help!

[lisa197530]

ok, this is the second time im going to try and post this. i have been on atkins twice before and had great weightloss during induction. i have now been on it for 5 days and haven't lost an ounce. my cravings are gone but im still really hungry. yesterday and the day before i was really tired(like i usually feel) and the first couple days i had bad headaches. im not cheating, but im starting to break down. tonight for dinner i had 2 porkchops and tons of cauliflour, 2 hours later, i was starving, i ate half an atkins bar and now an hour later i feel like i could break, just to feel full again, not cause i crave it. what the heck??

[hulagrl1120]

have you been eating the bars on a regular basis? if so cut those out because they are known to cause stalls...are you drinking your water? exercising?taking your vitamins? eating only the things listed on the acceptable foods list? give us a menu or two we can look at and see if there are any problems...

[tabekat]

no regrets

Hey Lisa - Welcome. :wave

First of all - We aren't supposed to weigh until we have been on induction for two weeks. Stay away from the scale. It is counter-productive to our success.

Second of all - Atkins bars aren't a good idea on induction. Eat wholesome un-processed un-packaged food.

Third - If you are truly hungry - eat. Eat liberal amounts of the foods recommended on the approved food lists. But you need to evaluate your entire days menu as a whole. I would recommend you post your menus in the menu forum, and let the monitors have a go with it. Induction has to be followed exactly - you can't wing it.

Patience and many readings and re-readings of the 2002 DANDR is required. You say you have done it before, but I think a refresher is always a good idea. If you truly understand the science behind Atkins, you know going on and off this way of life is only going to bring you weight gain and sorrow.

Atkins was never meant to be used as a quickie weight loss diet. It is a permanent lifestyle and requires a great amount of perseverance and patience.

Our bodies needs time to adjust to ketosis. Our bodies need time to heal from the outrageous things we have done to them in ignorance.

Don't break - keep going. You will never regret sticking to this WOL. But you will regret not staying the course.

[tickletussler]

Hi Lisa,

Tabekat has some good advice there.

Also, it would help the mods give advice if you could share some of your stats with us? eg

start weight/current weight/goal weight (you could even have a mini goal somewhere)
sex, height, and perhaps a ticker (eg www.tickerfactory.com)

A lot of us use www.fitday.com to keep track of our carb count - by seeing the breakdown of your foods really helps making you feel you are in control of it. I think mod Moochiecat said our fat/protein/carb ratio should be 65%/30%/5% (max 20g carb on Induction)

[latte]

Hi there..You have had some great advice..I say if you are hungry eat, make sure you are eating enough fat and drink lots of water....

[lowcarbing4ever]

Tabekat and tickletussler gave some great advice! :ThumbsUp You really shouldn't measure 5 days against 14 in terms of weight loss. You could not lose any for 5 days and suddenly get a whoosh on day 7. Plus there are a few members here who can tell you that they lost nothing on their initial induction. :nono But they didn't give up and the pounds soon followed. Or you may be a slow loser. After being on Atkins and giving up 2 or three times, the weight loss can slow way down and it be much harder to get off, even in induction.
My suggestion would be to check inches with a tape measure instead of hopping off and on the scale and put the scale in the closet until 14 days have passed. It will be hard to do that, it was for me but we all had to do it! :yes

The symptoms you are describing is "Induction flu" and will go away in time. Some people get it bad, some never got it the first time or two around only to suffer with it this time or get it everytime they "re-start". Like tbekat was saying, you need to examine why you are on it again for the 3rd time as well. Are you using it as a quick fix diet when you need to lose a few pounds? If you are, each time you go back on, can get harder and harder till some people don't lose anymore til they go on a fat-fast (yuck) or at all. You should read the "Golden shot" article at lowcarbluxury.com. Atkins bars can cause mad cravings and blood sugar rise. I had to give them up when I started making excuses for eating the choclate chip ones all the time and I realized they were not helping but pushing on my addiction. So give 'em up!

