new to Atkins

[Heidi]

Hi,

After doing all kinds of strange diets 10 days ago I decided to try this one and I love it. However I didn't lose any weight today, so far I have lost 7.5 lbs in 10 days, is that too little, am I doing something wrong? I am addicted to weighing myself lately and I probably shouldn't. I am also going to start drinking more water just to make sure that that isn't a problem, I have been drinking probably exactly the 64 oz that we have to and I probably should drink more. Am I doing everything right, should I do something differently? In the meantime I also have a dilemna, I am in my best friend's wedding in a month and I don't have to drink, but I kind of want to but I don't want to sabotage this because I feel so good on this diet. Do you have any suggestions for what is relatively safe to drink while doing this?

thank you very much
Heidi

[angelfish]

Welcome Heidi :wave:

Congrates on 7.5 lbs! That's good. You may want to start a journal and record the food you're eating. That way those here can sort of look for hints to help you. I hope you enjoy this site as much as I. Lots of support, helpful hints, and great recipe ideas.

Angelfish

PS You may want to get the Atkins book and read it. Very helpful!

[TeriDoodle]

Welcome to the forum, Heidi!

Your loss to date is wonderful! You should not, however, expect to always lose at that rate! Once out of induction (the 1st two weeks) you may expect to lose at a rate of 1/2 to 1 lb. per week. That seems to be about average, assuming you are also exercising regularly.

Also, keep in mind that this is not considered a "diet" but a way of life....one that you will probably be very happy with once you see the many health benefits that go along with low-carb eating.

You'll find that this forum is full of very helpful, cheerful individuals who are all very anxious to help in any way we can!

Oh, and your question about alcohol.... you can drink alcohol at a later time (Atkins says to wait 'til maintenance phase, I believe) but keep in mind that you will not be burning fat during that time, because your body will burn the alcohol for energy first. Some alcoholic beverages have more carbs than others, so you might want to do a little research on that. Actually, after low-carbing for 6 weeks now, I have totally lost my taste for alcohol. I used to have several cocktails/week. I think I've had 3 in the last 6 weeks. The other night I had 3 sips of wine and didn't enjoy the way it made me drag down and feel sleepy.... I think I'm done with that stuff. And I've been drinking since I was 18....25 years!!! Wow!! I just thought of ANOTHER benefit of LCing!

Let us know how we can help you along the way!

[JoonieJoon]

once things slow down, you may want to just weigh in once per week so that you don't feel discouraged. I found a quote in the success stories (above) that said something to this effect:
if you weigh daily and have lost weight, you will be happy, if you haven't lost weight you may quit the diet.

I figure if I weigh weekly I will still be happy and I will stick to the diet. Actually sticking to the diet hasn't been so hard after all.

Good luck and welcome!

Jen

[imready]

You are doing great! I can understand the scale addiction. Someone in this forum talked about that too and said she had to put her scale away. That's what I did too and now I'm not so obsessed with it.

Keep up the good work and come and visit often! :wave:

[Heidi]

Thank you very much for the support. I am amazed at how much I am enjoying this new way of life. I was uncertain when I began this that it wasn't good for me and I would just struggle through it but it's not that way at all. It feels good to have finally found something that can be done and incorporated into my life for good.

I will definitely be vistiting here often

thanks again
Heidi