getting frustrated. :( need some encouragement

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Ok - so i've been on atkins now for 3 weeks exactly. No bread. No pasta. No potatoes. No rice. No sugar. No pop (i haven't drank pop in over 2 years anyways). No grains of any sort.

And I'm ONLY down 5 pounds. Granted, I'm very happy with those 5 pounds - but it's frustrating that it's ONLY 5 pounds (and no, i'm not scale hopping, today was my weigh in day).

I know a few things I've done that aren't on the induction list (and believe me, I'm taking them out as of right now) -

1. sugar free sweet gherkins (1 carb for 2 pickles).

2. I was really wanting some fruit so I chose a peach this week and so I had 1 three days in a row. (no more until I get to that rung).

3. 2 tbsp of sunflower seeds (again, no more til i get to that rung.)

4. Blue cheese dressing - (which, I honestly thought that caesar and blue cheese were allowed on induction, but according to the book I should ONLY be having oil and vinigar?)

But it's not like I go crazy with those things either. When I have those pickles, it's ONLY 1-2 servings (which, each serving - 2 pickles - is 1 g carbs, no sugar - but again, i know it's not induction so out they go)

I'm thinking that the blue cheese dressing The Blue cheese I've been having (T. Marzetti's) is 1 g carb per 2 tbsp but there is also 1 g sugar.

I also had 2 tbsp of sunflower seeds this week (1 tbsp on one day and 1 tbsp the next day) - which again, I am stopping now until I hit those rungs.

Other than those four items (which again, i do NOT go crazy with) - I feel like I've been following the book.

Here is my menu for the past three weeks:

Keri-Ann's Food Diary

It is so incredibly frustrating - but I'm going to go back and make sure I eat ONLY induction foods.

My exercise = 10 days total in the past 3 weeks (including strength training - but I KNOW i'm not "gaining muscle" because I've been going to the gym off and on for 5 years so it's not like this is anything 'new' to my body, I just havn't been since August).

http://keriannmbexercise.blogspot.com/

I know some of you are going to tell me "NOTHING THAT'S NOT ON THE LIST!!!!" and I understand that - but my brain said "c'mon - a peach is better than a cookie!!!"

And believe me - starting today I'm NOT having anything that's not on the list (in fact I'll be creating myself a spreadsheet to keep track of everything - it's easier for me than fitday or dailyplate because I can customize it).

But seriously? Did having those three peaches REALLY 'hurt' me? You can't tell me that those aren't better choices than grabbing for a cookie.

btw, i'm also on Metformin (which regulates your blook sugar).

It's just very frustrating that I see everyone else losing a LOT and yet - nothing. The scale won't budge.

btw - I had NO fruit or seeds until this week. I didn't actually have those things until this third week - meaning i didn't have those during the actualy first two weeks of induction.

[Georgiana]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

Ok - so i've been on atkins now for 3 weeks exactly. No bread. No pasta. No potatoes. No rice. No sugar. No pop (i haven't drank pop in over 2 years anyways). No grains of any sort.

"No sugar" on Atkins does not mean not adding sugar to your tea. It means avoiding sugar of any kind, except the one occurring naturally in the foods allowed for the rung you're at. Since you have eaten peaches, you did have sugar!

And I'm ONLY down 5 pounds. Granted, I'm very happy with those 5 pounds - but it's frustrating that it's ONLY 5 pounds (and no, i'm not scale hopping, today was my weigh in day).

Did you figure out what is your level of metabolic resistance? There's a table on page 158 in the book. If you are metabolically resistant, then you should proceed accordingly. However, since you did not have a clean induction, your results will be affected and you might have a lower resistance than the one you'll find based on the table.

1. sugar free sweet gherkins (1 carb for 2 pickles).

Are there any illegal ingredients in these? Otherwise they are legal. Careful about the sodium though, I know too much salt stalls me.

2. I was really wanting some fruit so I chose a peach this week and so I had 1 three days in a row. (no more until I get to that rung).

