Ok. I started out strong. I KNEW I could do this. I was full of energy and thought "way cool!". I'm down 7 pounds from the beginning and wishing it was tons more. But I'm lagging here. My head doesn't hurt as much as it used to but now I'm so tired I lay on the couch at 3ish and zone out. I've tried eating more meat. And I do have a little more energy. I've always been a chocoholic. I've been craving chocolate a little. And for some reason I've been getting the munchies. I'm not hungry hungry. Just need something to bite on. Or chew. I'm wondering how the devil I'm going to handle this for the rest of my life.

HELP!!!!! I WANT to lose weight. I guess I just need encouragement (dang I hate sounding whiny and needy. lol).

Is this your first time on a low carb diet? WHich plan are you following? Have you been indulging in "frankenfoods" (those new products claiming to be low carb)? Are you getting enough fat? Are you eating your salads? Are you taking your vitamins, particularly Vitamins E and Potassium?
The first few days are always difficult but you've made a good start with 7 lb gone. You certainly don't want to gain them back just because you've hit a stumbling block. That stumbling block is most likely habit. You're used to reaching for those goodies whenever you felt tired or bored. A sugar fix always cured my headaches but it also kept me fat.
Try some of the low carb recipes in our recipe section. There are yummy snacks you can munch on without sabotaging your diet. Have you tried the many ways of using crispy pork rinds? Have you tried baking the Diet Revolution Rolls? Don't be afraid to eat a LOT during the first few weeks. You should never feel hungry and, if you do, you're not getting enough protein and fat. Don't think you have to cut out fat. It's the ingredient that brings us physical satiety and eliminates hunger and cravings.
Also, try to find something to do that fills that void you're used to filling with food. Go for a walk, read a book, take up a hobby...whatever. You can do this and there are a lot of folks here who are more qualified than I am to help you along. Good luck.

Is this your first time on a low carb diet? Yes. Just started on 1/3rd
WHich plan are you following? Atkins
Have you been indulging in "frankenfoods" (those new products claiming to be low carb)? I don't think so. Most of what I eat are meats and salads.
Are you getting enough fat? Probably not
Are you eating your salads? Maybe too much?
Are you taking your vitamins, particularly Vitamins E and Potassium? I'm taking the Atkins vitamins-I would think that'd have what I all needed?
Have you tried the many ways of using crispy pork rinds? Not really crazy about pork rinds.
Have you tried baking the Diet Revolution Rolls? No, I'm not sure where the recipe is.
Don't be afraid to eat a LOT during the first few weeks. I'm not hungry. I have to force myself to eat most days. Maybe it is boredom that keeps me wanting chocolate.

thanks for the support

Hang in there, Lady! A lot of us go through the "slog" when first starting. I attribute it to our bodies trying to change gears. When you've been primarily running on carbs and you take them away, you're going to slow down until your body switches fuel sources. Generally the weight you lose in the first week is water so now your body is switching fuel sources and you'll start burning fat! You may feel tired for another week or two and then you'll feel great!

The munchies are pretty normal, too. And it's for the same reason. Your body is saying "Where's my fuel?" For me, I wasn't hungry, I was just dissatisified. So as was said before - eat! Find something acceptable to munch on or find a way to distract yourself. I promise that it will change and soon all this discomfort will be a distant memory

Withdrawl's a huh?

How do I munch w/out going over the veggie acceptable limit? i'm not crazy about pork rinds. So I celebrated the 7 pounds too early huh? lol I don't mind the induction meal setup. And was thinking of staying on it longer than the two weeks (double checked w/the book and it said it was ok to do it longer). But not sure I can handle having these munchies. Maybe it's a boredom thing w/my hands not doing something? Any suggestions on other acceptable snacking stuff?

Go ahead and be excited about the 7 pounds! The weight I lost during the first week never came back

I kept lots of celery on hand during induction to help with the need to crunch. They're really good with cream cheese.

Find things to do that get you out of the house and away from the kitchen. Or find things to do that keep your hands busy. I find that working on a puzzle or painting my nails works really well for me. Cleaning works well, too. Above all, remember why your doing this and remember that it gets better and better

I followed the two week induction guidelines for 6 weeks. I still tend to keep my carbs under 20 for now. My weight loss has slowed down a little, but I'm also only 2 pounds away from virgin fat so it's understandable.

So you really didn't count celery and stuff in your 20 carbs? I haven't been keeping track (all the "cup of this" and "stalk of that" would drive me nuts). Last time I counted I was at like 8. I've been munching on celery (was until my daughter ate the rest and I haven't gone to the store to get more)-now I grab a piece of cauliflower whenever I feel the need to crunch. Seems to help.
I think I lost another 3 pounds! It was great to see the scale go down again. And I'm "feeling" thinner. I officially weigh myself on Saturdays. The rest of the time is just "let's see" type things.

Oh I counted it. But you can actually eat quite a bit before you get to 20. I still write down what I eat every day and tally up the carb count. For me, that's the only way I'm going to be successful and not become a victim of "carb creep".

How do you keep track of celery? do you grab/eat it by the stalk? That way I could count it. I usually have it cut into small strips. (like the end of a stalk would be cut in 4ths. the front in half).

1 carb per stalk.

I also love to snack on thinly sliced orange bell peppers. They're sweeter than the other ones and soooooooooo yummy!

If you're curious about carb counts, there's a carb calculator on www.atkins.com Also, a lot of the people here use www.fitday.com It's free and you just type in what you eat and drink and it gives you a very comprehensive breakdown of the nutritional value of your food as well as ratios and totals so you can really analyze what you're eating.

i never remember to sign into fitday. then i never remember how much of everything i eat. oh wow. bet w/only 1 carb a stalk i've been getting less carbs than i figured. had found a no carb (no sugar) french salad dressing that tastes pretty good. so that didn't count. maybe i need to eat more.