Hi, I'm Sandy.
I am 49 and live in Evanston, a town next to Chicago on Lake Michigan.

I started Atkins a week ago. Since I managed to quit smoking almost a year ago, I figured that now would be the time to tackle my weight.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Just checked your stats, and you are around the same age as I am and the height, is almost the same I am 5'1 1/2" Have to put that 1/2 inch in.. I need all I can get. Have you started a journal yet? That is a great way for all to get to know you and help you if you have problems with your Way of Eating. I am somewhat new here, well, not so new.... I have been LCing since the end of May.

This is a terrific forum, and I hope we all can help.

P.S. I just checked it out, and you have started a journal...good for you!!!!!

Hi Alice,
We do sound about the same, only you are on the left coast and I am in the middle

I see you have already lost weight!!! Fantastic. I couldn't figure out how to send you a private message. Do you like Atkins? Have you ever dieted before? This is actually my first time ever on a diet!!!

Sandy

Hi Sandy, I don't think you can post a private message until you have used the public forums for a while....otherwise I think you just click on the icon at the bottom of your letter. I haven't tried it yet.

Thanks for noticing my weight lose that is very nice of you. I have dieted on and off for many many years...so my metabolism is messed up. Since I started LCing, I haven't lost that much, but surprise to me I am losing inches!!!

Congrats on quitting smoking...I know that is a very hard addiction to quit. I quit 10 years ago. After I quit, I got very sick, and ended up with asthma. Glad I quit, I can't imagine smoking and wheezing together.

Good luck with this WOE... it is surprisingly easy...especially for me, since I know what other diets are like. The hardest thing for me was getting used to eating High fat foods.

What is the hardest thing for you to get used to eating this way?

Hi Alice
I've found this site so supportive!!! I'm learning a lot just from what people are telling me.
The hardest thing is not eating fruit. I used to eat lots of fruit, and now in the summer with all the nice fruit it is difficult.
Although I have not actually lost any pounds yet, I was encouraged yesterday that the Ketostix show that I am burning fat. Also, today I have noticed lots of energy!!!!! So it must be working, and the pounds will fall off soon.

This is what I ate today.
About 1800 calories -- much better than the 2400 calories from yesterday. I plugged it all into FitDay.com, which calculated it.

Breakfast: 2 C coffee
1 tbsp. heavy cream
3 eggs, hard boiled

Lunch
1 Wendy's side salad, no dressing
1 Wendy's Jr. Hamburger, no bun, with 2 pickle slices

Snack
2 3 1/2 ounce cups red wine

Dinner

12 ounce sirloin steak

Fantastic on your inches loss!!!
We can do this!!!!

Hi Sandy, Glad you like this web site. I love it here. Yes very supportive. It's nice to know you aren't alone in trying to feel better about yourself, and getting back into a healthy weight. Yes we can do it!!!

The inches were a surprise for me.... I couldn't believe how quickly they came off. I am glad for that. You will too soon enought find the inches and pounds fall off.

Your menu sounds pretty good to me. You are getting your protien and your 20 g of carb in a healthy way. Do you have a copy of Dr.Atkins New Diet Revolution? (DANDR). In it is a good list of things to eat during induction. It is good to get a variety so you don't get bored with your food.

I try to eat organically grown meats, and organic free range eggs. I have a few friends in my tiny town that grow their meats and raise thier hens this way, so its easy for me to get. I grow a lot of my own veggies..organically of course.

Hi Alice
Hey I figured out how to put my picture in!!!
I do have a copy of Dr. Atkins book. I am not taking the vitamins he says to, are you??
I do take a regular women's multivitamin. I wonder why he says not to take a vitamin with iron in it.

That's so great that you can get meats right from your neighbors! I do buy the organic cage free eggs, but the meats would be too expensive, I think. I live in a pretty urban area, so there are some fantastic ethnic markets. There is one that I go to that has really fresh vegetables and meats. Great fruits too but I guess those are off limits for now.

Do you think pork rinds are ok to eat? I remember a friend who lost a lot of weight on a low carb diet, and she always had bags of pork rinds to snack on.

Sandy

Hope you had a great July 4th!!

