Just getting started here!

[lynzee]

Hello, Everyone!

I am so happy to have found this Forum. Reading many of the journals has been quite encouraging.

I began the Atkins Induction phase yesterday. Since I've been such a caffiene junky, I suffered from a terrible headache around noon. It was so bad that I broke down and took one No-Doze (200 mg. caffiene) to get rid of it. Today the headache isn't as bad, so no more caffiene for me!

My goals are to adopt a LC way of eating for life and to exercise consistantly. I really want to feel better and to shed about 20 pounds. Having been such a carbo-holic for many years, my increasing health problems can all be traced back to my imbalanced diet.

Here are my stats from my first day of LC eating:

Age - 43
Height - 5'7"
Weight - 143.5

After doing much research, I truly believe that it is extremely important to build muscle through resistance exercise, especially for women.

I used to be a regular gym rat and loved working out. I even started going regularly from about May of last year until I broke my toe in September. I wasn't able to drive for 6 weeks, so I quit going to the gym. After I had the splint removed and had my doctor's OK to start driving, I still haven't returned to the gym.

The good news is that I have started exercising at home as of today :) The next step is to make time in my schedule to get back to the gym and start my routine again!

Thanks to all of you for your inspirational stories and informative postings. I look forward to get to know some of you even better!!

Best of luck to everyone,
Lynzee

[icedancer]

Way to go, glad you got rid of the caffine problem before you've even start! It took me about 3 full days to rid myself of it last month, I quit cold turkey, but I might have been smarter to tapper off, oh well, it accomplishe the same results, I'm pretty all or nothing! :p
You and I are the same age and I'm 5'-8" and you are at about where I'd like to end up.... between 140 and 150 pounds.

When I was like 16 I weighed 129 lbs, but I was not a real man yet, I'll never see that again. Once when I was about 24-25 I lost down to about 150 and bonked, could go any further and did look good, but I admit I was origanally going to try for 130, but like I said, no way for me, I am a large frame, 5'8", so I guess since want lmuscle growth you could get there! Just remeber muscle weighs more that fat, so you could be svelt but heavier than the goal weight. Have you looked into your goal being a reasonable one? You don't want to disappoint yourself! You sound pretty level headed though so you probably know what you should be!
Do you have a journal yet, if not I would highly suggest it!
I've got to run now but contact me anytime,

:wave:

Carl

[lawoman]

I am new here as well(only a few days) and I want to welcome you to this site.I was given a warm welcome I came here struggling and stalled and have been given help and encouragement that I can get through this.I,too,added the exercise back in and then found a great little gym to go to so I started that.There is nothing wrong with small steps!
Being new,I felt it important to take others advice and yesterday was kind of a bad day so I joined Fitday and found it really helped to write it all in a journal they supply.What a neat site and Lynn,you may find it helpful,too.So,welcome and I will add you to my buddy list and hope that is ok with you.

PS.Still trying to figure this site out though..is there an instruction page to tell me how to talk with folks here?TYVM in advance

[icedancer]

PS.Still trying to figure this site out though..is there an instruction page to tell me how to talk with folks here?

It is I think most important to get yourself a "home" here, so go to the My low carb Journal/ low-carb bootcamp and make yourself a journal! A journal is your little piece of home so that you can track your own progress and others will come and visit you and give you encoragement. Conversly, it is encoraged to visit others journals so that you can learn more and get to know people. There are stickies there and all over this place to clue you in as to the actual how to do this stuff, and if you are ever stuck just ask and some one will know, with this many people online, there's hardly ever been a time that someone isn't around that can answer questions! Once when I was in the TESTING area at the bottom of the forum trying to make my Fitday link work, I just posted a "This dosn't work!" and the next day someone responded to that, I couldn't believe someone would actually take the time to read my failed attempt at something in the testing area and actually respond with a answer! That's just what kind of people are here! Hope this helps some!

later
Carl

[lynzee]

Dear Carl and Lawoman -

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and great advice! It is wonderful to know that I'm not alone in this new endeavor :)

I started my journal and am keeping a notebook with my workout regime. I also just signed up with FitDay. I think FitDay will work well for me and am looking forward to viewing my progress.

Have a wonderful day and I hope to hear from you again soon!

