5:00 am _ Atkins chocolate shake (premade in can)
5:30- Workout, 24 oz of water
6:00- one cup coffee(high octane), 1 sweet n low, cream
8:00- hard boiled egg
9:00-10:00 24 oz of water
10:30- 8 cucumber slices & 5 celery sticks
11:30-12:30-24 oz of water
1:00- Wendy's Taco Salad, minus the salsa, sour cream and tortilla chips plus more water
3:00- 4 oz 1% milkfat cottage cheese & 6 cucumber slices
5:00- 5 celery sticks & 16 oz of water
7:00- (got home late) 1 cheeseburger, no bun, 1 cup asparagus, 1 tsp. butter, salt to taste, 6 cucumber slices.
9:00-Atkins 4oz vanilla ice cream cup, couple sips of Diet Pepsi.
Should I change anything?
I am really struggling here with no losses in a couple of weeks. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for the help

You're not eating enough.

Dryad

You need to eat more protein.
I try and eat protein at every meal.



Victors are really just temporary quitters who then regroup with a vengeance.

Where's your fat and protein? One cheeseburger, and an egg isn't going to cut it. Your veggies are ok..but you could use more density.. cukes and celery are mostly water.. try some broccoli, green beans, etc. Have the sour cream on the taco salad.. have 2 cheeseburgers instead of one.. have 2 eggs, and some meat...

If you're going to consume cottage cheese, 4% milkfat is better than 1%...

Where's your water? Should be way more than 48oz in a day. Depending on what you're trying to lose, double that amount may be good.

(296/226.5/135) 04/01/03
The Downward Spiral Begins

I agree with everyone above. Not enough food, fat, or protein.
Also, with your veggie snacks, add some protein with that. You should never eat carbs alone. Add a little cheese or some ranch dip, full fat, not non-fat.
And real food is better than processes low carb foods (like the shakes). They are expensive and not necessary.

Teri

You're not eating real meals. You're eating low carb products.

Ditch the shakes and any other Atkins low carb product, including bars and ice cream.
Eat real meals which include lots of protein and vegetables, as follows:

Breakfast
as much coffee as you care to drink, with 2 packets of Sweet-n-Low and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream per 16-ounce mug
3 eggs scrambled with 1 ounces of shredded colby cheese

Lunch
2 grilled hamburger patties (the reason I say grilled is because I take leftovers from the night before to work the next day)
OR
2 grilled chicken breasts
OR
2 grilled pork chops
OR
1 very large grilled steak
1 can of green beans with butter (the reason I say canned is because I eat at my desk at lunch at work)
AND/OR
1 can of spinach with butter
AND/OR
1 large salad comprising iceberg lettuce, green pepper strips, hard boiled egg, radishes, cucumbers, topped with Ranch dressing and 1 ounce of shredded cheddar cheese
washed down with lots of water

Dinner
Repeat of lunch....exactly

Snack
1 whole bag of radishes
OR
several ribs (not stalks) of celery
dipped in Rach dressing
OR
a handful of walnuts

That's what I'd eat on Induction. In fact, that's what I eat daily and I lost 15 pounds in August.

Read "possible help for newbies" in the newbies forum.

My two cents....

April
352 / 201 / 180
5'10", large frame, size 13 shoe
www.geocities.com/aprilreinhardt

oh my gosh, that seems like so much food! I will try to make the recommended adjustments, but I am so used to eating so little. I guess I have to retrain my brain.

Thanks for the advice!

Yes, you really do have to retrain your brain. We are so use to being told to eat small amounts, it becomes natural. I had a very hard time eating all of the fat at first. I had done low fat for years. This WOE went against everything I thought was true. I finally had to convince myself that if LF really worked I would be skinny .

I agree you need to leave the shakes and ice cream alone until you are through induction and then if they do not stall you, eat them occasionally. Not every day. I eat the bars on occasion. They do not bother me, but your mileage may vary.

It is recommended that you drink around half of your body weight in water. If I added correctly (it has been a long day) you are drinking 72 oz a day. This is ideal if you weigh 144 pounds. The water is very important to losing weight.

Are you taking your measurements? This is critical. There are times when the scales will not show loss, but the tape measure does.

Good Luck!

Susan ( AKA Northwest)
207/177.5/160

Well, as you are only 140 lbs currently, you may not want to eat 2 burgers, 2 chops, etc. with each meal, unless you are really very active.

But, I agree that your meal plan looks a bit skimpy, and upping the proteins and combining your veggies with a fat/protein should help.

It often is more challenging to lose those last 10 to 20 lbs; and you may end up needing to tweak your eating plan a few times as your body's needs change.

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
164/135/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

sbarstow... I'm not sure about the shakes; they sound benign. Never tried them. But that Atkins ice cream knocked me straight out of ketosis. If you're having trouble, it's a good idea to eliminate everything containing sugar alchohols at least for a while. Dump the Atkins ice cream.

***********************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

I am going to take all of the advice offered and try to adjust my meals throughout the day, but I do have a question. I thought that the ATKINS products were ok since they are made by and for following this WOE. I workout first thing in the morning and find I need to have something in my stomach, but nothing heavy. That's why I opted for the shake. I drink it about 1/2 hour before working out. I find I don't feel so drained during or after my workout. Should I be having something else?

Hi sbarstow,

I too have a shake if there is not enough time between wakeup and workout to digest a meal. For variety I make my own shakes using the V8 'Diet' Splash made w/splenda (about 3 carbs/8oz --I think), a scoop of protein powder, and about 2 Tbsp heavy cream or half n half. sometimes I put about 1/4 c whole milk yoghurt into it also. Once you are past induction you could try the yoghurt w/strawberries to give you some carbs for energy before you work out. As the others have said I would eat more protein and have your veggies with the protein and some fat. Also drink plenty of water. The Atkins Bars don't bother me, BUT I usually only have half of one as a treat, when there is a cake or other goodie at work staring me in the face and my willpower is not as strong as I would like it to be.

HTH
Becky

HTH
Becky

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I thought that the ATKINS products were ok since they are made by and for following this WOE. I workout first thing in the morning and find I need to have something in my stomach, but nothing heavy.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, you'd think that would be the case, but it's not. A lot of the things made by the Atkins company contain sugar alcohols and glycerine. This is odd, as those substances cause many people to stall. He even had sugar alcohols on the "do not eat" list in earlier editions of his books. Must be the $$$.

Maybe you could have a hard boiled egg (pre-cooked and peeled) in the morning, or make up your own shake mixes with protein powders and Splenda syrups.

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
164/135/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

Also my 11 year old son is a fan of those taco salads.....CHILI!!!!! IMHO there are way too many carbs in that cup of chili....Oh how I wish I can join him in those salads,,,I get the BLT one instead....Good Luck....and also the ice cream does not affect me but I take it real easy like maybe one every 2 weeks...

The shakes might not be the problem. But if you eliminate them and things improve then you know they need to go. Lots of things that seemed okay by reading the label ended up stalling me.
Trial and error will eventually get you to the point where you are in control of your weight loss. I agree though that a little carb jolt helps a workout quite a bit.
Rob
310/250/180