Help!

[mom2]

Just need a little feedback from those of more experience. Recently, my daughter started the Atkins Program. She has faithfully stayed in the Induction Phase and eaten as prescribed. I have fixed dinner from the Atkins online recipes for induction and she is keeping a journal for her food. This is the first time in a couple of years that she's been excited and motivated by this "lifestyle" However, last week she did not lose any weight and gained a few inches and today she got on the scales and gained 2 pounds. She started the program June 1st and is 4'11" and weights 123. She has never had a weight problem, but like most students going off to school with each year she continued to gain weight. I am a vegetarian so I was first very concern with the program and all the fat, but after much research i was willing to try this, but I'm stumped as to why she hasn't lost inches and if I were not with her to see the scales and measurements I would not really see the difference though she has lost "some" weight from the initial start. She was VERY disappointed and discouraged this morning so I'm on researching for her. Also, my brother/sister inlaw start the program in January and have been very successful with both weight and inches....VERY visuable with the results. Any suggestions for my daugther? Is it excerises? Water intake? In fact, she wasn't even counting "net carbs" unti this week so she in fact was probably eating less than 20 carbs. She really wants to be successful and get back to her "petite" size and STAY there. I know this might mean much when a person has a lot to lost, but for a 4'11" person she doesn't have a lot of space for 25+ pounds to go and she looks heavy now and has gone up 3 dress sizes with the gain. In the month on this she has not drop a dress size even! Help us please. Mom :confused

[Checkers]

Hi, can you post her menu in detail? Be sure to include absolutely anything she puts in her mouth. Also, how much water is she drinking and is she exercising?

:wave

[2big4mysize]

where is she in her monthly cycle? Atkins will not alter that for her if she gained fluid weight and inches before she started she will continue doing that when TOM comes.
Has she started a new to her exercise program? Muscle super hydraste in response to new workouts until they become accustomed to the new load as their normal load.

There are many other things biochemically going on in the human body that can cause fuid weight gains. Please encourage her to continue her plan look and see if she ate any new to her Atkins plan foods that might be bothering her and if so drop them from her plan and se what happens. She can try them again later. We have had folk who con't handle the nuts rung of OWL or the dairy rung and when they dropped those foods poof their ketosis and weight loss resumed.

Happy low carbing.

[Sarah1341]

In addition to what Checkers has requested, remember that because she doesn't have a huge amount of weight to lose, it may take her longer. Water intake, veggies and exercise are all very important to this WOE. Let us know what she's doing so we can all try to help :wave

[mom2]

Thank you, Thank you for responsing......as her mother, I could almost cry because she has tried so hard and wants this so much so I too felt her discouragement. As I said, she just started with induction on June 1st and just this week she added 5 carbs but not eveyday. In fact, she and I didn't know the difference between regular carbs and net carbs so up to now we only counted regular carbs. A typical day is 2 eggs and 3 pieces of bacon for breakfast. The eggs are sometimes prepared differently but usually 4-5 carbs for breakfast. Then she would take 2oz of cheese and pork rinds for a snack, then for lunch, typically it was romain lettuce with shredded paramesan cheese and "o" carb cesar dressing, sometimes it might be a chicken cesar salad or a chef salad, but 99% salad. Then for dinner I would cook from a recipe on line at the Atkins site for induction. This is where she got most of her carb in "other veggies"....we have eaten, cauliflower, summer squash, zuchinn, salad, mushrooms, pepper and onion grilled but counted. Then for a later snack it would be sugar free jello with whipping cream. Every morning she urinates and the strips show dark purple indicating ketosis! I have NEVER seen her be so dedicated and commited so this is why we're both puzzled......it's been a family supported way.......I've never cooked so much meat and less vegetables in her life! lol (as I said I'm a vegeterian) in fact, my husband is simple cutting out white's and sugar with her, but not really "counting" carbs and lost almost a full pants size and close to 10lbs in 31/2 weeks! And most disturbing is the visual change that we all can notice, this is what's so wrong, we really can't see much difference with Jessica. As I said before, she's very short and this weight is all over. She is not excerising much, and though I wish she would, because I think it's generally healthy for everyone to do, I thought the program was based on restriction of carbs only not necessarily excerise? Thank you again so much for your feedback. I feel like a panic mother going crazy, but she's traveling today and wanted me to research and I do want her to be successful......and most importantly, healthy! Cindy (mom2)

[Effie]

Hmmm... from what I can see, the menu is near perfect. The only thing I would cut out is the sugar free jello & whipped cream, as this can cause stalls in some people. She can always add it back in later if she starts to lose and wants to experiment with it again. She might try ditching the cheese completely for a few days and see what that does. I would also recommend inputting the foods in www.fitday.com. You will be able to see the breakdown of fat/protein/carb %'s. She wants to aim for 65% fat/35% protein/5% carbs.

She is not excerising much, and though I wish she would, because I think it's generally healthy for everyone to do, I thought the program was based on restriction of carbs only not necessarily excerise?

Atkins wrote that exercise is non-negotiable, and is a very important part of his plan. Even if she goes for a 20-30 minute walk every night, she might start noticing the difference.

Keep us posted!

[Elizellen]

How old is she?

[mom2]

She is 20 years old and I appreciate everyones feedback and suggestions. I'll pass the fitday website on to her.....

[Oreo]

She doesn't have much to lose so it will take her longer then it would with a person having 40+ to lose.

Pork Rinds have a lot of sodium so be carefull w/ that.

