree....You are eating way below the calories you need to burn fat! A man of your size should be taking in a minimum of 1800 calories. Also you need to add more fats.....You are essentially starving yourself....If your body feels like it's being starved it will become very stingy and not give up an oz of fat....I guarantee that if you up your calories you will lose and you won't be so bored with the food choses....Try a huge T-bone or sirloin steak with veggies and a huge salad....Also you can have some fruits....I love my strawberries and cream. I just made bacon wrapped chichen breast cover with swiss cheese....doesn't that sound good.....with the way you are eating I would be bored too.....Do you like eggs? I eat eggs everyday and haven't gotten tired of them yet.

[Chairface]

There’s something inherently wrong with this diet So for me it looks like I’ll be returning DANDR to the bookshelf and become a calorie counting kind of guy.


Hey Bill,

Sorry to hear you are giving up, I wish you well in whatever you choose to do.


As for something inherently wrong with this diet, I agree with you. What is wrong is that most people don't really take the time to find out about the plan they are following and do it properly. You may be returning DANDR to the shelf, too bad you didn't take the time to read it through first. :( I think this is where Low-carb gets its bad reputation. People follow their own plan, don't get the results and then tell everyone they know "Yeah, I tried that low carb. It don't work!" Pick a plan, follow it to the letter and then make judgements.

If you are going to become the calorie counting kind a guy then take a well meaning suggestion and eat some more calories! IMHO many people worry too much about "starvation mode" when really their problems lie elsewhere, but in your case it may be the answer. Those were some really low totals for daily food amounts.


Last time I checked Ritz Crackers are not Low Carb. :D

[Willam]

Hi Nelson,

I know your intentions are good but I’ve read DANDR more times than I can count. Remember, I’ve been doing this for 5 months and sadly found out that near my goal, it simply does not work. I’ve tried many things suggested on this forum such as increasing my fat intake ( I love full fat cream cheese with vanilla and Splenda). The only thing that did was it cause my weight to start increasing. High fat means only one thing. High calories!!! I’ve tried increasing my carbs. That worked well at starting another weight increase because higher carbs means only one thing, Higher calories!! I’ve tried to increase my exercise with power walking and my stationary bike. That made me feel better but did nothing to restart the weight loss. I drink enough water each day to float a small duck. It hasn’t helped any to restart the loss but my skin is much softer.

Dr. Atkins says on page 18,

“And if you eat fewer calories -------- you’ll likely loose weight even faster.”

So even he knew that at the end of the day, when all else fails, it’s all about the calories. I simply have no choice but to try a LOW CARB/LOW FAT way of eating to restart the loss that I want. (Low carb/Low Fat can only mean low calorie).

My menu today ,

Breakfast
½ cup Fiber One Cereal w/skim milk.

Lunch
1 Egg
1can of green beans with 1 tablespoon of alfredo sauce for flavor.
1 slice of lean pork loin

Dinner
Hamburger Patty
Small Cesar salad
1 Egg
Perhaps 3 Ritz crackers for dessert. (I love those things so I’m sure their low carb)

I realize that my current numbers are very low but this is only for the short term. So far I feel great and seem to have no problems. I'm not starving!! To get the ball rolling again, I simply have to do something drastic. I lost great on Atkins for the first 2 months. Now as I’m near my goal, I haven’t lost anything for 3 months. That’s a long time to practice a diet and not loose even one pound. It’s really sad that he didn’t do a better job of addressing this problem in his book. Perhaps he didn’t because he knew that for some people, this diet simply does not work well toward the end.

Good luck with your diet.

