Am i doing it right?

[SOONTOBLOVELY]

I am 12 days into induction and i've been following all the rules (i.e. Drink my water, exercise, vitamins and no cheating). My stix continues to be a good solid color purple day in and day out since day 3 but so far i only lost 1.5lbs and seem to be more bloated than usual. I must admit that it is that time of month so i will not be a slave to the scale and will just be patient but my question is: If my stix is always in the purple zone does that mean i am really doing the diet correctly and i am definitely losing fat irregardless of not seeing results on the scale?

[EverLosing]

Re: Am i doing it right?

Ketosis-you're either in it or out of it. It sounds like you're in it. My sticks are dark purple everyday. It doesn't mean you're going to be the biggest loser. It only means you're in ketosis. It's like the stick on a pregnancy test. You're pregnant or you're not....never slightly pregnant. Don't place too much importance on the shade. I'm dark purple daily. Have been since the beginning but I'm definately not dropping weight like I did in the beginning. Stick with the plan. Drink as close to 100 ounces of water per day as you can. That will help tremendously. Many people lose weight when they barely register on the sticks. It might be time for you to stop using them until you get to OWL when you may need them to tell what the effects of consuming more carbs is doing to your ketosis. Too many here make the shade of the stick the be all and end all of their efforts. Don't make such a big deal about it. I'm way more interested in your daily menu than I am in the color of your stick.

[Georgiana]

Re: Am i doing it right?

If my stix is always in the purple zone does that mean i am really doing the diet correctly and i am definitely losing fat irregardless of not seeing results on the scale?

The stick will turn purple as long as your body is using stored body fat for energy. On the other hand, turning the stick pink does not mean you are doing the diet correctly or that you are losing weight.

Let's see...

Doing the diet correctly... Are you eating three cups of veggies a day? Enough fat? Drinking only water? No aspartame? No frankenfoods? As EverLosing said, maybe post your menu and then we can see if there's anything wrong there.

Losing weight... Well, while you eliminate stored fat, it also depends what you are taking in. If you eat way too many calories, you will gain weight no matter how few carbs you are eating or whether your ketostix turn purple or not. If you are eating a lot of salty foods, you will not see a major drop either, because you will be retaining water.

[SOONTOBLOVELY]

Re: Am i doing it right?

Thank for the replies but I am really frustrated now that I know that you can be in ketosis but that doesnt mean that you are losing fat/weight

Here is my typical menu:
Breakfast:
2 sausage patties
2 boiled eggs (cant eat them anyother way)
2 cups green tea
4 splendas
2 tubs coffee creamer

Lunch:
Turkey pattie w/ mustard
water

Snack:
3 chicken wings (with Hot Sauce & Blue cheese)
water

Dinner:
Fish (Salmon,Cod, or Shrimp)
Roasted Cabbage or Salad w/blue cheese (blue cheese = 3g carb @ 2tbsp and first 5 ingredients = soy bean oil, water, bleu cheese, cultured buttermilk & vinegar
Water

Desert:
Sugar free jello w/whip cream
or Mock Danish
Water

[NoDef]

Re: Am i doing it right?

Don't know about you, but sausage throws me off on weight loss due to water retention I guess. I can skip the sausage a few days and actually have a breakfast with 8-10 grams of carbs (I'm in OWL) and lose weight. Really don't know for certain that is what is causing it, but it may be. Maybe some one else may know.

[OzLover]

Re: Am i doing it right?

Welcome to ADBB!

Artificial sweetners are limited to 3 per day.
Sugar free jello is not on the Induction list.
Is the whip cream a commercial brand or are you using heavy cream & making it yourself?
Are you eating 3 cups of veggies per the lists in the Induction chapter of Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution?
What is the ingredients in "coffee creamer"?
Cream is allowed & limited to 3 Tbsp per day.

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...induction.html

[Georgiana]

Re: Am i doing it right?

How much cabbage/salad are you eating for dinner? There seems to be a lot of meat there and very little veggies. Also, I am not sure how you cook the meat, but are you eating enough fat?

Veggies first... You should be eating 3 cups a day -- 2 cups from the salad veggies list and 1 cup from the "other veggies" list OR 3 cups from the salad veggies list. The lists are in the book or here:

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-low-carb-dieting-faqs/6781-what-foods-can-eaten-induction.html

Fat intake... About 65% of your calories should come from fat, 5% from carbs and 30% from protein. I didn't enter your menu online, but I believe there's too much protein there. Excess protein is transformed into glucose, which is something you definitely don't want to happen!