While you don't have to count calories on Atkins - they will play a part if a person doesn't need to lose much -

Some people just don't tolerate dairy (cheese) very well and can't have it until maintance.

I never did eat Onions- 1 med packs about 9 carbs - not sure what the net is but for me I just couldn't see giving up that many carbs w/ an onion.

Tell her to hang in there- have patience- it will come off.

[Momtofour]

I lost weight in the first 2 weeks and then kept losing and gaining the same pounds for 5 weeks. I am just now really starting to see the weight moving on the scale. Most of my initial weight loss was in strange places like hands, feet, between my chest and waist, chest :sadblinky Maybe she is losing in these places too and not realizing it. My pant size is just now down 1 size and I have been on Atkins since April 18. I would just suggest she keep with it. She definately needs to exercise. Just go for a walk with a friend. It's so much more enjoyable when you exercise with someone. Thanks for the encouraging words on my post!

[womanpraised]

I just wanted to say how awesome it is that you are supporting this so much, and that your daughters dad is even cutting carbs with her. I hope she realizes, beyond any weight loss goals, how very precious her parents who support and believe and pull for and even post on message boards for a diet they themselves arent living by are.


WAY TO GO MOM!! ! :icondance :icondance :icondance :icondance

[2big4mysize]

exercise is a mandatory part of Atkins both aerobic and resistance. Dr Atkins said in chapter 15 of his book if you are not exercising you are not doing my plan.

Get her going on the exercise and make sure she is drinking the water.

[not2late]

Someone else touched upon it earlier, but is she eating until she is "full" or is she eating until she is "satisfied"? There's a difference between the two and the best way, imo, to distinguish them is if after her meal she can feel the weight of the food sitting in her stomach, then she is probably "full". Being "satisfied" means, you are no longer hungry and still have room for more.

A common problem with folks initially is that they overeat: they think they need to "fill up" on the protein because they aren't eating the starchier carbs and are scared they'll feel hungry between meals.

It's the fat that makes you feel satisfied longer between meals, not the protein. So she might want to use the cheese from her pre-lunch snack on her lunch salad, in addition to the salad dressing. The additional fat from the cheese will help slow the release of the sugars from the veggies into her blood stream.

Be aware that many bacons have added sugars and these sugars might destabilize her blood glucose.

Also I noticed that you cook entrees from the Atkins.com site. Be careful with these recipes. Some of them contain ingredients not suitable for Induction per the 2002 edition of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, such as bread crumbs made from the low carb breads, the Bake Mix, etc. The company says these products are suitable for Induction primarily based on their net carbs per serving, secondarily on the amount used in the dish, and tertiarily on the ingredients. I'm one of the few people whose weight loss is derailed by certain wheat products---and wheat is definitely used in some of these "Induction" acceptable products.

Also the sugar free jello might be a problem too. Most of them are sweetened with aspartame. Dr. Atkins discouraged the use of aspartame because he found that "excessive" amounts stalled or slowed some of his dieters. "Excessive" was defined in the 1992 DANDR as "three or more" servings of aspartame daily.

[spirittalker]

Someone also asked if her period was due or here. I didn't see that answered so I thought I would bring it up again because I can easily put on 10 pound of water during that time. Also be aware that men lose weight much more easily than women so that may be why your husband is seeing results more quickly. Also exercise, how much is she doing? How much water is she drinking?

[lotusblossom1966]

Oddly enough, while I lost almost 15 pounds in about the first 10 days, I have been hanging at that weight loss for awhile. BUT, I went down a size in pants, so something somewhere is working for me.

In my case, I have learned that I can't use the prepackaged low carb foods - i.e. the LC bars and snacks and such. I personally need whole foods, and I am careful with processed meats of any kind. I keep track of my bacon and make sure it's nitrate and additive free. I eat alot of eggs.......and I'm becoming rather tired of them, so I am beginning to experiment more. I force myself to drink tons and tons of water, especially now that it's hot outside. I also make sure I take a multi-vitamin just to be sure I'm getting what I need.

I keep a food log taped to my refrigerator door and I log everything I eat. I make some snacks ahead, usually a veggie and something protein based. Right now I have celery stuffed with pimento cheese that I cut into small pieces and keep handy for a popable snack. I tried the sugar free jello and it seems to make me hungry for sweets more, and I've even seen the scale go UP when I eat it. I also keep track of my fat intake. I don't try to keep it low, but I don't use it indiscriminately, either. If you have satellite tv or cable, there some good shows on Food Network and Fit TV. I watch those for ideas. There's one called "Blaine's Low Carb Kitchen" I think. He started out over 300 pounds and has been cooking and tracking his weight loss through the show, so it's kind of interesting to see what he's eating and how much he's lost. I also like George Stella.

I joined a gym and do cardio. I've just started out, but I keep setting small goals for myself and once I make that one I set another. I have never been "sports" oriented, but I used to go out dancing with friends 3 or 4 times a week. We'd dance for hours and I stayed the same weight for years....until I stopped all that dancing and started staying home with hubby. We've both gained a lot of weight, but at least we're trying to do something about it.

Just keep tracking and stay on course. It's a slow journey, but that helps to make it a lifestyle instead of a quick fix. There's a site here: http://users3.ev1.net/~fontlady/recipes.html and she has all the recipes that are induction friendly marked with an asterisk so it's easy to keep them separate.

tell her to stay focused, stay positive and stay healthy. She'll make it........we all will.