Cheers
Bill

On Edit I just found this thread. Wish I had found it sooner.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=178541&page=1

[loserbaby]

I'm sorry but I just can't get over the ritz cracker thing. Crackers, like preztles, are some of the highest carb foods out there 5 crackers= 50 carbs. William, if you had read DANDR soo many times then i'm sure you are familiar w/ the part that gives stories of some people who had to spend two years on induction, while others moved on to 50 carbs a day instantly. Atkins never said that weight loss was equal or fair. Also, the skim milk is not the best for lc, it's better to water down cream. Why do you not have more protein in your breakfast? And a whole can of green beans? Again way too many carbs. Do you check the ingredients on your hamburger patties b/c some actually have 15 carbs or more each. W/ the Alfredo, is it homemade? b/c most storebrands have h/c thickening agents. I'm not going to knock lower calory w/ low carb b/c I only eat 1500 cal at max most days(mostly because I'm a student and very busy, no time to eat), but if you really want do do something drastic go back to a no-lc product induction for a few weeks. Also, have you tried oil of oregeno? It kicked me out of my stall. Also, since you excercise so much, maybe you should be measuring bodyfat and not pounds, or inches, since you might gain muscle mass. Finally, although 5 months of sticking to any WOE is commedable, it does not make your knowledge of Atkins complete and infalible. I've done it for seven months, but am completely aware that there are sooo many people on this thread/forum who have been doing it for years and know more than I do.

[kyrie]

I agree that weight loss can slow down for a lot of folks, but I have yet to see someone who truly stalled while following the plan correctly.

Your Ritz crackers are just not Atkins, and you know it. If you're eating them (at least, before hitting lifetime maintenance) then you're not doing Atkins. Skim milk is also very high in carbs, and not typically a part of Atkins.

What's your CCCL? Have you calculated that? You are in OWL, right?

Moderation of caloric intake is fine on Atkins, but it's not like the less calories, the better. The more calories you consume, the higher your metabolism! You need to find the level of caloric intake in which you maintain a caloric deficit, but you keep your metabolism high. 1600 is probably a good place, but 500 is really not.

If you don't like Atkins, that's fine-- do something else. However, I wouldn't say that Atkins has failed to work for you, because from what you posted, you're not doing Atkins.

[tagcaver]

William, are you really doing low carb if you're eating Fiber One cereal every day? (I've pasted the nutritional information for it below.) Even with a half-cup serving (probably around 100 g) you're getting 33 grams of net carbs to start off with.

I've totaled the carbs for your last daily menu. It's a total of 60 grams, and that's if there's no fillers in your burger patty as another poster suggested. I assume you're on pre-maintenance? At this rate of carbs intake you would be losing very slowly, if at all. So try and lower your carbs and you might find that you begin to lose after all. I would start with getting rid of the ritz crackers and the cereal.


The bottom line is, however, if you're eating 60 or so grams of carbs a day, don't expect rapid weight loss.



Breakfast
½ cup Fiber One Cereal w/skim milk. (33 carbs/100 g + 3 g)

Lunch
1 Egg (.56 g)
1can of green beans with 1 tablespoon of alfredo sauce for flavor. ( 6.8 g + 1.6 g)
1 slice of lean pork loin

Dinner
Hamburger Patty
Small Cesar salad (4.7 g/1cup)
1 Egg (.56 g)
Perhaps 3 Ritz crackers for dessert. (I love those things so I’m sure their low carb) (10 grams)
Nutrition Facts For a 100g serving: Calories: 1979.85%Total Fat: 1.766g8.83%Sodium: 429mg17.8%Cholesterol: 0mg0%Total Carbohydrate: 81g 27%Potassium: 774 Dietary Fiber: 48 Sugar: 0 Protein: 8 Water: 3.64 Alcohol: 0 Caffeine: 0

[nikkil]

Well, all I can say is that I agree with the posts before me. I have been following Atkins since Dec 1/03 and I have only had a "true" stall for about 2 weeks in January, which is very common to do at about the 3-4 week mark of doing Atkins.

I could say that I "stalled" at the end of March and then I "stalled" again at the end of May, but I wasn't following the plan. I'm not blaming Atkins or anybody else for the fact that I chose the wrong foods and was not losing weight. It wasn't rocket science - I didn't follow the plan so I didn't get the results!

OTOH, I do have to say that 60 g ECC isn't bad at all if you're working out a lot, especially weight training, and I believe you mentioned that you are quite an exerciser???

I agree with the others - cut out the cereal, the ritz crackers and eat more food.

