Ami:

Thank you!

I'm not going to insist that you just throw food in your mouth if you're not hungry, but it is important to develop good eating habits. Plus, since you say you are working out (hopefully weight lifting) the exercise will awaken your muscles and make you hungrier, eventually.

So for now, just try to get some fatty cuts of meat (if you can take it) and get full on that when you are hungry. Try to stay away from the lean meat because it will sap your energy. The fat will get that glucagon working in your system and you'll burn that fat faster. This will also help your workouts by giving you a more stable energy supply.

Eating too many vegetables at this stage will disrupt your insulin/glucagon balance towards insulin and make it harder for you to burn your fat. Having said that, try to keep the vegetable intake at 20g if possible and go for the darker colored vegetables. Try that and let me know how it goes.

We're all certainly rooting for you and I'm glad you're here.

All the best,

Charles

Peg:

Thanks for your kind words.

Don't apologize for your Day 2 menu ( haven't seen it, by the way). I think there is something very powerful to playing it "close to the vest." The object of Induction is to gain control over your weight loss. Eating very similar meals (if you can stand it) is very helpful when you begin to lose weight. It's good to know that "if I eat these foods, I will lose weight" or "if I mess up, I can go back to these foods and everything will be fine."

One of my co-workers had a very successful two-week Induction and we were going to start Ongoing Weight Loss the next week. However, she went to a party at the end of week 2, had three glasses of wine and brownies. She wisely decided to resume Induction for another week. She went back to her safe foods, and was able to quickly undo any damage she caused with her binge.

Let's say you eat a small group of foods for one week. Let's assume you lost 5 pounds that week. The next week, you eat from that same group of foods and you lose 5 more pounds. The next week, I would take one of those daily meals and add something, but keep the other meals the same. I would monitor my weight loss that third week. If I continued to lose, the new food becomes a part of my eating menu. If I stalled or slowed, I would either eat less of the new food or discard it and go back to my safe food and see if I have re-established my losing pattern.

I followed this type of pattern and had great success. I know people are different, but this is really what the Atkins plan is all about; finding the right ratio of fat, protein and carbohydrate for your metabolism. The key is, the meat has to be the fattier type. I keep seeing remarks about putting olive oil on green beans and things like that. This is very important to do.

However, the best fat is the kind that is found in animals. This is the kind that produces good eicosanoids, which are directly contolled with our diet. I've been reading Dr. Eades' books and he gives a medical primer on eicosanoids, a gang of 100 powerful hormone-like substances that control virtually all physiological actions in the body. This is the reason, ladies, why your hair is so much shinier, your skin is so much softer, your athsma gets better, your knees don't hurt anymore and other very nice benefits. Animal fat makes your body produce good eicosanoids which are very beneficial for the body. An "essential fat" is one required to sustain life that the body cannot synthesize on its own. Meaning, no essential fatty acids, no eicosanoids.

Sometimes, I think too much variety could be the problem. Find a few good fattier cuts of meat that you love, and ride them all the way to better health and weight loss!

All the best,

Charles

Peg:

Oh, I feel you. It just baked my noodle to learn that eating fatty protein can actually make me burn fat. But like you, I felt good, I run marathons, and I could not lift weights on low fat. I kind of teased one of the ladies in my office that her low fat diet would fail once she started lifting weights. She lifted weights about two weeks, and that was it. She regained her weight and added a couple. She started Induction and lost 5 pounds the first week.

Keep up the good work, you'll be there in no time.

Charles

Atkins Induction is 20 NET carbs... you really need those extra 5 net carbs...

Here's what Atkins.com says:

http://www.atkins.com/articles/atkins-phas...es-of-induction

I take that to mean I should eat no more than 20 net carbs. Are you saying that I should make sure I get 20 grams? Is it necessary to be precise?

Peg

There's a limit of 3-4 ounces of cheese per day, which is a lot if you weigh it!

It might be OK to have more on one day, but I wouldn't make a habit of it.

If you "love" a food... that's a warning flag...

Sometimes cutting down on dairy does work for people... but I wouldn't think about that at this point... focus on getting to your 20 net carbs, and getting all your vegetables.

Don't tackle too many things at once.

By using the net carb "thing", you're actually allowing yourself to eat MORE ... and that would be more VEGETABLES.

You could have that 2nd bag of Brussels sprouts!

Counting net carbs isn't a license to eat low carb junk... it's the counting of what impacts your blood sugar.

Why count fiber if it doesn't impact your blood sugar?

Why not eat MORE Brussels sprouts?

Peg:

I saw your stats, but what did you actually eat? What kind of protein are you eating?

Charles