Second week of Induction-discouraged!

[Simba's Mom]

I weighed in this morning and I've only lost 1 pound, the second week of induction (and I swear I followed it religiously). Yet the first week, I lost 5 pounds. I know that's still a total of 6 pounds for 2 weeks, but after such a great weight loss the first week, I hoped for more this week. Also, yesterday I went to the grocery store and it seemed I saw and craved everything I haven't had. A week ago, I was sure I'd continue induction for at least 3 weeks, now I want to move on. I miss my morning fruit juice! Help me stay-I hate to go back on my word to myself to stay on it another week. Is 3 weeks on induction really that unusual? Is 2 weeks more common? How long did people stay on Induction? And how do I deal with these 2 week cravings, especially when it seems Induction has stopped "working"?

 

[bubie2.5]

Don't be discourage Simba's Mom!!!

Are you drinking enough water? Cutting down on your salt intake may help you a little too. There are a lot of factors like TOM or even constipation.

The important thing is that you stick to your diet and have a positive attitude. You never know, maybe next week you’ll lose 5 more pounds, and even if you don’t 1 pound is still good, at list the scale is going in the right direction.

You can do it!!

 

[rafikimom]

To a fellow Lion King friend...Keep trudging along. I just finished my second week of induction. I still have some cravings but not as strong as the first 3-4 days. I plan to stay on on induction for a couple more weeks. Going to the grocery is tough! I've been a couple different times since I started to pick up things not for me like chips and bread for the kids lunches, milk, then icecream for my daughter's birthday party. Yikes! all those things I love! After the first venture to the store, I came home starved for all those things I can't have! The next time I went, before I left I made sure I ate something to fill me up and it was ALOT easier. About the cravings all the time, have you actually read the Atkins book? If not, make sure you do! Just the slightest bit of hidden sugar can cause cravings especially during induction. It also talks about food that you might have an intolerance for are usually the foods we crave. The book also talks about people staying in the induction phase for weeks and even months. The book was a great motivator for me. (My DH calls it brainwashing!) But it works for me! I have found myself reading different excerpts for encouragement. Don't give up!! You can do it!! ...

 

[DoeWDW]

Hang in there!! Focus on any non-weight successes you've noticed! Within 3 days of starting to eat low-carb, I no longer had GERD (acid reflux) symptoms! I had more energy and no more mid-afternoon sleepy slump.

These are the things that keep me eating low-carb, whether the scale is cooperating or not!

Hang in there!

 

[Brier Rose]

This is my second week of Induction too. I was feeling sooo down just 2 days ago, because I had lost 6 pounds in the first week, but then in the second week not only did I not lose any, I gained 2 back! (I've been having TOM issues).
My point is just since yesterday, I've dropped back 4 pounds.
I thought I was looking at the scale wrong!
Just hang in there, you never know when it can just happen all at once like that.
In my first week when I lost 6 pounds total, 4 of it was on the first day!

Have you been exercising at all? I've noticed that walking everyday helps me, even with my cravings because I don't want to cheat and just wipe away all the work I have done.

Grocery shopping is the WORST! I think somethimes it's even harder to cook the rest of the family something that I REALLY want to eat, but can't! It's getting easier though!

I've been having pretty good luck with finding an alternative to what I'm craving. Maybe I could help you come up with an alternative?? I have lots of recipes.

One last thing, I know this is probably wrong, but I have scheduled myself a cheat! We are going to Disney World March 6, and I'm going to allow myself a treat. This helps me stay focused, and not cheat everyday because if I'm gonna cheat it better be for something REALLY good!

 

[lmhall2000]

Try some out!

I could not do "induction" phase more than 2 weeks- I've really come back strong on my exercise program and I will need carbs as I go forward. I checked out the South Beach Diet- their first two weeks are VERY similar to Atkins- but their second phase allows you to add fruits (most kinds except bananas), nuts (pecans, pistachios, cashews) and even peanut butter (1 spoon when you're needing a mid-meal pick-me up) oh and I really liked seeing you could have semisweet chocolate chips (I keep it to about 10-15 chips once a day).....it's enough variety to keep me strong for my exercise and take away the light-headedness I fell when I'm on induction for two weeks.

