Tickle and Mari's ATKINS CHALLENGE...Finding our CCL

[maribelle]

Hi! We've been doing a reinduction together to stay strong, and the object is to be honest with each other if we mess up, and encourage each other to be strong. Anyone who wants to join in is welcome. Unfortunately, I have to start this thread with admitting to a cheat....2 broken french fries, and 1 chicken nugget... :anger Also a few too many green beans. So far no sweet cravings, thank goodness.
Mainly just posting menus and being honest if we slip...what do you think Tickle? Should we post anything else?

B. 6 oz. steak roll ups with 3 T. cream cheese
L. 3 turkey brats
S. 8 oz. sausage fried with green pepper, onion, tomato, cauliflower and green beans and 1/2 oz. mozz. cheese..( oh, and my mess up :sadblinky ) Also 2 cups fresh salad with 1 oz. mozz dressing, 1 T. almond slivers, 1T. ranch. I guess technically almond slivers aren't on induction either. I BETTER STRAIGHTEN UP! I'm embarassing myself.

1700 calories, and 25 carbs.

[jimmie 48]

i am not joining and i hope you don't mind but one post from me.

i am very happy you two are doing this. i feel like a mother hen sending her chicks off into the world. lol

[tickletussler]

Re: Tickle and Mari's REINDUCTION CHALLENGE

Definitely dont mind you being mother hen JimmieJo!!!!

Hiya Mari!!!!!! :hug the way I look at it, you started off with a little treat for the journey

2 french fries and 1 chicken nugget isn't bad dear. Just think how many carbs that is - probably 10 or 20g max. If you've eaten no more than 20 on thursday, then chances are you'll still be alright. :yes

Yeah, let's post menus, cheats, suggestions to each other and encouragement - the sort of things we've been saying to each other in our journos.

the rest of your menu for thurs look ok :yes

Ok - here's my foods eaten for thursday and friday

Thursday's foods eaten:

Brekkie - 2-egg omelette with 2 skinless sausages (0.25g each)
Lunch - choose own ingredients salad bar: salad with spinach, capsicum, mushroom, bacon, egg, cucumber, celery, bean sprouts with caesar dressing
(have no idea what carb count is but guestimated 6 cups with 5tbsp caesar dressing just to make sure - approx 12g?)
Dinner - 2 large lamb chops and 3 fried eggs

CARBS 17G CALORIES 2,389 75%fats/3%carbs/22%protein

Friday's foods eaten:

Brekkie - 2-egg omelette with 2 skinless sausages (0.25g each)
Lunch - 2 cups spinach salad with 2 yellow grape tomatoes, ½ cup sliced cucumber, couple of red onion rings, 1/4 cup capsicum strips, topped with spicy chicken
Snack - 1oz Jarlsberg cheese (0-0.4g carbs)
Dinner - 25 large prawns cooked with 2 cups buk choy, butter and sesame oil
After dinner - 15g Lindt 85% cocoa (3g carbs)

CARBS 24G CALORIES 1,747 61%fat/6%carbs/33%protein

[Vee26]

Hi All,
I've been a bad girl so I've decided to join. I will be retarting induction today. So far I've only eaten a low carb breakfast bowl from Carl's Jr. which included cheddar cheese, eggs, bacon bits, sausage and ham. I feel bad. My weight keeps going up and down, but never reaches where I first started. Thank Goodness

[tickletussler]

Welcome Vee!!! :hug

glad that you're here to join us! Mari's really sweet and we could all do with a lot of encouraging here. No need to restart Induction, just pick yourself up, learn from it and keep going (-you can't really restart induction). Forget about your scales for 2 weeks - SERIOUSLY - try and not look at them all week. Watching your weight fluctuate can be so discouraging and we don't want that :hug Just focus - pop in whenever you wanna cheat or you're craving - I do that, I write straight in my journal and catch up on all those wonderful people around the board and if I wait long enough the cravings pass and hopefully I've escaped from another cheat!

Bacon bits - ask them if its real bacon or the imitation bits?

You CAN do it Vee!!! We're here for support :hug :hug :hug

Cheers.

[maribelle]

OK.... :anger :sadblinky :anger :sadblinky :anger :sadblinky I am officially restarting my portion of this challenge today! I can't talk about yesterday other then...the wagon lurched, and I fell off! If only I had been near a computer and read your post, Tickle, I would of been ok! I know it. But I was miles from home, food deprived, tired, discouraged, and had one HELLLLLLLLLLLLLo of a day, and so....I'm sorry! I feel like I let you down, and its really BOTHERING me. So...today is a new day. I haven't made any mistakes yet, and I don't plan to! Here's my DAY 1 rereinduction menu for today:

B. 2 egg, 2 oz. 2 saus. patties (best I can do where I am today)
L. 1/4 roasted chicken
S. My own lo carb jambalaya (chicken, turkey polish sausage, tomato, green pepper, chick. broth, tomato, spices )

On fitday.com : 1728 cals, 60% fat, 4 % carbs (18 carbs, 3 fiber), 36% protein

Right on track. Ok, gotta run. If you want to boot me out for screwing up yesterday, I'll understand...but if not, THANK YOU! I'll make it good, I promise!

