This board had good reviews!

[ConanTheLibrarian]

this board had good reviews so here I am.

I'm in a 3 month weightloss pool at work for the greatest percentage of weight loss "biggest loser" style - $1000.00 pot.

I'm 5'11 and started at 200lb. With 3 weeks left, I was hovering around 170-171. My only competition I'm worried about is a fairly large fella who is claiming to be losing a lb a day just by not drinking soda and "walking"... I don't know if it's true or not, but I need the edge, so I started induction. I haven't had time to read the book though, since I'm going to school full time as well as full time work and about 90 minutes of exercise a day (plus parking, walking, etc). I need cliff notes or something.

Anyway, I know a lot about the Zone diet and have used it in years past with success. Basically, I've just replaced the carb portion with fats. Boo hiss.

For the first 6 weeks of the competition, I did the Zone and HIIT cardio in the mornings and was losing about 3-4lb a week. Then I plateaued. Infuriating. I was only losing a pound or two a week for weeks. I finally increased my fiber, water and added a 2nd exercise routine to my day (1 hour of low intensity evening cardio) and started see a bit more headway, but not enough. Time for induction.

Wow, I've lost 5 lbs in a week!. I seem to have lost less muscle too (previously losing 1 lb of muscle for every 4lb of fat) . I'm now 165.

So far my biggest issues:
- had some lethargy and headaches for the first few days. gone.
- Water! I can't get enough. I used to get by on 3 quarts a day, now I need five or six
- Electrolytes! I've had to cheat with carbs a bit to get enough. This is the first time I've had electrolyte issues - water was always my thing. Those pills are awful! Within days of starting the diet, I bought UltimaReplenisher - only about 20 calories a serving - sweetened with stevia. Fixed me right up.
- Fiber. Wow, I thought I was low carb before, but I really did eat lots of fruit and vegetables. psyllium seed - 4 tablespoons a day and I still got a rusty gate. Time for some assistance (woops, almost got the chocolate wafers - bad carbs)

Anyway, I have two weeks and 2 days left. Not sure I'll win. My starting goal was 155, but I will probably raise the bar a bit to 160 (+2 or 3 lb with clothes) and that's with dehydrating myself a bit. Also, I'm assuming my 5lbs this weeks is not typical, but if it is , 'Hurray!'

I plan on gaining some muscle mass after this, but with muscle gains, I typically gain a .5 to one pound of fat with every lb of muscle I put on so I'll be doing induction every couple of months since it is so muscle sparing.

[mochabrown]

Re: This board had good reviews!

You're right, this is a great site. You definitely should take time out to read the book when you can, can't emphasize that enough. Good luck to you.

[Mick2360]

Re: This board had good reviews!

Hey Conan, Welcome! I think you may find that after a few days the physical symptoms subside and a high energy level kicks in...it did for myself and many others. It seems that you may be experiencing the 'induction flu'. It too will pass.

The dedicated welcome wagon ladies will be along to give you the official welcome and some very good pointers shortly. In the meantime, glad that you're here.

[mitzimarie]

Re: This board had good reviews!

Anyway, I know a lot about the Zone diet and have used it in years past with success. Basically, I've just replaced the carb portion with fats. Boo hiss.

Conan, what does this mean? That you are trying to eat NO carbs?! If so, I must tell you that is not Atkins, my friend.

I haven't had time to read the book though, since I'm going to school full time as well as full time work and about 90 minutes of exercise a day (plus parking, walking, etc). I need cliff notes or something.

Here you go:

The Rules of Induction can be found here:
What are the Rules of Induction?

The Induction Acceptable Foods List can be found here:
What foods can be eaten on Induction?

Atkins Low Carb Dieting - FAQ's - Atkins Diet

You will notice that there is a long list of veggies to choose from, and you are required to eat a total of 3 cups of them (with at least 2 cups coming from the "Salad" list.)

* ALSO - please keep in mind that Atkins is a 4-phased plan... you are NOT to make the 2 week Induction period stretch on until you reach goal... you are very close to goal, and have a lot to learn about the Atkins way of eating if you are going to make this a lifestyle change.

Are is this just to win a contest?

Good luck to you.

[imagood1]

Re: This board had good reviews!

Hi and welcome to ADBB.

