What am I doing wrong?

[LeslieJG]

Could someone take a look and see what might be keeping me from losing weight? I have only lost 2 pounds but one came back. I have been doing this for 10 days and am starting to feel bummed that it isn't working. I'm going to continue dieting and working out but would love some input as to how to get the scale moving. I am 41 and currently weigh 216.8 pounds.
Calories between 1300 and 1600, carbs around 30 a day, between 30 and 60 minutes of intense exercise per day (Tae Bo, Jane Fonda, and Yoga).



Yesterday (complete menu)-
Breakfast
Egg - Whole Egg, 3
Jennie-O - Fresh Ground Turkey (85% Lean / 15% Fat), 4 oz

Lunch
Dannon - Light & Fit Low Carb Vanilla Cream - Yogurt, 1 container
Biggest Loser - Protein Powder Chocolate Deluxe, 2 level scoops

Dinner
Mission Low Carb Tortillas - Whole Wheat Fajita Size, 2 tortilla (28g)
Cheese - Mozzarella, part skim milk, 1 oz
Hormel - Turkey Pepperoni 16 slices

Snacks
Mcdonald's - Iced Coffee (Large) - (No Liquid Sugar), sweetened with Splenda 32 fl oz
Biggest Loser - Protein Powder Chocolate Deluxe, 2 Level Scoops
Dannon - Light & Fit Low Carb Vanilla Cream - Yogurt, 1 container
Pampered Chef - Hot Pizza Dip, 3 Tbsp
pork rinds, 9 Oz
Nuts - Almonds, 10 almond
Total Cals:1400 (yeah I know it just worked out that way)
total Carbs:59
Total Fiber:27
I have been subtracting the fiber from total carbs and on this day that took me down to 32 for the day.
Fat 19
Protein 112
Tae Bo 40 mins, 660 cals burned

Monday-
Cals 1,619
Carbs 45
Fiber 15 for a total of 30
107 Fat
96 Protein
Jane Fonda Workout Challenge Beginner 27 Min, 194 cals burned

Sunday-
Total Cals 1,425
Total Carbs 62
Total Fiber 27 35 carbs for the day
Total Fat 83
Total Protein 103
Tae Bo 60 Mins 985 cals burned

I can add more if needed. Thank for looking.

[SeaMaiden]

Hi! I think you'll get different answers from everyone...but if I were you, I'd cut out the artificial sweeteners for now, and the protein powder and eat more real food, add some raw veggies... I know I can be around 20-30 grams of carbs but if I'm not eating enough veggies, I won't lose.

[determinator]

Wow, first off, congratulations on your sincere effort. I can definitely see that you are serious and focused. Second, please don't get discouraged, finding what will work for your body will come... Now, I am not quite sure what type of diet your are trying, I understand the "net carb" thing, but I have always felt that was a bit of a catch 22. The "net carb" thing only really works when you are also restricting the fat in your diet. I see pork rinds, 85% learn turkey (which really isn't good at all), and a lot of protein powder... if you aren't completely trying to restrict carbs all-together, then you need to try and devote your caloric intakes and fiber intakes to veggies and fruit. Dark leafy green veggies will give you high fiber, great nutrients and can offset the carb... you will also find that you can eat MUCH MORE of the fruits and veggies than a protein shake... get your protein from VERY LEAN chicken BREAST/turkey BREAST and get your fat from the nuts... Protein/diet shakes should really be left to the bodybuilders... and times when you just cannot prepare yourself a meal. For instance, for breakfast, with the eggs (wonderful of you) throw some fresh baby spinach and tomatoes in there... betaceratene from the tomatoes, fiber and calcium from the spinach will really go a long way. Kale is also another great veggie to add with your dinners... carrots with spicy hummus is far less calories than a protein shake and much more filling. Also, I see that you are devoting a good bit of time to exercise, but I am not quite sure what your actual lifestyle is... do you sit behind a desk? Do you run around with children all day? If you do have a sedentary lifestyle but are finding the time to exercise, then adjustments should be made... I think that 1400-1600 cal. a day is a very healthy and reasonable limit, so you should amp up your excercises, try some weightlifting (building muscle will BURN FAT ALL DAY) unlike aerobic exercises that will only lift your metabolism for 30 after exercising.

