I need some pointers

[imeanitthistime]

After 14 days of clean induction and no loss for the last 6 days (it happens and I am not discouraged) I decided it was time to move to the first rung. In January I stopped junk food cold turkey and haven't had wheat/gluten or sugar at all nor have I even craved it. This from someone who thought nothing of eating Little Debbie Zebra cakes for breakfast. I decided to go on Atkins 16 days ago because it encompassed everything I like and felt i could stay on it for life. I ate between 800-1400 calories per day.

I want to make sure I am doing this right. A typical day is:
breakfast: 1 egg (beaten with 1 tbs heavy cream) omelette (with 1 cup spinach, 1 tbs whipped cream cheese (or 1/2 ounce chedder) and 1 slice ham lunchmeat cooked in 1 tbs butter

lunch: salad with either 2.5 oz tuna ( comes in a handy pouch) or 1 grilled chicken breast, 2 tbs mayo, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 cup romaine, 1 cup spinach and 1/4 tsp stone ground mustard

dinner: grilled chicken breast, 7 asparagus spears, 1/2 cup green beans, 1 tbs
salsa and 1 tbs butter.

I drink 2 cups of coffee with 1 tbs half and half (1 tbs per cup) in the morning and drink between 80 to 100oz of water throughout the day.

I have been told I need more calories/ more fat. My ketostix have been dark purple for a week (test in the morning). I have not been at all hungry and don't even think of eating. Any suggestions?

[Georgiana]

Re: I need some pointers

You definitely need more calories! You might need more fat, too... of that I'm not sure (hard to say without knowing how much you are eating now).

How many net carbs from vegetables are you consuming?

[imeanitthistime]

Re: I need some pointers

According to the handy carb calculator on my iPhone, I have 16.2 veggie carbs (eaten breakfast/lunch and planned for dinner) today. I really have been stuggling with the calories. I spent so many years (all my life really) eating just to be eating. I am afraid of falling back into that habit. How can I up my calories and fat?

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: I need some pointers

You could plug your food into Fitday.com and it counts everything for you according to the USDA's figures. It's super handy for keeping track of your calories/fat/carbs/fiber, and it's easy to figure out net carbs from those figures.

[imeanitthistime]

Re: I need some pointers

I looked at fitday, but it seemed too time consuming to plug everything in. I use 2 apps on my iPhone. I started with "loseit" in January. I enter what I eat and it tracks calories, carbs, etc along with weight. I also use the carb counter app. It tracks carbs, calories, water consumption and weight. They keep me on track.

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: I need some pointers

Oh, I'm sorry. I misread your post! That's great you've got something going already--those counters really do help!

[imeanitthistime]

Re: I need some pointers

No problem! It really has been a great help. Is it just me or is fitday cumbersome? I admit I do most of my entry on my phone- not the easiest thing to work. My thumbs are too clumsy

Should I increase my fat intake? How much?

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: I need some pointers

I think it's pretty easy to use compared to SparkPeople, which I've used in the past. I thing using my phone to enter stuff would be really hard, so if you are doing it and it works for you, awesome!

As for the fat, yeah probably. You said you weren't really hungry, so I'm guessing you are eating all you can at this point. I wonder if you could switch out one of your chicken breasts for a fattier cut of chicken, or even steak? Also perhaps you can add cheese or bacon to your salad? Or choose a fattier dressing (but not one with more sugar than your previous one.

[imeanitthistime]

Re: I need some pointers

Great ideas! I have a tendency to eat the same things over and over. I keep a bag of boneless chicken breasts in the freezer, along with a bag of hamberger patties. When I get home after a long day, I throw one on the George Foreman grill along with some vegetables and voilà! Dinner in 10 minutes. Beats the heck out of the fast food or other junk I used to eat. I am thinking about dinner tonight and think I will sauté the chicken in a little butter and make a sauce with heavy cream (2 tbs ought to be plenty) mushrooms and a little nutmeg. With broccoli.

I have been watching the calories so closely for the last 4 months (54 pounds gone!) that it is hard to change. In January I found out I had celiac and was afraid to eat almost everything. After the first month, I relaxed a little and have had about a 8-10 pound weight loss per month.

