**Please, anyone who reads this, I would love suggestions on anything to get me going, anything I may be doing wrong from the above goals, and anything and everything you may have for encouragement. I am starting my new way of life in a week.**

Objetive: To maintain a low carb diet and live healthy

Obstacles: The fast paced world of someone working. I believe my main obstacle is going to be when I'm at work. I work an 8 hour day, but I work this 8 hour day at different times, all the time. And, I do not get to go on break, so I cannot go out to eat. Maybe that's a blessing in disguise. I do not have WATER readily available at work, and so, not only shall I have to bring my eats to work, I'll also always have to bring drink. That is a big inconvenience, but I will have to live with it.
Also, changing the fridge and cabinet intake. My fridge is full of carbs right now. I've now read Atkin's diet twice, and just finished Protien power. I look in my freezer and I almost get sick. Way to many carbs, and I need to get rid of them. I look in the cabinet, way to many carbs, I need to get rid of them. I will never put another carb in those places.

The How to's: My main goal here is to make this WOL convenient to my lifestyle. How I plan on starting this is:
1) Tuperware! I'm going to make sure as soon as I buy bacon, I cook it and put it in tuperware, same with some other meats, chicken, sliced steak. Coldcuts need to be ready at all times. Vegitables (when I get to that stage) need to be pre-chopped and stored.
2) Big ass water bottles. My plan is to keep 4 of them in the freezer at all times, filled with Ice. If I need water, they're there, convenient. If I'm out the door, I fill with water on the way out and wala, I have water on the road.
3) Snacks. I believe the main reason people like snacks I cause you don't have to do a damn thing to eat them. The typical american just grabs a bag and eats what is in it. No preperation. This is how I want my snacks. So, I either need to do mass preperation at one time for snacks, or eat a helluva lot of cheese and pork rinds. We'll see.
4) Get that Propane filled! My grill is out of propane, and to me I have to have it filled before I start. I need to be able to have my chicken and steaks grilled to perfection in a matter of minutes, while chillin on my back porch watchin the birds fly by. Gotta get that propane!
5) Salads are another preperation nightmare for me. I've tried to eat salads regularly in the past, and just couldn't do it cause I don't like chopin lettuce every night. So again, need mass preperation, or spend that extra buck and get it already chopped. (don't wanna spend the extra buck!)

The things I need to put behind me NOW:
R.I.P
Pasta , thank you for the good times. Although you blinded me with your carbohydrate ways, I always will love you. I am a wanabee Italian, and you made me that way. I'm afraid we must part forever now, but perhaps I will find you again in the afterlife, when it doesn't matter that you raise my cholesterol and clog my arteries.
Bread , we've had a lot of good times together. Although some low carb diets say I can have you in low moderation, I don't buy it. I know you do some seriously screwy things to my sugar levels, I've felt it, you've felt it, and so you must understand why I'm leaving you. Goodbye.
Potatoes , perhaps my biggest love of all. You are my half-Irish root (literally). You will always remind me of Mom's home cooking, but alas, while you've given me such great memories, our time has come to say goodbye.

I've never been a sweet eater, and thank God for that. My mission this week is to get rid of some things, and stock the house and get ready for my introduction to a new life. Here comes the beef!

Time for the fun, cause if it isn't fun, then what's the point?

-Chad

I love it!

Chad You will do just fine...

A few suggestions...

Buy salad in a bag. It comes already prepared, I would think most grocery stores carry it.

Buy bacon that is already cooked. It's not that much more expensive and it very easy to heat up. 30 seconds in the microwave. (my personal favorite)


sugar free jello is a great "free" sweet. If you have a sweet tooth like I do this you will need.

I grill tons of stuff at one time than I freeze it in single zip lock bags. All I have to do is grab one out and heat it up. Tastes just like it came off the grill.

Well, that's a few things I have done, If I think of more I will let ya know.

