I've been on the Atkins Induction Diet for the past three weeks and have only lost 1.5 pounds. I'm frustrated because I feel that I'm following the diet to the tie, but no results are showing. for a few days my ketosis stick was on moderate, but then moved right back to trace or negative. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

My diet consists of egg whites and ham in the morning,

At lunchtime a tuna salade from deli,

For a snack an advantage bar and dinner is usually roasted chicken or fish (I even omit the salade, for fear of going over the carb max.)

I have to admit I'm a diet sprite addict, but I doubt that would be the cause.

Is it possible that my body just won't react? Does anyone have any suggestions?

hi lulu!
sorry to hear you are frustrated. you only have a 16 lbs. to lose. i know that to you, it's alot, but to your body, it isn't. the less weight you have to lose, the slower it goes.
a good idea is to figure out your lean body mass and body fat percentage. check out these sights.
http://www.nat.uiuc.edu/energy/
http://exercise.about.com/blbmr.htm
http://www.users.voicenet.com/~petr...ss/ckdcalc.html
also, you need fat and carbs if you want this to work. you need to eat enough calories (10-12 times your weight), and drink 8 glasses of water a day.
hth.
brenda

Hi!
There could be a few things...
first, the tuna salad. if it's prepared, there may be some sugar in there. Ask to see the ingredients list.
Also, advantage bars are notorious stallers and in my opinion, not worth it for the taste alone . There are tons of hidden carbs in them, and they could be adding way more carbs than you are bargaining for!
You also need to make sure you're getting your veggies in! They are important (and, after you eliminate the bars and figure out the tuna situation) should be your primary source of carbs. Atkins recommends salad and veggies, re-read the induction chapter for the specifics,I believe it's 3 cups of salad or 2 cups of salad plus 2/3 cup of a low-carb veg, but I could be wrong.
And...water! Make sure you drink at least 64 oz a day. It makes a big difference for a lot of people.
Some things to think about....best of luck!!! Hang in there!
Susan
PS forgot: the sprite. artificial sweeteners can also adversely affect some people. I would replace it with water at least for the first 2 weeks, then after that see how much you can tolerate, but remember, it won't count towards your water.

thanks guys for your advice, this is going to be painful, but I will try to stop my diet soda, and advantage bars.

Do you have any suggestions for anything sweet to eat as a snack to replace the bars?

The point of LCing is to get off the 'sweets'. Try going the full 2 weeks without them (as Induction calls for); you'll find you no longer want them.

Nat

Nat, do you think that even the Bars are a poor choice? I am definately not craving sweets as I used to but since the atkins book didn't say not to have those, I figure what's the harm in 2.5gm's of carbs. Of course I'll lay them off, just wondering.

And also, I was wondering how do I know if something has hidden carbs? I find this online hidden carb counter very helpful, but is there an easy way to regulate myself in a grocery store for instance? a quick combo calculation?

I almost feel cheated that we try to read all labels carefully and here is something we can't see....

Honestly? Yes. I won't touch 'em. If it looks like a carb and it walks like a carb and it causes diabetics to have insulin spikes? It's a carb in my book

If you're good at math or have a calculator handy you certainly can do some of the work in the grocery store. All you need to know is this = 1g fat = 9 calories 1g carbs = 4 calories 1g of protein = 4 calories. Multiply the total grams by the appropriate number of calories / gram and they should equal the total calories for the serving / item. IF they do not add up you've got yourself some hidden carbs

N

Lulu, I have been doing Atkins for 10 months now and have lost 50 lbs, but about 5 months ago I just stopped losing. Thats about the same time I started eating the Advantage bars and the Pure Delite candy bars(no sugar, 2 or 3 carbs). Well, since then I discovered what hidden carbs really are. I have tried just about everything to get kicked back in. Last month I ate just a small grilled chicken salad for lunch for 2 weeks and that didn't work. So now I am doing the very strict Induction version again. Just eggs, meat and I eat some pork skins for snacks. (no salad, no veggies) and I always drink at least 80 oz of water a day. I always have to get up at least once in the night to use the bathroom, but I guess it's worth it.
Ok, anyway if you have to have something sweet I found sugar free popsicles. They (supposedly) only have 3 carbs each.
I think my problem may be my ranch dressing. I like to dip my meat in it, but I've been cutting that in half this time too.
Well, I started this strict one on the 25th of this month so we'll see how it goes. Good luck and hang in there.

lulu -
another thing about the hidden carbs... if the ingredients say MALTITOL, SORBITOL, ISOMALT then there are hidden carbs. in the us, if the serving size has less than 1 carb, they can list it as zero. very deceiving, since the serving sizes are sometimes very small.
i have learned that the more natural the food (ie. fresh bacon compared to packaged) the less likely hidden carbs.
atkin products have hidden carbs. it's a bit enlightening since he recommends so many high-moral foods, yet he produces items with hidden carbs. everyone out for themselves.
remember that this may be a slow process. think about your health before your weight.
starving yourself is short-lived. you will gain the weight back.
hth
brenda

Aside from the great suggestions already here------ consider adding in those veggies and salad (replace those other things) I was stalled and added in the veggies and lost 4 lbs right away!
It's worth a try ! I don't do any of the snack bars or diet sodas.
Ellie

hi Lulu -- congratulations for hanging in there! I too am losing very very slowly. One suggestion - the Advantage bars are actually high in carbs -- the labels do not correctly display the correct information -- they are anywhere from 14-22 carb per bar! I used the Hidden Carb Inspector in the tool bar to figure that out. So now I stay away from them or I totally stall or gain.

yep

i too am a slow loser

excerise is what does it for me though

if i excersize even once a week for an hour, the amount of weight i lose is double(!!) what i normally lose

i lost 1.5kg one week that i went to kickboxing, yoga and water areobics ( i was bored bored bored with walking)

that inspired me

fortunatly i cant get the bars here so i dont have that problem

altho the scales arent going down fast i seem to be changing shape, are you finding that??

Dear LuLu:

You are so dedicated. Way to go!

My only advice is that calories count. If you are eating no carbs, zip, zero, nadda, none but your calories are still at maintenance level, you won't loose weight. To much fat, to much protien and suddenly, no more weight loss. Also, if your calories or protien are too low, your metabolism will slow down and you'll stall.

I suggest you get a little tiny notebook and pen, write down the time on the left, then everything you eat or drink, the serving size, the calories and the carbs (doesn't much matter if they are sugar or white flower or rice, carbs is carbs). At the end of the day, add up your water (should be at least 8 cups), the carbs (depends on your bodyweight, gender and activity level), and carbs. If you have your carbs, and so your insulin, under control, then start looking at calories.

You can get a food count book, or read most everything off the package. Consider writing down your favorite foods in the back of your little notebook.

Carry the notebook and pen with you everywhere! Never eat less than 1,000 calories per day--nobody over 4'6" can eat that and be healthy. But if you are eating 2,500 calories, cut back to 2,000 and the weight should begin to drop off at about 1# per week.

Also consider adding some weight lifting 2-3 times per day to speed your metabolism.

HI Lulu,

I found out (using a blood glucose tester) that this is what has been causing my weight stalls. And yes, they are stalls (they last 1-2 months). I am temporarily giving up on Diet drinks and low carb sweet treats, at least until I get to my goal. I was in ketosis every day, but found out my insulin was being released when I drank my diet pop.

So perhaps the Diet Sprite is causing you a problem.