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  #1   ^
Old Tue, Dec-04-01, 06:55
Atriana's Avatar
Atriana Atriana is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,118
 
Plan: South Beach
Stats: 170/139/130 Female 65 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Location: Atlanta, GA
Default Turtle Motivation

Just thought I'd post an update here as it might offer someone some encouragement.
I am a turtle. One of those big ones from the Galapagos Islands, LOL.
I started an Atkins/Protein Power hybrid way of eating in August. Never increased my carbs much above induction levels. Lost 3 pounds on the first two weeks of induction. Averaged about a pound a week afterwards.
This morning I finally got to 20 pounds lost! Yes, it took a very long time compared to how quickly other people are losing. But, everyone loses weight at a different rate. The key to losing is perserverance. If I had allowed myself to be frustrated and quit during those first couple of weeks, I would still be 170 pounds, (and quite possibly more)!
So all you turtles, stick with it!
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, Dec-04-01, 11:18
Lessara's Avatar
Lessara Lessara is offline
Everyday Sane Psycho
Posts: 7,075
 
Plan: Bernstein, Keto IFast
Stats: 385/253/160 Female 67.5
BF:14d bsl 400/122/83
Progress: 59%
Location: Durham, NH
Talking Congrats, Atriana!!

Way to go! Nice landmark! I think you did rather well concidering you were close to your goal any ways... I think that's the hardest part! Pictures?
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  #3   ^
Old Tue, Dec-04-01, 12:03
Atriana's Avatar
Atriana Atriana is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,118
 
Plan: South Beach
Stats: 170/139/130 Female 65 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Location: Atlanta, GA
Default

Definately the camera shy type - but that could change when I get to goal weight. LOL.
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Dec-05-01, 01:45
lilwannabe's Avatar
lilwannabe lilwannabe is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,092
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 244/218/144
BF:48/42.3/22
Progress: 26%
Location: Victoria, BC Canada
Default

WTG... 20 pounds down is awesome...tell us how different you feel. How are the clothes fitting...
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  #5   ^
Old Thu, Dec-06-01, 15:35
spatzei's Avatar
spatzei spatzei is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 170
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 200/190/140 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 17%
Location: Wolverine, MI
Talking 20 lbs. - WTG!!

Congrats on the 20lbs. Atriana!

What an ispiration you are. I just decided to join the "turtle club." On Monday my 2 weeks of Induction will be over and so far I am down 6lbs. But, at first I lost 5, gained 3 and now down a total of 6lbs. Obviously I wasn't as strick as I should have been, but seeing as this is a new WOL, I have to keep telling myself that my slip ups are human...just keep going with the new WOL and the pounds and inches will start to disappear. You along with many others on this site are helping me to keep going, no matter how slow it goes! And I am with you, I think I am going to be one of those turtles from the Galapagos Islands too!

Another thing I have noticed other than having tons of energy is that I am not as hungry as I used to be inbetween meals and I don't snack anymore. Today after lunch it felt like I ate a 6 course dinner!

Oh well....thanks again for your story! Another one to add to my list to help keep me motivated!

deb
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  #6   ^
Old Thu, Dec-06-01, 18:15
Atriana's Avatar
Atriana Atriana is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,118
 
Plan: South Beach
Stats: 170/139/130 Female 65 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Location: Atlanta, GA
Default

Thanks everyone!
As far as how clothing fits - it doesn't. Yay!
Started out at in size 16 jeans - am now wearing a 10. Same brand, same style. When I look at myself my body seems smaller but you really notice the difference if you put the size 16's and the size 10's next to each other, there is a big difference. I feel more energetic, seem to have a brighter outlook on things even when things are falling apart around me. (Remodeling the house and dissolving an eleven year relationship)Even though "control" is merely an illusion, I feel like I have more control over my life.
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  #7   ^
Old Fri, Dec-07-01, 00:41
coquina's Avatar
coquina coquina is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 146
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 185/159/135
BF:
Progress: 52%
Location: Tucson AZ
Default

Atriana -- Congrats on hanging in there and reaching a landmark. And thanks for the moral uplift! I'm in the first week of my second month on induction. So far I lost 5 lbs. and am still bouncing around between 180 and 181.5, and I'm being so careful about monitoring everything I eat, I don't know what else to do at this point. But I'm going to hang in there, like you, because I do like this WOE. I have not been exercising much this past year (other than work), but am going to start walking again as soon as the holidays are over and my life settles down some. Maybe that will make the difference? I sure hope so. I'm in size 14 jeans now, and can't begin to imagine myself in a size 10 again!

You're an inspiration!

Coquina
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  #8   ^
Old Fri, Dec-07-01, 05:17
Holly G's Avatar
Holly G Holly G is offline
New Member
Posts: 20
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 155/143/125
BF:
Progress: 40%
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Default Thanks Fellow Turtles

I have to thank the Turtle Club for finally getting it through my thick head that I had to give up caffiene, diet coke and diet dew and my nightly big glass of wine. I have been one week now without all and feel much more "level" as they say. Love the no morning headache part and I really do have much more energy throughout the day. I am having my morning cup right now but it's decaf with a couple vanilla beans brewed in for more flavor. For afternoon treat I switched to Diet RC. I havn't lost this week but thanks to you other Turtles I now have the patience I'll need to stick with this.
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  #9   ^
Old Fri, Dec-07-01, 09:19
Atriana's Avatar
Atriana Atriana is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,118
 
Plan: South Beach
Stats: 170/139/130 Female 65 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Location: Atlanta, GA
Default