I also found that when I cut out ALL beverages besides water- the weight comes off quicker- I used to have a diet coke once a day- but cut it out- the first 5 days were hard but now I don't even think of it. The caffeine can cause you to crave carbs.

I would stay away from ALL juices- it's just too much of a sugar rush for your system and does not provide you with much fiber that the actual fruit would- so if you like grape juice- munch on about 10 grapes with breakfast. (but not on Atkins, they only let you have strawberries/raspberries or other similar berries)

So find what works with you- on TOM I just have to have chocolate- so that small serving of semi-sweet chocolate chips hits the spot and I'm not going off program to do it.

I bet you'll see a bigger loss next week- these high protein diets tend to have plateau's then WHOOSHES- Keep it up, we're all here with you!
Tara

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks so much everyone! Especially that TOM idea! I'm at that, ahem..."stage of life" where that's unpredictable. But checking my calendar, that's very likely. And I have noticed more weight loss this week than the scale says, as I think about it. Besides, my yearly check-up is Tuesday (TOM cooperating!)-I sooo want to surprise my doctor and please myself when I hop on his scale! One more week of Induction? I can do it! Thanks!

 

[LuvTigger]

Simba's Mom,

I just wanted to throw in one more suggestion. If you haven't done so already, please be sure to measure yourself and continue to measure periodically, in addition to weighing-in. It is quite possible that you have lost inches, even if you haven't lost that many pounds.

Good luck, you can do this!!!

 

[CarolA]

Tara,
Thanks for the post on SBD. I may get that book.

I like Atkins, but looking at it realistically I don't think I can do this long term. I travel A LOT and I think I need a little more "wiggle room" then Atkins wants to give me. The fruit is a big issue for me. I just want to add fruit back in!!!!

Traveling now it is is hard to meet the induction goals. When you eat three meals a day out it's hard to control everything the way you need to on induction. For example, lots of salads are pre-made with carrots so you have to eat around them!

 

[IloveDMB]

As one poster above stated, schedule yourself a cheat day. My birthday is coming up next month and I am going to treat myself that day. My grandmother always bakes me a homemade birthday cake, for like the last 15 years, so I know I'm going to have a piece of cake.

Also, stay on induction as long as you can. I stayed on for almost 2 months this summer and I lost a tremendous amount of weight during that period. I worked a lot so I didn't even think about eating.

Don't get discouraged, you can do it. Push through the cravings and you'll be fine. Good luck!

 

[Alex]

Are you using mock danish/atkin's bars or fake anything? Some people find that just kills them on atkins

 

[sha_lyn]

I just wanted to throw in one more suggestion. If you haven't done so already, please be sure to measure yourself and continue to measure periodically, in addition to weighing-in. It is quite possible that you have lost inches, even if you haven't lost that many pounds.

This is very true especially if you are working out. Muscle weight more than fat, so it is very possible to be losing fat and inches while gaining muscle weight.

 

[ibouncetoo]

I also remember a post DoeWDW made once about how your body does a cycle on Atkins where your weight may show no change for a certain period of days, then dump pounds all at once . I've found this to be exactly true for me, that's why, when I discovered it, I switched my 'weigh-in' day to the end of that cycle. Mine actually is about seven days...4 days nothing, the next three lose something each day. So you might want to weigh yourself each morning for a while to see if you notice a pattern, then when you've discovered it, you can just weigh weekly. TOM isn't an issue for me (one of the joys of aging!) but it's something you'll want to factor in when tracking a pattern.

Working out this pattern was a big help psychologicly for me. I realize the loss is going to show up eventually...I just like being able to see something happen each week.

 

[CarolA]

Are you on any medications?

I had to start taking Predisone this week. I fully expect NO loss. I will be thrilled with no gain. I will be on this for about a week so we will see.

Some meds can reallymess you up.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

If you really want that fruit juice after induction, try some of the Diet V8 Splash.

It is low carb (I think 3 carbs per serving) and gives you the perception of fruit juice.

It helps me.