Am I doing this right?

[May9th2006]

Whats up,

I've been sort of doing a ghetto atkins the last 23 days, havn't read anything about it but just know it's low carbs. I work right next to a Hardee's, and one day saw they had low carb burgers and decided it's time to lose weight anyways..

So since May 9th, I wake up have like 3 eggs and some bacon w. coffee....Get to work @ 10. For lunch @ 2 I stroll over to Hardees have one of there single low carb burgers with a large diet coke, then when I get off of work around 6:30-7 I go back get a double meat low carb burger and a diet coke. Thats all I've been eating, never feel hungry and been losing some weight.

So my question is, am I doing this right or is there something I'm not doing. I don't know if my weightloss has been significant enough or if it's suppose to be faster. I don't know if this is bad for my health (not like it matters, I smoke over a pack a day). I weigh myself every morning before I eat naked:

DAY
1 267.9 START
2 263.7 -4.2
3 260 -3.7
4 258 -2.0
5 256.5 -1.5
6 256.5 -0
7 255.4 -1.1
8 255.4 -0
9 254.5 -.9
10 254.5 -0
11 253.6 -.9
12 252.1 -1.5
13 252.1 -0
14 249.2 -2.9
15 249.2 -0
16 248.1 -1.1
17 247.5 -.6
18 SKIPPED
19 246.6 -.9
20 245.7 -.9
21 243.7 -2
22 242.0 -1.7
23 241.7 -.3
TOTAL LOSS 23 DAYS = 26.2

Advice me almighty atkins experts.

Edit: Forgot to mention I'm a 20 year old Male, 6`5

[sadie147]

I weigh myself every morning before I eat naked:

You eat naked?

sorry i couldn't resist...


I would get the book, and until then I would read through the stickie's at the top of the forums here, print out induction rules and the legal food list, and stick to it to a T. I've actually had a Hardees low carb burger when visiting the states and I must say I was impressed, it was good, however nothing beats making your own meals and eating whole foods. Take the legal induction food list to the grocery store and shop from it. Also go through the recipes on this board..there are some great ones. You also need to be getting in vegetables, 3 cups a day (see induction rules for types/amounts), it's a very important part of this diet. As well there are rules for sweeteners, so your intake of diet coke should be limited as well.

Once you've completed your two weeks of proper induction, you can move onto OWL .....

HTH..good luck

[staziaw]

Congratulations on your weight loss! Very impressive. The thing that worries me is the lack of veggies and water?! Substitute water for those Diet Cokes and add more variety in the veggie department. We want to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need!

I agree with Jen that making your own food is the way to go. Do you have access to a fridge and microwave at work. You could cook on the weekend, put things in containers and take them to work with you. Personally, this is what I do! Even if it's a can of tuna with some mayo and chopped up tomato, that will suffice!

6'5"!! Wow! You are a tall one! What kind of exercise are you getting? And how much exercise do you want to lose?

You might want to check out the Men's Forum, as well as the Exercise Challenges.

Again, congratulations, and good luck! We are here to support you. I'm sure some of the uber-knowledgeable Atkineers will be around soon to give you much more information and better advice!!

Stacy

[staziaw]

How much "weight" do you want to lose!!!???!! I have exercise on the brain today!

[May9th2006]

Thanks for the responses!

I want to get down to 215-220. I wish I had a microwave or fridge at work, or let alone an OFFICE BUILDING, lol.

I work outdoors, carpentry and general labor slave for a furniture company five days a week (SAT-WED) and an aspiring proffesional poker player in my off-time. It's alot of heavy lifting and it's exercise, but in the past I always drank beer and ate whatever I want so it didn't do much. I don't know if I can see myself exercising after work, my back is always killing me and I'm tired.

A catalyst for my decision to try to lose weight was a state mandated drug and alcohol treatment I'm currently running for 20 weeks. The beer and munchies really laid the fat down, and I thought since I'm sober might as well make another lifestyle change (I know, alot of issues for a 20 year old, it's just a fraction unfortunatly).

My live-in girlfriend also eats like a pig and it goes in her mouth and out her ear (she's like 110) so there was always food around, and is one of those "I don't care if you think you're fat I love you for you" people which is good in one sense but bad in another because if I was single I would have kicked myself into shape fast.

I drink ALOT of water, I work in Tampa, FL, so I generally fill up my gallon of water 2x a day while I'm working because it's ridiculously hot. I drink the diet coke at meals because I find it makes the meal more satisfying.

I'm going to read around and check out some alternate meal plans as suggested for breakfast and dinner. The Hardees for lunch is something me and the guys go to everyday so I'm gonna stick with that.

