New to Atkins in NYC - looking for support!

[tifa2276]

Hello, I just started Atkins 2 weeks ago. I've been on induction since then and although I do feel like my energy levels have somewhat improved since the first couple of days, I don't my my weight lost has been that impressive. I've only lost 5 lbs. A lot of which I think is water weight, especially since I've constantly felt bloated before. I've tried following the induction plan to a T, but I somehow feel like I've nothing much to show for it. I sometimes feel like I don't want to tell people I'm on Atkins because they will think like it't not working...has anyone else felt like they have stalled on induction? I do excercise 3-4 times a week, doing a lot of cardio and weights. I am 5'6" and weigh 165, with my target weight at around 145 (20 lbs!!). I've been trying to get rid of that last 20 lbs for years but have been yo-yoing all the time between 5-10 lbs.

Am I doing something wrong? Does my body just not respond well to all the fats and calories that I'm eating?

Let me tell you what I usually eat:
breakfast: atkins hot cereal or eggs and bacon, or atkins bar or shake. decaf tea with half n half and splenda

lunch: salad with some sort of meat: chicken, ham, or eggs. I usually use a vinegar and oil dressing. and cheese to top it off

snack: string cheese, atkins bar or shake. more decaf tea with h&h and splenda

dinner: could vary. sometime if we go out, it's steak with a side of spinach or asparagus; sashimi with a salad and grilled meats if we go to a japanese restaurant. If i am home I make various things that I find on the atkins website: chicken curry, burgers, chicken and tuna salad with atkins bread and a salad, grilled eggplant and chicken...etc.

I've tried to be good, but I feel like I've been stalling for a bit....anyone feel like that? My co-workers have lost 15 lbs on atkins during the first 2 weeks. I wonder why my body just isn't responding as well since I've usually lost weight on other diets pretty quickly (although it hasn't been maintained).

Thank you for your support!!

Tifa

Hey what’s up? I know how you feel! I am a new beginner but I am having trouble staying faithful. Maybe you need a little workout routine to practice while u diet, maybe I can help u with that if you help me with staying focused towards this diet…
Tiff

[tifa2276]

Hi SlimminTiff, thanks for your reply. I was told to go post at another thread, the one with the "1-2-3" in the title, but I am trying to read through all the posts and it's incredibly long!!

Anyways, I just wanted to start a new thread because I was feeling slightly frustrated that I haven't lost a lot of weight yet on Atkins. I have been pretty faithful, and very good during induction. It's week 3, and I have lost a total of 5 lbs only, and doesn't seem to budge by much. I was supposed to start the Ongoing weight loss phase this weekend but I think I'll stick to induction style meals for the week. I did eat some berries and atkins ice cream this weekend though, which was sooo good!

The thing, is I do work out so it's not like I need to start excercising. I work out hard about 3-4 times a week either doing weights or cardio. I worked out even before I started atkins. I think it's a good stress relief. So I have a workout plan underway and I thought that by doing Atkins, it will help me shed the last 20 lbs which I can't seem to get off me. I knew that carbs were my addiction before (who can resist a NYC bagel??!?) so that's why I did Atkins. A colleague of mine just lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks, and so I was excited about it. But I guess it's going much slower for me than expected. I wonder if it's because I am on the pill...or if I'm eating things that could be stalling me? maybe i should lay off the cream and splenda in my tea every day....? It could a multitude of things I'm sure. Do you know of any "stallers?"

Anyways, good luck with your weight loss too...feel free to let me know anytime you need some support!!!

Well don’t kill yourself, you know what it probably is…maybe there are more hidden carbs in what you are eating. I mean if you are working out as well as the atkins I agree with you, there should be more progress. MAYBE what is happening (and this does seem very logical!!) is that since you workout while dieting instead of seeing pounds shed you are turning them into muscle!! Because I know sometimes its not about the pounds…what do u think about that? My problem is that I don’t have time for breakfast so I make a mistake already every morning! My stomach is killing me right now!