We follow the 2002 Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (DANDR) it would be a helpful for you to have a copy of the book to refer to because you aren't following it correctly. I hope you are on Atkins for a lifetime not until the end of the $1000.00 challenge. Atkins is not the Zone diet - did you research that before you started? If you would have taken the time to learn about the plan (since your name "suggests" you are a reader) you would have known that fruits are not allowed during induction. Cliff notes -- sorry, that's a school thing....we are here to help each other get healthy the correct way. We are all busy but found the time to read and learn.


You should take the advise above by Mitzi and also learn to read labels - just because something says lo carb or is ok on another "diet" doesn't mean you should eat it. If a food isn’t listed on the acceptable food list don’t eat it. Learn to read the label on all foods you buy - don’t just look at the “carb” number look at the ingredients list of everything and check the ingredients against your list. Just because it says "low carb" doesn't mean you can eat it. Also check for hidden sugars (learn the names used in place of the word “sugar”).


There is an area where you can post your daily meals (give what you eat and amounts of each thing) for help tweaking your foods and making sure you are eating properly. We have challenges to help keep people on track - we have a journal area where you can go and get your thoughts down and occasionallly get a little help there as well.


The recipe sites help with meal planning – just make sure you use Induction Recipes to begin with.
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/menus.html (Linda’s)
(Never ending induction recipes)(Never ending induction recipes)http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-14-day-induction/58513-never-ending-induction-recipes.html (Induction recipes)
(Induction Recipe Basics--More recipes added)(Induction Recipe Basics--More recipes added)http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-14-day-induction/6807-induction-recipe-basics-more-recipes-added.html (Induction Recipe Basics)

If you need anything we’re here to help you!! Good luck to you!

[chinadoll]

Re: This board had good reviews!

Yep, follow Mitziemarie and carol and you won't go wrong. This is not a no carb diet.

[ConanTheLibrarian]

Re: This board had good reviews!

OK, I read the important chapter about induction. And got the links. Thanks! Looks like I did lots of things right with a few exceptions:

I took some poor quality protein supplements, like whey, which may have been lacking nutrients, especially electrolyte wise. So I switched to meat and chose grass fed beef and solved that issue - 4oz grass fed beefsteak has has twice as much potassium as normal beef and just as much as a banana. Though I did later find a good whey supplement called Jay Robb that had added potassium (and no rBGH hormones) for future convenience.

Before solving the electrolyte imbalance issue, I was experimenting with coconut kefir (265mg potassium for 4oz fl oz), ultima replenisher and potassium supplements(bad). I would still like a more mineral rich diet, so I'm looking into vegetable broths and teas.

THen, I goofed it by purchasing salty food for a few days in a row - sausages, cured ham, beef jerky, olives, salted herring. I'm not used to it, so it really puffed me up, and has taken a week to get down to where I was last week. I'll be sticking with whole foods from now on. I went from 165 last Saturday to 173 two days later on Monday just because of that salt, now back to 163 this Saturday morning after avoiding sodium rich foods for a week.

Also, some hidden carbs and nutrient imbalance issues - like artificial crab meat and beef jerky having nontrivial amounts of sugar.

I've not been eating as much vegetables as I should, e.g., half cucumber, a bellpepper, a roma tomato and a few lettuce leaves daily for wraps is a average day, but will improve and have been downing the phsilium seed in the meantime.

As a diet final note, I've been using lots of coconut oil.

I'm about 19% fat right now. Induction may not be required, but it is a effective cutting method. I'm also surprised to read about how induction type diets can treat epilepsy and stop cancer growth. It feels safe since I have relatives who are Aleutian and those sticking to a traditional diet of no carbs at all certainly have no health problems.

After this I'll most likely go paleo - I was initially trying to transition from the Zone to paleo diet, but read this article on a popular paleo diet site:
Why the Atkins Diet Works | Mark's Daily Apple and further research led me to induction for fast weight loss.

I'm not too concerned about transition, as I already know what amount of carbs I can have and maintain equilibrium. e.g., 10oz bleuberries in the morning, salad and a cup of brown rice at lunch, and MQV (mass quantity of vegetables) for dinner - though I'm looking at cutting the rice with a non grain and reducing the volume of my previous evening vegetable routine - probably more fruit.