Are all the ingredients in the hot sauce legal?

You are only allowed to have maximum 3 servings of splenda per day.

The SF jello is most probably sweetened with aspartame. Aspartame is not one of the sweeteners allowed on induction. If you find some jello that is sweetened with a legal sweetener, you should also be counting that toward your sweetener intake.

The whip cream is not sweetened, right?

Is your green tea decaf? Caffeine may stall some people.

I'm not sure what coffee creamer you are using, but the ones I find here are more like half & half in their fat content (so they have more sugars) than like cream.

[Sunny_0ne]

Re: Am i doing it right?

STBL, here are a few things I noticed:

Is the cream you use in your coffee real cream or non-dairy coffee creamer? Non dairy coffee creamer contains sugar and corn syrup solids and can throw you off. We are supposed to use cream.

On induction we are supposed to limit Splenda to 3 packets a day. I don't think that would have any bearing on your not losing weight, though. I think it's primarily to be the sweet tooth under control.

Does your hot sauce have any illegal ingredients in it?

The sugar-free jello has aspartame, which can mess some people up.

You are not getting NEARLY enough veggies. Remember 3 cups of salad, or 2 cups of salad and 1 cup other allowed veggies.

Those are the only things I see, and I'm not sure how much bearing they would have on not losing weight. It looks like you are doing well in your food choices.

I'm betting TOM has a LOT to do with it.

Drink lots of water... it helps your body flush out water it may be holding on to when it's not sure it's going to get enough. When it knows it's going to get all it needs, it will release the extra it has stored.

And do add more veggies!

[SOONTOBLOVELY]

Re: Am i doing it right?

I eat approx 2 cups of either cabbage or salad in one sitting at dinner.
I bake my chicken wings and fish, George Forman my patties and salmon and I steam my shrimp.

I really appreciate everyone's good advice. Based on this advice I will:
1) add 1 cup of veggie at lunch
2) eliminate SF Jello and whip cream totally for now
3) reduce my splenda and cream intake
4) substitute my sausage for a different type of breakfast meat (any suggestions?)

Even though it is that TOM, I know that I am retaining water like crazy so I will add at least 20oz of water (which will total 84oz daily). Is this the way to go for the retention?

I really want to suceed and I won't give up. Just need to know if you suggest that I stay in the induction phase or do I move on making the necessary adjustments?

[SOONTOBLOVELY]

Re: Am i doing it right?

yes, I just detected the sugar in my tub of creamer. I thought it was safe due to 0 carb intake but the ingredients are: water, coconut oil, SUGAR, sodium caseinate....
It is just a good as GONE!!

Looks like my hot sauce checks out though: aged cayenne red peppers, vinegar, water, salt and garlic powder.

You guys have given me the strength to make the necessary adjustments and move on. Thanks sooooo much!

Thanks.

[Georgiana]

Re: Am i doing it right?

Personally I don't think it will make any difference, but if we are to go by the book you should also substitute one cup of cabbage with one cup of salad veggies (cabbage is one of the "other veggies").

My breakfasts are usually a salad and (sometimes) eggs. But if you want to eat meat for breakfast, what about having some leftovers from dinner?

If you steam/bake the meat, you are probably not eating enough fat. Track your nutrients to make sure you're doing things right.

I believe you should just make the adjustments and move on to OWL. The first rung is veggies, so there's not too much you can screw up.

[SOONTOBLOVELY]

Re: Am i doing it right?

one more question: is stevia a part of the 3 per day splenda count?

[Sunny_0ne]

Re: Am i doing it right?

Soon, you are a real trouper!

You are going to be one of the ones who is WAY successful on this WOE!!!

You have an awesome attitude! BEST of luck!

[Sunny_0ne]

Re: Am i doing it right?

Soon, yes on the extra water.

And the limit of 3 is for all artificial sweeteners... but that is just on induction until your sweet tooth is under control.

[Georgiana]

Re: Am i doing it right?

Well, opinions are divided about stevia. Until recently, it was considered a dietary supplement. Now it was included on the list of allowed sweeteners. In my opinion, it is much healthier than splenda since it's natural, but I would still keep it at 3 servings a day.

Don't try to find sweet "free foods" you can eat. After you go without much sweetener for a while, you'll think red pepper is amazingly sweet.