A Mini Stroke woke me up...
 

I am a 54 year old woman who has been "overweight" pretty much all of my life, been on and off diets all of my life. Well April 20th I had a mini stroke, talk about a wake up call, walking the straight and narrow since then, amazing when death actually knocks at your door what you can do. I changed my eating habits asap, and have been working out 3-4 days a week swimming and aqua aerobics, lost 18 pds then nothing for about 3 weeks, my doctor said something I was eating was probably making my body be weight loss resistant. So I started the Atkins Induction Phase 4 days ago, but using the old carbs instead of net carbs approach. eating protein, fats and fiber, and around 20 g of carbohydrates, from salad and sugar free dressing. and I have a sugar free jello and the whipped cream each day. I have checked my keto stick each day and the color has gotten darker which is great. I am drinking tons of water, great thing is I have always been a big water drinker so that part is easy. I was a lousy eater. I started out at 266 and weight 248 now, have not weighed myself, and wont until I get 7 days in. I did take my measurements before I started and will after 14 days. Other than the swimming I am pretty sedentary. My initial goal is to be at 199 pds by my birthday Dec 12, which is 26 weeks.

Any advice, tips would be greatly appreciated. As I want to do this the right way and the best way.
Congrats to all of those who have found success and good luck to all of those starting out and looking for success. :wave:

Good for you about taking action. We are all busy figuring out what works for us. We find our own best paths that way.

The good thing about this WOE, at least in the beginning, is calories don't seem to matter so no more going hungry to burn off the fat. Also the excess fat, in most peoples experience, comes off faster the more you have to loose with no loss of muscle. I gained muscle on the low-carb diet, and lost fat at the same time. The scale is not the whole truth.

I admire your immediate determination! Some people ignore the wake up call and still say "Someday....". No real advice at the moment, but would you like to be my buddy? My ultimate goal is 199, but I'd be happy to be 225 by my birthday on December 20th! It might be fun to cheer each other on :-)

Thanks for all of the positive responses, they are appreciated. and yes YNOT lets be friends that would be a great way to cheer each other on.

You've come to the right place!
My advice would be to start a journal, read and and join the fun and forums.
Welcome!

Welcome! There is a lot of information and wisdom here.

Thanks, I did start a journal and I joined my fitness pal where I log all food, water and exercise. I am very diligent about that as I feel it really helps, it makes it so easy since it is also on my phone. Thanks for the advice, it is great advice.

I'm doing Atkins the old way too..not doing net carbs.. sticking to induction like the New Diet Revolution book. All I can share is that it took me a month into it..to really start feeling the weight come off. So, give it a good amount of time and stick with it.
I'd be careful of bottled dressings and whipped cream desserts. Keep reading his induction guidelines over and over so you stick to it. Be careful with your cream and cheese, olives, pickles. and read the "hidden carbs" thread under the tips portion of this site. It is most helpful.

collectabl I've noticed that there are weeks when the weight loss is weird. For me its especially weeks 2-4. When I'm not losing I notice that my fat becomes mushy, I've read that is water replacing the fat. So I think we're losing fat more consistantly than the scale is showing. Then when our body releases that water we get the whoosh.

You're doing great!

Long-term success:
Get the fat off
Attain good health
Keep the fat off

This is where we're all headed, so I don't consider this WOE a diet. but a WayOfLife.

The best advice I have to offer is to read up on Dr. Jason Fung. You don't have to want to fast to get excellent scientific explanations from him. Part of that which resonates with me is that it's not just What you Eat, but also When you Eat. Also, this one, from his most recent blog post:

Quote:

There are really two different places where our body can obtain energy: 1. food 2. Stored food energy (glycogen in liver, or body fat) But here’s the CRITICAL point. You can only get energy from one or the other, but not both at the same time.

I've had TIAs too and still have my wits about me, but you're right. It's a wake up call.

Welcome to the best forum.

Thanks, I am still doing very well, sticking to Atkins moved onto induction using net carbs where I have added in a greek yogurt after my workouts. I am now down to 237.2 so that is good and down 27.3 inches all together. Now I just have to figure out what to do about this loose double chin. Chin UPs:)

good for you!!!
It will all readjust according to many people that have been there, healthy is better than Pretty...?