What am I doing wrong?

[esac]

So I weighed myself after 1 week today, wasn't going to weight until the end, but since my body is showing no signs of ketosis I had to know.

When I weighed myself at the beginning I was 179.5. Today I weighed in at 175.8. Not quite a 4 pound loss. Now don't get me wrong, I am happy about every pound, but considering I hear '2 pounds/day' loss, I was hoping for a little more.

Also when I started Atkins, I was a salt-a-holic. I salted all of my food so much that most people found it inedible. On day 2 I decided to stop adding any salt whatsoever, so I was hoping for a little loss right there from losing water weight. I also cut from 2-3 cups of caffeineted coffee/day down to 1 maybe 2 cups of half-caf coffee. About every other day I have 1 can of diet rite splenda red raspberry (0 carbs).

Finally, I have gone to the gym 3 times (wed, fri, today), and ran on the elliptical for 1/2 hour (~350 calories) as well as some ab work.

Here is my daily intake. I have been trying to get near 65% fat, but when the end of the day comes and I realize I am only 58-60%, the only thing I can plug into fitday to bring my fat up to 65% is 2 tablespoons of butter .. raw

Monday Fat: 65%, Protein: 30%, Carbs (28g) 5% (first day was bad)
Tuesday Fat: 63%, Protein: 35%, Carbs (17g) 3%
Wednesday Fat: 59%, Protein: 39%, Carbs (11g) 2%
Thursday Fat: 60%, Protein: 37%, Carbs (19g) 2%
Friday Fat: 61%, Protein: 37%, Carbs (16g) 2%
Saturday Fat: 53%, Protein: 42%, Carbs (13g) 4%
Sunday Fat: 58%, Protein: 38%, Carbs (18g) 4%

Don't worry i'm not giving up yet, I was just hoping to see at least 6 pounds minimum this morning

Ray

[Nixgirl]

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Hi esac
Don't be discouraged by 3.5 lbs weight loss...that's good!
Looking at your fitday stats it seems your carbs seem fine but your protein is too high!
Excess protein turns to sugar in our bodies so you really need to add some fat to your diet to bring those protein percentages down!

Play around with fitday to see what foods you can add to tip the balance in favour of fat!! Remember you don't need to add a lot of food to make a big difference to the percentages...some butter or mayo might be all you need!


Good Luck...and keep us posted with your progress!

Janet
xx

[kylie]

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Ok - take a deep breath - there are a couple of things right off that I see

1) Your FAT needs to be higher. Maybe if you post a couple of menus in the review my menu section, or give an idea of what foods you are eating each day here, we can give you some easy ways to bump that fat percentage up without resorting to a butter snack. It really only takes a little tweak here and there to really adjust those percentages. Atkins is HIGH FAT - not high protein - your protein should stay around 30% regardless of which phase of Atkins...The fat will eventually lower as carbs increase through OWL, premaintenance and maintenance - but during induciton - the fat needs to be 65% or close to that.

2) 2 pounds a day? Where are you getting that info? Each person is different in terms of starting weight, age, gender and how much he/she needs to lose...Someone that needs to lose 150 pounds will probably drop more pounds in the beginning that someone that needs to lose 50 pounds - Say a 300 pound man has an ideal weight of 200 - he needs to lose 100 pounds. Say he's not very resistant to weight loss and loses 30 pounds during induction - that's not typical but since you used the 2 pounds a day I'll start with that...that's 30% of the weight he needs to lose - well above the typical 5% - 10% you can expect to lose during induciton with average resistance. Now, lets say you need to lose 50 pounds - if you were to match his percentage - you would lose only 15 pounds during induction and that would still be way ahead of the typical 5 - 10% which would translate into 2.5 - 5 pounds...So you can't compare pound for pound with people that have different amounts to lose. Make sense?

3) Induction is 14 days - give it the 14 at full effort and then decide if you are happy with the results.

GOOD for you for cutting out the heavy salt!

So, tell us -
age, how much to lose, gender, what you're eating...and we'll see if we can't help you tweak those percentages

[cincywbbw]

Re: What am I doing wrong?

dont be discouraged I only lost 4 lbs on induction, you are doing Great!!!

[esac]

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Ok - take a deep breath - there are a couple of things right off that I see

1) Your FAT needs to be higher. Maybe if you post a couple of menus in the review my menu section, or give an idea of what foods you are eating each day here, we can give you some easy ways to bump that fat percentage up without resorting to a butter snack. It really only takes a little tweak here and there to really adjust those percentages. Atkins is HIGH FAT - not high protein - your protein should stay around 30% regardless of which phase of Atkins...The fat will eventually lower as carbs increase through OWL, premaintenance and maintenance - but during induciton - the fat needs to be 65% or close to that.

I'll post it, not a super exciting menu .. but I guess part of the issue is(?) that I do not eat much red meat (makes my tummy hurt) and i've always tried to limit the pork.

2) 2 pounds a day? Where are you getting that info? Each person is different in terms of starting weight, age, gender and how much he/she needs to lose...Someone that needs to lose 150 pounds will probably drop more pounds in the beginning that someone that needs to lose 50 pounds - Say a 300 pound man has an ideal weight of 200 - he needs to lose 100 pounds. Say he's not very resistant to weight loss and loses 30 pounds during induction - that's not typical but since you used the 2 pounds a day I'll start with that...that's 30% of the weight he needs to lose - well above the typical 5% - 10% you can expect to lose during induciton with average resistance. Now, lets say you need to lose 50 pounds - if you were to match his percentage - you would lose only 15 pounds during induction and that would still be way ahead of the typical 5 - 10% which would translate into 2.5 - 5 pounds...So you can't compare pound for pound with people that have different amounts to lose. Make sense?

