Hello everyone!

[!Kirsten]

After lurking the forums for the past two weeks, I've decided to register.
This might be the most inspirational and welcoming bunch of Atkins people on the internet.
I just finished my first week of Induction and feel pretty amazing!
Take care everyone...

[Outback Jess]

Hey welcome and congrats Kirsten!
I can see from your smiley face you are feeling good! This is a great site, so many wonderful posters....it is a great place to visit to get your focus and answer your questions and just hang out!
Glad you are here
Jess

[T.Mack]

Hi Kirsten:

Welcome and congrats on week one. I am three days in and feel great. I have lurked these boards before and you will receive all of the motivation you need. Hang in there!!

[La_La]

You are doing great so far, be sure you check out the stickys and recepie forum...

don't forget to drink you water!

[DragonflyMoon]

Welcome to ADBB, Kirsten! Congratulations on finishing week one ~ i bet you are really starting to feel great! I'm glad you found the board ~ keep posting and checking in!

[universaltravelr]

Welcome aboard! This is a great site for support and information. You will find yourself shrinking away in no time. Trust me, this is a great place full of wonderful people.

[liza2006]

hello kristin, my name is liza and today is my first day and iam not sure what to think about this new way of thinking about food or for that matter about a diet that i can eat all the meat i want to feel full!!! so how has it been for u i could really use someone to talk to that is new at all this and i hope to here back from u soon thanks liza

[!Kirsten]

Hey liza,
(funny...we're actually almost the same age and about the same weight!)
I'm not feeling guilty about my meat intake, because I mainly eat fish (love it), and I'm not crazy about red meat anyway. But I'm still a little terrified of my mayonaise consumption. It's my substitute, now that I can't have ketchup anymore.
But I share your "insecurities", a little part of me still thinks that FAT IS BAD!
How are you doing, physically, mentally? How did the first day go?
I can tell you that this morning, after only a week on induction, I suddenly felt such a wave of happiness for no apparent reason, that I almost started crying. It felt wonderful, like I'm high on life. The rest of the day was very stressful, but I remained calm. On my previous carb-"diet", I would have seriously broken down.
I hope the same happens for you! I think I'm going to do some research on links between Atkins/low-carb and endorphines.
Hope you're not having the Atkins flu!

To everyone: thank you for the wonderfully warm welcome!

[liza2006]

Hello kristen,
well its 6:30 am here right now not sure what my siggy says its 3;30 or somthing like that hahahha... well my first day went good i found my self only hungery once today and that was in between breakfest and lunch so i took snack bite size of stake to work with me so thats what i ate and it stopd the hunger pains. so as for the emotional thing iam hanging i there i just keep telling myself i want to loose the weight i want to look good again i want to look good for myself and for my man i have a little girl she is 7 now and i want to be around to see her grow up and on the trck i was on i dont think i might be around to see all the great things in life that she will do! i think i want to post some pics but iam not really sure how to do that.do u know how or have u tryed posting pic yet! so if u dont mind me asking what state do u live in iam for PA i live near the NY and PA boarder and the weather has cooled of alittle from last week so its nice to be able to walk outside oh there was one thing i was going to ask u are u eating snack during the day and what are u doing for exersise? i have been walking but not sure iam doing enought to make a diff. well hope to here back for u soon ttys later liza

[!Kirsten]

I might not be the right person to motivate you, since I haven't had any real success myself YET. What has helped me over the past couple of weeks of lurking is browsing through the Before/After pictures. Very inspirational, maybe the same thing will work for you? I have no idea how to post pics (I've been thinking about that too), but I think it's explained in the photo gallery forum.
I'm actually not from the US, but one of the int'l members.
As for exercise, I've been swimming for the past few days, which is especially great with this heat wave, and I find it to be incredibly effective. I'm thinking about joining one of the challenges in the Exercise Challenge forum. Do you have the chance to go to a local gym, or get an exercise video? I think that jogging might be too much for the joints at our weight, but what about riding the bike with your little girl and your fiancé? People here heavily stress the importance of exercise, and I think while it might be tempting to remain a couch potato with such a fast and steady weight loss, I personally find myself feeling soooo good after a swim! But I would post a message in the exercise forum, you'll receive better advice over there.
I only snacked in the first couple of days, cucumber or salmon slices, but my hunger has significantly decreased to the point where I have to remind myself to make something. You will experience the same!
Good luck on day 2!