Hi there all.

[blueberrylady]

Re: Hi there all.

How is everyone doing? Weekends can be hard on a diet but I try to keep my goals in mind. This woe gets boring for me at times so I've been looking for recipes that we both can eat. For breakfast, I had a 1/4 cup of eggbeaters with a real egg mixed in with it and it was very good. I love the Southwestern variety and they only have 30 calories and 1 gram of carbs. What do all of you do for variety?

[mistydawn73]

Re: Hi there all.

Congrats on getting back on Atkins!! I know there's alot of temptation out there, especially sweets around TOM. ( this is my third and final time around.) With me, whenever I crave something sweet, I would take a few sips of Atkins Advantage shake in a can. That one can would last me about a month! I also would eat 1 Atkins chocolate cookie, which only counted towards 1 net carb. The Atkins chocolate cookie "killed" my chocolate craving! It was so sweet and rich in chocolate. It never got me off ketosis, for I NEVER over indulged in it because it said Atkins. I ALWAYS limited my intake. I would also eat one of those individual sugar free jello cups every now and then.
When I would crave something crunchy, I would eat a few pork grinds, some carrots with Ranch Dressing ( not low fat, has more carbs! ) I would even take a few individual jerky sticks in my purse in case I got a little hungry.
There's tons of recipes that are low carb and great of induction phase. You have all of my support, and if you need to talk, please dont hesitate to message me or open a new thread. Hang in there girl, cause WE CAN DO THIS!!

[Tom]

Re: Hi there all.

The one thing you need to keep in mind is that it is all a mental battle. You just have to be strong mentally. It is really easy to say but hard to do.

It is easy to tell someone how to lose weight or really anything. But doing it is something different.

So just convince yourself that you are going to overcome your thoughts. Cravings and other thoughts about giving up on the diet, or going off just for today ... is all mental. You need to recognize this for what they are. If you are hungry you can eat right ... just not carbs. But your mind may tell you that it needs carbs ( after 2 week induction this will lessen ). When you feel yourself losing focus ... go out for some exercise.

Find your focus. I also think that meditation or yoga is great for dieting because of the mind control that it needs. I get some meditation when I run ( although partly hypocritically I havent been running as of late ).

Here is a small story that i realized. My niece is a runner. Due to family situation I have become the uncle that gets involved in her athletics. She is a great runner. She can run a sub 6 minute mile and she just turned 12. So we have her training with a club. One day a week she needs to jog for an hour ...

So I keep wanting her to train and do her hour jog. Sometime she resists. And I would get frustrated a little with this until i realized that all I am doing is telling her to do something that is VERY HARD to do. She is actually the one that is doing it and she really has been doing a good job.

The point that I am trying to make is that the diet is not easy. It is easy for me to tell you what to do and what not to do but it is not easy to carry it out. Just realize that and be ready to deal with the "bad" thoughts when they come into your brain. Note that they are a bad thought ... and me up with a way to dispell them. If you can learn that the battle is 90% over as the diet works.

[Lyssie]

Re: Hi there all.

Yay Tom!!

A Step at a Time - Roll Call is a thread where people check in just to say they're still here and taking it one day at a time. How's today going for you? It's *gorgeous* out (making up for yesterday's rain, I'm sure).

Blueberry - Linda's LowCarb website has some great options for variety of things to eat, there's another website, Luxury LowCarb or something (I need to find it again) that also has a lot of different recipes.

In relation to Misty's post - so, having some of those snacks really work for some people, and *really* don't work for others. Sometimes they cause stalls, sometimes they just help with a little push off the wagon... It all depends how you and your body react to things. I know I'm okay if I have the sugar free jello with some whipped cream (homemade), but if I have a cookie... it's not so good. Anyway, just something to keep in mind.

[blueberrylady]

Re: Hi there all.

Hi all. Lyssie, thanks for the recipe sites; I really appreciate that and will definitely check them out because I am determined to lose this weight on Atkins. It's the only thing that works for me. I went on Weight Watchers last summer and lost 10 lbs. in a month but I couldn't live on their wimpy portions and food that just didn't satisfy me. I was always hungry.

The first time I did Atkins, I stayed on Induction for 3 months because I was afraid to add more carbs into my diet. The chapter on OWL confused me then but I read the sticky on the main board on the rungs and now I think I will manage fine this time. I'm on day 13 of Induction now but I'm not sure when I will start to move up but I think I will be able to do it right this time.

How are all of you doing?

[chinadoll]

Re: Hi there all.

Blueberry, Here is how I am doing...I am 47 and the weight is coming off very slowly. I have discovered that artificial sweeteners stall me big time, rice and peanuts are both two of my binging triggers, and if I really listen to my body it tells me not only when I am hungry but also what it is hungry for (sorry about the grammar). So I feel like I am becoming much more educated about my body. I have not cheated in three months. I have only lost 11 pounds so far, but I feel great and am getting more and more active again. For me exercise is not a favorite activity but it is a non-negotiable part of my day. Why? Because when I put in a hard workout (I race walk, not run) I am less hungry, feel good about myself, and am less likely to blow all that hard work on a cheat.

I totally agree with Tom--this is about getting your head into the WOL. Reading the book will help with that. It gets me all positive and fired up about what I am doing. If your head isnt in it, it is so much harder to stay with it. Pep talk yourself. Tell yourself you are strong enough to see the day through and mean it. Restate your end goal and kind of recommit every morning (I use this to haul my walking clothes on every morning and there are lots of days I dont feel like doing it) And use the board to sound off and get the support you need when you are down. We are all here.

So, after that long drawn out explanation I would have to say I am doing great, because I am focusing on the positives and not what I cant have or what I am denied. Hope this helps, didn't mean to preach.

[canela70]

Re: Hi there all.

Hi A Step at a Time! I know how you feel, like most of the ppl here does I guess. I don't have any tricks to keep on track. But, I can tell you the reasons that keep me motivated- everytime I go shopping for clothing and nothing fits...everytime I look at my naked body in the mirror I don't like what I see...because I am afraid that my health becomes eventually affected due to my ow...because I have two baby girls to whom I want to give a good example...and because I want to look sexy once and for all...

If you do a straight induction, believe me, you will barely have any hunger or cravings. I am a food/sweets lover and emotional eater, and after trying so many ways to lose weight, this is the only way for me to do while feeling satisfied all of the time with just a little food serving.

So, go for it, girl!