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Oct 10, 2008

Advice from experienced Atkins diet users?
Author
Message
Darcy
New Member
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 6
Locale: Halifax, Canada
Fri Feb 02, 2007 12: 39 pm    Post subject: Advice from experienced Atkins diet users?
Hi there,
I ' m just looking for a little advice from any users who have been on the Atkins Diet for a little while:
My boyfriend and I have been on the diet for a little over 3 weeks now, but we don ' t know anyone who we can ask questions about what to expect.
I ' ve lost about 9lbs so far, but my gf hasn ' t even lost a single lb. We haven ' t cheated at all, we ' re about 20g of carbs a day or less ( just from veggies )... no sugar, bread, alcohol, flour, high carb veggies, etc. We ' ve reduced our salt intake as well.
We both had a pretty rough first week, really tired and weak, crazy hungry all the time, etc., but we ' ve stuck to it.
I unfortunately also have Candidiasis ( from Antibiotics ) so I ' ve also cut out cheese, molds, vinegar, etc.
We ' re both in Ketosis now for about two weeks ( we have the Ketostix ), so it ' s working in that regard at least.
But my gf is getting frustrated that damsel hasn ' t lost even a single lb in the induction phase yet. I ' ve lost 9lbs, but in the past I ' ve lost this much or more just by quitting drinking beer, so I ' m wondering how much the diet is actually working for me too.
The one thing we both can ' t seem to give up is a coffee in the AM ( no sugar ), but should this cause such a major ' stall ' in induction?
Any help would be very appreciated!
Cheers,
Darcy
towhook
Senior Member
Joined: 29 Nov 2006
Posts: 285
Footing: Dallas, Tx
Fri Feb 02, 2007 2: 13 pm    Post subject:
It sounds like you ' re doing good. Weight loss is different for each person. Men ofttimes lose faster than women I think. If you are in ketosis you are probably doing it right.
I have lost 25 lbs in 3 1 / 2 months. I haven ' t lost any weight in the past couple of weeks, but over the past month I ' ve lost another inch off my waist.
Your gf might want to take her measurements and see if there has been any change.
Remember it ' s a long expedition. If doll hasn ' t lost anything in another week or two, then you can start trying to troubleshoot. Until then keep doing what you are doing.
marmoura
Confessed Member
Joined: 08 Jul 2006
Posts: 55
Site: Toronto, Canada
Fri Feb 02, 2007 2: 22 pm    Post subject:
hey,
actually over the past week the scale has not shown me much of a difference, but my measurements have significantly been reduced.
Is your gf eating any hidden carbs like ketchup or sauces? If not - I would suggest that wench wait another 2 weeks and if canary still hasn ' t lost, to then visit a doctor and just get a full physical, including checking her thyroid.
Goodluck!
Darcy
New Member
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 6
Longitude: Halifax, Canada
Fri Feb 02, 2007 2: 40 pm    Post subject:
Thanks for the advice...
I realize we ' re just in the early stages of the diet, but it ' s difficult to know what to expect, or to know what ' s ' normal '.
We ' re unduly careful about checking everything we eat - no sauces or condiments that we don ' t make ourselves without carbs.
A typical day is 2 eggs / 3 strips of bacon for breakfast, ham / chicken / beef with turnip / green beans for lunch, garden salad / beef / celery sticks with humous for supper.
If we run on in ketosis, does this indicate that fat will continue to burn off indefinitely? Or does it stop at some point?
I ' ve lost almost all of my ' beer dismantle ', so I can see some success, but coed ' s getting discouraged that tomato can ' t see any results at all yet. I don ' t want to let her quit from discouragement, if it ' s still going to work for her if spring chicken ' s patient.
Thx!
marmoura
Established Member
Joined: 08 Jul 2006
Posts: 55
Footing: Toronto, Canada
Fri Feb 02, 2007 3: 44 pm    Post subject:
observation!
Humous!! This is not allowed on Induction as it has chic peas in it - which are a definate no no!!
Being meditteranean myself - I love it, and wish I was able to eat it cause if so, I would have been doing that by the spoonfull. That, and tahini...
