Take Two...

[bagadonitz]

Hello I'm Joseph Bagadonitz.

In 2004, I had a very serious run at this WOE and I went from 320 lbs at the time down to 220 lbs in about 8 months. I maintained that for probably 6 more months and then it slowly started to creep back on. In February 2006 I trained for a ran a half marathon at about 265 lbs and around that time I ended up switching jobs, moving across the country, building my own home etc, a high stress time.

Due to the move I now work from home as well which made me less active. The worst part of it though is the fact that I started eating ALL the wrong food way too often. I moved back to where I grew up and feel into eating local fast food which is just fantastic but rich in carbs to say the least. I forgot to mention that through all the above I was a pack+ a day smoker. I quit on June 17, 2007 and just recently celebrated my 2nd year anniversary.

Last October, at a high of 330 lbs then I decided to get back to this way of eating. By early February, I was down to 288 but I lost a bit of focus and went back up to 316 by the end of April. In April I decided to start training for a 16 km road race held here in late July and I started eating a little better but the weight just wasn't coming off so a few weeks ago I decided to get back to eating low carb.

I basically know how much sugar I can tolerate. I can have a carb blowout for two days and still get into ketosis in two days while still eating probably 60 g of carb and because of this I guess you can say I skip induction this time and just slid right into OWL. I sometimes let myself stray a little bit on Saturday to make it easier and to have something to look forward to, but only when I know I'm going to do a long training run on Sunday to burn it all off.

I still enjoy some brews on the weekend but again not every weekend and I never drink during the week.

I'm one of the lucky ones that can get away with caffeine (both from coffee and diet coke) but I'm very water sensitive and I don't like sipping all day so I generally chug two glasses at a time with meals which seems to work well with my.

Anyways, the key to my downfall is not staying vigilant and I find the easiest way to do that is to keep accountable to myself, but to do it in public via message board poasts. I have a quite long thread elsewhere that I update regularly that I will continue to update but it seems like there is a bit more traffic here which is nice too. I already see some familiar names here so I should fit right in.

On the other board I frequent there is a section for threads to update your weekly status etc. Is there such a section around here? If so could someone give me some linkage to it?

[chinadoll]

Hi Joe,
welcome to your online conscience.

We don't have a status chart here but many of us use Fitday.com or Sparkpeople for this purpose. Both programs are free online and you can set your fitday settings to allow for direct links from here (I don't know how to do it but have seen many people doing it). We alsi have journal chats where many folks choose to put those weekly updates, but I actually prefer fitday because of the activity logs, nutritional tracking, and goal charts that actually show your progress over time. Sparkpeople is also excellent for following you up on a variety of things.

Many of us have hopped on and off the low carb train. I am on my 3rd or 4th or 5th trip now. I think the difference this time is that I have adopted the idea of this being a permanent life change in my head.

I won't lecture you on the fact that you aren't really "doing Atkins" since you take liberties--but you seem to really know your own body, but do ask that since you are the exception, be mindful that many here can't do what you do and lose. So, if you offer advice just keep that in mind, Would that I could be so lucky as to have more carbs, but alas I am one of the unlucky ones.

Glad you found us here. I, too, migrated from another low carb board. I loved the people but the board was dying and had lost focus. THIS board is VERY active and stays on target. I think you'll find that it is a great source for info and accountibility.

[bagadonitz]

Originally Posted by chinadoll

I won't lecture you on the fact that you aren't really "doing Atkins" since you take liberties--but you seem to really know your own body, but do ask that since you are the exception, be mindful that many here can't do what you do and lose. So, if you offer advice just keep that in mind, Would that I could be so lucky as to have more carbs, but alas I am one of the unlucky ones.

Well I kind of disagree, I am doing Atkins, I'm just skipping induction and lucky enough (so far) to still lose respectable amounts while eating at late OWL levels. Like I said, so far. When I have a slow week, those things get cut back again. I'm trying to find the right level such that I can maintain and live with this WOE for the long term.

My extra carbs are coming from the likes of nuts, berries and occasionally fruit based on their glycemic index. I'm not and doing my best to forever stay away from rice, potatos, all manners of bread and pasta and anything else laden with starch. I'm also a bit of a realist and know that at some point I might want to enjoy those things occasionally as a treat so I'm trying to learn self control and moderation instead of abstinence. But like you indicated, I know how my body reacts and trying to build a diet around this.

I do however fully take your point. I recognize that a lot of people can't start at this stage and when I give out advice, I'm mindful of this. That said, I try and be more of a supportive/congratulatory poaster since my past failures somewhat taint any advice I have to give

Thanks for the warm welcome and I look forward to reading more.

[chinadoll]

I thank you for understanding. They give "by the book" advice here as much as possible so it makes the life of moderators easier if newbies don't get conflicting advice. For the ADBB board, doing Atkins means going through clean Induction and doing the Rungs one at a time. So chances are someone would be saying what I said even if I hadn't.

And, for the record, I am really glad for you (and so jealous) that you can do what you do and still lose. You are a lucky guy. It is nice to know someone can enjoy a few of these things even if I can't right now.

Smart to learn precisely what your body can handle. I think you have a great mindset for successful maintenance when you get there. I am doing those things too. My biggest trigger is rice-like even a tsp will set me off! Yet I can have a slice of bread no problem (not now on the rungs, but later) but a handful of peanuts will totally derail me. So many folks fail to take the time to learn what their bodies can do and it undermines success later.

Good for you on the running. I workout like a bandit but my knees no longer allow for roadwork. The cool running thread is just getting resurrected so check it out in the Exercise forum. We also have some great challenges going.

Again, thanks for understanding and look forward to seeing you post.

[bagadonitz]

I'll definitely check out the running threads. I finished the C25K about three weeks ago and I've really ramped it up since then in preparation for the July 26 road race.

My knees are pretty good but I'm getting touches of sciatica and shin splints so to avoid full blown episodes my pace is pretty tame however this is good cause it is forcing me to stay in a better heart rate zone which is why it is melting off this past couple of weeks.

For my first week back on my low carb version (40-60g instead of my previous probably 500 g ) I was running slower still and had no energy but now that I'm used to ketosis again, the speed is coming back.

Since April 10 my Garmin Forerunner tells me I've run 100 miles in 19 hours burning almost 26000 calories.

Thanks for pointing out the journal chat section. I've created a thread and placed a link to it in my signature. I look forward to keeping it up to date.

[imagood1]

Since you've done this before you know the plan - good luck to you.

When we say "by the book" that's what we mean - 2 weeks of clean induction then going up the rungs one at a time. When people do it "their way" we consider that "not doing Atkins" -- because you really are following your plan, not Dr. Atkins.