Am I already past induction since I'm on day 23 and it's 14 days? I'm confused.

Anyways, thanks again.

[staziaw]

Well, no wonder you are losing weight so nicely with all that lovely carpentry work! Good for you! How about a cooler? Could you bring one to work? I understand wanting to eat with the guys, but maybe one trip to Hardee's as opposed to two?

Your girlfriend might not care if you're heavier than you want, but does she want to be unhealthy? High cholesteral, heart problems, high blood pressure, difficulty moving, an early death? I know I might be melodramatic, but, really, your health is EXTREMELY important! I'm also assuming that she is around your age -- let her know that learning good eating habits now, for both of you, will help prevent the "pound creep" that seems to happen in your 30's and 40's. Take it from me - I was a skinny minnie most of my life until my 30's! Then, look out, the pounds starting attaching themselves to my body (grrrr). And with bad eating habits, the pounds leapt at me with wanton abandon after a back injury. Do what you can now to create good heath and good eating habits to avoid the pitfalls so many of us experience!

I'm glad to see that you're drinking water. Good man!!

Regarding some meal plans and recipes, check out this website (http://users3.ev1.net/~fontlady/) as well as the recipe section on this board. Lots of great ideas to be had!

And, yes, it sounds like you are past induction. You might want to move into OWL, adding 5g of carbs on each level for a couple of weeks to find your critical carb level.

One more thing, congratulations on doing the program. You are on a good path!

Stacy

[bizzlekitty]

Well, you need to be eating veggies. I know, most guys run the other direction when you mention this, but most of your carbs should be coming from veggies, and not just salad. And those should be net carbs (total carbs - dietary fiber). Carb levels on induction should be 15-20.

Get the Book. Read the Book. Do what its says, and don't skip things because you don't like them (veggies??).

Drop the diet coke too (trust me, I used to drink 10+ cans a day). Aspartame is a known weightloss staller (in the book and read the stickies here). Drink tea with splenda (or without even better) instead. And lots and lots of water. And a multivitamin too.

Track what you eat in Fitday. Check out Higgies Fitday journal sometime for a good reference.

You are off to a right start, just need a little refinement

And just to add in a variety of meats, like chicken, turkey and fish

Good luck!

[ValidRouge]

Like the others said, you are off to a good start, just need to refine it. Since you are drinking water because of the heat outside, that's a good start. But because of our heat, you need to drink alot because you are sweating so much...and you need the extra water in your system for weight loss too. To replace electrolytes when you are working, you can add a pinch of sea salt to the water. Just a pinch.

Get your girlfriend to make you some of those recipes from the site stacy gave you. There are some FABULOUS ones. Lots of snack foods on there too. She may find that she likes them as well. My husband LOVES them.

The only thing wrong with your plan is the lack of vegetables. If you don't eat them, you aren't getting alot of the vitamins your body needs. 3 cups of veggies a day is a REQUIREMENT of this plan, not a suggestion....and that's just induction. The first "rung" of the On going Weight Loss (OWL) phase is to add even MORE vegetables. They are important for you getting the fiber your bowels NEED. What kinds of vegetables do you like? maybe we can give you some ideas for preparation of them that you can take with you to work...to eat with your Hardees burger.

Congratulations for taking control of you life both with the alcohol and the weight. It's one step forward that you should be very proud of yourself for!!!

[laprettygurl]

You're doing great.

If you want to do Atkins then get the book. He tells in detail how to make this a way of life and set you up so you know what to eat so you don't gain the weight back (or keep losing!)

[Analog6]

So far you have done extremely well. If you drop the Hardees for dinner and get a good protein/vegetable mix there you'll be pretty well on track.

For dinner I usually have protein (meat, chickebn, fish) and a stir fry with red onion (always) and 5 or 6 from carrot (only 1/2 a one 3 times a week), yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, snow peas, cauliflower, broccoli, choko, and you can add chillis and garlic as desired.

Men lose much faster and easier than women on low carb - it is a hormonal thing. Lucky you!

I did a few BMI calculations for you. Healthy weight is any number between 20 and 24.9. Currently at 242lbs you are at 28.7.
220 lbs = 26.1; 210 lbs = 24.9; 200 lbs = 23.7; 190 lbs = 22.5; and 180 lbs = 21.3. So somewhere in the range of 180-210lbs should be right. You will know when you feel good and at your peak. As muscle weighs more than fat and you are in an active occupation you'd probably fall into the higher end, 200-210lbs.

Good luck with it and keep up the great start!