New to the Atkin's Diet.

[Tsumeone]

Hello, my name is Kevin and I'm 17 years old. Currently I weigh 165lbs and I'm about 5'8". I wanted to lose 20-30lbs within the next 4-5 months and eating smaller portions seems to have just caused me to gain more weight, so I picked up a copy of the Atkin's book (2002 ed) and started the Induction phase on Easter. I would like some feedback as to whether I'm doing everything right so far

http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Tsumeone

My ratio for Easter in the form of fat % / carb % / protein % is 69/2/29 and for today (the 17th) 63/4/33. I consume well under the 20 grams of carbs allowed each day (at least 5 grams under) and I plan to continue this way to compensate for the fact that my multivitamin is of the chewable variety (has somewhere between 0-0.5g carbs in it because the lable lists 0) and much of the meat I eat also lists 0 carbs yet has a sugar or two at the end of the ingredients list (meaning it's between 0 and 0.5 carbs for that per serving as well if I understand right.)

The aerobic exercise that I listed is me playing dance dance revolution on heavy difficulty for 15 minutes (I didn't count the minute or so between switching tracks on there). I tried arranging my meals so that I don't have more than 6 hours without eating anything, and so far I've been able to commit to that I believe. I had 7 hours between lunch and dinner today, but between that 7 hours I had a small portion of veggies and some pork so my body wouldn't think I'm starving. (I work at a restaurant, and there's no way for me to get around that 7 hour wait due to how my shifts are arranged- but I can still sneak food on the job!).

I was wondering if it was okay for me to only be eating between 1200 and 1800 calories/day average. I'm usually not that hungry and what you see on my fitday is what I needed to eat to feel full. I was wondering if there was any problem with me using a chewable multivitamin as well. The ingredients look fairly similar to Centrum, they're just cheaper (and of course they have probably around 0.5g of carbs in them since they're sweetened). And my last question... sorry to have so many questions... is, how much fiber should I be aiming for per day? I have a tablespoon of flax seeds every morning along with my multivitamin.



Thank you very much (congrats on being able to wade through my huge paragraphs!),
Kevin W.

[Lisa M]

Re: New to the Atkin's Diet.

Hi Kevin!

Welcome to the board!

First of all, being that you're still a growing chap and you're exercising, make sure you stay close to or at 20 carbs per day and don't be afraid to eat fats that put you close to or at 1,500 calories at first.

Remember first and foremost, Atkins is a way of eating for life, it's not something to "hurry up" because you want to lose weight within a time period. Keep that in mind as you look at your time line goal you've set for yourself

I see you had bacon and ham. Salt is a major thing to watch for. The more you consume the more bloating, or water weight you'll carry. Besides, lower salt is better for your heart Nitrates are something else to watch for...more stuff for water retention. Just do your best to limit when you can.

Eating your vitamin is just fine....I for one, hold my nose and drink my vitamin and water down. If you can find a sugar free one, all the better. Centrum has a few to check into.

Excersize is awesome. That's one way of getting your cardiovascular. One thing I do after working out is eating a protein such as a boiled egg with cheese or meat and cheese. You burn carbs so adding protein will help with getting lightheaded and fatigued fast.

Other then that, I would just suggest you keep reading and following the Induction.

I hope this helps some what

[changing]

Re: New to the Atkin's Diet.

I think your menu looks great, and good for you for playing DDR! I do DDR too. They always say that a good exercise plan is one that doesn't bore you, and I think DDR is just about the most addictive exercise plan around.

The low calories are normal for this stage in the diet. The neat thing about ketosis (burning fats for fuel) is the natural appetite suppression. Eating fat makes you less hungry. Go figure! As you move onto Ongoing Weight Loss from Induction levels and start reintroducing different higher-carb foods back into your diet, your appetite may return and your calories might rise.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and that your menu looks good to me!

[Tsumeone]

Re: New to the Atkin's Diet.

Thanks for the feedback! I'll keep following the induction rules then, and cut down on my salt intake.

[LookingForward]

Re: New to the Atkin's Diet.

