Realistic Goal?

[mirandajaelle07]

Right now I weigh 258. Im on my first week of atkins (i've done it before and never stuck with it..until now ) and i've already lost 7 pounds. I know this is water weight or the such and that it's going to slow down. I don't expect to loose 7 pounds in 5 days the entire time. But here's my first actual goal and thats to be 245 by May 21, which is my son's birthday. That's 13 pounds in 51 days..... am I over shooting or can this be done? I'm staying on induction and exercising an hour a day.... Any thoughts?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Realistic Goal?

I think you can and will lost weight by your son's birthday. How much? Crystal ball hazy.

Staying in Induction may not be the best way though ... most of your weight should be lost on OWL ... even if you have lots to lose.

Staying on Induction too long is generally counterproductive for people.

Congrats on the loss so far!

[imagood1]

Re: Realistic Goal?

The first rung of OWL is adding 5 additional net carbs of vegetables to your daily food - many of us (myself included) found moving to OWL helped keep my weight loss going where staying on induction had stopped my weight loss.

Good luck getting to your mini goal and to your final goal!!

[callog]

Re: Realistic Goal?

Yes! I am on extended induction. But I have lost 18 lbs. in 30 days!! I have a lot to lose but no I don't expect it will always come off that quickly! I know it will slow down. But I am going to stay on extended induction a while before moving up. Perhaps a month or two more. Congrats and good luck!

[2big4mysize]

Re: Realistic Goal?

nobody can say for sure how much or how little you will have shed by his bday but if you continue to WOrk your atkins both the exercise and the eating parts you will be a healtheir smaller version of yourself on his bday.


If you do decide to stay in induction be sure to use something like fitday.com so you can track your vits and minerals for free to be sure you don't slwodown your metabolism by being defienct in any of the many needed to keep our metabolism humming along.

That is where those extra veggies on rung one of OWL for the 2002 Atkins DANDR come in. if you are doing the 2010 version then you are already eating way more veggies as part of your induction and moving to OWL might not be as critical for adding the vits and minerals

[poobears1972]

Re: Realistic Goal?

While there are never any guarantees I think that should be very doable and you might be surprised to hit it sooner than that. I always say dream big, knowing it's just that a dream and don't set your future on a that one date.

I had hopes of being at goal by vacation time in June, seemed doable but I've slowed waaaaaaay down and in reality I doubt I lose much between now and then. But that's ok I'll still look and feel better than I did last year on vacation and next year I should be woohoo!

[Elizellen]

Re: Realistic Goal?

I have never been a fan of setting goals like
Lose xx pounds by dd/mm/yyyyy

Whatever you do there is no way you can make your body obey that, so why not set a goal that you CAN help yourself achieve by your own decisions?

So I set myself goals like:
Eat on plan for x days
Drink xx ounces of water a day
Exercise xx minutes for x days a week
Find one new recipe a week and try it out
Find and eat one new vegetable that I have never eaten and discover how I like to cook it

These you CAN influence by your own choices so you are far more likely to be successful.

[msanjelpie]

Re: Realistic Goal?

Don't cheat one little itty bit and you should reach goal no problem...

[Amber_Girl79]

Re: Realistic Goal?

Miranda, I think that is a very realistic goal. Especially if you stay on Induction. As Dr. Atkins says in the book....it dosn't hurt to stay on induction longer, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. And you working out...that is a BIG plus. Remember though, if you are newer to exercise, you will gain muscle, which weighs more then fat, so even though you are losing fat with atkins, you will gain weight (muscle) from working out. Which is a GOOD thing! You will look slimmer, clothes will be looser, but the scale may not change for a few days...then your weight will regulate itself, and fat will pour off more! Because your metabolism is in full swing from the gym time. Good luck, goals are a great thing, they make us stick it out, and make us work even harder!!!

[IrishIrish]

Re: Realistic Goal?

I think have goals is motivating but should not be thought as numbers cast in stone. Some days, our bodies just don't behave the way we want them to despite best intentions and following the plan perfectly.

Having said that, the more important question is .... if you don't stick to plan, how much weight will you lose or gain by his birthday?

Blessings for a healthy weight loss!!!

[Summerdressgirl]

Re: Realistic Goal?

Keep working on your meals either extended induction or owl..don't skip meals, it will set you back, drink your water and try and work out. try not to weight yourself too much I try to do it once a week..keep reading the book and the board we are here for you

[ShannonK]

Re: Realistic Goal?

My best advice to you is not to cheat at all. One day can set you back further than you think. Also, I would not stay on induction more than two weeks, maybe three weeks. Moving on to OWL Rung 1 can definitely jump start the weight loss if you begin to slow down.

My personal experience: I lost ALL of my weight four years ago and reached goal by being on extended induction the whole time. Once I reached goal, guess what? I had no idea how many carbs I could handle in a day and I rapidly gained ALL the weight back. It is so important to learn to keep off the weight you have lost. That is what OWL teaches you.

[Spring Towry]

Re: Realistic Goal?

I don't like to set too many goals like I want to be this size/weight by.....I just get discouraged, not to the point of quitting, i will never quit.

I was surprised how much I changed though. An old coworker saw me the other day and said she hardly recognized me. she had not seen me for 3 weeks. I guess I am doing something right.

[AJs-mommy]

Re: Realistic Goal?

I wouldn't strive to be a certain weight by a certain date. That may be discouraging if you don't meet that goal. A friend of mine, who has been doing Atkins for a year and has lost over 80 lbs on it, said she would go 1-2 months and her scale would not budge but people kept complimenting her and her dress sizes kept decreasing.

Most people have it a bit wrong when they say "Muscle weighs more than fat"... no it doesn't... a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. BUT... a pound of muscle takes a LOT less space than a pound of fat. You're dieting and exercising, so what is happening is your body is building more muscle AND burning more fat. So while you may lose 2 pounds of fat, you may gain 1-2 pounds of muscle. Your body will be smaller but may weigh the same. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even while resting and sleeping, and eventually you will see the numbers on the scale start to go down. I think that's why it's so important to measure yourself as well... helps keep from being discouraged when those numbers on the scale stop.

Good luck!!!

[Summerdressgirl]

Re: Realistic Goal?

I wouldn't strive to be a certain weight by a certain date. That may be discouraging if you don't meet that goal. A friend of mine, who has been doing Atkins for a year and has lost over 80 lbs on it, said she would go 1-2 months and her scale would not budge but people kept complimenting her and her dress sizes kept decreasing.

Most people have it a bit wrong when they say "Muscle weighs more than fat"... no it doesn't... a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. BUT... a pound of muscle takes a LOT less space than a pound of fat. You're dieting and exercising, so what is happening is your body is building more muscle AND burning more fat. So while you may lose 2 pounds of fat, you may gain 1-2 pounds of muscle. Your body will be smaller but may weigh the same. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even while resting and sleeping, and eventually you will see the numbers on the scale start to go down. I think that's why it's so important to measure yourself as well... helps keep from being discouraged when those numbers on the scale stop.

Good luck!!!

Very true!! I have gained weight but lost inches since I started doing weights...first I was like what the heck! but then I remember the whole fat/muscle thing, so I measured myself and have lost 2 inches from one of my waists lol.