Buddy, anyone?
 

I think a buddy would be a help. I am pretty committed to the LC way of eating, however, it would be nice to share experiences with someone else. If anyone is interested let me know.


Charlie

Re: Buddy, anyone?
 

Well, Charlie, our beginning weights were similar and our ultimate goals are similar. I am VERY committed because this way of eating is saving my life - literally. If you're committed, too, we could try being buddies and see if we manage to help each other.

Tell me some more about yourself. Have you found it easy to follow the plan thus far? What are some of your mini-goals? Do you have family who are supporting you? Anything you want to tell me would be interesting and help us work together.

I'm 41, married to a wonderful husband, and I have two children. My son is 20 and my daughter is 11. Our entire family is on Atkins and plan to be on it forever. My husband and son have each lost 75 lbs; my daughter has lost 20. My husband has been able to remove all meds; I'm slowly losing them one at a time, though my blood sugars (diabetic) are not where they should be, yet.

My next mini-goal is to fit into a smaller pants size and I've actually enjoyed being on this way of life, unlike any diet I've ever followed in the past.

ttfn, freydis

Hi freydis, thanks for responding, you know I thought it would be nice to have a buddy to go down this path with. We are about the same starting weight and we both want to be "loosers". (I think it is fun when something negitive can be positive). Anyways, besides the forum, we could share thoughts and ideas and emotions with each other.

I am married, 37 years, two girls, 61 years old and love the low carb way of eating. We are all on it and it is so easy for us. Still a bit of a problem keeping ahead with the shopping and the meal planning, however, it is not bad. This way of eating fits our lifestyle so well, and is working so well, I wish we had know about it sooner. I am amazed how well it is working. I am seldom hungury, I don't have much trouble with cravings, well maybe ice cream, but other than that, it is pretty smooth sailing.

I have not set any minni goals, in fact when we started I just accepted the fact that this was it for the rest of my life. How are you doing? You have success stories around you, does that help that the rest of your family has had success? I am just pretty much taking it one day at a time. Yeah, I would love to be able to put on a pair of shorts and a go outside and feel like I looked okay. However, that is down the road a bit. I guess I do have a mini goal, and that is get down to a smaller waist size of jeans, which I have several of, before I wear these out. I am not buying another pair this size. I just am not.

Well, I smell the coffee, something I did not give up, so I will go for now and talk to you later.


Charlie

My husband and I are working on year 23 now. My parents were together 36 before my Mom died. You are fortunate to have such a long history with someone special! I, also, wish we'd known sooner - it might have given my mother a few more years, as well as prevented a few heart attacks in the family.

I wish there were more low-carb products available in my area, but the grocery shopping is, if anything, easier than before. There's so much we don't need to buy anymore. :) Once in a great while I will get a serious craving for something, but it's rare. As long as I don't dwell on forbidden foods, they don't usually bother me.

Three years ago I had a triple bypass and had been on several medications for heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Those 12 tablets from before I started Atkins have reduced to three. My blood pressure is down significantly. My triglycerides are down over a hundred points. My legs used to swell MUCH worse than they do now. I had digestive problems and allergies that have simply disappeared on Atkins. The list of benefits goes on and on. So, even if I never lost another pound, I'm a low-carber for life.

I hear you about the clothes. I'm NOT buying another pair of pants until I'm down at least one size! I just got two shirts in a smaller size. They fit me better than the previous size did when I started. My husband went down from a 46 to a 40 pants size and my son has gone from a 52 to a 46. Both are still losing weight, but not as quickly as before.

How old are your daughters? Do you like to read books? :)

Do you do much experimentation with low-carb recipes? Have you found any new favorites?

Well, I am back. I have a daughter 27 years old and one 24 years old. The oldest one was born with cereable palsey and needs 24 hour attendence. The youngest is in her senior year of college living at home while she finishes. We are all on the low carb way of eating and loving it. The best success story of this wol for us was seeing how it turned the oldest daughter around. We were, before we started the low carb, eating almost opposite of what we are now. The oldest was getting larger and larger, had to eat all the time. I was hard to get her full. Then an hour or so later, she was hungry again. She generally gets up a couple of times during the night and has to be changed, and she would want to eat then. If we tried to say no she would throw a fit, throwing things, banging on the table, turn the table over. It was just wild. So at 2:00 in the mornig you give in and keep the peace. We did not know what we would do. We started the low carb thing the 2nd of January, this year, and about two days later she was eating only the three meals a day, no more at night snacks, her disposition is much better, everything is better. I believe it is getting rid of all that sugar aka carbohydrate and her insulin settled down. Now she seldom finishes what is on her plate, she is happy and is definitely loosing weight. This in itself is like a miricle for us.

