2 weeks slump

I've been following the diet pretty close (I think) and have lost about 6-8 lbs (not totally sure what my starting weight was) but haven't lost anything in the past week. Would someone like to look at my diet and give me some advice? I've kept my sodium to a minimum and kept my carbs below or close to 20. I'm not really sure what else could be the problem..Help?

Looking at your diet I can make these recommendations. Do not go below 1200 calories per day consistently; every now and then won't hurt, but doing it often will slow your metabolism making it harder to burn calories.

Increase your fiber. Your Indulge bar is only adding 6 dietary fiber grams (the other 9 is sugar alcohols) so most days you're well under the recommended 20-25g fiber per day.

I can't tell about your water, but you need 64oz fluid to pass into your system everyday. Think of it as the hose washing out the grime (fats and toxins) in your blood stream. Also, combined with the fiber, it will keep you regular, avoiding the constipation many on Atkins experience.

Be realistic about your losses. The first weeks you lose a lot of water weight, and it can take a fews days for your body to adjust to the new weight, but after that you should be able to expect, realistically, to lose 1/2 to 2 lbs per week depending on your activity level. 1 lb of fat = 3500-3600 calories. So to lose 1 lb you must consume 3500-3600 less or burn 3500-3600 calories more than your body reqires to maintain. That would be about 500 calories per day (more burned or less consumed) over a one week period to lose 1 lb.

For weight loss some programs recommend setting an RDI of 10 x your desired weight. Yours is 150, so your RDI could be set as low as 1500 calories per day, and it would be best to not go below, especially not below 1200.

Aim for 20g (80 calories) or less in carbs, 84g (336 calories) (which is 4oz per meal or 12 oz per day) protien and about 120g (1080 calories) of FAT!

Also aim for 20g dietary fiber (don't count the sugar alcohols in your fiber) even if you need to add a supplement, and 64oz water per day.

Exercise and being active is vitally important too. Dr. Atkins said, "Not only is it (exercise) an essential part of the program, but in cases of severe metabolic resistance, it's likely to be the difference between success and spinning your wheels."

Hope that helps. Best wishes!

Oh, and keep in mind, the pie chart graph on your page is set to calculate according to gross carbs not net carbs, so it's better to watch the gram totals at the top of your food diary page to get a more accurate ratio total.

Good morning everyone! Well,now that I've had my cup of coffee anyway.Yeah,I definetly agree with DLynne about your calories being low,and also I would really try to get your net carbs up there to as close to 20nc as possible.12-15 of those should be coming from foundation veggies,and I don't really see enough of this.I am heading into week eight and I have to say,it has been slow and steady,but all the same I am learning along the way.I am down 13 lbs. and that did not come off easily on induction.When I moved on, after 3wks of frustration,it was not until then,that I really started to see weight loss.I really made alot of mistakes on induction,so I expected the process to be a slow one.It really does get easier as the weeks go on.I can't believe that I am almost two months doing this!I'm actually really excited now,I couldn't say that two weeks ago,I was ready to quit.So,hang in there!

Tewey - good philosophy!! It is most definitely an ongoing learning process with Atkins. I read as much as I can and try to absorb all the information, however I believe that I am "overthinking" everything and thereby making it difficult on myself. Simple is better.

Consider dropping the Atkins bars for a week and see what happens. You could be sensitive to the sugar alcohols in them. There are MANY on this site that have had their weight loss slow or stall out when using the bars. Do not replace the bars with another brand of "low-carb" bar! Replace the calories with more foundation veggies and healthy fats. Later on, you can always add back a bar or two in a limited way, to see if you can handle them.

It's not at all unusual for the body to take a bit of a break after that initial water weight loss when beginning Atkins. DLynne is right about what a typical weight loss could be at this stage.

Don't give up....stay with the plan. Good luck.