Overwhelmed

[Lyssie]

Re: Overwhelmed

Congratulations!!! That's so awesome!!!

People thought I was nuts when I started raving about pumpkin, but it really is fantastic as a veggie, and higher carb but appropriate for induction!!

[Georgiana]

Re: Overwhelmed

You mentioned Jicama. I have no idea what that is.

Jicama is delicious, but I never saw it in Germany. The only fancy veggie I found (just once!) is chayote, which is awesome fried in butter and w/ cinnamon. Here's the recipe:
Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes

Congratulations for the 2 lbs!

[Desertthorn]

Re: Overwhelmed

Hi Simone, I'm a retired Army wife and remember well the difficult life of living in another country with no family support around. It's easy to eat for comfort and thats what I did. If you live on the economy you feel isolated as no one speaks English.
I had to find something to do and as I couldn't work I volunteered everywhere, school, Red Cross, DYA (which probably isn't called that any more), I volksmarched every weekend and found a friend to travel with.
If the gym has a pool, see if they have a water aerobics course. Here at Ft Lewis we have 3 going on and they are great cause you feel so light and graceful in the water.
Try the Walk Away the Pounds Tapes if you can't go to the gym, they are awesome.
Doing low carb at the commissary is hard, Our last duty station was in Japan and OMG it was the meat and veggie counter for me, even splenda was an issue.
We can do this and you will love the new you

[Simone]

Re: Overwhelmed

I just got off the phoe with the commissary manager. Hopefully I will get the things that I need in a bit. They have no more flax seed and no more pumpkin. I am also trying to get some soy icecream. My kids havent had any ice cream in such a long time. They need milk free.

Ok, I need to talk. I am sinking in despair again. I got up this morning, and the 2lbs I was raving about losing is now 2.6lbs up!! Why? What in the world is going on? I had some beef and green peppers. I am told that beef stays with you for a few days. With no flaxseed, maybe longer with me? Can I eat too much cheese? Should I avoid cheese too? That is the only thing that I added. Some cheddar and the cream cheese with the pumpkin a couple times.

It is such a let down for me. My weight is 235.6lbs this morning. It was 233 a bit ago and I was finally thinking I would make it below 230lbs. I am so bummed out now. Today is a full week on induction and I haven't lost a thing...again, I have gained. SCREAM!!!

[Georgiana]

Re: Overwhelmed

You can eat too much cheese. The maximum allowed is 4 oz. Too much cheese can stall some people... I'm okay with 3-4 oz a day.

I'm not sure if you wrote this before... but are you exercising? How many calories are you eating and how many of those come from fat?

[Simone]

Re: Overwhelmed

I have no idea how many calories I am eating because the last advice I got was not to count calories. I definitely don't know how many of them come from fat. I increased the amount of fat I had been eating by adding butter and frying things as well as adding cream when appropriate. I have been eating fried chicken wings instead my usual baked skinless boneless thighs. I had ribeye steak and I know that is fatty. I broiled it in the oven with stir fried veggies.

I guess I will nix the cheese, accept at breakfast with my eggs and I will only have cheese in a meal once a day, cream or other wise.

Geez. This is killing me. Just when I thought I was on a roll.

Thanks for the heads up!!! I feel like such a dork. Make that a fork (fat dork). Nothing is going to work for me it seems.

[Georgiana]

Re: Overwhelmed

Hmm, tracking your foods (for calories, fat intake, carbs, etc.) is really important on Atkins. During induction, your fat-carbs-protein percentages should be around 65-5-30. About the calories, the book says we shouldn't count them, but this does not mean they do not matter. If you eat too many, you will still gain weight regardless of the amount of carbs you are eating. The advantage when doing Atkins is that you can eat slightly more calories (a few hundred more) than you could in general, without gaining weight. However, if you go above those few hundred more, you stall or gain.

I know you posted a menu before and people told you to ditch some of the things you were eating. Could you post a typical menu you have been eating after making those changes?

How much water do you drink?

[momtomany1]

Re: Overwhelmed

Simone.. don't weigh every day. Limit cheese for Atkins, but remember if you have a possilbe candida problem, cheese is off the menu. It is basically fermented milk, rememeber?

