when I am on a low carb diet I eat chilli. but its stalling me and I don't know why. here are my ingriedients

hamburger meat
chilli powder (package says it only has 4gs of carb)
cayenne pepper
tomatoes (canned)

Why do you think it is the chilli? How often are you eating it and in what quantities?

I am no expert, but one meal shouldn't impact on your weight loss. If you are eating sensibly and getting some exercise you will lose weight - we all get sticky patches when the scales seem stuck. Hang in there it will pass!!

I was just eating some homemade chili the other night and all of the sudden, it struck me that because I'd used a 2 alarm chili mix and totally forgot MESA is flour... DUH!
Anyway, it looks like your chili is safe to eat since you are only eating meat, seasonings & tomatoes. But who knows. Maybe it's the quantity or time of day you are eating it?
Hang in there and stay strong. I'm struggling with the painfully slow process of losing this weight. It's not happening fast enough for me but I'm determined to stick with it and I'm NOT giving up, no matter what!
Sorry I didn't have a better answer.

that's all I eat is a whole pot of chilli everyday. I do have it with diet soda.

I'm thinking its the chilli powder because a lot of companies have hidden carbs in their ingredients that are not listed on the package. It might be more carbs than is listed. I may have to just eat hamburger patties and leave the chili alone. I don't trust what the manufactuers are listing on their labels.

I've done Atkins before and lost weight. I've read the book, and it says that as long as you don't go over 20 carbs during induction you should lose weight. The version I had encouraged me to eat hamburger, bacon, chicken. So I eat chilli (hamburger meat) because it has no carbs. I usually make me a pot of chilli to cut back on having to cook three separate meals a day.

I totally understand about having to make three meals a day. It's annoying to me sometimes because I live alone, and it's not really fun on a daily basis to cook for just for me.

But then again, I'm also the only person who has to carry my extra 70 pounds around!

I'm thinking some different kinds of fiber - salads you can put together at your grocer's salad bar if you don't want to prepare them, hard-boiled eggs and bacon (pre-cooked if you like) for breakfast, rotisserie chicken from the grocery, prepared chicken breasts from the frozen foods section you just have to heat, veggies that are quickly roasted, microwaved or sauteed like broccoli, squash, cauliflower...Atkins shakes or phase 1 bars once a day if they don't stall you, protein shakes made from whey protein in the plastic tubs. They're lots of alternatives to full-on cooking if you're interested.

Are you drinking all the water you need? It's my bugaboo for sure. I hate water and have to make myself drink it, but I lose when I do.

Are you taking a little walk every day just to keep everything moving along?

Our bodies change, our metabolism changes...what worked perfectly for me five years ago doesn't work so well for me now.

Just some thoughts...I wish you the best on your journey.

thank you. I will increase the veggies a bit. I am not drinking as much water as I should and I suspect the diet soda is whats stalling me.

I'd check the ingredients of canned tomatoes. The majority of them are loaded with sugars. Good luck.

Humans need variety to get nutrition. Try making or buying three things (ie bfast lunch and dinner) and then having them over the week.

IE - large vat chili for dinner, salad greens out of a ready salad bag and ranch with baked chicken breast (you can bake 6 at a time, you can sprinkle ranch mix (check carbs) and olive oil for flavor pre baking), make a huge veggie fritata with cream, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, olives etc and freeze slices to microwave for bfast.

Limit diet soda to 1 a day!

I am all about being easy but healthy matters too!

There are a lot of possible issues

1. Carbohydrate count

Are you sure the chili powder package (since you're eating the whole batch) has only 4g of carbs - or is it 4g per serving?



2. Sodium

How much salt is in the chili powder and do you add any extra? When I eat a whole batch of soup within a single day or two (even if it's extremely low-carb and and low-calorie), I always see a weight gain that can last for up to a week. It's not really a stall, it's just water rentention, but the scale can't tell you how much is "real" weight and how much is temporary water weight.

You may need to find a lower sodium chili powder, or make your own (lots of recipes online most have very few ingredients - usually oregano, garlic, onion powder, cayenne, and cumin. If the package has a lot more ingredients than that, youi might consider making your own - it usually tastes better too.

