I am back

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Thanks Lisa! The support means a lot to me. I'll keep you all posted how it goes tomorrow.

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Hi guys, its me again. If you didn't see my journal entry (My first journal ever is the title of the thread) then you don't know that I fell off the wagon on NYE. I felt really bad about it and was really beating myself up for it. I ate rice, spring rolls and noodles and lots of champagne. Normally I am exicted to get up in the morning and post but on the 1st I couldn't even get myself to sign in, I was so upset with myself. Today however I feel much better. Even though I fell on New Years Eve I got right back on again on the 1st with boiled eggs (and my mayo chili sauce) again (guess it was lunch since I didn't wake up until 1.30pm and had pan fried fish with salad for dinner and snacked on some cheese, salami and ham. I didn't work out as I didn't have the engery for it. Today, I had scrammbled eggs with mushrooms for breakfast and came to work with my roasted chicken and salad armed with some salami for a snack if needed. So far so good. I have my gym bag and will go to the gym this evening. Although I am really upset with myself at least I got myself back on track. This is a big deal for me because before when I would break the diet I would tell myself each day after "I'll start again tomorrw" all the while eating non-Atkins friendly foods!!!! This would go on for weeks to months. So this is definitly progress and I attribute it to your support and this bulletin board. Thanks so much to all of you and I wish you only the best for 2009. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[shaunawa]

Re: I am back

AOT - This is my second time around doing atkins... or maybe it is the fourth.
So, we are bringing in the New Year 2gether with this wol. We could be a great support for one another.

I know for sure that tonight when I go home I am cleaning out my cupboards. There is a ton of unfriendly food in there.

So, AOT - lets exercise, lets eat good Atkins food together and drop some lbs. should we???

Good luck to you!

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Hi Shaunawa! I am not so sure what happened to my reply but I replied to you earlier and it's not here. Maybe a glitch in my internet connection again. YES!!! Lets do this together. By the way what does WOL mean I see it everywhere? I feel sort of dumb asking but I would rather know. I'll tell you that the exercise feels great. Sometimes its a pain getting to the gym but once I am there and finish my work out I feel great. Sometimes like today when I don't feel so great I elect to do a class which is more motivating. Today I did Aqua aerobics and it was a lot of fun. Keep me posted on your progress and thanks for the support!

AOT - This is my second time around doing atkins... or maybe it is the fourth.
So, we are bringing in the New Year 2gether with this wol. We could be a great support for one another.

I know for sure that tonight when I go home I am cleaning out my cupboards. There is a ton of unfriendly food in there.

So, AOT - lets exercise, lets eat good Atkins food together and drop some lbs. should we???

Good luck to you!

[keystone jae]

Re: I am back

Good luck AOT..........I lived in England for a year (Maidstone-Kent county) and found the weather fabulous for outside walking/running. Plus everybody walks there.......I didn't see many overweight people there............Good luck to you. I know the grocery prices can be high.......but just think of the people who pay for a diet plan..........we are going to do this with REAL food......... and when it comes time to maintenance we are already on the food we need to be on..............

Good luck to you! (and to me!)

Cheers!

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Hi Keystone Jae! Yes you are totally right and by the way I have stopped by the grocery store a few more times so my bill has really rung up!!!! You are totally right about the people who pay for th plans. Before I recommitted to Atkins I went to a gym and they refered me to a program called VITALIFE something like that, a metabolic diet. They do a blood test and tell you what you should eat. They charge 485 Euros for that!!!! I almost had a heart attack. I decided that I already knew what to do and that Atkins was the best for me so I left. Now I just spend the money on the food and gym. Thanks for the encouragement! And good luck to you too! I am sure we will get there! Seek me out anytime you want a little support. I also have a journal under the Journal chats. The thread is called "my first journal ever". Do you keep a journal?

[Sweet Strudel]

Re: I am back

Hi AOT...nice to meet you!

I just wanted to stop by your journal to say hello and introduce myself.

Drop over to "my place" sometime!

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Thanks Sweet Strudel! Nice to meet you too. I will defintely stop by your journal. I am still trying to figure out BB so much to learn see and read. I love it though. Its like everyday I find something new. Looking forward to being on this journal together with you! Happy New Year and wish you loads of luck on your journy in 2009.

Hi AOT...nice to meet you!

I just wanted to stop by your journal to say hello and introduce myself.

Drop over to "my place" sometime!

[Sarina D]

Re: I am back

Hi AOT and welcome!!!

Congratulations on making the commitment to get healthy! I see you have put into place some plans for exercising....believe me...eating this way and exercising go hand in hand! Exercising makes a big difference not just in the way we look but also how we feel.

I know what you mean about feeling discouraged and having it take one out....for me this time to prevent that from happening I've broken my goals up into very, vert small ones....and they are...I take it day to day and even sometimes it's hour to hour for me and doing it this way has been the best way I have ever gotten through the discouragement I feel that comes my way from time to time. I have had to lose a tremendous amount of weight and that alone can be discouragement enough but the way I've done it is exactly that...small steps each day and with great determination to finally turn the boat around and get my life back.

Come here lots and post as often as you like. This forum is truly incredible and the support and success stories help one get through the difficult times.

It's very good to meet you, I look forward to hearing about how things are going for you!

I know you're going to do great!

Sarina
--------------------------------

Heaviest weight last year- 400 lbs. (2007)
April 1, 2008 - 387 lbs.
Atkins start weight – 347 (July 19, 2008 )
(100 lbs. lost as of Oct 2, 2008 - Hit 300 lbs. on this day )
Current weight – 252 lbs.
Goal weight - 150 – 160

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Thaks Keystone Jae! I think I am having real problems with my internet because I know I replied to you yet the reply isn't here?