[imeanitthistime]

Re: I need some pointers

By the way- how is your induction going? I appreciate you help. Thanks!

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: I need some pointers

Wow, so you are doing great then.

I know--old habits die hard don't they? Feel free to enjoy a little more butter (no carbs) and fattier cuts of meat--your body needs fuel to burn and if you are in ketosis (and it sounds like you are) you need to feed that.

Try some cheese on your broccoli too! ;D

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: I need some pointers

Well, it's going ok. I'm neither happy nor unhappy with it. At first I had lost 7lbs, but now TOM is coming up so I'm thinking I'll gain back a few lbs. My weight has slowly been going up over the past two days, so I'm guessing that's it. I figure once I get through this next couple of weeks, I can see how my body will react during TOM.

As far as what I've been eating, it's been great. I'm trying some new things and figuring out how to achieve my 11+ net carb veggies, which is fun--but only when there are veggies to work with! I'm almost all out, but I'll go to the store tomorrow for a bunch more.

[desire34waist]

Re: I need some pointers

Hey Kristi! I am in the exact same position except TOM is already here. I have been going up and down between 162 and 164 for the last few days. It is frustrating because I too lost those quick 8lbs. and now it is at a stand still. To top it off for me I gave in to a craving tonight and now I feel incredibly guilty! I can't wait for TOM to leave and hopefully the weight will start coming off again. We will find out in the next few days. Hang in there and we'll get through it. I keep thinking maybe after the water weight is gone, one morning I will drop 3 or 4 pounds and all the worry will be for nothing. Let's hope. Good Luck!

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: I need some pointers

Hey Kristi! I am in the exact same position except TOM is already here. I have been going up and down between 162 and 164 for the last few days. It is frustrating because I too lost those quick 8lbs. and now it is at a stand still. To top it off for me I gave in to a craving tonight and now I feel incredibly guilty! I can't wait for TOM to leave and hopefully the weight will start coming off again. We will find out in the next few days. Hang in there and we'll get through it. I keep thinking maybe after the water weight is gone, one morning I will drop 3 or 4 pounds and all the worry will be for nothing. Let's hope. Good Luck!

Hey there girlie! Fancy seeing you around here! Yep, we'll get through it. Don't feel too guilty--last week when I was going through some drama, I had a few diet sodas and sugar free toffee squares. I wasn't sure if that was stalling me or TOM, but I'd like to think it's TOM, lol. I have put away my toffee squares and soda and feel like I want to wait for those for a few weeks before I return to them, maybe I won't want to. So...do you have a journal? Ha ha--have I posted in it? It would be like me to forget!

[FMN]

Re: I need some pointers

After 14 days of clean induction and no loss for the last 6 days (it happens and I am not discouraged) I decided it was time to move to the first rung. In January I stopped junk food cold turkey and haven't had wheat/gluten or sugar at all nor have I even craved it. This from someone who thought nothing of eating Little Debbie Zebra cakes for breakfast. I decided to go on Atkins 16 days ago because it encompassed everything I like and felt i could stay on it for life. I ate between 800-1400 calories per day.

I want to make sure I am doing this right. A typical day is:
breakfast: 1 egg (beaten with 1 tbs heavy cream) omelette (with 1 cup spinach, 1 tbs whipped cream cheese (or 1/2 ounce chedder) and 1 slice ham lunchmeat cooked in 1 tbs butter

lunch: salad with either 2.5 oz tuna ( comes in a handy pouch) or 1 grilled chicken breast, 2 tbs mayo, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 cup romaine, 1 cup spinach and 1/4 tsp stone ground mustard

dinner: grilled chicken breast, 7 asparagus spears, 1/2 cup green beans, 1 tbs
salsa and 1 tbs butter.

I drink 2 cups of coffee with 1 tbs half and half (1 tbs per cup) in the morning and drink between 80 to 100oz of water throughout the day.

I have been told I need more calories/ more fat. My ketostix have been dark purple for a week (test in the morning). I have not been at all hungry and don't even think of eating. Any suggestions?

The only thing I would add to the great advise already given, is maybe add another egg (or 2) to your omelette. That is a pretty small breakfast, well, at least for me! Congrats on the wonderful progress so far. Going from Little Debbies to eggs and spinach for breakfast is a life changing event!!