[bestbyV]

Hey everyone, this is my first post. I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything right. I'm concerned because the first 2 weeks I was losing about 1-2 lbs a day but last week I've been steady or gaining weight every day.

I did Atkins once in high-school and lost 60lbs in about 4 months so I know the program works. That was about 5 years ago now, and I've definitely let myself go beyond any healthy standards. I'm a 22 year old male and very tall (6'8") which means I've been given the standard "oh, well, you're tall so it's okay" excuse for my weight ever since I started getting fat around 16. Time to hit the burgers and drop the pasta once more.

About me

• Male
• 22 years old
• 6 foot 8 inches tall
• Currently 389 lbs, started at 403 lbs
• Bought a Withings scale to help lose weight
• Excercise 4 times a week for an hour at a time, burning about 400 calories, aerobic, no weights
• Started Atkins 3 weeks ago (1/23/11), haven't done the OWL phase, just staying in the Induction phase (is this bad?)

The food

Breakfast - Omelette and Sausage:

• 3 eggs
• 3 small "brown n' serve" sausages
• 2 slices american cheese
• 1/8 cup chopped onion
• 1/8 cup chopped green pepper

Morning snack:

• 2 mozzarella string cheese sticks

Lunch - Salad w/ Chicken:

• 1.5 cup romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 sliced chicken breast
• 2/3 cup ranch dressing

Afternoon snack:

• 1/4 cup plain lightly salted almonds

Dinner - Burgers n' Broccoli:

• 2x 1/4 lbs ground beef patties
• 2 slices american cheese
• 1.5 cup steamed broccoli
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• various spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, chopped onion)

Water: I drink about 4-5 20oz bottles full, so about 100oz

Am I doing anything wrong? Should I add more carbs to go into OWL?

Thanks in advance.

[cakaeroryrere]

It is really normal to lose quickly in the first two weeks and then slow down. I'm sure some of the experts will chime in here. I'm no expert, that's for sure. The only thing that jumps out at me is the cheese. A little heavy for induction. The link says 3-4 oz for induction. Hard to tell how much the sticks and slices add up to but seems like more than that.

Now, I love cheese and I get heavy handed on that too, so not judging. But I think it is high in sodium, and for me, I try to watch that a little to avoid water retention.

More veggies, more veggies, more veggies. Good thing you already include these, broccoli is good. Just not sure you can eat enough romaine lettuce, onions or green peppers to get that 20 carbs.

Not sure nuts are legal on induction either. I'm bad about that too, sorry. But I also try to keep it to less than a 1/4 cup.

Other than those, looks like you are on the right track. At least, it looks good to me anyway.

[M_Marked]

At your height, weight, age, gender and activity level you will need more food than the average Atkiner... but I agree with LeAnn, it looks like you're eating a LOT more cheese than suggested. Try cutting back to 4 ounces... cheese is very calorie dense, high in sodium and it's a dairy product. Dairy stalls weight loss in SOME people. Again agreeing with LeAnn (sure you're not expert, LeAnn??? LOL)... more veggies. You need 12 to 15 net grams every day from approved veggies. Net grams is total grams carb minus fiber grams. I really think you can (and should) up your veggie intake. Nuts are for the second phase... how about some chicken/tuna/egg salad lettuce wraps instead of nuts for a snack?

One more thing... do you REALLY mean you put 2/3 CUP of dressing on your small salad??? 2 TBS is the recommended serving size. I don't know what brand you're using, but Kraft Ranch Dressing has 1.2 net grams per 2 TBS serving. Your 2/3 cup has more than 5 servings in it. So the dressing alone has 6 grams carb... you don't have that many to "spend" on dressing if you eat 15ng from veggies. Cheese also has carbs... 1g per ounce. Right off the bat I can see 11 grams from your dressing and cheese (at least 5 ounces in your menu).

How's your energy level? How are you feeling overall? That's often a good measure of how you're doing, too.

Plus... not to get too personal here, but are you at all constipated since starting the diet? That can mask weight loss.

100 oz is good... but at your height and weight, you might need more. I read once that people should drink and extra cup of water (over the rec 64 oz) for every 25# they are overweight.

What's your goal weight? Your weight loss so far is really good... so you're doing lots right! I'm just making suggestions based on the plan and your menu.

Good luck!

[bestbyV]

LeAnn and Tril, thank you so much for your input and support. I'm definitely going to modify my shopping list this week with your suggestions.

My goal weight is a little drastic at 220 lbs (which is the doctor recommended weight for my height and age), but shoot for the moon, right? Additionally I'm going for 12% body fat, started at 32, 30ish now.

