Atkins
 

Wow; Two threads started in one day.

I'm fat.

Not pudgy, I don't have "love handles," I'm not carrying "a little extra"; I'm obese

About 50 pounds overweight but my own estimation (screw the doctors - I would look emaciated at 185!).

I'm not really concerned about my outward appearance - I prefer that people judge me by the butthead that I am. But I have been becoming more and more physically uncomfortable about my girth (and it's not adding any "girth" in the good place). Clothes keep getting tighter, I've had to go to yet another notch on the belt in the wrong direction, and I just don't feel good.

I've been wanting to do something about it for a long time. Problem is, I truly enjoy eating. I've tried to make efforts to limit portions, but years of NOT doing that make it a challenge. I decided I needed to do something where a definitive and significant change happened. But it needed to be something that I could actually do.

So after more than a year of thinking about it, talking about it, asking questions about it, I just decided that I would start the Atkins diet today.

(For the Atkins detractors out there: I know that this diet has significant potential health risks, but my obesity is a REAL threat to my health that I need to change NOW.)

For all the thinking about, I really haven't done any solid research into what is okay and what isn't. My co-worker (who has had excellent success with Atkins) previously told me a couple of things, such as the low-carb breakfast from Carl's Jr. (which is what I started the day with), no sugar, bread, pasta, blah, blah, blah.

So I started the day with the aforementioned Carl's, had a steak for lunch, no bread (and I LOVE the rolls they serve where I went), Ceaser salad with no croutons, no taters or rice (had vegetables instead, but only had a small amount of those) and iced tea (no sweetener). Had chicken and a salad for dinner.

(Although as I write this, I just now realized I DID slip today: I always grab one of the red swirl mints on the way out of the restaurant at lunch and that was a no-no.)

So day one was a success. I started the day saying that was all I needed to worry about: today's meals.

So now I gotta figure out what I am going to have tomorrow. Later, I will start having a list of acceptable things, but for now, I have told my co-worker that I am going to ask for her help on a regular basis.

One day at a time.

We'll see how things go.

Good luck!

Good luck. One important bit of advice...work with your doctor on this. That's the number one sure-fire way to not fall into the Atkins pitfalls that are out there.

You may also want to look into some of the variations out there. My mom, for instance, had near miraculous success with the Susan Sommers version (plus regular doctor consultation). You'll probably have better luck if you have a defined program to stick to rather than the nebulous "no carbs".

Let's talk, shall we? Sounds like you had a good day, congratulations!

I agree with GD, do research and work with your doctor. You need to understand what is and isn't "allowed" on your plan and then plan out meals. Get rid of bad foods if you have to, to avoid temptation.

I'm doing Weight Watchers. It's a slower weight loss, but it's not really a diet so much as a lifestyle change.

Best of luck.

Good luck, KB! I hear 30 minutes of exercise is essential to losing weight. Walking's good. I was just talking to NA yesterday about going back to the gym.
:)

good luck....I tried that diet once, but being almost a vegitarian it was not the diet for me. I eat chicken or shell fish about once or twice a week. My father and co-worker both lost alot of weight on that diet though...:)

My sister was morbidly obese - around 150 lbs overweight. She started Atkins about a year ago and has lost around 90 lbs. Her blood pressure has lowered dramatically, and it has helped with her blood sugar levels, and surprisingly, cholesterol.

She does exercise daily as well.

Depending on how long you do this, be prepared for plateaus. After my sis lost 50 she didn't lose any for for several weeks despite strict adherrence and exercise. Then it just started to come off again.

I know you'll be successful.

kevy, i know the struggle and challenge ahead. i just had my annual physical and together with doctors help (and cooperation at the office) i will be starting a rigourous new therapy...but, i must wait until i know for sure i can leave my desk as needed.

the key here is a doctor that cares, an understanding manager and my willingness to make this work.

i wish you great success and hope you will also have the guidance of your doctor.

Hey, we started our diets on the same day! Low carb works quickly, though I believe that South Beach is healthier than Atkins. Better fats, more veggies.

I started a diet called the Schwarzbein Principle. The premise is that you need to be healthy to lose weight, not lose weight to be healthy. When we eat badly for an extended period of time, diet a lot and over exercise, that damages our metabolism. This diet focuses on healing the metabolism which leads to weight loss. The key is balanced meals including a good fat, a complex carb, a healthy protein, and low starch veggies. The healing phase is low carb, but higher than Atkins/SB.

