Atkins + barracks = nightmare

[Romana XIII]

Cheers, everybody. New second timer here.

So two days ago, I started Atkins again. The first time I did it was a success (though it took much longer due to rampant cheating)--I started at 225 and lost 50 lbs., enough to finally allow me to join the military.

Now that I'm in the service, you'd think I'd be in great shape, and I did lose quite a bit more in boot camp. Then gained a bit back when I got out. And a month and a half ago, I went home for the holidays and BINGED. Ben and Jerry's, grilled cheese, giant wedges of piping hot french bread from the grocery store. Everything I hadn't been able to eat while in training since I had to get all my meals from the mess.

I gained twenty pounds. TWENTY.

I'm now at an unacceptable weight for the service. Losing ten will put me back where I was, 175, but that's not good enough. I want to drop to my ideal weight, 155. And Atkins is the only thing that has worked.

The main problem now is, I have no kitchen. It was much easier when I was able to cook for myself, but I live in the barracks now. I'm not even allowed to own a hot plate as it's considered a fire hazard (though I'm considering sneaking one in and just locking it up during room inspections). I can't even boil an egg!

And my main issue with the free chow served here is (aside from a lot of it being unpalatable) is that when they serve meat, it tends to be sopped down with sugary sauces or starchy gravy. Breakfast is fine--I can get eggs to order and bacon or sausage--and lunch is usually okay, today it was a piece of (overcooked) salmon, spinach, and salad bar. Dinner for some reason tends to be trickier.

Also, the selection at the commissary is pretty woeful. And a girl can only eat so much string cheese.

Anyway, I mostly just had to vent. I'm feeling a bit nauseated and frustrated. I found out after arriving in Japan that I looooove onigiri, which is now a big no-no because it's 95% white rice. I'm drinking tons of water and trying not to think about it.

[josie2]

Re: Atkins + barracks = nightmare

Romana - welcome! Glad you're here. Boy you are in a pickle aren't you? This is going to take some brainstorming. First thing that comes to mind is hopefully they add the gravy/sauce in line and you can ask them to hold it. If not,. And I'm sure the veggies served will not always be ones allowed on induction, such as corn, carrots, peas. Salad bar only at lunch? or all meals? Does the commissary allow you to order or request different things? That might be an idea. But what to ask for that you could keep fresh? hum?

[hopejoy]

Re: Atkins + barracks = nightmare

Romana,
Wow! That would be very hard! I don't have any advice except maybe get some snacks like beef jerkey, and when you're at the nut level on owl have some nuts handy... in the meantime exercise like crazy and try as hard as you can to stick with induction for 2 weeks and move up the OWL ladder as fast as you comfortably can. Don't forget to drink tons of water. I bet the food is a bit salty too.

Thank you for serving our country! Bless you for your sacrifice. Wishing you successful wt loss! Let us know how it goes!

[tfek70]

Re: Atkins + barracks = nightmare

I'm in the service too, Navy. I always had a hard time following this when we went out to sea. Since you are shore based, you can probably hit the speed line for burgers without buns. The salad bar usually has ham and pepperoni. I used to get a bowl of ham, pepperoni, cheese, and hotsauce if the main course was unfriendly. What base are you on? I was at Camp Shields in 93. We used to go to Kadena for food a lot because it was so much better.

T. J.

[tfek70]

Re: Atkins + barracks = nightmare

Just remembered something else too. I have never been to a barracks that didn't have grills that you could use. Grill some stuff and put it in the fridge, that way you have plenty of meals. I usually do a lot of grilling on the weekend. It's been about 15 years since I was a barracks rat though. When I inspect my folks rooms I notice things have improved greatly. They have full sized refigerators now. You should have no problem with this WOE.

[ceemarie]

Re: Atkins + barracks = nightmare

I was going to suggest getting some kind of meat sticks and is there tuna available? They now come in those great packs that are easy to open and you can get may in small packettes as well.

[Romana XIII]

Re: Atkins + barracks = nightmare

What base are you on? I was at Camp Shields in 93. We used to go to Kadena for food a lot because it was so much better.

I'm at Atsugi, just down the road from Camp Zama but pretty far away from Kadena

I can fortunately get stuff like the packaged tuna and crab (I had crab salad for dinner a couple days ago) at the commissary. The grilling is a good idea, I hadn't thought of it (probably because it's been so cold lately).

Lunch today was awful, the roast beef was so tough I couldn't cut it! I pretty much just had salad. The galley offers salad bar at both lunch and dinner so that's at least something. I usually get shredded cheese and hardboiled egg on mine.

Tonight though, I ventured out to the Seven-Eleven in town and much to my surprise found an Atkins-friendly bento--a fried egg and two small pieces of bacon on a bed of cooked spinach. I also found a snack made from compressed crab meat (made to look like a giant shelled crab leg) that was filled with a wasabi-tinged mayonnaise. Interesting, and it kept me away from that aisle with the designer Kit-Kats.