Makes sense, i'll readjust my viewpoint .. I guess you hear those 'amazing' stories and sometimes you think that's what your body will do to and it will never do that

3) Induction is 14 days - give it the 14 at full effort and then decide if you are happy with the results.

I plaln on it, not gonna give up now

GOOD for you for cutting out the heavy salt!

So, tell us -
age, how much to lose, gender, what you're eating...and we'll see if we can't help you tweak those percentages

28years, SW 179.5 CW 175.8 GW 155, Male

Typical Menu:
Breakfast: 2 eggs ( scrambled or over easy ), 2-3 links turkey sausage (or turkey bacon, or turkey patty ), usually with a little cheese on the scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Raw meat, chicken breast or turkey italian sausage or similar or costco chicken.
Snack: Mozzarella cheese stick
Dinner: 2 cups spinach greens, 1/2 avocado, small amounts of tomato or cucumber (maybe totally 1/2 cup collectively), some real bacon bacon bits, 2 tbs blue cheese dressing, and some meat (either on the salad or on the side).

[kylie]

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Ok - So, now we know that you started with about 24.5 pounds to lose...you're young and male - both of which will serve you well in trying to lose weight!

Your losses so far given that info are WOW! worthy.

Now, to your menu

If you aren't already, add some heavy cream to your eggs when you scramble them and cook them in butter. There's some added fat - easy.

Make sure your salad dressing is FULL fat and keep track of the carbs.

Cook your dinner meat in butter or olive oil for more fat if you are using only lean meats. Or dip it in some mayo - excellent way to up your fat percentages...seriously - pop a tablespoon of mayo into your fitday and just watch the fat percentage go up!

I think you could probably use a little more veggies - and don't hesitate to try new ones...you don't have to eat lettuce or spinach as a salad everyday - you can eat 2 cups from the salad veggie list and one cup from the other list - try to mix it up a bit...also, try to spread your veggies throughout the day...toss some peppers/tomatoes/onions in your scrambled eggs and have some with your lunch- saving your entire day's allotment of veggies until dinner could cause blood sugar instability - exactly what we are trying to avoid.

Ok, so just a few little adjustments! And don't forget to drink your water! Congrats on the exercise as well! You're really on the right track!

[esac]

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Ok - So, now we know that you started with about 24.5 pounds to lose...you're young and male - both of which will serve you well in trying to lose weight!

Your losses so far given that info are WOW! worthy.

Now, to your menu

If you aren't already, add some heavy cream to your eggs when you scramble them and cook them in butter. There's some added fat - easy.

Make sure your salad dressing is FULL fat and keep track of the carbs.

Cook your dinner meat in butter or olive oil for more fat if you are using only lean meats. Or dip it in some mayo - excellent way to up your fat percentages...seriously - pop a tablespoon of mayo into your fitday and just watch the fat percentage go up!

I think you could probably use a little more veggies - and don't hesitate to try new ones...you don't have to eat lettuce or spinach as a salad everyday - you can eat 2 cups from the salad veggie list and one cup from the other list - try to mix it up a bit...also, try to spread your veggies throughout the day...toss some peppers/tomatoes/onions in your scrambled eggs and have some with your lunch- saving your entire day's allotment of veggies until dinner could cause blood sugar instability - exactly what we are trying to avoid.

Ok, so just a few little adjustments! And don't forget to drink your water! Congrats on the exercise as well! You're really on the right track!

Thanks for the tips, i'll start incorporating those immediately! 1 more week to go, although I might try to be a full monther induction candidate if this works well One of the things i've been really surprised about is that I do not crave sugars.. just today at work we got our 'monday morning treats' which I will not name, a huge 6' by 4' table full of them, and I stood right there while my friends grabbed some and didn't even want a single one. Now don't get me wrong, I do miss them, but I don't have to have them

Thanks for the encouragement, i'll keep it going!

[sallyseachange]

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Kylie gave you excellent advice. Don't stress too much; weight loss goes in ups and downs. Why not take your measurements, now that you're at the beginning. At times we lose inches before pounds (particularly if you've added exercise, so are making muscles which weigh heavier than fat) and the tape measure is far more reliable than the scales. It's a chore to measure, but you might find that if you don't you'll regret it further on down the line. That happened to me.

If it's any comfort... I only lost about six pounds in induction but I still reached goal.

You can do this!

[kylie]

Re: What am I doing wrong?

That's what we're here for! One word of caution since you brought it up - use the chart in DANDR at the end of induction to figure your metabolic resistance level before you even think about extending induction. Extended induction does NOT = more weight loss...in fact, many people stay there hoping it will and find that they don't start losing again until moving on to OWL...based on what you have to lose, your age, and gender, there is no reason to think that you would benefit AT ALL from extending induction...and OWL is vitally important to being able to maintain later on. But, you'll be in a better position to evaluate that at the end of your 14 days. Oh, and if you haven't already - get your measurements and write them down - sometimes the scale stands still but you are still losing fat and shrinking - the tape will show you that even when the scales don't - and pictures are a great idea too - so you can see the difference even when you might not notice it daily in the mirror. Congrats on not having trouble resisting those treats! Ketosis is a beautiful thing!