I do agree with you that calories matter, that eating plenty of protein and fat and keeping carbs low helps to restrict calories by making you not feel hungry for longer stretches and to be happy with less food. I would not argue with that - BUT I think it would be better if you found out what your BMR is, etc., to make sure your lack of cals. isn't sabotaging your goal. I've found several times that I'll be going below 1000 cals/day for awhile (unintentionally) and won't lose much, then boost my cals to around 1400 and wham, I drop 2 lbs instantly. It's not about gorging and eating everything in sight as long as it's LC (which I suspect some "stallers" do) but more about making sure you have enough cals to keep your engine running but not too much so that you're storing it.

Anyway, good luck in whatever you decide :)

Nicole

ps -- sometimes when I'm contemplating going back to low cal/low fat ie: Weight Watchers, I wonder if it's my carb addiction trying to luring me into eating carbs :p

[LUCKYLADY]

From what I have read this seems like a case of you failing at low carbing rather than low carbing failing you.

[Hungry247]

I'm a newbie (day 12 induction) but I just wanted you to look at this

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=189755

Also, according to a BMR calculator I saw somewhere
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=190201

I need abot 2010 calories a day. The most exercise I get is going to the bathroom due to my water consumption. Granted what I'm losing is probably water and who's to say I won't be where you are in 5 years but it just sounds to me like your not eating enough of the right stuff.

IMHO

[LC-Laur]

In the words of Mrs. Claus... "Eat pappa, eat!" Your body is in starvation mode and it's not going to drop one pound until you start treating it properly. I got on a kick of only like 600 cals per day and stalled for a month... Started eating right and lost another 15 pounds. I'm now very close to my goal and thrilled. I don't starve and my diet is very satisfying. I, too, love bleu cheese, and feta, and cheddar, and goat, and swiss, and brie, and EVERY TYPE. They are great in and on everything. If you're not a natural at cooking I'd suggest getting a great low carb cookbook (15 Minute Low Carb Meals is great if you're short on time). And don't forget your vegi's. This is not a meat only diet, regardless of what many say. Yes, protein is in integral part, but plenty of salad, zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, certain squashes, cabbage, bok choy, turnips, rutabaga and 90% of the vegi's in this world. They are at your disposal, forget the frozen fare unless it's winter and nothing's available. Believe me, your tounge will be thrilled with fresh!

P.S. Don't eat lots of cookies like Santa... Mrs. Claus wasn't right in that department. (c;

[patricia52]

And from someone who has tried WW twice, I can assure you that it is quite normal for someone to "stall" at the same weight for weeks at a time.
However, I agree with those who advise you to eat more.

[onehotmama]

William my only advice is to really up the green leafy veggies, and leave alone the frankenfood/ritz crackers etc...go back to basics - eggs for breakfast, huge salad for lunch, meat and veggies and salad for dinner kind of thing - drink your 10 - 12 glasses of water, and get some excersize...this WILL work for you...

[thinmom2b]

Your body is in starvation mode. You need to eat more. Maybe you should do a refeed. Eat alot of high calorie high carb food for a day or two then start again.

I am kinda concerned and wonder if you may have a eating disorder of some sorts.

[LUCKYLADY]

Do refeeds really work????

[kyrie]

Refeeds are used by bodybuilders, but I don't know if they're ever really safe or appropriate.

I think thinmom meant that since William is in starvation mode, he's going to have to eat more in order to lose any weight... but I don't think a refeed is appropriate, since it's a temporary carb overload that wacks out your blood sugar.

I think it would be a lot safer for William just to up his calorie intake to at least 1600 a day (or 1800 or 2000) and stay there.

[LUCKYLADY]

Thanks Kyrie.....Not that I was planning on trying it. I was just curious because I've read this term more than once here and wasn't sure if that sort of thing really worked. The amount of carbs I can take in and continue to lose weight is very low at 35 carbs I gain if I stay around 30 I maintain but if I stick to 20-25 I lose....Not sure why? Anyone know why?....That makes me very leary of carbs.

[Willam]

I’ M GOING FOR IT!!!

I’ve read your much appreciated advice and suggestions many times. I suspect that your correct and perhaps I‘m stalled because of this starvation mode. I’ve decided to try this REFEED thing and I’ve done it. My last two dinners are as follows.

