The information that I've posted comes from a friend of mine. I liked the challenge that she started so I decided to bring it to this bb.



Hello all!
I am starting a new challenge group for us 'sistahs' to come and chat about our low carb lifestyles and challenges. Professionals, non-professionals, stay-at-home moms, single, married, divorced, widowed, tall, short, or whatever...come on in!!!

Being a woman of color, I grew up eating the high-fat high-carb foods that the family ate. If I had only know about Atkins then, I wouldn't have had to give up all of the good things I liked about our eating choices. I could have cut back on the breads and sugars and sweets and still had the rest of the foods that I love and I now eat today.

Also, we have the weightloss issue as far as our body type is concerned. Since most of us have been 'blessed' with ample hips and rears, most of the clothes in the stores, even the large and plus sized ones, are not made for our shapes. I know if I go into Lane Bryant, I wear a size 18, I can not fit into their 18's. If I go a size larger, large enough to fit my hips and rear, then it is too big in the waist. So you see, we have a bit more to lose than most women due to the way we are 'built'. (...she's a brick....house!)

Anyway, I just thought this would be a place to keep in touch with each other's lc-ing progress, talk about current events that affect us and just life in general as women of color.

Hi red1cutie, welcome.

Red1Cutie: I seem to have missed your entire message when I responded. For some reason it didn't show up. The letter that you are reading was posted by a friend of mine in another board. You should visit us there. I decided to start the group up here b/c I haven't seen a challenge for us.
I am 5'1. I'm wearing 14's but some of them are a little big. I rarely see 13's here.

I sent you a pm

Hello to the 2 of you!

I also have from the commonly known "child bearing hips" and always end up buying pants that have huge waists so that the butt and hips can fit into them.

Again, like you, I have grown up eating all that's "bad" now, but was "good" then. I'm originally from the Caribbean and they are known for the fats, stews, fried things, fattening desserts, dumplings (my favorite).....etc........

It's nice to know I'm not the only one with these hips!!

Good luck to you all!!!!

Hi everyone. I've been on this plan since Feb. 2003 and have lost over 50 pounds. But the most important thing is that I went from a size 26/28 jean to size 20. Now that's what I'm talking about!

I like my hips and rear. In fact, I like my body. I just wish there was much less of it, in the same proportion. I'm not a young fly thing like you ladies seem to be, but I know that we as Black women have health issues that are more prominent in our race. And many of these issues are exacerbated by obesity. Diabetes, hypertension, fibroids, heart disease...the list goes on. But by starting to take care of your body at an early age and maintaining a healthy life style, you will not only be fine for life, but be able to strut your stuff without breaking a hip, lol.

I think I eat more "soul" food than I did any other time in my life. I eat a lot of collard greens, green beans, kale and okra. I've also figured out some ways to work around carbs and still enjoy the food.

I wish more of us would adopt this woe. Visit my journal any time or PM me. Glad to be on board.

Congratulations on your weight loss!! You are doing so well, keep it up!

I know what you mean about a lot less of your body. I too love my shape, but with the weight it's an extended "Coca-Cola bottle shape". Last April, I gained 45 lbs in 6 wks studying for my bar exams. I went from size 10 to size 16 in 6 wks. So now I've decided enough is enough - time for me to get back to size 10. So here I am!

A lot of my family has lost weight using Atkins (even those still living in the Caribbean) so that's why I started with Atkins.

Good luck - and feel free to PM me anytime!!

Hi Harley! Hey KetoDiva! Thanks Amiee, I got your PM!
Nice to meet you guys too. We can all do this!

I have lost 30 pounds and I started on February 19, 2003. I am from the Caribbean too so I know they type of food you are talking about. Yummy but extremely fattening.

Amiee, Harley & KetoDiva, Let's share!
What is the most challenging thing about this WOL?
How much water do you drink?
What types of veggies do you consume most?
What are your avg. percentages (Fat/Prot/Carbs)?
What's your favourite thing about this WOL?
How much did you lose on Induction?
What do you most look forward to when you reach your goal?

Hey how about we see how much we can lose by Christmas? Countdown to Christmas....

Peace
red

hhhhhmmmmmmmm....

Most challenging? I was a carbaholic (pre Atkins). now the hardest is trying to find stuff that's carb free. All the sugar free stuff is usually full of carbs - not to mention the bbq sauces etc.

Water? About 2-4 litres a day

Veggies? My favorite (pre Atkins) was corn. Now, I eat salads (I love cucumbers), cabbage, snow peas, bean sprouts (higher carbs for veggies). I don't like traditional veggies ie broccoli, cauliflower, celery, mushrooms etc.

