I've been doing well with induction, and am just about out of the whole headache/nausea thing. It might last a little longer, because I re-started my medication as well (Glucophage) which in and of itself makes one feel nauseous and icky.

So, to get to the point, I've been checking ketones every morning and evening. I know I don't have to, heck, I know when I am in ketosis because of a certain taste in my mouth. I know if I'm in the dark purple range, because my kidneys start to ache. When I get like that, I have 2 big glasses of water, and a custard cup filled with cocktail peanuts. Not enough to knock me out of ketosis, but enough to escort me back to the "pink". So why do I feel it so necessary to check all the time?

I've also been weighing daily, and on some days, that's a really good thing, and on other days, really bad. One day I weighed in at 323, the next, 325. The following day, still 325, so I popped on the scale later that day, 320. The next day, 322, following 321.5, leading to today, 324.

I've been REALLY good, kept my carbs under 20, been in pretty strong ketosis the whole time. The only other thing, is that I got my period yesterday as well. Wonder if that is messing up the scale? I haven't had one since May (PCOS related) so this one is meant to be a doozy!

Enough blathering, I need helpful suggestions on how not to obsess about ketones and poundage! I'd love to weigh in weekly, but somehow, can't help but pop on every day. HELP!

Karen

I have given up the ketone worries, but I'm afraid I still obsess on poundage. I get on my scales every time I get up during the night and again in the morning. Sad, I know. But, while I was away from home for my brother's wedding, I didn't miss the scales at all. So, I figure they're just calling to me because I see them every time I go to the bathroom.

So, hide them if it bothers you. At the least, if you make it harder to pull them out and check, you'll do it less often. I'm not bothered, yet. REALLY sad, I know.

I have always had a hard time with the scales, with the number dictating the way I would feel for the day. Since I started CAD, I have been doing the daily weigh-ins and weekly averaging that the authors recommend and that has really helped me. I weigh myself every morning, after bathroom, before ingesting anything.. since that is my lightest time of the day. I record it each day and at the end of the week I average the weights. That number goes on my graph. This way of doing it has really helped me become less obsessed. My average has gone down every single week, and remembering that really helps me on the days when I jump on and the scale doesn't show what I want it to show.


When I first started, I thought weighing every day would make me more obsessed, but it has actually done the opposite. I still think about the poundage a fair bit.. about how much I have lost, and how far I still have to go, and when I might get to certain points. I think that is only normal, since this weight loss journey is a big focus of my life right now.

I love that you ask the question! A lot of people trade their obsession for overeating with an obsession for dieting--and for decades, I was one of these people, going back and forth, wasting thousands of hours and always ending up at the same set point weight. For myself, I finally figured out this really all fell under the concept of "eating disorders"--like an addiction, it was a way to distract myself from the real issues of my life. I'm sure that's true for some others and is not true for the rest.

The best way to not use a substance or activity that we don't want is to keep it out of the house, just as we get carbs out of the house when we start LC. Give the scale away to Goodwill and toss out the ketostix. You know what to eat--focus on the behavior (lightly, tho!) and the pounds will come off. Weight loss will slow (guaranteed!) and watching everything two or three times a day will eventually lead only to frustration. Frustration can become the "reason" to go back to carbs.

Do I practice what I preach? I have only weighed two times since last May, and frankly, I wish I wouldn't have done it those two times, cuz there was emotional fallout that took a few days to overcome in each case. IMO, the only people who need to know their exact scale weight are astronauts, jockeys and professional boxers. For issues such as medication dosage, you'll always be able to guess within 25 pounds.

In addition, once people get their programs' concepts, there is no reason to record every day's food in fitday or count any known food. Sure, look up anything new you try. Beyond that, a once a month spot-check of macronutrients is sufficient.

Try this: take the same time you spend with stix and records and the scale and instead get a body image workbook/journal. As you come to love your body more, your motivation to treat it well will increase--and that'll keep you on a healthy eating track through the years we all need to develop good habits and regain our health.
The very best of luck to you on your journey. You can change your life, and it's great you're asking some good questions about how to go about doing it!

Y'know, when I started Atkins, I bought the stix and peed on them, maybe, 3 times...