BY THE WAY....welcome, VEE!!! Hope this challenge helps you...and that I be a better participant for ya! And thanks Jimmie! You're such a funny sweetheart! And Tickle...YOU'RE THE BEST! :hug

[tickletussler]

Hey Mari, Please don't be so hard on yourself!!!!

We all have crap days, and sometimes it happens when we are outside, far from home, or we're tired, or we have a long way to go before we can kick up our heels or whenever we just feel plain vulnerable!

I had 10 fries with dinner today... I suppose you could call it a cheat LOL but I don't feel bad because it brought my carb total to around 35g. Ok it's a :no :no but I know it won't put on the weight and my activities for tomorrow and the week will just even it out.... so Mari, please don't feel bad about your cheat yesterday - you really really need to put it into perspective! Meaning you could have cheated more and gone on a complete binge and that would've made you feel 10 times worse now, wouldn't it? :hug

Here's what I ate on Saturday:

Brekkie - none, I was awake till 4:30am and slept till 13:30
Lunch - 3-egg omelette with 1 chopped tomato, chillis, garlic cooked in olive & sesame oil
Snack - 5 prawns from last night
Dinner (out) - Salad with 2-3 cups of lettuce, 2 slices cucumber, 1 slice tomato, few onion rings, 3 capsicum rings, approx 1.5oz feta cheese in restaurant-made dressing. 2.5 slices of panfried haloumi cheese. 1 whole lemon sole lightly coated in flour :no couldn't do much about that as there was no "skin" on the fish to take off. and 10 skinny fries.

CARBS 35g? (no idea coz it's restaurant food) CALORIES approx 2,000cals?

[maribelle]

Hi! Thanks Tickle! I don't mean to be so hard on myself, but I've been struggling since January. I know what's good to eat, and what's not, but lately I just can't seem to say no to what's not! Yesterday was PERFECT up until the hour before bed, when my husband brought out the chocolate and mint oreos. I had three, which keeps me below 35 carbs, too, but I'm looking at trying to lose 150 more pounds! I was down to 320 on Saturday, and this morning back up to 325! I know I've been pretty hard on myself, and sometimes think that's why I'm struggling...but I do keep trying again, and for that I'm grateful!

This morning I'm sick. Chest is congested, ears hurt, throat hurts! Hoping eating according to plan, and all the garlic and echinachea pills I took kill whatever it is.

B. 5 oz. breakfast sausages, 1/2 cup. melon balls
L. Out, but on plan! I'm not screwing this up any more!
S. taco salad

[tickletussler]

Hey Mari,

Did you KICK your hubby for bringing home those oreos?????? If mine is going to eat chocolates and chips, I make him hide them or he's not allowed to have them!!!! LOL

How about you be hard on yourself, and I'll put you into perspective and tell you that it's not all bad, you STOPPED after 3 oreos and still came in at 35g carbs! :clapping

One suggestion, DON'T WEIGH YOURSELF AFTER A CHEAT - you'll just get yourself down for nothing, because you will find in the next day or so you're back to what you were. I've noticed that I put on 3lbs or so the morning after - I just think it takes me longer for me to digest the carbs and perhaps I retain water a little bit, so that's why the next morning I'm a tad heavier - so maybe it's the same with you?

Eat more veggies with vitamin C Mari! Especially when you're sick and considering we can't eat citrus foods just yet. What are you doing eating melon balls though? urplequ:

Ok, here's what I ate over the weekend. Yes, on Saturday temptation came along in the form of 1 bite of a sweet danish and 1 bite of a bread roll. Sunday was the same - quarter of slice of bread... but I'm not going to kick myself for it - coz Mari, we need to get through this challenge and DO ATKINS THE BEST FOR EACH OF US even if it's not perfect (as Nursey's siggy says!)