Favorite thing about WOL? That I'm not hungry! I was on Slim Fast a few yrs ago and I was always hungry! Now I'm not - so that's great!

Induction? I'm still in induction. I started on 21 July, 2003 and had a cheat day yesterday so it's back to day 1 of induction for me! Also too, I HATE scales so I haven't weighed myself yet. I bought one last Tues, but have yet to use it.

Goal? Well, when I do reach it, I'm going to burn all my plus size clothes. Then I'm probably going to treat myself to a new wardrobe (well, some new clothes at least!!) And probably a nice vacation to a beach in the Caribbean so I can show off my new bod.

And boy will I be strutting when I reach my goal!!!!!!!

I would love to start a countdown to Christmas! Hopefully I'll be down to a size 12 by then (I'm at a 16/18 now!)

Fingers and toes crossed!!!!!!!!!

Good luck everyone - and I look forward to hearing from you all!!!!!

I am glad to see so many beautiful women in here. When I posted this I didn't think anyone would see it.

I haven't had a chance to read the messages so I will have to catch up tomorrow. I am helping a friend so I am tired. I will talk to you ladies tomorrow.

It is nice to see women of color losing weight. I live in Ohio and it seems like there are no ethnic women here who are doing Atkins. I've been looking for a diet partner in this area but I have given up. I know now that I can't wait around but I have to "Just Do It" even though I don't have any support.
I'm 5'1 and I currently weigh 225lbs, my heaviest weight was 250 but I lost weight when I was sick and in the hospital for gallbladder surgery. It was nice because for a while, I couldn't stand anything with sugar in it and I could barely eat because I was never hungry. I got down to 204 pounds in February of this year but then I got better and my old sugar cravings came back and I re-gained my appetite.
I've realized that I am out of control and I need to do something, so I'm starting Atkins again. I know inorder to stick with it, I'm going to have to start actually planning my meals. I also will begin exercising. The hardest part is getting started but I have to do this for my husband and myself. Thanks for listening.

Welcome ketodee, harleydee, and Frodo2001!


We are going to have a great time sharing our experiences and losing weight. I'm going to add you ladies to my buddy list.

I want us to try to post everyday. I know that there are some days that you won't me able to and that's ok. I don't want you to feel that b/c you had a cheat day that you can't post. We are in this together.

What is the most challenging thing about this WOL? The most challenging thing for me was giving up all of that southern food that I enjoy to eat.

How much water do you drink? 64-80 oz.

What types of veggies do you consume most? greens, okra, green beans, asparagus, and cabbage

What are your avg. percentages (Fat/Prot/Carbs)? I honestly don't know

What's your favourite thing about this WOL? With this wol I rarely get hungry

How much did you lose on Induction? 10 lbs.
What do you most look forward to when you reach your goal? When I complete my goal, I think I will just be relieved to have the weight off. I will probably go on a big shopping spree.

Hey how about we see how much we can lose by Christmas? The Christmas challenge is great. I also think we need to add an exercise challenge to that.

I think an exercise challenge is a great idea. I haven't done any exercises yet, but I'll start to soon. And by Christmas, I would love to be back down to a size 12! Fingers (and toes) crossed for that!

Well, I'm back on strict Induction as of Wed. I had a cheat day on Tues, and when I cheat, I go ALL the way!!

I had movie popcorn with extra butter, cream filled doughnut, sugar glazed doughnut, sugar covered doughnut centers (about 10) and then went to a mexican restaurant for dinner. There I had flour tortillas (3 soft tacos), refried beans, corn, salsa, chips....all the trimmings, not to mention the deep-fried ice-cream with chocolate sauce for dessert!!

I thought I would have been craving carbs yesterday (Wed), but the cheat day made me even more determined to lose the weight! So I've started back a strict induction until I lose more.

I'm kinda scared to weigh myself just in case I haven't lost any weight. Since starting the Induction 2 1/2 wks ago, I'm feeling really good about myself even if there are no drastic changes to my body!

So now I feel great about this WOE, so that's enough for me now. Eventually I'll get on the scale, but not any time soon!!

When I began induction on 21 July, I was not very strict. Most days I went over my 20g of carbs and drank aspartame drinks. Now, I'm limiting myself to 20g of carbs.

Wed 6 Aug, 2003 - Day 1 Induction (again!!)
- 3 chix drumsticks that I made
- baked meatloaf
- cheese
- 1 litre of water
- 1 1/2 litres of watery crystal lite