QuestionMelissa,
I appreciate your in depth answers but I think I'll probably have to abandon the low carb/atkins diet if what you say is true. I cannot eat any more vegs because it literally makes me sick to smell them. Plus, I already have such a small group of foods to choose from that I do end up eating the same things all the time. You are probably correct about that and why this diet stopped working for me.....I guess I'll have to hope for a miracle pill:-)
Thanks for your honest answers.
Rich
Answer -
Rich,
Just broccoli and cauliflower won't give you enough vegetables. You're going to have to add more. Just keep experimenting. If you like tuna, try mixing tuna with mayo and dipping celery in it.
Other ways to break an Atkins stall:
1. EXERCISE. Aim for one full hour of exercise 6 days a week. It doesn't matter what you do, but you should be just slightly out of breath the whole hour. Make sure that you don't work out so hard that you're really out of breath-that does more harm than good.
2. Start adding a little fruit every day. Because you're only going to eat a tiny piece, you have to be creative. You can buy small fruits, like strawberries, and eat 2-3 strawberries a day. You can also get an apple and cut it into slices. Then, fill a bowl with water, and pour in one tablespoon of lemon concentrate. Dip the apple slices in the lemon water, and they won't turn brown-this is important, because you should only eat 1/3 of an apple each day. You can also buy bags of frozen raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries in the grocery store. If you go that way, then your daily helping will be 1/2 cup-measure, don't eyeball!
3. Eat dairy besides cheese. Cottage cheese is good, but you will have to check all of the different brands to find the one lowest in carbs-different brands will range from 3 to 9 Net Carbs per half cup serving. Some grocery stores carry Hood Carb Countdown Milk and Chocolate Milk. The milk comes in a green carton (skim) and a blue carton (2%). Get the blue one, the green one is nasty. Chocolate is good too. The Carb Countdown milk has only 3 carbs per cup. You can also look for low-carb yogurt. Ideally you should eat 2 servings of dairy every day-one cheese, one something else.
4. Variety! If you eat the same foods all the time, then your body gets used to them and you will stall.
5. Drink water. A LOT of water. Also, stop drinking caffeine-too much coffee or diet soda can actually keep Atkins from working.
6. If all that still doesn't work, give your metabolism a "shock" by eating very little for one day-I'm talking about 500 calories and less than 10 carbs. Don't do this for longer than one day, and don't do this more than one day per week.
And remember-you will get there eventually. I lost 70 pounds on Atkins, but it took two years-about 50 pounds the first year, and another entire year to lose the last 20. You have to hang in there and be persistent. The weight will come down, it just may take some time.
AnswerRich,
If Atkins isn't for you, then Atkins isn't for you. When you diet, it's critical to find a diet that you're comfortable with and will be able to stkick with.
But please don't give up on your health! You've lost 13 pounds-how about setting a goal of maintaining that weight loss, rather than letting it come back? To maintain a weight loss, experts recommend weighing yourself EVERY MORNING. By weighing yourself at the same time every day, before you have had anything to eat or drink, you should be able to pick up on as little as a pound of weight re-gain and nip it in the bud.
The other strategy to try is a food record. Most successful dieters use them. I use one at www.fitday.com, because it's free and really easy. I log in every evening and check off everything I ate that day. If you use this, then after a few weeks, you can look back at your eating patterns and start thinking about smaller changes you could make.
And, don't forget about exercise!
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