Newbie here! And I don't know what I'm doing!!!!

[AquaSurf00]

Hey guys and gals! My name is Danielle and I am 28 years old. I've struggled with my weight my entire life, tipping the scale at 300 at my largest. Back in late 2010 I decided to lose the weight. I did great...in the beginning. The first 30 pounds came off so fast! I finally made it down to my lowest of 232. That's a little over 60 pounds down. Since then I have been yoyo dieting, gaining and losing the same 10-15 pounds. Here it is 2014 and I have managed to eat my way back to 254!!!!

Six months ago I decided to adopt a pescetarian diet (no meat except fish). I felt great after that! BUT....I wasn't losing any weight. Why? Because I turned to carbs!!!! Most of the time when I go out to family functions or whatever, there isn't anything for me to eat except for carb loaded foods! My coworker here at the library was telling me about the effects of Atkins. Her family does it and they see results. Soooooo Monday I decided to start my journey!

I'm not necessarily sure about what plan I am following. I just try to keep my carbs under 50. I know that may be a little high but i was consuming in the 200s! Big change for me!!! lol. I took a sneak peak at the scale this morning and i was down 2.8 pounds in 2 days!

Today I am noticing neck and joint pain and I was wondering if this was normal. It's the only bad side effect I've experienced, minus feeling hungry all the time!!! lol. Is this normal?!?!?!

Here is an example of what I have eaten these 2 days:

Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with cheese and veggies (peppers, onion, tomatoes, and spinach). Coffee with no sugar and a little sugar free creamer

Morning snack: Colby jack cheese stick and almonds

Lunch: baked tilapia with california blend veggies

Afternoon snack: Colby jack cheese and tuna salad (just tuna and mayo)

Dinner: Low carb tomato basil soup

[JEY100]

Welcome, Danielle!
It really helps to have a plan, know, and follow it. See the Newbie tips in the first stickie in that forum. Your library should have one or two of the Atkins books, New Atkins for a New You or the earlier DANDR. Recommend both for the science behind why low carb works so well and the basic plan.
Are you still a pescatarian? I ask because low carb is also high fat, and that is easier to reach eating meats with healthy saturated fat. But if not, you can always add fats with butter, coconut oil, etc. this is very important so you will not be hungry. Low fat and Low carb doesn't work. Be sure to get enough salt too. Joint pain is not common, in fact my arthritis went away after a few weeks.
There is great info here. All the best,

[meintc]

Hey guys and gals! My name is Danielle and I am 28 years old. I've struggled with my weight my entire life, tipping the scale at 300 at my largest. Back in late 2010 I decided to lose the weight. I did great...in the beginning. The first 30 pounds came off so fast! I finally made it down to my lowest of 232. That's a little over 60 pounds down. Since then I have been yoyo dieting, gaining and losing the same 10-15 pounds. Here it is 2014 and I have managed to eat my way back to 254!!!!

Six months ago I decided to adopt a pescetarian diet (no meat except fish). I felt great after that! BUT....I wasn't losing any weight. Why? Because I turned to carbs!!!! Most of the time when I go out to family functions or whatever, there isn't anything for me to eat except for carb loaded foods! My coworker here at the library was telling me about the effects of Atkins. Her family does it and they see results. Soooooo Monday I decided to start my journey!

I'm not necessarily sure about what plan I am following. I just try to keep my carbs under 50. I know that may be a little high but i was consuming in the 200s! Big change for me!!! lol. I took a sneak peak at the scale this morning and i was down 2.8 pounds in 2 days!

Today I am noticing neck and joint pain and I was wondering if this was normal. It's the only bad side effect I've experienced, minus feeling hungry all the time!!! lol. Is this normal?!?!?!

Here is an example of what I have eaten these 2 days:

Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with cheese and veggies (peppers, onion, tomatoes, and spinach). Coffee with no sugar and a little sugar free creamer

Morning snack: Colby jack cheese stick and almonds

Lunch: baked tilapia with california blend veggies

Afternoon snack: Colby jack cheese and tuna salad (just tuna and mayo)

Dinner: Low carb tomato basil soup

Welcome Danielle,

LCHF diet works. You have to have enough fat to curb hunger. Really, truly it works. Sometimes I forget that and then I do the "V8" thing and slap my forehead and say Duh. You are doing a bit more carbs than I but the results will be the same. Also keep salt in check. I've never had joint pain, but everyone is different. I recommend reading alot here. You will gain alot of Low Carb knowledge.

[Just Jo]

:wave: Hello Danielle! Welcome to the best LC WOE on the planet!

We share the same history -- I've struggles with my weight for decades and have been morbidly obese my entire adult life (topped the scales at 296 at my heaviest) with moments of clarity when I'd lose the tonnage (probably close to 400 lbs over the decades)... but gain it all back + some anyways...

IMHO, it would be hard for us to help you with your menu if you don't have a specific LC WOE plan you are following.

Personally, I love A '72, it's always worked 100% every single time I tried it and I'm doing it to the grave this time around.

Wishing you much success on your journey!

:rheart: Jo

[AquaSurf00]

Thanks guys!!!! I will read up to find a specific program to follow. I'm so new to this so I need to READ READ READ! So far it's day 4 and I'm down 5 pounds already!

[Shyboy7482]

Stoppin' by to wish you well on your journey. :)

[Luckyk26]

Today I am noticing neck and joint pain and I was wondering if this was normal. It's the only bad side effect I've experienced, minus feeling hungry all the time!!! lol. Is this normal?!?!?!



When I started my sciatica acted up big time. It finally subsided and hasn't been back since. Just keep an eye on your pains. Maybe related to induction flu? If so thats an easy fix - up your fat and salt. Are you saying you feel hungry all the time? You shouldn't - you should be eating until you are satisfied. My experience is that its not really even hunger - its the cravings. That will pass. In the meantime, eat what you want of LC legal food. I second the idea that you should follow a plan - makes it so much easier to follow and troubleshoot when necessary.

Good luck!

[khrussva]

Hello Aquasurf00. Welcome! I wish you all the best as you start your low-carb journey.

My advice is to read up and find a plan you can live with, and then stick to it. I have started dozens of "diets" - low-carb and others -- in the past 30 years. I lost weight, but always gained it back. My failure was that I was always allowing myself to stray off plan by cheating, planned "breaks", rewards, holidays, birthday's, etc. For me, it was always a struggle to get back on plan and eventually a cheat would derail my diet. I've learned how to do this way of eating without cheating and I am all the better for it. I eventually lost my craving for the old carby junk food and now I really enjoy the stuff that I do eat. I am not deprived. This is where you want to get to. When you really enjoy what you are doing - your plan becomes very easy to follow.

[Just Jo]

Thanks guys!!!! I will read up to find a specific program to follow. I'm so new to this so I need to READ READ READ! So far it's day 4 and I'm down 5 pounds already!Wow, day 4 and down 5 lbs...that's terrific! Congrats :cheer:!!

:rheart: Jo

[wbahn]

I definitely recommend reading several LC books. While I found Atkins (DANDR) quite informative, I actually found a lot of very valuable information in Protein Power. The more you read the more you know, but be prepared because they are not all in lock-step agreement on things.

One thing you might need to look at is the specific veggies you are eating. Atkins emphasizes green, leafy vegetables and strongly discourages the starchy vegetables. Look at the carbs in your tomato soup and you might be shocked at the amount of sugar there (although maybe not, since you did say it was specifically a low carb version, but even some things that are labeled "low carb" have a surprisingly high number of carbs in them, just lower than the non-"low carb" version).