New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

[redgal]

Hi there! I am new to this board and hoping somebody can help me. I am just ending my fourth week on Atkins and I am down 9 pounds but I seem to be stuck. I am trying to stick the the induction phase as much as possible but I can't budge past the 9 pound loss. How cruicial is drinking 64 ounces of water a day? I think this may be what is keeping me from losing more...I drink water but not enough...my other drink of choice is Iced Tea (unsweet) but could this be hindering my progression?

Breakfast is typically an egg white omelete with a little cheese, lunch is typically a salad with chicken and some type of Creamy Caesar dressing, and lunch is a protein with some broccoli. Snacks are Atkin's Shakes. I feel like I am eating as I am supposed to but I am frustrated. I have also been told by other Atkin's followers to have a cheat day to get the body started again but I am wary of this.

Any suggestions???

[Georgiana]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

While Atkins Nutritionals does indeed promote their products as "legal" for all phases, this is not really true -- the bars contain soy, milk and sometimes nuts, while the shakes have milk and soy. None of these ingredients is "legal" during Induction, so the products are not "legal" either. Besides not being "legal", we have seen on the Board that many folks who use Atkins products are stalled by them.

Water is essential not only for weight loss, but also for your overall health. As an approximation, you should be drinking 64 oz, plus another 8 oz for every 25 lbs you have to lose.

Your menu seems to lack fat. Atkins is a high-fat diet and, during Induction, you should be aiming for something like 65% fat, 5% carbohydrate, 30% protein.

A plateau in weight loss is defined as 4 consecutive weeks with no weight loss or loss of inches. So you did not hit a plateau. Keep in mind that weight loss is not linear -- sometimes we lose 2 lbs per week, sometimes we lose nothing, and at times we might even gain a little. Did you also take measurements? They are a more accurate in showing whether you are losing fat or not.

Many people experience a pause in weight loss after Induction (the so-called PISS -- Post-Induction Stall Syndrome). It happened to me as well and the way I broke the "stall" was to move to OWL. I've also seen many people on ADBB successfully managing it the same way. What the book says is that people who can benefit from extending the usual 2-week Induction are those who are very metabolically resistant or have a lot of weight lose. With something like 9 lbs lost, my guess is that you have an average-low metabolic resistance, so unless you have very much to lose, progressing to OWL might be a good idea.

[tuttifrutti]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

I would stop taking the Atkins shakes and up your fat intake. Do you not like egg yolk? I see you're making egg white omelettes. You really need to leave them in. And yes drinking your water is very crucial. And whatever you hear please don't use a cheat day! Some people think it will help them bust a stall, but many find that they can't seem to stop eating the carbs. Best of luck and hope you break that plateau soon!!!

[atxtraveler]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

I agree with the above posters. I hit a mini stall (not enough to be a plateau as I have learned here). It was because I was counting some of my iced tea as my water. I in fact learned that tea dehydrates you even more, so if you choose to drink 8 oz. of tea, you likely need to add an additional 8 oz. to your 64oz. already.

Also, I definitely recommend getting your fat intake up for extended induction. Follow the instructions to a T and you should see the inches dropping. After all, who cares if you are 500 lbs, but look fabulous

[J.R.]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

atxtraveler, I think you're saying the caffeine in iced tea acts as a diuretic, causing frequent urination. Personally, all the water I drink flows right out of me, so I don't think I could tell a difference if I were drinking ice tea instead of water.

However, the simple solution would be to drink decaffeinated ice tea. That exists, right? Not sure, but if it does, you could consider tea = water.

[Sunny_0ne]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

Yes, decaffeinated iced tea exists. I buy the tea bags and brew my own.

Funny thing is, I don't want nearly as much iced tea as I did before I started Atkins.

Above all, do NOT have a cheat day. It can seriously stall you and it might take you a couple of weeks to get back on track.

What you CAN try is eating more legal foods one day a week... have a higher calorie day... if you would like to try that. It helps some people.

[msanjelpie]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

Tea is a diuretic... which means it flushes fluids from your body faster, thereby requiring more liquid in your diet... So if you are going to drink the tea, make sure to drink extra water so that the fat has a way to exit your system...

I too lost 10 lbs and now am not budging on the scale... It's very frustrating, but I know that if I am eating the same things now that caused me to lose 10 lbs then I will lose again when my body is ready... hurry up already!

[blawlor3]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

I've had a couple of mini-plateaus as you call them - going several days without losing when my weight loss had been steady otherwise. It's scary and frustrating at the same time. What has helped me is definately not a cheat day - but I have intentionally increased my portion size for day. I think for me, I tend not to eat enough. You have to learn what's right for your body and what works over the long run. I've just been on Atkins for 3 months but I've learned that if you listen to your body and follow the guidelines, it will work. Cheating is not the answer!

[pluorvee]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

check the Creamy Caesar Dressing that you are eating...ive found that type of dressing to have the most carbs. If you up your water you will most likly see the pounds drop maybe over night if you have been on a mini stall.

the thought behind having a cheat day to get your body "started" again is because sometimes doing this WOL you stop eating ENOUGH so your body goes into starvation therefor not allowing the pounds to come off. Eating a cheat meal will give you body enough food to let the weight loss get started again. Dont have a cheat meal...just make sure you are eating enough and not going long periods with no food.

good luck

[amandamandy]

Re: New here...have hit a plateau after a month!

I've always found that I needed to up my fat intake if I hit a plateau. These plateaus always seem to affect women more than men I think (just thinking about the difference between me and my husband). Never remove the egg yolks (that is where all the nutrition is anyway) when making omelettes, use butter, coconut oil for frying, and cream. Stick to green veggies, berries and meat and cheese. Never eat low fat anything and try not to buy any processed and packaged foods. I hope this helps.