Hi! My name is Nancy and I am the mother of a gorgeous 20 month old girl. Although she weighed in at 10 lbs, I still had 80 pounds of pregnancy weight leftover. You read right...90+ lbs of pregnancy weight! Well, I assumed that it would just fall off with a little diet and some exercise and nursing...WRONG! Going from 102 to almost 200 lbs gave me Type 2 Diabetes, back problems and really slow metabolism. I have therefore decided that it is time to give this a try. Three of my friends have each lost 70+ lbs each and I am motivated. They are men but hell it's better than nothing.
I have created a personal challenge to stick to this diet and not cheat and try to exercise 3 times a week. I am determined to get back in shape and not be "wow, remember when Nancy was so tiny???"
I started on the 29th and have so far lost about 6 lbs of water but it makes me feel good. Please let me know if there are other mothers who have managed to meet or are on the path to success. I need a reality check.
take care,
Nancy

hi Nancy and welcome aboard.

I'm not a new mum but I can confirm that this is the best WOE (way of eating) ever!

You will find that after a few weeks you will not even feel the need to cheat, and your cravings will really drop away. It also won't be hard to stick to the exercise regime you are aiming for, because you will have so much energy

Good luck to you

Lesley

Hi Nancy,
I am a new mom from New York as well. Where in NY are you? I'm in NYC by the way. Anyway, I have a 2 year old and a 3 week old, and I decieded to start Atkins diet again. While I was in College, I lost 30lbs+ on it, from 195 (sz16) to 163 (sz9)....(I've always been heavier than I looked)....then with my 1st daughter's pregnancy, I gained over 100lbs!! (to 265!!) I managed to get down to 220 until I got pregnant with my 2nd daughter. This time around, I gained 45lbs (to 265...again). I know it's a lot, but compared to my first pregnancy, I guess I did ok. Anyway, I'm down to 238 already, so thats good... I'm currently at size 20, and I would like to lose around 90lbs. My goal is to lose that much by may of 2003, and I think that's pretty realistic. I started the Atkins on the 27th, cheated on the 28th (bad me!!), but yesterday and today went pretty well Anyway, if you'd like to buddy up and try to lose this weight thing together, it would be great! Good luck on your weight loss!!
Sunny

Hi and welcome!
I have a Hannah too.. and a Meg, and a Grace!
My youngest is 2 now, and I still need to rid myself of the pregnancy weight from my first baby 11 years ago. YIKES...
Actually, I have lost weight between them, but always put it back on with the next pregnancy. But this has been by far the hardest battle with weight I have had yet., Not the largest amount I have had to lose, but the slowest to shift. Needless to say I think I am done with having babies (SOB). I think now, at 32, I want to try new things. In fact, I have been toying with the idea of opening an online low carb shop here in Ireland! But we'll see.
So, again, welcome... and love to Hannah!
Doods.

Hey Nancy..welcome to the board. I have 4 kids and gained 60 pounds with EACH of them.. yikes ...lol

Anyroo..your gonna love it here.always something to check out..always something to read. ALWAYS folks around for great support. Don't forget to check out all the ymmy recipes too.

Have fun with it..congrats on the first 6 pounds..what a great start.
If you feel up to it maybe start a journal here on the board and begin posting your daily meals..that way if you think things are not going as they should...you can get lots of help sorting stuff out.

It's also great to go through other peoples jurnals for great ideas.

Once again..welcome to the board. Have a great lowcarb weekend!
Hugs..Cin

Thanks for the support and I have started my journal on the Atkins site. Too lazy to do it on multiple sites. Also, I downloaded a program called Weight by Date which is a great motivational tool. It calculates when you will hit your goal based on your average daily losses.
I have some questions that I would love some input on. I usually have a big protein shake for breakfast and lunch out of convenience (very busy at the office) which has 0 carbs. I'm not a snacker but try to have some protein whether it be a shake or piece of cheese every 3 hours. At dinner, I will eat with my family so it was a porterhouse last night with creamed spinach and small salad with lemon vinaigrette. Now will the fact that I don't eat carbs until dinner sabotage my diet in the long run? Also, my total carb count never exceeds 15-20 grams.
I have dieted enough to know that initial weight loss is water but wanted to really understand about the ins and outs of the diet before continuing on this schedule.
Let me know.
Thanks
Nancy

Be careful with eating the largest portion of your carbs for the day all at one time. The principle behind Atkins is to keep your body from producing insulin spikes. When you save your carbs for one meal, this defeats the purpose of low carbing because your body will respond with an insulin spike. It's much better to spread your carbs out through the day. The shakes are fine once in a while, but they are really not meant to be a meal replacement; you need real whole food. To make things more convenient, I try to keep a supply of cooked meats on hand to quickly grab for breakfast or lunch along with some pre-cut raw veggies and some boiled eggs. I often get a salad from the local grocery store's salad bar for lunch, since I'm usually out at lunch running errands anyway or just pack some leftover meat and veggies from the night before. With a little advance prep work and planning, it's not too difficult, really!