That 2 pounds will be gone with your next BM, I agree. But really, don't weigh constantly. The scale is not your friend, pay attention to your clothes or measure.

hugs for you...

[Simone]

Re: Overwhelmed

Ok, I am going back to sparkpeople and entering my food daily. It does a breakdown of everything for me. Heavy Sigh. I am sure I have not gone over 1500 calories a day and my range is 1480-1720 according to sparkpeople for my weight. Yes I do exercise.

Typical days food.
Breakfast
2 tbsp flax and 2 oz heavy cream, pat of butter, 1 pk splenda
1/2 cup egg beaters with 2 oz of cheddar
Lunch
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 oz cream cheese
1 packet of splenda
1 egg and 1oz heavy cream

OR turkey slices with 2oz of cheddar and salad greens

Dinner
4oz ribeye, chopped onions, green peppers, red peppers
green beans with 2 slices turkey bacon and garlic

Or
Chicken wings fried then smothered in a butter hotsauce mix.
Celery sticks with ranch dressing


That is about it for me. I am pretty bummed. It was easy to do when it is working...now I just want to bath in icecream and cake and say screw it!

[Simone]

Re: Overwhelmed

I really don't weigh EVERY day, but at least a couple times per week. My normal weigh day is Sunday or Monday if I forget, but I started this on a Tuesday so I wanted to see what my first week was like. Its so depressing. I did the spit test again and didn't get the same results. But just in case, I am nixing the cheese completely. Does this include cream cheese?

Wow, this just got harder! I really could fast for a week if I had to and it would be better than eat this don't eat that.

[Simone]

Re: Overwhelmed

Oh and I drink 12-15 8oz glasses of water daily.

[momtomany1]

Re: Overwhelmed

chicken wings.. you know when I started I thought.. wow Buffalo wings I can eat them up!


But those tend to be Way Salty too. You might be retaining fluid from the salt. Watch the salt today and keep drinking, give yourself time for it to clear.
I don't think cream cheese is fermented... that might not be a worry.

Really though, don't give up! Your menu is really pretty good.


I don't think cream cheese is fermented... that might not be a worry.

[Simone]

Re: Overwhelmed

I make my own wings. I buy them fresh and fry them in canola oil then put the butter and hot sauce on them. It really isn't too much salt. I do stay under 2300 g because of my blood pressure anyway. I drink a lot more water because of this as well.

Ok, I am off to the commissary to find something I can eat. Sighing...but still trying.

[Lyssie]

Re: Overwhelmed

How are your jeans fitting you now?

I'm not so sure you're under 1500 from glancing at the menu - buffalo wings have an amazing amount of calories, like, I was stunned when I saw. But I'm not sure how many you're having either.

Cream cheese is cheese. I'm usually okay if I keep it under 4oz... or change what kind I am eating, sometimes I have trouble losing if I eat a specific type.

[Georgiana]

Re: Overwhelmed

That is about it for me. I am pretty bummed. It was easy to do when it is working...now I just want to bath in icecream and cake and say screw it!

That will just make things worse weight-wise and it will also make you feel yucky. Let's tweak some things first...

Are you sure you are not eating too many veggies? You should be eating 3 cups a day -- 2 cups from the salad veggies list and 1 cup from the "other veggies" list. Also, it is pumpkin puree you are using, not pumpkin pie mix, right? Just checking...

Onions are quite carby and stall some people.

Other than that, your menu looks okay. I entered it in my Fitday and came up with 1485 calories, 1750 mg of sodium, 68% fat, 10% carbs and 22% protein. You didn't write quantities for all the veggies, but I wrote .5 cup pumpkin, .25 cup onion (measured raw), 1 cup peppers, .5 cup green beans... and this gave me about 25 net carbs.

Instead of eliminating cheese, I would recommend you just reduce the amount you are eating and see if that makes a difference; it's hard to do Atkins without cheese. If you have candida, it's not only cheese you should give up, but a plenty of other foods like cream, vinegar, mushrooms, bacon, most sauces... You get the idea -- unless you're sure you have candida, don't punish yourself!