Need Help!

[alise]

Hi All,

I started induction on 23 Jun 08 and have only lost 5.2lbs to date. I'm sure some of it is my fault because, although I was doing well with exercising (2.5 miles in 25 minutes on the treadmill 3 days a week and walking at dog park each evening for 30 minutes/slow pace) and getting in my veggies I've had about a total of 7 six ounce glasses of chardonney since starting. I know that was not authorized and have decided to put the vino on hiatus. I've been in ketosis since day 4 of induction (keto stix) and this evening I've entered all my meals into Fitday today to represent on average what I eat and my totals reflected:

calories: 2215
fat:76%
carbs: 18grams/3%
protein: 21%

Breakfast: 3 egg omelete fried in 2 pats of real butter with 2 crumbled turkey sausage patties, 1 oz sliced brie, salt and pepper to taste and 20 oz water.
Lunch: Two 1/4 pound hamburger patties on 2 cups shredded romaine with 2 tablespoons of mayonaise and 1 slice american cheese. 60 oz water throughout the work day.
Dinner: 3 egg omelete fried in 2 pats of real butter with 2 slices red pepper, 1 tablespoon of chopped olives, 1 tablespoon chives, 2 crumbled pork sausage patties, 2 tablespoons dices chicken, 1 tbs cream cheese and 2 tbs mixture of of cheddar/mozzarella cheese. 16 oz water.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't live off eggs, sausage and hamburger patties everyday. I eat quite a variety of meats and vegetables to include steak, porkchops, chicken thighs, legs, and breast and fish, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, lettuce, etc.

Any ideas on how I can get better results on my weight loss? I have not given up by any means as I feel great but my clothes still seem to fit the same and I can't get the scale to budge much.

[moniegail]

Re: Need Help!

first off, the wine is definately not the best thing to have been drinking. when drinking alcohol, your body is gonna burn that off first before it will burn any fat. so each of those 7 glasses of wine is probably your downfall.

secondly, since you are exercising, you are most definately gaining muscles. since muscle weighs more than fat, that could be why the scales aren't moving.

as far as the wine goes, it's a good idea to put it away for a while until you can legally have it. (OWL rung 5).

lastly, i would suggest you start doing a completely clean induction(no wine) for 2 weeks then start moving up the rungs of OWL. if you want that wine, your gonna have to work for it. just think how much better it will be when you can drink a glass legally and not feel guilty about it.

best wishes,
monie

[joee5]

Re: Need Help!

Leave the wine alone, too much sugar, and drink lots of water. Gotta flush out your system. God Bless,Joe

[momtomany1]

Re: Need Help!

We don't count calories in Atkins. And I haven't tallied up my calorie counts or done my fat percentage since restarting. But just looking at your menu, you are likely getting more calories than you really need. Ever check to see what your BMR is? I know there are calculators for that online. Here's one... Mine is under 1800.


If you consistently eat over your BMR, you really can't lose weight. You are in lipolysis, and burning fat, but you have so much in your diet that you are burning just the fat you are eating, it can't ever get to the fat you are 'wearing.'

Drop the omelette to two eggs, one hamburger patty at lunch instead of two, one sausage patty instead of two at a time, etc, and you can get your fat percent in an overall lower calorie range, and your body will have a chance to get to those fat stores.

Lots of good wishes for you! (What a lovely face you have, btw!)

[Greeneggs&ham]

Re: Need Help!

I agree with Mom (first time I ever said those words together ) -- you may be eating too many calories on a daily basis, although they certainly look like the right kinds (sans the wine of course) and proportions. Although Atkins doesn't say counting calories is required, most of his examples work out to about 1700 daily calories. Remember to eat just until satisfied, but not stuffed (I know this rule took me a while to figure out since I had never lived that way prior to this WOE!)

I would like to correct this one (tiny) mistake though:

You are in lipolysis, and burning fat, but you have so much in your diet that you are burning just the fat you are eating, it can't ever get to the fat you are 'wearing.'

When you are in lipolysis, you are burning BODY fat. Your body may be storing "overdoses" of DIETARY fat, but you never actually burn the consumed fat -- only the body fat. That is part of the reason why Atkins claims a "metabolic advantage" -- some of the eaten calories pass through your system without being absorbed because your body is too busy burning body fat to spend time storing it.

[momtomany1]

Re: Need Help!

Thank you for the clarification! I guess I was thinking about glycolysis and how it burns your 'eaten' sugars before your 'stored' ones. (That is right, right?)

But no wonder it is an advantage, and I am glad to know it. ( I actually feel a 'warm' in my large muscles on a daily basis, my upper thighs sort of 'tingle' and I tell myself, that is my fat being incinerated!)