Cocquina - exercise will help. Eating at frequently will help. Making sure you are eating 10-12 calories a day for every pound you currently weigh will help. Drinking water is the biggy. At least 64 ounces a day and an additional 8 for every 25 pounds you want to lose. It seems so simple but is so very important.
HollyG - I am not a purist. I do drink regular coffee. An occassional diet coke. Social wine or vodka twice a week or so. An occassional low carb bar. When I gave those things up, I didn't lose any faster - just felt deprived. One of the keys to being successful is not feeling deprived! This way of eating has to be something you can live with. Personally, I don't want to live without those things. I am a purist in other areas. No bread, pasta, starchy veggies, sugar, flour. Everyone seems so worried about the hidden carbs in the low carb bars. They may be actual carbs but if your body doesn't recognize them as carbs and raise your insulin level, they should be ok for most people. Definately a thousand times better than a candy bar or some other comparable quick snack type item. I have a glucometer. Have tested blood sugar after stuff like broccoli and meat and then after a low carb bar. There is no difference in my glucose levels.

One of the key turtle insights is that it doesn't really matter if you lose 4 pounds a month or 10. Time will pass whether you get frustrated and quit eating this way or if you stick to it. One thing is certain though. If you stay with it you will eventually be at the weight that is correct for you.
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, Dec-07-01, 09:26
KASSY KASSY is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 164
 
Plan: Atkins Diet w/ a twist
Stats: 200/177/140
BF:
Progress: 38%
Location: N.Y.
Default congrats

That is fantastic. I think the old "me" would have given up with frustration, but your story has motivated me. I am going into my 6th week on Atkins and have only lost 13 lbs. and have been getting frustrated lately.
However, your part about having a different outlook on life inspired me.

Congrats!
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  #11   ^
Old Fri, Dec-07-01, 12:33
coquina's Avatar
coquina coquina is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 146
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 185/159/135
BF:
Progress: 52%
Location: Tucson AZ
Unhappy Looks like exercise

Quote:
Cocquina - exercise will help. Eating frequently will help. Making sure you are eating 10-12 calories a day for every pound you currently weigh will help. Drinking water is the biggy. At least 64 ounces a day and an additional 8 for every 25 pounds you want to lose. It seems so simple but is so very important.


Atriana -- Thanks for your suggestions. I guess exercise is it, then. I'm eating about 2000 calories/day. I've always been a big water drinker (.75 gal/day at least) and I don't drink any soft drinks. I'm not sure about eating frequently for me. It seems I lost more weight when I just stuck to regular meals and didn't snack much.

What effect does eating frequently have?

Coquina
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  #12   ^
Old Fri, Dec-07-01, 17:14
Atriana's Avatar
Atriana Atriana is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,118
 
Plan: South Beach
Stats: 170/139/130 Female 65 inches
BF:
Progress: 78%
Location: Atlanta, GA
Default

Supposedly there have been controlled studies where people were fed the same amount of total calories per day but in different frequency. Seems the people that ate more frequently had a higher metabolic rate (and therefore burned more calories) than the people who only had 1-3 meals a day.
Eating frequently also makes sure you are never so hungry that you will eat whatever is quick and available, whether it is on your eating plan or not.
Exercise will definately help. But to get the most benefit out of it, that too should be done a certain way. Yes, you can walk for 30 minutes at a fairly brisk pace and burn some calories. But if you walked for 20 minutes using HIIT, (high intensity interval training), you would burn more calories during the walk and continue to burn extra calories even after the walk was finished. Strength training is really important also. Muscle is metabolically more active than fat, so muscle tissue burns more calories even when you are being a couch potato. Also, muscle is denser than fat, so a pound of it is considerably smaller than a pound of fat. And don't worry about looking like a bodybuilding competitor. Females naturally have a layer of fat covering their muscles. It is only when their body fat levels get quite low (about 12% or so) will they start looking like those pictures you see in the female bodybuilding magazines. And even those women don't look that way all year - when they are going to compete they intentionally lower their body fat so their muscles will show.
I would suggest checking out the exercise forum and finding out about BFL (Body for Life). It really is an excellent program and as Nat is proving, very compatable with a low carb lifestyle.
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  #13   ^
Old Fri, Dec-07-01, 18:57
coquina's Avatar
coquina coquina is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 146
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 185/159/135
BF:
Progress: 52%
Location: Tucson AZ
Default

All good advice. I've been in a strength training program for the past three years. Even though I didn't lose any weight, I lost 5.5% of my body fat and gained 5.3% in muscle mass. But this past year I've had a lot of pulled muscles (result of auto accidents and my work), so my exercise routine has been very spotty. I'm hoping to get back to it in January, because I felt so good when I was exercising regularly! In the meantime, just getting a regular walking schedule again would help move me in the right direction.

So far I haven't gotten so hungry that I've eaten things I shouldn't. Fact is, I like all the permitted foods so much, I'd rather eat them anyway! Which is why I chose this WOE in the first place.

Coquina
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  #14   ^
Old Fri, Dec-14-01, 11:08
Mindyd's Avatar
Mindyd Mindyd is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 619
 
Plan: Modified Atkins
Stats: 209.9/206.6/140 Female 5 feet 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 5%
Location: Ohio
Default Please don't tell me!

Please don't tell me I have to give up my Diet Pepsi - that is my kick start in the morning - though since beginning this WOL, I have cut way back. I only really drink it with meals - and that is the regular three times a day - only occasionally do I drink it besides that. I lost 10 pounds during "induction", and had stalled for a couple of weeks (felt like months) but then began to realize (with the help of Fitday.com) that I wasn't getting enough calories! So one weekend I forced myself to up my calories (and my carbs a little bit) - and a couple of days later I had lost 4 more pounds - so calories are a key thing I need to work on. Exercise is definitely another area I have to force myself to get better at - I just can't seem to find the time - especially this time of year!
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