Starting atkins for the 10th time!

[momonmission99*]

I have gained 55 pounds in the last 3 1/2 years.
I have gone on atkins numerous times and done other diets. I've even tried pills. What a waste of money! Not to mention I'd always have to throw the bottle away because no matter what, I would end up feeling really weird after I took them.

I started atkins 11 days ago and this is the first time I've gone this long without cheating. It's like I'm finally ready to lose this weight. I haven't even thought about cheating. It's just not worth it.

I'm 5'8. I started out at 225 *puke* and am now down to 207. I can't wait to be in onderland again. That will be so awesome.
sticking to all the rules, except I do a child size cup of crystal light and mix it with a very large glass of water. That is my treat every other day or so. I am also counting calories and trying to stay under 1300 a day. I do pretty well with that considering that I'm actually not hungry on atkins.

I've looked at a lot of before and after pics on here, you guys are such an inspiration. Hopefully one day I'll be able to post an after picture when I'm done with my journey.

Did it take some of you multiple times to finally be committed and say "enough is enough" ?

[Georgiana]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

18 lbs in 11 days? Wow, that's excellent. You probably have a very low metabolic resistance.

Welcome to the Board!

[momonmission99*]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

I'm pretty shocked about it and it's completely motivated me to keep going.
My husband is deployed and gets back in 2 months. I want his mouth to fall open when he sees that his wife is coming back! LOL

I'm going to start working out this week and see if I can really push myself. I really feel like I need to build some good muscle and a good workout schedule to keep the weight off once I'm done losing.

I have researched everything and read the atkins book a couple times, but not in a few years. I need to find it and open it up again. What's the low metabolic resistance?

Every time I step on the scale I put a weight on it, then my kids. I just don't believe it!

[momonmission99*]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

Ok, I found this
Are You Metabolically Resistant?

it really makes me wonder. I've been thin all my life. Rail thin at one point. Even after having 3 babies I never gained more than 20 lbs in a pregnancy and always ended up skinnier after kids (like within 2 weeks of giving birth) than before I was pregnant.

My grandmother always called me 7 bellies and said I ate like a truck driver. I was the skinny kid who would eat a whole pizza. I also have skinny genetics. Neither side of my family was heavy.

I continued to eat like this but was always very active, UNTIL I started working on the internet. I became sedentary. Completely sedentary. The more weight I gained, the more I became a shut in and didn't want to face the world.

I also had to have my tubes tied after my 3rd child. I noticed a lot of problems after doing this. I did some research a year ago and found that my problems were similar to a lot of women, one of them was ridiculous weight gain. The only way to stop it was to have a reversal, but I can't do that as pregnancy is life threatening for me. I'm not stupid though, I know that it wasn't the only thing that caused me to gain weight! Only a tiny part of the problem.

I'm ashamed to admit this, but a sample would be, instead of eating one sloppy joe, I would have 3 or 4 because it tasted good. I would drink pepsi every day and ate out a lot. It just creeped up on me more and more as the past 3 years went by.

So naturally I have a really fast metabolism but it couldn't keep up with my sedentary lifestyle. So the low metabolic resistance makes a lot of sense now.

Should I move on to the new phase after 14 days, especially if I'm going to be working out, or just give it another 2 weeks and see what happens?

I really want to kill my craving for sweets. It was one of my biggest weaknesses. I can't even eat brownies anymore because I ate them so much for a year. I feel like I have ruined my body and you only get one.

[Georgiana]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

I'm not sure what is your goal, but since I'm also 5'8", I guess you started with about 70 lbs or so. There is a table on page 158 of DANDR 2002. You should weigh yourself at the end of the two weeks and, using this table, find your degree of metabolic resistance. This number can then be used to approximate your CCLL (Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing) range as you move to OWL (turn to page 173 for another table).

Dr. Atkins wrote:

[...] the degree of resistance to weight loss that your body shows corresponds to your degree of difficulty in getting well into lipolysis. By definition, resistance to weight loss is resistance to lipolysis.

The tables in the book can also be found here:

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-low-carb-dieting-faqs/6773-what-my-ace-ccll.html

Keep in mind however that a low degree of metabolic resistance does not necessarily mean a high weight loss rate. It does for most folks, but you shouldn't generalize it. For example, I have a low degree of metabolic resistance (I'm still working to find my CCLL, but it is above 50 for sure), but I am only losing about a pound every 2-3 weeks. If you exercise regularly (i.e. vigorous exercise five times a week for at least 45 min), your CCLL is normally in the 60-90 g net carbohydrate per day.

[Georgiana]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

Should I move on to the new phase after 14 days, especially if I'm going to be working out, or just give it another 2 weeks and see what happens?

