Vitamins and Stalls

[CharmCityCrab]

This time around on the Atkins diet, I discovered that Atkins Nutritionals no longer made vitamins, so I scoured the Internet and came up with NSI NutriSlim Low Carb Dieter's Basic Multi-Vitamin Version 2. I've been stalling on weight loss the last few days (Basically since I got the vitamins). I never experienced anything like this years ago when I went on the diet, the pounds just fell off.

Could these vitamins be stalling me?

Here's the link to the page I ordered them from (with information about them, supplement facts, etc.):

NSI NutriSlim Low Carb Dieter's Basic Multi-Vitamin Ver 2 -- 180 Capsules - www.Vitacost.com

[julirama723]

Re: Vitamins and Stalls

I didn't see a link to ingredient information (what extra stuff the capsules consist of besides vitamins and minerals); sometimes vitamins have starches, sugars, fillers, yeast, etc. Check your bottle for anything that sounds suspicious. Those supplements look great from what I can see, but you don't need anything fancy or specifically "low-carb" when following Atkins. Plain old 50+ vitamins do just fine. Check out the Vitamins/Supplements forum for more ideas on what to add to your regimen. Generally B complex and flax are a good idea for everyone.

A stall is technically 4 weeks without pounds or inches lost--you're NOT stalling. Weight loss is not linear, don't expect to lose X amount of pounds in Y days! Sometimes our bodies just need a breather. If you're convinced that something might be a problem, post your menu in the "Review My Menu" section.

[CharmCityCrab]

Re: Vitamins and Stalls

I didn't see a link to ingredient information (what extra stuff the capsules consist of besides vitamins and minerals); sometimes vitamins have starches, sugars, fillers, yeast, etc. Check your bottle for anything that sounds suspicious. Those supplements look great from what I can see, but you don't need anything fancy or specifically "low-carb" when following Atkins. Plain old 50+ vitamins do just fine. Check out the Vitamins/Supplements forum for more ideas on what to add to your regimen. Generally B complex and flax are a good idea for everyone.

A stall is technically 4 weeks without pounds or inches lost--you're NOT stalling. Weight loss is not linear, don't expect to lose X amount of pounds in Y days! Sometimes our bodies just need a breather. If you're convinced that something might be a problem, post your menu in the "Review My Menu" section.

Thanks for replying.

I did Atkins when I was 18 and would lose a pound or two almost every single day. It's been about eight years, though, and it's possible that my body chemistry has changed. I've heard that sometimes the older you get, the harder it is to lose weight.

The inactive ingredients part of the vitamins are free from starches and sugars as best I can tell. Before I bought them, I tried to do google searches on all the inactive ingredients. But, in case I missed something, here they are: kosher gelatin (capsule), cellulose, and magnesium sterarate. It also notes that the product contains soy, presumably as part of some of the active ingredients.

As far as additional supplements to vitamins go, I replaced the old no-longer available Atkins Essential Oils I took eight years ago with GNC Triple-Strength Fish Oil capsules, but they didn't come in until yesterday, so they can't be the issue (If indeed there is an issue). I thought about something that would contain flax seed oil as well as fish oil, but everything I could find contained carbohydrates in the forms of either sugar or starches or both. I don't need my fish oil to taste sweet.

I took some Atkins shakes once a day, which contain vitamin,s for three or four days, but I cut them just in case they were interfering.

I'm pretty sure nothing in my diet is interfering, I do these things very strictly. Basically just meat, pork rinds (Which are also technically meat), a cup of iceberg lettuce a day (Should be more, I know, but I always start things strictly to get the ball rolling, sort of a super-induction), and tons of water.

[julirama723]

Re: Vitamins and Stalls

Vegetables are non-negotiable. You NEED your 3 cups per day, no ifs, ands, or buts. Do you have a copy of DANDR? Right now you're not following Atkins. For a "clean" induction, it's important that you follow the rules of induction--eating foods found on the acceptable food lists, 3 cups of veggies, up to 3-4 oz. cheese, some special category foods, lots of water, and exercise. You may eat up to 20 carbs per day, and half of your carbs MUST come from vegetables.

Reducing your carbs to almost nothing does not help you lose weight. 20g/day is the "magic" number because Dr. Atkins found that 95% of people will be able to get into ketosis by consuming that amount. Many people can get into ketosis at higher levels than that.

The Atkins shakes are junk food, pure and simple. They are not allowed on a "strict" induction, and while they contain vitamins and minerals, you could take your supplements and eat your 3 cups veggies per day and get the same nutrients found in the shakes. The shakes are also not legal until the higher rungs of OWL because of milk and soy ingredients. The shakes are also high-protein. Protein is good, not to excess. An over-abundance of protein in the body turns to glucose which inevitably turns to fat. Calorie percentages on induction should be 65% fat, 30% protein, 5% carbs.