We will NEVER stray very far from this way of eating. We have not experimented with to many recipes, two nights ago my wife crushed a bag of pig skins and dipped the chicken in egg and then the crushed skins and fried it. It was delicious. We have creamed the califlower, it was pretty good, but that is just about all. I did not give up my coffee and it does not seem to have affected anything. The weight is coming off me like magic. I am sure it will slow down, but I am trying to convince myself now to worry about it when it happens.

You guys sound like you are having a raving success. Just gettig off the meds is great. I told the doctor I wanted to get off the blood press, pills and he reduced the strength and we will start working it down from there.

Yes, I do like to read books. I looked at your web site but did not understand it.

See you later fellow "looser", :wave:

Charlie

My husband and son are doing great, and I have some improvement, but my scale drives me crazy. My daughter went to school one day and got weighed. She came home and adjusted our scale to match what she had at school, which promptly wiped out about half the weight loss I had thought I had. To make matters worse, I'm not even sure THAT is accurate.

You looked at the BookCrossing website? Thanks! It's an Internet project to share books. My husband found a Where's George dollar bill last week, which was neat.

The biggest reason my daughter is on Atkins is to try to help her smooth out her emotions. Weight loss would be ok, too, but she's not really that large. Carb-addicted very badly, but not yet an unhealthy size.

What do you think of the theory that violence in our society is largely due to carb addiction?

Hummmmmmmm, carbs and violence. Huh, well, I don't know. I guess it could play a role. I had never been aware of the relationship between carbs and sugar and insolin until we started this lowere carb intake. Metabolism is so different in everyone. Do know some about this? I would be interested to hear. From what little I have read I can see the role that sugar plays and we have definitely increased our sugar over the years. Very interesting.

Yeah, I went to BookCrossing website and this time I "read" (duh)and now I understand it. It must keep you pretty busy maintaining it. It is a nice looking site.

Charlie

It was something I read in a book and can't remember at the moment which book. Also, the BookCrossing website is not my own website. I'm just involved in it as a hobby.

I added a bunch of supplements to my daily vitamins beginning today. Although I'm only taking three doses of actual meds, I'm taking a total of 26 pills daily. Wow. I'm not sure it wouldn't be less expensive to buy an Atkins-brand supplement, and then I'd only have the one pill. It's getting harder to swallow them down.

My blood sugars are finally beginning to improve. What's strange to me, though, is that they are closer to "norm" when I eat. When I haven't eaten for several hours, they go UP. It seems strange to me, but that's the way it's been since I began low-carbing.

Are you managing well? I went to an oriental restaurant this evening. I think I stayed within my carb count, but some of what I ate was breading on meats. Do you ever have a hard time staying on the plan when you go out to eat?

Good to hear that your blood sugars are improving. I seem to be doing alright at the moment. I have only been on this for about three weeks and so far ok. I lost about 25 pounds real fast, then sat still for a wee and a half, although I was loosing inches, but I was down another pound or two this morning. We are still eating at or below 20 carbs per day most of the time.

Three nights ago we got off track for one meal and had spaggitti and then back on the program the next morning. (I got out voted, actually I did not protest to loundly) :D

I don't eat out very often other than the burger places for lunch when I am at work. The days I don't get a lunch fixed, I buy a burger, or a couple of them, throw the bun away and eat that. I would think ordering at an oriental restaurant would be pretty tough to keep it low carb. It would be pretty tough for me to pass up the stuff I love, and I do love that food.

You do take a lot of pills. I just have not gotten that much into it. I take a multivitamin and my blood press. and thyroid and that is it. Maybe down the road I may add some, but I doubt it. The hardest time for me is the days I am at home, like today not really doing anything and wanting to snack. Eventhough I jsut snack on nuts, and cheeze and celery and such as that, all those things have their limits. The pork skins are ok but they sure aren't Doritos. Two or three of those skins and that is it for me.

I agree with you about the pork skins. When I first began low-carbing, I ate them daily. Now, I can hardly stand the things. Also, they are one of the few foods that can still give me indigestion.

When you snack on celery, be sure to add a bit of fat - maybe some sugar-free peanut butter or cream cheese - so that you're not eating carbs alone. The fat helps slow down the speed at which glucose enters your bloodstream.

We ate out this evening because I had a BookCrossing meeting. The cafe only had salads and sandwiches, but at least we could get salads. I'm glad I like salads. :)

How's your wife doing? Daughters? We're all ok. My daughter had a school choir concert last night, before the meeting. She was the coolest kid there, of course. ;)

Good morning freydis,

Well it is Sunday morning and i am feeling pretty good. One month is gone by and I am doing quite well I think. I have lost about 20 lbs, of course like any diet, the first 10 lbs. are pretty quick and easy, but I will be satisified with 10 lbs per month. My wife is not loosing at the rate the rest of us are, she only has to loose about 15 lbs. My youngest daughter is doing the best, she exercises daily, I haven't started yet.