The people who usually benefit from extending the 2-week Induction phase are those that either have a lot to lose (over ~75 lbs) and/or are (very) metabolically resistant. In my opinion, you should move to OWL immediately after Induction. It will give you some wonderful food choices (more vegetables, yogurt, berries, legumes, etc.), which will not only add variety to your meals (thus making you less tempted to "cheat" with, let's say, strawberries and whipped cream), but will also allow you to eat more nutrient-dense foods.

I really want to kill my craving for sweets.

Here is a nice sticky thread: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...-response.html

[momonmission99*]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

More vegetables would be awesome! LOL

[Georgiana]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

More vegetables would be awesome! LOL

Yeah, that was also one of my biggest problems during Induction.

[momonmission99*]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

I'm wondering, how the heck does someone get up to 20 carbs a day. I can't seem to get past like 14 a day. I eat romaine lettuce, which has less carbs than iceberg and is also better for you. I usually do 2 1/2 cups of romaine and about 1/2 a cup of cucumber in it. Then I add some cheese and dressing. I like the Ken's dressing because they have the full ranch and italian with only 1 carb in it. I don't really like the low cal stuff and try to keep up my fat intake because it really curbs my appetite.

I mainly eat a lot of meats for my meals. Like a cooked steak, which I buy the "organic" or aged. (no hormones). I will eat some wings sometimes with butter and tabasco for my sauce. I bake chicken with seasoning on it. I eat eggs for breakfast which I really haven't grown tired of. I've only done the bacon once. I'm not a huge bacon eater lol. Normally I will just buy sausage and put a tiny bit in the egg with about a teaspoon of cut up bell pepper and cheese. I like omelets! I have done chorizo, which I love, but only twice. Even with all that stuff I have a very low carb count. Unless I'm missing something?

Sorry for turning this thread into a free for all LOL.

[Georgiana]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

20 is just an upper limit. When I was doing Induction, I think I averaged around 15 g. What you can do to increase your veg carbohydrate is to eat one cup from the "Other Vegetables" list and substitute part of the lettuce with a more nutritious vegetable from the "Salad Vegetables" list. Having a higher veg carb count will give you more room for other foods, since you have to be careful to get over half of your net carbohydrate from vegetables.

I love omelets too. They are versatile, and they also look prettier than scrambled or poached eggs.

[momonmission99*]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

Yes they do! Especially with cheese lol. I love my cheese, so glad I don't have to give that up and it isn't stalling me.

I'm gonna have to check that list again and see what other vegetables are there to add to my salad.
I will sometimes put some zucchini in olive oil and fry it with seasoning. It's so good with a steak!

[mitzimarie]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

Here you go!

Vegetables
You can have two to three cups per day of:

alfalfa sprouts
daikon
mushrooms
arugula
endive
parsley
bok choy
escarole
peppers
celery
fennel
radicchio
chicory
jicama
radishes
chives
lettuce
romaine lettuce
cucumber
moche
sorrel
These salad vegetables are high in phytonutrients and provide a good source of fiber.

Other Vegetables
You can have one cup per day of these veggies if salad does not exceed two cups. The following vegetables are slightly higher in carbohydrate content than the salad vegetables:

artichoke
celery root
pumpkin
artichoke hearts
rhubarb
asparagus
chard
sauerkraut
bamboo shoots
collard greens
scallions
dandelion
snow peas
bean sprouts
dandelion greens
spaghetti squash
beet greens
eggplant
spinach
broccoli
hearts of palm
string or wax beans
broccoli rabe
kale
summer squash
brussels
kohlrabi
tomato
bean sprouts
leeks
turnips
cabbage
okra
water chestnuts
cauliflower
onion
zucchini
If a vegetable, such as spinach or tomato, cooks down significantly, it must be measured raw so as not to underestimate its carb count.

[mitzimarie]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

I will sometimes put some zucchini in olive oil and fry it with seasoning. It's so good with a steak!

Yes, it's great!

It's does my heart good, to see you excited about veggies. It's a recipe for success.

Speaking of recipes... in case you haven't seen Linda's recipe site, I am going to include a link. Tons of great veggie options (among other things)! Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Home

[momonmission99*]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

Yes! I love lots of vegetables and they go so well with meat! Too bad I can't have a baked potato LOL

I'm sure one day I'll be able to eat a small one when I've moved onto the last phase of my atkins WOL.

Thank You so much for that list! I LOVE mushrooms on salad, especially fried in butter. And the artichoke with tabasco and broccoli on my salads. I totally forgot about those things. It's hard to retain ALL the information after not reading the book for a couple years.

[momonmission99*]

Re: Starting atkins for the 10th time!

Ok, just checked, I guess I'll be eating a small portion of boiled potatoes with cheese on them one day. LOL

Almost 50 grams of carbs in a baked potato! wow