I understand I'm sounding pretty immature here, but I simply don't like the taste of vegetables, which is why I use so much ranch on my salads, to cover up the taste of lettuce. Any ways to trick myself into eating more veggies, or make them less nasty? Tril, you mentioned tuna salad lettuce wraps? Are those as easy to make as they sound?

The same thinking happened with cheese; cheese makes everything taste good. I've been plenty "regular", but I could certainly cut back on my cheese intake.

Almonds, I simply didn't know I shouldn't eat in the Induction phase. (in case you haven't picked up on this, I haven't read the book, I've acquired all my Atkin knowledge from my mom, who interprets the rules somewhat loosely)

Finally, I've been eating this set of food every day without variation, is that important? A lot of people say to save my sanity I should switch it up, but I'd gladly sacrifice "the joy of food" for more easily prepared/organized meals. I like making my food for the week on Sunday and not having to take much time from my life to deal with it.

Thanks again

[M_Marked]

The book is helpful for understanding the "why" and "how" of low carb eating. Some day, when you're ready, read the book. In the meantime, no disrepect toward your mom, don't rely on someone else's memory/interpretation of what to eat. Here's a link to the Acceptable Foods List for Induction. http://www.atkins.com/Program/Phase1...thisPhase.aspx

Everything you need to know is on that website. It's free. They don't charge for the use of the site, unlike other diet plans. They even offer (for free) an online course to help you learn the diet. Take advantage of this... learn all you can. The food lists are in PDF... you can dl the file and print it so you're never in the situation of not knowing what's ok to eat.

Tuna lettuce wraps... simply tuna salad (tuna, veggies of your choosing, mayo... mixed together). Put a scoop of salad on a large lettuce leaf and roll it up... kinda like you'd use a wrap/tortilla. I love these. Egg salad is delish this way, too!

As for the veggies... have you ever had oven roasted vegetables?? Place cut up veggies in a ziplock bag (use what you might be able to "choke down"... like onions, peppers, zucchini, summer squash, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, garlic... any of the veggies on the P1 list). Add olive oil to the bag (enough to coat the veggies) and shake. You can also add any herbs you like... Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, rosemary, anything you like the flavor of! Spread veggies in a single layer in a roasting pan. Bake/roast at 400* for about 30 minutes... stir every 10 minutes or so and test for doneness. Cooked this way the natural sugars in the veggies carmelizes... they taste SO sweet and SO good!

Another "trick" is to make soup. Cook any approved veggies in chicken or beef stock. Puree in a blender or use an immersion blender. Season to taste. Add a bit of cream if you like... this is a wonderful way to use up leftover veggies (even roasted veggies). Sometimes I make this soup using just frozen veggies... it's SO easy since there's no prep necessary.

Hide diced veggies in things like chicken salad.

One thing... many many people develop a liking for veggies once they start eating low carb. Your tastes change... and you can appreciate the natural sweetness of veggies if you're not eating super sweet things like candy, soda, cookies, etc.

While eating the same menu over and over is certainly EASY... it's not the best choice for your health (you need more variety to get all you need). It's also not setting you up for long term success since this isn't how you'll eat the rest of your life. Start NOW to learn how to eat to keep the weight off. Reaching your goal weight is NOT the time to start learing how to keep the weight off... you do that over the course of losing the weight.

[soprofaxel]

I'll concur with everything said so far...but in addition, I would say that for me 100oz of water is about bare minimum. I try to shoot for at least 128oz, and will only drink other things (diet soda, for example -- which has been linked to stalls, by the way) after that.

Vegetables: I can't really help with a vegetable hater, because I'm exactly the opposite, and my sons are the same as me. They'll pretty much eat anything. But if you go over the Induction list, there must be something that you like, right? Drenching in salad dressing obviously doesn't work, but 2/3C is really kind of a lot. Why not back that off a little until you find you can tolerate the salad vegetables more, and then back off on the dressing even more?

But let me put a plug in here for cauliflower...at home, we've switched from potato to cauliflower. If, in the past, you've been one to eat mashed potatoes, try giving mashed cauliflower a try. In the recipe forum, find "Rico's Mashed Cauliflower". It is a simple, and fantastic, recipe.

[bestbyV]

Thanks again for all your valued input. Today the scale was down some for the first time in a week and all I really did yesterday was drop some cheese and increase my water. I'm still hopeful this is going to work so I won't give up. I appreciate the support.

I made another post in the progress section to track my adventure. Glad to have a new community of people rooting for me!

[M_Marked]

Yeah!!! I love it when the solution is a simple one! KOKO!