Hello? Hello? Is This Thing On...?

[NunoFreak]

I'm just a regular guy who is overweight, in search of my slimmer self. I started out at 350 lbs. and got down to 300 lbs. with just counting calories. After maintaining that weight for the most part for one year, I started the Atkins Diet a month ago and I am now down to 286 lbs. I am on Extended Induction and I see no signs of slowing down, I feel great!

I did Atkins (half-assed it really) back in '03, but I didn't even last two weeks. At that time I could not give up soda. But in '05 I gave up soda of all kinds, diet and otherwise, and I have not had a soda in four years! So now it's easy for me to maintain the Atkins Diet and not be pulled by my sweet tooth.

I look forward to living the rest of my life on this 'diet', which I realize is actually a new way of living my life.

[JulieB]

Congrats on the weight loss & welcome to the boards.

[imagood1]

welcome Nuno -- make sure you move on to OWL since you are fairly close to your goal now. You will need time for your body to get use to adding and eating new foods before you get to maintenance.

Also, get at least 64 ounces of pure water - nothing added but ice - daily and are doing some form of exercise. Good luck to you.,

[NunoFreak]

Thanks for the warm embrace from the masses. I already feel like part of the wrecking crew around here...

Also, thanks for the tips. But I can tell you I get enough water - I drink close to a gallon per day, it's usually all I drink. I had some iced tea sweetened with Splenda today, but that's maybe a once a week drink when I visit my momma.



I just realized/remembered caffeine is a no-go on Atkins. Whoops! I take a caffeine pill every afternoon to get me through the long afternoons at work. I'm cutting that out immediately! I'm also trying to cut back on my consumption of mixed nuts. When I started Atkins I turned to nuts as my only kind of snack food. I also want to start walking more, but here in Illinois the buffalo gnats are so annoying right now!

[JulieB]

FYI - Nuts are not allowed during induction. Sorry.

[NunoFreak]

I can't wait to see what happens when I eliminate nuts and caffeine! Hopefully that is what has been slowing me down. I knew nuts were questionable, but figured they weren't too bad since they're high in protein and fairly low in carbs.

[chinadoll]

Nuts are fine on Rung three. You are at the point in your weight loss now where you should start to add things back so that you can eventually maintain your loss and know the things that don't work for you. I have portion control issues with nuts. I would not have known that if I hadn't advance to rung three. There are other trigger foods that I now know I cannot regularly add back into my diet if I am going to be successful in maintenance. I have found that by moving up to add in those foods and have discovered they make me crave all the bad stuff. This is the type of thing you should be learning now.

If you are not familiar with the rungs, here's a quick (and very basic) explanation:

Rung One: add 5 grams of carbs in the form of the same veggies you have already been eating

Rung Two: dairy--sour cream, soft cheeses, plain yogurt, things that you can use for sauces, eggplant lasagna, desserts like Atkins cheesecake . These really add variety to your diet without a lot of carbs. Plus you add 5 more grams and see if you continue to lose.

Rung three; nuts and nut butters (low sugar only) I have found that almonds are the only ones I can eat in small quantities and walk away, but not everyone has these issues. As always, add five more grams daily and see what happens.

Rung four: berries and canteloupe, other low glycemic melons
Wtih yogurt and a dash of Splenda they are great desserts or after workout recovery snacks. Add five.

Rung five: alcohol except beer (too high). Add five.

Just because I am on rung five does not mean I drink wine daily. It means I have tested it out and know how and how much I can add on occasion.
I could happily live right here forever and my maintenance level will probably be on rung five with an occasional foray into a food from a higher rung on rare occasions. But I will progress through the rungs to test the foods there to see what I can and cannot do.

If you go to the main page, find the ONGOING WEIGHT LOSS header and check it out there. The finer points are explained. Many folks continue to lose well. Your losses will slow down naturally as you get closer to goal whether or not you are adding carbs, so why not add things to learn how to make this a lifetime plan. If you stop losing for a full month, you will know you have reached your CCLL the critical level of grams for you to continue your loss. Then pull back by 5 grams and you can continue on at that gram level, although you may continue to move up the rungs for food test purposes.

I know this is a lot of info, but my main goal is to open up the possibility and hopefulle have some folks go to the Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) thread to learn more.

[blueberrylady]

Welcome to the board!

Do you have the 2002 edition of the Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution? It's a must read because it explains fully how and why the diet works. It's the one we use here and it will help to have it handy.

You are doing great and I wish you the best of luck!

[NunoFreak]

Thanks again for all the advice and tips!

[Brandee]

Good Luck! I'm here if you need a support buddy