Saturday
----------
(Woke up really late so no brekkie, big rush to get out of the house so grabbed some quick food on the way)

Lunch/Snack - one hard-boiled egg and 11 prawns leftover from Friday's din
Snack/temptation - one bite of apple cinnamon danish & one bite of cheese chives roll
Snack - 1 cup of celery sticks with smoked trout dip
Dinner - large chicken thigh & drumstick sprinkled with rosemary, chilli, paprika, soy, 1 cups broccoli, 1 cup green beans, 1 cup buk choy
(plus 1tsp flax seeds & 8tsp psyllium husks)

CARBS 21G CALORIES 1,291 61%fats/7%carbs/33%protein

Sunday
--------

Brunch - 300g soft tofu with tin of tuna, sesame oil, chilli, shallots, fish sauce
Temptation - quarter of very thick slice of wholegrain & poppy seed bread
Snack - 100g pack of spicy pork crackling (same as pork rinds maybe?), 2oz Danish cheese, 1oz Dutch gouda with carraway seeds
Dinner - Osso bucco shank cooked in pureed rosemary, tomato & celery sauce with 2 cups of broccoli florets
(plus 1.5tsp flax seeds & 8tsp psyllium husks)

CARBS 23G CALORIES 1,920 59%fats/5%carbs/35%protein

[maribelle]

Melon balls, what melon balls??? Oh THOSE melon balls! Well, see, I bought a cantaloupe for my son who LOVES them, and as it is a very rare article in our house, I did have some. I've found in the past that I've had them and stayed within my induction range, but I know I know...not by the book. Man, I can't slip anything past you! (he he he)

Ok, yesterday:

B. 4 susages, melon.
L. Chicken with swiss cheese, mushrooms, bacon, broccoli, and ceasar side salad
S. hamburger with mushroom and swiss
Snack Ham with 3 more chunks of melon.
2159 cals, 64%fat, 38carbs -5 fiber=33 carbs 6%, protein 29%

OK...looking at that, I'm blushing again. I thought I did so well yesterday. Now I'm back at home, so I won't be screwing up like this anymore. Its amazing how much eating out can trip you up. And no more melon balls. My son finished them this morning. :yes

today:
B. 6oz. sausage 1 T. cream cheese
L. Fresh 1 g. carb per serving turkey brats, sm. salad
S. Taco meat on fresh greens, steamed green beans
2071 cals, 68% fat, 3%carb = 25 carbs-7 fiber=18 carbs, 28% protein

Hey, Tickle? What vegetables should I be eating that are high in C? I mainly eat asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and cabbage. Also brussel sprouts, but they are really expensive here.

[tickletussler]

Hey Mari,

I had 3 bites of fiance's melon and that was it - so I reckon you me are even now LOL

Higher carb veggies (that's why I eat them more rarely) but still on induction list are cauliflower, pumpkin is a good one, turnip, green beans, even a cup of tomato is quite a bit

I don't know if I should be saying this, but I reckon your menu does look good. THINK ABOUT IT, there are not refined carbs right? All the foods you have eaten so far are all foods that you would include back at some point in your OWL rungs. I reckon dear, if we do "cheat" we shouldn't be so hard on each other if they are "Atkins-acceptable" foods we binged on, coz I reckon it means we're going on the right track, you know? ensive

My tummy wasn't feeling so good this morning - too much chilli in my meal yesterday I think, so I skipped brekkie. So here's what I ate Tuesday:

Lunch - spicy chicken with eggplant, onions, green beans and broccoli
Snack - 3-4 thai-marinated grilled baby octopus & 1oz Danish cheese
Dinner - tofu & beef mince soup seasoned with chilli flakes, soy sauce, garlic & sesame oil
CARBS 35-40G? CALORIES 2,300? 71%fat/7%carbs/22%protein

I have no idea how to measure the amounts I ate, so I took max guesses.

I'm also in one of those vulnerable days - not enough sleep, stayed up on ADBB too late. when I'm tired like this, I just have the urge to eat, no matter what.

But I figured, what the heck - 30-40g carbs - not like I eat like this everyday and chances are I won't stall and my weight would still be the same in the morning.

Hey Mari, I think we're going better than we think, whaddaya think???

[maribelle]

You're absolutely right, Tickle. We shouldn't be so hard on ourselves, when in general when we have messed up, its been with better than previous food choices. You're doing fantastic, and I love reading your menus, since you eat foods I've never even heard of...and some I wouldn't even dream of trying..aka octopus! :yikes So yeah, I reckon! By the way, what does octopus taste like?
You know something funny. One of my 5 SIL's is from New Zealand, and I've had friends in school from Austrailia. So, when I read your posts, I can totally hear the way you talk in my head. Its alot of fun! I can do it pretty well, but I get embarrased trying. One of my two best friends (who died in a car/train accident three years ago ) was married to my SIL's brother, and she TOTALLY was talking like him before she passed away. Man, I miss her!
Sorry about your tummy...hope its better now. And I do eat tomato on my salads. Just forget to mention it here. I get my nutritional info from fitday.com. I'm pretty religious about it, and very honest with it, so I figure its pretty accurate for me. Its free...have you tried it?

