Never joined an online discussion group before, bare with me.
Started Atkins 5 days ago. First day lost 3 pounds. Then lost about 2 oz a day, which has been somewhat frustrating. Been tracking in MyFitnessPal and reading a lot online. Found yummy recipes to make on Pinterest but am struggling with breakfast particularly. I love eggs but after 5 days, getting a little sick of them. A bit discouraged by the slow weight loss after the first day.

Baked banana bread (why in the world!?) with my 6 yr old today (she begged!) and fell off the wagon of course. Paying for it now, b/c I ate too much and now I'm feeling gross. Plan to start fresh in the morning but sometimes it just all seems too overwhelming. Coming from a life of low FAT living with lots of fruits and veggies, I'm struggling & wondering how I can maintain this for a fews weeks (induction) and hoping that when I can add more carbs I will be more content.

Find it hard to get I'n all the fat and protein I need each day which makes me wonder if that is contributing to my slow loss. In addition, I work out 5-6 days a week, cardio and strength training. Suggestions for breakfast & snacks would be appreciated. Insight of any sort also welcome. Btw, I'm F, 5'8, 164 hoping to lose 15-20 lbs.

Fresh start today km - you can do this! I'm only on day 17 myself, so I know your struggle. You don't have to go back to day one- just acknowledge your slip and plan for what you can do if it's at risk for happening again. You got this!

Duplicate post deleted.

First off, you've found your way to an excellent forum. Spend lots of time here reading the Sticky threads--basic information on various topics--and making yourself at home.

Most of us have made many starts before we finally settle into a serious long-term commitment. Don't be too hard on yourself. But eventually you'll have to realize that losing 15-20 lbs. isn't the goal. Keeping it off forever is the journey. You won't learn that in a couple of weeks or a couple of months.

Finally, giving in to your six-year-old is just one of many lame excuses you may come up with. Pardon my being blunt since you just got here. But clearing your own house of temptations is a good strategy for beginners. It's the kid in you, not the kid you have, getting the best of your good intentions.

As to breakfast, check the recipes thread on this site. And remember you don't have to eat traditional breakfast food. Last night's pork chop or tuna salad will do just fine. Personally I like eggs because there's a thousand ways to cook 'em.
Creativity is another success strategy.

Most current Atkins plans allow quite a few veggies right from the start. Leafy vegetables and a cup or so of green veggies help make induction bearable. Also, try to overcome your low-fat past. That's not easy. Dive into some bacon. Make something with mayo. Eat the skin on the chicken--and bake it with butter.

One of my snacks: chicharrones (pork rinds) dipped in a sauce made of mayo and sriracha. I weigh the pork rinds and measure the mayo. It's not hard to overdo it. I try to avoid the snack habit altogether.

Welcome and best wishes!

Welcome

All great advice from Barbara. The only thing I would add is that you are already at what is considered a Heathly and Normal BMI...your body is unlikely to give up scale weight easily at this point. Any scale weight change within a few pounds is just water weight shifting.
Read this good article explaining how LC weight loss usually works. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=365499
Focus on the health benefits of reducing sugars and processed carbs, and work on body composition. http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-...addicts-part-2/

All the best,

Janet, thanks so much. For the umpteenth time! I really needed these two links this morning. And I've also forwarded them to my sis.

A holiday weight gain was very alarming, because I'd been "on hold" for months before that--even while trying to lose a few. I returned to strict induction, and dropped the expected 5 lbs. Now...nothing more. In fact, a pound came back.

Naturally, I'm going into a psychological tailspin.

I've made some positive changes as a result of my refocus on induction. I'll begin restoring a better pattern of "normal" eating in the weeks ahead. But I won't let the stupid scale knock me off course.

It's great to have good friends, and timely reminders, on this forum. Thanks again.

Janet, technical question: that Paleo link above works from here, but not when I copy and paste it into my journal. I didn't see a complete link at Paleo either. Perhaps it's protected? I'd like to save the link for later reference. Thanks.

NEVER MIND. There's some hitch, but I re-pasted it and it did work. Duh.

Barbara, you can usually "right click" on the link with a mouse, if you are using one, and select something like "Save link as" from the menu.

kmginpa, welcome to the forum. You will find something useful from everyone here, even if it's what NOT to do. My best advice to myself when frustrated is relax, carefully consider my plan and wait, this part can be enjoyable as you'll lean something about yourself.

