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ready2loos
Mon, Mar-03-14, 11:11
Hello LC's,

I'm 38 and started my new way of life Jan 28th, 2014 at 400lbs. I'm down about 20 pounds in my first month. I cut out soda completely and drink water all day now. Completely cut out bread. Brought my carbs, sugar, and grains to minuscule levels and keep my daily calorie intake around 1100-1300 a day. My goal is to get under 200, hopefully by the time I turn 40 which is right about 17 months from now.

I've been overweight since middle school and I have never been able to stay on a diet for more than a week. I've never had any kind of countable weight loss at all really. I had researched Atkins, South Beach, and many other diets over the years but for some reason nothing really seemed like something I could do and live a enjoyable life. I had tried Atkins years ago but I tried to live off chicken salads and could never be happy with the selection of foods I thought were allowed so I eventually would give up.

Then one day I was listening to a radio station with some UFC guys and they started talking about Paleo. I read up on it, the believers, disbelievers, positives, and negatives. I saw that there were some good things to take from it that could really help me. I refreshed my Atkins knowledge, read a ton of articles, forums, and blogs on what other people were doing and decided I would build a diet plan I could follow and stick to. I've seen many other people also doing the similar Paleo-Atkins hybrid.

What was most shocking was the ease of which I have been able to stick to my plan. I drank coke like it was water and any previous attempts I had made to stop drinking sodas before I was still drinking sweet tea and fruit punches. To be a month on drinking water exclusively feels great. My bread addiction is now completely gone. I can look at a loaf of bread and not feel anything. I snack on boiled egg whites, peperjack cheese, pepperoni, pickles, etc every few hrs. Eat some chicken, sausage, steak, salad for meals. Still not a big veg eater but finding more stuff I like. I never get cravings anymore if I've snacked between meals and now even when I can't snack I find the cravings don't push me into cheating or binging. Where as before if I went to long between meals I would get $10+ worth of food at some fast food place and eat till I was stuffed. Now if I have to I get a plain cheese burger minus the buns and I'm totally satisfied.

I don't really know if I am in ketosis. I tried to make my first cpl weeks as 0 carb as possible and my daily intake now is usually less than 20-30. I am just happy I have not had to turn my life upside down. I haven't really upped my daily exercise routine much yet. I do some walking, weights, and stretching but its fairly light everyday. I plan to up it the more weight I loose making it easier to increase the cardio. I don't know how long this plan will work for me and if I hit a stagnant point or plateau at some point if I will have to make an adjustment but for now its working for me.

Long intro, happy to hear any suggestions or discussions.

2thinchix
Mon, Mar-03-14, 11:26
Sounds like you are doing great and very happy with the program! Based on what you describe, I'd sure assume you are in ketosis - but you could grab some urine test "keto strips" to see for sure. But the loss of cravings and hunger is the biggest sign. That, and - how did he put it?...one poster here said "your pee smells like dinosaur sweat' ;-)

Matlock
Mon, Mar-03-14, 11:54
Where as before if I went to long between meals I would get $10+ worth of food at some fast food place and eat till I was stuffed.
This is what continues to surprise me, the fact that I'm satisfied by such small amounts of food now. It really sounds like carb sensitivity is your problem, in which case this WOE will work wonders, at least it has for me, so far. My suggestion is, do it for the long run. Stick with it. I've hit a couple of long stalls in my five months, and I've found that the forum helps a lot. Seeing others work through the hard patches has helped me to keep it in perspective. It's likely that I would've quit out of frustration otherwise.

ready2loos
Mon, Mar-03-14, 13:14
I had planned to get some strips will probably stop and get some tonight.

I do worry about how I will handle adversity. I don't think I am worried at all about falling off the wagon and or giving this diet up. I am worried though if I stop loosing about restricting myself further and how I will handle that. But for today I couldn't be happier.

LorelaiS
Mon, Mar-03-14, 16:06
The only thing I have to add is I think 1300 calories might be a bit low. You have to eat enough to fuel your metabolism. If you restrict calories too much right off you might find your body hanging on to your weight because it thinks you are trying to starve it.

2thinchix
Mon, Mar-03-14, 16:30
I had planned to get some strips will probably stop and get some tonight.

I do worry about how I will handle adversity. I don't think I am worried at all about falling off the wagon and or giving this diet up. I am worried though if I stop loosing about restricting myself further and how I will handle that. But for today I couldn't be happier.

My 2 bit advice it so set goals you have control over. For instance, I can follow my plan - I can't control if I lose weight or not. So I set up goals like that with regular rewards to help keep me motivated. When my weightloss stalls I put the scale away so I'm not driving myself crazy - and then after several weeks, at least I know when I step on it again there should at least be SOME loss!

ready2loos
Mon, Mar-03-14, 16:56
The only thing I have to add is I think 1300 calories might be a bit low. You have to eat enough to fuel your metabolism. If you restrict calories too much right off you might find your body hanging on to your weight because it thinks you are trying to starve it.

I try to eat something every 2-3 hrs. I am not actually watching calories specifically. I use MFP to track my food daily. Today for example I've had 6 hard boiled egg whites, about 14 slices of pepperoni, 2 oz of Kraft Jalapeno White Cheddar Cheese, an Arby's Max Roastbeef no bun no condiments. I'm going to have a cpl Johnsonville Brats and some Kimchi for dinner. If I am counting right puts me just under 1400. This is a fairly high day for me. I seem to actually eat much less on the weekends.

LorelaiS
Mon, Mar-03-14, 17:43
Of course if you are comfortable where you are then that's wonderful. Keep up the good work. I so wish we had Arby's here now that I know their meat has no carbs (or more likely less than 1 per serving.)