I appreciated your tip about the fat added to the celery stick. Although I had done this anyway, I had never make the connection between the fat and the glucose. We have been grinding the porkskins and using them like a breading to fry with or add to meat loaf of bulk. I like them that way quite well.

Do you exercise? I am having trouble starting. I get some exercise at work, but it is not like walking a mile or so. I know I need to start, but it seems like I would rather sit here in front of the computer.

Charlie

I don't exercise, YET. I am walking a lot more than I was, and having less trouble doing it. Also, I am more active in other ways now. But, I'm not ready for actual exercise. I do plan to begin when I feel like I'm strong enough. But, when I began this way of life, I was so sick that I was having trouble walking from the car to the store. I have improved a GREAT deal from then.

I just recently lowered the dosage of another bp med. YAY! :) It is such a joy to be getting better instead of worse.

I think I should warn you, though, that very few people manage to lose ten pounds per month every month. I have been lucky to average 5 lbs/month, when I'm not stalled. Are you finding any other health benefits for yourself, besides the weight loss? They may keep you strong when/if the weight loss slows or stalls. I hope you're lucky and NEVER need this advice. :)

My daughter, who has not really been strictly following the diet, is beginning to slim down in her appearance. She hasn't lost much more weight since the start of the diet, but her clothes are fitting better and she looks healthier. I'm sure, if she wanted to follow the plan strictly, that she would slim down significantly. But, I'm not terribly concerned since she is not yet large for her size. She is not even chunky. It's more a solidity of person than a weight problem, thus far.

Write back when you can. I'm enjoying having you for a buddy!

Well, as far as the weight loss goes, I am not under any illusion that I can and will loose a certain amout each month, and just the fact that I am loosing anything at all is good. I have been actually gaining for the past few years and that is now reversed which is an accomplishment in itself. The fact that the whole family is following the same plan helps. I am feeling better overall and my knees are not hurting like they were. My youngest daughter is doing better than I, but she excerisies daily and I don't. I should, but just have not started yet.

In another area of the forum, you asked what kind of boat we have. It is a 1973 Carver, 28 feet long and sleeps 4 people. It is a wooden boat and we have done a lot of work on it over the last couple of years. This was one of those "good deals" that we all come across from time to time. You know the kind, a good deal for the other person. We knew nothing about boats and water but I can tell you for sure, we are getting a great education. Everything I do it seems I am getting an education, I just wish that some day I could graduate for this school of hard knocks and I could enjoy all this knowledge.

We do enjoy the boat though, really. When the weather is nice, we go spend a night and it lets us get away from things for awhile. So it does have that.

This morning we tried some of the Atkins pancake mix and syrup. It was ok. Sure not what I was use to, however,but it did fill that desire for something sweet at breakfast. I probably will not eat many of the pancakes. The muffing mix we had a few weeks back was good, but the pancakes I put in the same class as the low carb beer. Not something I think I will ever develop a desire for. I have been having trouble drinking the amount of water I started off drinking. Seems like I don't think of it as much, so I don't fill the water bottle. I am sure that is slowing up the loss factor. I have not wieghed in over a week, but I am sure I have not loss much more.

Well, I better git along and get some things done today. I am off today. We have the shop open 1/2 a day on Saturdays, but between three of us, we rotate a Saturday off. It gives us time to get some things done. We have rain coming in the middle of next week and there a couple of projects around the house I need to finish, so that means today and tommorrow. It is cold here in California this morning, but I have to get going.

Talk to you later,

Charlie

I agree that having the whole family on-plan is a BIG help!

I didn't realize what size of boat you meant when you were talking about using it. My father used to have a bass fishing boat that we enjoyed on the Ozark lakes. Yours sounds much nicer!

Ok, now what sort of shop are you running? I must have not been paying attention.

We went to a BookCrossing meetup this evening and met some new club members. It was fun, but the meeting was held at a Borders bookstore in the cafe. They had tiny salads and tea that held us poor low-carbers over till we could get something more substantial, but it was a long and grumbly meeting. Bread and coffee shops do not hold the fascination for me that they once did.

Today was my father's birthday and I was an extremely neglectful daughter. I was gone all day and couldn't call him. And, because I had planned on calling him and hadn't thought ahead for a gift, he was not honored by us today. I feel very sad and ashamed for my failing. I am going to call him tomorrow and explain, but it is never the same the day after your birthday. I hope he will forgive me. He is a much better father than I am a daughter and deserves more than I do for him.

