Just starting out - Introduction

[wolfdogmom]

Hello List,

I am now wating for my copy of DANDR should be here in a few days.

I have read a lot of info on the web and have already started to change my eating habits. I started LCing a litte over a week ago, I have lost 3 lbs.

The first couple days I did have headache and fatigue but lived through it no worse for ware!

I do have a couple major peeves or problems that I am not sure how I will over come, :( the first one is caffeine, this is something that I am not sure I can give up, I have cut down quite a bit but not totally, the second is alcohol, this is a major problem.. I am not a heavy drinker but I do enjoy 1-2 beer after work, and also enjoy social drinking on the weekends, especially now that boating/summer season is here! I am owner of a very stressful business and find that I really count on the stress relief that I get from indulging in a couple drinks. I have done a bit of research on the alcohol part of it and think I may be able to compromise, will just have to see. I am very willing to take a bit longer to lose the weight if it allows me to continue with the use of limited alcohol. I understand why the alcohol is not a good thing, however from what I do know, I don't think that it will make or break my diet.

Anyway, I have about 30 lbs to lose and hopefully will be able to do it and use a LC WOL to maintain it once I get there, I am a very patient person and as long as I can see some results then I know that I will be able to achieve my goals.

Nice to be here and I look forward to sharing my experience with you and hearing all of yours!

Amber :roll:

[azjeepgirl]

my boyfriend has been drinking the Michelob Ultra beer, it has a few less carbs in it.
Seems to work for him. He's still losing.

[GrlyGrl]

I drink 20 oz. of coffee with cream every morning. I have had no problem losing (knock on wood!) so far -- my loss has followed the normal pattern. Many people drink coffee and lose successfully. Some do not and have to give it up. Your mileage may vary!

[sweetner]

:daze: HI I am new to this way of eating and I just read you item about being tired and have headaches. I to have this and was wondering how long this lasts.

[cincin11]

I am on my third week of Atkins During my first week of induction , we were invited by some friends to a carnival . Knowing they are heavy drinkers and I also like to drink , the only thing I found on my own was gin/club soda with some lemon. It was a little plain ,but worked.. I just put it in my pop bottle and went off to the beer tent. LOL But actually since then I really haven't had the urge to drink for some reason. I bought the Michelob Ultra and only drank one . I have always loved to have a few drinks at night. But its been ok. Maybe its because I am drinking so much water . Also, watch out because you have no bread or anything in your system to soak up the alcohol . Others have said they get drunker quicker. I didn't even think of that the night I went out. Also , there was a post ( in the Atkins section) not long ago about what are good low carb drinks. People had a lot of suggestions.

[cincin11]

Also, you guys need to join www.fitday.com ,there you enter what you ate and it gives you the carb,fat,protein and calorie totals . and put the link here so I can see what you are eating each day and make suggestions. I never had any headaches or anything, except now I am almost getting leg,hand and neck cramps .I am taking more calcium/magnesium for that. Also , you need some supplements. Check www.atkinscenter.com for which ones you need. Multivitamin needs to be without iron. I bought the wrong one at first..

[wolfdogmom]

Well, first thanks to all who replied to my intro! Nice to know that I am not the only one who is "modifying" this diet to suit my lifestyle!

Couple of things that I wanted to mention for feedback,

First of all do any of you ever use a Carb Blocker or Carb Cheater? If so what do you think of them? Unfortunately I guess there is no immediate way to know if they are working or not, until you use them for awhile and see if you are still losing the weight! Anyway, I did purchase a bottle thinking that if there were times that I just "had" to indulge in some high carby thing that I would use them to counter act the carbs. I did a bit of research on the ingredients and found that Glucosol is good for binding to Carbs in the system and rendering them inactive, it is also supposed to be good for lessening cravings. The second ingredient is Phaseolomin which is supposed to help digestion and absorb carbs. Anyway, just wondering if anyone has used them in a "pinch".

Secondly just wanted to say that as of yesterday I have officially started my diet. Now, I went and looked at the Induction menu on the Atkins website and to be honest, it really doesn't appeal to me very much! It calls for pre-prepared foods that I need to purchase is the first problem for me, and then there are things that are "homemade" but with atkins products. One problem with this is that I don't have access to the Atkins products well not easy access anyway, and I also don't have time for much baking at the moment. Soooo that means that I will have to figure out what to eat on my own. I was a Chef for 10 years and know food pretty well and can make tasty things out of almost any ingredients so I am not really worried about that.

I didn't do any planning for my meals yesterday but when I got to work today I journalized what I did consume and low and behold I consumed 19.1 gms of Carbs! Yaaaayyyyy!

I tried to use fitday but find that it doesn't really give correct listing for what I eat. So what I have done is printed out a list (from www.lowcarbfriends.com) of pretty well the whole list of common foods with the carb and fiber content of each. This I used to figure out what my carb was for the day. All in all I find this method much easier to handle (for me anyway).

I would love for you to look at my menu's - would it be okay to post them here for your purusal?

One more note, I found that Miller Lite has the least carbs of the beer that I have checked out it comes in at 3.2 per bottle.

Anyway, I will post my consumption for yesterday in another post, and if it is unwanted then you can tell me and I won't do it again.

Happy LCing!
Amber

[wolfdogmom]

Okay, well here is yesterday's menu... Lets see what y'all think!


Breakfast 3 eggs, scrambled 3.9
3 slices bacon 0.1
1 tsp. light cream, salt & pepper 1
1 tsp. butter 0

Snack: 5 pcs. Pork Rinds. 0

Lunch 3 Wasa crackers 0
4 tbsp. Tuna Salad: - 0.95
1 oz. Old Cheddar Cheese 0.4

Supper 5 oz. lean steak 0
1/4 cup brocolli spears with 1/2 tsp butter. 4
1/2 recipe Homemade Chop Suey: 2.35
recipe to follow
Salt & Pepper

Other Stuff: 2 Miller Light beer. 6.4
Total Daily Carb: 19.1

Chop Suey Recipe: Makes aprox. 3.3 Cups but used 3 servings for calculations.
3 Cups Bean Sprouts - 12.6carb - 11.7 fiber = .09
1/8 cup sliced onion - .05
1/8 cup sliced celery - .02
1 cup chicken breast - 0
1 cup chicken broth - 0
1 tbsp Soy Sauce ?
1 Cup Water Chestnuts 8.7 carb - 1.5 fiber = 7.2

7.36 Total Carbs for recipe divided by 3 = 2.45 Carbs/serving

Tuna Salad Recipe: (Makes 2 Servings)
1 can tuna in water - 0
3 tbsp. mayo - 1.2
1 tbsp. chopped onion - .5
1 tbsp. chopped peppers - .2
Salt & Pepper

1.9 Carbs total = .95/serving

Amber

[CWC]

I still drink caffinated coffee and imbibe in adult beverages....has not hampered me. Has not hampered my father, either, who is down 80 lbs.

[cincin11]

Hi Wolfdog, I just checked out that lowcarb friends website. and their body mass calculator said I am hefty... LOL.... They do have a lot of yummy sounding recipes... Thanks for the website... Cindy