[tifa2276]

Yeah I try not to discourage myself too much. I focus on the fact that my clothers are slightly looser, and not to much on the scale. But sometimes you just can't help feel like...I've dieted all these weeks and I don't have much to show!!
If you don't have time for breakfast, why don't you grab an atkins bar or shake? That's what I usually do. My company has a cafeteria too so I usually get some eggs for breakfast but when I want something sweet I eat a bar instead. Have you tried the low carb yogurt from dannon? They are pretty decent too, and they can be a good thing for breakfast =)

I didn’t even know that dannon made a low carb yogurt. Thanks!! And you don’t eat bacon with you eggs? you just eat eggs? what about cheese? Ok my problem is that I don’t eat one thing at a time, so its really hard for me, I can’t just have a burger, I need a burger and fries…its so hard for me, I need more exciting things to eat…like what should I have for dinner? What part of NY r u in?

[tifa2276]

I'm from NYC, I live on the upper west side. Where are you from?
yes dannon makes a low carb yogurt, it's what they call a "dairy snack". it's probably not really made from real yogurt since it has so many carbs in general. They only have 3g of net carbs per serving. the serviing size is unfortunately rather small, just a little container, but it's better than nothing since i used to looove yogurt! sometimes i eat it with low carb granola but that does add an extra 2g of carbs, but it fills me up more.

for lunch, i eat at my office cafeteria so it's very limited. the good thing is that they offer low carb options, but they get stale after a while. they have celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese or chicken salad, and low carb burgers served in lettuce leaves instead of a bun. What I do usually eat is a salad with meat on it. my cafeteria has buffet stations so i get pieces of meat, like chicken, pork, or beef and put it on my salad. I need the salad becaue it has some fiber in it, and I would be miserable if I didn't get any fiber in my diet! I miss fries terribly as well. but i've just gotten used to it.

how long have you been doing the low carb thing? have you been successful?

No I have not been successful. I have been doing this for about a week, I mean not so long but its not that bad. I think that I just need to know more things that I can eat. I just feel like I can’t eat anything and its really frustrating! I mean we aren’t that over weight and our goals aren’t that out of reach. But a diet where fruit is not my best friend, and I can’t have a biscuit with my chicken is just mean…lol…
I also have a problem with eating late!!!

[tifa2276]

yup I understand. did you read the atkins books? I bought the atkins essentials, which was all about induction. From there I got a list of foods I can't or can't eat. the first week was hard. I had cravings for so many things. but i felt less bloated, and so i knew i was losing some water weight at least.

it's also hard to stay away from stuff that is in sauce that has starch or sugar in it. I am chinese and usually eat a lot of rice, but now i can't! i can't even order takeout because 90% of stuff on the menus are made with starch based sauces.

i found that i have to cook a lot on atkins. i found tons of recipes online. you can also do your own substitutions. i made lasagna with eggplant instead of noodles, and it worked great! you have to fry the eggplant first though so it's a bit complex to make. i also make a lot of soup...just buy some stock, throw in some meat, and some veggies like escarole, and you're done!


What i miss is being able to eat out a lot. i thought that might help save money too but buying low carb food is pricey! the shakes, bars, mixes, etc. all add up! they really should have some better priced items...

did you know there is also low carb milk! it's made by hood and it's hard to find though. the whole milk tastes decent, but the chocolate milk made by them is really good!! like a shake but without that powdery artificial taste. you can also heat it up like hot chocolate!
good thing we still can have whipped cream!

Well I don’t really cook too much so that’s my problem, and I was looking at the low carb foods but like u said they are expensive, so I don’t know. I love chicken and I also love salmon so I have been living on that and salad…but I don’t know..like for example I don’t have anything to eat for lunch, what am I suppose to do???

[tifa2276]

hmm...do you work during the day? what do you usually eat for lunch? can you grab a regular burger and then not eat the bun? or just get a grilled chicken salad from a fast food place? that might work.

[Reva72]

I have only been on Atkins for 4 days now and really feel frustrated. I need my pepsi.

[tifa2276]

have you tried diet pepsi? my coworker drank diet coke while he did atkins and he lost 15 lbs in the first 2 weeks. I'm on my third week and I have only lost 7lbs...it's going to be slow for me. but I guess i will just hang in there. A doctor told me that slow weight lost is the way to go. he actually said if you lose a pound every week, that is and ideal weight loss scheme. i wish i lost more the first 2 weeks...

[Reva72]

I have lost 4 pounds in four days. Today is number 5 so we shall see what today brings. I haven't tried Diet Pepsi but I may just give it a try. I have been drinking Diet Sprite which isn't so bad.


Reva