New to the Group

[Missylee_ann]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to take a second to introduce myself. I am a 24yr old single mom of 2 and I am TIRED of being overweight. I have tried Atkins before but always find it so hard to stay committed when my children are eating things that I can't. For example my mom watched my kids today and sent them home with a big bag of homemade chocolate cookies. AHHHHHH thats how i feel about those cookies (lol, I'm looking at them now). So thats why I'm here to read your stories, get advice and find strength from moms like me in order to achieve my goal!

[mizski]

Hi Missylee_ann! Welcome to ADBB.

I have no good mom on a diet advice but wanted to say hello. Hopefully some moms will be by to offer some advice.

p.s. I'm not sure how well traveled this forum is so if you don't get any responses then maybe try reposting in the Spotlight Introduce Yourself forum.

[liv]

Hi from me too.
I don't know what would best help you. Sometimes getting help from the family to reduce or cut out some tempting items till you have control may be the thing to do. In other situations you just have to keep motivating yourself and be strong. Maybe write up response cards or notes for yourself to help you over that weak moment.

Your kids will benefit from less sugar in their lifes. It is not the greatest thing to feed kids. Nor is the endless list of chemicals on some of the foods for kids really good stuff so you are doing the best for your family too.

[my31168]

Hi, welcome to the board. This site is awesome and very helpful. I have two children too and understand where you are coming from with all the treats that I have in the house for them. It's hard, but one thing that has helped me is to ensure I have some sweet and savory things for me in the house that I can eat too. Every time I'm tempted to eat something I can't have I focus on how far I've come and if I eat something how long it will set me back. Remember if you do happen to eat something that's not within your phase don't give up. Believe me, you won't be the only one who has eating something you weren't supposed to...look at some of the posts out there. I'm one of them too.


Here is a wonderful website that has a variety of options of what to make for you AND your family. http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html and this forum has recipes too that can be found at http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-food-recipes/.
I have been incorporating so many meals for my family that are low carb (induction) friendly and they don't even notice the difference. It's too hard, tempting, and expensive to make one thing for you and another for your family. I still feed my family potatoes, but I don't have them...I just make sure there are veggies I can eat too.

I've only been doing this for 20 days and I am not an expert, but I've learned a lot in the short time I've been doing this transition to low carb eating. Below are some things that have helped me:

Before I started I read the book and the FAQs - (Atkins Diet Induction FAQs)http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-14-day-induction/77558-atkins-diet-induction-faqs.html


Don't weigh yourself every day...I know it's hard, but it will get you discouraged if you do.

Drink, drink, drink, drink, water. I was drinking between 24-32 oz when I started and I thought it was a lot compared to what I was normally drinking, but it wasn’t. Now I'm up to 100oz a day and it made a huge difference. It helped with my bloating. It won’t happen overnight to get up to that many oz of water…add more each day until you get up to the amount that helps you.

Plan your meals. Whenever I don't do this I fail and end up eating all the wrong things. I ended up hungry and would up eating everything that I wasn’t supposed to. It will seem like you are eating a lot but it’s good to eat every 3-4 hours. It will keep your metabolism active. Try to eat 3-6 meals a day. What I do is: Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner. Make sure you eat enough protein it will keep you full much longer than just eating veggies. Eat your veggies, and watch how much cheese you are eating. I make my lunch and snacks the night before. My daughter has even asked for me to make her lunch the same as mine sometimes. She loves cream cheese rolled up in salami, cucumbers mixed with sour cream, and just tonight I was cutting up some jicama for my snack tomorrow and she asked for some in her lunch.
Craving something sweet? I made these cheese cake muffins last week and they are very good cold….look ugly, but they taste like plain cheese cake. My kids like them with strawberry preserves on them. (Cheese Cake Muffins)http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/desserts/70578-cheese-cake-muffins.html

A yummie dip my friend Gene introduced me to: Cream cheese and a can of Rotel. So yummie. You can eat it with veggies or pork rinds.
Ken's salad dressing is very good and most of them only have 1-2 carbs per serving.
Keep a food log. I use my blog to do it and it really helps.

Exercise - even if it's a little, it will help, not only with your weight, but your mood. This bulletin board has challenges every month that you can sign up for. I just started the water challenge, pushup challenge and squat challenge for October. Do what you can…something is better than nothing. Here is the link for you to review all the challenges that are out there: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/challenges/

Ok, I’ve rambled on long enough. Let me know if I can help in any way…we are here for you. You can do it!!!!

Michelle