Chymene
Wed, Mar-04-09, 14:52
Hey Everyone,
Let me start by giving you a brief idea of my weight in my 25 years of existence.
0-9 yo - Perfectly normal weight
9-13 yo - Overweight due to nervous binge eating (would hide in my room with a box of cookies or an entire pack of bologna)
13-16 yo - "Normal" weight and anorexic (counting calories (max 800), starving myself, exercising 2-3 hours a day)
16-19 yo - Finished growing, 5'9 1/2" - ballooned up to 240 by resuming binge eating (sz 22)
19-25 yo - Returned to 170 pounds - fluctations +/- 10 pounds. No special diet, only portion control and active lifestyle. Still overweight but a sz 12. 12 beats 22 out of the water any day.
August 2009 - Left my hometown of Montreal weighing 165 with a very active lifestyle (I worked in a crowded ER running around all night) and headed to Alberta's Oil Patch (sitting in an ambulance 14 hours a day, working 40+ days in a row, eating junk and lacking sleep).
January 2009 - Returned home to a very surprised boyfriend. Scale shows 198 pounds, I wear a sz 16 and it's tight.
Jan - March 09 - Thought I could portion control and get back to exercise, I've lost about 3 pounds and am constantly hungry. Getting married in May 09, went to shop for a dress... the horror.
So I read, and read and read. I had the choice between an extremely restricting low-fat, high-carb, 1200 cal/day diet or a liberating, no calorie-counting high-fat, very low-carb diet. Since I've gone one way (and it did work slowly, it just makes me miserable) I'm gonna try the other.
I've been doing Atkins Induction for 4 days now. I eat eggs & bacon/sausage in the morning, usually a salad with meat for lunch and at night, a big piece of meat and cooked veggies (cauliflowers au gratin, fried mushrooms & onions, squash, etc.). I woke up this morning with a definite sense of energy about me, a feeling of liteness and my sz 16 jeans fit a bit less tight than they did on March 1st. I also find myself incredibly thirsty and drink more water than I ever did in my life. So far, so good.
I refuse to use the scale daily. I don't even own a scale. I have sz 12 jeans, sz 14 jeans and sz 16 jeans. I had even bought a pair of sz 18 jeans thinking I'd need them eventually (how sad) but they were too big when I bought them and remain too big. I go to my mom twice a month for supper - I'll weigh myself then. In the meantime, my jeans will suffice to track my progress.
I haven't found cutting carbs to be excruciating thus far. I haven't had any cravings except for one thing... fruit! How I'd kill for a pear... a banana... or better yet, a crunchy apple with peanut butter. I'll reintroduce fruit slowly in about a month - in moderate amounts.
I don't expect miracles or a sudden weight loss of 30 pounds. But I do miss the extra energy, the joy of shopping for clothes and the carelessness of parading around in a dress. At a sz 12, I felt sexy, curvy and dynamic. At a sz 16, I find I'm clumsy, heavy, unattractive and downright bulky. Not the way I want to live. Heck I'll settle for a sz 10 too if that's what my body ends up being comfortable at!
I'm glad I found this forum and look forward to learning from all of your experience. Thanks for reading :)
Let me start by giving you a brief idea of my weight in my 25 years of existence.
0-9 yo - Perfectly normal weight
9-13 yo - Overweight due to nervous binge eating (would hide in my room with a box of cookies or an entire pack of bologna)
13-16 yo - "Normal" weight and anorexic (counting calories (max 800), starving myself, exercising 2-3 hours a day)
16-19 yo - Finished growing, 5'9 1/2" - ballooned up to 240 by resuming binge eating (sz 22)
19-25 yo - Returned to 170 pounds - fluctations +/- 10 pounds. No special diet, only portion control and active lifestyle. Still overweight but a sz 12. 12 beats 22 out of the water any day.
August 2009 - Left my hometown of Montreal weighing 165 with a very active lifestyle (I worked in a crowded ER running around all night) and headed to Alberta's Oil Patch (sitting in an ambulance 14 hours a day, working 40+ days in a row, eating junk and lacking sleep).
January 2009 - Returned home to a very surprised boyfriend. Scale shows 198 pounds, I wear a sz 16 and it's tight.
Jan - March 09 - Thought I could portion control and get back to exercise, I've lost about 3 pounds and am constantly hungry. Getting married in May 09, went to shop for a dress... the horror.
So I read, and read and read. I had the choice between an extremely restricting low-fat, high-carb, 1200 cal/day diet or a liberating, no calorie-counting high-fat, very low-carb diet. Since I've gone one way (and it did work slowly, it just makes me miserable) I'm gonna try the other.
I've been doing Atkins Induction for 4 days now. I eat eggs & bacon/sausage in the morning, usually a salad with meat for lunch and at night, a big piece of meat and cooked veggies (cauliflowers au gratin, fried mushrooms & onions, squash, etc.). I woke up this morning with a definite sense of energy about me, a feeling of liteness and my sz 16 jeans fit a bit less tight than they did on March 1st. I also find myself incredibly thirsty and drink more water than I ever did in my life. So far, so good.
I refuse to use the scale daily. I don't even own a scale. I have sz 12 jeans, sz 14 jeans and sz 16 jeans. I had even bought a pair of sz 18 jeans thinking I'd need them eventually (how sad) but they were too big when I bought them and remain too big. I go to my mom twice a month for supper - I'll weigh myself then. In the meantime, my jeans will suffice to track my progress.
I haven't found cutting carbs to be excruciating thus far. I haven't had any cravings except for one thing... fruit! How I'd kill for a pear... a banana... or better yet, a crunchy apple with peanut butter. I'll reintroduce fruit slowly in about a month - in moderate amounts.
I don't expect miracles or a sudden weight loss of 30 pounds. But I do miss the extra energy, the joy of shopping for clothes and the carelessness of parading around in a dress. At a sz 12, I felt sexy, curvy and dynamic. At a sz 16, I find I'm clumsy, heavy, unattractive and downright bulky. Not the way I want to live. Heck I'll settle for a sz 10 too if that's what my body ends up being comfortable at!
I'm glad I found this forum and look forward to learning from all of your experience. Thanks for reading :)