Losing my mind! HELP

[Lauri]

Hi there, I am not new to Atkins, I did it 4 years ago after having my 1st son and I lost the weight in no time. After losing my weight I went onto my old ways of vegan life, and now, after baby number two and having a protein deffecincy I decided that I wanted to go back to Atkins.

I started on induction a month ago, and I am still on it. The first weeks I lost 2 kilos and having to lose a total of 5 kilos I was over the moon, now I have put those two kilos back on and have not lost ANYTHING SINCE THEN. I have been very very good about 'bad' carbs and I have not allowed myself any 'sins' I have not been very good with good carbs, and I have not been running because I have a medical condition (chronic sinusitis) I have also been on Citalopram for anxiety and anthihistamines.

I do not want to stop doing Atkins because I do feel better, but on the other hand, I am not losing weight and that does not seem good! I have been craving sweets so I bought myself Atkins treats such as Atkins chocolate and Atkins Peanut bar, maybe that is doing me bad? I sometimes have 2 in one day!

PLEASE HELP ME!

[Georgiana]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

You are not breastfeeding, are you?

I have been craving sweets so I bought myself Atkins treats such as Atkins chocolate and Atkins Peanut bar, maybe that is doing me bad? I sometimes have 2 in one day!

Feeding your sweet tooth isn't going to help you get rid of it. It's just a quick fix.

And you're right to worry about the bars. Many people are stalled by them.

If you want to post a few menus, with quantities and net carbs, we can take a look.

How much water are you drinking?

[Georgiana]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

With only 5 kg to lose, why are you doing extended Induction?

The last 5-10 lbs are supposed to be lost in Pre-Maintenance, so you should be doing OWL by now.

[Lauri]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

Thanks so much for such a quick response!

Lets see, I drink at least 2 litres of water a day, if not more. My menu seems to be more or less the same since I do not have loads of time to cook.

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs fried in vegetable oil or olive oil with 3 wafer thin ham slices and some mayo on the side. A bit of pepper and salt.
A cup of decaff cofee with double cream.

Lunch: A steak with a baby avocado mixed with some mayo and pepper.
ATKINS chocolate bar.

Dinner: raw salmon with light soy sauce and wasabi. ALTERNATIVE DINNER: a pork chop with some leafy greens and half a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.
Another cup of decaff with double cream.

More or less that is what I eat during the week, sometimes I have a beer. If I creve something sweet in the afternoon I have a decaff coffee with cream OR a can of Zero Coke. I never feel terribly hungry so I do not snack.

[Lauri]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

No, I not breastfeeding. Neither taking vitamins or anything besides my medication.

[Georgiana]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

Okay... I'll go through your menu first and then make some suggestions.

double cream

How much double cream do you use in a day?

with a baby avocado

During Induction, avocado is limited to 1/2 a small one per day. It also doesn't count as a vegetable.

Dinner: raw salmon with light soy sauce and wasabi. ALTERNATIVE DINNER: a pork chop with some leafy greens and half a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.

What are the ingredients in wasabi and soy sauce?

Balsamic vinegar is not allowed... not during Induction, at least. It has either sugar or grape juice added to it.

sometimes I have a beer

Beer?

Alcohol is not allowed during Induction. It only comes in OWL Rung 5.

So...

Ditch the alcohol, bars and balsamic vinegar... and I would also recommend you to stop feeding your sweet tooth. It won't help you in the long term.

Eat vegetables. Right now you're seriously undereating them. You should be getting at least half of your daily net carbs from Induction vegetables... and undereating won't help you lose weight, because all you're doing is deprieving your body of proper nutrition.

Are you reading the 2002 edition of Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution?

[Georgiana]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

To also address here the issue of moving to OWL...

With so little weight to lose, you need to move to OWL if you want to get to maintenance. It doesn't matter if you are not bored with your current food choices. In OWL Rung 1 you're allowed to eat the same foods you've been eating during Induction... you just increase your net carbs by 5 net carbs worth of Induction vegetables. But after Rung 1, you start adding new foods, because the only way to make Atkins a way of eating for life is to learn how to eat for life... not only for those times when you're not bored with meat, veggies and whatever other Induction foods.

And, if you're looking for a snack once you're in OWL, you could have some nuts (Rung 3). If you want dessert, you could have some berries with cream (Rung 4). These are better choices than eating a bar or having a Coke Zero.

[Lauri]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

I am reading the New Atkins revolution. But I also had the old one, the 2002 and I started doing that one.

Cream I have with the coffe, so half a mug twice a day, sometimes none. I will increase the vegetable conmspumtion since I did notice that was low. Beer to be honest I had one or two, so it is not that I am having it every day. But will ditch that too. I will also stop buying the bars as well, since if you have them you are tempted to have them, but why the bars say: 'all phases' and in the New Atkins the do encourage having them?

Also, shall I stay in Induction or shall I move to OWL?

Thanks

[Lauri]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

Wasabi is often referred to as Japanese horseradish. It is actually a member of the mustard family and grows wild in cool, wet, mountainous areas. The root-like portion of the herb is light green in color. It is pungent, like horseradish or mustard, and usually ground into a paste to be served with sushi or noodle dishes.
1 tsp. prepared wasabi paste = 15 calories, 0.5g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g mono fat, 0g protein, 3g carbohydrates, 100mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol

Light SOY sauce: per 5ml serving 3 kcal, protein: 0.1g, carbohydrate 0.5 of which sugars: 0.5g, fat: (trace), saturates: (trace), fibre: trace, sodium: 0.3g, salt equivalent: 0.7g

[Elizellen]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

AS well as the nutrition info on sauces and pastes you need to look at the list of ingredients to make sure all of them are allowed on your Atkins phase.

Soy sauce usually has wheat in it and sometimes sugar too. I do not know what is in the paste but the list of ingredients should help you decide if it is OK for induction or if you need to wait till the later rungs of OWL to add it.

As for the bars - remember they are the main income of the Atkins company so why would they stop you eating them from the start, particularly as eating a chocolate bar is not going to help you get rid of your sweet tooth

Look at the list of ingredients to see which rung of OWL allows their use - peanuts would be 'legal' on the legumes rung (in my opinion, though many people do add them on the nuts rung) along with soy, wheat would be 'legal' on the last rung of OWL.

So put them away till you get there and then add them as your rung 6 or 9 additions and see how your body reacts to them. Like all processed foods they probably have a long shelf life so will not go off till you can 'legally' use them in your menus.

[Lauri]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

You are so sweet! Thank you! I will put them away now, and regarding the bars, well, I have to say that the first 3 weeks while I did not have them I felt better, now I feel craving and I did not in the past.

I still do not wich phase of Atkins I belong to, I am lost! Hahaha. Georgina said that I should be on OWL and she seems and Atkins sensei, so I might stick to that.

I just saw your pics... WOW...

[Elizellen]

Re: Losing my mind! HELP

Yes, I agree you need to move to OWL rung 1 now and add 5 more net carbs to your induction 3 cups.