I used to think I was intelligent - but after two days on the Atkins -Induction I am changing my mind.

Problems: I could not take an assignment today - (I am a sub. teacher) because I was afraid pee would be running down my leg or I'd be jumping and hopping like the kids do when they need to go to the bathroom!!! Yesterday, I lived in the bathroom - even at 10:30- 11;30 p.m. at night. Needless to say, no sleep. Today, I am mad that (a) I could not work (due to fear) and (b) I was so tired and aggrevated. I was so tired - I grabbed what I thought was Mayo for my daughter;s sandwich and it was ranch dressing -- of course the time was running out and threw it all away - and gave her money to buy a lunch at school. A truly great morning here at my house

I know that I drank much less water than you do - some of you are drinking vats - I had maybe a liter and half - there is no way to do more, I'm sorry. I am not a water drinker - diet coke yes, water, no. I tried but I can't do it.

Yesterday, I was never hungry - hard to believe when you are a blimp like me. But, honestly I grabbed some cheese cubes and had a burger (no bun) and later some cheese again. I realized I ate nothing - so I made a huge salad - I know that it was way more than 2 cups - but I needed to do it quickly - threw on eggs, some chicken and veggies - including little tomotoes - I know another no no, but I ate it all. I am sure I did this wrong, too. I felt full. Your posts say to eat 10-12 times your weight - okay I weigh 300 - x 10 = _____-#$$%*&& that 's alot of cals. no way unless I ate jars of mayo - I mean what kind of food are we talking?

This morning during this horrid mood, I made myself eat something - so I grabbed some turkey breast, threw on some mayo and added swiss cheese. Is this okay? No way was I going to fuss with eggs for myself.

I just spent a great deal of time reading over the boards and even went back a ways. Now, I am totally confused. I was under the impression that you can eat bacon, candian bacon and saugsages, but the reading says watch out for fillers and nitrates.

I thought the veggies listed under "free" in the book were ok and you guys say count the carbs. No tomotoes, no olives (black or green????) yet the book says eat them. I am not even going to get to the avacado - because I am lost on that too --- plus it is not allowed on the induction plan!!

I spent a great deal of time reading labels looking for O carbs, but now I am told there are hidden carbs. Plus, now I need to look for nitrates, fillers and sugars, too.

Today, I feel and think, I would rather be fat. Also, I have the headache you have all had and I thought I could get an idea of my fatness weight, but the scale only goes to 300 -
I mean, I "knew" I was heavy - but the fact that I could not get a "number" of weight really bothered me. You all list your starting number and were you are today and all the great progress you have made.

Today, I know I do not think I can do it and want to say the 'why bother' and grab the candy bars and sit down and eat and be miserable.

I want to much to win this battle and be like you all are. But, it seems that these two days did me in.

Sorry for the length of my post,

gonna change my moniker to "neverwin".

Oh do you ever sound like me!

About peeing... two things:
1. Diet sodas make you pee. Its true! Even if its decaf!
2. If you drink alot of water in a few weeks you will go back to peeing the way you did before. Honest I know. I drink 4 liters of water. The first week it was to the bathroom every 2 hours. But now its not. I actually sleep through the night and only use the bathroom three times during work.

On days such as yours, what I usually do is take a few deep breaths, laugh and go on. It takes practice but it works and it shows your children how to cope with fustration. I'm ADHD and fustration is my speciality

Oh by the way Ranch dressing is yum on a sandwhich!

Look for Rich foods, such as in higher fat, not more expensive.
This will help with the calorie count. Bacon added to salads is a way to go. At least for me. You are doing a great job, honest!
So please don't worry and don't change your matra, be who you are not what you feel like for the moment.
Take care, and write if you need me for venting! you got it!

Yes you can! Keep repeating that, and then add "Fat is my friend".

You can do this, you can drink your water and you can win.

Do not worry about fillers/ nitrates/ bacon / sausages right now. These are things that can cause problems for some people. Not all people. I have yet to have a problem with them. These things tend to happen more as you get closer to goal and have a few pounds left to lose.

