new and in need of heeeelp!!!

[hell0]

Hi everyone!

Apart from wishing everyone the best luck and well done for making life change I have some questions I would really appreciate someone answering.

So I started Atkins induction 2 weeks ago today with the intention of doing extended induction until I was about 20 pounds from my goal weight (140 pounds) and Im really confused and upset.

Last Thursday I was 190, 10 pounds down in a week! Yay, I was so pleased! :thup:

But ever since I have hovered between 190.8 193.6 and 194.8 will today, a week on at 194.8.

To let you know I was 194.8 2 last Saturday and shocked! So I decided to have very little salt, no sweetener, little cheese and no cream (all of which I have rarely anyway) to see if this made a difference. It did, I went back to 190 on Monday. So last 3 days I have had some salt and cream and sweeteners (some aspartame which I know is bad but it was that or cake im telling you! however usually I use splenda) and as we know Im back up nearly 5 pounds. 194.8 :( I dont go over 20 grams a day, I drink between 3 and 4 litres of water a day, I exercise (walking miles or cycling) 4 times a week! Im so upset to have gained nearly half of what I lost ;( and I dont think I can carry on with no salt and sweeteners just to see any results.

Just to let you know, no inch lost either, and I'm trying really hard. If it is a case of so little salt and no sweeteners (because when I went up originally I only used splenda) Im doomed!

My diet is usually

4oz cheese (edam, cheddar or goats cheese) I do have halloumi fried, but I soak it in boiling water to wash most of the salt away and this isnt daily
2-3 eggs scrambled or boiled
100-150grams veggies (courgette, spinach, cabbage, pak choy or peppers)
100grams cucumber
100grams lettuce
maybe half an avocado if I can afford the carbs
meat (no bacon because i dont like it) so lamb/pork/chicken or sausages that have no breadcrumbs rusk wheat starch sugar thickeners or flour I CHECK!)
I decaf coffee every 3 days with 4 splenda and cream
lots of olive oil (I stay away from too much butter because of salt)
so much water

The only 'cheats' are maybe too much cream/splenda on the weekend and yesterday with sugarfree jelly/jello if your american.

Anyway sorry to waffle so much but can I seriously only loose with no sweeteners, no cream or salt etc?! This seems so restrictive on what is already for me so hard! (self confessed carbaholic)

Can anyone give me inspiration/feedback that isnt just no salt or sweeteners because if thats the case I'm afraid Ill just give up! I really just want to loose 10pounds a month I dont think it a huuuuge ask. Even any similar stories, because the 'only fluctuating water weight' is wearing thin. The only thing I can think of is Im not eating enough calories and/or fat? Its usually between 1100 and 1600 normally 1300.

Please I need some answers or comments. Thank you to anyone who reads/replies! :help:

R

[DaddioM]

Hi :wave:

It looks like you're doing a lot of the right things.. what I would suggest is patience. The scale is an evil thing but I have NEVER seen it win out over the long haul if a person is dedicated and sticks to the program.

Remember this weight came on through years of bad eating.. it's going to take a while even eating well for it to change.

Good luck!

Mike

[corsair915]

I completely agree with DaddioM. Remember the damage has to be undone at a cellular level. Everything from how the nutrients get across the gut lining, into the blood, and then into the cells is completely out of whack. If you don't fix that, you'll be destined to continue a life of yo-yo dieting. It takes time and the changes are happening at an imperceptible level even when you fell like you are stalled.

Stick with your plan to the letter and don't give up. The forum is here to keep you going when you think you can't do it alone. I've definitely had times when i spent hours reading posts just to keep myself from giving in to a craving. And it works!

Best of luck on your LC journey. Looking forward to hearing about your success!

[teaser]

To let you know I was 194.8 2 last Saturday and shocked! So I decided to have very little salt, no sweetener, little cheese and no cream (all of which I have rarely anyway) to see if this made a difference. It did, I went back to 190 on Monday. So last 3 days I have had some salt and cream and sweeteners (some aspartame which I know is bad but it was that or cake im telling you! however usually I use splenda) and as we know Im back up nearly 5 pounds. 194.8

I realize the fluctuating water weight thing is wearing thin... but five pounds gained in three days? And this after five pound weight-loss between Saturday and Monday? This has to be water. Possible water loss over the short-term just plain dwarfs possible fat loss, this is something we just have to deal with.

I wouldn't want to do without salt either. I don't know if this would work, but if sodium is a problem, I wonder of one of those products with half the sodium replaced with potassium would help?

If splenda is a problem, it might not be the splenda itself, but the bulking agent, which is basically sugar.