[SeaMaiden]

A good basis for me to start out with was:
3 cups of raw veggies a day
2-3 oz. of dairy
Unlimited meat (deli meat has a lot of sodium that can stall you) and eggs
Water, water, water
No nuts at first.
No artificial sweeteners at first.
This will help get your body into ketosis and burning fat.
But that's me. I'm sure others will tell you what worked for them.

[JessieBear]

The Low Carb torts are another huge red flag. Can you keep those out of your diet for a week (all grains) and see if that helps?

[Leo41]

My answer to your initial question is that you list Atkins as your plan, but your menu isn't Atkins.

I'd suggest that you follow the plan exactly as written. Low-carb eating can seem 'easy,' but there are specific reasons to limit certain foods early on, etc.

You should be able to get a book from your local library.

[LeslieJG]

Thank you all! That was so fast. More veggies, leaner meats, no tortillas or protein powder. Ditch the sweetener. I'll restart tomorrow. I have been considering adding strength training but just haven't committed yet, I am a stay at home mom to 5 kids, so I usually don't get my workout in til the early morning hours when everyone is sleeping.
Thanks again!

[giJ]

Originally Posted by LeslieJG

More veggies, leaner meats, no tortillas or protein powder. Ditch the sweetener.

I would agree with this summary EXCEPT the "leaner meats" part. Fat is your friend on many (but not all) low carb plans.

Have you chosen a specific plan or are you just "eating low carb"? Do you know the different plans out there to understand the differences?

For me, the key was understanding the different options and choosing elements from each that worked for my personality and lifestyle. Some people need to go precisely by "the book" (whichever book they choose). But really, success comes from having a plan/guidelines to follow, however you get to them.

Congrats on keeping a great attitude!

[Trigger828]

not leaner meats. atkins is about good fat meats. like a big old ribeye steak yum
not processed meats.


have you done atkins before? this menu is way off phase 1 and 2. acceptable food lists are what you need to check.

hang in there. just tweaking a bit and you will get control of this!!

[SeaMaiden]

I agree... the "leaner meats" is not something you should do... It's the processed meats that can cause stalls... bring on the fatty meats! Dark meat chicken (if you like it), Rib eye, pork... yummy!! Fat is not the enemy.

[kitnmom]

Also have you measured? You could be loading inches

[Janknitz]

Have you read the book? I think you WOULD lose weight if you were on the real Atkins program or any other good low carb program. But your current approach is NOT Atkins and it's not working.

As pointed out, you need more good fat (butter, ghee, olive oil, coconut oil, and animal fats) and less food "product". Try to eat real food, not packaged stuff. Opt for veggies instead of substitute sweet treats. Load your veggies with butter (yum!), eat salads with full fat dressing, and when you get to the proper "rungs" in Atkins enjoy full fat dairy, fatty nuts, etc. (Atkins does not allow much dairy or any nuts on induction). By the way, real food with good fats is how you should feed your children too, it's the healthiest diet for them as well. You won't need to prepare separate "mom" food, although some of the things they can have will be off limits to you while losing weight.

You sound very busy, but there are tons of resources on the net from women who are SAHM with bunches of kids and have found ways to feed their families very well this way and often on a tight budget. Key words to google are "Paleo", "stay at home mom", "fugal", 'Weston A. Price" "real food" , etc. You'll stumble on some great blogs of women who do this every day.

You may want to rethink your exercise, too. 30 to 60 minutes of intense cardio is sometimes called "chronic cardio". It can cause your body too much stress, which makes you secrete cortisol and other stress hormones, and stress hormones interfere with weight loss. You would benefit so much from shorter but more intense periods of resistance exercises. If you get a chance, there are some great podcasts by Jonathan Bailor called the Smarter Science of Slim. He recommends that you "exercise smarter" by doing a few very simple exercises a few times a week for just a few minutes at a time. Your own body and some inexpensive weights (or a gallon bottle of water!) provide the resistance. You won't have to get up so early, and more sleep will also help you with weight loss. You'll get stronger faster and with less work, and this type of exercise helps your muscles be less insulin resistant, which helps with weight loss, too.

