Alright so i haven't posted in quite some time now. I first tried Atkins when I Just turned 15 and about 5'7". I weighed 227lbs then with hardly any muscle. I sticked to the lifestyle for a solid 4 months or so and got down to 185 but, what i was doing was Atkins/aneroixia(sp?). At the time i didn't know what i was doing was so bad. I pretty much would eat nothing but large salads for every single meal and occasionally eat chicken breasts.
I finally broke down and started back eating junk food and fast food. It was a horrible relapse.
Thank god though i still continued to work out....
Present Day (Sunday, FEB 11th, 2007)
I'm now 18 years old and i have been completely cheat free and under 20 carbs a day for a solid 42 days now. Before I started the diet on January 1st I was at 270lbs. Im currently 6' now. I gained 20lbs of mucstle from working out and just getting taller. My diet though was horriable. Taco bell everyday several times a day just because i was bored. 40oz 7-11 pina colada slurpees (2-3 a day). All kinds of crazy stuff
. I began to get really really depressed and decided i need to change my life around.
So started my new lifestyle on January 1st and have stuck to it!. My first goal is to get to 200lbs (well actually to get to 199). I have currently lost 43lbs by sticking to about 10-15 carbs a day, vitamins, weight lifting & mainly being cheat free. My main thing was getting past the fact that i didn't have to starve myself to lose weight. Matter of fact i actually had to start eating more to lose weight.
As of today food is no longer the solution to my boredom. Its something that I do for my body not for my mind. The first time i went on Atkins i used to drive past fast food joints and always had an incredible urge just to pull in and get food. Strangely enough i haven't had a SINGLE urge to cheat. I'm amazed in myself and VERY VERY proud of myself.
My final goal weight I'm guessing will be 180 or when i get to a healthy weight and look fit.
I love every day looking in the mirror and noticing my arms starting to loose fat and show definition, my arm veins showing, bicep veins showing, and all the inches melting off my waist! I have a pair of pants that i couldn't fit in to before and now i can have them off and pull them off of my waist a good 4-5 inches!
In general I'm just so happy that I'm able to adapt to this new lifestyle and I look forward to living the rest of my life like this
Here are a couple tips for people struggling on Atkins:
SCALEOHOLICS!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT, I REPEAT DO
NOT weigh yourself every day. I did this the first time i went on Atkins. I weighed my self every single morning. My last straw that broke me off of Atkins was getting on the scale one morning after not cheating my birthday party and seeing that i gained .5 lbs.
I now weigh myself every week. Believe me it's really HARD to do. Its a habit thats hard to break. But it is possible. Start with weighing yourself every 3 days, then keep going up. It will get to the point where you just forget to weight yourself!
YOU GOTTA EAT!!!!
Unlike most diets/lifestyles with Atkins you are allowed to eat as much as you want AS LONG as you don't go over in carbs. I'm not saying pig out on steak and pork rhines every time you eat. With Atkins and ketosis a side-effect is loss of appetite. This is hard to get used to. Just remember to stick to 3 decent meals during the day. Try not to skip meals. I stalled out for 2 weeks because i was hardly eating anything. THE DAY i started to eat three full meals i felt amazing. The next day my stall broke and i had lost 1.5 lbs! SO REMEMBER TO EAT!!
CAFFEINE!!!!
Caffeine can really stall you if you are induction and stall the process of ketosis. So stick to decaf for the first month, then after that you can switch back. It's hard to get used to but at least you can have the decaf as a treat. Most gas stations also offer sugar free flavor shots. 7-11 has a nice assortment of flavorings that are only 1carb per shot (1 shot is all you need in your coffee
).
VITAMINS!!!
Remember to take a one a day multivitamin. You won't be getting all the vitamins and minerals you would normally for grains and other food groups high in carbs. It's a good choice to take a one a day multivitamin.
Low Carb Meal Bars/Candy Bars (WARNING WARNING WARNING)
Oh MY GOD. PLEASE READ THIS lol.
Believe me DON'T BUY LOW CARB CANDY BARS. The only kind i suggest are the ones MADE by Atkins. Out of all the Atkins bars i really only would suggest the granola bar ones. The low carb meal bars and candy bars do not include much sugar so they have to replace that with a substitute. The main replacement artificial sugar that is used is "Sorbitol". I will never forget the day i had my first "low carb" candy bar. It was freshmen/sophomore year in high school and i had an INTENSE stomach pain and my stomach sounding like it war zone. Excuse the following language but, i had the intense feeling that i had to pass gas but, you couldn't. So it would keep building up inside until the point where i called my mom to go home from school. My mom is a nurse for 10 years at University of Michigan so i explained to her what was happening. She asked me what i ate and i told her about the bar, i had another one in my bag still. She looked at the back and started to laugh. She then continued to tell that "Sorbitol" is used not only as a artificial sweetener but also in laxatives.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CDG/c...DG_sorbitol.asp
So be warned if you eat any low carb candy you could possibly get a side effect of "
Irritable Bowel Syndrome" which is really painful.
Ketosis Test Strips Good And Bad!!
I advise buying ketosis strips but, don't start a habit of using one every time you pee. It can really make you discouraged. Many things can cause the ketosis strip to not be positive even though you are in ketosis. Main thing is your urine being mainly water because on Atkins you drink plenty of water. Use them once in a while but, DO NOT be discouraged if they show negative.
I will be writing more advice later. Best of luck to everyone and im glad to be back!
(There might be some grammatical errors because i didn't re read everything lol)
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