49, no kids, and long-term low fat/semi vegetarian!!!

[Randalina]

LOW FAT CONFESSIONAL:
Oh this is SUCH a change for me! For all these years, I have eaten low fat (lots of beans, whole grains, fruits, veggies) and mostly vegetarian, with occasional fish and (rarely) some meat or chicken. Never cook with meat! (Except when partner really wants a steak or something, and then he cooks it.) My weight has been steady for years, in a 10 lb range of 150-160 -- but in my 20's and 30's my range was 145-155 and I'd love to get back down there. These days I stay at the TOP of my range (160) and my pants are tight.
DA BIG CHANGE!
So -- ta da -- after the Dimona Israel study, I thought I'd give Atkins a try. Hoo boy, what a change- eating lots of chicken, sausage (!!something I would never normally eat!!), cheese, ricotta cheese, fish, shrimp. (Still can't bring myself to eat much red meat). This is only Day 3. Let's see how it goes.
My low-fat training is really CHALLENGING this internally, but I would really like to get down to 150 or so (145?) and stay there.
MY STATS:
By the way, I am 49 years old, in a steady long term relationship (we aren't really interested in the marriage thing, for a variety of reasons), no kids, and in pretty good health. I exercise although that can be SPORADIC!!!
MEDICAL:
I have very high "good" chlorestoral and high overal chlorestoral. I would like to get my overall number lower although my Dr says, don't worry about it since my "good" chlorestoral is so high. Also my blood pressure is always very low (possibly because I was a long distance runner for so many years)
Well thank you for listening, and I realize with only 10 lbs or so to lose, no kids, etc., my challenge is a lot less than so many other hard working lo carbers out there. But I wish us all luck....

[jschwab]

Welcome! Do you feel good on your current diet or are you also looking for more energy, etc.? It sounds like your issues are not drastic and you may be able to deal with them on a modified Atkins - listen to what your body is telling you, above all! There are a lot of runners over in the exercise forum so if you are looking for buddies to help you get back into that, check it out.

Janine

[Wifezilla]

Since you aren't looking to lose a lot of weight, a better measure of how low carb works for you would probably be your blood lipids, blood pressure, and body measurements. Can you get a baseline on that?

Measure yourself, have your cholesterol tested, take your blood pressure, etc... and write it down somewhere.

[Kisal]

Welcome! Nice to have you with us! :)

[Randalina]

Thanks for the responses. I am doing this to lose about 10-15 lbs as I head into menopause... get back to my weight that I was in during my 20s and 30s.... My energy level could use a boost too!!! But mainly I just want my pants to fit, as the dreaded middle age spread hit -- in the past 2 years, my hips widened and my butt got larger even though my lbs haven't changed that much.... Go figure.
As for running-- I had to give it up after 20 years, and doing a marathon, as my knees are shot... Too bad. I love running.
Anyway I was thinking of getting my stats done.
Thank you for the encouragement.

[LMMS]

have you been to the Atkins site? I am turning 40 this December and decided enough is enough. I was in cross country running in highschool and a competitive ice skater. I got married at 34 (no kids) and we just would just eat and party and I would wear a bigger size pants and it was like, big deal. Well last year I quit a 22 year habit of drinking and smoking. Aug 29th will be one year. Then I started craving desserts, carbs, you name it. Traded one habit for another. I am totally commited to this low carb thing now. Only on day 10 but it feels so much better then the first couple of days of detoxing my poor body from ice cream. I have a friend who is a vegetarian and she tried Atkins and she found it difficult. Are you going to eat more meat or how are you getting proteins without the beans and stuff? By the way, she is on weightwatchers not losing any weight there either. I did low carb (not atkins) in the past and even with drinking beer on weekends and the occational pancakes I lost 25 pretty easy and kept it off for a year until I just said forget it one day. Worst day for me. I think I am doing it smarter doing the induction for real this time. How are you feeling? Any fatigue, headaches?

Lisa

[Randalina]

Thanks. I am eating fish, cheese, chicken, and some leftover sausage from the frreezer. Plus veggies. No beef. A headache once or twice but nothing serious. I keep forgetting to take the psillium and I have to do that... So far, energy is quite good. My body responds very quickly when I cut calories, so I have managed to drop down a couple of pounds in 4 days, but that is typical for me, I go up and down with the same 10 lbs and even when I do low-fat low-calorie, I can quickly drop 5-8 lbs in 2 weeks. But it will come back again quickly. I am trying to make it stick this time. I guess when I have done this for a month or so I will try to figure out a way to move back into a vegetarian mode, and see how that affects things. I may just do a low glycemic diet at that point, or more like a South Beach thing, which might permit me to eat more vegetarian again...
Anyway so far so good, and I wish you luck as well!
Thanks for commenting.

[LMMS]

have you been on the atkins support site?

Lisa

[srl88]

Hello fellow newbie!

You and a couple others have mentioned "no kids". I as well, though married almost 20 years have no kids.

Weren't we supposed to get some kind of metabolic advantage for never having bred??? Hahahahahaha.....I wish!!!

[Wifezilla]

Maybe not, but I bet you had more disposable income without kids helping you dispose of yours! LOL

[LMMS]

yeah our goal was no kids and a vacation home. I have no vacation home. Ah, maybe someday. That's the goal anyway. Yeah, I think I should have the metabolism of a 20 year old. Turning 40 this December. Not a happy Chistmas present but it's better than the alternative, right. I hope to be a little healthier by then and get down a size or 2.

Lisa

[srl88]

Unfortunately, I dispose of my disposable income faster than I can save it. If I can pay off my house by the time I retire (if I retire), that will be all the vacation home I need.

A word of encouragement about turning 40. I'm 44. BEST years of my life and I promise you, I wasn't expecting that. Seriously. There are some trials emotionally as you go over the hump and have to deal with your changing body, (gawd, I sound like my 7th grade phys ed teacher) but it's worth it. I saw about 5 years pile on in the first year or so but after I lost weight, I took at least ten off. It really is possible. A couple good face peels, a great hair color, a few sizes down.....miraculous! Don't stress yourself over it, just work the program. Stress shows on your skin.