[CharmCityCrab]

Re: Vitamins and Stalls

Vegetables are non-negotiable. You NEED your 3 cups per day, no ifs, ands, or buts. Do you have a copy of DANDR? Right now you're not following Atkins. For a "clean" induction, it's important that you follow the rules of induction--eating foods found on the acceptable food lists, 3 cups of veggies, up to 3-4 oz. cheese, some special category foods, lots of water, and exercise. You may eat up to 20 carbs per day, and half of your carbs MUST come from vegetables.

Reducing your carbs to almost nothing does not help you lose weight. 20g/day is the "magic" number because Dr. Atkins found that 95% of people will be able to get into ketosis by consuming that amount. Many people can get into ketosis at higher levels than that.

The Atkins shakes are junk food, pure and simple. They are not allowed on a "strict" induction, and while they contain vitamins and minerals, you could take your supplements and eat your 3 cups veggies per day and get the same nutrients found in the shakes. The shakes are also not legal until the higher rungs of OWL because of milk and soy ingredients. The shakes are also high-protein. Protein is good, not to excess. An over-abundance of protein in the body turns to glucose which inevitably turns to fat. Calorie percentages on induction should be 65% fat, 30% protein, 5% carbs.

You make some good points, but there are a few things you mention that are not completely accurate. Years ago, I lost something on the order of 80-100lbs in about 6 months on a modified (by me) version of Atkins. During that time, I'd have an occasional cup of broccoli (significantly less than once a day) and that was it vegetable wise. That probably wasn't good for my overall health, but I did lose weight. Most days I was below 5 carbs a day. So, you can tell me that theoretically that shouldn't work, but it obviously did work for me. Those pounds didn't fall off by themselves and I didn't make any lifestyle modifications that would have otherwise accounted for it.

Now, I'm not saying that anyone should do what I did. I developed a lot of health problems later on (which may or may not have been related, though some are in areas like the kidney where there could be a correlation, but no correlation have been proven), some of which are still with me. That's part of why I didn't go back to low-carbbing as I gained weight back. I'm only doing it now because my weight has reached a point where it's an even greater health risk than a diet, and I'm doing it more carefully, making sure I do get some veggies and take my vitamins every day and fish oils (Though I had these things and used them at times the last time) -- and drink tons of water every day. And the plan is to increase the veggies later on, and maybe shakes more regularly, so the diet is more healthy for me.

I am doing this a lot more cautiously and with more care for my health this time around.

But the point remains that while I need to consider these things from a *health* perspective, they are not absolutely essential for weight loss, as my own history proves. I'm considering what you're saying and you may be right that some would help with weight, but they can't be essential for everyone, just based on my own history.

On the shakes, I'm inclined to agree with you that because they contain a gram of sugar, they probably aren't the best toward the beginning. Having said that, it is not "breaking the rules of the diet" to do it, because Atkins Nutritionals does authorize them for all phases. It says so right on the can. Not that I really care about rules all that much for the sake of the rules, if I wind up following my own diet and it works, it works. If it doesn't, I have to make alterations.

As far as the book goes, I bought a newly revised copy and am working my way through it slowly. I don't take it as gospel, but it does offer a lot insight and helpful hints.

If people want to say at whatever point I'm not following the Atkins(tm) diet and want to call it some sort of generic low-carb diet based loosely on Atkins, that's fine. I'm not going for some sort of Atkins stamp of approval. I just need to lose weight quickly and without posing too much unnecessary health risk.

As far as exercise goes, I have health issues, I can't really excerise much at this point because of them. Dr. Atkins mentioned in an interview once that, despite the chapter title of of one of the chapters in his book where he calls it non-negotiable, it is possible to lose weight without exercise. In fact, I didn't really do it the first time when my health was alright, and I did lose weight.

So, anyhow, while I'm certainly inspired by Dr. Atkins, and think the man was way ahead of his time and courageous for bucking the medical establishment, I'm not overly worried about following what he says to the letter, unless I need to do it to lose the weight I need to lose.

[julirama723]

Re: Vitamins and Stalls

I'm not saying it won't work--I'm saying it's not healthy, and that it's not Atkins, and that there's no benefit to doing it. I'm 99% sure you could have lost that weight following Atkins properly by eating your veggies! Atkins is not just about losing weight, or even losing weight quickly. Atkins is about optimal health, and the weight loss is just a pleasant side effect. Atkins is about MAINTAINING the weight you lose indefinitely. It's about learning how to eat properly and about listening to what your body needs.

My concern is that tweaking the rules can unrealistic and not something that can be maintained at best, or at worst, be very unhealthy.

As far as the shakes and bars go, Atkins Nutritionals is a business that's interested in making money. They do not care if you follow the plan as intended by Dr. Atkins. Eat only foods that are on the acceptable foods list. It's not only the quantity of carbs that are crucial, it's the quality.

ADBB promotes Atkins "by the book", so those are probably the only type of answers and advice we can give in good conscience.