Ok, so I don't know that for sure, but I have been eating no more than 20 carbs a day for a month now, and I'm only down 4 lbs! And no, my measurements are the same too. I don't have any ketosis strips to check, but why else would I not be losing?

Here's my typical menu (and I do measure everything, so I know how many servings I'm having):

Breakfast:

cup of coffee w/1 tbsp heavy cream, 2 boiled eggs, or eggs and bacon or sausage

Lunch:
Cup of coffee w/1 tbsp cream, salad w/mixed greens, bacon and cucumber. 2 Tbsp Dressing

Snack:
lc yogurt, pork rinds, or lc fudge bar

Dinner:

Green Beans, steak or hamburger patty w/worchesterchire sauce

So tell me what I'm doing wrong! I'm reading the Adkins book, but haven't gotten far. So far he's not told me anything I didn't already know!

Ok, coupla questions...
1) HOW MUCH weight do you want/need to lose?
2) HOW MUCH WATER do you drink?
3) WHY are you STILL on induction???

I'll get to the questions in a moment... as for your menu:
It doesn't look too bad, but there are some definite *alert* items.
For instance, you may not be eating *enough*, believe it or not. You could probably stand to have a little more protein at lunch than just the bacon. Try adding some grilled chicken or tuna to that salad!

LC FUDGE BAR??? Do you eat those daily???
MANY people here will tell you that things like that should be saved for *special treats* every once-in-a-blue-moon, NOT every day. They tend to stall a lot of us! Every time I indulge in one, I *KNOW* the scale is not going to move for a couple of days (and could even go up, temporarily); I don't know what eating one on a regular basis would do to me!

Now, as for the questions:
1) If you are within 20 pounds of your goal, the weight is going to come off much slower than for someone with, say, 50 pounds to lose. The closer your body is to its ideal weight, the more it fights to hold on to those last few pounds.

2) You need to be drinking PLENTY of water -- a good rule of thumb is half your body weight in ounces or more! Even *mild* dehydration can seriously hamper weight loss. Try to keep all other drinks secondary to water.

3) You say you have been eating less than 20 carbs/day for a month? Most people here will tell you that it is best to move past induction after 2 weeks. YES, I *know* Atkins says it's *ok* to stay on it longer, but us long-term LC'ers will tell you otherwise! Staying on induction too long can signal your body to go into *starvation/deprivation* mode and slow your metabolism WAY down. As scary as it may seem, incorporating MORE (healthy) carbs into your plan might actually speed up your weightloss! Try adding another serving of veggies and some fresh berries.

Sorry; didn't mean to go on so long!
I truly hope this helps,

__________________
Summer

I started out at 190, and am now at 185 (roughly). I want to get down to 135 which will give me a normal bmi. I've got about 50 lbs left to lose.



Not enough I know... That very well could be part of the problem. I have a 33oz bottle that I carry with me everywhere, but that's about all I drink. I need to start making an effort to drink more water.

Like I said, I'm still working my way through the book. I didn't know that you were only supposed to limit your carbs so stringently (sp?) for a couple of weeks. But I never did get the "weight loss signals" that I thought would signal ketosis. I have plenty of energy, so something is working. It's just not showing on the scale!

As far as the bacon, I do change my ingredients often. I had alot of bacon on hand since I baked alot in the oven and then stored it in the fridge. I also have chicken breasts in the freezer that I do use for salads. I hadn't thought of tuna though... Hmmm... I also usually have a boiled egg chopped up in there.

No, not daily, maybe twice a week. I'm not ever really having cravings for anything sweet, but I have had one when I had some extra carbs and didn't want to cook... Lazy days! One more thing for me to take a serious look at! *sigh*

Thanks for the advice. There are some things that I see I need to work on. I do have a few more questions though... How many carbs are you supposed to add back in as you move out of induction? Is there ever a time it's best to stop completely and start over in a week or so? If I have forced myself into stavation mode, what do I do to reverse it?

I would be forever indebted to you if you should choose to share some more of your infinite wisdom!

Also, what about supplements? Is there something out there that would help me get more protien without a carb overload?

Besides the lc ice cream, I wonder if the lc yogurt might also be stalling your weight loss? When I was eating yogurt, I found it very difficult to lose weight.

During Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) the Atkins book recommends you add an additional 5 g. net carbs each week until you stop losing. Then you back off 5 net grams per week to stay in weight loss mode. That is known as your Critical Carb Load (CCL)

Initially, the additional 5 grams should come from adding vegetables. Subsequently, you can experiment with adding nuts and fruit. Check the book for details - it provides a food ladder that lists the order for incorporating more different types of foods. Each person's food tolerances and CCL will vary. For example, I never got to the point where I could safely add back some whole grains - even during maintenance.

Personally, I think a multi-vitamin and, perhaps, calcium + magnesium is a good basic supplement approach. You can spend a small fortune buying specialty vitamin and mineral blends, but I've never convinced myself that was necessary.

__________________
~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Dump the ice cream bars. That more than anything else. The "net carb" numbers on those things are complete bull-manure.

Jeez, you know, we spend more time on this forum telling people about low-carb products that aren't really low carb. We ought to make a sticky post about it on every forum.

The yogurt might be a problem, too. That's debatable. I haven't been able to eat it successfully, but I keep an open mind about it, that it might be lower in carbs than the packaging says. It depends on how it's made and who sells it.

If you are having problems, dump the yogurt, too.

But, jeez-o-weezy, dump that ice cream first.

__________________
**************
"And so, in my State of the—my State of the Union—or state—my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation—I asked Americans to give 4,000 years—4,000 hours over the next—the rest of your life—of service to America. That's what I asked—4,000 hours."

One thing I noticed is that you are eating a lot of sodium. Bacon, pork rinds, and perhaps the worcestershire. Couple that with not enough water and presto! Your body is hanging on to water.

Try this for a few days and see how the scale reacts:

1. Drink at least 93 ounces of water during the day. That's half your weight in ounces.
2. Add a vegetable to your breakfast like 1-2 celery sticks or a few green/red pepper strips.
3. Ditch the ice cream as mentioned above.
4. Add a salad to your dinner.
5. Make sure your sausage and dressing contain no sugar.

Good luck and let us know how you progress!

__________________
Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

The ice cream is outta here... I only have one cup of the yogurt left, and won't be buying any more after that's gone.

I saw a recipe on here somewhere for oven roasted veggies. I'm thinking I can bake some up and keep them around to add into meals.

Water, definitely. Starting today I'm guzzling gallons.

I'll check my sausage for sugar before I buy more! Hadn't thought of that!

I use oil and vinegar dressing (Newmans Own). I don't think there's any sugar in it.

Thanks guys!

Hi, Brownie. You've asked good questions and the answers should help you.

My recent success has put me onto another idea that isn't fully explored in the Atkins book: fiber.

We know that we can subtract the fiber content from vegetables and fruits to get the "net carbs"--the only carbs that actually provide nutrient value. However, unless you eat a ton of broccoli (f'rinstance) I think it's difficult to get enough gms of fiber into the daily allowance on Atkins.

So do some research on fiber. I like to eat a cereal combining flaxseed meal and wheat bran, usually with whey protein and some flavorings (recipes on this site). There are also supplements you can take. Getting as much fiber as you can keeps those proteins and fats moving through, and your digestive system will thank you. (Introduce fibers slowly if you're just starting.)

__________________
Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

Hmmm... That's something to think about Barb. I've recently discovered that I DO like broccoli, after all those years of telling myself it was nasty! So that is now being incorporated into my diet. I'll check out that recipe!

I would only add that be sure you aren't ever hungry. Atkins says if in doubt, eat. Personally I think the keto-stix are a good idea. If you can get those babies to turn purple you will lose weight.

__________________
keep on keepin on

211/165/170

Ketostix get a BIG thumbs up from me. You have to learn how to use them, though -- they can give you different reactions at different times. Look for trends.

__________________
**************
"And so, in my State of the—my State of the Union—or state—my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation—I asked Americans to give 4,000 years—4,000 hours over the next—the rest of your life—of service to America. That's what I asked—4,000 hours."