My meals today went something like this:

breakfast: eggs with black beans, munster cheese and fresh salsa wrapped in a corn tortilla
snack: 3 strawberries with ricotta cheese
lunch: turkey, cheese, and tomatos wrapped in leafy greens (this was technically too low carb)

Later I'll have some veggies and hummus as a snack and dinner is grilled salmon and asparagus.

The book suggests continuing to "self medicate" with the things you are addicted to while you are starting the plan. That way your body doesn't completely freak out and release a bunch of hormones. I'm addicted to sugar and caffeine, so I'm having small amounts of dark chocolate and green tea as the cravings hit (well, so far I've had one square of chocolate and no tea).

I'm starting out with a goal of losing 45 pounds, which will put me back to where I was before I had any babies. Then I'll decide how much more to lose from there. I can't even believe I have that much to lose as I type it. My how quickly the weight piles on.

Oh, the plan also requires 8 continuous hours of sleep and a variety of supplements. The sleep is unobtainable for me right now and I can't afford the supplements. It's also gluten free for the first month, which I am doing my best to follow.

Remember, Kevy, that atkins isn't no carb, it's low carb. A certain amount of carbs are allowed at each meal. Your brain runs on complex carbs.

This principle sounds like what I need. Because of my Graves disease and the fact that my tyroid (and metabolism) is all controlled my a suplement, I have had a heck of a time getting my metabolism back to its normal self. Atkins and or South Beach didn't really work for me. I need to "teach" my metabolism how to work again. My Doctors are no help. They say - eat less. Well, that isn't really the whole story. Weight Watchers also isn't working like it should.

Is the Schwarzbein Principle in book form? Where is your source from. Traci?

Kevy: after you get through the "getting into keytosis" phase, you might want to add fruits to your breakfast. My dad was going way too far on the no-carb, and his breath got absolutely horrible. Once he started having fruits (at breakfast, so he could burn off the carbs right away), that problem went away. I believe South Beach is the popular variation of Atkins that includes more carbs.

I hear the concept of "burning off" carbs a lot. I don't know what that means. A low carb diet is about controlling your insulin. Carbs and calories aren't the same.

Here's how I understand it - protein and fat do nothing to your blood sugar level. Carbs are converted to simple sugars and put into your blood stream. Too much simple sugar and it gets converted to fat. Too little, and stored fat (not fat you have eaten) is converted to simple sugar.

So I think the concept of burning them off means to exercise a bit after having carbs - use the simple sugar in your blood stream for immediate energy so it doesn't get converted to fat.

This is my major problem. 2-4 nights a week I get home between 9:15-9:30pm and usually can't get to sleep until 11. Then I have to get up at 5am. :(

I have NO problem getting 8 continuous hours of sleep unless the cats decide the concept of gravity needs more testing or the furniture rearranged or Chris decides to one into one of the bed posts with his head.

The book I have is called, "The Schwarzbein Principle: The Program." It probably is just what you need. It is geared towards people with damaged metabolisms and talks about thyroid problems specifically. You are so right that calories aren't everything. It's all about the chemical reactions.

http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/home.html There's the website, I got my book from amazon.

I lost about 30 pounds on my last diet....

I call it the practically unemployed and eating (hopefully) once a day diet.....

Went from around 220 to about 190....

Don't recommend the diet though, it was hell (and I am sure, very unhealthy)....

Hang in there! I have worked with a dietician and have been able to keep of the 20 lb I lost (but certainly need to lose more.) I found that eating did jack of crap for my weight loss. For me, it's completely about exercise. The change in my eating pattern (I don't eat fast food, I am more careful about portions, when I have a craving I wait it out a couple of days to see if I really do want to indulge or it was just a whim... and now I'm vegetarian and eat mostly plant-based life forms) has helped me keep off those pounds that I lost, but until I start exercising at the rate I was (13 out of 14 days in the pool) I probably won't lose any more.

My concern about Atkins is that everyone I've known that has gone off the diet has quickly gained back the weight. But there are things you can do if you chose to go off it, and the best thing to do then (or now, really) is to see a dietician, even if just for a consultation. They will have the best advice.

I support you and know that you'll be successful. If ever you need to rant about it, you know where I am.

Good luck vibes for Kevy Baby!

Seriously, GD's mom was humongous! She looks totally different now. She exercises too. Suzanne Sommers knew what she was talking about, and I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen her melt away before my eyes.

Gotta get movin' Kevy, exercise is key. :)

Thanks all for the wells wishes, advice, comments, etc.

