Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I did it once after I lost very, very little on induction. My unimportant strips wouldn't turn after a little (too short) time on no carbs even. I loose slowly anyway. Weight didn't start falling off fast even on it. I assume looking back I was having hormone problems. Since then I've always lost more in induction so my resistance to weightloss isn't what it was at that time. I didn't loose dangerously fast ever. I still can't look at tuna and cream cheese the same way. But I took out the book, read and looked back on why I did it. In hindsight, I don't think I waited long enough to be sure I was resistant to weightloss. But I have noticed that after awhile I started to burn fat faster and get those strips to turn a little and faster. I was really glad to know the color doesn't have anything to do with how fast you loose. This wasn't totally clear to me after reading the book and I don't know if there even was a board way back then. Before Atkins, I tried lots of diets and lost very little, very slowly. So I think I assumed I was doomed to be resistant on Atkins too. Still, I can't move up the rungs and loose on Atkins. Some people are in a hurry, but some have reasons to believe they need the FF. But yeah, this person knew they didn't need it. And after re-reading the book, I see your points totally.

[Georgiana]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

Did you try adding only 5 net carbs more of veggies? For how long and what happened when you did this?

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I can eat more salad, more broccoli, greenbeans some days and still loose weight. I can't do it everyday though. Mostly its just when I try go up the rungs with nuts or something. When I get a little closer to goal weight, I'm gonna start trying to add a little in and see. Maybe I had too much of the foods when I added them? I can have some nuts or a few strawberries here and there and get away with it. I always feel like I'm cheating when I do it though. I've stopped trying to keep them around. Before if I bought the nuts, I'd snack on them and by the end of the week the container was empty and I didn't loose. And cheating with fruit, I'd try to have a black plum which I love, but I wanted one everyday they were in house. So a couple of those and no weightloss for the week. Berries I think I just do better if I feel I am sneaking them. A tiny bit doesn't kill the whole week. But it has to be tiny. Some weeks I hold water and don't loose even if I am very strict with induction, its hard to tell. I loose a pound or two a week on adverage with induction. Occassionally I eat something off the diet and knock myself out of ketosis for half a day. I don't need the sticks so much anymore, I can taste them now. But I'm not counting weeks I mess up like that at all. I know when I've messed up, I'll be lucky if anything comes off. I usually just hope to be the same at end of the week.
I starved my self and over-excercised to loose weight when I was about 12. I eventually got underweight. I got over that and ended up at weightwatchers when I was in highschool. I was able to loose slowly on it, my parents did it with me. For years I'd slowly gain weight, restrict my calories alot and slowly get the same 10 pounds off. I stayed at about 150 until kids. Then after kids, other diets I tried (weightwatchers, counting fat, soup diet) didn't do much if anything. When I tried to go off and just stay the same I found I gain slowly enough that I could add a good bit and stay about the same though. Its just the loosing process that is bad for me.

[Georgiana]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I can eat more salad, more broccoli, greenbeans some days and still loose weight. I can't do it everyday though.

By "more", you mean more than the Induction 3 cups? And if so, do you measure "more" in cups or carbs? Because 5 net carbs of green beans is about a cup, but if you were to eat the same 5 net carbs from lettuce, you'd have to eat about 5 cups.

And you don't have to eat them every day, just every other day. Then you see how your body reacts to the extra carbs and/or new veggie(s), and if everything is okay you can try eating them every day.

Mostly its just when I try go up the rungs with nuts or something. When I get a little closer to goal weight, I'm gonna start trying to add a little in and see. Maybe I had too much of the foods when I added them? I can have some nuts or a few strawberries here and there and get away with it.

Nuts are only added in 1 oz amounts (not 5 net carbs), so you should really eat very few of them. 1 oz of almonds is about 23 kernels, 1 oz of walnuts is about 14 nuts and 1 oz of macadamias is only 10-12 nuts. Same with berries. 5 net carbs of strawberries is about 7 medium or 5 large strawberries.