He misses my mother a lot. My youngest brother married recently and my father had trouble watching the ceremony. It was quite beautiful and reminded him of his own ceremony years ago.

I had a whoosh yesterday and am finally down below 300 on ALL the scales. That was a happy moment for me. I hope your happy moments continue non-stop through this way of life. I still look forward to changing clothing sizes, but my rings have moved fingers three times now. :)

:wave: :bhug:

Hi freydis,

What great news being under 300 lbs on ALL the scales. Now, go into the mirror and give yourself a great big ol' smile for me. Way to go. That is great news. Makes me keep on going that much better. Success stories are always inspiring.

As far as the boat goes, it is just something to spend a lot of time with and a lot more money on. It has been out of the water for the past two years, we did a lot of major repairs and just got it back in the water last October, now we have to paint the deck and do a lot of cosmetic work like that. The problem was I was getting so big, I could not get around on it very well. At least that is getting better

I have not lost any weight lately, but I know what I am doing wrong. My wife bought some cashews the other day and they were good. I have also not been doing as well on the water consumption as when I started. I am starting back on the water again so that should help next week. Water, water, water, dang it seems to be the magical fluid, but it just takes work to stay with it. Oh well, I am not complaining. This is still better than any other way of eating I believe. Of course anyone who drinks a lot of water gets a lot of exercise, that is for sure.



I have hydraulic shop. We make hydraulic hoses for the construction machines and also repair various componets such as cylinders and pumps and such. We are kinda like an emergency room at a hospital, when one of those big machines go down, they take off the bad part and we fix it. We do a lot of machine work and welding and such.

Well, congrats again on the weight loss and the rings. I think it will be nice to be able to wear my wedding ring again. It has been a long time. My weight has taken so much of my life from me, and when I look back it is amazing how much I gave up just to be big and hate it. Next year I am going to get out and do a lot more. This summer I am going to do some backpacking with my daughter and next winter, I am going to do some cross country skiing. At least low carb has given me hope again.

Well hang in there and don't slow up on that like I did and write when you can.

Charlie

I know what you mean about the wedding rings! Before I started Atkins, mine didn't fit at all - not even on a pinky finger. Slowly, as I've lost, I've been able to move them to larger and larger fingers till now they're on the biggest one. I'm about ready to lose them altogether. So, for Valentine's Day, my dear husband bought me a ring for my wedding finger - not an expensive one because I plan on losing that one, too - but a pretty one to hold me over. :)

I'm down from being too large for a size 12 ring to being just right for a size 9 on my ring finger. When I first married, my ring was a size 7, so I'm hoping to make it at least that far.

My husband, also, had grown out of his ring. However, his knuckles prevent him from decreasing too much further. The ring may slip around a lot, but it won't fall off.

I gave him a practical and boring gift for Valentine's Day - 2 pairs of pants and a shirt in his new smaller sizes. He seemed happy with them, but I really need to work on being more romantic.

Hey, buddy! :)

Have you tried Blue Bunny's new Sweet Freedom ice cream treats? I got some this week and love them!

Also, the toffee flavor of DaVinci syrups is SOOOOO GOOD! :)

Hey there lil' buddy,

Been gone for a while but back now. I have not tried the Blue Bell ice cream. We do not have it out here. I am fimilar with it though. Don't know about the treats you speak of.

My treat days are a long way off. You know we had talked about not buying any more clothes the same size, well, I was down to one pair of blue jeans to wear to work. I had a new pair a size smaller but they were a tad bit tight so I had not started wearing them yet. The other night that one pair got washed with something that turned everything pink. I mean P I N K pink, so the next morning I had to get into the smaller blue jeans. They fit, still a bit snug but getting better. Anyway I wasn't about to wear pink jeans to work. No way! Now I have to keep on the straight and narrow until these get a little looser.

Hope you are still enjoying being under the big 3 number. I am down to 320 now and feeling good about that.

Well, better go and eat. Talk to you later

Charlie

Oh, hey, I think laundry accidents are definitely a good reason to buy more clothes! I just had one, myself. I neglected to check ONE coat pocket and ended up with green and orange crayons in the dryer. Several items were ruined.

Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom Ice Cream Bars are ECC 6 carbs. We've been keeping them on hand as a friendly alternative to cheesecake. I've also discovered that flaxseed meal will thicken broths and gravies if you don't mind a somewhat slimey consistency to it. It takes longer to cook, too.

Hope you're doing well! Aside from a couple of chest colds, we're all doing fine.

:wave: