Hello everyone,

First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Jennifer. I am new here. I've been doing Atkins since June 20th, 2004. I chose to stay on induction longer then 2 weeks. I have lost 18 pounds so far. I am now getting discouraged though. I got on the scale a few minutes ago and either it lied to me, or I am doing something seriously wrong. According to the scale, I have gained 7 pounds in 2 days. I don't know how that is possible. I haven't done much differently. I have however, been eating slim fast meal bars for breakfast the past few days, instead of my usual eggs. I have also been eating low carb tortillas more then I should. Because I have been doing this, my carb count has gone up from like 18-20 a day, to like 20-28 a day. So, I have considered myself in phase 2 now because of this. I know, I know, this is what I'm doing wrong. I just explained it to myself. I guess those things just had more of an effect then I thought they would. I need to stop eating the slim fast bars and the low carb tortillas, and go back to what I was doing before. It's just discouraging because I was doing so well. I've noticed a big difference in the way I feel the past few days too. My energy has decreased alot. Also, I have been getting dizzy and sleepy alot. I don't feel like doing anything. Because of that, my exercise has decreased. I guess I just didn't want to admit that I was doing something wrong. Didn't want to take the blame. But it is my fault. I just have to fix it and go back to induction. It's a very scarey thing to see the scale going up. I definately don't want to see that anymore. After all, I'm not doing this to gain, I'm doing it to lose and that's what I'm going to do. Ok, now that I've vented about this, I'm gonna fix it. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

Don't let this discourage you. 7 pounds is absolutely water-weight unless you've eaten 7 pounds of butter in the past 2 days. Yes, drop the slim fast bars like they're on fire. HAve you been eating anything really salty? Pickles? Ham? etc. The tortillas are a YMMV thing, so drop them and see if you can introduce them later during OWL. And speaking of OWL, you can redo induction, if you wish but after the 2 weeks start increasing net carbs each week by 5 as recommended.

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my blog

Hmmmmm, sounds to me like youve tested and now you know what you cant do. That is what this WOE is all about. Figuring your body out and what will work for it and what wont. Congratulations on a huge milestone, figuring out what works for you and what wont and acknowledging what your body will tolerate and wont. As Rob says, it could be that your body is not ready for that stuff right now.

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Started LC 1-10-04

302/199/160, 103lbs down, 39 to go, simply remarkable.

Restart- 8-19-07
242/226/160


405 points to date ( HOLIDAY CHALLENGE )

I agree with Rob that it is likely water weight. Rather than adding in LC products you should be increasing the amount of legal veggies you eat at this point. You can not go wrong with vegetables.

Also make sure you are drinking enough water. You should try to drink half your body weight in ounces of water everyday. Beleve me it makes a difference.

You have done great so far. Many of us have experienced unusual weight fluctuations along the way. Is it possible that you are close to your time of month? I know my weight can go up 5-10 pounds overnight between TOM and excess salt.

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Libby

2004 174/142/138

Begin Again 2007

164/159/142

I would simply agree with what everyone has said and stress that when coming out of induction, we should increase our carbs fist with veggies, then fruits and nuts. You may have temporarily stalled, but drink plenty of water and eat your veggies, you'll be losing again before you know it!

This hapened to me because of a low carb traeat i was eating and I cut out the treat and went back to induction for a few days and I was losing again!

Hang in there!

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Renee
1/19/04
261/220/160
41 lbs off
60 lbs to goal



Race to 199 Challenge
Labor Day Challenge: Focusing on the Journey
Personal Goal: 199 by 12/31/05

A lot of things can cause water weight - salty foods, ham, pork rinds, and prepared lc foods - bars, sometimes tortillas have a bit of salt.
TOM (time of month) can cause water weight
not drinking enough water
drinking diet sodas
etc....
I would drop back to 25 carbs per day instead of back to induction,
drop the bars, lc tortillas, and get into drinking lots of water (how much do you need to lose)
it is suggested that you drink 1/ 2 your weight in water ie if you weight 200lbs
drink 100oz of water (a little over 3 quarts)
I stall if I don't get enough water, sometimes if I am not drink much at all will show a gain.
hope this helps.
Don't give up
you just have to learn what you can and can't eat, drink, etc.

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http://www.youravon.com/cnorulak
carolyn in texas
started 8/11/03 327/268/177
5/20/08/ - 348
onward thru the fog

All I can say is "Ditto the great advice above!"

Yep, those meal-replacement bars are BAD NEWS for many of us. After more than 2 years of eating this way, I STILL can't eat them without stalling and/or gaining.
PLEASE make sure your water intake is at least half your body weight.
We're in the middle of summer and the heat will cause you to retain more fluid than normal. While this is not *true fat weight*, it is weight that your body has to lug around, so it does count.

And let me also say that you are doing just awesome!
Eighteen pounds in one month is nothing to sneeze at!
I wish you much continued success.

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Summer

Hi, Jennifer:

WELCOME!! Kudos on the 18 pounds!

#1: PLEASE read this. I wrote that a long, long time ago, but I think it still applies. I read it myself every once in awhile just to stay focused.

#2: The Slim Fast Meal Bars have 17 grams per bar. You can see the nutritional data here. There are 13 grams of sugar alcohols per bar. Sugar alcohols affect some of us just as if we consumed real sugar. I performed the calculations for hidden carbs on that product, and came up with a true count of 16 grams per bar. (If you'd like a copy of my hidden carb calculator in Excel, e-mail me at aprilreinhardt2@yahoo.com.

#3: There is an excellent article regarding sugar alcohols here, written by our Web Mistress, Andrea. Please read it.

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April

The face of a child can say a lot -- especially the mouth part of the face.

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Ok, you already know what you've been doing and now know better (sometimes we just HAVE to try things for ourselves to learn)

BTW, personally I found that anything with soy flour makes me bloat up bigger than a Macy's Day Parade balloon. Soy flour is a standard sub for regular flour in LC products, read the labels to double check.

Hang in there, you've done SO good so far!

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when life hands you lemons, order lobster!

we ALL hit a wall sooner or later and the trick is to not dwell on it and convince ur mind that ur gonna eat food to live not live to eat food. keep to the veggies and slow on the lc *treats* and u will be feeling good in no time!!

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~~funkynut

started: 1/8/04
263/223/150 (5'6)
223/223/210 ~ halloween challenge
223/223/205 ~ thanksgiving challenge

Wow, thanks for the incredible amount of support and help! Seeing as though this is my first time low carbing, I think I am just learning what I can and can't have. I have given up the slim fast bars as of today, for good. I gave the last one to my mom LOL. She don't need to lose weight but she likes them. I have gone back to what I was eating before when I was losing. I had been eating eggs for breakfast, veggies or a salad for lunch, and meat and a veggie for dinner. I do however, have to confess to something.... Throughout the time I've been on Atkins, I have been drinking diet soda. Diet Dr. Pepper to be specific. I'm not sure if this could also be something that is causing me trouble now. I did however, lose 18 pounds in a month doing it. Maybe that was because I was so strict with everything else. I'm going to give the diet soda up. I just haven't been able to because I get headaches whenever I try. I've been getting alot of headaches lately anyway. No caffeine makes it worse. I'm going to see if my weight loss resumes after giving up these things. If not, I will give up caffeine. The only time I was ever able to give up caffeine is when I was pregnant. It's a tough thing for me. I do have alot of weight to lose. I am 135 pounds from my goal. I've never really dieted before. I really want to make this work. I know it's possible. Low carb tortillas do contain soy flour. Maybe that has something to do with it too. I do drink alot of water. I drink about 4 32 ounce glasses a day. I do think I am retaining water though. My rings are tighter. They always get that way when I retain water. I know what to try to fix it now. Let's see if it works. I'm sure it will. I also had started taking L-Glutamine around the time I started eating the LC bars and LC tortillas. I'm wondering if maybe that could have caused it, or contributed to it. I think I'll stop taking that for awhile too. Thanks for all your help and responses. This seems like it is really a great forum.

If you've been drinking diet soda and caffeine all along and have lost 18 pounds thus far, it seems to me that that hasn't hindered your weight loss. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. You've seemed to narrow down the culprit and you've cut out the bars. As for the low carb tortillas, I eat two or three per week and still lose weight. That may not be your experience, but constant tweaking to see what your body will respond to is part and parcel of this way of life.

My two cents...

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April

The face of a child can say a lot -- especially the mouth part of the face.

My Blog

i would drop the bars first, as they're the most likely culprit, and then look to the tortillas. but the advice you've already gotten is right on, as per usual.

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EatSmart Nutritional Scale Review

Ditto all the advice! Definitely cut out the lc bars. I find that they can cause me to bloat and retain water, so I'll usually limit myself to maybe two a month - if even that often. I had one the other day and realized why I don't eat them all that often...they cause that gassy effect and send my stomach swirilng...after that experience, I decided that when I'm in the mood for something sweet, I'll have a Carb Countdown Yogurt instead, and at least that doesn't have any sugar alcohols in it like the lc bars do. I also think that this is a YMMV deal, too. My dh could eat those lc bars every day and not even gain an ounce.

At least you were able to figure out what you were doing wrong just by getting on here and posting a thread. Sometimes, that's the real eye opener. That's what happens with me...it's when I start posting a thread, I start answering my own questions...sometimes that's all you gotta do to figure out what's going on...

Well, congragulations on your success thus far! And good luck with the rest of the success to come!

Sheyla

DSH eats the bars often--but he is at goal weight--adn they don't seem to affect him at all--me they tear up my stomach and I don't like most of them either. I guess I am lucky in that respect! Watch the tortillas too--they can be full of unexpected substances that may cause you to retain--if you are sensitive to grains that might be the culprit--try eating clean for a few days --taht mean no extras-meat, veggies and fats--no treats and see if those pesky 7 don't disappear!

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130