Another possible help is drinking a lot of extra water to flush the sodium (but it still can take a few days).



3/4/5. Portion size, calorie content, and the role of the non-starchy veggies.

In the Atkins books, Dr. Atkins does mention portion size in meats. I don't remember the exact guidelines, but it's something like 6 ounces per meal - with the recommended veggies - and if you're still hungry you're supposed to weight 20 - 30 minutes before deciding whether you're still hungry.

You're also supposed to follow hunger guidelines that are layed out in the book - it's not an "all you can eat" or even an "all you care to eat," plan - it's an "eat until you are (just) satisfied" plan.

This was the hardest aspect of Atkins for me to get. I was used to eating until I was "full," and I didn't feel full unless I was a little uncomfortable. That's still something I constantly fight with, recognizing the difference between "not hungry anymore" and "full" (which invariably means too full).

Even though you don't have to count them, calories do still matter on Atkins, and it is possible to overeat to the point of stalling, especially if you're not eating the veggies (especially the bulkiest, lowest calorie ones like the salad greens) or aren't following the portion guidelines. The high-fiber, low-effective carb veggies are going to help fill you up, and if you're not eating them, you're going to be more prone to overeating the fat and protein.

Consider calculating the calorie count in your chili at least once. I know that you do not have to count calories on Atkins (usually) but calories still count. If you're making chili with 1 lb of beef and 1 can of tomatoes and that's how much you're eating in a day - the batch of chili could contain anywhere from 700 - 1500 calories. If you're using 2 lbs of beef and 2 cans of tomatoes - that's 1400-3000 calories.


Personally, I have completely messed up hunger signals - I can't tell the difference between true hunger and false hunger (I don't know that I even experience a difference), so for me any plan (such as Atkins and South Beach) that requires some level of mindful eating, doesn't work for me.

Since I can't tell true hunger from false hunger, I have to add a portion control element beyond the one advocated by Atkins, so I chose a low-carb exchange plan instead, that way I control calories as well as carbs. You can translate any stage of Atkins into an exchange plan (no it's not Atkins anymore, but if the Atkins' portion-control guidelines aren't working for you, sometimes you have to make modifications) . Many (probably most) people don't find this necessary, but I can stall even on induction carb levels, because of my insatiable hunger (and inability to tell if it's "real" hunger).

This also helps me get in my veggies, because I tend to be a "jag" eater, especially when it comes to veggies. I either eat way too few, or way too many.

Fat is also something I tend to either under or overdo. And while I know Atkins doesn't limit fat, I feel like crud and my weight loss stalls, if my fat intake is too high (or if I don't eat enough fat. I realize now that one of the reasons Atkins made me ill, and induction flu never got better was that I was trying to eat as little fat (and therefore calories) as possible. Even though the book warned against eating too little fat, I thought I was eating plenty. Only exchange plans helped me learn how much I actually needed to feel decent while low-carb dieting.


Through experimenting with low-carb exchange plans, I've discovered that I can eat at least 300 calories more on low-carb to lose the same weight as on higher carb eating. However, if I'm eating 3,000 to 6,000 calories (even if my carb levels are under 20g), I'm going to stop losing and may even start gaining - and it was not unusual for me to eat 6,000 calories when not limiting portions. During PMS/TOM, I may even have had days that exceeded 6,000 calories.

I'm not saying that you have to count calories or exchanges, but it doesn't hurt to have at least a vague awareness of caloric content, especially if you tend to have portion control issues, tend to want to eat until full (not just satisfied), experience mixed or unclear hunger signals, or have a tendency to eat out of stress, boredom or other non-hunger cues.

I think Atkins as written, works for most people, but for some reason, even people who've read the book sometimes lose sight of the finer points discussed in the book - such as portion-control techniques/timing discussed, the warning not to eat until full, and the recommendations for getting in ALL of the veggies recommended, and the warnings and limit recommendations for artificial sweeteners (at least I believe there are artificial sweetener guidelines - I might be mixing that up with the revised non-Atkins written Atkins).