Dinner 1 ~ CHEVYS MEXICAN RESTAURANT
Refried beans
Spanish rice
2 Chicken Tacos
1 Chicken Enchilada
Some kind of sweet corn thing
Large bowl of chips with salsa.

Snack
6 Ritz Crackers

Dinner 2 ~ BOSTON MARKET.
Chicken breast dipped in batter then deep fried.
Huge serving of mashed potatoes. ( I asked for extra )
All covered with country gravy
Wonderful piece of cornbread

Snack
6 Ritz Crackers

Breakfast both days
2 hard boiled eggs
Lunch both days
Dreamfields Pasta with 2 Tablespoons Carb Options Alfredo sauce.
Brussel Sprouts with 2 Tablespoons Carb Options Alfredo sauce.

PRAY FOR ME!!!

William

[Lisa N]

Willam, I wish you the best of luck but I also wanted to warn you so that you don't panic that eating a high carb diet for a few days (and increasing your calories quite a bit as well) could result in a temporary weight gain.
Once you are done with your refeed, I'd suggest going back to a healthy level of calories with controlled carb and sticking with that instead of going back to very low calorie again.
Good luck!

[LUCKYLADY]

Willam, I wish you the best of luck but I also wanted to warn you so that you don't panic that eating a high carb diet for a few days (and increasing your calories quite a bit as well) could result in a temporary weight gain.
Once you are done with your refeed, I'd suggest going back to a healthy level of calories with controlled carb and sticking with that instead of going back to very low calorie again.
Good luck!
I agree.....once your refeed is done don't even think about calories for a while!!! Just stick to 20 grams of carbs per day and I'm sure you'll lose! Don't worry about the weight gained during your refeed it's mostly water weight and will come off fairly easy I promise!

[Willam]

:) Just a quick follow up regarding the two day refeed. It’s now 5 days after the last pig out day and I’ve lost 4 pounds. It’s truly amazing.

Dr. A should have put this refeed thing in his book.

Thank you all for your help.

William

[Cara73]

Congrats on your new loss, William. The people here are truly amazing. I'm glad everything worked out for you!! Keep it up!!!

[LUCKYLADY]

Congrats on you loss william....Can I ask how you are eating now?

[idontno]

hey a change is not allways good, but it is allways different:)

[pushka]

Hi everyone, I've just visited the fitday site and worked out my food stats for today...I knew that I hadn't eaten correctly as I got out of bed really late..so had brunch instead of breakfast and lunch separately...and had to go out for most of the day so had just a late supper...repeat of brunch. I was concerned about what I had eaten as it was all fried but was surprised at the results..

I ate...(in the 2 meals combined)

2 Fried eggs
4 rashers of Quorn Bacon style
6 chopped mushrooms
1 small wedge of cheese..cheddar..

my stats came out at:

Fat.......65%
Carbs....6%
Protein..29%
Calories.418

I think I will keep a regular tally of my food intake...and size of servings each day, and perhaps get a scale for measuring veg as I would normally have had a quorn slice/cheese salad at lunch and a quorn product and veg. supper instead of the fried one I had tonight...perhaps that way I would have eaten more calories and still have been better off?????

Sorry if this all sounds confused...its 3.51am here...

Michele

65%
Carbs

[pushka]

sorry people...forgot to add the carb etc. in grams!!!
Fat..... 29
Protein.29
Carb....11

hope the posting above this makes more sense now...lol. I don't wanna end up not eating enough...though I'm only at the end of my 1st week on induction at the moment...

Michele

[FromVA]

:) Just a quick follow up regarding the two day refeed. It’s now 5 days after the last pig out day and I’ve lost 4 pounds. It’s truly amazing.

Dr. A should have put this refeed thing in his book.

Thank you all for your help.