[lawoman]

IceDancer and Lynzee...Thanks for the advice and encouragement.I have read some of your posts,Ice,and I'm sure Lynzee(being a newbie,too) and myself would be wise to have you as a mentor (as well as the other great folks here,new and senior) .I will take your generous advice ASAP.Thanks again,Ice and congrats on all your weight loss..your #'s look awesome. :wave:

[icedancer]

Thanks again,Ice and congrats on all your weight loss..your #'s look awesome.

Thanks, beleive me, I have a hard time with patience, and this 135 or so pounds has been lost over a 5 year period. I will not say I've done Atkins the whole time.... if I had I would have been at goal a long time ago. But I have been a bad boy, I would get serious, then lose focus.... then 6 months later, get serious again. This is what is so great about this forum, it keeps me involved and on task, I'm hoping by mid year to be at goal weight! We'll see if I can do it!

Carl

[lapnjusa]

I've just started on Mon. So far so good. The one thing I have not given up is caffeine. Will that affect the diet or my weight loss?? I drink two mugs (black) each morning. Sometimes I mix decaf in with it.

I still can't get used to the idea of eating so much FAT. I've decided not to weigh myself until I complete the induction phase. I've written down every morsel I've put in my mouth so that if in 14 days my weight loss isn't too terrific, I'll know where to start deleting. I find it difficult to estimate carbs and really hope I'm staying under 20. I also take multi vitamins, multi minerals, soy, herbs for "hot flashes" and extra calcium. Does this figure into my carb count in any way?

Lynzee, I feel a kinship with you, as my name is the same. Seeing you have just started also, could you tell me what you are eating on any given day?? I would really love to compare notes. TIA.

I look forward to more chats with you all.

[lynzee]

Good to hear from you, lapnjusa!

Have you been to the Atkins website (www.atkinscenter.com)? It's free and is very user friendly. I started a journal there, keeping track of all the food I consume. It allows you to track how much water you drink, supplements you take, how youfeel, and how much you exercise. It keeps track of your total carbs consumed each day, which is very helpful to me. They also have a very easy-to-use carb counter!

Here is a sample of a typical day's menu for me:

Breakfast:
3 eggs, scrambled with the following:
2 T. diced onion
1/4 C. diced bell pepper
1 T. canola oil

Lunch:
1 broiled chicken breast
2 stalks celery
2 T. cream cheese (with Cajun spices mixed in)

Snack:
2 ozs. mozarella
2 T. roasted red peppers in olive oil

Dinner:
5-7 jumbo shrimp sauteed in the following:
2 T. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. onion, minced

I have been averaging 15 -17 total carbs each day since I began. I, too, feel as though I've been consuming a HUGE amount of fat, but my jeans don't feel as tight :)

I haven't weighed myself since I started on Monday. I decided to wait one week and see what the results are at that time.

The improvement in my health and attitude has been tremendous!! I haven't had to take any antihistamines or decongestants since I started. All the sinus congestion is gone and I'm alert and able to concentrate!

Hope this helps :) Best of luck to you in your new LC WOL! Please write again soon, and keep us posted on how you're doing.

Have a great weekend!

[lawoman]

Welcome to you,Lap!I,too,am a new member..joined less than a week ago and i can tell you that you will get plenty of answers and support here for all your questions.

It seems as though you have read up and LC WOL and that you are doing it as you should so I'm sure results will come your way.Just try not to get too frustrated when things slow a bit as they will...but it will get better.With not as much to lose,things may go a bit slower than some so try to keep that in mind.

Best of luck in all your LC endeavors!If you have any questions,I can tell you that there are some very smart and knowledgable folks here to help you! :wave:

[chiqui]

I had a terrible time cutting out normal coffee and going to decaf. I used to work in South America & Caribbean where expresso is a way of life. So I drank my coffee strong.

I bought decaf beans at a local coffee emporium and asked for the strongest & most flavorful of the decaf kind. The clerks were very knowledgeable and they ground at half pound of pure decaf. The smell and taste are wonderful, not like that "coffee water" that is offered at most places. Because of the weak decaf at the coffee shops, I mostly drink coffee at home, only 1 or 2 a day instead of 5 while working.

Hope this is helpful...... Chiqui

[lapnjusa]

Hi all!

Thanks Lynzee for the sample menu. Our eating habits are similar except I eat more for dinner plus absolutely cannot make it to bedtime without a snack.

I checked out the Atkins website -- great! I plan on starting a journal today. Thanks for info.