Thank you, Thud. I use a Mac with a trackpad--always have. I know there's some kind of "right click" operation you can do with it, but I've never bothered to figure it out. I'm a techno-luddite. Thanks anyway! I got this one at least.

wow! just checked back and was thrilled to see all the support and encouragement. What I did learn from falling off the wagon over the weekend...I felt shitty, meaning actually gross - tired, bloated, weighted down. I think that's all I needed to set me straight. I've poked around a bit on here and found several ppl suggesting bone broth as being a good thing to drink to help with the dehydration and hunger. I'm gonna give that a try. I am so parched yet drink 8 + cups of tea a day, in addition to several glasses of water. Could really use a good smoothie recipe that suitable for Atkins induction, if there is such a thing. Use to drink fruit veggie smoothies 5 days a week "before" and am missing that. Thanks again everyone!

Atkins is not like calorie counting, it only works without carb cheats. Where on WW you might find room in your "points" for something off plan, on LC it stops the fat burning metabolism you are trying to establish. I don't know which Atkins you are doing because you say you are reading on-line also, but consider starting with the A92 Induction for 2 weeks. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=236482

Have to ask this since it is not common to be parched...Have you tested your blood glucose levels? It is simple and cheap to test your reactions to certain foods as well as get some baseline fasted numbers. At home, not just one snapshot at the doctor.
Here's how to do it:

http://chriskresser.com/how-to-prev...disease-for-16/

I occasionally make a smoothie with a can of full fat coconut milk, zero carb protein powder Isopure, and frozen berries, power greens. You can work that in after induction. (Good to test your BG reaction to smoothies) Or You also don't have to eat breakfast at all. Check out all the breakfast recipes in the kitchen forum.

Are you possibly overdoing the cardio? Exercise is important for good health, but doesn't help weight loss.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/post...ou-lose-weight/

Interesting read - the Washington Post article about too much exercise. I guess it's hard to say what's too much. I do a strength training class for a an hour, 3x a week and try to run/run-walk/interval train all on a treadmill for 30 mins 2x a week and then do a core class for 30 mins 2x a week. I suppose it could seem like a lot and maybe I'm just use to it. I guess if I had to give something up it would be the treadmill, which is essentially my cardio but doing so makes me leary. Still, for the amount of exercise I do and the fact that I am eating LC, trying to follow Atkins Induction, just surprised that the weight loss has been slow. I'm optimistic and plan to stick out a full 2 weeks of Induction and then reassess at that point. Looking forward to getting to that not hungry point that I keep hearing about cause so far, that's not been the case. Thanks again for the advise!

Silly me, I didn't realize that there were different Atkins plans. I read The New Atkins for a New You book and dove into Phase one (induction). Now I see at the Atkins website that there is an Atkins 20 and an Atkins 40. Don't even know what A92 is Jey100 mentioned. Maybe I'm on the wrong plan for my goals/exercise/routine etc? Oy! Now more confused than ever. Just posted something about tracking carbs vs. net carbs on another post if anyone can shed some light there. Jeez! I'm a hot mess! Sorry ;-)

Sorry, not to confuse you, any of the Atkins plans work, there is little difference. But after 2010, and what you see on the website now, includes many more "products", e.g. shakes, bars, and frozen meals, that stall many people.

I started with the 2010 New Atkins book myself and it worked great, counting Net Carbs but with Vegetables (not bars). The Atkins 1992 linked above induction plan does not use Net Carbs, but the concept was introduced in that book. I like the New Atkins book because of the science and the food plans have more detail than previous versions.

I might add that there was considerable confusion about the definition of "net carbs" when the New Atkins people (and many others) began producing food products.

Originally (I'm supposing) "net carbs" referred to the total carbohydrate content of a given food minus the grams of fiber. Nutrition labels and food trackers usually show the fiber content, and you can do the arithmetic. Fiber (whether soluble or insoluble) passes through the digestive system without actually being digested or used as an energy source. For example, apples have fiber. Apple juice does not. Avocados have a lot of fiber and healthy fat: 15g carbs/12 fiber/25g fat. Bananas? only about 1/2g fat, BUT 27g carb and only 3g fiber.

Later in the history of low-carb dieting, commercial interests kicked in to create "convenience foods" for low-carb dieters. Manufactured "low-carb" foods often contain substances called sugar alcohols. Because they are not digested like ordinary carbohydrates, sugar alcohols were counted (or not counted!) as "net carbs" by those interested in selling product. Unfortunately, some people DO digest these substances, and often the result is not neutral.

The best solution? Stick to real food. Don't eat anything that has a Nutrition Facts label on it, or a long list of Ingredients.