Glad to have ya here

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions Allison. I am a true believer in having a sound plan before I jump into things. I've never heard of already cooked bacon. I'll have to check that out. Unfortunetly I live in the middle of nowhere, so any kind of "wierd foods" are hard to find.

Thanks again,
-Chad

Chad, you sound like such an organizer...you're going to be fine on this WOE. I am the same way, and I know the hassle of keeping steady at work or school. Here are some thing that work for me:

I buy my water in the gallon bottles at Wal Mart for 58 cents - about $3 at a time and one large 32 oz. "sippy" top bottle. I lug that gallon to work and pop it on the floor behind my desk. I can usually drink half my sippy bottle with just my morning vitamins, but before noon, I've filled it up a couple more times. By 5:00, the gallon is usually empty. I refill it at home or work for the next day, or just bring a new one. This keeps me full and away from too many snacks at work...

Also, the tupperware is a good idea...I have hard boiled eggs, sliced salami and cheese, celery stix, cucumber slices, sometimes a few olives...all ready to go in the fridge. I like to grab something and eat it. I'm with you on that, and also on the GRILL!! What a difference THAT makes! I can't do porkrinds NO HOW!! But instead I do like a sugar-free jello dessert that I mix with cream cheese and diet 7-up in the blender...once it molds, it has a bubbly, creamy texture, not like regular wiggly jello.

You're already at the veggie stage even in induction, so while you're buying the tupperware, get a large bowl with a tight lid and chop the whole dang head of lettuce...add in some other permitted veggies if you like...and keep it ready for a good handful a day. If you have a fridge at work, bring your salad dressing and leave it there...just drag the salad to work.

In the morning, I have my small frying pan on the stove, I throw in a hunk of butter, crack two eggs, add a few veggies from the night before, turn the eggs over and throw on a slice of cheese. Believe it or not, I eat this in the car on my way!! But McDonald's 2-for $2 on the sausage mcmuffins are a better traveling companion!

I also grab a handful of my pre-made salad mix, crush up some bacon bits, grab the tupperware of salami and cheese and head out the door. It ALL takes 10 minutes tops. Yesterday for lunch I had 2 Burger King "kings" for $2. and just threw out the buns. My snacks were peanuts (not a good idea...easy to eat too many) and rolled salami with cheese. I sometimes dip celery stix into egg salad or tuna at my desk when I'm hungrier than usual.

Here's my take on the pasta and potatoes...I'm full Italian, and my grandmother still makes the gravy on Sundays (that's RED tomato sauce for anyone not from Philly! ) and she usually makes baked ziti or ravioli -- or something equally as tempting! When I go, I eat two pieces of sausage, 2 or 3 meatballs, she puts a piece of pork in the gravy pot for me...and I have a huge salad with olive oil and vinegar, basil, oregano, parmesian cheese...sometimes I'll take a little extra gravy over the meat...in essence, I can now live without the pasta believe it or not. It must be the miracle of the induction process that you actually lose your craving, or get motivated enough to just pass it by. Whatever it is...it works for me.

And I constantly remind myself: LC'ing is FUN!!! When you can eat real butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon bits, broccoli...WHO NEEDS THE POTATO??? (Stack it on your cauliflour )

(Gosh, I guess I'm quite the lecturer...sorry so long!)

Don't you be sorry, that is great!!! First, I am so happy someone has proven my water theory right, I've been so worried about how I would drink my water. Second, great idea about the bowl-tuperware. I'm going to walmart ASAP!
I am so glad to hear you are making out with the Italian food. This is my biggest worry. I grew up on Italian(though I am not) because my best friend was, and on top of growing up with him, I lived with him for 2 years. Pasta, pasta, it is drilled in our heads, but you know what? I know how carbs make me feel, even before I try to get off of them. I understand that they make my blood sugar go nuts. Why is this not possible? IT IS!
Thanks again,
Chad
P.S. keep those suggestions comin, you guys are molding my new life.

Chad, I just loved your post! So funny, yet so organized--just like a man. You will do great because you have a plan. Men tend to be able to follow things like this much better than women and they also lose faster and easier.