What I didn't get into previously is the connection between my depression (purely due to a chemical imbalance in the brain - been on meds for about 10 years and probably will be for the rest of my life) and weight. My depression starts taking over and I find myself becoming more sedentary and eating more. Which makes me more and depressed and, well, yo can see the cycle. I finally decided that it was getting out of hand and I needed to do something.

My job is EXTREMELY stressful to the point of pure exhaustion when I get home (usually after a 10-12 hour day). Often times on the way home, I try to get myself phsyched up to go for a walk or do SOMETHING that night. But I don't. I usually end up with my lazy butt parked on the couch watching TV or (now that the 'puter is up and running again) cruising the net and playing solitaire.

I hope (I don't even say "plan" at this point) to add excercise the mix. I know that it would help more than a change in diet. But after months of beating myself up over continually not excersizing, I decided that doing something was better than doing nothing. This was just the first step in trying to make myself better. I am hoping that I can kick-start my body with the diet towards other improvements in my life.

Life for me of late has not been very happy. If I get out and do things, I am okay. But my drive just keeps diminishing. I am in a downward spiral and I am finally doing something to end it. I have no delusions that the Atkins Diet will be my panacea. It is just simply the first step.

And I am dealing with this one day at a time. I have no specific goals ("lose 20 pounds by XX date") at this time - it is simply too much for me to try to think about it. I just have to plod along for now, doing the best I can.

Sorry - I didn't intend to make this my public whine forum. Sometimes it just helps me to get it out so that I can start the healing. Thank you for listening.

Depression sucks. That's my personal dragon. Some days I take my sword out and try and fight him. Some days I win, some days he wins. Other days I sit and have green tea with him and we chat, it's okay to be sad sometimes... But I tell you, going for a jog helps. The seratonin kicks in and chases that depression away for a little while at least. I'm not on meds, but have been in the past.
:)

I love my meds. But, when I don't have them, I self-medicate. That's really bad.

I'll take fat over depression any day - although I'd like to have neither in abundance.

I'm working up the nerve to go see the doc about weight loss and getting back on meds. I've been off meds for a few years (the one I was one went off the market so I decided to try going without) and ... well ... it's the spiral. It's so hard to get motivated to get off my butt and get on the treadmill when the voice in my head tells me that I suck so much that there's no point so you just sit yourself down, fatty, and watch some teevee.

Maybe you'll inspire me to get off my duff and make my own changes. Keep us posted!

You're absolutely right. All that means is that there is an issue with insulin.

(interrupting myself to mention that the Colbert Report's - it's French, Bitch! - Wørd of the day is "Love Handles")

The pancreas doesn't repair itself. Once it's gone out of whack, the only way to control insulin production is by limiting the thing that causes the pancreas to produce it in the first place. Carbohydrates. It's a great way to lose weight and avoid adult diabetes.

Insulin is the "master hormone." If you have too much, or too little of the stuff, you have problems. Hyperinsulinemia is more than likely the cause of obesity in most people.

I often compare my alcoholism to my hyperinsulinemia. If I drink, I have an unpredictable and often unpleasant reaction. Likewise, if I eat something high in carbs, a hormonal imbalance occurs, and I have an unusual reaction. Usually involving me, face-down, in the second pizza.

BTW, I noticed that my mood improved considerably once I stopped shooting my insulin through the roof. And as for exercise? A half-hour walk will do wonders.

KB- if you can get through the first week or so, you will notice several things: your sugar cravings (and for me, my potato/mashed/chipped/french fried cravings) pretty much disappear, and you will feel a lot more energetic. You will find the evening stroll after a long days work a whole lot easier to face then.

KB, I agree and concur with WB, making it through the first 4-7 days were the hardest on Atkins. Once you really DO cut out the sugar and all the no-no carbs, the cravings go away. Atkins, however, was not the diet for me (and I am unhappily one of those ex-Atkins who came out larger in the end).

I applaud your resolve to make a change in your life! That's the important step right there! :snap: 100% behind you and feel free to whine all you like, it's not an easy road.

With job stress like you and coming out of the tunnel of depression myself, exercise is making it's way back into my life and with a new attitude and a healthier diet, I'm hoping for slow and steady results to finally get down to a normal size (this will be a long haul for me).

You go! We're all with you, I know I am! You can do it!

Donna

Kevy, I've noticed that when I eat badly I have absolutely no motivation or energy to exercise. You might find that after a week or so you feel like taking that walk. I don't believe that Atkins is healthy in the long run, but maybe this change will be the first step towards a truly healthy lifestyle.