Another source of simple, quick exercises like that is Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple. He offers a free ebook that has exercises that you can do with little or no equipment, and there are multiple degrees of modification for any level of starting fitness. A few minutes a few times a week is all you need to do. That would fit in so nicely with your busy life style and you can even do these exercises WITH your kids. What a great example you can set with them with a healthy diet and reasonable exercises!

[determinator]

Let me clarify the "lean" meats and what it actually does in your body... While trying to burn excess carbs, especially starting a low carb or no carb diet, it is essential to use lean meats in the first phase, to deplete your stored carbs. Fat, whether digested or stored, will burn after carbs, but digesting fat will burn before stored fat. The post is about not having success after changing a diet, and while some fat (proportionately differentiates with different people) can be a huge culprit. "Healthy" fats are fats that actually help elevate HDL levels which in turn lower the bad LDL levels. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated are the best "good" fats that combat diseases of the heart, liver and other areas... "good" fats can be found in walnuts, fatty fishes (especially for the omega-3 benefits) as an example. The really yummy parts of animal meat, dark meat chicken, fatty cuts of steak and such are loaded with saturated fats, which really have little beneficial value and is what adds to the pounds. To put it clearly, to maintain a healthy weight, your TOTAL fat % should be right around 25%, while most people consume so much more, but to LOSE weight, you do actually have to limit a fat intake, much more so at the start than during progression. I hope that this clarifies things a bit as to why limiting fat intake is very key to a successful weight loss (but never completely eliminate, your body does need it to survive )

[muncheechee]

Originally Posted by determinator

Let me clarify the "lean" meats and what it actually does in your body... While trying to burn excess carbs, especially starting a low carb or no carb diet, it is essential to use lean meats in the first phase, to deplete your stored carbs. Fat, whether digested or stored, will burn after carbs, but digesting fat will burn before stored fat. The post is about not having success after changing a diet, and while some fat (proportionately differentiates with different people) can be a huge culprit. "Healthy" fats are fats that actually help elevate HDL levels which in turn lower the bad LDL levels. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated are the best "good" fats that combat diseases of the heart, liver and other areas... "good" fats can be found in walnuts, fatty fishes (especially for the omega-3 benefits) as an example. The really yummy parts of animal meat, dark meat chicken, fatty cuts of steak and such are loaded with saturated fats, which really have little beneficial value and is what adds to the pounds. To put it clearly, to maintain a healthy weight, your TOTAL fat % should be right around 25%, while most people consume so much more, but to LOSE weight, you do actually have to limit a fat intake, much more so at the start than during progression. I hope that this clarifies things a bit as to why limiting fat intake is very key to a successful weight loss (but never completely eliminate, your body does need it to survive )

I must respectfully but emphatically disagree with this post and also point out that the OP states she is wanting to adhere to atkins guidelines which is a low carb, high fat woe that is very healthy, does not pack on pounds, and generally improves serum cholesterol levels.

[Arctic_Mama]

Originally Posted by determinator

Let me clarify the "lean" meats and what it actually does in your body... While trying to burn excess carbs, especially starting a low carb or no carb diet, it is essential to use lean meats in the first phase, to deplete your stored carbs. Fat, whether digested or stored, will burn after carbs, but digesting fat will burn before stored fat. The post is about not having success after changing a diet, and while some fat (proportionately differentiates with different people) can be a huge culprit. "Healthy" fats are fats that actually help elevate HDL levels which in turn lower the bad LDL levels. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated are the best "good" fats that combat diseases of the heart, liver and other areas... "good" fats can be found in walnuts, fatty fishes (especially for the omega-3 benefits) as an example. The really yummy parts of animal meat, dark meat chicken, fatty cuts of steak and such are loaded with saturated fats, which really have little beneficial value and is what adds to the pounds. To put it clearly, to maintain a healthy weight, your TOTAL fat % should be right around 25%, while most people consume so much more, but to LOSE weight, you do actually have to limit a fat intake, much more so at the start than during progression. I hope that this clarifies things a bit as to why limiting fat intake is very key to a successful weight loss (but never completely eliminate, your body does need it to survive )

No. Flat out poor advice, especially for someone wanting to adhere to Atkins. There is a whole body of evidence from molecular biology to physiology to nutritional sciences refuting the above claims. Moreover, it is a recipe for insulin spikes in someone trying to control them - carbohydrates and protein are significantly more insulinogenic than fats.