And as with veggies, you start eating nuts or strawberries only every other day and you introduce them back one by one, so that if something affects your weight loss, you know what it is.

Before if I bought the nuts, I'd snack on them and by the end of the week the container was empty and I didn't loose.

Instead of buying nuts and snacking on them, you might do better using nut meals or flours. I don't think anyone will snack on almond meal, for example, by eating it with a tablespoon right out of the bag.

Nuts are packed with nutrients, so unless you have an intolerance to them, they are a great addition to your diet. When you use nut flours, prepare just one serving (so without using more than 1 oz of flour) --- this will reduce the chances you overeat nuts. You could make a second serving, of course, but most people would be too lazy for that.

And cheating with fruit, I'd try to have a black plum which I love, but I wanted one everyday they were in house.

Were you eating these plums with some fat, like a piece of cheese for example? Otherwise it's very likely that they were messing up your blood sugar. Did you take the Blood Sugar Stress test in DANDR after eating them?

Some weeks I hold water and don't loose even if I am very strict with induction, its hard to tell. I loose a pound or two a week on adverage with induction.

That's very normal and I think it happens to most of us (esp. around TOM). I often "test" new foods in OWL for more than a week and I never test during my period.

Occassionally I eat something off the diet and knock myself out of ketosis for half a day.

Do you keep a food journal? You could use it to understand what made you cheat, so that you don't repeat the same mistake(s) in the future. If we just "forget" the cheat and move forward without devising coping strategies, it's likely that we will cheat again for the same reasons.

I know from your previous posts that you had trouble with cheating. Was/Is this happening because of food boredom? Or do you feel deprieved by limiting yourself only to certain foods (you are listing very few veggies, although the Induction list has over 50)? You could also be cheating because of stress, certain life situations, meeting certain people, etc.

Take a look at 2Big's post here: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...351-post7.html

Are you exercising?

What about dietary supplements? Are you taking any? Being deficient in some vitamins and/or minerals can also slow down your weight loss. This can happen during Induction, especially if you have been doing it for a long time without being under a doctor's supervision.

[Georgiana]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

Oops, I missed something. A plum has about 7.5 net carbs, so you should eat less than a whole one when you add plums back during OWL.

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

Yes, I can overeat and have problems cheating some. Sometimes its the people around me trying to feed me and I eat a bite to be polite. This might cause me to be out of ketosis for a short time. Somethings are just me deciding I want a certain dish. I can eat out okay if the place doesn't have something too tempting to me on the bar. Its usually a craving for a food I like. Battered fried chicken livers, a BBQ sandwich, or lightly battered shrimp covered in a mystery sauce we assume is sugar and mayo. After a long while I want a jr whopper. Its almost always these foods. I can eat shrimp, meat even with a little BBQ sauce, and it doesn't make me stop wanting these other foods. Its been way less this time though. When I wasn't on any diet, I rarely wasn't able to seek this out because I was taking care of the kids. I can resist the sweet foods usually, and most of my cheat foods are real food and contain a good amount of protein? I find that funny in a way. They are just odd foods. I get to point where I want them so bad, I rather have it and loose slower. I'm not eating big amounts or anything, and I can limit it so it maybe one thing a week or everyother week. I rarely go a whole month without some slip. I like a boring diet for the most part, it helps me to keep it simple. But yes, sometimes I need something different. I'm trying to eat more things and see if it helps stop some cravings.
I eat a small styrofoam bowl full of broccoli about every other day fine. I eat salads just rarely, two or three styofoam bowls a week. I usually have the small salad or the broccoli and not both in one day. But french style green beans, I'll occassional eat the whole can. I watch out and those are generally my carbs along with a few from a protein drink. The nuts I grab a serving of almonds from my ex's when I visit. I also have to watch out for how big my hamburgers are and things. Sometimes I've gotten in a hurry because I was holding water and ate too little, which actually didn't help at all. Funny how that works! I stalled once because of the protein drink. I can have a half of one to a whole one most days and loose any more and its too much even if I don't get my greens. The nuts are definate maybe, I want to try strawberries again. I am going to save plums for when I get to maintance.