I woke up four pounds lighter this morning. I don't consider it real weight loss, because I had tons of soda this weekend and was retaining water like crazy, but it's nice to see the scale moving. It motivates me to eat well again today.

As for exercise, I have a really hard time fitting that in. I'm taking care of babies from 7am until 11pm (Indi and baby Jade are on opposite schedules), so practically the only exercise I can get is the mile walk to the park at night. I'll take it where I can get it though. I'm going to try to fit in a pilates video a few times a week at least.

How are you doing with the cravings, Kevy? I had more dark chocolate than I had planned yesterday, but still less sugar than I normally would eat. My savior the first week I did atkins was nuts. It satisfied the carb craving a little bit but wasn't actually cheating. You can make my chicken tortilla soup without the corn and it's atkins friendly.

So far, no cravings. Although I have a nasty headache today that I normally get from late-night sugar. Which is odd because Gn2Dnld and I had a low-carb dinner at the park last night (unbreaded fried chicken from the Plaza Pavilion with a side salad and green beans only plus a bottle of water).

Oh well. Stuff happens.

Most people are headachey during the first few days of this. It may be that you've been having more carbs than you thought for the first couple days, and your body is just now using up its 3 day store of glucose. I killed mine by adding more cream cheese! (and a Nuprin)

Probably just eating more will kill the headaches. I recommend something with bacon. And wrap some bacon around it.

If it will help me get healthy, I shall

Suzanne Somers based her Somersizing diet plan on the Schwarzbein plan (Dr. S. was her diet doctor, I believe).

I really liked Somersizing but found it was very difficult to separate out the carbs from the fats -- that plan's basic foundation is food combining. The plan doesn't work well with those who work long hours and have little time for cooking, although Somers' recipes are awesome! Love her cooking style -- got her recipe books and still use them. :)

Personally, I found I could not do Atkins at all. I got really ill on it. Right now, I'm on the South Beach diet and found it very easy to do! Much less restrictive than Atkins plus it's just saner - a nice combo of protein, carbs and fats for every meal. Lost 10 pounds so far which is a major miracle for me.

Dr.S was Somers doctor, but the plans are very different. I believe that Somers recommends combining only certain foods, while Dr. S recommends having protein, fat, complex carbs and non-starchy veggies at each meal. I don't think there is much science to Somers plan.

I feel like crap on Atkins too after a while. There is a rush at first from the ketosis, but after that I just felt bogged down by meat. South Beach is a more modern form, as Atkins was written before anybody knew anything about saturated fats. I always feel like the diet I'm currently on is the best one though, so next year I may have found something better than the Schwarzbein Priniciple. Other than this one, I like South Beach. It's a good balance.

I so want a scone right now

I just had a pumpkin creme cheese muffin and a pumpkin spice latte. :evil:

No ketosis for you!

Now go eat quietly in the back of the room.

NA, you are evil.

(But, you have very good taste).

And a large ass.

Well, I have no willpower. I ate carbs yesterday, and I enjoyed every last one! Now I have consumers remorse.

I don't know if I can really do the Atkinsy thing- I really don't like meat all that much. I try to mix it up with other things, but it's a struggle. I have the South Beach book, but I took one look at all the rules and restrictions and closed it again. My biggest prob is that I often don't eat during the day, just at night, and it goes right to where I would rather it didn't.

I've decided my downfall is the weekend. During the week I'm pretty good. I start off with cereal and skim milk. Okay, so the Special K with Red Berries is no Total or bran flakes, but it's not Lucky Charms either. Mid morning I have 1 piece of fruit. Lunch is my big meal of the day, entree plus salad. Then I have another piece of fruit and/or a yogurt in the afternoon, with a Health Choice or Lean Cuisine for dinner about 4:30pm. Then I don't eat for the rest of the day.

Then comes the weekend. I don't get up until 10 or later, I don't start to eat until after noon, and I have cupboards full of temptations so I nosh until bedtime.

I have to do something about weekends.

Prudence, unless you go to bed at &:30, stopping eating at 4:30 must be really hard on your blood sugar. Imbalanced blood sugar prevents weight loss.

I was totally going to post that about wqeekends. Weekends are murder on my diet. Mostly because Michael is home. The guy is not good for my diet. I feel like I spend all week just making up for the weekend. In spite of eating pizza, soda, and kfc this weekend, I've still lost six pounds total. I have a killer cold right now, which makes it hard to eat at all, much less eat millions of veggies. Bleh.