William
I'm glad this worked for you, William, but it won't work for everyone. When I first started this WOE I saw lots of references to "refeeding". I was quite interested because my weight loss is slow and, frankly, I missed stuff like pancakes. So I gave it a try. And was miserable for two days. (From what I have read, there is evidently a "right way" and "wrong way" to do this, too, which I didn't realize.) Couldn't handle the grains and the sugar...or the weight gain...or the two extra inches around my stomach from the bloating :lol:. Lots of people don't tolerate refeeds well. I hope you post again and let us know how you are doing.

[adkpam]

I'm glad things are moving again for you William...but I must admit I'm confused about something...you are are only 7 pounds away from goal...and you're complaining the diet doesn't work?

Color me confused.

[Willam]

My original goal was 165 which some members suggested was too low so I’ve raised it to170. I believe that Atkins is great for most people but for some who stall like myself, something more has to be done. In the beginning I lost great and then not one pound for about 4 months!! I can’t tell you how frustrating and discouraging that felt. It was at this point that I tired my not so scientific “Refeed”. For whatever reason, it worked and I lost 4 pounds in five days. My weight was now down to 177 and I was ecstatic.

Now for the bad news, I’m now stalled at that 177!!! True, I’ve only been stuck at this for three weeks but I’m trying my two day refeed again starting today. We’ll see what happens. Believe me, I’m not doing this as an excuse to pig out. I just don’t do things like that, but it worked before so hopefully it will again.

I admire Dr. Atkins and in the beginning his diet is great. I just wish he had left us stallers with a little more guidance.

William

[JudyMH]

Hi Bill, I'm not trying to pick on you, but am also concerned that you aren't eating enough. You also need to drink plenty of water, and you need to take supplements. I know you aren't fond of veggies but you need to find something you like and jazz them up. You can cream them, or mash them up and use them for dip. If you are comfortable cooking you can use one of the LC baking mix and roll veggies in it and deep fry all kinds of veggies. how about an LC Taco Salad. You can use the meat and veggies in a stir fry which is tasty. I have since been following CAD, but spent a couple of years going from Atkins to Protein Power. I was able to lose on the other 2 programs I just happen to enjoy CAD a little better. Everyone has to find the program that best fits there personality and Body Chemistry. Maybe you would feel better on a different program. It's worth consideration, let us know how you are doing. Judy

[Kristine]

Hey William. Good luck to you... but please don't blame Atkins for what wasn't working, because you were NOT doing Atkins. Fiber One cereal, skim milk, Ritz crackers, and going very low cal don't resemble the Atkins plan in the least. Try doing it by the book - minimum three cups of veggies, no foods that aren't on the induction list, and if you don't want to be on induction, use the foods from the carb ladder to increase carb levels.

[jimjam]

Maybe you could try adding more lower calorie lc foods to your diet - the ones you listed are all really high in calories - and add a little fruit and veggies to balance your metabolism - it always works for me when I get stuck, which, like you, I always do after a time, just as you said. I think that's super common in this diet. I go up to 60 carbs a day when that happens and watch calories, too and it hasn't failed me yet.

[trishw1213]

A half cup of cereal and a can of green beans, and that's it until a late dinner? You must be dying! You won't lose weight on any diet with this kind of calorie intake. Like mio1996 said, your body is in fat conservation mode. Eat something already!

[pookalee]

William, all the advice here is great! How is it going? One more suggestion, take some time and read through the general exercise forum. At 6 ft tall you must be pretty thin at 170, unless you are very small framed. You might want to think about weight training. If you are thin to start out with, your muscle gains would show immediately ;), and muscle burns more calories. So in a gist, you could gain muscle, a great physiche, probably eat quite a bit more than you are currently and (depending on which way you want to do it), maybe even have a few of those ritz crackers occasionally without as much damage. Just a thought. Its worth a read aint it!

[evansangel]

Holy crap William!!! How do you survive on so little to eat? LOL...I don't mean that in a mean way at all, but my dear, you are going to waste away to nothing...eat some food, boy!! :) I bet if you added some variety with different recipes...you'd love this way of life so much more. Take advantage of all the great LC recipes on here and out on the net....keep going....you'll make it. :)

[Willam]

Just another quick follow up after my second two day refeed. First off, my very unscientific “refeeds” are nothing more than two days of pigging out in restaurants. The first time I tried it, I had been stalled for four months and was very frustrated. Much to my delight, I lost four pounds in five days and broke my stall. This second time, after being stalled again for three weeks, I’ve lost another three pounds in six days. I’m sure that I’ll probably stall again and in about a month I’ll probably be back at the trough again. For whatever reason this just seems to work for me. It just goes to show you how different we all are and sometimes trying something off the wall when we hit a stall can actually work.