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I think early on in the diet I had a lot more cravings than I do now. When I went off the diet for awhile, I ate mostly beef pot pies before I started trying to see what I could eat and not gain. I had a few treats. But my diet was simply the cheapest things I could eat. I was not eating those things I claimed to love all the time, even though I felt free to do so. I bought some potatos dishes and stuffing because its cheap and I use to love it. It was mostly uneaten and forgotten because it tasted disappointing. I've thought a lot about why I cheated so much at first. I think I was just seriously addicted to carbs and junk foods. I use to promiss myself when I lost so much weight, I could have something bad off the diet. I've had one real cheat since starting back, I ate some of those shrimp. It knocked me out of ketosis from lunch til breakfast and I had to go to sleep with a headache before I got back into ketosis. But I'm not overeating a ton just because I payed for a buffet anymore. I found out that controling the carbs, controls how hungery I am real well. I just try to think about what it feels like to eat and eat and still be hungery and know that if I don't keep carbs low, that's where I'll be.

[Georgiana]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I think it's a good idea to check the online menu before going to a restaurant. Then you can decide at home what you're going to have and when you're at the restaurant just focus on the meal you are supposed to have and order that. Then you can go home and cook the "illegal" meal you would have liked to have.

Fried chicken livers. I'm not 100% sure, but I think you could fry them in something like pork rinds, to get some sort of batter. I make mine simple, without batter, just garlic, tomato, salt and black pepper. The juice left by tomatoes when fried, combined with the garlic give it a really nice flavor. But if you want them battered, maybe pork rinds would do. [Anyone tried this?]

Shrimps could be cooked the same way, using a substitute for the real batter. I'm not sure what sauce they use on the shrimp, but maybe someone around here has a yummy sauce recipe they can share. [Ideas, anyone?]

The Jr. Whopper is the easiest to substitute. Everything except the bun and the ketchup is "legal". You can use Revolution Rolls (check not2late's blog, the entry she made on May 22, 2009) in place of the real bun and Heinz One Carb Ketchup or homemade ketchup instead of the sugary kind.

Plus, you'd save quite a bit of money if you prepare these at home.

I noticed in one of your other posts that you are often eating tuna. Instead of mixing it with mayo and making a tuna salad, you could make fish cakes. They are super easy to make. The recipe is again on not2late's blog (it's the second link in her signature), posted in January 2009. You could also use other canned meat, like chicken for example.

Just be careful with the amount of protein you're eating. You should get most of your calories from fat, because excess protein can be converted to glucose and affect your weight loss rate. Eating more fat will also make it easier to get into ketosis (and stay there).

So are you also exercising and taking a multivitamin? I'm not sure how much broccoli or salad fits in a styrofoam bowl, but not having enough vitamins/minerals will slow you down. And if you are exercising, your CCLL will be higher than if you just do your normal activity stuff, so you'd be able to eat more carbs. Maybe take up walking, especially now that the weather is so nice outside.

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I take vitamins. I checked and the styrofoam bowl holds about 9 oz. I went around and checked the carbs in what I was eating again. They are low enough for me to try adding extra servings. I'm going to start with upping the fat because today, I have ketones to spare. I haven't been using the strips long this time. But usually they never turn really dark, today they are. (Okay, swear I am gonna drink more water!) I don't do too well with porkrinds, I'll just try the foods without and see. I'd been avoiding tuna totally for a long time because I ate so much before that I was sick of it. I've always joked that tuna will make me loose weight. I just found out its been long enough, I like it again. But yeah, I'll becareful with tuna, lol. I have sour cream and cheese too, so its easy to get more fat. Harder to cut out some protein. And plain scary to up my carbs no faster than I loose. I got out and walked around a little today, shopping tomarrow and stuff. So I'll get some walking done. Walking I like. Thankyou so much for taking the time to talk with me about this. I am finding out overtime my diet has drifted from where it use to be. I must have started cutting stuff when I was holding water and felt stalled. Maybe I can get it fixed.