It's part of the difficulty of classes. At 5:00 I leave work for class, and then I don't get home until 8:00 on the early nights and 9:15 on the late nights. I know that eating before bed is a big no-no, so I don't really know what else to do.

I think the weight loss preventor right now, aside from my gluttonous weekends, is the stress level. It's super high, all the time, and I'm lucky to get 5 hours sleep a night.

Have you considered taking an apple with you for the evening, and/or a little baggie of nuts? I find that taking food with me prevents me from building up too much of an appetite and overindulging.

I'm not on atkins, and I'm pesca-vegetarian now, but my daily eating habits have consisted of generally thus for the last few months:

morning: bowl of delight: fat/sugar-free yogurt flavored with splenda, a serving of (melted) frozen berries, a half-cup of Trader Joe's flaxseed cereal for fiber and cruch and good fat. Some hot tea. I keep the tea, the cereal, and the disposable bowls at work, and I bring the fruit and yogurt with me every morning.

noon: the second half of yesterday's dinner. As an example, a yellow pepper stuffed with 1/4 cup rice, tomato sauce, and chopped tofurkey "sausage" with a little skim mozzerella on top. Serving of broccoli.

afternoon snack: a piece of fruit. Some nuts.

dinner: the first half of tomorrow's lunch. Today as an example, lemon-cilantro tofu curry with eggplant. If I'm treating myself, a skinny cow ice cream sandwich for snack in the evening.

Water throughout the day.

That's tough. I second what LS said about taking it with you. Luna has some delicious protein bars.

I hear you about the sleep. I generally get six hours, but it's very broken up. Indi has decided since the baby is born that he needs to wake up about every hour. He goes back to sleep right away, but it still feels like I've been working all night. I wake up exhausted. A few times last week Michael took him to sleep on the couch because I was just at the end of my rope. It felt so good to sleep four uninterrupted hours. The baby sleeps great. At least seven hours a night. I think I'm sending them back to the couch tonight.

Do you just not have enough time to sleep, or can you not sleep because of stress? The Schwarzbein program suggests Calcium and Magnesium before bed for sleep problems, as well as some other supplements that I can't remember. And it lists several 30 second de-stress type of exercises that you are supposed to do during the day. Do you have time for a few minutes of stretching or meditation before bed that might help you sleep better?

Hey, LSPE, you wanna come cook for me? Yumm! :coffee:

I am so weak.

I hadn't eaten all day, and we just had dinner. I skipped the rolls and took the skin off my chicken. Then, I succumbed to the temptation of a Halloween sugar cookie that Tori made me buy.

It's NA's fault, I'm thinking.

It's mostly that I don't have time to sleep. I get home maybe 9:15 and I can't just go straight to bed. I'm all wound up from class. And I have to get up at 5am. So there it is.

Except for Sunday nights, where lately I have not been sleeping at all. I actually stay awake all night, even after two Benedryl. I hate my job that much.

I've tried taking something to class in the evening, but the reality is that I don't have time to eat it. I get there just in time to set up for class, then have just enough time to move to the next class and review the reading and then it's 8:45 and it's too late to eat.

Wow, it sounds like your body and your mind are going through hell right now. I would still eat something on the drive home from class. Even if it's just a little peanut butter smeared on a couple crackers. It might help you sleep better, and if it's two hours before bed, it shouldn't cause any weight gain.

Other than that, I'd just say meditate when possible, and ride out the stress storm. We're here if you need to vent.

Thin Krisps are crack

Thin Krisps are the new Fries

I have a similar schedule. I eat dinner at work usually. But some good news from my personal trainer is eating before bed is not a no-no if it's healthy. If you're hungry eat something, if you're not don't. By not eating you're messing up your body even more. And I'm pretty sure that by something he means fruit, veggies, dairy, something healthy, not a pint of ice cream ;)

I'm usually not hungry. Should I be eating something even if I'm not hungry? It's not like I put myself to bed starving or anything. I thought I was doing a good thing by adding in breakfast (used to not eat until lunch) but I didn't know I had to eat before bed, too.

I can't tell you for sure if you should be eating if you're not hungry. I'm sure everyone is different. If your last meal is at 4:30pm and you are awake until 11 a peice of fruit or some veggies around 9 (on your way home or when you get home) couldn't hurt.

I will tell you that I told the trainer I usually ate lunch, maybe a snack, dinner and thats it and the first words out of his mouth were "you need to eat more" and told me to start eating breakfast even if it's just fruit or yoguart about 8, a small snack, lunch, a small snack, dinner and a small snack. That's way more than I'm used to and it's taking some getting used to.