Did you want some fruit more than you want to lose the weight? There are things you have to give up, at least for now, if you want to lose faster and, even more important, make Atkins a way of eating for life. If you cannot accept this, you are not focused on losing weight. Sit down and ask yourself why you want to get fit. Once you have this figured out, making the right choice between your health and a peach should be straightforward.

3. 2 tbsp of sunflower seeds (again, no more til i get to that rung.)

I don't understand why you had them in the first place. If you don't follow the plan to a 'T', the only person you're cheating on is yourself!

4. Blue cheese dressing - (which, I honestly thought that caesar and blue cheese were allowed on induction, but according to the book I should ONLY be having oil and vinigar?)

What book? It is not written anywhere in DANDR that you should only have oil & vinegar. I don't know what are the ingredients in your blue cheese dressing, but the book says

For salad dressing use oil and vinegar (but not balsamic vinegar, which contains sugar) or lemon juice and herbs and spices. Prepared salad dressings without added sugar and no more than two carbs per tablespoon serving are also fine.

I'm thinking that the blue cheese dressing The Blue cheese I've been having (T. Marzetti's) is 1 g carb per 2 tbsp but there is also 1 g sugar.

Is there added sugar in the dressing? Or is the 1 g of sugar coming simply from cheese and other legal ingredients?

It is so incredibly frustrating - but I'm going to go back and make sure I eat ONLY induction foods.

I'm sorry... I don't want to sound harsh, but you are kicking yourself in the tushie and then complain that it hurts! I didn't check how much you have to lose, but moving up the rungs will give you more food choices and will allow you to avoid cheating with nuts or fruits. Unless you are metabolically resistant or have a lot to lose, there is no reason why you should do extended induction.

My exercise = 10 days total in the past 3 weeks (including strength training - but I KNOW i'm not "gaining muscle" because I've been going to the gym off and on for 5 years so it's not like this is anything 'new' to my body, I just havn't been since August).

Good job for exercising!

And believe me - starting today I'm NOT having anything that's not on the list (in fact I'll be creating myself a spreadsheet to keep track of everything - it's easier for me than fitday or dailyplate because I can customize it).

It will make no difference if any of us believes you or not. *You* have to believe yourself! To take yourself seriously and not sabotage your weight loss!

But seriously? Did having those three peaches REALLY 'hurt' me? You can't tell me that those aren't better choices than grabbing for a cookie.

You keep making this excuse, that it was better than a cookie. Maybe it was, but what if you wanted a cookie instead? Would you have chosen a brownie without icing just because is better than a brownie with icing?

As to whether eating three peaches "REALLY" hurt you... it's hard to say as it depends on your CCLL and on what you mean by "REALLY". I don't know how much you could have lost without them, but I am willing to bet that it would have been more. 0.5 lbs or 5 lbs more... who knows...

Take some time to think why you want to do Atkins and why you want to lose weight. Accept the fact that Atkins is your new way of eating -- for life! If you follow the half of the plan, you will only see half of the results.

I'm sure you'll be successful on Atkins once/if you take yourself and your weight problem seriously. Good luck!

[Biba21]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

I feel your pain I'm a little frustrated too, you could make your own dressing with some oil, crumbed chesse and mayo or mustard, it's pretty good. If your craving a sweet have some diet rite after you've had your 8 glasses of water that might help. And to the Georgiana I think your being too hard hard on her, you make it seem like she'll get fat from eating peaches and seeds, that's a little extreme. And she say she was going to cut them out now.

All I can say is try real hard to redo the induction phase for the two weeks and go to owl right after, with that you could add new foods after a while.

Good Luck to You and try your best!

[Georgiana]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

The sad thing is that one can get fat on Atkins by eating peaches...

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

the no-sugar-added sweet gherkins ARE allowed? I didn't see them on the list (course I could have missed them)...

[cindybf]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

Some people in this board act like this is the military. Geez. She asked for advice not a beat down.

I say dust yourself off and move on. I think it's much better for you to do a clean induction but so you ate 3 peaches. Somebody beat her up! Its ok. Dont stress. You have changed your eating habits for the most part, 3 weeks is good. If I were you (and this is only a suggestion) I would start induction over and do it precisely. Good luck.