[Georgiana]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

Okay, 9 oz is a little more than a cup... so if you are eating a bowl of broccoli, then also add some salad veggies to your menu. Be careful if the broccoli has cheese sauce or any other kind of sauce on it --- unless homemade, it's likely to be very carby. You can eat salad veggies cooked if you prefer them that way and you don't have to eat lettuce. For example, mushrooms are better cooked, in my opinion. I have to "advertise" not2late' blog again... if you check her latest post she gives suggestions on how to cook any of the salad vegetables. Don't forget to measure all vegetables raw.

Sour cream is limited to 1 oz, so you won't get a lot of fat from it (about 5.5 g in 1 oz). And cheese, unless you are eating something like Camembert or Brie, is also quite high in protein (plus it's limited to 3-4 oz and too much cheese constipates and slows down weight loss for many folks). What you could do, and I'm pretty sure you won't like the idea but here it goes, is to give up the protein drink. If you want shake, you could substitute your protein shake with an eggnog shake: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...breakfast.html
The eggnog shake is much higher in fat and lower in protein than the protein drink, so it will decrease your protein intake, increase your fat intake and help with ketosis. And just a reminder, heavy cream is limited to 3 tbsp per day and sweeteners also to 3 servings/packets.

Walking (like any other form of exercise) is ketogenic, so you will be making more ketones. This doesn't necessarily mean that they'll show darker on the stix, because those ketones will be used for fuel together with fatty acids. However, you will be burning more fat, which is all that matters in the end.

I guess your daughters are eating pretty much like you, right? So you won't spend a lot of extra money buying two/three different kind of foods or a lot of time cooking two/three different meals.

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

The girls usually eat dinner with me. I get them other things for snacks and if they have to have something else. Pretty much is land of picky eaters. Not unusual for everybody to be eating different things. But the cheat is I let them have frozen stuff, eggrolls, fish sticks etc. As long as I am not homecooking three different things, its okay. My dad has a couple of dogs that make the rounds to see what the girls didn't eat. Eggs give me horrible gas and stuff, I think its the sulfer. That is not gonna replace my chocolate flavored shake. But I can leave it off sometimes or cut it down to half a one here and there. I was thinking of my whole leg quater for supper or smaller hamburgers. The drink can go first! I got some coconut milk for the fat. I can add a little to my coffee(I checked and coffee doesn't slow me down, I still have some left over decaf from trying that repeatedly). It makes me go potty regular(why, I don't know!) and has extra fat. I just got one can for the week, high calorie. I checked and I have some good veggies in cans, this week I got more broccoli. Hamburger was on sale so now I have a ton in the freezer.

[Georgiana]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I was thinking of my whole leg quater for supper or smaller hamburgers. The drink can go first!

Exactly! That's the right way to do it. Leave out the drink, at least for a while, and see how your weight loss goes. You were saying at one point that one shake per day stalls you, but you are losing with only 1/2... so you should lose even faster without shakes at all. That would be awesome!

I guess you noticed that the closer you get to goal, the more difficult it becomes to lose the lbs, especially if you don't think of them in terms of percentages (e.g. 1 lbs for someone who has to lose 10 lbs is like 10 lbs for someone who needs to lose 100). That's why it becomes more important to follow everything correctly and measure things properly.

Are you using FitDay to track your foods? Then you can see if eating smaller hamburgers or a whole leg quarter is too much, because you can see when you go much over 30% protein.

I got some coconut milk for the fat.

Better don't have this before you reach OWL Rung 3. Coconut milk is made from coconut meat and many people have problems with OWL Rung 3 foods (either because they are trigger foods or because they slow down or stall weight loss). You could have heavy cream instead. It's also higher in fat than coconut milk. If you want coconut flavor to something you prepare, just add a little coconut extract.

I checked and I have some good veggies in cans, this week I got more broccoli. Hamburger was on sale so now I have a ton in the freezer.