I usually do a small peice of fruit for breakfast, a salad with stuff (nuts, fruit, veggies) for lunch, try and eat something between lunch and dinner but I don't if I'm not hungry. I'll have leftovers or a frozen dinner for dinner before school or I'll cook something easy when I get home from work. I'll have fruit or a veggie to eat later in the evening if I'm hungry, but if I'm not I don't worry about it. But my dinner is around 6, not 4:30.

I also drink an insane amount of water every day. Usually several gallons. I don't force myself, it's something I've done for years and no, I don't have to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes... anymore.

I'm not following any sort of diet plan. I try and eat healthy. I don't like meat, eggs and dairy isn't too fond of me. I don't do fake sugar and I love carbs, sugar and caffienne and I will not give them up.

I believe everything in moderation is ok and I also now work out on a regular basis.

Probably. We can screw up our hunger signals and our metabolims by not eating. The Schwarzbein book says that eating so often will take some getting used to (basically it's the same schedule that BTD listed), but it's necessary to balance the bodies chemicals and heal your metabolism. That, and if you don't eat very often, your body goes into starvation mode and won't burn any calories.

Very true- I am never hungry in the morning, ever. I know that screws up my system, because when I finally do eat, my body socks it away in case of famine, apparently.:rolleyes: (In actuality my metabolism has slowed down because of my bod's (mis) perception of privation). Everyone who knows me is amazed that I am not 100 1bs, because I really do not eat much. So, what I am trying to do is take small snacks to work, and eat them at regular intervals throughout the day. I do find my energy level is up, and I think my metab is going up as well. I'm still really watching carbs, but I need to balance it out with the occasional piece of fruit or yogurt, etc.

I need to get those damn cookies out of the house, though.

I do eat the small meals throughout the day when I'm active. But honestly, after dinner I just sit. There's no activity - just me sitting. I feel like I shouldn't eat anything if I'm not going to be active. And when I eat even 2 hours before bed it's hard for me to sleep.

I would't worry about it then. As long as you aren't going to bed starving then no need to make yourself eat. But if you hungry and are just sitting there fruit, yoguart, veggies aren't bad. Apple good. Apple pie bad. [homer simpson] mmmm pie[/homer]

:eek: God did not go to all the trouble of putting delicious crispy skin on chicken just so you could throw it away. Now go wrap something in bacon. :tsk:

Not mentioned much in this thread, but should be: Whole Grains.

It was coated in Evil Breadstuff.

I will still go and wrap something in bacon, though.:D

I agree. My first month is gluten free, so most of my carbs are from veggies. Corn tortillas are ok, as is rice bread and such.

Why are diets so damn hard? Especially when one has a cold and wakes up with a crick in their neck. Cricks in necks lead to not being able to chop up veggies, which leads to eating pizza. Bad traci. Bad, bad, traci.

I prefer half and 1/4 grains.

The 5/8 grains are kinda iffy though. But not bad when wrapped in bacon.

I prefer faux grains....

I'll go get me one gin-and-tonic and run around the block.

Naked.

:rolleyes:

You do that, too?

He used to......Almost 20 years ago. ;)

I'm supposed to be naked! So that's what I've been doing wrong!

I'm so sorry! I thought I sent you that memo!

Gah. I was going to be all good this weekend, but I've got a cold and I feel like poop so I'm indulging. I suck. :(

That was me last weekend. You don't suck. I fall into the same trap of equating self-worth with weight. So take the advice that I should give myself. You are worth more than the sum total of the numbers on the scale. If you eat badly this weekend, it does not make you a failure of a person. It just means that you need to pamper yourself while you're sick. You'll go back to eating healthy right away.

Well, it's been over a week (10 full days as of this writing). I wish I had some imperical data to share with you, but I did not weigh myself at the beginning. However, I CAN say that I do feel better (healthier) in just this beginning and there is evidence of some loss (next notch on the belt, etc.).

I can say that I have actually stuck to the plan, even in the first couple of days before I knew about "Carb Counting." I went back on the first three days and added up and it turns out I stayed below the magical 20 carbs per day number with ease; well below on some days since.

Had a couple of cravings, but just acknowledged them to myself and moved on, often munching on a ThinKrisp to get past it (Gn2Dnlnd should really like me - I've gone through about 6 or so containers in the last 10 days!).

At the end of two full weeks, I will weigh myself. I know I was somewhere in the 265-270 ballpark. I figure if I am under 260 I will be happy, under 255 and I will be ecstatic. If I'm under 200, I will call a doctor. If I'm under a doctor, I'll call my wife.

