New to board and looking for encouragement!

[JenPena]

Hi I'm Jenny and new to the site AND the forums. I recently decided to start low carb (Atkins) and my usual message blog site, WebMD.com, had some dieting blogs that I posted to, and was not encouraged. Basically everyone there was pretty negative about Atkins although I know it's the diet that works for me and I'm determined to stick to it. Several of my family members have lost a lot of weight and better yet, kept it off, and as a "new" mom of a 2-year old, hoping to get pregnant in the next year, I am concerned with the mommy weight I didn't take off and the extra I put on in the process.

I've been on the diet for 4 days and lost 6 pounds - it feels fairly effortless so far compared to the other times I've done the diet in the past; I don't feel crazed about the carbs I'm missing and when I do get a craving, I tell myself "I want the weight loss more than that cookie" and forget about it.

HOWEVER - I'm afraid of the inevitable plateau; when I did this diet last about 3 years ago, I went two steady weeks of weight loss and I think another week of NO weight loss, during which I changed habits - took in even less carbs, went to Splenda products instead of the usual diet pops that had aspartame, that kind of thing....eventually I lost interest and hope and stopped. I actually lost a pound a day for two solid weeks; a miracle I know but it was hard to work on the diet for that long and suddenly have no results. I'm hoping these message boards will help me not lose faith and keep going!

Nice to find you all and read your success stories. It gives me hope as well as "friends in diet" since I have no one around me who either approves of the diet or is on one. Thank you for being here!

Jenny

[liddie01]

:wave: Hi Jen, and welcome, I lost 14 pounds in two weeks then no pounds at all but i4 inches for a whole 4 weeks, then 5 quick then inches for three weeks, then another 5, then nothing, then 4 so I have lost 28 since the beginning of april total, but never every week steadily, I just figure if I stick to it it will come off.

[mike_d]

Welcome. I found out one to one and a half pounds per week is more realistic, just accept that and stay the course. I have been at it more or less 2 years and I may finaly get to 180 by next week. I have tried to cut down to two meals a day and exercise more--its tough in this heat wave :devil:

Dieting also gets tougher near goal weight. LC is the best lifestyle change plan I have found and more health promoting. I enjoy more greens like spinach, fatty meats, cheese like swiss and treats such as walnuts or even some dark chocolates (Lindt) or cocoa. In return I gave up grains, milk (except for plain yogurt), all fruits, sweets and most processed foods.

I don't think you can do Atkins plans while PG though.

[JenPena]

:wave: Hi to you both; I'll reply to both your posts in one! :)

I am basically trying to get to a reasonable weight just in time to get pregnant - silly, I know, but it's also easier to carry a child when you're not also carrying all the weight that affects the baby and yourself. With asthma as another health problem, I don't want to chance it - and once I have the baby and am done nursing, most likely to lose the post-baby weight I'll go LC again! It just seems like the only alternative for me since I've tried MANY low-cal diets, Weight Watchers and the 3-4-5 plan every day, adding LOTS of exercise and getting nowhere - even in inches. So I don't have to obsess about food like I did with those and it's fun to try and find ways to adjust for carbs! It's all in the mind set, at least it is for me, because after my son was born I just didn't put enough effort into it and thought "one more day won't hurt" - and now two years later I'm at the heaviest I've ever been, even after he was born. I don't want to be a non-participating mom who can't run and play with my son and teaches him bad eating habits. So I'm trying to get myself away from being addicted to carbs. They're everywhere in our house - from chips to breads to pasta to candy - and I love 'em all. I'm hoping this will teach me moderation, to have carbs as a treat, instead of a constant addition in my diet. Eating carbs constantly makes me feel bloated and tired and eventually depressed because I know it's making me gain weight. Eating low carb makes me feel like I'm burning fat and surprisingly enough, this time I even feel energetic! I'm glad to meet you both and hope to keep in touch to see how your progress goes! Congrats on all the weight loss!