So much wrong here, but I apologize in advance as I don't have the time for an epic refutation. Maybe someone else can point you in the direction of research on the topic

[determinator]

@Muncheechee,

Forgive me, I'm not trying to contradict what you are saying, but I am rather interested. I am under the impression that the "high fat" intake only works on a strictly scheduled diet, and essetially "reboots" your metabolism, which will reset at a very high rate. The high saturated fats would burn when the carb depletion is gone and there is no food to use for immediate energy (for brain and organ functions)... Aside that, that the saturated fat % should still remain somewhere of 30% of the total consumed fat, behind monounsaturated fat... but this must be combined with a no starch diet.... the problem is, that when straying from the diet, and one is to consume a higher starch content, then the insulin will spike causing the body to aborb the saturated fat... and the high fat saturated diet was only effective in 50% of people in studies, but the other 50% who did succeed had extrodinarily high metabolic rates alongside controlled lipid (cholesterol) levels despite the high cholesterol content digested. Is not the ketogenesis not the same? In keto, you must deplete your carb storage and monitoring of fat loss is done with ketone measurements (and ingesting too much fat will still produce ketones, however, will not burn the body fat) Can you share with me your knowledge? I am very intrigued with your insight and must know more about this, I am a knowledge junkie

[zombiegoat2000]

So your saying your on day Ten on Atkins yet your carb levels are well over the 20net for induction? Unless you have moved on to OWL you are not following induction and your weight loss will be slower, however most people in OWL will only loose a pound a week, so your on target, I guess it just depends on wether or not you want to loose faster and are willing to give up that yogurt (ps: most products labeled "lite" are not carb free!)

[creseis]

Originally Posted by Arctic_Mama

No. Flat out poor advice, especially for someone wanting to adhere to Atkins. There is a whole body of evidence from molecular biology to physiology to nutritional sciences refuting the above claims. Moreover, it is a recipe for insulin spikes in someone trying to control them - carbohydrates and protein are significantly more insulinogenic than fats.

So much wrong here, but I apologize in advance as I don't have the time for an epic refutation. Maybe someone else can point you in the direction of research on the topic

Agreed! It would be best to read Volek and Phinney, or the Eades Protein Power, to clarify what actually happens when you eat fats and are on low carb. My brain hurts from a long day and they do a much better job of describing it. Please disregard the post to which Arctic Mama was referring as it is scientifically wrong and will not help you.

It is really important to read something, at least a couple of chapters in the Eades' book, so that you can understand what you need to eat for the best weight loss and for your health and not to trust what anyone here says fully because none of us, to my knowledge, is a research scientist on low carb metabolism. However, many of us have done our homework and are happy to help guide, but I can see how it may be confusing to get so many conflicting answers as are here. So, I guide you towards the Eades first, who have a great couple of books that are super easy to understand about low carb, and then Phinney and Volek or Atkins, which are possibly a little less easy to understand although will give you a lot more information and scientific background.

[clackley]

Originally Posted by LeslieJG

Could someone take a look and see what might be keeping me from losing weight? I have only lost 2 pounds but one came back. I have been doing this for 10 days and am starting to feel bummed that it isn't working. I'm going to continue dieting and working out but would love some input as to how to get the scale moving. I am 41 and currently weigh 216.8 pounds.
Calories between 1300 and 1600, carbs around 30 a day, between 30 and 60 minutes of intense exercise per day (Tae Bo, Jane Fonda, and Yoga).