Doesn't most of our culture equate self-worth with weight? I know that most people I encounter think less of me because of my weight. You'd think that would make me work harder at weightloss, but it just makes me give up. I'd make such a lousy anorexic.

I'm bulemic.

I just keep forgetting to purge.

Yes. Which stinks. I've always had a few extra pounds. Actually before I turned 14 I had nearly 40 extra pounds and I was a lot shorter, then I lost it all and stayed pretty normalish thin until the year before I got pregnant the first time. Even then I had maybe 20 pounds I wanted to get rid of. Now after two babies in three years I have a lot to lose. I do feel like people treat me differently. It may very well just be that I'm sensitive about it, therefore I'm extra suspicious of people treating me differently.

I feel like less of a person, though. I hate that feeling. I had it my whole life except for a few magical years where I was thin enough and my self confidence was high enough to not let a few pounds bother me. Now my emotions may tell me I'm completely worthless because I'm fat, but thankfully I have my head yelling at me that that is ridiculous. Which is good because feeling worthless just leads to complete shut-down for me.

You wouldn't make a terrible anorexic. From your eating habits it seems as though you eat almost as little as an anorexic does. The thing about having an eating disorder is that you have to exercise all the time to lose weight. Your body stops burning calories when you stop eating, so you have to force it through exercise.

Mind you, I'm not at all recommending that route. I spent a few eating-disorderish years as a teenager and it wasn't fun. I was never stick thin like an anorexic, but I was thin enough. I would kill to be that thin now, but I always felt fat then. Stupid teenagers.

I'm trying my best not to feel like a useless lump because I have some weight to lose. Dieting makes me feel so much worse at first, because I fail a lot before I finally succeed. Keeping a positive outlook helps me to eat better though. Once I lose enough for my clothes to be loose than it's much easier. I need to do some serious meal planning though, because I ran out of food that's on my plan earlier than expected.

It's so much easier for men to be fat, it seems. Much more socially acceptable. And you can measure weight loss by belt notches. ;)

Prudence, you are worthwhile, no matter what you weigh. I'm sure plenty of people here will back me up on that. :)

Yes. Which stinks. I've always had a few extra pounds. Actually before I turned 14 I had nearly 40 extra pounds and I was a lot shorter, then I lost it all and stayed pretty normalish thin until the year before I got pregnant the first time. Even then I had maybe 20 pounds I wanted to get rid of. Now after two babies in three years I have a lot to lose. I do feel like people treat me differently. It may very well just be that I'm sensitive about it, therefore I'm extra suspicious of people treating me differently.

I feel like less of a person, though. I hate that feeling. I had it my whole life except for a few magical years where I was thin enough and my self confidence was high enough to not let a few pounds bother me. Now my emotions may tell me I'm completely worthless because I'm fat, but thankfully I have my head yelling at me that that is ridiculous. Which is good because feeling worthless just leads to complete shut-down for me.

You wouldn't make a terrible anorexic. From your eating habits it seems as though you eat almost as little as an anorexic does. The thing about having an eating disorder is that you have to exercise all the time to lose weight. Your body stops burning calories when you stop eating, so you have to force it through exercise.

Mind you, I'm not at all recommending that route. I spent a few eating-disorderish years as a teenager and it wasn't fun. I was never stick thin like an anorexic, but I was thin enough. I would kill to be that thin now, but I always felt fat then. Stupid teenagers.

I'm trying my best not to feel like a useless lump because I have some weight to lose. Dieting makes me feel so much worse at first, because I fail a lot before I finally succeed. Keeping a positive outlook helps me to eat better though. Once I lose enough for my clothes to be loose than it's much easier. I need to do some serious meal planning though, because I ran out of food that's on my plan earlier than expected.

It's so much easier for men to be fat, it seems. Much more socially acceptable. And you can measure weight loss by belt notches. ;)

Prudence, you are worthwhile, no matter what you weigh. I'm sure plenty of people here will back me up on that. :)

Wow! My first double post!

If self-worth = weight,

then weight = self-worth,

and more weight = more self-worth.

I didn't realize just how valuable I was!


Seriously, though:
Best thing you'll ever do, IMHO.

I got stressed out and ill and stopped. I'd better start again.

I forgot to post an update (as if anybody cares)

Last Wednesday (Nov. 2) was the 2 week mark from beginning the low carb diet. While unfortunately, I did not have an accurate measurement from the beginning, I know I was somewhere in the 265-270 range. On November 2, I weighed 248. Needless to say, I was excited. I figure at this rate, by the end of February, I should be down to 85 pounds.

