3 lbs in 8 days is terrific! Some of us would be happy to lose 3 lbs a month ..

The big initial losses we read about are usually experienced by persons who have a lot of weight to lose from the outset, as well as younger persons, men and folks who have never dieted before.

You don't have a lot to lose, 14 to 20 lbs ..... if you think about it, 3 lbs is 15 to 20% of your goal ..... in only 8 days!!! In general, 1% of your weight is considered average and reasonable weekly loss. Your profile is blank, so I have no idea your height or weight ... but example is, if you weigh 140, then 1.4 lbs in a week is right on target. As well, as you shrink then you will lose less each week as you go along. Meaning, when you reach 130, the loss will be 1.3 lbs per week, 1.2 lbs and so on.

That being said, your menu looks as though you are undereating. You might want to bump up the calories a bit, by adding some fat in the form of olive or flax oil ... add it to the salad dressing, or use to dress the steak or vegetables. Don't skimp on the veggies either. Atkins recommends 2 salads or 1 salad + a serving of cooked lowcarb veggie every single day!

2 eggs is a very small breakfast, only 14g protein to carry you through to lunch. Try adding another egg, or some egg whites, which you can buy fresh in cartons where they sell eggs. In Protein Power, the Eades' recommend a bare minimum of 60g protein per day for the average woman, more if you are tall, male or very active. They also recommend that you divide the protein, as well as your carb intake ... evenly through the day. So that would be 20g per meal, if you eat 3x per day.

As for the ketone stix, don't worry about it. They are only a guide ... your body and muscles may very well be burning all the ketones produced, thus none are leftover to spill into the urine. Check out the article Ketosis and Ketone Test Strips by clicking on Tips on the red menu bar.

hope this helps,

Doreen