Frustrated after day 13...

[shug]

Ok, the title is slightly misleading....in the first 8 days, I lost 8 lbs!!! SO exciting. But I not lost another fraction of a lb. since that day. I am currently on day 13. I track every "crumb" of what enters my mouth on Fitday and have not deviated from the rules once. My weekly overview on Fitday shows 65% fat, 31% protein, and 4% carbs. I am eating an average 2300 calories daily. I do not eat any processed meats, cheeses, or condiments. I am eating 8-12g carbs of the allowed veggies. (typically romaine lettuce w/ lunch and dinner or romaine w/ just lunch and an "other" i.e. avacodo...with dinner.) I am eating 2-4 eggs daily and 4-8 oz of plain grilled chicken breast and/or the equivalent in salmon or haddock. Occasionally I grill up a 100% pure all beef patty or a can of tuna. I eat 3-4 oz of good cheeses daily. I use about 2 tbsp of heavy cream and one spenda packet per day. I have continued to drink my 2-3 mugs of coffee. I drink 64 oz of water daily. I am currently 23 lbs away from my goal weight and feeling better than ever. I don't want to give up on this. I am brand new to the Atkins WOE and I hope someone more "seasoned" can offer me some advice or words of encouragement or an explaination of why my weight came off so quickly the first week, and now it seems like I am not losing anymore the second week of induction... What's a girl to do??? More water??? THANKS TO ALL!

[ShannonK]

Re: Frustrated after day 13...

I am not sure what the moderators will say. They are more experienced that I, but I find that weight sometimes slows down during the latter part of induction and as soon as you move on to OWL, it picks back up again almost immediately. I have had to do re-induction several times over the years (oops) and that is what happens to me.

Also, you should probably cut out the coffee, but I can't seem to do more than cut way back. I have one cup in the morning, can't stop.

[Georgiana]

Re: Frustrated after day 13...

A stall is defined as four consecutive weeks with no weight loss or loss of inches, so you certainly did not stall. It is perfectly normal not to lose weight every day (check Chapter 21 in DANDR 2002).

If I understand correctly, you've lost 8 out of 31 lbs in these 13 days. Let's say 14, for the sake of argument... so that's about 25% of the weight you had to lose, all in 14 days! You know how much people lose on average? 5-10%! Your results are excellent and indicate that you have a low degree of metabolic resistance.

Avocados are not vegetables on the "Other Vegetables" list. For Induction, they are in the "Special Category Foods", so you should not count them as part of your veggies. Avocados are also limited to 1/2 a small one per day.

You should be eating either 3 cups of salad vegetables OR 2 cups of salad vegetables and 1 cup of vegetables from the "Other Vegetables" list.

[Elizellen]

Re: Frustrated after day 13...

I agree with Georgiana, you have done exceptionally well

Some of us lose weight in the first week on induction, osme the second week, some evenly over the 14 days and some not any weight at all but maybe a clothes size or two.

Isn't the human body fascinating in that we are all different

From what you wrote I wonder if you are working from the Atkins website list of allowed foods rather than the book we are using here?

Recently the Atkins company have revised their information (possibly to try and get rid of the media's impression that Atkins is just meat, eggs and cheese ) and added and dropped some foods from the list of 'acceptable' foods, so maybe you can look at the list we are using which is in the Atkins diet FAQ forum so you are aware of the rules we are following here.

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

You will see that though these rules were copied from the Atkins website it was a while ago before they 'updated' their info and changed their advice from what is written in DANDR.

If you don't have a copy of 'our' book with the allowed foods listed then you can print this list out to refer to.

There is also a 'wallet-sized' list you can download and print out to carry with you when shopping for food or ordering meals in restaurants

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-extended-induction/75440-handy-wallet-sized-list-induction-approved-foods.html

[FwL]

Re: Frustrated after day 13...

The reason you lost a pound per day in the first week is because your body was dumping water as it used up its glycogen stores. After the glycogen/water is gone, your body has to begin buring fat... which takes more effort.

There's no way you're going to continue to lose a pound per day for the rest of the diet. 1 to 3 pounds per week is a more realistic expectation.

[shug]

Re: Frustrated after day 13...

TO ALL WHO HAVE RESPONDED:

Thank you!! ...for the encouragement, the words of wisdom and the advice that you have shared with me this morning! I am feeling much more confident about my progress. I also just finally received my copy of DANDR yesterday in the mail and will be reading it as to not get confused in the future. I think that I need to slow down on the coffee... maybe switch to DECAF? ONE MORE QUESTION: I know that moving to OWL is a personal decision, but I feel like I can go longer on induction without messing up. I read in DANDR about moving to OWL and I just wanted to hear if anyone thinks I may start losing more if I stay in the induction phase or if I move on to OWL>>> or is it trial and error for everyone?? THANKS AGAIN!

[Elizellen]

Re: Frustrated after day 13...

My opinion gathered from seeing what others here and on other similar forums post is that most people with less than 50 pounds or more to lose do not benefit from extending their induction past the intial 2 weeks.

Most people's loss slows after the first few weeks and many find it increases if they move to OWL and start adding carbs rather than staying on 20 net carbs.

Also following OWL is much easier if you still have more pounds to lose rather than waiting till you are only a few pounds to goal weight.

This is because (on the whole) losses slow appreciably when you are near to your goal making it difficult to notice whether adding new foods or more carbs are affecting your losing.

To do this when you are still losing a few pounds a week is much easier than if your losses have already slowed to one pound a week

To do OWL thoroughly you need to take the 'rungs' slowly and carefully in order to discover any 'stallers' and find your CCLL.

Remember Dr Atkins wanted us to have climbed the OWL ladder by the time we have only 5-10 pounds left to lose and then move to the third phase of Atkins (premaintenance) to lose those last few pounds 'almost imperceptibly'.

[msanjelpie]

Re: Frustrated after day 13...

For your weight, your daily calories are WAY too high... I'm not sure if it is the cream you are having or what is causing them to be so high?

The coffee shouldn't effect your rate of loss either way...

Right now you are in the typical mini stall period, you just have to tough it out

[shug]

How many calories...?

Thank you for pointing that out...how many calories should I be eating daily at my weight?? I can not find it in the book.

THANK YOU!

[Georgiana]

Re: How many calories...?

Thank you for pointing that out...how many calories should I be eating daily at my weight?? I can not find it in the book.

You do not have to count calories on Atkins. Dr. Atkins wrote we should eat when hungry or when we went for 6 hours without eating; then we should stop when we're satisfied, not full or stuffed. Of course, if this would be so easy to figure out, most of us wouldn't have gained weight in the first place... but it's something that can be learned as you go.

Your caloric intake may vary a lot from day to day (hormones, exercise level) or it can vary greatly from that of other persons of your height and weight (depending on your metabolism, body composition).

[msanjelpie]

Re: Frustrated after day 13...

Here is a calculator to help you figure out your ballpark range. Generally we would not be concerned with calories... but if we are not losing for a looooong time, then I would look at that and make wiser choices when choosing foods...

Recommended Daily Calorie Intake Calculator

According to the calculator to lose 1 lb per week I should keep my calories around 1600 per day. Since I have been keeping an eagle eye on that number, I have lost 5 lbs...

We are not supposed to care about calories... but calories DO count...