Hi, my handle is Lemonhead and I am new to this forum. I plan to start the Atkins tomorrow morning and hope to enjoy much encouragement from you all!!! I have a pretty hefty goal but if I just get rid of 20lbs I know I will feel better than I do now. Of course, I have a made rush to try and lose weight for a wedding I am in, in June. BUT I decided not focus on pounds and just losing for a wedding but more for changing my life I am 30 years old but feel like I am a overweight 60 year old. I want to play with my kids rather than lay in front of the TV allday with a carton of EDY's Icecream. Oh well, this is my first time using a forum and I hope this will be a key to my success!!! I need some watchdogs!!!

Welcome aboard lemonhead! I think you will find a lot of supportive and encouraging people here!

Why don't you head on over to the journal area and create a journal of your very own for us to visit you in?

BTW you can start Atkins with your very next bite of food no need to wait till the morning
Jo

Thanks Jo, where do I go to journal. Good advice it's better late than never to start!

Hi lemonhead (love your name) I'm new here too and I also live in Michigan. We'll have to compare notes as time goes by. This seems like a great place for info about this WOE, lots of friendly people here. Did you get started yet? How is it going?

I can't seem to get motivated to start. I say each morning I will get up and eat some eggs but than I don't or I'll make an excuse of not having anything for lunch, so I'll tell myself I will start tomorrow, but it feels like tomorrow never comes. I am basically doomed before I even start. How did you get the will to even start??? I can't seem to find it (even after reading thousands of threads in these forums...I am still at a loss where to find the willpower). I have so much to lose which makes me feel even worse.

Welcome to the forum...please dont get discouraged..have a good goal in mind...and then go for it. There is no time like the present..

You will find tons of support here..and a wealth of knowledge...so take advantage of it. Start a journal..and keep posting...and if you need a buddy..there are tons of them here...

Laura

Hi lemonhead!

You can do this slowly, with mini goals along the way. The goals could be cleaning up the way you eat gradually.

Carbs are very addictive and it's a big change physically, as well as mentally.

You could get prepared by getting all of your trigger foods out of your home and stocking up on canned fish, having cold roast meats and hard cooked eggs and washed lettuce around.

I think you will find this thread helpful...

A Bad Case of Sugar Addiction

Let us know what you think!

Karen

Hi Lemonhead

Welcome. You're gonna love it here! These people are the best bunch of "losers" you'll find anywhere.

To start a journal, go to "bootcamp/journals" on the forum menu page. You would start yours in the Ls.

I have a hard time getting motivated too. What I do is I make sure I have all my favorite lowcarb foods in the house before I begin. I LOVE bacon and eggs, so I make sure there's lots of those. Another must when I'm starting is pastrami. Once I get going I try to make healthier choices, but You will lose even tho you are eating all that fat. Make sure you eat your veggies, and drink lots and lots of water.

good luck,

cimart

Welcome Lemonhead

If you need anything just let us know. You may want to pop over to start your own journal to keep track of daily menus, exercise etc.

Several posts have been split away from this thread, and made into a separate thread. The topic was off on a tangent, and very interesting discussion. In this Atkins Diet forum, look for "Make sure you do research first" or click here for a new window.

Doreen

hi lemonhead. I guess the only way I can answer your question about finding the will to get started is "I don't like being fat." I'm really tired of battling my body with starvation (low-calorie, low-fat) diets, which I've been doing since the age of 13. I am the classic yo-yo dieter and I'm just TIRED of it.

I would encourage you to really give this a try. I would never have believed it without trying it myself - - I am NOT HUNGRY on this WOE. It has not been difficult AT ALL to follow this plan. I feel GREAT, better than I've felt in a really long time, actually longer than I can even remember. I will continue to eat low-carb no matter how slowly the pounds come off because I feel so good, and satisfied.

I mean it, the next step for me was going to be surgery and I really didn't want to do that. Please try it for the 2-week induction period at least. What have you got to lose????

Good luck!!!

Thanks for all the encouragement. I feel more determined and refreshed today!!! my official first day to a new life. I think also I found the determination because I was looking a MTV special last night about a girl having gastric bypass surgery and I thought I just don't want to go that far, forever having a stomach only holding 4oz of food is not something I think is healthy and no matter what is said about the Atkins Diet it has to be healthier than that.

I'm not good at journals but I will give it a try....I have always been a person looking for a non complicated diet meaining no journals, easy food to prepare, etc...

Thanks Again

Hi Lemonhead. Listen, this doesn't have to be complicated. If you don't want to start a journal, don't. If you don't want to make fancy low-carb creations in the kitchen, don't. Do whatever allows you to follow the low carb lifestyle in a way that doesn't infringe on your comfort levels. If you make this too much work, you won't follow it.

Here's a couple pieces of unsolicited advice that have helped me: I buy a whole chicken every week, roast it, cut it into peices and keep it in a container in the fridge. Perfect for lazy days and snacks. I do the same with eggs. I buy two dozen, and hard boil one dozen to have handy for adding to salads, devilling, whatever. The other ones are handy for breakfast and such.

Once you get started, which is no doubt the hardest part, you'll figure out your own ways of making it easier for you.

If you have some high carb tempters in the house that are making you procratinate, like chips and bread and stuff, why not take it to the food bank? Get it out of the house and then you can't have it! I had to do that too.

Hang in there, it's really great how wonderful you feel physically once you get going!

Cheers!
Dizzy D

I have a lot to lose, and I also am seriously lacking motivation. I try to think in terms of baby steps. If the next bite I take is LC, I'm a step ahead. If my next trip to the grocery I buy LC, I'm three leaps ahead. If I cook on Sunday to be ready for the work week, then I could be a whole week ahead.

Also, keep in mind that even a 5-10% weight loss has huge physical benefits. Keep your eye on the baby steps - and don't be overwhelmed by the big picture.

Mile by mile, it's a trial. But inch by inch, it's a cinch!

Hi Lemonhead, I'm really new too.

The first day I started my diet, I got so excited that I could have bacon I ate a whole pound. Even though I'm overweight I've never allowed myself to eat bacon, because of the fat content.
The next day I was thinking that I had to stick to my diet, because if I ate any sugar, that bacon was going directly to my hips and was going to make my scale move up at (least) a hundred pounds!
(by the way I do not recomend eating a whole pound of bacon, what was I thinking?)
I still half believe that if I cheat the whoosh fairy will take revenge and make me gain double.
Just keep on trying, You can, You can, You can do it !