Hey Yall

[dysfnktynl]

Well we have been on this WOE for 6 weeks now, and I have been a member here for over a month. The information and especially the recipes have been so helpful! I thought it was high time I introduce myself.
My name is Sammi, I'm 30 yrs old and my son is Chris, he is 14. I have been slightly overweight for quite a few years, and Chris started putting on weight rapidly at about the age of 10, about the same time he started sprouting upwards like Jack's beanstalk. At 5' 10 he towers over his 5' 6 mom! We have been at the stage where we can still make a picture look good if we try, but who wants to take 20 pictures to come up with one good one?
My son is starting 10th grade in high school, and it's not fair for him to have to be 'the fat guy'. It hurts his self-esteem, and since he is an Aspie, he already has a hard time with that. He needs all the confidence he can get!
To put it bluntly, if your child is fat, it's the parents' fault! Knowing this, and being well aware of what the future would look like if we didn't make a change now, I set out to make it right, and make us both look better and feel better about ourselves. Neither of us have ever really been on a diet before. I needed to find a diet that didn't set insane limits, since we do like to eat, and can you honestly see me trying to give my teenage son tiny portions of food and telling him that's all he can have? HA! But when I started reading up about Atkins, I said to myself "we can do this!"
That was seven weeks ago. After two weeks of induction, we had a noticeable weight loss of around 6 pounds for him and 8 pounds for me. Then we had a planned splurge when we went to a family dinner, where we both enjoyed quite a few yummy high-carb desserts. Evil, evil yummies. Although we stayed on induction for two more weeks, the scale didn't budge until the end of those two weeks, but once it did, we moved on to OWL, are currently on the dairy rung, and man oh man do we love the breyers carb smart ice cream bars. In moderation, of course.
I like the slow process because I do worry about losing weight too fast and having loose skin. We are losing about 1-2 lbs a week, exercising by swimming, walking, and playing dance dance revolution on the PS2(fun fun!). We are considering joining a gym once we get used to the daily school routine again (both of us, as he is in high school and I am in college).
Something else I have noticed is that with the absence of sugar and high carbs, there has been a noticeable improvement in my son's medical issues. He has Asperger's Syndrome, and has also been diagnosed Bipolar disorder and Dysthymia (chronic mild depression), and has suffered from insomnia off and on for the past 10 years. Well, in the past 5-6 weeks, he has slept normally almost every night, I stress the 'almost', he is a teenager after all And he has also had very few mood swings!
You can see in the stats that we are still slowly losing weight. I have gone from refusing to admit that a 14 was too small for my fat fanny, to comfortably fitting into a size 12, and even being able to wear some of the size 11 jeans that have been in the back of the closet for years.
My son was very happy when he noticed his shirts were loose on him again, his gut doesn't bulge out anymore, and he no longer has noticeable 'moobs' (his word for 'man boobs', HA!). And his size 36 jeans fit loosely now, and he knows he will be able to fit all his favorite size 34 jeans again soon. Some of those are still brand new because he grew out of them so fast!
All of this has happened just in time. Today was the first day of school, and my usually angry, cynical teenage son walked through that door with an air of confidence, with his head held high and a smile on his face!

Sorry for the incredibly long post, but beware, I hope that this is just the beginning of our story...

[Chicklady]

Re: Hey Yall

Hi Sammi and Chris Sounds like you guys are doing great!!!

[dysfnktynl]

Re: Hey Yall

Thanks We ran into a bit of trouble yesterday, Chris went to lunch at school got a bit confused with the different lines and stuff. He didn't know what he could eat, so he ate nothing, LOL. So last night we printed out the school menu and highlighted all the choices, and also discussed bringing a lunch if he wants to. Crossing my fingers for today!

[Sherri]

Re: Hey Yall

Before you begin:

1. Read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, 2002 edition.
At the very least, read chapters 10 through 14. These chapters tell you how to do the diet, what to expect, and why the first 14 days are so important.

ADBB uses DANDR 2002 as its reference. Granted there are other publications by Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. but we like to do the diet as it was written by Dr. Robert C. Atkins because in our collective experience Dr. Atkins' diet is more effective than Atkins Nutritionals, Inc's version.

