Be Blase's Journal, 22 March 2013

What's your daily food intake like? Age and medicine can have an effect too. How much water are you drinking?  

Hi there! I've been drinking water every time I get hungry and that's a lot! I'm on thryoid meds and hormone meds which I am guess slow me down too. I have been following the Atkins book but now think my copy is old. I'm averaging only 10-15 carbs a day all veggies - and know I need to up those! Here's an example Breakfast: coffee and 1/2 half. This is the only area I cannot change. Cannot imagine no am coffee. Two hard boiled eggs/1 tsp mayo Lunch: cheese stick/1 oz, deli ham slice, lettuce salad/blue cheese dressing Dinner: baked chicken drumsticks, spaghetti squash (cup), spinach salad/blue cheese dressing snack 1 oz/cheese stick  

Definitely being on medicine for thyroid and hormones will slow it down but I think if you consume 20nc daily with 12-15nc of those coming from veggies will help. It sounds to me like you aren't eating nearly enough protein (4-6oz Per meal) and should be eating some fats as well, mayo, butter, olive oil, etc when cooking. I'm not sure which edition you have but the New Atkins for a New You (aka NANY) is the latest book and more up to date. With cheese, you can have up to 4oz a day but some people see that it slows them down. As for your coffee, that's no problem at all! I have three cups each morning, love the stuff. Also, though calories are not a major point in Atkins it does suggest for a woman to stay around 1500-1800. I personally find that's too much for me if I want to lose. Just make sure you're not going lower than 1200. I hope I was able to help.  

Spaghetti squash isn't usually recommended during Induction...and can you use full heavy cream instead of half&half (which is half milk, also not a great idea). Age, thyroid meds, hormones, many other meds can all slow weight loss waaay down. Are you drinking enough water every day? Eating minimum of 15-20 grams of leafy green veggies each day? Is a bit difficult to help you very much when you aren't tracking all of your daily food on this site--doing so really does help a lot! By the way, cute rottie! :) 

Wanted to mention also...you said "drinking water every time I get hungry, which is a lot!" What puzzles me there is that one of the very first and major things about Atkins is the marked LACK of hunger after a week or so on Induction... 

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate your feedback and questions which allows me to think more accurately about my approach and what I am doing. While I am technically not "hungry" as in hunger pangs - I do just crave a milkshake! I have put up my food for the day and am will try very hard to add exactly what I am eating whether its the best choice or not so I'm not editing myself but being honest. One thing I'm not clear on is how much exactly is 15-20 grams of leafy greens? I am buying spinach by the bulk and and enjoy it as a salad. And, hard boiled eggs are really a great way for me to quickly grab a bite. Today is the first day I've felt light headed and think I went a long time between my lunch and snacks ... Happy Friday! 

After taking a look at you food journal (great job tracking, by the way!), three things immediately pop out. One I already mentioned about the 1/2&1/2 (heavy cream has about half the amount of milk sugars the milk does--and since you use a lot less heavy cream than milk or 1/2 and 1/2, the effect on blood glucose and carbs is very, very small). Two is the peanut butter, also not allowed on Induction and can cause MAJOR stalls in weight loss, especially at first. Three, you're eating hardly any veggies at all. Personally, I don't worry about "leafy greens" so much as I have a large salad every day. I make the rest of the 12-15 grams out of allowable Induction veggies. Have you read any of the Atkins books-- my opinion, best one is the new dietrevolution book from 2002. I hate the new one (not written by Atkins, himself. Best way to understand how to do this right and have success is to read the book and educate youself...