[Georgiana]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

the no-sugar-added sweet gherkins ARE allowed? I didn't see them on the list (course I could have missed them)...

They are pickled cucumbers, right? Cucumbers are allowed in induction. You will not find "pickled cucumbers" written in the book, but as long as all the ingredients are legal, the food as a whole also is. I eat SF pickled jalapenos and they are awesome!

[not2late]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

The sad thing is that one can get fat on Atkins by eating peaches...

Or it can slow or stop your weight loss. That's why there are specific foods to be eaten during Induction Phase and that's why foods are reintroduced in a specific amount and manner during On-Going Weight Loss and Pre-Maintenance Phases.

Dr. Atkins didn't decide in a willy-nilly manner to include some foods and exclude others when he devised his diet. He did it based on studies about low carb diets and on the experiences of his patients. He had almost 40 years of observing and helping thousands of people with his diet and he used that data to devise something that worked.

There is a reason why nuts and seeds are not allowed during Induction. (food intolerances/allergies and portion control)
There is a reason why fresh cheeses like ricotta aren't allowed during Induction. (relatively higher carbs per 1 ounce servings than aged cheese.)
There is a reason why artificial sweeteners are limited during Induction.
(weight loss stalls or complete halt with 3 or more servings per day.)

None of Dr. Atkin's Diet was done randomly or whimsically.

We all have the choice to follow it as Dr. Atkins wrote it or not to. But if we don't follow it as he wrote, then we truly don't have the right to complain if we aren't losing weight to our satisfaction or if we are having cravings or any other adverse effect and we most definitely do not have the right to say that Atkins doesn't work for us.

As Georgiana pointed out, we can all rationalize that eating a peach is better than eating a brownie. But we can also rationalize that eating a slice of cake is better than eating a quart of ice cream. That kind of rationalization gets us nowhere! We never get past the first step, because we prevent ourselves from moving forward. We have to believe that we--our health and our bodies-- are more valuable than a piece of cake, more than ice cream, more than a peach, etc. Take the first complete step forward and don't look back.

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

I totally understand that you're saying this needs to be done to at "T" but - I'm also of the mindset that this is a journey and i know i'm going to trip and fall and it's a LEARNING EXPERIENCE and I've learned what I posted in my first post is not working for me.

I still - absolutely no matter what - yes, I DO feel that eating those peaches WAS a MUCH better option than eating a cookie. However, like the first post was about, me realizing that it adding those foods in during my first week of "OWL" (again, i'd already passed the first two weeks of induction - this is my third week, I just skipped a few rungs for those peaches). And now I know I can't be too impatient.

Believe me - I really truly WANT to do this for the rest of my life and I don't care who believes me and who doesn't, as long as I know that it's true...but - again, for me - it IS a learning experience and I just wanted a bit of encouragement (which I have received from all - including Georgiana.

While I may not have been doing induction to a "T" (again, technically i am in week 3 - but for me week 3 is just another week of induction with a few more vegees - that's just the way I see it...) again, it's a learning experience for me.

I've never truly done "low carb" before. I'm not one who's come back after falling off the wagon - this is all extremely brand new to me. I'm so used to the low-fat high carb mentality that I know it'll take a while for me to truly get my brain around this lifestyle (no matter how many books I read or podcasts I listen to)...

And I also know that not everyone is perfect and I just like to hear from those who have the same exerperiences with this.

thanks!!!!

[Scribbler]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

I understand your frustration, but I come to think, that you have by yourself realised which were the cause for your fat loss stall, right?
Technically, since you cheated in induction, would it not be better to start with induction again rather moving on to OWL?
I got confused at the point where you say 3 weeks.. Is this your 3rd week of induction or the first week of OWL?
Yes, we learn by our mistakes, it is obvious you have realised your "error" points, so it is up to you to get on a clean induction, and then move to owl..
Think of it like that, each phase is a succession and a build up to its previous.. There is no point of skipping phases.. if there was justification on this, many people would be happy to move to the late "for life" phase from day 1.

