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*AHEM* Check check 1 2 3
Suppose I'll step up to the mic and say hello.... HELLO! 
I'm here because I just don't feel like I'm myself anymore - like I'm wearing someone else's body. I'm not UNhealthy, but I am overweight ( BMI = 25.8 ) and certainly not fit and am tired of not feeling comfortable in this body. People say I "look fine," but it's not about how I look - it's about my own health both physical and emotional.
I've never been on a diet before (Atkin's seems more like a luxury food getaway than a diet!) as my body always seemed to magically stay at an acceptable BMI regardless of activity or intake. However, a few years ago I went on a method of contraception that seemed to make my waistline swell beyond belief! I ballooned from 142 to 174 in 8 months. No amount of exercise or food restriction prevented it. (Although who knows what it would have skyrocketed to had I not been walking and bike riding?!) I dumped the hormone and immediately 18lbs vanished along with it. Unfortunately, the trend didn't continue and with medical school beginning shortly thereafter, the pounds slowly started to sneak back into my body. Getting an MD is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant while not getting wet - plain CRAZY! It makes your undergraduate years feel like a cake (mmmm caaaaake) walk. You snarf whatever food is available because you don't know when you'll get to eat again and you steal sleep whenever possible, pounding back Mt. Dew (I lovingly refer to it as the Golden Nectar of the Gods) all the while.
These last 4 years I've continued to elude myself with pseudo-commitments to shape up by purchasing workout equipment that never gets used or new running shoes that stay in their boxes. I'm done with pseudo. I want my body back. Both my mother and sister are obese (my sister morbidly so) and I refuse to give genetics an upper hand anymore. I tell my patients preventative medicine is the best medicine and it's true.
I've watched a great many patients choose the Atkin's way of life and achieve amazing success on this meal plan. I've been elated as their labs and other diagnostics come back to my hands significantly improved. More thrilling, however, has been watching their physical ailments fade, their predisposing disease risks vanish, and their emotional health improve by leaps and bounds. I have loved watching patients go from tears of fear and defeat, seeing their bodies as prisons, to tears of joy in realizing they are the master of their house. To this point, however, I had never actually sat down and read the book. After so doing I decided to be a passive observer no longer. Dr. Atkin's methods are sound with biochemical and metabolic explanations right on the money... and being a science snob, I'm a hard sell!
So here I am. Induction day 3. My goal is to reach a BMI of 21. So far I feel just fine aside from a slight headache at the end of the first day. I'm not having any trouble with the carb count at all (in fact I've been WAY under - not by plan, simply the way it works out) and so far haven't had any killer cravings, although I DO miss milk a lot. So far I'm most proud of myself for my water intake. I am constantly dehydrated and usually only have a cup of water per day, deriving my other fluid from the 4 cans of Mt. Dew I guzzle... which of course contains caffeine which in turn dehydrates the body. Vicious cycle. However, on day 1 I got down all 64oz and yesterday I had 96oz! Keeping a Nalgene bottle with me really helps. My only concern right now is the knowledge that there is no way in **** for me to eat this much food. My omelette in the morning has me feeling full to the brim well past lunch. It's all I can do to have a snack between lunch and dinner. As I learn to like more vegetables perhaps I'll do a little better with this.
On the up side, I have certainly found creating and cooking tasty meals (as opposed to something frozen or in a cardboard box) to be rewarding. It's a nice stress relief and a real grin when I come up with something new and delish!
So there ya have it. I look forward to striving toward our goals together. I am astounded by the positivity and mutual support that abounds in this forum. What a wonderful group of which to count myself a part.
Good luck and good health!
I'm here because I just don't feel like I'm myself anymore - like I'm wearing someone else's body. I'm not UNhealthy, but I am overweight ( BMI = 25.8 ) and certainly not fit and am tired of not feeling comfortable in this body. People say I "look fine," but it's not about how I look - it's about my own health both physical and emotional.
I've never been on a diet before (Atkin's seems more like a luxury food getaway than a diet!) as my body always seemed to magically stay at an acceptable BMI regardless of activity or intake. However, a few years ago I went on a method of contraception that seemed to make my waistline swell beyond belief! I ballooned from 142 to 174 in 8 months. No amount of exercise or food restriction prevented it. (Although who knows what it would have skyrocketed to had I not been walking and bike riding?!) I dumped the hormone and immediately 18lbs vanished along with it. Unfortunately, the trend didn't continue and with medical school beginning shortly thereafter, the pounds slowly started to sneak back into my body. Getting an MD is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant while not getting wet - plain CRAZY! It makes your undergraduate years feel like a cake (mmmm caaaaake) walk. You snarf whatever food is available because you don't know when you'll get to eat again and you steal sleep whenever possible, pounding back Mt. Dew (I lovingly refer to it as the Golden Nectar of the Gods) all the while.
These last 4 years I've continued to elude myself with pseudo-commitments to shape up by purchasing workout equipment that never gets used or new running shoes that stay in their boxes. I'm done with pseudo. I want my body back. Both my mother and sister are obese (my sister morbidly so) and I refuse to give genetics an upper hand anymore. I tell my patients preventative medicine is the best medicine and it's true.
I've watched a great many patients choose the Atkin's way of life and achieve amazing success on this meal plan. I've been elated as their labs and other diagnostics come back to my hands significantly improved. More thrilling, however, has been watching their physical ailments fade, their predisposing disease risks vanish, and their emotional health improve by leaps and bounds. I have loved watching patients go from tears of fear and defeat, seeing their bodies as prisons, to tears of joy in realizing they are the master of their house. To this point, however, I had never actually sat down and read the book. After so doing I decided to be a passive observer no longer. Dr. Atkin's methods are sound with biochemical and metabolic explanations right on the money... and being a science snob, I'm a hard sell!
So here I am. Induction day 3. My goal is to reach a BMI of 21. So far I feel just fine aside from a slight headache at the end of the first day. I'm not having any trouble with the carb count at all (in fact I've been WAY under - not by plan, simply the way it works out) and so far haven't had any killer cravings, although I DO miss milk a lot. So far I'm most proud of myself for my water intake. I am constantly dehydrated and usually only have a cup of water per day, deriving my other fluid from the 4 cans of Mt. Dew I guzzle... which of course contains caffeine which in turn dehydrates the body. Vicious cycle. However, on day 1 I got down all 64oz and yesterday I had 96oz! Keeping a Nalgene bottle with me really helps. My only concern right now is the knowledge that there is no way in **** for me to eat this much food. My omelette in the morning has me feeling full to the brim well past lunch. It's all I can do to have a snack between lunch and dinner. As I learn to like more vegetables perhaps I'll do a little better with this.
On the up side, I have certainly found creating and cooking tasty meals (as opposed to something frozen or in a cardboard box) to be rewarding. It's a nice stress relief and a real grin when I come up with something new and delish!
So there ya have it. I look forward to striving toward our goals together. I am astounded by the positivity and mutual support that abounds in this forum. What a wonderful group of which to count myself a part.
Good luck and good health!
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