I do take vitamins, but I have for years anyway. Found that I am taking all the right ones according to Dr.Atkins.

Pork rinds are great to eat. They satisfy the need for the crunchy eating...but be a little careful they are usually salty, and salt can make your body retain water.

Nice to have all those ethnic markets close by. We don't have any of thoses in this tiny town. But if I want to drive for an hour, I can find some ethnic food stores. Not really worth it though.

I don't really miss the fruit...I love blueberries and luckily we can have them after induction. Of course!!

finally the scale has moved.....only 1/2 a pound, down of course...but it moved Yahoooooooooo Never thought I would be that happy over such a small amount !!

Glad you could get your picture in. You look nice by the way. I tried, but my scanner doesn't do jpeg so unfortuneately I can't get my picture in. Waaaa.

Alice, 1/2 pound is fantastic!!!! I know I started at 160 and I THINK the scale is crawling down. It looks like 158 or 159, and every little 1/2 pound is progress!!!!!!!

Yeah, good point about the salt. I thought pork rinds might be nice for tomorrow - I am taking my 16 year old daughter and her friend camping.

Are you keeping track of calories?

Oh - the picture - thanks for saying I look nice!!! I like the red petunias in the background I bought a really cheapo digital camera from Home Shopping - but it really works well. You can plug it into the computer and it puts all the pictures in.

I have a link to my page at FitDay. It looks like I eat like a PIG!!!

http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJour...Owner=Sandyalee

Sandy, Yippee Yahooo hooorayyyy!! I just stepped on the scale and I had to share . I lost more than that 1/2 pound. I made it out of the 80's zone. I got to 179. I am so totally pleased. 1 /12 more pounds since I told you of the 1/2 pound loss. I am tickled. I havent seen the 70's for years. (ooops not the 1970's of course)

The 70's!!!! Way to go, girl.
I feel like a pig this weekend. We went camping out in the woods. I took my 16 year old and one of her friends. It was lovely!!! I think I may not be doing this diet right. It is 12 days now and I still only have lost a pound or two. I'm still pretty much always hungry

A pound or two is terrific!!!!! That means you are doing something right!!!!

Apparently on induction...I think this is how it goes.... you lose 10% of the weight you need to totally lose.

I figures I needed to lose about 45 - 50 pounds total, and on induction I lost 4 pounds.10% (My stats say different..because I was on a candidsis diet before starting atkins.)

So maybe you only really need to lose 20 pounds total? You can ask Nat or some other person who really knows.

Whatever you do, Don't give up!!!! Eat more of the allowed foods if you are always hungry. Watch the carb intake, and I am sure the pounds will come off.

I found that when I lost that 1/2 pound, I had pigged out the day before. Don't know if that had anything to do with it, but I certainly wasn't hungry.

You must of had a fun weekend, camping with your daughter and her friend. That is nice that you can take the time to do fun things with your daughter. 16 is an awkward age, where they don't really like hanging out with parents. At least it was when my daughter was 16. Boy..couldn't even walk beside her in the mall in case one of her friends saw Of course now its totally different.

It's strange but my 16 year old daughter and I are very good friends. I guess I went over backwards to be a "cool mom", because I was not at all close with my mom until much later. My son on the other hand is 23. He didn't like me from the ages of 15 to 18. When he went away to college he finally decided he liked me! How old are your kids?

Hi Sandy, I have three kids. One is 26 one is 24 and one is 20. All grown and out of the house.

I don't think its strange that you and your daughter are good friends, I think that is wonderful!!!! I am still mom to my kids, but also now friends with them too now.

How are you doing with this Way of Eating these days. I think I am not eating enough. It's been too hot to eat..though I am drinking tons of water. At least 5 litres in the morning alone! I lost count how many more I drank in the afternoon.

Hi Alice
I'm doing well! I feel great and the dipstick is pink, so I am in ketosis. I have tons of energy, but still am not losing weight in my third week. I think I will soon, because I cut the calories wayyyy down. I am keeping track of it all in my journal here.
Sorry you are too hot
Although I don't think that could keep me from eating Not much could!!!
Our heat wave is over. It has been cool the last couple of days.

I'm impressed with those 70's!!!!!

Sandy