...and that was the last time I did that. For me, the stix only confirmed what I already knew due ot the taste in my mouth and the knowledge in my heart that I was doing things correctly and by the book.

Unlike razzle (hi, razzle!!!) I weigh myself, though even that has become a once a week or less thing for me. I just keep on plan and eat what I know is right. And don't forget about moving and exercising. Gotta do that. True, I lost 75 pounds without exercising, but I feel and look way better since I started moving. And you're not fully doing Atkins if you're not moving.

Other may disagree with this, but I think you can probably move away from the pee stick obsession and place that focus instead on planning menus and an exercise program that you can realistically stick with, given your demands as a Mommy. I think you'll find that obessing over recipes rather than pee sticks will serve you further and longer.

Good luck, sweat pea! (no pun intended!)

Donald

A few months ago I was totally obsessing about what I ate and would eat. I actually started a thread in the General Low Carb section about that. I don't know if it will work (I'm not nearly as good with computers as most of the people on here appear to be), but I'll try to post that link:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=72220

My obsession has really decreased since then and I think there are probably three reasons for that. First, I think that openly acknowledging it and talking about it helped. Second, I think the fact that I have now lost enough weight that everyone has noticed and remarked upon it has made me confident that this is really working, so I don't need to obsess as much. Third, I'm just much more comfortable with what I eat and will eat. I know what menus and recipes work and don't work, so I don't need to think about it all the time.

I think that it is natural to obsess on something that is new and very different, but for most of us that obsession goes away in time. Once you get used to the idea that this WOE is working and that you are steadily losing weight, you'll probably stop obsessing so much about the scale and ketostix.

I'm with Donald on the ketostix. I've never used them. I assume I am in ketosis most of the time since I've been losing weight steadily. If I stopped losing for several weeks in a row, I might try them. Unless that happens, who cares? I'd rather save the money for something more important.

I do get weighed regularly, but it has never been an obsession for me. This may be because for my first 2-1/2 months on this WOE I did not own a scale that went high enough for me to be able to use it. Thus, I had to take it on faith that I was losing weight.

Would it work to put your scale in the attic or the basement for a while, so you have to exert some effort to fine it and use it? That should make it more difficult to weigh yourself several times a day, especially with triplets to run after!

Good luck. I think the obsessions will pass as you get more used to this WOE.

Hey tripletmom....how are you doing? Have you found a happy meduim with the sticks and the scale?

I think obsessions are as natural part of it all and is hard to overcome. I decided as I started this way of eating that I would not use the "D" word and try and get it in my mind that this woud be my lifestyle from now on. I did not buy the strips and the scales in our house peg out way before they could read my weight, so weighing is out. However, as the inches go away I do find myself pulling on the front of my shirt of jacket, or checking my belt by loosing it and pulling it tight past the last hole and then back again, so I guess that is the same as weighing all the time. I think once I see results I have not seen in a while, I get anxious and want time to speed up.

When this happens I try to get my mind onto somethin else, and tell myself it doesn't matter anyway because I am not changing the way I eat. I am also gald to find out that I am not the only one suffering with this obsession thing.

cdawg

Hi all...

Some really great advice here.

For myself, I started by weighing once a week, same time, same day of week. Now it's more like every 2 or 3 weeks. While I want to loose weight, I feel so good that it's not my primary concern. Also I don't have a scale in the house. I go to the Y to weigh myself. This way I don't have the temptation to weigh myself on a daily basis.

I also know what the monthly thingy does to my weight, and know that it is a normal part of life. I don't stress over it.

I still use the sticks, however only about once a week or so. Mainly when I add some new food into my routine and want to see how it affects my ketosis.

Hope this helps.

Dee

Hi all,
Maybe a stupid question but....... What is this taste in your mouth that you keep talking about? I dont do the keto stix thought it would just be something else to obsess about. But I am on day 11 of induction. I am pretty sure i should be ketosis by now but i dont have any funny taste in my mouth at least that i have noticed. Can someone describe this taste if possible.
Thanks.

...and if you don't taste it, it ain't there...

You'll totally know about it when it happens. It's just not fresh...and you can taste it as well as smell it. Sort of metalicky, sort of like really bad morning mouth, only all the time.

Donald