Well, if I did that, I wouldn't be able to dance! I see this as temporary.... after a few weeks of steady weight loss then adding veggies makes total sense. I've been at this for 4 weeks and have lost 1 lb, and that was only when I skipped the salad.

KEEP EATING YOUR VEGGIES!!!!!! I just can't believe that anybody would even THINK that cutting out veggies is a good idea. WOW! It has to be a coincidence that you dropped a pound when you cut out veggies, unless you were eating something off of the Induction list (ie carrots, peas, corn). If you completely cut out veggies you will get so constipated you'll have to pry it out with a crowbar, not to mention the lack of nutrition! There is no way that any vitamins or supplements are going to replace the loads of nutrients in vegetables! Leave in the veggies! There is no benefit in eating strictly protein.

Stick with the information given to you by people who are following a specific plan (Atkins, for example) and following it PROPERLY! Several people (myself included) have suggested that calories may be an issue to look into. Keep track with www.fitday.com and monitor your carbs and calories. A rough guide would be to consume 10 - 12 X your weight in calories per day. Check that out, stick with whole foods (real meat - not deli or processed, fresh veggies, cheese and fats). Stay within your carb limit and cals, drink lots of water, maybe even get in some exercise and you WILL lose safely and healthfully

There is absolutely no way it's possible to gain weight eating veggies. And when you count carbs in veggies you deduct the fiber and end up with net carbs which is the way to do Atkins. (Did you read the book Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution 2001/2002 edition ?? DANDR ? - If not, I recommend you to buy the book and read it ASAP. There's a whole chapter treating your problem !)

I know C130alon is telling you what you want to hear, but that does not mean it's good advice. And it's certainly NOT Atkins friendly to cut veggies !! (I have lots of e-mail correspondence with Atkins support regarding this)

My advice is probably NOT what you want to hear, but I'm telling you anyway. If you choose to follow it or not is your own business.

First, I warmly recommend using www.fitday.com. It will give you a new perspective on your food intake. Atkins support recommend me the following ratio:

65-70 % fat
25-30 % protein
5 % carbs

I also plotted your daily menue through www.fitday.com and came up with around 300 calories a day. And that's a big part of your problem right there !! Atkins say this is not a count calorie diet, but you are going completely overboard here. The recommendation is eating 10-12 times your present bodyweight in calories pr day. For you, that will be 1640 - 1968 calories a day. See the difference ? THAT could be why you're gaining and not losing !

Pork rinds is not a good idea to have every day. Sodium holds water - EVEN IF YOU'RE TAKING DIURETICS !! And, if that's not enough, just the fact that you're on diuretics explains a lot. I've been on diuretics for more than 20 years and have BIG problems losing. I gain masses of water when I eat pork rinds AND unsalted peanuts (there is other things than salt that makes you gain water from peanuts). Even if I pop a couple of extra pills I still gain water. In DANDR it sais about metabolic resistance and causes:


More here: http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/21-259254.html

I've tried L-Taurine for a short period. Slowly changed half a diuretic pill with L-Taurine, then a whole, etc etc. It's important to do this slowly and over a lon period of time. You have to "train" your kidneys to work properly again. For me it worked up to one pill, but then I ran out of L-Taurine and as it's not sold in Norway and illegal to import I was back on my diuretics again. I've tried everything legal the healt food store can offer, nothing helps. I have to take my diuretics. That may be the case for you as well, but at least you must give it a try !! It has taken me almost two years to lose the 30 lbs I gained when I stopped smoking. But I'm close to goal now. Those who knows me in here knows how dedicated I've been, how much I've researched and tweaked this diet to make it work for me. I've learned an enormous amount from all this. And one important lesson is: Don't cut veggies, you need the vitamins and fiber. Cut salty foods, frankenfoods and diary products. Do an Atkins by the book Induction.

When you're seeing your doctor next, it might be a good idea to be checked for yeast (candida - a staller), insulin resistance and thyriod problems. Have bloodtests done and your total T4, free T4, total T3, free T3, TSH and antithyriod antibodies (thyroglobulin and microsomal) checked.

I'm sure you will succeed, but there is no short cut to weight loss, and like for me, it will take time and patience.

First time I did Atkins in 1982 - it was 8 net carbs a day - and I can tell you it's impossible to live on 8 carbs a day for a longer period of time. I know some people need to get down to 10-15 carbs a day to kickstart their ketosis, but Atkins research and experience from 70.000 patients through the years, has shown there's no signifiicant difference in weightloss between 8 and 20 carbs a day -and again - certainly NOT by cutting veggies !!