Minx needs to cut it out if butterfly wants to looooooooooose [ / icon_biggrin. gif]
And yes, to answer your question - since you are in Ketosis.. it ' s just a matter of time.
GOODLUCK TO YOU BOTH!!
Darcy
New Member
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 6
Setting: Halifax, Canada
Fri Feb 02, 2007 4: 05 pm    Post subject:
Arrrggghh! I thought it was safe... I knew regular peas were forbidden, but I didn ' t know chickpeas were too... drat!
Thanks again for the help!!
towhook
Senior Member
Joined: 29 Nov 2006
Posts: 285
Spot: Dallas, Tx
Fri Feb 02, 2007 6: 35 pm    Post subject:
If you were eating the humus with the celery, a good alternative is cream cheese or natural peanut butter.
9ballprodigy
Recognized Member
Joined: 23 Feb 2004
Posts: 194
Sat Feb 03, 2007 10: 34 am    Post subject:
how ' s your water intake? with all the sodium you guys are eating, you might be retaining water. you have to flush it out.
Darcy
New Member
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 6
Latitude: Halifax, Canada
Fri Feb 09, 2007 8: 06 pm    Post subject:
Well, it ' s been 3. 5 weeks or so, and I ' m down 14lbs... but chick ' s still not losing at all. Baby doll feels better not eating the carbs, and lassie ' s still in ketosis and seems to find comfort that virgin ' s at least not gaining. But it is discouraging for her, especially considering we ' re 100 % not cheating at all.
I ' m drinking crazy amounts of water - I have to pee at least once an hour! If I stop drinking the water, I get dehydrated very quickly.
We ' ve actually reduced our salt intake, but I ' m sure there ' s still lots of sodium in the food we ' re eating. We both don ' t feel bloated at all, like when retaining water.
One weird thing I ' ve noticed, is that I ' m suddenly very, very fired. I don ' t know if it ' s related to the thing with Candida for me, but there ' s no madcap, etc. Just frenetic all the time, especially where I ' ve got some fat ( belly, inner legs ). I ' ve actually found it hard not to [ / icon_scratch. gif] until raw!
ildanoch
Senior Member
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Posts: 212
Fri Feb 09, 2007 8: 22 pm    Post subject:
That ' s interesting about the gung ho! I ' ve noticed when I feel really ketosisy and / or when I volume down at night I often get tingly in really fatty areas like under my chin and arms and belly and legs. Much if I get that feeling I find I weigh less in the morning. lol.. I tell myself that ' s the fat flushing away! But I thought I was just being silly and conception things.
Bliss Pirate
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Jan 2004
Posts: 3106
Footing: St. Paul, MN
Sat Feb 10, 2007 1: 56 am    Post subject:
What is tomato doing for exercise. I find it makes a huge difference. Even if its just adding a brisk walk around the block twice in the evening, it will help.
molley
Senior Member
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 839
Location: VT
Sun Feb 11, 2007 4: 57 pm    Post subject:
Is babe drinking enough water?
Also please use other indications for progress markers! Are her pants any looser? Use a tape measure! Sometimes I was even GAINING weight but the tape measure showed that I was getting skinnier and that ' s what kept me engaged.
Are you just aloof you ' r ein ketosis or do you actually check wiht ketostix? If fyou ' ve been eating humus, I doubt you actually get to ketosis.
And it ' s true that women lose weight slowlier than men do but after 2 weeks on induction, lady should have lost a lot by now. I can ' t help but think that you guys aren ' t actually following atkins.
Darcy
New Member
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 6
Location: Halifax, Canada
Sun Feb 11, 2007 11: 18 pm    Post subject:
Thanks to all for the positive feedback.
I ' ll try hard not to be offended by that last post:
- I ate humous in very small portions, and stopped when a member suggested it wasn ' t allowed.
- We use the ketostix every day, and YES WE ARE IN KETOSIS.
- YES WE ARE DOING ATKINS, I have lost 14 lbs eating the Atkins diet, which is basically 20 or less carbs / day, we read the book, follow the directions.