I’ve lost 29 pounds on Atkins and am only 9 pounds from my goal! Would I recommend a diet plan that really sucks at the end to my sister? Absolutely!!

William

[evansangel]

Wow! That's great William. :) I'm glad you got out of your rut, I know those are discouraging for sure. So, it took pigging out for two days for you to start losing weight again?!! Hmmmm....*thinks* that's sounds like fun, but I'm afraid it would have the opposite affect on me - and then I'd gain like 10 pounds back in a week. Well, anyways, keep up the good work!

[alison38]

HI William,

I just want to say that when I first started low carbing I had a lot of trouble finding different things to eat. I tended to try and do what I did before but low carb. this made it very difficult.

Then I discovered that there are millions of really delicious things to do with the allowed ingredients. I read a few recipes but I also adapt them to suit me. There are a lot here.

Vegetables, meat and eggs are all incredibly versatile- I had to learn how to use them properly. I low carb now, not so much to lose weight but because I feel better doing it and I've never had so much delicious food.

[billsd11]

William,
As tagcaver pointed out is your diet really following Atkins ? The menus that you posted don't really resemble the Atkins phases for weight loss in my opinion. The obvious suggestion is to try re-starting Induction for two weeks.
Cereal in any form is not allowed
Skim milk is not allowed
Not Ritz or anything else containing flour.
I just don't think that your diet resembles the Atkins diet at all. Clearly, you will not be in ketosis (which you could also test for using Ketostix)

On the other hand, I have been stalled for two weeks, and have complaints of my own...

good luck !

[AtkinsBOY1]

Thank you all for your suggestions and support. I have read each reply many times seeking an answer to my problems with Atkins. Again, I thank you all.

My typical diet varies very little from day to day.

Yesterday
Breakfast
½ cup measured Fiber One Cereal
1 Multi Vitamin
Lunch
8 Shrimp & 2 Scallops
Dinner
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 cup frozen vegetables. (I have a freezer full of them)
3 Ritz Crackers

Today
Breakfast
½ cup measured Fiber One Cereal
1 Multi Vitamin
Lunch
1 can of green beans with 1 tablespoon of alfredo sauce.
Dinner (later)
2 small fish patties. Sometimes it’s chicken or beef.
1 cup frozen vegetables or tossed salad.
Probably 2 eggs.

During the last 5 months I have NEVER tasted any kind of diet bar, diet shake, dessert, cookie, cake or sweet thing of any kind. I have had about 5 slices of low carb bread. I did have one serving of Dreamfields pasta (Wonderful). I have never had any kind of regular soda. I do not eat nuts or snacks and during the 5 months a potato or bean has never touched my lips. My rule has simply been that if it’s starchy, made with flour or contains any form of sugar then it’s off limits. I have had about 6 fast food hamburgers but have always tossed the buns. I have also eaten at a buffet several times but ONLY have broiled fish and large salad. On rare occasion I’ve had sugar free Jell-O or an avocado. I also avoid fruit because of the high sugar content.

There’s something inherently wrong with this diet It’s not only myself that has encountered this problem. On this forum and others there are hundreds of other people that have found out this diet simply stops working after the initial loss. I don’t know about other diets as this is the only one I’ve ever tried. It seems that this low carb diet just does not work for some people as they near their goal. In reality I guess it never really was about carbs anyway. Cutting out the carbs is just a method to reduce calories by eliminating the foods that contains the most calories. So for me it looks like I’ll be returning DANDR to the bookshelf and become a calorie counting kind of guy. How many calories are in a potato anyway?

Cheers
Bill

I dont think ritz cracker are on the atkins and same with ceral if i was u i would re read the book. Man people on this fournm never do this diet correclty is it just me or is william kidding me. ritz crakckers that like redifined carbs!

