Day Two - New to Atkins

[happierme]

Hi,

My name is Christina. I am from the Seattle area. I am 30 with a daughter who is 10 and a son who is 18 months old. My husband and I married in July 03'. During my pregnancy I went from 170-249. I went from a size 14 to a size 22/24. When I gave birth to my son on January 23, 2004, I immediately dropped down to 230 pounds and since then I've lost another 10 pounds.

Well here I am. It's summer. I am fat . I just returned from Disneyland and Newport Beach. I couldn't do things I wanted to do and my knees hurt for five days after walking a lot. My back hurts, I'm fatigued, I get out of breath after going up 1 flight of stairs and my blood pressure is up.

I have always been relatively thin and in shape. How I got here is a mystery. I think stress and eating poorly and not exercising finally caught up with me. That's no excuse for being a fatty but I miss being fit.

On June 10, 1997 I weighed about 170 pounds (weight I had put on w/ my first child from 145-170). I got serious about loosing weight. I went from a size 14 to a size 5 in 6 months and I went from 170-132. I wasn't doing low carb. I was exercising 1 hour a day 4x a week (strength training included) and eating less than 1200 calories a day and consuming gobs and gobs of cold water. I had never felt or looked better. My waist was a a mere 28 inches and my legs were so toned you could see the muscles in them. I kept this frame and this shape until about May of 2000. That's when I started to see it all go down hill.

By the time I married my husband I was again a size 14. I told myself after I had the baby I'd loose the weight. It's been 18 months since I had him and I haven't lost it.

I have decided to give Atkins a try . Not just to loose weight but to better understand my choices and to change my habits. I figure weight loss will just be a result of this. Of course I want to loose the fat and get back into shape so I have a master plan and I hope it works for me. I use a free website www.nutridiary.com and it's wonderful because it helps you plan your day by using your weight, goals etc. to make sure you stay on top of it.

I am doing a pure induction. I have read the book twice and I also bought Atkins recipe book. I stocked up on my favorite meats a.) Chicken and b.) Thin sliced Beef cuts. I also bought some salad and bleu cheese dressing w/ 0 grams of carbs. I stocked up on cans of Tuna. As much as I love eggs, I can't eat dairy because I'm lactose intolerant. So I am mainly doing meat and salad for the next 2 weeks. I am allowing myself two cups of black, decaf coffee each day and I am drinking 1.5 gallons of iced cold water. I have a new treadmill and I am using it daily for about 2-3 hours (before and after work).

I want this to be a success and I know after reading the success stories that I too will be able to regain control of my life. I need my life back. I am sick of feeling sick and tired. Fatigue from being fat is no fun. Back pain sucks and I want my GERD to be gone.

With all that being said, I'm suprised I'm not out of oxygen yet.

I noticed that you all have these cute "weight loss" icons that show your progress. Where can I find these? I want to add one to my profile too.

If you have any tips let me know.

Thanks!!!!!!!!

[ScottQ]

Hey Good luck! remember to eat a lot! You have been in shape before and you know how it feels. Most of us here dont. Good luck.

[happierme]

Hi Scott,

I think it is worse when you've been in shape before because you can remember so many things that go along with being thin. Like being able to run, walking for miles without being out of breath, no back or knee pain, intimacy w/ your partner was passionate, getting the second glances from strangers on the street, being able to walk into a normal sized clothing store and being able to wear any of the fashions currently in style. Also, being able to have my child look at me and think I'm beautiful and to be able to play with my children after working 10 hours. I want the rest of my life to be healthy and I don't want to remain fat.

Scott, thanks so much for your reply. I think if you exercise that will also help with your success. I will remember to eat enough, kind of hard. I'm only at 600 calories for the day and I feel a little weak and I have a headache.

[DebbietheHugBug]

Yes, eat more!! Don't forget snacks, ie: celery w/cream cheese, pork rinds (be careful for sodium), olives. Experiment with ALL the veggies on the lists! I am so in love with jicama and spaghetti squash! Check out the recipe section, there are awesome ideas there!


And welcome to

[Finelly]

My best advice for success:

1. THrow away the scale. Use your measuring tape. Go to www.mybodycomp.com, open up a free account, take all of your measurements as directed, then repeat every 2 weeks. You will be STUNNED at how the fat melts off!

2. Use fitday.com to record your exercise, your foods, your water intake. Input what you eat, etc. several times a day. It automatically keeps track of carbs, protein, fat.

3. Remember that we are looking to be below NET carbs, not total carbs. So when you see your fitday amounts, subtract the FIBER grams from the CARB grams.

4. Keep lots o' snacks around. Devilled eggs. Chicken wings. Olives. Salami.

5. Whenever you feel a craving, do two things: Drink water, and then eat something high in fat. It'll disappear.

6. Get some form of exercise every day. You might try a water aerobics class - great for people with body pain. Much better than a high-impact thing. Take a short walk. Stretch. Get a yoga tape for people with flexibility problems.

7. STick to this board like GLUE. Check in as often as you can. Read every post that looks interesting. Post every day about how you are doing, feeling, etc. You won't believe how comforting and inspiring this place is!

8. Make sure you do nice things for yourself periodically. Get a pedicure. Make a delicious, legal treat. Lie on a sheet outside and stare at the stars.

9. Avoid going places where you will be tempted to cheat. If this means that for the first two weeks, you have no social life, so be it. Once you get firmly in ketosis, you will not only be "in the groove" and less likely to cheat, but you will have figured out some foods to bring along or order that are yummy and legal.

10. Be prepared for things to start happening to your body. Extreme thirst. Diarrhea or loose bowels for the first couple of weeks, constipation after that (there are solutions!). Induction flu - lasts about 24-36 hours, you feel like crap, you are detoxing from carbs and sugar, it really does pass! After that, a burst of energy and a tremendous feeling of well-being. It's the BEST!

[Becky Sue]

Happierme,
From what I have read, you are so ready to start your journey to better health and reclaiming your slim, toned body. ADBB is the best site for support and encouragement, so stop by, read, post and let your journey begin!!!
Happy Low Carbing!!

[happierme]

Thanks so much!

I am down three pounds in two days, AMAZING. I don't care if it's water or fat. It's just nice to see that I'm down a little. Now, I am putting the scale away. I did take my measurements and I use www.nutridiary.com, it stores everything in there so I can't wait to see what I will look like in two weeks.

PS - When does the FLU occur? I think I am going through it already.

[kellyf]

Eggs Are Not Dairy!!!

[Sarah1341]

I just wanted to say Welcome!!! And great decision choosing this way of eating!!

Wishing you the best!!!

[New_Me_In_2005]

Welcome and thanks for the site information.