She feels better, but her clothes fit the same, and she hasn ' t lost weight at all yet. I recently learned her sister has a thyroid problem, and I ' ve suggested she go see her doctor to get tested to see if she has it too.
Sheesh!
bluehex
Senior Member
Joined: 03 Dec 2003
Posts: 2663
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Mon Feb 12, 2007 8: 10 am    Post subject:
Darcy, I see nothing in Molley ' s post to be offended about... You say your efforts ( your GF ' s, I mean ) don ' t seem to bring desired results, so she is trying to find out what you might be doing wrong.
Your indignation at her statement that you may not be doing Atkins seems a bit overdone to me, as you have just said you were eating chickpeas ( and yes, I know you stopped! ). So that ' s already not doing Induction properly. You lost just fine, but if your GF is more insulin resistant than you ( chickpeas - >starch - >high blood sugar ) it could have stalled her. Don ' t be offended - sometimes people are absolutely convinced that they are doing Atkins ' to a t ', then it turns out they overlooked one or other thing.
Please don ' t flame people for trying to help you.
I have some questions and suggestions of my own - and just to make things clear, I mean no offense by any of them.
You said you were drinking a lot of water, how about your GF? Is she geting AT LEAST 64 oz a day? Preferably more? ( a good measure is half your weight in ounces; so 180 lbs bodyweight=90 oz of water )
Does she exercise? Bliss made an excellent point there. Exercise is important, especially if you have slow metabolism.
Coffee MAY be a problem. Some people - and I am one of them - are extremely sensitive to coffee. I suspect it has something to do with its diuretic properties, anyway, if I drink coffee, I won ' t lose a single ounce. Perhaps your GF should try switching to decaf for a couple of weeks and see what happens.
Are you sure you don ' t use any " low - carb " products? One Atkins bar every two days may very effectively prevent weightloss.
It is definitely worthwhile to check her thyroid, esp. if there is a history in the family. It ' s also good to check for insulin resistance, then you ' ll know what you are up against.
If your GF has such strong resistance to Atkins, she should probably look not just at carb content, but also at glycemic index of her food. If you are very insulin resistant, it makes a big difference - all carbs are not equal. The lower the GI, the better.
Are you sure she is getting enough calories? Weightloss may also be prevented by eating too little, because your metabolism slows down. Your GF should calculate her BMR ( there aree free tools available online ) and eat 100 - 200 calories above it.
One final thing: it is important to be regular in the bathroom. If you are constipated all the time, you are not going to lose any weight. If this is a problem, add some fiber to your diet - psyllium husks, flaxseed meal, sugarfree Metamucil - whatever works.
As for your itchiness - it is a fairly common symptom of Candida dying out.
Good luck to both of you, keep us posted!
Darcy
New Member
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 6
Location: Halifax, Canada
Mon Feb 12, 2007 12: 44 pm    Post subject:
Hi Bluehex,
Thanks for your post, we ' ve both read it and found it to be very helpful. I ' m especially grateful to hear that the itchiness is normal to Candida die - off.
I don ' t think I exactly ' flamed ' anyone, but if I ' ve caused upset, then I ' m sorry.
As you may imagine, this diet requires quite an effort to undertake, and the last thing you want to hear after weeks of effort is that someone doubts you ' re actually on it! I don ' t think she read my first post stating we were using the Ketostix, or the following post about how I stopped eating the humous. I am obviously having success, as I ' ve lost a lot of weight in a short time. My girlfriend never ate the humous, that was just me.
To clarify our diet, we are eating only: chicken, beef, ham, eggs, approved veggies, no condiments, no grains, no sugar. We don ' t eat any ' low - carb ' products other than these listed. We ' re eating in moderation, probably 1000 calories a day. I ' m actually following the Candida diet, so I also don ' t eat cheese, molds, yeasts or vinegar. We ' ve been checking all labels, even the meats, to make sure there are no hidden carbs. I drink a large glass of water at least once an hour all day long, and she ' s doing about the same. We use the unsweetened ( not even aspartame ) Metamucil to avoid the constipation, and this has helped a lot.
We aren ' t as active exercise - wise as we should be, it ' s been harder to get out with the cold weather, but that will change soon. But we ' re not completely inactive either.
