Moving On

[Seshena36]

Okay, after much thought and reading.........and after careful consideration....I think I have been on induction long enough. On Monday the 19th I will start OWL (because I will have been on induction for 28 days).......

I'm going to be moving myself and the guy I'm dating on to the Veggie Rung of the Ladder.........and hope that I can continue to do as well as I have been doing.

[dreamof145]

Re: Moving On

You will do fine. Make sure you adjust your plan of action and prepare for it with portion sizes and the same committment that you had on the induction phase. Keep up your exercising and you should be fine. Best wishes to both of you!!!

[Seshena36]

Re: Moving On

You will do fine. Make sure you adjust your plan of action and prepare for it with portion sizes and the same committment that you had on the induction phase. Keep up your exercising and you should be fine. Best wishes to both of you!!!

Thanks dream...I will do my best that is for sure. The only thing that sort of "bothers" me is the fact that you are allowed to add 5 more net carbs of veggies to your menu but my appetite has decresed TREMENDOUSLY. I am having trouble eating enough food as it is with 20 net carbs........

My mom is living with us now and even though I didnt "pig out" before I started this, she is astonished at how little I actually do eat now. And no, I'm not "dieting" or doing it on purpose. It seems that most times...half a chicken breast and 3/4 cup of broccoli does me in...I'm totally full with it. Any ideas about that???

[ValidRouge]

Re: Moving On

Seshena, yep that's the beauty of Atkins. What I had to do is start eating my vegetables FIRST so that if I got full, at least I got them in. Plus, it helped me to control potentially overeating my protein. Because I do get my veggies in, I have no problems with my bowels. Remember, only eat enough until you are satisfied and then stop. You'll do great on OWL. I absolutely LOVE it.

[Seshena36]

Re: Moving On

Seshena, yep that's the beauty of Atkins. What I had to do is start eating my vegetables FIRST so that if I got full, at least I got them in. Plus, it helped me to control potentially overeating my protein. Because I do get my veggies in, I have no problems with my bowels. Remember, only eat enough until you are satisfied and then stop. You'll do great on OWL. I absolutely LOVE it.

Okay, I can understand that..but I have a question....have you ever had those days where just THINKING about the salad or the veggies makes you want to hurl? I felt like that last night (I had veggies at lunch) but for dinner I ended up eating a boneless skinless chicken breast, sauteed in butter in a skillet with one slice of pepper jack cheese melted on it. The thought of having a salad or some other veggie at that time was just NOT a good thing......and its not because I dont like them, because I do.
I dont think I overeat my protein though...like I said, I've cut down on things SO drastically its not even funny...my stomach just doesnt hold much more than 2 cups worth of food at a time it seems. *shrug*

So you are on the fruits rung now? Did you find it hard to keep adding 5 grams or what?

[dreamof145]

Re: Moving On

I know I used to be a big-eater. Since I've been doing Atkins, my portions are a lot smaller and satsifying.

I've never had a day when my veggies and salads didn't sound good, you might want to try a different veggie on days like that or fix them a different way. As long as you are eating within your rung of owl and satisfying your hunger...you should do fine. I still have days when I eat a little less. The main thing is that you don't go hungry and you stick to the acceptable foods.

[Seshena36]

Re: Moving On

I know I used to be a big-eater. Since I've been doing Atkins, my portions are a lot smaller and satsifying.

I've never had a day when my veggies and salads didn't sound good, you might want to try a different veggie on days like that or fix them a different way. As long as you are eating within your rung of owl and satisfying your hunger...you should do fine. I still have days when I eat a little less. The main thing is that you don't go hungry and you stick to the acceptable foods.

Yeah, I suppose I can try a different veggie....but I think to be totally honest, the only kinds of veggies I'm "missing" that I feel would satisfy me or make me not feel that way...would be corn or carrots. I'll just have to figure it out I guess....trial and error maybe.

[staziaw]

Re: Moving On

Good for you!! Moving on to OWL!! Don't worry so much about the amount of food you eat. You should eat when you're hungry and only until you're satisfied. Now you can add a little more variety. And variety is the spice of life!

Stacy

[not2late]

Re: Moving On

Check out the stickie I posted in the OWL forum about how to eat those additional vegetables.

[Seshena36]

Re: Moving On

Good for you!! Moving on to OWL!! Don't worry so much about the amount of food you eat. You should eat when you're hungry and only until you're satisfied. Now you can add a little more variety. And variety is the spice of life!

Stacy

Thanks Stacy. I'm pretty excited...I think....LOL. The only thing thats "kind of" sucky is the fact that if I plan to stay on each rung one week....then I'll be on the veggie rung for three weeks because I dont need or want the dairy or seeds/nuts rung...LOL. Kind of doing the same darn thing I'm doing now *shrug*......then I'll be on the berry rung for two weeks before moving on to legumes because I dont drink...man there's a lot of thinking and planning on this. Does it ever get any easier where one isnt seemingly obsessed with food????

[ValidRouge]

Re: Moving On

Seshena, when you start adding those veggies back on a regular basis, and the extra carbs, you kind of lessen your ketosis...which will get your appetite up a little bit. But to your question about did I feel like I wanted to HURL at the thought of eating anything...Yes, I did. I just went ahead and ate a few bites of this and a few bites of that and put it away. I eat about the same amount of salad...at lunch time usually. For dinner, I WANT that cup of HOT vegetable (squash, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, etc.) but if I eat my meat/fat first, I won't eat the veggie. So, I consciously eat the veggie first.

Don't worry about what I said about lessening the ketosis...you WILL still lose. I've had weeks in OWL where I've lost 5 lbs, and the average is about 2 lbs. It just gets easier to eat. I don't do much snacking though. I eat b-fast, lunch and dinner and thats about it.

Here's pretty much what I did on my 'rungs' (after veggies)
Dairy: occasional yogurt, use cottage and ricotta cheeses to cook with (italian dishes) New York Ricotta Cheesecake!!! YUM YUM
Nuts: the occasional handful of nuts as a little snack, ground almonds to make stuff with, flaxseed meal to bake with, sesame seeds on a salad.
Berries: strawberries, black berries, raspberries with real whipped cream or cream cheese and splenda. A few bites of honeydew melon.
alcohol: the occasional mixed drink or glass of wine
Legumes: beans on my salad, in a soup or chili
Fruits: guava, nectarine, watermelon

Because of the appetite suppression I haven't had too much of a problem of overeating on the foods. Unless I'm at a party where the food is just out there and everyone around me is eating...that gets a little testy sometimes, but I usually do okay.

[Elizellen]

Re: Moving On

One way I found to add vegetables easily is to make them into sauces or soups.

So chop up some sweet red peppers and cook them in butter till soft then put them in the food processor and wizz them till they are like a puree.
Then either use them as is over meat or veggies or add some cream to them to make a smooth sauce.
Soups make the same way but add some chicken stock and some cooked shredded meat or dribble a beaten egg into it while heating it to make sort of noodles if you like.

I stayed on the veg rung several 'times' so I could add more portions of them to my eating plan. Then although I hadnt intended to add the dairy rung (not that keen on milk or cream except in cooking and dont like the fresh cheeses) I was reminded that yogurt is allowed on that rung. Fullfat greek yogurt is great either on its own or later on berries!