End of Iduction...help!!!

[DDMariana]

Well, I made it to day 14 and was faithful to the end. Have had more energy, am never hungry and didn't get tired of the menu. But had a 10 lb loss two days ago, and am now at a 6 lb loss. This is where I start to get a little discouraged. Last time I tried Atkins I was not successful past the induction point.

I am really considering staying on induction for another week just to continue to do what I'm familiar with now, but next week...what do I do?? I don't feel like I really made very much progress because 6 lbs in the first week on ANY diet is natural for me, but here its been two weeks on Atkins and I'm not showing any more than that.

I am drinking lots of water, eating meats, cheese, eggs, butter, etc. and my veggies which I save for a more rounded dinner... is there something I'm missing, or do you really not lose as much sometimes during induction? Really need a boost to get me into week 3 -- thanks!

Getting the hang of this now!
Donna

[agonycat]

First off....change your perspective.

This is NOT a fast weight loss diet. This is a way of life plan. You don't think losing 6 pounds in two weeks anything? Try talking to someone that isn't on Atkin's about how much weight they have lost in the past two weeks.

Second of all, you mentioned "before on Atkin's". This triggers yo-yo dieter in my mind. The more you go on/off diets the harder and slower it will become to lose weight. Your metobolism slows down to the loss of lean muscle tissue and the effects of aging doesn't help matters.

In order to lose the weight and keep it off you MUST change your eating habits for life. You can no longer get to goal and go back to eating like you did before you went on Atkin's. It doesn't work, you have proved this to yourself already by regaining the weight. The Atkin's plan is a learning tool to teach you to rethink how and what you eat and how to change it to become healthier.

To give you an idea, I have lost 47 pounds in 1 year. It's slow going, but it's worth the process.

You are doing fantastic so far.

[Rob]

Hi Mariana,

I too have just completed the induction ,and was not impressed with my weight loss . I asked alot of questions and I found out the we should be eating between 10-12 X our body weight in calories , this includes the carbs .

I found out by totalling up the days calories that I was devouring enough food for a 230lb person , and you will see that I only weigh 162 ( I am 5 foot 2 ).

So last week I began an experiment , and only ate 1950 cal which I managed easily because of the fat which reduces your appetite . I lost 1.4 lbs in one day which was a nice surprise for me , and a confirmation that portion size is definitely important .

This subtle piece of information is not easily obtained just from reading the book , I think experience counts too , and I'm not very experienced but just finding my way in this minefield of information. You should have 70%fat ,25%protein and 5%carbs.

As one person said to me ,the fat acts as a chemical brake so you can do with smaller portions ,that is the whole trick , I think .

Give it a go and let me know .

I have decided to do the induction for another 2 weeks


Rob :wave:

[colinjn]

Great advice all!
I'm at that stage where I'm only supposed to be losing a pound every month. It is often tempting to try to head back to the induction stage to "finish it off", but as was said earlier, this is a way of life. Dr Atkins is quite clear that the four stages are used to help train us for a lifetime of eating right, rather than just quick weight loss.

That said, it is nice to see the numbers come clicking down. I noticed a couple of things that you may need to improve on. There is no "banking" of carbos allowed. Your daily quota should be spread fairly evenly throughout the day. Also your fats do tend to lean toward the saturated end of things. I know that this is natural when eating during the induction. However you might begin to try to even things out and include more fish and plant oils. I find that when I do this, the actual belly fat seems to start shrinking more. ( I'll let the experts argue if and why this is true)

This is the time to start getting to know yourself. Play around with the food (within the limitations of the stage you are in). does dairy mysteriously put the brakes on? What about coffee, or nitrates? Coffee, thankfully, doesn't affect me, but it does others. Dairy is less kind. Once I know this I have that cheesecake, knowing that it would be better not to expect great things on the scale the next day. And speaking of scales, I have one bit of advice that has worked wonders for me. I only weigh myself when I am feeling fat and bloated. It always cheers me up because the news is always better than I was imaginging!
If you are feeling like you have suddenly lost a bunch of weight, just enjoy the loose feeling of your clothes and save the scale for another day. Why get on the scale and find out that it is a "paltry" two pounds? Get on when you are SURE that you have gained ten pounds. Even a half pound (water weight) increase is good news then.

Good luck
Colin

[DDMariana]

Thank you everyone for your advice...today I am going to begin paying attention to my calorie intake, which is something I didn't do before. I tend to think that as long as it's on the list, it's a free for all! I am very convinced that LC is the best type of eating plan for me because of my blood sugar problems and migraines, etc. I have had absolutely NO symptoms (other than the first two detox days) and no headaches, dizzy spells or hunger attacks. And I'm losing, even though I whine a little about it going a little slower than I expected.

I am using the Fitday.com now and apparently yesterday I blew it. My caloric intake was over 4500!! :eek: I guess today I should aim for about 2000. My fat was 78% and the carbs were about 6%. Will work on this a bit more.

I am going to take the advice about spreading out the carbs as well, although at dinner when I would like a salad, I only have about 1 cup of veggies left for the day, which doesn't seem to do it. Any suggestions on a side dish with dinner AND eating the green stuff throughout the day? I'm getting a little bummed out on meats and cheese. By the way, the cheese limit is 3 oz on induction? I think I've been eating more than that.

Thanks for some great advice...will check in again real soon! :wave:

Donna

[Elihnig]

You might want to check your quantities at fitday, the defaults are things like a cup of butter! Recheck and make sure the quantities are correct. If you ate 4000 calories without blowing the carb allowance more power to you.


Elihnig

[Karen]

I am going to take the advice about spreading out the carbs as well, although at dinner when I would like a salad, I only have about 1 cup of veggies left for the day, which doesn't seem to do it. Any suggestions on a side dish with dinner AND eating the green stuff throughout the day?

Since you're at the end of induction, the third week is the time to up your carb intake by 5 grams. Religiously counting carbs istead of following the salad/vegetable portions outlined in Induction leaves you room for a lot of vegetables. Remember you can subtract the fiber so choosing high fiber vegetables will give you a lot more bang for your vegetable buck.

Karen