A few questions for experienced Atkins dieters!

Hello everyone! I started Atkins last Friday and so far have lost 3lbs, it was 6lbs but then I suddenly gained 3lb back again!! Yes I am a serial weigher!!

Anyway...my questions are:

When in induction did you allow yourselves unlimited diet fizzy drinks and the 4oz of cheese/cream that the book states you can have or did you find this limited weight loss?

The reason i ask is that I drink a lot of coke zero which I know is allowed and stops my sweets cravings and I also LOVE cheese which is a main attraction to the diet for me but I have been lurking on these threads this morning and I noticed not everyone includes these in your daily meals??

Also although I seem to have cut down on snacking between meals my portion sizes are still the same size and so I wonder if I need to cut down on these?

I used to do weight watchers and lost just under a stone but got sick of counting points however when I looked at the number of calories I consumed yesterday while sticking within the Atkins guidlines I noticed it was over the 2000 cals mark due to the cheese and cream!! Surely this will not help me to loose weight??

I hope that all made sense and Im not just babbling on!! I have a holiday in 3 weeks and I really REALLY want to loose 10lbs by then so really need Atkins to work for me!

becca- its the carbs you need to count - if on induction make sure you are only on 20 carbs.
Cheese is ok as long as no more than the 4Oz
i personally didnt drink fizzy drinks on the diet as most contain citric acid which seemed to stall me.

Hi Becca,

take a look at http://www.minimins.com/atkins-diet/82208-so-youre-thinking-starting-atkins.html

That'll get you started. Yes you can drink Coke Zero, and you should drink loads of water as well.

You should be limiting your cheese on induction.

No you don't need to worry about calories.

So coke zero is fine then as it has no carbs? I drink a lot though- like 3 pints a day :S Purely because it stops all snacking and any cravings...is this still okay?

I have just had a look through that thread so thanks for that Jim..your posts are a great help.

Yesterday I ate the 4oz of cheese (120g I believe) but today the scales didnt budge still and I was strict and weighed every veg and made sure I was under my 20carbs (think I had 17.5 or something).

I dont mind not loosing every day but obv I have seen posts about big losses and I was hoping that I would easily be able to loose my 10lb in 3 weeks...not so sure now as I technically havent lost anything since Saturday?

Oh and I drink LOADS fo water and green tea...always going to the loo Also I dont think I am in Ketosis?? I havent had headaches or any of the symptoms described?

Becca other than the bad breath which I dont notice myself I dont get any symptoms of ketosis either so I wouldnt take the lack of symptoms to mean anything.

What do you count as loads of water though?

Jo

Ermmmm about 6-7 500ml bottles and about 5-6 small cups of green tea. Iv always had a lot of water and as a result have very good skin, I also find it keeps me from getting hungry. I do exercise aswell...used 2 exercise 2 hours a day but the last 3 weeks Ive cut it back to 30 mins a day as it was getting too much.

Stick with it Becca, sometimes it takes a while to start working.