I don't know if you can get it where you are, but Amazon in the states sells splenda as tablets, with no bulking agent. Each packet of powdered splenda has a gram of glucose. Saccharin and aspartame tablets are more readily available where I am (Canada). A lot of people don't trust aspartame, I've sort of made a deal with myself to cut way back on diet coke, and started using equal tablets in my coffee, one diet coke has way more aspartame then I'd ever use in a day in coffee and tea. Or there's stevia, if you look around in some health stores, you might be able to find some with no digestible carbohydrate added.

[emilyedna]

I have been kicking the same pound up and down the field for two weeks. Much like you, I am wondering if it's something to do with the Splenda or the dairy. It's frustrating!

One thing you can do is maybe reduce weigh ins. I weigh every morning, and it's definitely been bad for my head. I can gain or lose up to 1.5 lb daily for no apparent reason.

Another thing that might help is to focus on how much you've lost. Yeah, you've gained some back, but 5 lb is a good loss, especially in only 2 week's time. That's how much I lost total last month! I wish I could lose that fast!

And since you just started, take measurements! I wish I had done that at the beginning because that is another way to see progress when the scale isn't moving.

Just keep at it, as the other commenters have said. You are already making good progress, and the weight will come off eventually. Losing slowly can actually be a benefit - It will help you get used to eating this way since you have to stick with it for the long haul, and it will probably help you transition into maintenance much easier than if you had just dropped the weight instantly. (Heh - or at least this is what I tell myself as consolation for not losing faster! But I do believe it is true.)

Best of luck!
-Em

[Za'atar]

Newbie here,

Obviously I do not know much about this, but this retention of water and weight going up and down seems to be a common side effect, and all anyone can say is keep up with the diet and your chemistry will eventually become balanced. It just seemed strange that I read this very thing last night and bookmarked a page from Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat."

Quote: "Insulin signals our kidneys to reabsorb sodium, which in turn raises blood pressure. When we restrict carbohydrates, our kidneys will excrete the sodium they've been retaining, and with it water. (...) This water loss which can be a half dozen pounds or more in a 200 pounder can constitute most of the early weight loss."

He goes on to say that some people's bodies continuously compensate for the imbalances by the kidneys excreting potassium and trying to save sodium. To reduce this (on page 188 of the nook edition) he says "add sodium back into the diet: taking a gram or two of sodium a day...or drinking a couple of cups of chicken or beef broth daily"

I think that beginners to this diet underestimate the amount of re-wiring the body must go through. Your body is not a trick animal, it is an entire ecosystem, and changing one thing will change something else and so on along down the line. Changing your food will bother some organs who are used to doing things differently. They need to learn to adjust. An overweight person lives in a totally out of whack ecosystem, and losing weight is going in the direction of better health, so I would not give up or give in. Reminds me of a quote I would like to use: Failure is temporary-- it is giving up that is permanent. (Author unknown).

ZA

[amandawald]

Newbie here,

Obviously I do not know much about this, but this retention of water and weight going up and down seems to be a common side effect, and all anyone can say is keep up with the diet and your chemistry will eventually become balanced. It just seemed strange that I read this very thing last night and bookmarked a page from Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat."

Quote: "Insulin signals our kidneys to reabsorb sodium, which in turn raises blood pressure. When we restrict carbohydrates, our kidneys will excrete the sodium they've been retaining, and with it water. (...) This water loss which can be a half dozen pounds or more in a 200 pounder can constitute most of the early weight loss."

He goes on to say that some people's bodies continuously compensate for the imbalances by the kidneys excreting potassium and trying to save sodium. To reduce this (on page 188 of the nook edition) he says "add sodium back into the diet: taking a gram or two of sodium a day...or drinking a couple of cups of chicken or beef broth daily"

I think that beginners to this diet underestimate the amount of re-wiring the body must go through. Your body is not a trick animal, it is an entire ecosystem, and changing one thing will change something else and so on along down the line. Changing your food will bother some organs who are used to doing things differently. They need to learn to adjust. An overweight person lives in a totally out of whack ecosystem, and losing weight is going in the direction of better health, so I would not give up or give in. Reminds me of a quote I would like to use: Failure is temporary-- it is giving up that is permanent. (Author unknown).

ZA

Great post!!!

It is essential NOT TO DITCH SALT when you first start low-carbing!!!

In fact, if you read up on the issue, the "salt is dangerous and will give you high blood pressure" myth belongs with all the others... Like how cholesterol is bad, like how high blood pressure is bad and on and on and on...

SALT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND ITS HEALTH BENEFITS SHOULD NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED!!!

There are good reasons it used to be known as "white gold" and why salt was eagerly traded in the past.

amanda