I also agree that re-reading the book is the best thing as well. I have read DANDR at least 4 times and I seem to always find some fact, story or information, I didn't seem to read before that helps me. Plus it reinforces what you already know and cements it in your head. If you have not read the book, tsk, tsk, shame on you and get in gear and read it now. You need to be very patient and stay on this time. Do this as a way of life, not as a temp thing. :hug

[Isabeau]

Re: help!

tonight for dinner i had 2 porkchops and tons of cauliflour,

I too think you should post a daily menu or two with exactly the amount of foods you've been eating. Like others have said, we don't encourage the use of bars and shakes (we call them frankenfoods) because they can stall many people. The reason I quoted the 'tons of cauliflower' is because that is a one cup veggie. I don't know what 'tons' is, but maybe we can help you tweak your menu.

[2big4mysize]

if you ate tons of cauliflower you exceeded the carb limit andyes even too many veggies can give you a blood sugar spike making you hungry.

On Atkins you can eat any time you are hungry but you do have to folow the chapter 11 induction rules and only eat the foods on the list. you should be having some fats with that cauliflower and porkchop too as Atkins is a ketogenic plan and uses dietary fats to prime the system to keep burning your body storage fats forfuel.

Also some folkmistake thirst for hunger as the two control systems are side by side inthe brain and spillover occurs in signals. try drinking a galss of water and see if your hunger goes away in 20 min. if so you wwre thirsty if not eat,

BTW what are you doing as the mandatory exercise partof your Atkins?

Happy low carbing. On day 15 check your inches lost and pounds lost and see how well you have done working your Atkins.

[lisa197530]

this is lisa, thanks for all your advice. i have cut the bars to one a day at most and have upped my fat intake. i dont think i was eating enough fat because i really do like the lean meats better,eg. chicken breast and pork chops with all the fat cut off. the last time i was on atkins was a year ago and i lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks, i had to stop due to other circumstances but i have not gained that weight back. i have read the atkins book and flip through everyday. i dont so the excersise beause i dont have any time, i have a toddler, i work at night, dont have a babysitter for during the day and no car, but me and my toddler go for walks almost everyday and we dance and play hard!! As for the cauliflower i mislead all of you, for someone who never ate veges, before 1 cup of cauliflour is tons of veggies!!!i'm trying to lose between 50-70 lbsand plan to stay on induction till i lose 30lbs.Heres what i ate today!(today was mothers day so i kinda over did it)
Breakfast
1 low carb pancake
2 eggs
4 slices bacon

Lunch
1 Atkins bar

Snack
1 pepperoni stick(high fat so helps with the hunger)

Supper
Chicken salad with dressing

Snack
1 atkins peanut cluster bar(oops!!)
dry pork ribs(no breading or sauce, low carb)

[tickletussler]

Hey Lisa, I think your toddler will keep you busy and very fit! That's what my mother-friends tell me - they can't sit still and carrying an ever-growing child around definitely beats weight-lifting! Sounds like you're soo rushed off your feet that you would lose in no time, so take care to remember to eat, even when you're not hungry

[hulagrl1120]

it doesn't look like you are eating enough to begin with...the bars and candy are not allowed if you are doing induction...even if you aren't they are a known staller for alot of us and could definitely be part of the problem...same for the low carb pancake....whats in them? check the pepporoni sticks...make sure it doesn't have any added sugar...you also need three cups of veggies a day...try to spread them out a little and not eat all at one meal...make sure to take a multi vitamin and drink lots of water...

[lisa197530]

Hi its lisa.Thanks everyone for being such a great support. Iam happy to report that i finally started to lose, averaging about a lb a day for a total loss of five lbs so far. I know I shouldn't weigh myself but when i feel like I'm ready to give up I just step on the scale then eat bacon!I still feel pretty awful which is strange because usaully when I'm on Atkins I feel 10 times better. Maybe now that I'm in Ketosis I'll start feeling better. Thanx everyone, you kept me on the wagon.Hulagrl- the pepperoni sticks I have are 15g fat and 1 carb per 50g(1 stick) per serving, works out great for someone like me who can't get enough fat in the diet. Its not fat the made me fat, its Bagels!!!LOL. Heres another menu if you think it still may need tweaking
Breakfast
2 slices ham
2 eggs
Lunch
1 chicken breast
2 cups salad
1 pepperoni stick
Supper
1/2 chicken breast
1 cup salad and veges
Snack
Dry pork ribs with ranch dressing(we canadians eat ranch dressing with everything)
1 diet jello
1/4 cup whipped cream(sweetened with Splenda)