That's great! You could also make tacos with the beef and use cheese for the shell. MoG posted the recipe (with pictures) here: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...cipe-pics.html

And this is what one of the members did:

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I feel kinda guilty. I got strawberries. I shared with the kids and we had them with whipped cream. They didn't throw me out of ketosis or seem to affect that this time. I checked the whipped cream and it listed sugar. I'll get the cream for my coffee and whip it next time. I'm just counting it as one carb per serving since it claims to be less than one carb per serving. Over all my calories were higher today because I did try to eat more fat and made afew mistakes. I've tried the coconut milk before and had to cut it. Now I remember why. One shake doesn't stall me, its two that ruins me. But the protein is very high in this drink one is suppose to have 50g of protein. I had a half of one the day my strips were so dark, and today I just ate a whole one for breakfast. No matter how much fat I ate, they didn't turn as dark with a whole one in me. Now that I am smaller the amounts I can eat and loose on are smaller. And I haven't lost any this week, its the week after induction. Its typical for me not to loose anything for a couple of weeks right after induction. So I kinda have to watch the strips and calories and just wait and see.

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I love fitday! Today was my first day using it. My foods balanced out today but the calories are too high for me to keep trying to have a whole shake. I ended the day with 65% fat 28% protein and 7% carbs. But
1,634 calories! Today my carbs came from stawberries and my fiber was way too low. I love how this measures everything. People should be forced to use fitday and record everything where they can see it before doing a fat fast.

[Georgiana]

Re: Has Anyone Done the ATKINS FAT FAST?

I feel kinda guilty. I got strawberries. I shared with the kids and we had them with whipped cream. They didn't throw me out of ketosis or seem to affect that this time. I checked the whipped cream and it listed sugar.

Whew! You were lucky! Stuff like this can make you gain weight even if it doesn't throw you out of ketosis, but at least you won't be fighting getting back there again. Fingers crossed it won't affect your weight either.

I'll get the cream for my coffee and whip it next time. I'm just counting it as one carb per serving since it claims to be less than one carb per serving.

Heavy cream, the one you whip yourself, has 0.42 net carbs per tablespoon (measured fluid), according to FitDay. They write 0 carbs when the carbs are below 0.5 g. If the carbs are between 0.5 and 1 g, they are supposed to write something in tiny letters, like "Contains less than 1 g carbohydrate" or similar.

The cream you whip yourself also tastes better, in my opinion. You could add a sweetener to it (avoid aspartame), but I add none because I find the cream naturally sweet.

But the protein is very high in this drink one is suppose to have 50g of protein.

Wow! 50 g of protein per shake? That's a lot! I am usually eating around 100-140 g of protein daily, so for me one shake would be 35-50% of the total protein. With meat, cheese, veggies and everything else I eat, that would cause me some serious problems. I'm not sure if it would necessarily kick me out of ketosis, but my weight loss would definitely be messed up.

And I haven't lost any this week, its the week after induction. Its typical for me not to loose anything for a couple of weeks right after induction. So I kinda have to watch the strips and calories and just wait and see.

Stalling after Induction is super common when you extend your Induction. This usually happens for those who don't have a lot to lose. I did more than 2 weeks of Induction and my weight loss stopped. Had to move to OWL and add 5 net carbs more of veggies to get things moving again.

I love fitday! Today was my first day using it. My foods balanced out today but the calories are too high for me to keep trying to have a whole shake. I ended the day with 65% fat 28% protein and 7% carbs. But
1,634 calories! Today my carbs came from stawberries and my fiber was way too low. I love how this measures everything. People should be forced to use fitday and record everything where they can see it before doing a fat fast.

I found FitDay very useful too when I began Atkins. Before joining ADBB I used to write everything I ate in a notebook and calculate things myself... but I didn't know about stuff like percentages. When I came here and began using FitDay, I realized I was eating less fat and too much protein than I was supposed to. I'm sure increasing my fat intake and decreasing protein down to 30% also helped me lose weight better.