Induction phase killing us... can we skip to phase two??

[Mimimama]

Hi, i'm new to Atkin's and this forum.
Me and my hubby just started on atkins this week. we're in the induction phase. so the deal is that, induction phase is really tough. we eat eggs in the morning. no juice or milk. for lunch we had fried chicken wings and chicken tenders today. and then had tea at 4 pm. and thinking of making stuffed chicken breasts for dinner. but why are we still the same weight. we can feel like we're having "ketosis" like all the bad taste in the mouth and bad breath but then we cheat a little sometimes. like we eat around 60 grams of carb every day. like last night we both ate sugar free, fat free, chocolate icecream that had 20 grams of carbohydrate. is that why we are not losing weight yet?? how long does it take to get over the induction phase? can we skip induction phase and just take low carb foods instead of a no carb menu??

[coloradogirl]

Ummm, hate to be harsh, but you're not following the Atkins diet. You need the book. No breaded, fried foods...20grams of carbs a day...mostly from "acceptable" veggies...and NO SUGAR/DAIRY (in the form of milk..aka...ice cream). Theres plenty of stuff you can put together to eat on induction and not feel so trapped into eating chicken products all the time...but you really need the book, or at the very least look at the acceptable foods posted at the top of this forum. Good luck.

[Mimimama]

so thats why we're not entering ketosis. all these sites online r giving wrong info. like one said you can eat as much fat as you want and also no problem eating fried food. although it says we can't have dairy and breaded foods. sometimes i wish there was an Atkin's boot camp or clinic where we cud just get admitted for 2 weeks and get this induction thing right. thanks for your answers.
r u both in induction too? Ciao

[barbimathisen]

In a way, those sites are correct. You indeed don't need to watch the amount of fat you eat and you CAN eat fried foods. You just can't bread the foods before frying them. You should poke around in the recipes forum for some alternatives. Make sure you read the sticky on acceptable foods though.

[karenjs]

At the top of this forum is a Sticky link to Acceptable Foods for Induction.

I recommend that you print out that page and keep a copy with you at all times. If it's not on the list, don't eat it during Induction.

Induction is carefully planned to change your body's metabolism from one that burns carbohydrates for fuel to one that burns ketones from your body fat. It's a big change, and you need to eat only the acceptable foods in the amounts given, and you need to exercise almost every day.

If you'd like a boot camp, you could come back to this forum every day and read all the posts and then post your own questions.

We'll all try to be drill sargents for you!

[KypDurron]

Since I am always the ass of the forum, I'd like to mention that 60 grams of carbs instead of 20 or below isn't "cheating a little bit."

It's more like not even doing the diet at all.

[chicago.cyclist]

Heh, I never think of you as the "ass" of the forum. I do think of you as someone who doesn't mince words, however....

[stephani501]

LOL

[Nik@Night]

"NObody can eat 50 eggs." Oh wait. Kyp? Nevermind!

Nik

[loser lady]

If it makes you feel any better, once I really got into induction, I stopped feeling bad! I can't speak for anyone else but I lost the cravings and they've stayed either reduced or gone since! It may be that once you really get on induction, you won't feel like you've died and gone to the "bad" place! Follow the book's instructions and the Sticky link mentioned above religiously and write to us about how you do and feel!

Take Care

LL

[brendanh]

If it makes you feel any better, once I really got into induction, I stopped feeling bad! I can't speak for anyone else but I lost the cravings and they've stayed either reduced or gone since! It may be that once you really get on induction, you won't feel like you've died and gone to the "bad" place!

Same here and that has been the biggest surprise to me during this phase. I expected to be hungry and craving junkfood all the time. No such problem. Ketosis rocks

[chicago.cyclist]

It's true. I was musing earlier today, if I could cheat and have anything I wanted, or if I was going to allow myself a cheat meal, what would it be?

I couldn't think of anything that sounded good except beer. I thought about pizza...but then imagined how I'd feel after eating it. I thought about pasta, but it was the same thing as pizza. A sandwich? Same thing.

All I could think about was, "I will feel sleepy and foggy after eating those things," and it was enough to make them not seem so inviting. It wasn't even about weight loss. I already know from experience that I can have a cheat meal and still not sabotage my whole diet--it takes 2 days to get back into ketosis, but it's no big deal.

But it's thinking about how the heavy carbs would make me FEEL physically that dissuades me from "cheating."

You never realize how much refined carbs bring you down until you go without them for awhile and get used to feeling light and energetic and awake all the time.

--Chris

[Mimimama]

hey all. thx so much for all the replies. i really appreciate ur support. so finally i'm in ketosis. taking less than 20 gram of carbs. its my 3rd day. first 2 days were very tough. but today, i feel great. after a long time, i feel fully awake, active and happy. wow. you guys r right, i'm starting to like ketosis heheh my appetite has also decreased. i have no cravings today. up till yesterday, cravings were real bad. i've also lost 4 lbs.