Wecome to the forum and good luck on your weight loss. I've sent basically this same post to a few newbies, so thought I might post it here so I don't have to retype it. If anyone has some other general words of wisdom..please add them and I'll try to update my post at some point.

You'll find all sorts of excellent advice on this forum, but I'll give you my thoughts...some based on my experience...some based on reading the experience of others.

Be strict with your induction, you will be rewarded with weight loss AND a big reduction in "cravings"

Take a MEGAvitamin every day. It really helps to shore up what your body may be missing.

Exercise, it's sooooo important if you want to lose quicker and if you want to permanently change your WOL (way of Life). It's really simple...if you're not eating carbs, and you burn more energy than the carbs you have, your body has to get them from SOMEWHERE...so it burns FAT...kinda cool.

READ THE LABEL's
READ THE LABEL"s (bears repeating twice)
Count ALL carbs except dietary fiber...sooooo many people get derailed with the little treats with 3g "net carbs"

Finally....find and stock an some stuff to handle the occasional craving.
- For a sweet tooth I used whip cream (the good stuff in the can) on SF jello or in a glass with ice cold diet root beer (root beer float)
- For a salt tooth either pork rinds or sunflower seeds. If it's sunflower seeds, get the ones in the shell. It's hard to overindulge 1 seed at a time.

Once you're done with induction......

Be prepared for a stall in weight loss...I stalled and many others have...take measurements of your body though, because many people (including myself) were still changing shape even though the weight wasn't changing.

Find a source of low carb totilla's (LaTortilla brand for me). Eating finger foods gets old after awhile.

At any time...start a journal and keep your daily thoughts..many people find it theraputic and as you get to know some people here..you'll have friends stopping by.

Welllllll.....That's my 2 cents (heh..prob more like $1.50)

Good luck..

C ya

Hey Daddio - Good advice, for newbies and others alike. Thanks. I particularly like the reminder about stalls - I might add only that everyone loses differently and while some lose very fast and or lose a lot on induction, not everyone does so don't give up or start trying to tweak things. If you did a good induction and that is a big if I think, and you lose 6 pounds and it takes a month or more to lose another 4-5 pounds, don't give up - be patient!

Pecan Pie

Great advice, you hit the nail right on the head!

Pick a plan, get the book and read it. Then read it again.

Don't just weigh, measure! Many people lose inches instead of pounds or pounds and not inches.

Get a free account at www.fitday.com and be serious about inputing your food.

thank you, i really appreciate your wise advise! sounds like you know what your doing considering your weight loss. way to go!!!!
thanks again, keep in contact will ya?
mgood

Hi
And yes, thanks for all the good advice. I will measure tomorrow. I am only in my second day of induction so I have a way to go. I appreciate you wanting to help all of us newbies!

Good advice!
I agree...mmm...low carb tortillas- I just found them by Missioni. They don't even taste low carb. For the small tortilla they are 5 carbs per tortilla. Wrap it up w/ some cheese, grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato and you're good to go!

I like snacking on nuts, particularly almonds which are low in carbs, and have fiber, plus they're good for your heart.

What do you guys do, to overcome a craving for carbs? Seems when something gets into my head, I have to eat it, and then it's out of my system, til the next carb comes along. Help!!

Mary..there are a couple suggestions for cravings below. Read the first 3 posts in this thread too, they'll help.

1) You've got to be "very good" for 1-2 wks and the cravings WILL diminish. Any cheating in that timeframe makes them hang around.

2) A "sweet" craving..SF jello with a little whip cream from a can (redi-whip) saved me from going astray a couple of times. A "salt" craving was sunflower seeds. Pork Rinds for a "snack craving"...also heard of people nuking cheese to make a snack.

Fat and protein are also excellent for making cravings disappear. When we were still in Induction there was a day everyone was going nuts for something carby. I had baked a pan of chicken thighs, which of course left a ton of grease and the crispy goodies everyone always told us not to eat. I told the kids (I have two daughters and husband on this WOL, too) to dig in! They were happy as clams eating those crispies and when finished, they no longer wanted anything else!

The really great thing is, that after a few weeks you get to the point where high-carb foods don't even look good to you. Sure, there's the occasional temptation if you're hungry, but once you fill your body with protein, fat and veggies, your body will be satiated.

I really wanted to add this as well, but not in the above post since it's general advice.

No matter where you go you're going to find recipes for failure in front of your face. Before you have to embark anywhere, make sure you have a plan how you are going to succeed in the face of these recipes.

It may be as simple as a dinner with friends, or going through a personal trauma like loved ones hospitalized or death in the family. This happens--it's a part of life. But I like to keep in mind one thing: It's not so much what we go through in life, but how we respond to the situation.

During the last few months, low-carb options have become more and more available. Many restaurants and fast food companies, not wanting to miss out on even one of our shopping dollars, will cater to your low-carb needs. Carl's Jr./Hardees has a low-carb breakfast bowl, a low-carb $6 burger, and will give you any sandwich you order wrapped in lettuce. Just tell them you want it 'protein wrapped'. Subway and Blimpies both have low-carb menus (although I've heard Subway's LC sandwiches are horrible).

Before you head out the door to go anywhere, make sure you are fully armed with snacks for several hours. On Induction these can include cheese sticks, pork rinds, celery sticks, and whatever's on the Induction list that travels well. Once past Induction, you can add some nuts to the list.

If you are going to a friends' home for dinner, politely ask what is on the menu. If they're serving a bunch of foods you choose not to eat, ask them if they mind if you bring a dish. Most people won't mind at all, and even a green salad will make a worthy addition to any meal.

Holiday get togethers can be really fun, especially if you're hosting it, or providing a lot of the food. We generally assign foods to bring to our dinner, but no one assigned this last Christmas. I think I took about half of the food that was served, and it was all low-carb. Granted, we have a few LCers in the family, but even those who weren't gobbled that food like crazy and left most of the carbier stuff barely touched.

Well, I guess I'll stop rambling on now. Best of luck to everyone who's joining this WOL! If you can get past the funny looks from people who just don't understand, I think you're going to love it!

I want to thank all of you who responded and if I'm going to be successful, I will continue to need your support. We're all in the same boat; we all understand what the other person is going thru because we've all either been thru this stage, or are in this same stage right now. What happened to me was...I lost 15 lbs and then went on vacation for two months, and I was out of control. When I returned, I tried to get back on track, and I do good for about a week, and then, BAM! I get to feeling like it's not working or I'm not losing fast enough and I eat something I'm not suppose to. Then, I'm back to being good. This goes on all the time, so I get "nowhere". I'm going to stick to it now that I've got my support group.
Thanx....Mary1568

Hi, everyone, I'm on my 2nd day and I'm proud to say I've been "good". I went to the "YMCA" both days, but that's nothing new. Keeping off carbs is new. I keep thinking of you all and it's keeping me from going astray. LOL
mary1568

You say that may people are sidetracked by the 3 mg net snacks, do you
mean they don't count them or that there are more hidden carbs then
there are on the label.
i am new at this so i want to start of right. i have been on atkins
before, but never with a support group. i think it is rather
neat. maybe this is a dumb question, but i needed to ask it.
sincerly dustbunnie