PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

[foojoy]

Here's what my day looks like.

Breakfast:
2 jumbo eggs
3 oz baby spinach
1 oz feta
cooked in 1 tbsp olive oil
decaf tea w/1 splenda and 2 tbsp heavy cream

Snack:
smoked salmon with 2 oz of cream cheese

Lunch:
3 oz baby spinach
4 oz of deli ham
1 oz of swiss cheese
I sautee the spinach in 1 tbsp of olive oil, top with ham, top with cheese and nuke when I get to work
decaf tea w/1splenda and 2 tbsp heavy cream

Snack again (sometimes)
handful of pork rinds

Dinner:
Collard greens 2 net carbs worth
roasted chicken (1-thighs or 2-legs or 3-wings, whatever is leftover, not all, I pick what peices I want)

after dinner
tea with 1 splenda and 1 tbsp of heavy cream

I chew a lot of sugar free gum, way too much and I'm trying to stop.

I drink over 100 oz of water a day.

I also workout 4-5 days per week. M-W-F with weights; T-Th-Sat a 2.5 mile walk.

This is day 11 for me, no candy no alcohol. What am I doing wrong.

Thanks again.

[Tracie515]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

How much sugarless gum are you chewing? I eat Trident strawberr fusiion and it is 2 carbs per piece. So 10 pieces inone day is all the carbs aloud on induction. NOt to mention it has aspartame wich stalls some people.

[ValidRouge]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

On induction you are only allowed 1 cup of the spinach and collard greens. You would be allowed 2 cups of "salad veggies" (collards and spinach aren't considered one of those).
However, on rung 1 of OWL, this would be acceptable.

I think the gum and the coffee could be the culprits. When i drink coffee with cream and sweetner, I over estimate on the cream...and I gain weight. I've experimented twice, and I've gained both times I've added coffee in. When I cut it out, I lose again. Between coffee and the gum, that's bound to be your problem. Cut them both out and get losing again, then add them back in one at a time to see which one (or maybe BOTH) are the problem.

[julirama723]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

First off, I'm glad to see you're eating good fats, like olive oil, and that you've got your veggies equally spaced throughout the day. You're also drinking a ton of water--great job! I also am glad to see an exercise schedule with weights and cardio--super!

You are consuming a bit too much heavy cream. Heavy cream is a "special category" food and you are limited to 2 tbsp per day. I see you have 5 listed.

You've also admitted to chewing a lot of sugar-free gum, which could be causing problems. I drink a LOT of water, ice cold, with a slice of lemon, and I don't have issues with bad breath or with cravings. (I assume this is why you're chewing the gum?)

Are you worried that you're not losing? It's best not to weigh until after your 14-day induction period is up. Our bodies fluctuate on a daily basis, and the most accurate scale reading you'll get is after the 14 days are over. Since you are doing weight training, if you're not seeing a loss on the scale, you might be replacing your fat with lean muscle. Have you taken measurements? Are your clothes looser? This means you're getting smaller and burning fat, even if your numbers aren't changing on the scale.

[foojoy]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

Thanks everyone. It's decaf coffee or decaf tea, I measure and weigh everything.

As for the gum. I can go through a pack a day. That's 15 sticks, but I thought I can deduct the sugar alcohols. Anyway, so far today I haven't had any. I'm going to extend my induction until I loose 15% of the weight.

[Tracie515]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

Even if you were aloud to deduct the alcohols (which i don't know) the aspartame can make you stall.

[ValidRouge]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

And, not everyone gets to subtract the sugar alcohols. Some sugar alcohols still impact blood sugar. If you find you are having trouble, you eliminate foods until you find the culprit. We've seen these two things be problems for people time and again, so that's where we are starting. They may or may not be the problem, but the only way to find out is to take them out of your menu.

At this point, which would you rather have? Gum and coffee or being slim? I know what my vote is.

[Tracie515]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

I vote for being slim! HAHA

[foojoy]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

I can't thank everyone enough for the help and encouragement.

I have another question. On my bag of baby spinach. It says the serving size is 3oz, when I figure the net carbs from the info label, I get 1 net carb. But this is way more then 2 cups. .

[foojoy]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

one more thing, what are you putting in your hot beverages?

[ValidRouge]

Re: PLEASE REVIEW MY MENU, Thank you.

1 cup of baby spinach is all you could have in a day (for now) Once you are past the first 14 days then you can have more. You could have 5 net carbs worth...which is a *LOT* (and not that I'd recommend eating that much at one sitting because we're trying to learn portion control) The 1 cup limit is to try to teach us that portion control.

As for hot beverages....I don't have them anymore. I drink water. On occasion I'll have iced tea with saccharin (that's what I like). Plain ole water is best. We all need to learn that a mug of coffee or a diet soda or crystal lite or whatever...is a TREAT not an everyday staple. Now, there are others here who drink coffee and don't have a problem at all. Hopefully, you'll be one of those people. But, you won't know until you cut it out and see. I know that *I* have a problem with it.

One other thing...as you are close to the end of your induction, there is a phenomenon known as the Post Induction Stall Syndrome. Many (not all) but many people have a "pause" in weight loss during the 3rd-4th weeks as their bodies adjust to the big changes. You may lose inches, but not pounds. Then all of a sudden they start losing again. You could be just in this phase.