As per the water, I tip my bottles slightly in the freezer and only fill them part way. That way the water I add gets really cold faster. If you are taking more than one to work, fill some with more ice than others so they defrost faster.

I also have a great Coleman insulated jug that holds 1/2 gallon. When you use something like this with a wide mouth, you can freeze your ice in paper or plastic cups for really big ice cubes that take much longer to melt. My jug also has a sipping "straw" that flips up so you don't have to open the whole jug to get a drink.

Good luck.

Carol

Boiled eggs, boiled eggs, boiled eggs. Always keep a supply in the fridge. I boil about eight at a time. They are good for breakfast, a quick snack, on salad, in tuna or chicken salad, or made into deviled eggs.
If you like sausage (the pork, breakfast type), you can cook up a lot of patties and freeze them in individual portions to nuke. Same with burger patties. They are good nuked with cheese on top and then put on top of salad for a "cheeseburger".
If you have time on a day off, or if you have a crock pot, you can cook a good pot roast and then divide that into individual servings for the freezer.
If you always have some good, "real" food available, you want be so tempted to grab some junk when you get hungry.
Sounds like you've got you act together - you won't have any problems!

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragment everyone!

-Chad

Chad, you're going to do great!

I often make 5 burgers on a sunday night, and then wrap them up individually to take to work as a lunch or snack. Also of course works with chicken breasts. Then just eat however you like (I tend to like lots of mayo and some mustard). That takes care of the not being able to go out to eat thing - along with maybe some cheese slices or bacon for crunch.

Sounds like you've got the water thing taken care of, but you could also buy those 32 oz. plastic bottles of selzter at the store and bring those in to work each day. Two of those and you've done the minimum water for the day (and of course you'll have more with dinner).

Wishing you great success!
kiwi

I just thought I'd chime in on the water plan....

There is No company or informal employee sponsored drinking water in my office either. I haul in the 2.5 gallon jugs from the grocery store once or sometimes twice a week. Could this be considered a form of exercise? Water weighs about 8 lbs a gallon, right?

I've always been a big water drinker - I think I picked it up when I was pregnant - so I'd be lugging those jugs anyway, but probably not as many. Anyway -- a big problem for some might be that the water is not cold enough. When we first got the little tabletop fridge here ~ work I had a bottle swap system going where I'd always have one bottle to drink & others chilling. That became a pain in the bum so I got used to room temperature water. I just use store-bought water bottles over and over again. Sometimes the cleaning staff gets a bit zealous & throws one or two away, but who's counting, right? Freezing bottles sounds like a good solution - especially if you have time to do pre-work preparation.

Best wishes!
Ginger in Maryland

You don't need Tupperware (REALLY expensive!). Stores now carry inexpensive storage containers that work just as well for a lot less money (like Gladware).
All those carby things in your cupboard? If they're unopened, how about donating them to the local soup kitchen or food pantry instead of tossing them in the trash? While I know that these are not "healthy" foods for most people, those who are starving have more pressing issues than eating healthy...they just need to eat.
Look for already chopped and bag salad fixings on sale. Most grocery stores put them on sale regularly.
Good luck!

Just a quick update: I'm on my 4th day of induction. Feeling really run down. I've lost 6 pounds already though, crazy huh??

Question though: I am a diet pepsi addict. I didn't realize this till I started this new way of eating. I have limited myself to 1 diet pepsi a day. Is this going to affect me at all?

Everything else I am eating is totally carbless (asside from the small amounts of carbs in the cheese and mayo, and very small salads).

Wish me luck, overall I am very happy with the way it is going.
-Chad

Chad, that's a pretty good cut-back for being an addict! Do you like any of the cafeine free diet colas? I had to move over to the diet sprite after 5:00, but I still only drink a little of it. If it doesn't have sugar or cafeine, your 1 or 2 a day should hurt. And any are not bothered by the regular stuff anyhow...see what works for you over time.

Glad everything else is going well...keep it up!