Actually, I have been wondering how it's been going. :)

That's awesome Kevy! You must feel great about that much weight loss! Now that you've been on induction for two weeks, it's time to move on to maintenance. The Atkin's book warns about the temptation to stay on induction. That can be very damaging to your health. Your body needs carbs to function. So time to start adding in some healthy carbs and watch the weight loss slow down a bit to a healthy pace.

I did my diet pretty faithfully for a week and lost eight pounds. Unfortunately, then I discovered that I had really not grocery shopped properly to sustain that kind of eating for two weeks. So for the last week I've tried to stick to the plan as much as possible, but it ended up only being about halfway.

I've kept six of the pounds off (some of that is water weight from eating so much veggies and protein anyways) and am starting fresh today. I've planned out every meal and snack and only shopped for a week at a time. It took me several hours to plan. I'm finding this to be more difficult than when I was on Atkins/South Beach because you count carbs, protein, and veggies. I feel better though because on the other diets I felt very bogged down by all that meat. Now if I can just fit in some exercise...

Aw screw that. I'm gonna eat nothing but steak three meals a day, seven days a week!

Just kidding of course (I'm gonna add some candy bars to get some balance).

Well, I've always been a shadowy figure...

Less shadowy, then?

I lost 6 pounds. Granted I was sick and really stressed for most of October (and thus packed on some extra weight), but yay me! I'm on the root beer, chocolate, tea, and whole grain "diet," in case anyone's wondering. ;)

Reminds me of my college days when I was on a Coke and Zingers diet (Zingers are what you stocked up on when you were skipping a meal-plan meal and didn't want the $ to go to waste). Ideal diet for three straight days of all-nighters.

I realized I've been on the 90% carbs diet for the past 2 days. I really need to get that balance in check.


But, I've lost 8 pounds. :throws up arms in vain:

:cakes: its whats for breakfast.....

It's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner (although sometimes wrapped in bacon)

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....................

:drool:

Behind that carnivorous disaster is a bowl of green beans that doesn't look too bad.

oh wow, there are green beans in the photo......

They are simply garnish

And the only thing in that photo I could eat.

I'm assuming, of course, that they're not wrapped in bacon.

hopefully they are seasoned with bacon bits though.... Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Green Beans are the only think in the photo I wouldn't eat! (Besides the dishes - this isn't the housse of the candyman).

I hate green beans.....and peas. That's about it.

When they're fresh and cooked just right . . . yummy!

(Considering I grew up on carrot sticks, I myself am amazed that I'm saying green beans are yummy, but it's true!)

I'll eat your peas and green beans and you can have my brocolli and cauliflour (sp?)

Hey, you eat that steak and I'll be happy with the green beans and broccoli.

I'll eat anything you like Flippyshark, just not green beans and peas.

Speaking of things Flippyshark likes to eat, did anyone else see Rachel Ray on TV talking about eating boboti? She was talking about it going to her bobooty.

So was she just drunk (likely, I think), or have we been pronouncing boboti wrong?

Flippyshark likes to eat Rachel Ray? Who is she anyways?

Who's Rachael Ray?! Next you'll be telling us you don't know who Alton Brown is!

I've heard of him. Some cook Adrienne K likes.

Sounds like a porn star name to me...

And me... don't forget me. I stood in line for two hours and got a raging sunburn out of LOVE dang it... ;)

Rachel Ray is hyper-perky. She is known for her "30-minute meals" and also series on cheap eats.

So, in summary, she's quick, cheap, and pronounces "boboti" wrong in order to make a stupid joke.


And people love Alton Brown.

Well, she is cute, but I don't know if I would actually want to consume her.

Back when I had cable, I watched Rachael Ray's series about eating cheaply in various travel spots, but I didn't care for her 30 minute cooking show as much. And I did enjoy Alton Brown's show, which was kind of like Mr. Science in the kitchen. And I was a complete Iron Chef junkie. Those were good times.

Somewhat more apropos of this thread, I lost over 45 pounds using NutriSystem. It's probably not for everyone but it helped me. I used to receive big boxes of packaged foods every month. Some of them were tasty, some of them required a lot of doctoring and some of them were nightmarishly awful. But it worked.

I love Alton Brown. He is the first cooking show where I actually want to use his recipes and style!

How can you NOT love Alton Brown?

Did someone say they didn't like Alton Brown? I must've missed that post.