[G.I. Jane]

I don't know, I 've lost 92 pounds on this diet. I don't eat Ritz crackers or cereal everyday. Shellfish is higher in carbies than other fish. You don't specify what kinds of veggies you are eating, and when you say "fish patties", what are you using to make them? You have said that this is pretty much your daily menu so I'm not surprized that you may be having a bit of a problem.
Hope you are doing better now.

[Linny]

okay... one thing that really bothers me about people who say "I'm really getting bored eating all this meat, cheese, eggs and vegetables..." is... ummmm... what do you normally eat when you aren't low-carbing? a breakfast of snickers bars, a lunch of pop-tarts and a dinner of key lime pie is not, i repeat, NOT a diet.

or when people have said to me... "yeah, but I can't eat all that meat..." as I sit there, across from them at Lonestar Restaurant as they are eating thier 12 oz T-bone steak and think... okay... then how is it that you eating all this meat? Do people REALLY read the books? or are they simply GUESSING at what they should do?

The point of this WOL is all about choices... it's not about depriving yourself, it's not only about cutting potatoes out of your life... it's about choosing to eat things that you like, made in a healthy way... it's about choosing to eat to live instead of living to eat. Those who are bored are generally bored because they don't get creative with their meals, they don't try new recipes, but then again... they probably weren't that creative with their meals prior to trying the low-carb WOL either.

I have no problem with someone saying... "I'd rather not try the low-carb diet..." fine... then don't try it, or... try it and decide you don't like it... but don't start bad mouthing a program that has worked for hundreds of thousands of people that are committed to changing their lifestyles and actually put forth an effort to insure they succeed by doing things such as CREATING fulfilling, tasty, meals and actually finding a program that works for them.

Of course calories have a lot to do with weight loss... anything in excess can be detrimental to your body... Atkins does tell you not to count calories and you don't have to... and YES... eating good tasting meals makes you feel full and helps you to not feel deprived... thus cutting down the calories you eat per day.

The meal samples you provided are not keeping in line with the program you stated you are following to the "T"... yet you are surprised it is not working... I suggest you re-read, take notes, highlight sections of interest and get some cook books so you can start experimenting with menus.

I do wish you (and everyone) luck... but to be honest... I think you have brainwashed yourself and won't succeed until you admit that you have an unhealthy eating problem and resign to do something about it.

[cammie137]

I’ve been on the diet for almost 5 months now and I’m really getting sick of the meat, eggs and vegetables. How many ways can this be prepared and still taste good. And why should I care anymore if I’m doing low carb and still not losing. I have not lost one pound in 3 months!!!

I agree with what everyone else has said so far, especially about the food (there's tons of stuff that can be done with meat and veggies). I would also like to add that even though you didn't lose for 3 months, if you average out the total weight lost, it appears to be the equivalent of losing 1.5 lbs. per week, which is a very reasonable amount.

I don't know if your goal is reasonable for your frame or not -- you know the body you're living in. However, I hope things are going better for you now.

[doralisa]

Looks like the low low calories and low carb count plus the monotonous routine has put your body into starvation mode.
I've heard people say that varying the routine and going up and down (within limits) is the way to sort of fool your body.
I know that usually once a week I go out with the girls for lunch or dinner and have a couple of glasses of wine or beer and eat well, within reason of course.

[RDW]

Someone mentioned ketostix but didn't ask the question. Were you in ketosis during the stalls?

If you were, cut back all carbs until you are in ketosis and then slowly add them back.

If you are trying to break a stall, why gorge on carbs :rolleyes:

Try increasing your caloric intake with good protein like prime rib, lobster, or some other protein food you really like. If that does not work for YOU, then eating normal with carbs like vegetables and fruit makes more sense.

[MillyG]

I agree, William you are really just not eating enough!

[HLFAN]

William, if I ate what you ate I would be starving all the time. Try a fibre supplement instead of the cereal and add lots more food. I'm only 5'8" but I eat lots more that you. Can't hurt to try changing your menu for a few weeks. You'll feel better, anyway., Good luck :agree: