Read all posts on stall, plateau, stuck, etc.
Need to count calories?
Average menu:
B: cup grn beans w/ chicken or beef left overs.One coffee. W vits.
L:2 scrambled eggs w chopped / bokchoy, or spinach or celery, w/ 2 or 3 tbls.heavy cream.
3or 4 slices bacon, green tea.
Snack: Smoothie: protein whey, heavy cream, splenda, 4 oz tofu 1/4 cup rasberries.
hand full almonds.OR home made ice cream made with cream cheese, heavy cream and splenda Portion (1/4 cup with 1/2 cp rhubarb. OR 4oz cheese w/ pork rinds.
D: Meat or chicken with steamed veggie, bok choy, or asparagus, or head lettuce w/2 tbls mayo.
Water: 32-64 oz varies sometimes more or less..
Exercise: Every day 20-30 minutes on stationary bike
Out of Ketosis for at least 3 weeks...how reliable anyway when drinking water and taking test, no doubt you'll say drink more! Bathroom not available sometimes.
Signed up at gym yesterday to do the weight thing, perhaps this will help stall. Shall I try the egg fast? Eat veggies three times aday.
Thank you for all your posts on the subject. Also read In Protein Power, Atkins on Going re. plateaux.
Thank you
midog

[This message was edited by midog on 11-08-03 at 01:37 PM.]

Midog,

It seems odd that you're not in ketosis with your menu and exercise regimen. I drink a ton of water and have an abnormally low specific gravity in my urine (congenital). Still, I get a trace reading on a stick when I'm in ketosis.

How tall are you? What's your goal? Where are you at?

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160)/Maintaining nicely (110) ~~ Redhead until further notice!

I agree with everything Maggie said...
Your menu looks great!

I would have to ask, too, how tall you are and your weight and how much you are looking to lose. The closer we are to our goal weight, the slower the weight loss goes...

At risk of sounding like a nag, I'm more than a little concerned about your water intake.
What do you mean that bathrooms aren't available???
What do you do?
I guess my main concern would be the effect of the ketones on your kidneys without adequate water intake...
The critics would have us believe that this woe (way of eating) is damaging to the kidneys. I don't believe that is true UNLESS one is not drinking adequate water. I DO believe that ketones can put a strain on kidneys if there is not enough fluid to dilute them; this is why people with kidney problems are not allowed to follow this way of eating. I would figure out SOME WAY to get NO LESS than 64 oz./day -- preferably more.
Your bladder really will adjust with time!
I drink no less than a gallon/day (128 oz.) and in the beginning, I was going to the bathroom all the time; now, it's no more than usual!

One more question: how much have you lost so far and how long have you been following an LC woe?
After you answer the above questions, we might be able to give more helpful advice...
Hang in there!

Summer


www.herstorygirl.com

Hi, many thanks for the input.
H 5'5", 136lbs,
Started Atkins in Aug, lost 12 lbs.was 148. Goal 125lbs. After reading about "water" I think that could be the answer, the other is
when I drink alot...I'm up at night at least 3 x's. I'm not a kid and the plumbing is not what it used to be,huh. Also I down a glass very quickly (to get it over with) How in the world do you manage a gallon? I'll look forward to a "bladder-adjustment" along with an attitude-adjustment!
Last several weeks ketones neutral. I thought it was the water since I took the test same time of day.
The plus side,I've never felt better and my energy level has increased since woe has changed(love bacon, pork fat rules)
This is a great site and I've learned so much from all of you.I frequently re-read the posts. Hoo-rah and thank you again.
midog

LOL!

It wasn't easy... I used to HATE to drink water!
Before I began this woe, I almost NEVER drank it. So, if I can do it, ANYBODY can!
It just takes time. Seriously, just start slowly. Try adding ONE extra 8-oz. glass tomorrow. Keep doing that for a few days, then add another one.
One trick I use is to use a large cup (mine is 32 oz) and sip on that ALL day. Try not to drink anything else (so that you will be thirsty for the water). I make sure I fill and empty my cup at least 4 times before bed.

As for the 3x/night bathroom trips, I hear you there! I'm pregnant and 3x/night is minimum for me right now!
But again, your body WILL eventually adjust. You won't be doing that forever...

One last thing (and then I'll shut up ), make sure you are using the ketostix at NIGHT. This is when they are most effective. Also, don't put too much stock in them. I lost 50 pounds and never registered more than *TRACE* to *SMALL* on them (probably because of my high fluid intake). But, *obviously* I was losing. Take your measurements because sometimes you can be losing and it NOT show up on the scale.
If all else fails, throw out the scale!
If you feel great on this woe, that's all that really matters. If you keep doing what you're doing, the weight WILL come off eventually.
Best of luck to you!
Summer

hello Summer,
Great suggestions, just finished another 8oz. Oh yes,,never drank water til now,whaa, water? yuk, drank coffee, now only one cup of that.
Also I'll drink before eating.Goal will be a gallon, phew!

Absolutely fabulous...you lost 50 lbs Congratulations!

I admit the scale is my undoing...I will take measurments too. So it's more water and I'll test in the evening.
Again, thanks for the kind words and advice.
Pounds-Away!
midog

Mid,

Are you drinking full octane coffee? The caffeine stalls some people.

Sounds like you don't have ALL that much to lose, so it IS going to be slow going. Think more about the POSITIVE health benefits of this WOL. That's what is the MOST important. The weight loss is just an added benefit.

Definitely take measurements!!!! And the water is most important. I stop about 2 hrs before bed, so I rid myself of it before then. A good night's sleep is really important too. That's when our Human Growth Hormone gets produced, during deep sleep.



Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/146/135
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

I would suggest gradually backing down on your carbs until you get a trace of ketones either on your breath or on the sticks. I agree, you don't seem to be eating that many carbs, but some people are more sensitive to carbs than other people, especially if they aren't very active.

You might want to eliminate some of the higher-carb foods like tofu and raspberries, just temporarily, to get a handle on things.

You might want to increase your exercise. Endurance exercise might not be as important as some brief but hard exercise.

**************
"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."

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> H 5'5", 136lbs, Started Atkins in Aug, lost 12 lbs.was 148. Goal 125lbs. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually, that's not bad - you are losing about a pound a week on average.

You don't really need to drink a gallon of water a day at your size. The rule of thumb for water consumption is to drink a half ounce of water for every pound you weigh (more if heat or exercise causes you to sweat a lot). At 136 lbs., that would be about 68 oz. a day. Once your system adjusts, you'll find that the nocturnal trips to the bathroom decrease.

Your menu looks pretty good; but some of us found we had to tweak things a bit to keep losing as we got nearer to our goal weight. In my case, I ate less of the "high octane" foods like cheese, cream, sausage, and nuts. That seemed to help, and I found it fairly painless.

I substituted half-and-half for the heavy cream, and only ate about 1/2 the amount of cream cheese or cheddar cheese I was eating before. I also switched to unsalted nuts, as it was hard to stop eating the salty nuts once I finished my 1-oz. portion.

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
174/132/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

Did a different exercise as suggested and increased water Reading over the eat-journal
I began to stall when I started using heavy cream in scrambled eggs, smoothies and on a few berries...LoveIt whipped! I have some coconut nut milk It has 2g in 1/3 cup, wonder if that would be better. Then there's the cream cheese and cream in the icecream, (homemade) I rationalized because the portion was small...I'll tweak as advised . Maybe I can make some spinach icecream? I was over-joyed to find cream on this woe that I went overboard when I saw the almost no carbs and forgot the calories, duh.
Pounds-away!
midog

Yep, Midog,

Unfortunately this WOL is not an invitation to go nuts on anything (even nuts, LOL) nor is any other eating plan. Moderation is the key. But think of yourself as fortunate in that you kept a journal, was able to examine it and tweak your intake. You have control. You are your own master. GOOD FOR YOU!!!!



Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/146/135
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."