Keep it on, and do your best. As you say, you will need to acclimatise yourself to a new eating mentality.. You are doing this for yourself and noone else.. so just keep it on

[barbecuer]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

You lost almost 20% of your total goal...not to shabby!

[Elizellen]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

You lost almost 20% of your total goal...not to shabby!

In fact it shows amazing losing!! What a terrific amount to lose in 2 weeks on induction

but for me week 3 is just another week of induction with a few more vegees

Exactly right - the first week of OWL, which it was correct to move to as you had such good results in your first 14 days of induction , is to add 5 net carbs of vegetables.

So carry on eating induction plus 5 net carbs of your induction veggies and you are right on track Keriann

It is good that you ahve learned so early in your Atkins journey that it is better to add your OWL foods in the order suggested by Dr Atkins and in only 5 net carb increments so you can see how your body reacts to the various foods and the increased carb level

BTW according to fitday.com one medium peach (2.5" diameter) has 9 net carbs, so when you reach the 'fruits other than berries and most melons' rung in OWL you should add only one half each day.

I found that the best way for me to add the higher carb fruits was to add them as garnish on other dishes or as a dessert rather than to eat them 'plain' as I used to.

Also make sure you eat some fat with them which will dull any possible blood sugar spikes.

So don't just eat them on their own but maybe sliced and mixed into greek yogurt or with home made icecream (sweetened with one of the 'legal' sweeteners) or topped with whipped heavy cream.

Doesn't really seem like being on a diet at all, does it?!?

[sallyann]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

Hi honey

Don't beat yourself up, you have done very well! It is not easy to change your eating habits overnight. It is about refining and establishing yourself with the WOE.

It has taken me months to stop drinking coffee in the mornings and accept that I have to give up my vodka and tonic in the evenings...now I have and have finally started a clean induction.

For some of us, it takes a little time to get it right but in the process you start eating better until you finally are in a position to get it 100% cracked!

Slowly slowly catch the money...

Great start

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

I got confused at the point where you say 3 weeks.. Is this your 3rd week of induction or the first week of OWL?

It is my third week - and I moved onto OWL - but - for me - it seems like it's still induction since the only thing we're actually supposed to add - according to the rules - is more vegees.
but - again, I was just being impatient and that is why I added in the few peaches that I did and the two tbsp of sunflower seeds.

as for the other stuff (the dressing w/sugar in it) I think I was confused because I seriously thought I read somewhere that we could have caesar or blue cheese as long as it only had 1 g carbs in it - but the one i bought also had 1 g sugar.

I KNOW I'll be able to eventually add those things in - but I figured that it's NOT like i'm eating anything "bad" and they ARE allowed on a few rings up. like i said, i just got impatient.


I also have a question about VEGETABLES:

i think, too - as far as vegees go - i do NOT like to weigh and measure things anymore because i did weight watchers for soooooo long that I seriously got so sick and tired of weighing and measuring - and, c'mon - they're vegees!!!! ya know? they're NOT starchy vegees - I normally eat lettuce (i love huge salads) - cauliflower - broccoli - zucchini - celery - radishes...

But I know 2 weeks ago when i started, I was 'afraid' to eat too much celery due to the fact that they ARE a little bit higher in carbs...and my lettuce (i usually buy romaine or baby lettuce, I'm not a fan of iceburg) - but I get a pretty good size bowl and usually have about 3 cups (i measured it out) of lettuce - so that right there takes care of the "rules" saying only 3 cups of vegees.

is it ok to eat more vegees if I AM having a big salad for lunch? even if i cut it down to 2 cups of salad that only gives me technically 1 more cup of vegees right? so i'd have that other cup at dinner. I want to know it's ok to have vegees at my morning snack as well...is it really CHEATING to have more than the 3 cups of vegees if 2 cups of those vegees is lettuce for a salad?

I know i'm just still very new to this.

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: getting frustrated. need some encouragement

btw, thank you to everyone who does understand.