Done my induction, feeling effects... should i continue?!?

[TmWaddell1989]

I have been on the atkins induction diet for 2 weeks now. I have strictly followed the rules that show what i can and cant eat, and i have lost almost 17 pounds.

I keep reading about people saying that they feel like they have more energy and feel better after induction but my experiences have been the opposite. I feel tired more now and have further problems like constipation. I am taking my fiber suppliments (Fibersure 15grams a day) and 1 multivitamin a day, but these dont appear to make the situation any better and i have resorted to laxatives.

I have written a basic meal plan out for a few days and wondered if anyone can see where i am going wrong. I do not really use measurements but i am careful about watching my carb intake and i think i am eating well below 20 carbs a day (closer to 10-15 grams).

Breakfast - 2 hard boiled eggs with green salad and helmans mayo topping
Pre-lunch - slice of cheese
Lunch - Tuna and mayonnaise with salad/spinach
Dinner - Sirloin Steak with green salad
Water

Breakfast - Tuna
Lunch - scrambled egg with mozzarella cheese and green salad
Snack - half cup of blueberries
Dinner - 2 Salmon steaks with brocolli
Water

this is pretty much what i eat all the time, with a few varients like occasional bacon, babybell cheese, fish fillets and other higher protein and fat meats. And i have only drank water for the entire 2 weeks.

I have the motivation to keep this induction up as i can see the difference and everyone is telling me how much healthier i look. But i am worried about any long term effects on my health, and so are my parents. I have also noticed in the past 4 days that my weight loss has slowed by a huge amount, i am now loosing around 0.6 pounds per day, whereas before i was loosing as much as 1-2 pounds.

Incase you need any background info on me, here it is:
18 Years Old, Male, "Obese" on BMI, (was morbidly obese), big frame, 5'7, current weight 223 pounds... and i exercise around 5 times a week.

Can anyone give any advice as to how i could improve my diet or suppliments, and perhaps share your views as to whether i should stay on this induction program. I think i should because i am still considored Obese and have around 50 pounds left to loose, but my mother (a nurse practitioner) is worried about me following the induction for more than a few weeks because of cholesterol intake and the lack of fiber i am eating.

I think my problem is that i am not eating enough cooked veggies, most of my veggies are in salads. Could this be the root of my problems?

[julirama723]

Re: Done my induction, feeling effects... should i continue?!?

Congratulations on losing 17 pounds! You've lost 17 pounds, which is approximately 25% of the weight you want to lose--usually we can expect to lose 5-10% of our weight on induction.

You failed to list the amounts of foods you're eating. It could be that you are consuming too much protein--an excess of protein (which is really an excess of iron) can cause constipation.

The veggies that you are eating are usually salad veggies? I would suggest eating a wider variety of veggies, as there are many other vegetables that contain more fiber and nutrients than lettuce!

However, since your 2 weeks of induction are up, you'll be moving to Rung 1 of OWL, which is 5g more of induction veggies per day. You can chose veggies from the "salad" or "other" list for your additional serving. There is no benefit to staying on induction unless you're metabolically resistant--and clearly, if you've lost 17 pounds, you are ANYTHING but resistant! Many people stay on induction, falsely believing they'll lose more weight, and often their weight loss comes to a standstill. It's even got a name--PISS--Post Induction Stall Syndrome. These same people who saw their losses slow began losing again when they moved to OWL.

I did not have problems with constipation on induction. But I made sure to eat a wide variety of veggies, exercised regularly (which helps "move" things along), and drank a TON of water. How much water are you drinking? If the fiber in your intestines does not have enough water, it will not move. You should be drinking at least 64 oz. per day, plus 8 oz. for every 25 pounds you want to lose--this is a bare minimum.

Check out the chapters of DANDR that cover OWL, and check out the stickies in the FAQ forum here on the board. OWL is meant to be the main weightloss phase (that's why it's called ONGOING weight loss) and it's so important to do it correctly and by-the-book!

[Sera]

Re: Done my induction, feeling effects... should i continue?!?

it does indeed look like you dont get enough veggies and also dont eat a great variety of them.
salad doesnt have much fiber, its quite empty really.
broccoli has some more but there are things like brussels sprouts that have much more fibre.

on a sidenote, if u have been eating blueberries, you have not been doing a clean induction as these are not allowed until the berries rung on owl, so you can just as well drop extended induction and move up the rungs properly.

so, move to owl indeed and eat more veggies.

[pamelainaustin]

Re: Done my induction, feeling effects... should i continue?!?

Hi Tm,

Congratulations on losing 17 pounds and starting the Atkins WOE. I am also a nurse practitioner and started induction 12/01/07. I did quite a bit of reading about Atkins (both here and elsewhere) before determining that I felt it was safe for me and would provide long term weight loss and improved health. I can honestly say that ever since the first day I started 7 weeks ago I have felt great with tons of energy and no significant cravings.

Please read everything Julie wrote because she is totally correct. I think the water intake is probably where many have issues with tiredness. I drink water from before breakfast until bedtime.

When I started I measured EVERYTHING and made sure I was within the induction rules. I also put everything in on fitday.com to make sure my carb grams were less than 20 and the protein/fat/carb percentages were right.
It should come out about 30% protein, 65% fat and 5% carbs. It is a free site and was very helpful to me. Check it out.

I did not have any constipation issues and ate almost all salad veggies during induction--but not lettuce. I ate (and still eat) baby spinach, mushrooms, celery, and cucumbers every day. I sometimes ate cooked broccoli, cauliflower or green beans. I eat more vegetables now but still eat as many as possible fresh or lightly steamed because that is the best source of fiber.

You are so smart to address your weight and health issues as a young man before you develop significant health problems. I hope you have the book by Dr. Atkins and share it with your mom--maybe it will ease some of her concerns.

Good luck to you!!

Pam

[TmWaddell1989]

Re: Done my induction, feeling effects... should i continue?!?

Thank you all so much for your replies. I think my problem is that i am not eating a varied enough diet as you are all suggesting, so today i will experiment with some mushrooms, celery and brocolli. I do drink a lot of water, usually around 3 litres a day and i always have a handy water bottle with me.

I also read some interesting posts on these forums that talk about protein to fat ratio on induction and how much you should really be eating of both, and i am ashamed to say that i am eating much more protein and less fat than i should be.

Anyway today is a new day and i feel like a fresh start, so i am moving up to the ongoing weight loss stage.

Thank you all for your input, hopefully with all this new information on board hopefully i can achieve my ideal weight on Atkins!

Tim

[*Emma*]

Re: Done my induction, feeling effects... should i continue?!?

Well at least youve realised what it is, lack of fat will be a huge thing!

With you eating more calories, which comes with the fat you should see a change in your energy levels, generally low energy levels means not enough food.

[kate58]

Re: Done my induction, feeling effects... should i continue?!?

Here is a list of the veggies that are on the list and are highest in fibre - making sure you eat a decent portion or better still two portions of one or two of these daily will help a lot:

Avocado
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Eggplant/Aubergine
Mushrooms
Pumpkin
Peppers
Spinach

It's also a good idea to have some fibre rich veg at each meal.

I don't know why, but I've always found boiled eggs are a bunger upper. Try having an omlette or scrambled eggs with spinach or broccoli in it for breakfast and skipping lettuce altogether as it's not really adding much to the fibre content. More hearty veg will satisfy you more anyway.