Yesterday (complete menu)-
Breakfast
Egg - Whole Egg, 3
Jennie-O - Fresh Ground Turkey (85% Lean / 15% Fat), 4 oz

Lunch
Dannon - Light & Fit Low Carb Vanilla Cream - Yogurt, 1 container
Biggest Loser - Protein Powder Chocolate Deluxe, 2 level scoops

Dinner
Mission Low Carb Tortillas - Whole Wheat Fajita Size, 2 tortilla (28g)
Cheese - Mozzarella, part skim milk, 1 oz
Hormel - Turkey Pepperoni 16 slices

Snacks
Mcdonald's - Iced Coffee (Large) - (No Liquid Sugar), sweetened with Splenda 32 fl oz
Biggest Loser - Protein Powder Chocolate Deluxe, 2 Level Scoops
Dannon - Light & Fit Low Carb Vanilla Cream - Yogurt, 1 container
Pampered Chef - Hot Pizza Dip, 3 Tbsp
pork rinds, 9 Oz
Nuts - Almonds, 10 almond
Total Cals:1400 (yeah I know it just worked out that way)
total Carbs:59
Total Fiber:27
I have been subtracting the fiber from total carbs and on this day that took me down to 32 for the day.
Fat 19
Protein 112
Tae Bo 40 mins, 660 cals burned

Monday-
Cals 1,619
Carbs 45
Fiber 15 for a total of 30
107 Fat
96 Protein
Jane Fonda Workout Challenge Beginner 27 Min, 194 cals burned

Sunday-
Total Cals 1,425
Total Carbs 62
Total Fiber 27 35 carbs for the day
Total Fat 83
Total Protein 103
Tae Bo 60 Mins 985 cals burned

I can add more if needed. Thank for looking.

This may be a plan under the newer Atkins programs and may work well for many but it appears it is not working for you.

I would suggest doing a 'traditional' induction for 2 wks., adhering to the prescribed food list and not deviate. At the end of 2 wks., you can then decide if you want to begin to add back foods in the method prescribed in the plan.

A couple of things jump out at me and those are wheat, nuts and yogurt - none of which are induction foods. Some of these foods are the last to be added back in because they are more likely to cause problems.

In respect to the poster claiming that 'lean meats' are what is required..... is not speaking of an Atkins program and the physiology explanation is not accurate.

[determinator]

Just so everyone posting knows, I deal with a highly complex diet that consists of timing carb intake, whey proteins, soy proteins and maintaining lipid levels before and after timed exercising and also monitoring heart rates, water levels and lipid counts... I have maintained a body fat % of 14.8%, although I have never been overweight... I suppose you can say I deal more with the "vanity" lbs more than anything, but it requires a myriad of knowledge of molecular biology, research, and trials... I am 5'7" weighing 122 lbs (up from 111, well maintained, however I feel I look my best when my fat % is lower than 14%) I deal mostly with preserving muscle, decreasing body fat (however much you have to lose) and avoiding muscle wasting... I found myself here because as I am approaching 30, I am finding it more difficult to maintain >15% body fat and have found that support communities really keep you accountable. After pregnancy, I was successful in dropping 39 lbs in 14 weeks... as far as the Adkins, I cannot speak of experience or knowledge... I was unaware, and did not read in the post that she was using Adkins (I see now that is under the picture)... But I did just read another reply that says that there is an induction phase of Adkins, and would very much like thoughts on that... I am intrigued by so many saying that saturated fats are the key to rapid weightloss. I also saw someone write that the nuts, yogurt, and "lite" things are a no-no, which is exactly what I would reccommend, although I have yet to see why saturated fat with restricted carb would do anyone good, specifically when sat fat levels were greater than 50% of the total fat intake, not total calorie intake)..and I do believe I said that it is essential to use lean meats for the "induction" as you say, while adding and increasing the fat %'s after ketosis has been established... which is neccessary for metabolism maitenence, but adding the fat is a process and should not be achieved during the first week (at least depending on size and most definitely if you have trouble losing to start)...am I missing something? I do understand the role that polyu's, monou's and sats play in metabolic restarting... however, it has to be a balance of the good/bad, not just all bad, or am I living in the dark ages?

[Ntombi]

You're living in the dark ages. If you want to do your own thing, so it. But then don't complain that it's not working, and don't give that advice to someone who's trying to do Atkins.

Originally Posted by Leo41

My answer to your initial question is that you list Atkins as your plan, but your menu isn't Atkins.

I'd suggest that you follow the plan exactly as written. Low-carb eating can seem 'easy,' but there are specific reasons to limit certain foods early on, etc.