Thanks again for your helpful suggestions!
( Edit due to typos )
bluehex
Senior Member
Joined: 03 Dec 2003
Posts: 2663
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Mon Feb 12, 2007 5: 38 pm    Post subject:
Darcy wrote:
I don ' t think I exactly ' flamed ' anyone, but if I ' ve caused upset, then I ' m sorry.
It ' s just that Molley is such a wonderfully supportive and positive person ( don ' t take my word for it - read her other posts ) and I was surprised anyone could find her posts offensive.
Quote:
As you may imagine, this diet requires quite an effort to undertake
LOL. You are appealing for understanding to a wrong person. I have such a history of starvation diets that Atkins always seemed sinfully rich to me. [ / icon_lol. gif]
Quote:
... and the last thing you want to hear after weeks of effort is that someone doubts you ' re actually on it!
I ' m sure. But you wouldn ' t believe how often we get posts that start with a very firm statement like " I follow it to a T " or " I know I do everything right " and then in 9 cases out of 10 it turns out that either the person has only been eating meat, cheese and eggs, or they have been eating low - carb bars. Stay around the forum for a while and you ' ll see for yourself. And these people are not lying - they truly believe they are doing Atkins. But they are not. So please forgive us if we jump at conclusions sometimes... Nobody ' s perfect.
Quote:
To clarify our diet, we are eating only: chicken, beef, ham, eggs, approved veggies, no condiments, no grains, no sugar. We don ' t eat any ' low - carb ' products other than these listed. We ' re eating in moderation, probably 1000 calories a day. I ' m actually following the Candida diet, so I also don ' t eat cheese, molds, yeasts or vinegar. We ' ve been checking all labels, even the meats, to make sure there are no hidden carbs. I drink a large glass of water at least once an hour all day long, and she ' s doing about the same. We use the unsweetened ( not even aspartame ) Metamucil to avoid the constipation, and this has helped a lot.
In such case my only advice would be to increase the water intake even further. I know you two drink a lot, but sometimes you need even more. It really makes a difference - if I may use my own example again, the book says two liters, but I get nowhere unless I drink three. Go figure. Everybody is different, but generally, more water usually helps.
Don ' t make your diet too lean - you have to eat some fat to burn fat, and it ' s not as easily converted into glucose as protein. Remember to never be hungry! You may not be eating enough calories. 1000 is not much, unless you are both really petite, so you may want to experiment around 1400 - 1600. Once your metabolism slows down, it ' s extremely hard to get it going again.
I ' d also recommend using condiments and spices ( aware of carb count, of course ), because the more varied and " normal " your food is, the easier it will be to stick to the diet, it won ' t be so much effort. On Atkins it ' s real easy to make food a very enjoyable experience. Look through our recipe section and you ' ll find lots of stuff you can eat, mock pizzas, mock mashed potatoes ( unbelievable! ), mock fried rice is really good, too. And of course, everybody ' s favourite, the crustless quiche. Some of these require cheese, but some don ' t. And when your Candida is gone for good, you can try using some cheese, in moderation.
Another thing may be potassium. General rule is, sodium retains water, potassium releases water. And women, as one of my docs told me, usually have a potassium deficiency. So a potassium supplement will always do her good. And calcium. Lack of calcium may also prevent weightloss.
Quote:
We aren ' t as active exercise - wise as we should be, it ' s been harder to get out with the cold weather, but that will change soon. But we ' re not completely inactive either.
Ahem - hope I ' m not rude or anything if I say that sex definitely counts as exercise and it can be very successfully done indoors... [ / icon_redface. gif]
[ / icon_lol. gif] OK, bad me. I think it WAS a bit rude, but I hope you forgive me anyway. Must be Valentine ' s Day getting on my mind...
Best of luck. Don ' t give up, and eventually you will both see results. After all, it has only been two weeks ( well, three, by now ) and everyone is different - results are not always comparable. Keeping my fingers crossed for your GF. ( you, too, of course, but you seem to be doing fine, so maybe a tad more crossed for her... )10 октября 2008 г.

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