I know what you mean about paying for diet plans. When I was looking for the "right" gym for me I was referred to this VITALIFE program in the same building and I went. They were charging me 485 Euros about 680 USD to take a blood test, give me a lists of foods I should eat depending on my blood test and 6 seasons in the gym or their turbo plate machine. the 680 USD didn't even include food! So I said "forget it, I know exactly what i have to do to lose weight. I just have to do it... Aktkins and exercise and discipline!" So I cam back to Atkins.

The weather here is beautiful in the summer. I can't wait until the Spring so I can start riding my bike to work and walking more places (I am so not used to the snow). The company has to sell the company car (econimic crisis hitting us hard) that I am driving now so that will mean more walking for me in 2009. I guess that is the silver lining to that bummed situation.

Good luck to you too and remember we are in this TOGETHER! So lets keep each other posted. My journal is in the journal chats, the thread name is "my first journal ever".

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Hi all you STACer's

In my journal I posted my grandmother's stuffed peppers recipe. But I thought this would be a good place for it too. I hope you enjoy it.

My grandmother’s stuffed peppers:

500 gm minced pork or beef
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium onion - sliced
2 medium tomatoes - sliced
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper
*a teaspoon of splenda (optional)

Saute garlic and onion until onion is translucent (be careful not to caramelize onions).
Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Cook until tomatoes are limp.
Add the minced meat, soy sauce and black pepper.
Simmer for a few minutes until all the meat has changed colour.
Simmer in low heat for about 20 minutes or until you see its browned and not too much juices at the bottom.
Remove from heat and drain any remaining juices. Let cool.

Cut a few bell peppers, clean out the seeds and some of the vains, so you have room to scoop in the mixture. I like to buy them big but it depends on what you can find. So I would say for 500 grams minced meat maybe about 3 or 4 small ones of 2 large ones. I always play it by eye.

When the meat mixture is cooled off:

Heat a frying pan with a little bit of oil, this can be any you like, my grandmother usually uses corn oil.

Beat one or two eggs depends on the size and add the meat mixture. You want it to be runny like an omelet mixture. Mix it all up and then scoop the mixture in to each half pepper. Take each pepper carefully and turn it over on the hot oil for just a couple of minutes. Only so the egg sets at the top. Then when done with all of them put them each on a baking pan and put them in the oven at medium heat. Preferably not grilling from the top or the tops will turn really dark. Bake them until you see the skin of the bell pepper is cooked/roasted, soft and moist.

Any remaining meat mixture you use to make cutlets or omletes however you want to call it. I love them. I like to warm them up a little in the microwave and have it for dinner.

*you can skip fry panning the peppers if you like and just put the peppers directly in the oven after filling them.

**My grandmother used to add a little sugar to meat mixture so make it a bit sweet. If you like sweet and savory tastes you can add a bit of splenda , not too much, just to give it a mild sweet taste. I actually like it and add it myself at the end when the meat is almost cooked. Oh yeah and also play the splenda by ear. I add it at the end so the meat is cooked enough for me to taste the amount of sweetness as I don't like it very sweet.



***when I am on induction I reduce the amounts of the tomatoes to only 1

[cruisergal]

Re: I am back

Welcome back! We can all identify with what you're going through. And together we will succeed!

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Thanks Cruisergal! It certainly helps to know that I am not in this alone. This board is fantastic, isn't it?

How are you coming along? Did you start a journal?

[AOT]

Re: I am back

Hi Sarina! Its great to meet you too!

Yes I agree that exercising and eating right go hand in hand. Its taken me so long to get it back together so I am really determined this time. Thanks for the encouragement. It really is discouraging sometimes. But today I measured myself (I did NOT step on that EVIL scale) and no change in my thighs but there was a 4cm change in my waiste and 1 cm in my arms. At first I thought it could not be true so I measured a second time. By the way i measure in cm beacause the measuring tapes here in Europe don't come with inches.

I know what you mean by taking things one day at a time and even one hour at a time. I think I have struggled that way before. Just thinking if I can only get through the next hour, then if I can just make it until the end of the day and then if I can only make it until the end of the week.... it does help. I also find that these mini goals help a lot with my workouts. Sometimes I just plan on a half hour then from there I take it 5 mins at a time. When I finish the 5 then i go for another 5 and usually keep doing this until I have hit 60 mins!

Your support means a lot to me. Thank you so much and also congrats on your progress. Your stats are great! I hope I can be there soon too.

Hi AOT and welcome!!!

Congratulations on making the commitment to get healthy! I see you have put into place some plans for exercising....believe me...eating this way and exercising go hand in hand! Exercising makes a big difference not just in the way we look but also how we feel.

I know what you mean about feeling discouraged and having it take one out....for me this time to prevent that from happening I've broken my goals up into very, vert small ones....and they are...I take it day to day and even sometimes it's hour to hour for me and doing it this way has been the best way I have ever gotten through the discouragement I feel that comes my way from time to time. I have had to lose a tremendous amount of weight and that alone can be discouragement enough but the way I've done it is exactly that...small steps each day and with great determination to finally turn the boat around and get my life back.

Come here lots and post as often as you like. This forum is truly incredible and the support and success stories help one get through the difficult times.

It's very good to meet you, I look forward to hearing about how things are going for you!

I know you're going to do great!

Sarina
--------------------------------

Heaviest weight last year- 400 lbs. (2007)
April 1, 2008 - 387 lbs.
Atkins start weight – 347 (July 19, 2008 )
(100 lbs. lost as of Oct 2, 2008 - Hit 300 lbs. on this day )
Current weight – 252 lbs.
Goal weight - 150 – 160