2. See your physician.
Dr. Atkins recommended this himself. See your physician for a complete physical exam, including blood tests before beginning this or any other diet and exercise program.

Also take the Blood Sugar Symptom Test found in the book.

3. Make a commitment.
Commit yourself to giving the 14 day Induction a fair shot. If you can't commit yourself to 14 days of following rules and eating the foods listed in the acceptable foods list, this diet might not be for you.

4. Prepare your kitchen
If it's not on the list, remove it from your home. If you live with people who aren't on a low carb diet, then put your food(s) in areas separate from theirs. Also make sure you have low carb snacks available to you at all times, in case you get hungry.

5. Recruit your family and friends.
You are about to embark on a completely new lifestyle. Getting the support of your family and friends will help you through this. Be frank with them and tell them your intentions and that this is very important to you. If they have any doubts about this diet, ask them to read the book because knowledge is power.

6. Keep the Induction Rules and Foods List handy.
Make two copies of these documents: keep one on your refrigerator at home and keep the other one on your person at all times. This will save you a lot of guesswork and worry when eating out or grocery shopping.

The Rules of Induction can be found here:
What are the Rules of Induction?

The Induction Acceptable Foods List can be found here:
What foods can be eaten on Induction?

7. Read the entire label, including the ingredients.
Some foods have little carbs, but contain things like hydrogenated oils (trans fats) and sugar, which makes them unacceptable for Induction.

8. Keep a food diary
It is of utmost importance to keep track of your daily carbohydrate intake to make sure you are not exceeding 20 net carbohydrates daily.

Some people keep a notebook journal. Others like to track their progress online.

Here are some resources:
An Atkins spreadsheet:
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=4570

http://www.fitday.com ---This is a free online service (registration required) that allows you to input your foods, track your exercise, etc.

Carbohydrate Counters:
http://www.atkins.com ---The Atkins site has a downloadable Carb Counter.
http://www.calorieking.com ---This site has nutritional information for most foods and beverages.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ ---This is the United States Department of Agriculture Nutrition Database.

9. Exercise
According to Dr. Atkins "exercise is non-negotiable"! So get moving. Begin according to your level of fitness. Visit the Exercise Forum.

10. Vitamin Supplements
These are also recommended by Dr. Atkins because many of us have poor nutrition and we need extra nutrients. Visit the Vita-Nutrient Forum.

11. Weigh AND Measure Yourself on Day 1

Make sure you weigh and measure yourself before you begin this diet. Contrary to what we are lead to believe, the scale isn't the best tool for measuring weight loss (fat loss). It doesn't tell you how much muscle you gained. It doesn't tell you how much water weight you gained or lost. It doesn't tell you that you will fit into that pair of jeans.

Tips for weighing:
a. Weigh yourself at the same time of day under the same conditions. You can weigh "more" after a meal or after you drink water or you can weigh "less" after you exercise or have a bowel movement. So pick a time and stick to it. Likewise, clothing can also add on "pounds". So if you choose to weigh yourself wearing clothes, make sure you are wearing the same clothing or nearly the same clothing.

b. Use the same scale. Scales differ slightly. So the scale in your doctor's office or at the gym might have you weighing more or less than the scale in your bathroom.

Tips for measuring:
a. You can measure whatever body areas you want: chest, waist, hips, thighs, upper arm, wrists and ankles. To make the measuring easier, you body landmarks like your belly button or a mole or scar, to guide your tape measure placement. For chest measurement, women can either measure under their armpits and/or under their breasts.

b. Don't "pull" on the measuring tape because that will give you a false reading (and stretch the tape). The tape should be snug, but not tight.

c. Don't suck in to make yourself smaller. Again, that will give you a false measurement.

Measuring tapes can be purchased at craft stores (the sewing section) for under $5.00. If you can't find one, you can use a piece of string. Just mark that string with a marker pen to indicate your "start" points". Or if you have an old belt, you can use that too.

Another good "measuring tool" is your clothing. Non-stretchy clothing like a dress shirt, jeans, or dress is the best thing to use. Stretchy fabric (like t-shirts or anything with spandex) will conform to your body as you shrink so you might not see the results. Try on this article of clothing periodically to see how you are losing inches.

Good luck to you on your 14 day Induction journey.