[alise]

Re: Need Help!

Thanks everyone,

I've restarted induction, will not drink wine, and will lower my caloric intake to 1800 or less. We'll see what happens after 2 weeks.

[Lyssie]

Re: Need Help!

Hi. You may also want to move on to the rungs of OWL after the 2 weeks of induction. You don't have that much to lose, and sometimes moving up can help out with nudging the scale a little bit, and give a bit of variety and a chance to figure out how to make this a WoL.

[alise]

Re: Need Help!

Thanks everyone,

I've restarted induction, will not drink wine, and will lower my caloric intake to 1800 or less. We'll see what happens after 2 weeks.

Well it's the end of my re-induction and for the last 14 days I've been sticking to plan and exercising 3 to 4 days out of the week doing 25/30 minutes of cardio (I do between 2 to 3 miles on the treadmill on my lunchbreak).

My typical menu has looked liked this:
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, 3 Brown and Serve sausage patties.
Lunch: 2 hamburgers patties, 1 cup salad greens, 1 tbsp mayonaise
Dinner: 8 oz grilled chicken thighs, 1 cup broccoli sauted in butter
snack: cup of decaf tea with 1 packet splenda

There have been variations in my menu (all induction friendly) and I've eaten my veggies and drink at least 80 ounces of water a day. I have honestly not deviated from induction since restarting on 8/6/08.

Unfortunatley though I've only managed to lose about 1.5 pounds in these last 2 weeks for a total of 6.8 pounds since 23 Jun 08. Now don't get me wrong.......I feel great and have no plans on giving up but is there anything you guys can suggest to get the scale moving a little more? I'd be happy with 1 pound a week but it seems this may not be the case for me. What do you think?

[Greeneggs&ham]

Re: Need Help!

I believe it's been said before that the average dieter will lose 5-10% of her total amount to lose during the first two weeks of Induction. Based on your stats, you are trying to lose 30 pounds and lost 1.5 pounds this week (which technically speaking were not your true first two weeks). While the number may not sound stupendous, you are just like most of the other Atkineers in terms of success. Moving forward, you will have weeks with no loss and weeks with small losses, and perhaps a rare week with a big loss (3+ pounds). That may not sound any better than the expected results on a low calorie diet, but you're likely eating more calories and tastier foods on this WOE, and my guess is you feel better to boot. Stay focused and you will get to your goal weight soon enough!

[losetocruise]

Re: Need Help!

I agree with Mom (first time I ever said those words together ) -- you may be eating too many calories on a daily basis, although they certainly look like the right kinds (sans the wine of course) and proportions. Although Atkins doesn't say counting calories is required, most of his examples work out to about 1700 daily calories. Remember to eat just until satisfied, but not stuffed (I know this rule took me a while to figure out since I had never lived that way prior to this WOE!)

I would like to correct this one (tiny) mistake though:

When you are in lipolysis, you are burning BODY fat. Your body may be storing "overdoses" of DIETARY fat, but you never actually burn the consumed fat -- only the body fat. That is part of the reason why Atkins claims a "metabolic advantage" -- some of the eaten calories pass through your system without being absorbed because your body is too busy burning body fat to spend time storing it.

Eric,
are you sure of this? I have googled it and can't find any documentation. I have always assumed that like alcohol, your body will first burn the ingested fat before moving on to stored substances. Which is a good argument for portion control.

[Greeneggs&ham]

Re: Need Help!

You may be right. My google search yielded similar results. I find the results confusing though since they would seem to contradict Atkins' recommendation to eat a higher fat percentage of calories. Where is the so-called "metabolic advantage" coming from if the body is turning to its dietary fat before grabbing from the love handles? I will have to re-read the chapter on lipolysis in DANDR to get my head around the facts again. I'll let you know if I have any revelations.

[alise]

Re: Need Help!

Just checking in to report that I've finally seen some movement on the scale since my last post. I'm down 10 lbs and have come to accept the fact the weight is just gonna come off slowly. However, it is coming off.

I'm keeping my calories below 1800 and I've been jogging on the treadmill 2.5 to 3 miles 5 days a week. I've decided I'm going to stay in extended induction until the end of September since my weight loss is slow. On October 1st I will move up to rung 1.

Can anyone suggest a carb free cough drop and cough syrup? I've been suffering for the past week with a dry, nonproductive cough. I've been sucking on cough drops and spray Chloraseptic down my throat but each contain sucrose (yikes). My ketostix still show I'm in ketosis but if there is anything else on the market I'd rather use it.

By the way... I found this awful photo I took in January 2008 when I first pondered the idea of losing this extra weight. Here I am somewhere around 202.8. Yuck! I'm posting it though to stay accountable so here goes.

Before 202.8