You will get there !!
Good luck !

Thanks Nicole, but I was following by the book, exercising and the weight didn't budge.... granted, maybe there's a bit of muscle gain there, but it's way too discouraging. Without veggies I'm almost losing a pound a day (this is my 3rd day).... but I don't intend to keep it up this way for more than a week at a time. I'm taking fiber pills regularly and they work fine... haven't had that problem at all. But I've got "the Breath" now and drowning myself in water, but I can live with that for another few days. Then I'll go on maintenance for a few weeks to adjust, then back on 0 carbs for a week.

Carbartist, thank you for your kind words. But I'm not worried about where you're going (lol, a little envious, maybe!) but you can eat lo-zero carb anywhere these days. "Naked" chicken wings (no breading) with garlic butter is fairly common and easy to get. Order regular dinners but tell your server no veggies or bread. Omelettes and bacon or sausage for breakfast (love those home fries, but don't even look at them!!, tell the server no fries). You can still maintain, I promise. Just choose a little carefully. Restaurants are so savvy today, you can order Atkins vertually anywhere now. I've never been on one but I hear cruises are a floating feast. That's ok...just pick and choose. Carefully. I will tell you one thing and keep it in the back of your mind...you can cheat (lightly, not overboard-pardon the pun) and in four days on the diet start losing again. But that's only if you wind up faced with the most 'orgasmic' food you've ever seen or desired. Bon voyage, my friend.

BB6399, it's not just the veggies-what are you using for dressing and what are you putting in the salads as well. Gotta watch all those condiments as well. Also make sure you're eating 3 times a day, makes the weight come off faster. Good luck.

Carbartist.s.-about what I eat a day ... I found breakfast bars that are only 0.7 grams of carbs & have that for breakfast with my decaf coffee, around mid-morning I have my zero carb jello, lunch is chicken salad or tuna salad or egg salad or a couple of hamburgers-naked, of course, with zero carb katsup and mayo (lol, I should take the zero carb katsup intravenously, I love it!), dinner is whatever meat I didn't have during the day, lol. Then some low carb ice cream for a before bed snack...but listen, I only have 2 tablespoons of ice cream if it's those 3 or 4 gram carbs ones...every once in awhile, I'm able to find the zero carb ice cream and then you better believe I eat a whole bowl, just like the 'bad ol' days'. But I eat a lot so I'm never hungry and you can see these beautiful bones that have been hiding under layers of fat for years! You will succeed, my friend.

You forsake vegetables for frankenfoods?

I'll be flying out to Las Vegas in the early morning for a working convention... and I was thinking of making up a big batch of egg salad or tuna salad to take with me (I don't trust the ingredients in restaurants or carryouts). Which of these would keep better for a long day (or 2)? I will put part of the batch in my suitcase which would go in the belly of the plane which is cold.

[QUOTE=Nille] In DANDR it sais about metabolic resistance and causes:More here: I've tried L-Taurine for a short period. Slowly changed half a diuretic pill with L-Taurine, then a whole, etc etc. It's important to do this slowly and over a lon period of time. You have to "train" your kidneys to work properly again. For me it worked up to one pill, but then I ran out of L-Taurine and as it's not sold in Norway and illegal to import I was back on my diuretics again. I've tried everything legal the healt food store can offer, nothing helps. I have to take my diuretics. That may be the case for you as well, but at least you must give it a try !! QUOTE]

Thanks Nillie... I'm going to certainly talk with my docter about this next week when I get back from this upcoming trip and before my cruise. And no, I didn't read Atkin's new edition of his book... I've only read the old, old one. I'll get the new one...Thanks!

It would be far safer to go into a 7-11 and buy a small jar of mayo and a can of tuna, or to pack that in your luggage. Prepared food does not travel well, and while the belly of the plane may be cool enough, there are long periods of time when the food will not be properly stored. The danger zone is anything over 40 degrees F.

And I had dreamed all my life that it was actually salad that was fattening....

BTW, there IS no true zero carb ice cream, even if you make it yourself, the ingredients have some carbs... unless it's made of lard, air and fiber.

How did you get my secret recipe, Tater??

Oops! SOrry...

c130alon are you a doctor? or a nutritionist? You speak with such authority. and knowledge.

Just wondering if you learned your "plan" in med school or something. thanks.

ps it's "plans" like yours that give low carb a bad name. low carb, when done correctly, is about the healthiest way of eating there is.