[tickletussler]

I was hungry and desperate for a snack and the only thing I could find were marinated octopus at a fish place LOL and found out there was something like 1g carb per oz :yikes but if I didn't eat something (lunch was light) then I was likely to eat something unplanned on the way to dinner. Mari, octopus tastes like squid - except squidier maybe? Aussies tend to grill them marinated on the barbie and if you overcook them you may as well settle for old boots LOL Japanese sushi places serve them raw - they taste the same, just not chewy at all. Try it if you dare - if you're ok with squid, then you're alright with octopus

I use Fitday Maribelle, but sometimes it drives me crazy because I can't quite find the food I'm looking for and I can't enter it as a custom food either. eg what do I use for a well-known (here) chinese veggie "buk choy"? I guess it must be similar to "mustard greens"? What about the meat used for a well-known Italian dish osso bucco? I guessed beef shank crosscuts - I had no idea.

I finally found pork rinds Mari!!!! Well, they call them "spicy pork crackling" made in Thailand, with chilli, soy sauce, MSG, spices in the ingredients. It says 0g carbs for 100g but I doubt it coz soy sauce has carbs and the crackling sometimes has an oniony taste.
They taste :yummy though and I finally found a snack that feels a little junkfoody ie crunchy LOL

Ok, before I ramble on too much, here's what I ate for Wednesday:

Brekkie - 2-egg omelette with 2 skinless beef mince sausages (0.25g carbs each)
Lunch - 3-4 cups of spinach with few slices cucumber, some red onion, 2 cherry tomatoes topped with low-carb caesar dressing. After that 6oz of fresh salmon sashimi with a bit of soy sauce
Snack - quarter shop-bought roast chicken (1-2g carbs)
Pre-dinner snack - 1 cup pork rinds
Dinner - Osso bucco in rosemary/tomato/celery pureed sauce, with stirfried red cabbage & buk choy on the side
CARBS 21G CALORIES 2,318 65%fats/4%carbs/32%protein

I think I ate a lot of cals, but I don't think it's a problem at this stage

[maribelle]

Sounds like you did really good! I do like calamari, but only deep fried and breaded, so not something I can eat right now. I love mussels though if they're fresh, scallops, lobster, crab, and shrimp. I'm not nuts about fish here...being land locked by the time we get seafood it smells and tastes like waste from the sea! When I lived up in Michigan on the Grand Traverse Bay, the whitefish was HEAVENLY! Cooked the same afternoon it was caught. My mouth waters for it to this day.

As for my diet yesterday... :no It wasn't Atkins friendly food I messed up on either. I detailed it in my journal, and I'm not being too hard on myself, because I've come to the realization its not a will power issue right now. I'm thinking its a health issue. Its at the same time every evening that I'm breaking down, and I think its got to do with an insulin surge at that time of night, or a hormone dip of some nature. Anyway, I'm going to take more B vitamens at supper now, instead of just at breakfast, and see if that doesn't help. And I'm going to get out and walk when it hits. If I'm not near the food, I can't eat it, right? :yes

B. sausage as usual
L. Taco salad (didn't have it last night) Just meat, cheese, lettuce, onions, and tomato
S. Steak, green beans

By the way, I do enjoy Pork Rinds occasionally...pretty salty, and to me, they have a burnt bacon taste I don't like too much. But I enjoy them in dips and under taco meat and cheese.

[tickletussler]

Hey Bella!

You did right :yes by not punishing yourself for eating the oreos and banana bread. They way I look at it is, some of us can do it perfect the first time. Others, like you and me need a few goes before we get it right. Marion, you know one day, you'll get to that time just after supper, and you won't be having that sugar hit? That's the day to look forward to, and it is the fact that YOU ARE TRYING that matters - right here, in this challenge, with both of us, because I know you need to get through this time of trying each day, until finally, one day, you don't eat those oreos, and then you get to 2 days in a row when you don't eat them, then 3, then 4, and finally you've done it!

So be it in your journal or here, I'm glad you listed your cheats. Actually, could you also list them in this challenge? Sometimes when we bear our soul, and be really honest about it by seeing it on paper, sharing it with another, it becomes easier to face. Sure you may be a bit embarrassed that you gave into a cheat again, but that's the whole point isn't it? We see each other's faults, we correct them, we encourage and praise each other. it is the only way both of us can get through this :yes

As you may have read in my journo, I get the attack of the munchies when I'm tired, when I'm vulnerable, I just can't say no to these foods. It was hard at first trying to face them and I kept cheating every time it happened. But I worked out how to get around it, what to do when I get hit with tiredness, it took me a while, but it happened. And I think this is what YOU CAN DO TOO :yes :hug

Marion, I was wondering... do you eat taco salad a lot? Do you encounter the same boredom with foods as I do? I am really passionate about food, and even though I can do brekkies & lunches the same most days (too busy to be hungry during the day), in the evenings, I have to vary a bit.

Cheers