Week 2, my first post!

[Meena]

Hello my name is Meena, I am 25 years old living in San Francisco now for about 4 years. I until about a year ago had jobs that kept me on my feet all day. Now that I'm planted at my desk most of them time I am getting what my friends call the "secretary spread". Ugh. I just started atkins about a week ago (my first time trying) since I have a vacation coming up for Christmas and wanted to shed some extra pounds before my family saw me and started wondering why I let myself go.

I am 5'8" and I was until a week ago 175lbs, I am now after 1 week of induction 168lbs (7lbs lighter). My ideal weight for my height would be 155lbs, but I would be extremely delighted to reach 160lbs.

I was able to lose so much in 1 week because...well to be honest I am not a big meat eater. The first couple days of induction I was pretty sick from the meat I ate. My Dad did atkins and was quite sucessful, he recommended most of the foods I bought and since the diet is so limited I knew I''d be sick of only turkey and chicken (the only meats I did eat). So I bought some bacon, sausage, turkey, cheese, eggs, tuna, salmon, etc. The first few days I did have a sort of "breakfast for dinner" with eggs, bacon, and sausage with cheese. By day 2 I was very lightheaded, my body didn't feel right, I also had horrible cramping in my stomach the first 2 nights. At work on day 3 I made sure I had a salad as I felt my body would have some sort of meltdown if I didn't. That really helped, spinach, olives, broccoli, with tuna and oil/vinegar dressing. I felt a lot better. But because I did get sick initially, as a result I actually ate less of what I was allowed to eat, so I lost more weight than normal. Which as I've read online is quite common with this diet, people getting bored of what they can eat so they eat less.

I haven't had any major issues with the diet since then, I am a bored of what I can eat but my stomach isn't in turmoil anymore.

I also initially had what I like to call "afterthefact" fears. My friend who did atkins told me if you mess up even the slightest it's all over and you'll gain the weight back immediately. I freaked out about this, that day I had eaten (accidentally) some chicken cooked in a mole sauce which included brown sugar as I found out later. All day I was depressed and worried. I started calculating a lot of little things that I had eaten the day before as well and freaking out that I'd gain all that weight back.

I messed up on many occasions after I thought about it, only minor mishaps but still...for this diet, it's suppose to mean a lot right? The fiber pills I bought were chewable, thus containing 4 grams of sugar. I ate a whole bag of beef jerky slowly over 1 day only later to realize it contained 3 grams of sugar per serving. I also one night ate 1 stick of celerey with peanut butter on it (this one was not accidentally, hehe). This all happened week 1 and I still lost 7lbs.

Because I don't have the book I'm not quite sure of all the rules, which is dangerous I guess, like I don't know if when they say NO SUGAR it means exactly that, or if you have 1-5grams a day is OK? I mean I'm still losing weight but...nervous about gaining it back quickly. I am going on advice from people I know who've done the diet already and it's not exactly reliable.

Any thoughts on messing up and still losing weight? Why am I still losing so much weight if I'm sitll somehow inadvertantly eating sugar? Also any types on other foods to eat would be great. I'm sick of eggs, tuna, cheese, and all the meats. Something else would be great.

- Meena

~~~ Thanks in advance for suggestions! Sorry for the long post!

[MySkinnyMission]

i love seeing tall girls in here lol it helps put weight into perspective for me since im tall too..

no sugar means no sugar.. except like splenda.. but honestly you gotta read the book as to why these things are no nos and why its a good idea to stick to a clean induction. check out the book if you can buy it or download an ebook like i did.. congrats on the weightloss so far.

my first time doing atkins i had the induction flu it was awful but this time around barely anything maye the first time i did atkins really did help break my addiction to sweets more then i thought lol

[Al Trip]

Meena, All I can think of is that tou fou is allowed. You can put that in a stir fry and spice it up the way you like with other veggies.
Good luck,
Al

[liv]

There are other ways to lose weight too. No need to suffer with this one if you really cannot like the food. But like the others say, I think perhaps you don't realize how many different ways there are to do Atkins yet. No "rule" that you have eat red meat.

I think you should read the book because right now you are relying on hearsay and it sounds like your are fed some myths rather than truths. So check it out Most libraries have it. Also check out the FAQ forum here for info about how to get it right.

Also try some recipe sites. There are many cool options on Atkins if you just dive in and figure it out. It will make it less boring. Check out some new spices and some new veggies. I had chicken curry today. Really good stuff.

Also the "sick of the meat" that you experienced sounds like induction flue. It is a normal transition that most Atkineers experience. The body gets used to deal with the fat through ketosis.

Is a slip the kiss of death. No way. If it was we would all be "dead" and doing induction all the time. If we slip we carry on - that is the rule.

I wish you good luck.
Normal to be a bit apprehensive but check out the book.

[Meena]

Wow thanks for the great response!

To answer to your comment about finding a different approach to Atkins, I'll explain why on earth I would pick it (being that I don't eat meat really)

In summer this year I began gym 4x a week with my boyfriend and eating healthy. We didn't call it "dieting" because we felt we were just eating normally, but thinking more about what we ate and not over doing it on portions. We were very successful and both losing weight together.

But it's come down to the wire so to speak. In 9 days we leave for France for Christmas with his family and I still feel fat. I didn't want to be the typical "fat American" in Europe. So I've been told by friends the Atkins diet is the best for fast rapid weight loss. If I wanted to lose weight in a way that was healthier for me (easier on my stomach), I'd cut out carbs but definitely not entirely. I'd remain just eating healthy and gym, but realistically I'd only loose 1-2lbs a week that way.

I assumed going into Atkins that I would most likely (or most definitely) gain it back by the time my vacation is over, because I don't plan on avoiding French foods while there. However I don't plan to over induldge either. I am hoping I can keep it off as best I can. Hence the fears of gaining it all back as quickly as I lost it. Sort of sad, but I can't avoid carbs forever. Sugars yes, carbs no. I have become increasingly interested in the later phases after 2 week induction, where you start to introduce other foods and would like to take that information into account while in France.

However I sort of fear his family would think I was some crazy California nut by being so picky about what I'll eat and what I won't eat (first time meeting them too!).


- M

[liv]

I see. I am sure his family will like you now matter what. And if they do not because of your weight well then they are pretty superficial.

Don't know how possible it is to really have that rapid loss. Many people who are very overweight will see big drops but if you do not have that much to lose it may not happen that fast. You can certainly keep going and see what happens. Once you start eating high carbs again you will gain some back right away. That will be water weight at first because more water is needed to process carbs than to process fat and proteins. I hope you enjoy yourself no matter what. France for Christmas sounds like fun