GetOFFthescale ... I mean ...ermm ... hi!

[Sparrows]

I'm told I should come introduce myself, so just putting off painting the kitchen doing what I'm told. Hi there!

I never quite know what to say in introductions, so I guess I'll just blather a bit and hope I hit the high points. Lessee ... ermmm ... I'm 42 ... female ... a software nerd (any other WoW or SL'ers in here?) ... and tired of being too fat to be able to ride my bike or do anything else vaguely interesting and physical without pain. I've tried other diets (naturally) and found counting calories to be the most effective ... and the most freakin' boring. Lost about 50 pounds last time, was finally riding my bike extensively and enjoying it, then had some joint issues that took a while to resolve and oh look, there they are! Le sigh.

I've been in (on?) induction for 7 days now and trying to do it clean. I'm still a bit dubious ... mostly, I think, due to conditioning (butter? heavy cream? is that allowed???) but starting to smile at the scale. 7 pounds? 7 days? Yeah, I know most of that's probably water but still ... cool! There's part of me that still has a real psychological block against believing this can really work, but I'm going to give it an honest go here and see what happens.

My first real goal is to shed enough that I can feel more comfortable doing stuff around my new house (just bought it, moving in next week, and it has stairs) and taking my new puppy (who arrives in about four weeks) for long walks. I'm actually nervous about tackling the kitchen this morning 'cause I know I'm going to be sore when I'm done and I'm tired of that feeling.

I'm starting to feel a little excited about it, but almost scared to let myself get excited ... if that makes sense. There's that part of me thinking y'know, this might work ... and I can lose weight and still have big lumps of meat! Yeah, always been a carnivore ... even when I was a little kid: Forget the sugar, forget the shrubbery, just give me big lumps of meat and I'm a happy camper. Okay, so I'm a bit weird too.

Anyway, delighted to have found this board and you folks. Been spending hours every morning reading here, getting ideas, instructions, and reassurance. Very, very glad to be here ... and that you folks are here!

[EverLosing]

Welcome to !! We're glad you're here too! This is a wonderful site of resources, encouragement, support and challenges!! You're gonna love it here. However, I read your whole post and you're going to have to embrace the shrubbery too! Make sure you're eating enough vegetables. You get away with a lot during induction that you can't get away with down the road. While protein is important, excessive consumption of protein will turn into glucose in your body. NOT a good thing at all!

Have you set up an account on FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal It's terrific. You should aim for 65% fat, 30% protein and 5% carb intake. Click on foods and plug everything you eat in there. It will show you your percentages and make this a breeze for you! It's a good place to also store your weight, measurements and goals. Update it often and watch your progress. It's very motivating! Don't forget those veggies!! Your body and your health NEED them.

Visit daily and post often here. It will help keep you on track!

[Sparrows]

Thanks, EverLosing!

Yepyep ... trying to do it by the book here (and eating more shrubs than I was before, certainly). I'd love some feedback on what I'm eating, honestly (and will eventually post over in the Review My Diet forum) but here's the link: http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=amberdixon

I'm trying to get better at updating the foods consistently, but I don't always remember ... and with my current schedule, doing well to remember what I had for breakfast by the end of the day! Drinking lots of water and dropping a multi-vitamin down my throat every morning too.

Yeah, I'm a nerd. Cross the eyes, dot the t's, and fret that I'm "doing it wrong" most of the time. You'd think nervous anxiety would be worth a few pounds at least, eh?

[EverLosing]

Only a couple of things jump out at me in your journal. You know we go by net carbs, right? That's the total carb count MINUS your fiber grams. Your net carbs are waaaay low. I would bump up the veggie intake and the other thing was...decrease the dairy. Both of those things should help you keep dropping some weight. Why all the cream, anyway? Just curious. You do seem to use a lot of cream.

Other than that, everything looks pretty good! Don't forget the tons of water. It'll help you drop weight faster!!

[imagood1]

hi Sparrows -- welcome to ADBB!! I remember the befuddled feeling also -- the plan does work just learn the rules and follow them. Get the book if you don't have it already.....amazon has them cheap. You have to know how the code works before you can use the code.

Eat fats....eat veggies...eat protein - there are some veggies that have higher carb counts if you have problems getting enough in. Try something new - I eat things now I wouldn't have bought let alone ate! Keep your menus varried, there are plenty of recipe sites you can use that have wonderful tasting food. If you get bored with the food it's your fault - choose something different!

Remember, this isn't a fad diet, you might read someone lost 5 pounds this week and you only lost 1 -- you aren't doing anything wrong, your body will loose at it's own rate. Good luck -- ask as many questions as you need to - we're all here for the same reason!

Rules of Induction:
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=6782 (What are the Rules of Induction?)
Induction Acceptable Foods:
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=6781 (What foods can be eaten on Induction?)

Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Daily Menus
Sheila's Low Carb, Atkins & Induction Friendly *ORIGINAL* Recipes Page!
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...n-recipes.html (Never ending induction recipes)
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...pes-added.html (Induction Recipe Basics--More recipes added)

[sallyseachange]

Hello Sparrows and a warm welcome to the ADBB! Congrats on your great start!

You must be so excited about your new house (with stairs!!!) and new puppy! Both puppy and stairs will really help you win the weight war.
You might like to join our Pledging Flights challenge seeing as you now have stairs. We climb virtual mountains and buildings (via stairs) there. It's fun and quite addictive. I even bought an aerobic step after a while, so as to clock up flights and reach the top of Everest! Here's the link: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...challenge.html (PLEDGING FLIGHTS *** A Stair Climb Challenge) Just go to the first page of the thread and follow the instructions there. Then start posting on the last page of the thread, along with us. You don't have to do masses... just start with some of the smaller climbs and get those under your belt. You can do it all as fast or as slow as you like.

Post lots, make friends here and use the board for all it offers... and that's a lot!
Happy losing!

[Sparrows]

Okay, must stop obsessively staring at the scale ... but ... yeah ... I'll admit it ... I'm starting to get excited here! Not only down another solid pound and a half this morning, but for the first time that I can remember I really didn't feel like eating this morning. Meh, food, too much trouble, I'd rather be doing other things. (Yes, I did eat a good breakfast finally but really wasn't all that hungry.)

You know we go by net carbs, right? That's the total carb count MINUS your fiber grams. Your net carbs are waaaay low.

Thanks for pointing that out, EverLosing. Yeah, I was looking at total carbs only and forgetting about the net carbs entirely there.

Why all the cream, anyway? Just curious. You do seem to use a lot of cream.

<giggle> Yeah ... ermmm ... a) replacing approx. 3 cups of 2% milk/day with my coffee, b) cutting back the coffee and reducing the cream each day, c) too lazy to look up the tablespoons-to-ounces conversion so was assuming that tablespoon==ounce, so actually about half of what I was reporting on fitday, and d) finally found half-and-half on fitday this morning (not that that's really any better) so it'll be more accurate now. And one day last week I had a 12-ounce breve in the morning, not something I'll make a habit of. I'll give up the coffee eventually, I have no doubt, but not going to worry tooooo much about it as long as I'm losing steadily. One withdrawal at a time (and I'm also working on quitting smoking right now ... pardon me while I twitch nervously in the corner )

there are some veggies that have higher carb counts if you have problems getting enough in

Thanks for the welcome, imagood1, and thanks for that tip. I've been worrying about trying to stick to just the list, follow the rules, and ... not eat too many green things? My brain was struggling a bit with that one, so feeling incredibly relieved now. Feel free to roll your eyes at me. <grin>

You must be so excited about your new house (with stairs!!!) and new puppy! Both puppy and stairs will really help you win the weight war.

After living in a dinky little apartment for the last 11 months ... oh man, sallyseachange, I am sooooo ready for a house again! Thanks so much for the welcome! I'll have a look at that Pledging Flights challenge just as soon as my muscles stop twitching (literally) from painting the kitchen yesterday. Speaking of which ... yeah, I did get that done ... and I'm just about as sore as I thought I'd be ... BUT ... sitting here with a happy smile 'cause I now have a huge kitchen to play in and it's not day-glo orange (words can't describe the horror of the color it was). I'll actually have room to cook again!

[Chicklady]

Hi Sparrow Glad you found us! Come join us in the Century Club for those with 100+ pounds to lose.

[EverLosing]

How are you doing Sparrows??

[Sparrows]

Hey there, EverLosing ... thanks for asking. I was just sitting here thinking about that!

It's been a strange, sometimes difficult, sometimes exciting two weeks. Some bad (ye gods, I felt sick ... even missed a couple of days from work last week, but I think that was food poisoning) and some good (I don't think I've ever not wanted to eat before in my life, even when I've been really sick).

I was starting to get frustrated and worried but determined to stick it out and give it a fair go. I had dropped 8 pounds pretty quickly, but suddenly gained 3 back and it stuck there for several days (as I, yes, obsessively stared at the scale ). Then this morning, whoosh, down to 275. I almost cried looking at the scale.

I'm so so so glad you guys are here. I've been obsessively reading the boards as well as the book, trying not to get too discouraged. Sucking down my water, measuring my vegetables, fretting. Now I'm believing it works. 10 pounds, 15 days, no complaints here.

Oh, and a side-effect I hadn't anticipated: The heartburn I've been battling for years? Poof, gone. Not a bit of acid for several days now.

Extended induction for me, methinks.