Hi, I am new to this site-very interesting.I have been doing Atkins diet since dec not religous to it but have lost 24 as of this morning.My question to some of the Atkins vet's is -I can not seem to give diet mountain dew up but, if I could do you think I'll lose faster?Also what do you do about the pork skins boredum?Any answers will help thanks!

Kim-I saw that no one had answered your post , and I'm by no means an expert but...I'll take a shot! LOL Your weight loss seems excellant and from what I have read, some things stall certain people while it does not others. As to weather stopping the pop would make you lose faster? Who knows? Only an experiment would tell. Try cutting down a pop or two for a week and see for yourself. It's not that you "can't"......it's that you "won't". Don't ever say you CAN'T do something! About the pork rind bordum....are you talking about just eating them plain or cooking with them? Check out the snack recipes, some use pork rinds with cheese and other things to spice them up a little. I have made the "pancake" with pork rinds and more recently with ricotta cheese, and I must say, they were both good. Congratulations of the weight loss and keep up the good work.

24 pounds is terrific -- you're so close to 199. I hope that's incentive to be more "religious" about doing Atkins

I'd second what Cherio said. If you really want to know, try an experiment -- cut out the diet dew for a few days and see what happens.

I have trouble giving up Coke when I'm stressed -- real Coke, so that's much worse than your diet dew. But on the days when I drink a Coke, I drink less water. I would drink 4 or 5 cokes a day and have been able to avoid them on all but the most stressful days. I start drinking water early. Then I'm in "water mode" and I don't want to drink anything else.

Part of your attachment to diet dew may well be habit. "Thirsty? Grab a Dew." If you substitute "Thirsty? I need water" for that for two or three weeks, I bet you'll get beyond it.

Good luck!

Thanks for the insite."The water mode"is very true,I do drink alot of water at work(3 liters).Cherio thanks for the kick in the butt about not saying those negatives.I will check out the snack section.Does the caffeine hinder weight loss?My dad is also doing Atkins and he drinks everything caffenine free.

Kimm-ya gotta surf this board girlfriend!! LOL There is ALOT of information here for the reading. About the caffine question....I have not fully gave it up YET, but I went to lite coffee, and only decaf tea and I have bought the decaf coffee bags for a cup one in a while in the evening. Here is what Adkins states on page 127 of the New Diet Revolution Book:

"Excessive caffeine may cause unstable blood sugar and should be avoided by those who suspect they are caffeine dependent. (Now wait a minute....aren't we ALL caffeine DEPENDENT?! LOL) Everyone should try to avoid caffeine."

Keep doing what you are doing....it seems to be working wonderful for you!

thanks cherio,Thats funny you said surf the boards and I have been on this web site for almost 2 hours now.I really got alot of wonderful ideas!I am going to look good in my swim suit this summer!!!!!
Maybe I will just drink the caffenine in the A.M. and buy caffenine free for the rest of the day plus the water.Should work!

There ya go! Come up with a plan and stick to it.....NO DEW'S AFTER NOON!!

I'm pushing for that swimsuit body too! We are BOTH are going to look HOT Let's see what can I give up that I've been nursing? Alright! Alright! I'll give up the 5 whole wheat crackers that I've been eating with my tuna!

See what your doing here?! No dews after noon and no wheat crackers for me! Can we start tomorrow?!

You are on Its all about attitude and protein=beautiful happy people!!!Got a question for you cherio,who or how does the picture below your call name come from?Can we change that or does the moderator?Still getting use to the post thing.Thanks your on no crackers and no caffenine tomorrow!

Do you mean the little egg cup or where I have the lady bug? I'll answer both! The egg cups change to different things by how many post you acquire! LOL The lady bug avatar you can change in your profile. There is a place near the bottom of your profile where you can add an AVATAR. You can actually search the pages of them that this board offers, about 9 of them! Pick something you like and add it. If you don't quite understand all that, you could ask in "Newbies Questions" and I'm sure one of the long timers will help you, they are all so helpful here.

OKAY....we're off to our hot bods starting tomorrow! No dew's for you and no crackers for me. I would like to buy a bathing suit that is NOT shorts for bottoms, unless of course that's the style this year! LOL

Was that NO dew's for you and crackers after noon for me?! LOL Just kidding! LOL

This week its been the stupid girl scout cookies!I havent gained but I havent lost either.Its so frustrating.I did get my first acknowledgement from someone other than family.I was pretty happy about that.It took me years to put it on so I just have to be patient with myself.