You can eat your calories; use fat. Reaching for mayo is the thing to do. Reach for butter (fry your eggs in butter, your steaks, your chicken). Eat the fat on the chicken, eat the skin. Use olive oil as your dressing. 1 Tbsp Olive Oil = 120 calories, no carbs, and you do not notice 1 tbs or 2 on a salad.

The constant trips to the bathroom do not last. Your bladder gets used to the water intake, and right now you're getting rid of the excess water you've been carrying around. This doesnt last; once it's gone it's gone unless you eat a lot of carbs.

Headache will go away in a few days, maybe sooner. Mine lasted a day at most. Drink the water, it helps. Honest. Make yourself do it, this is important and you'll notice the difference. Get some potassium ("nuSalt" right with the regular salt at the grocery store, 1/8th tsp with a large glass of water twice a day during induction and once a day thereafter) You'll feel much better for it.

I guarantee that in a few days you'll be feeling energetic and confident you can do this. We have all be there, we know what it's like, and we know that it can be done.

You're doing fine!

Nat

so you are having a really bad day eh???

ok i have some advice for you.

QUIT TRYING SO HARD!!!

this woe is supposed to be fun!!

I know there is a lot of conflicting info out there, but i think i can help you out.

Basically, no food is a free food. IMHO. They all have some sort of carbs. Including Veggies. However lean meats are pretty much a zero.

So...

Try to eat only natural foods. This is what i do. Bacon and sausages are called free foods, but only if you find the 'right' ones. Without nitrates and fillers. So forget them for now. Simplify you life!!

When i say eat natural foods, i mean anything that isn't processed. Eat only meats like steak, pork chops, chicken breasts, fish etc etc.

And veggies, eat the green ones. Stay away from colored veggies for now. Or make sure you look up the carb content.

this link is the best, fast and easy to use to look up nutritional info on foods.

http://www.cyberdiet.com/ni/htdocs/index.html

Eating natural foods seems to be the easiest trick here. No artificial sweeteners or any thing else. If it has been through an assembly line, don't eat it!!

Try to drink the water, if you can't don't worry about it. Just keep trying.

As for the peeing thing. You must be into ketosis already, because if you are peeing alot that means you are starting to flush out excess water and fat. That's why the water thing is so important. You don't want to get dehydrated.

Forget counting calories too. Just try to eat three meals no matter what, and snack if you can. This keeps things going.

It is also perfectly normal to feel like crap. You are in carb withdrawl. Just stick it out, you should feel better soon. It sounds like the ketosis thing is working so you should stop feeling like crap soon.

Did you read the book? The whole thing? Do it again, it will help. You must read it all to understand what's happening to your body.

Write me if you have more questions. It will get better,

Steph

p.s. stay away from nuts too, for now. i learned this the hard way, they make you stall big time.

Its a hard adjustment to make the first time around. If I were you I wouldn't overanalyze the boards just yet. Read the book. Use it as a guideline for now. Stick to what is ok on the Induction part. Then make up your mind to give it your best go for two weeks. Don't overcomplicate it at first. I have been doing this on and off again for over a year (now its my wol). You'll learn more as you go. I say, for now, restrict the obvious carbs, read the labels, but don't freak out over hidden carbs, nitrates, or whatever. Also, pay attention to your hunger levels to make sure you aren't overdoing the protein and fat. You may not feel so great the first few days but I guarantee you, once you make it past the first two weeks you will feel great and you'll be happy with the results. After you get more accustomed to the main aspects of the diet then start looking into the smaller details like hidden carbs or other chemical fillers.

I am down to my last ten pounds and I have always kept it simple. I stick to meat (no processed meat other than sausage occasionally), cheese, and nuts (in limited quantities because of carbs). I don't do veggies (although I don't recommend this, it helps me avoid overdoing carbs and frankly I can't do without my cheese and nuts). I make myself drink a big glass of water for ever 12 ounces of Diet Coke I drink (and I am an addict). I exercise and take my supplements. Start simple - stick to green leafy salads with bleu cheese, nothing else like tomatoes or olives.