You've gotten some great advice! I just want to chime in and say I think your menus look very good, too, and that you obviously know what you're doing.

Do you realize that you only need to limit to 20 NET carbs, not 20 overall carbs? Net carbs = total carbs MINUS dietary fiber. So you may be limiting yourself unnecessarily, from what I'm seeing on your FitDay. If fiber isn't listed on your chart, look to the left and go into "Goals". Set a fiber goal (it can be anything) and you'll see fiber appear on your chart. You don't need to artificially lower your carb intake. 20 net carbs is the induction level, and low enough that all but the very most metabolically resistant people will easily lose weight.

Your calorie intake is fine, don't concern yourself about that. Ketosis naturally decreases the appetite, and as long as you aren't feeling hungry/starving, and as long as you have plenty of energy, then you can be sure you're giving your body what it needs.

Another piece of advice I want to offer is that it's a VERY good idea to weigh no more frequently than once per week. At the very beginning, it's recommended to only weigh at the end of the first 2 weeks. That's because it's very very normal for your body weight to fluctuate a great deal as you adjust to your new way of eating. If you see the scale go up and down you may be discouraged, despite the fact that it's absolutely normal. If you wait and weigh only once a week (or after the full 2 weeks at the beginning) you will absolutely see a shift in the right direction and start learning to trust that you're doing the right thing and that you WILL lose weight on this plan.

One more thing, did you take your measurements? With your exercise, you could easily build muscle mass while losing weight, making the scales not tell the full story (since muscle weighs more than fat). You should definitely take your measurements too, so you can take them again as you go along and KNOW that you're shrinking and shaping, even if the scale doesn't move one week.

Ok that's about it for now, hope this helps! Good luck, you're doing really great so far!

P.S. I enjoyed your paragraphs, and commend you on excellent writing, I am so happy to see it!

[Tsumeone]

Re: New to the Atkin's Diet.

Oh, thanks for reminding me to measure myself! I remember reading it now, but I forgot to do it at the start. I'm going to take my measurements now and then again at the end of Induction to compare. To be honest, I think I may have already lost an inch (it looks that way anyway!)

I just realized that the vitamins I've been taking were sweetened with aspartame, and since I am to understand that may slow my weight loss, I gave my parents some cash to go pick me up some generic Centrum from Sam's Club. While they're there, I also told them to pick me up some Metamucil too. From what I can tell, these are the same as the (I know I'm not spelling this right) psyllium husks mentioned in the book which should increase the fibre in my diet and help while on the toilet. Is there anything about taking Metamucil I should know? (I already know I have to take it with a glass of water, but I was wondering if it has something not allowed on induction that other varieties of the husks don't.)

[Elizellen]

Re: New to the Atkin's Diet.

I think some metamucil products have extras added to the psyllium husks and they are also more expensive than just using the husks.
You will need to check the label to see there is no sugar or sugar aliases in it!

[LookingForward]

Re: New to the Atkin's Diet.

Is there anything about taking Metamucil I should know? (I already know I have to take it with a glass of water, but I was wondering if it has something not allowed on induction that other varieties of the husks don't.)

Hmmm it depends which Metamucil product she buys for you. Metamucil DOES make a pure pysllium husk capsule, I take them when they're on sale. But most of their other products aren't something you want to be taking. For instance, the smooth texture orange powder version has these ingredients:

Active Ingredients
Psyllium Husk Approximately 3.4 grams Per Dose , Psyllium Husk
Ingredients
Citric Acid , FD&C Yellow No. 6 , Natural and Artificial Orange Flavor , Sucrose , Potassium 30 mg , Sodium 5 mg , Fiber Supplement , Sucrose , Citric Acid , Natural and Artificial Orange Flavor , FD&C Yellow No. 6

This product contains 9g of sugar per serving! The original texture product has 7g sugar per serving. Just be careful!

[Tsumeone]

Re: New to the Atkin's Diet.

I was talking about the capsules- glad to hear they're okay They picked up a generic version, and some generic centrum as well.