Hi all! I've been doing Atkins since last August. I took a break from it at Christmas, and in March when I found out that I needed to look for a new job. I stayed off the plan mostly while looking, and now that I've got the job lined up for September, I'm back on the plan and have been exercising all this week. I really do feel a lot better when I'm staying low carb. I started out weighing 216, and now I weigh 166. This plan has been so good for me. I tend to keep my meals simple but I've found a few ways to get some interesting combinations.

I used to carb out on tacos and fajitas, but I figured that it was mostly the wraps that I couldn't have. So, now I bake some boneless chicken breast and then melt some cheese on top and have a bit of salsa and sour cream on top and I'm having low carb mexican!

I've read Atkins (several times) and find it very readable and interesting. I've read the Hellers' book from the library but I knew that it wouldn't work for me. I've recently read the Protein Power book, again from the library. It's good, and it will work, but it's not as motivational or precise as Atkins in my opinion. I've been active on the Losing Weight with Friends at MSN communities, but the majority of people there are not low carb, though there is a low carb thread. I just shake my head at some people's food diaries that are obviously low fat and they wonder why they are hungry and can't loose weight. (All those pretzels and bread and fruit.)

My downfall lately has been nuts. Especially cashews, which have about 7 carbs an ounce. Last night I put some in a 1/4 measuring cup and told myself 'that's all you can have' and it worked. I just get going and it's hard to stop. After this batch is gone I don't think I'll buy anymore for a while.

I also discovered Splenda a few weeks ago. I never use aspartame because of the taste, though before I read Atkins I tried to drink diet soda but I just found it to be too gross. I used my Splenda, or sucralose if you like that name on some strawberries and in the heavy cream that I put on top of them. It was heavenly. I found that the cream will fill you up, but you have to wait for it to get there.

My plan presently: 20 carbs a day, mostly in my salad, at least 72 oz of water, plently of protein in the form of eggs, meat, poultry and fish and some cheese. I take a multi vitamin and chromium picolinate. I've been exercising, this week anyways with Body Electric on PBS. My goal is to lose at least 11 more pounds and then take a good look (because reasses just looks weird when I type it). According to the height weight chart in the Atkins book a female 5'11" with a medium frame should weigh between 140 and 155. Just for the sake of doing it, I did the body fat computation in the Protein Power book. I did the calcuations for both the younger age up to 30 and the older age of 31 because I'm 29 and I figure it's close either way. That calculation came out to 141-152 for the younger age and 142-154 for the older age.

I'm just trying to keep myself psyched up so that I can make the most progress this summer while I have nothing better to do, and I can make a good impression in September when I start my new job. My mother and my sister could both benefit from low carbing but they have very closed minds. Thankfully my husband supports my efforts, except for my exercise which he says isn't real exercise. Any support welcome!

welcome elihnig! wow! you've lost 50lbs already! that's terrific. i'm glad your back to lowcarbing. it really it the best way of eating, whether you want to lose weight or not. you seem to have everything under control. you'll probably be able to offer a lot of advice and support to members here. i hope you'll post often!

anything that gets you up and moving is exercise. the biggest health benefit is when some one who is a complete slug starts a very moderate exercise regime. you're doing aerobics which are wonderful for getting rid of the fat. you're pumping up the furnace that's your metabolism. just laugh when your husband says you're not doing real exercise! you know you are!

Hello elihnig,

Welcome to the board!

You have had great results so far. Congrats on the new job!

I hear you on the nuts! I can buy a pound of macadamias on a bi-weekly basis and eat them all in one sitting. So, I just stopped buying them.

I think the best way to stay "psyched" is to take it one day at a time. Once I have one day successful low-carbing under my proverbial belt, I find it easier to build upon it the next day. Then one day leads to the next. I too, have seriously just jumped back on the wagon after a long, self-imposed break.

Have a look at the Journal/Bootcamp section. Posting there everyday may help you to stay on track.

Keep posting. As debbie pointed out, you can probably teach us a thing or two!

Karen

Hi, Elihnig! Welcome to the forum!

I, too, hear you on the nuts...my downfall is almonds. I buy them for lunches, but it's hard not to snack on them, and that is Not Good. So I buy pumpkin seeds in the shell, and limit myself to one ounce per day, eaten One. At. A. Time. It's still hard not to grab those almonds, though. I tried keeping them in the freezer, and that just improves them!

Rachel

Hey everybody, thanks for all your support. I have to admit that I did a big nuts snack the other day. Lately we've been having supper rather late for us, 6:30 or so. I've been taking my daughter swimming every other day or so, and have been trying to get her to swim without hanging onto my neck. She is finally swimming using a flotation device designed to help kids learn to swim. Anyways, we get back and get cleaned up and I decide to use the other computer that is more modern and can play newer games on it. So I set out to play Diablo II with my water bottle and cashew nuts about 3 p.m. My husband is napping in the other room (why not if it's summer and you stayed up late on the computer?) I keep playing and munching, before I know it he comes out and starts making supper. He removes my nut can and sets a hambuger in front of me. I take a couple of bites and realize, I'm full! The nut can had been almost empty. So I let my food get cold and about 7:30 I manage to finish it. (Because we don't waste food if I can help it). It looked by the scale that I had gained a pound, but when I checked this morning I'm back to normal (though if I hop on the scale a little I can get it to come down a pound though I don't count that).

Just checking in!

Elizabeth H. Nichols-Goodliff
Elihnig

Hi Elizabeth,

Try sitting down with a plate of pork rinds, celery and cheese cut into the appproximate size of nuts instead. The pork rinds very good dipped in vinegar.

I know that compulsive hand-to-mouth crunchy habit is hard to break, but at least pork rinds are LC!

Karen