You should be able to get a book from your local library.

Originally Posted by Trigger828

not leaner meats. atkins is about good fat meats. like a big old ribeye steak yum
not processed meats.


have you done atkins before? this menu is way off phase 1 and 2. acceptable food lists are what you need to check.

hang in there. just tweaking a bit and you will get control of this!!

I agree with these

If you're doing Atkins, do Atkins. Atkins is a high fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrate plan. You're doing a moderate fat, high protein, lowish carb plan. It's not what's laid out in the book. Tweaking a plan before you really understand it is a bad idea.

Read the book, follow the rules of induction, only eat the foods on the allowed food list for at least two weeks, and see how you progress.

[cheri]

Determinator, if you are really interested in the ATkins diet you may want to get the book. As you say, you have never really been overweight so obviously haven't used the Atkins approach to take off weight since you don't seem to know what it is all about. It would take quite a lot of posts to catch you up to speed on how the diet works. On Atkins.. Fat is our friend. Not that you should go hog wild and eat a ton of fat.. Even Atkins doesn't advise that. Here is a link to the newbie site that may help explain things further. It may also help the OP as well. There are a lot of pages of articles such as "Why lowcarbing works" ... Comparing plans.. and interviews I had done with Colette Heimowitz of the Atkins center to help answer some of the questions members here had.. There is also a lot of really great advise from experienced low carb dieters. There are also menu samples that may help you as well leslie.

A Beginner's Guide To Low Carbing

[Sharss]

Leslie, poor you with contradictory advice. LOL So I'll add my experience.

1. I successfully lost weight twice to my goal, but I stayed in induction practically during the whole period. I didn't start to really lose until after two weeks. For you, I'm not familiar with the yogurt you're eating, but all the yogurt I've looked at has sugar in it. Bad, Bad, Bad.

2. I hope you read the Atkins book if you're doing the plan. Someone suggested High Protein by Drs. Eades too - great idea. Educate yourself. For example, Drs. Eades say to take potassium after each meal.

3. Be careful of over-exercising. It would be better to do the intense every other day and yoga the other days. Over-exercising will work against you.
(For those that don't believe that, then google and find out for yourselves.)

Be patient. Good luck.

BTW, I'm not doing Atkins anymore because I gained weight after I reached my goal. For me, I apparently won't stay on maintenance and am now just doing things differently. It sure did help me lose weight though and educated me more about foods.

[emel]

Leslie, I agree that your thread was used a depository for information about some other plan. Atkins is not about low fat.

I tweaked your plan based on how I'd eat on the first few weeks of Atkins, induction style. I am old-school. I use an Atkins program that came out in 2002.

Yesterday (complete menu)-
Breakfast --yours was great.
Egg - Whole Egg, 3
Jennie-O - Fresh Ground Turkey (85% Lean / 15% Fat), 4 oz

Lunch- i don't do yogurt on induction. your shake has too many carbs for my plan.
EAS 100% whey protein powder, 2 scoops= 260 cal, 6 g carb, 2 g fiber, 5 g fat, 46 g protein.
3-6 oz of leftover protein from last night's dinner, raw veggie strips
(I steer clear of shakes and prepared foods, but I sense you are on-the-go at lunch)


Dinner (i save the LC tortillas for later in my plan)
Lettuce as a wrapper for deli meats
Cheese - Mozzarella, part skim milk, 1 oz
Hormel - Turkey Pepperoni 16 slices
cold leftover chicken breast filets, (I cook a whole skillet full when i make them, so I have lots of leftovers)

Snacks-- I don't eat of theses except for the pork rinds.

Mcdonald's - Iced Coffee (Large) - (No Liquid Sugar), sweetened with Splenda 32 fl oz
Biggest Loser - Protein Powder Chocolate Deluxe, 2 Level Scoops
Dannon - Light & Fit Low Carb Vanilla Cream - Yogurt, 1 container
Pampered Chef - Hot Pizza Dip, 3 Tbsp
pork rinds, 9 Oz
Nuts - Almonds, 10 almond

I'd use another couple ounces of cheese (limit on my plan is 4 oz per day)
hard boiled or devilled eggs
cold sliced meats
celery sticks, radishes
tuna mixed with a sugar free mayo, such as Dukes, and mustard. I eat it with a spoon, but you can use celery sticks or lettuce as a wrapper
dill pickle
hey, fry your pepperoni in a dry skillet. It gets crispy like a cracker. Watch the quantity.