And above all, don't be too hard on yourself. You've been eating a certain way your whole life. It may take a while to retrain your brain as well as your body. If you screw up, no biggie. Just get up the next day and try again. Eventually you'll get the hang of it and I promise, it is well worth it.

Good luck!

Btw, Thin, if you cannot get an accurate weight reading, you can get an accurate measurement. Get yourself a tape measure and take some measurements, hips, waist, bust, under your bust, arms (do both), thighs, calves (both and both), wrists and neck. You will be able to monitor the loss of inches; you'll also be able to notice the trends in your loss. Typically you'll lose some weight from one part of your body one week and see it disappear from another part a few weeks later. It is very motivational and it tells a more accurate story than the scales do.

Nat

I'm not going to repeat what everyone else has already said....but I will repeat....YOU CAN DO THIS.....I know you can.

If you want to do it, you can do it....sorry you're having a bad day.

Stop by often.....we'll listen to your venting!! I think it helps sometimes to know others are feeling what you're feeling.

We all have rough days. This life change stuff is hard work. It is harder work on the brain than ANYTHING I have ever done. So much reading and thinking. It is overwhelming at first (I'm into day 5 and speak from experience)

Here's a little trick I found that helps. If it's good enough for dinner, it's good enough for breakfast. That means every night cook double your protein and veggies, then measure and put away one portion for the next moring. While dinner is cooking, also get your lunch for the next day ready, not necessarily prepared, but thought out, measured, and put into special containers in a part of the fridge that is off limits to everyone but you. (LOL it's MINE, MINE MINE and he knows it)

The next morning, while coffe is brewing, I have one glass of water with mineral supplement pills. Then a cup of coffee, then the breakfast that was prepared the night before. (cold or warmed up in the microwave). Before I go out the door I stuff lunch into my lunchbag and that's it! No thinking in the morning.

This makes it soooooooooooo easy to deal with things in the morning without having to think about anything!!! If you don't mind eating the same things a couple of times, at the beginning it's easier to deal with if instead of making different fancy things every meal, find a few things you like, and rotate between them. I've done 2 days of exactly the same thing for all meals (for me)., and didn't mind. For me it's easier.

As for the water, I had terrible trouble the first couple of days too..and I have a stress incontinence problem, so it was rough. Now I have I glass in the morning, sip on clear tea or coffe during the day, and drink the rest between 4p,m and 10pm. It's gotten me through the big water loss days. In time I'll shift half the evening water to during the day.

Just think, in a few weeks you will know what some of the good things are to do and some of the bad ones. The experts on this board have been at it for much longer than us. But they were once newbies too, and probably were just as overwhelmed as we are.. It takes time to teach ourselves new habits and new ways of thinking. And when we get older not only do we need repetition, but we need to practice what we learn to remember it.
**HUGS*** you can do it. You can do. Everyone is here to help you through the rough spots. You can do IT!!! (sorry for being so long winded. )

Low Carb can be threatening to a person who has been depending on the outside world to tell us what to do and how to do it --- and to do it right --- by golly!!! For the first time we get to not... rather than not eat!!!! so EAT!!!!!!

I too went through a lot of the same frustration. But there are the basics --- carb counts and water and at some point exercise. Everything else is just extra 'tips and pointers'. You have to find what works for you! It's like canoeing... everyone can tell you how to work the ores.. but until you actually get in and row... can you begin to understand how YOU navigate the rapids.

There are chemical/hormones in EVERYTHING these days. --- you almost can't get away from them. Ideally you want to limit your consumption. A few nitrates in a delicious piece of bacon does far less damage than the 20 mini candy bars I ate for Halloween last year.

Relax and take a deep breath... if this is not the time for you right now.. that is ok. I suspicion it is.. otherwise you would not have posted asking for help.. you would have blew it all off....

Keep posting.... change is not easy ... let it move over you as an inspiration...

with admiration

Ramona