Hi, I am 37 years old and have been dieting all my life. I started the Adkins diet 12 days ago and as of today, I have gained 4 lbs. I don't understand why. I am eating meat, eggs, cheese. I have had a few nuts and some sugar free hot chocolate. I am extremely discouraged. I have been in Ketosis because I have been using the strips and they read in the pink-purple areas. I need some serious advice and I am so discouraged and afraid that I can't do this. My husband did this diet and has lost over 60 lbs in 4 months. I am doing exactly what he is doing. Please help! The only thing I can think of is the fact that I have been overweight for 30 years and he hasn't. Please, I need to know what to do

First of all don't be discouraged the scale can lie, but you need to re read the induction chapter, induction is 14 days and during that time nuts and SF hot chocolate are not allowed, after that some people stall with the artificial sweetners and nuts, make sure you are drinking lots of water.
Forgive yourself, try to do better today.

You mention eating meat, cheese & eggs with some nuts and s/f cocoa tossed in. Have you read any of the Atkins books which describe exactly how to do Induction - like by also eating leafy greens and induction veggies?

Try not to get discouraged, read the book and carry on. You can do this!

You just need to stick to it. Some people don't see any weight loss for weeks or months. I'm such a turtle when it comes to weight loss and I was discouraged also in the beginning. I started reading alot of info on this forum and it helped me stick to my eating plan and started losing weight. I also exercise. Just don't give up and you will see weight loss.

Don't get discouraged. Follow through and you will see results. You WILL do this!!!

Your husband is farther along on his weight loss journey than you are, so you have to start with the basics and begin at the beginning, lol. As was stated before, nuts and SF hot chocolate are a no-no at this stage. You state that you are doing Atkins,so you need a lot more than meat, cheese(how much cheese) and eggs. Get you some veggies,water and vitamins into you. You do know that you are never gonna lose like a man don't you, Please read an Atkins book. You won't be sorry, you did.

Yeah, I had a well-meaning friend give me two boxes of sugar free hot chocolate. One of them has 8 carbs per serving and the other has 11 carbs per serving!!! That's HALF the induction level of carbs IF you only drink ONE cup. Not good for any level in my opinion!

It's easy to make little mistakes like this in the beginning, though, so don't get discouraged. Just read the induction chapter and do what it says. And as ladygolden suggested, be careful about the amount of cheese.

First off... are you diabetic? check it out if you don't know I found out (through diet counseling) that it can make a HUGE difference, especially in the beginning... secondly... it is very important that you limit your carbs during the first couple weeks because it does you no good if you eat a pound of bacon and then have 100 carbs from "diet" sources... especially for diabetics but really for everyone a carb is a carb is a carb, your body could care less if it comes from sugar or brocolli... but, of course, if it comes from brocolli it is sooooo much better for you, more fiber, more filling, less "quick" to disperse, etc... so, if you must eat carbs (and... lets face it... you must) eat cabbage and brocolli and brussel sprouts instead of "sugar free" or "diet" stuff... and finally... boys are different in every way, including weight loss... so give yourself a break

I would use a program like fit day to figure out what your fat/carb/protein ratio is and how many calories your eating. Cut the nuts and cocoa for sure. Dairy is limited on atkins how much are you eating? I like to eat A LOT of food. I have to track my food I will happily eat 3000 calories daily even with keeping the dairy low. So I have a calorie goal as well as low carb. Totally eat more low carb veggies!

I want to thank you all for taking the time out to help me. I feeling like i'm starting from day one again today. I am going to stick it out, thanks to you all. I know it didn't come on over night, so I suppose it's not going to come off over night. I am just so frustrated. So if I mess up and have something I'm not supposed to, am I starting form the beginning? I am doing the ketosis tests and only 1 day did it show purple. The other days it shows light pink.

Throw away the strips and just follow the diet. It works, I promise.

The color on the strip doesn't matter - ketosis is ketosis. If you are in it - you are burning fat. As a matter of fact, that purple color would concern me and tells me you may not be drinking enough water.

I'll echo the others and say - avoid nuts, run from the sf hot cocoa, and limit your cheese intake. If you are using HWC - cut it for induction if you can. Keep your fat content high and that should stop the need for snacking on nuts.

Good luck.

+1

How can she be burning fat AND gaining weight? (same question I have)..

There are quite a few ways for that to happen.
#1 - if the calories aren't high enough she could be in ketosis, but the body could be holding onto weight.
#2 - with the nuts and cheese, she could be retaining water
#3 - (unlikely this early on) Exercise will build muscle and muscle weighs more than fat.