One last thought--- do some good prep work.
Cut up some raw veggies for lunch.
cook a whole skillet of chicken breasts, or pork chops, or some eye of round steaks.
boil some eggs. good with mustard or you can devil them.

[cfine]

The "net carb" thing only really works when you are also restricting the fat in your diet.

This is NOT true. You need more fat to meet your energy needs if you are going low carb.

[avid]

Beware of "experts" on message boards.
There are several references here saying "get the book"
I can't emphasize that strongly enough.
Dr. Atkins' approach has been around for decades.
Hundreds of thousands of people have safely lost ALOT of weight
following his guidelines.
My local library, which is pretty underfunded, has his book, so it's a safe bet
yours has it too.
Good luck and I'm sure I speak for many when I say " keep posting and let us
know how your doing"

[giJ]

Originally Posted by Sharss

1. I successfully lost weight twice to my goal, but I stayed in induction practically during the whole period.

<snip>

BTW, I'm not doing Atkins anymore because I gained weight after I reached my goal. For me, I apparently won't stay on maintenance and am now just doing things differently. It sure did help me lose weight though and educated me more about foods.

Since this thread has already gone in lots of different directions, I hope you won't mind if I comment on these two statements.

Induction (IMO - I admit I haven't managed to read any of the books cover to cover, just chapters here and there) serves two purposes: one is to detox - get the carbs out of your system; the other is more rapid weightloss - the lower the carbs, the faster (for many people) the weightloss.

Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) helps you figure out how many and what kinds of carbs your body can handle before you stop losing weight.

Yes, you can stay in induction for way longer than the initial 2 weeks. Dr. A said that, and many people prove that. But if you stay at induction too long, rather than gradually increasing and seeing how your body handles it, maintenance is going to be FAR more difficult, because you don't have the experience or knowledge from OWL.

I did not do Atkins to lose my weight. I chose principles from Atkins and some others. I also spent a lot of time experimenting to see what I could and could not handle. I've only been maintaining for a few months (and I think I've decided to lose some more), but so far, it's working.

Just my 2cents.

[Lisa M]

I agree with reading the plan you want to do. If you got your meal ideas from a certain plan, I'd be curious if it's really low carb. I'd ditch the tortillas, yogurt, nuts, protein powder and I wouldn't work out that long at one time. I would be hungry at that calorie level.

[avid]

My experience is similar to GiJ's
I read "the new diet revolution" by Dr. A but can't honestly say I followed it as written.
Perhaps the book that I did (do) follow most closely is "Wheat Belly" by dr. Davis.
I don't eat any wheat or grain, no sugar, no starchy veggies, or "gluten free" foods.
I am also very impressed with Dr. Terry Wahls. She used a paleo diet to reverse severe symptoms of MS.
So my diet, includes meat but I limit the convenient processed meats. (ham, bacon etc.)
alot of greens (kale, spinach, collards etc.) Sulpher veggies (broccoli, cauliflower etc)
eggs, berries, fish. My main fat supplies come from oils like evoo, and co, and dairy. (sorry paleo) I love cheese and sour cream.
I was in the 'overweight' category when I started in mid September and have lost 17 pounds. I am in the 'normal' weight range now, but the mirror tells me I could lose another 6 or 8 pounds.
I love this woe. I work out a gym several times a week and at 63 years old I am fit, pain free. Being an active "sixty something" is liberating.
I followed the "recommended" high carb, whole grain, low fat diet for many years. I could never get out of the overweight category, had painful knees, and a lethargic metabolism.
LC has changed my life.
I'm happy when others give a try.

[avid]

OH, I forgot to mention that my blood levels improved in ALL areas.
Yes, contrary to common belief my total cholesterol went down.
My ldl went down as well, my hdl went up, and my triglycerides went way down.
I have been able to eliminate to one medication and cut the dosage of another in half.
I am truly a lc success story.
I hope you can be one as well.