Lisa,
Thanks for the advice. But I am so dreadfullly afraid of the calories. I am so afraid that from decades of eating high carb, low fat and low protein that I will get fatter! It's a mindset and I know I need to modify my behavior but it's such a dramatic shift. The protein shakes that i drink are not the Atkins shakes but some meal replacements that my doctor gave me to boost my protein amount (they are actually supplements). Can I truly lose weight while eating like this?
OK- here's the test...I had for dinner
salad with some bleu cheese
1 slice of thick cut ham
2 slices of hard Italian salami
2 2"x1/2" sticks of cheddar

I don't dare to count the calories for fear of freaking out! I've also decided to add to my personal challenge and to weigh myself once a week...that's down from 3X a day. If this reads as if I am OC it would explain how I stayed the same weight since i was in 8th grade until I got pregnant.

OK- the proof is in the pudding...I'll keep you updated with my success (or failure).

Luv ya all,
Nancy
Induction Day 3 no cheating yet!!!

Hi Nancy! I can totally sympathize with the pregnancy weight gain. I have a 3 year old and a 17 month old and I gained 60 pounds the first time and 75 the second. (You think I would have learned.) Anyway, it is great you are so motivated to change your eating habits and be successful. I know it can be challenging with a toddler around. I have found this to be a really convenient and satisfying eating plan. My only advice is - be patient. I was very impatient at first with slow progress. I stopped weighing myself though and now I do not even own a scale. The only time I weigh myself is at my sister's or the doctor's. I try to go by how my clothes fit - I think someone in another post called it the pant-o-meter!! I wish you the best of luck and congrats on becoming a mom!!

elizz,
thanks for the wonderful encouragement. And by your stats I see that it does indeed work. what part of upstate NY are you in? We moved from Manhattan to Nyack when the baby was born.
How long did it take to get to 150 and what do you eat on a daily basis (just to get an idea).
thanks again

Nancy...

It's hard to get past the idea that low calorie is what we need to lose weight, but our bodies are really more complicated than that. In fact, if you are not getting enough calories, your body will begin to think that there is a famine going on and go to great lengths to hold onto whatever fat stores you have to increase your chances of surviving the "famine". The general recommendation is to eat roughly 10 to 12x your body weight in calories daily; some people need slightly more, some slightly less. Unless those protein shakes are very high calorie, you're not getting enough calories the way you are currently eating and even though they may be supplemented with vitamins and minerals, they still cannot replace the nutrition of real whole foods. Use them as a snack between meals if you get hungry and don't happen to have a legal snack handy, but otherwise stick with the real thing. Be patient with the weight loss. Atkins is not a crash diet or a quick way to lose weight for most people, but it is a safe and healthy way to lose weight and learn how to keep it off while you going through the process and progressing through the different stages. The rest of you ladies will probably want to smack me when I say this, but I actually lost weight when I was pregnant...about 30 lbs each time...not from morning sickness, but from being very afraid that I would have to go on insulin (I was already a diabetic before I got pregnant, but diet controlled). I gained all mine afterwards when the post partum depression set in and I self-medicated with food.

hannahsmom,

I live right outside of Binghamton. I really cannot say how long it took me to get to 150 because I got rid of the scale. I started in July 2001. When I went to the doctor in January I was 168, I went again in March and weighed 147. I started on Atkins and was very strict - no caffeine, aspartame, nuts, etc.
Now that I am on Protein Power, I eat nuts and sunflower seeds for snacks. I also eat sugar free jello. I was eating a lot of bacon which I have reduced to once or twice a week and I get the lower sodium/lower fat kind ~ Wegmans. Usually, I have 2 eggs for breakfast, an ounce of cheddar cheese or muenster and a piece of whole wheat toast. This is about 15 carbs - give or take. Now that I am almost at goal I eat more carbs than you probably would want to.
For lunch I have a huge (and I mean huge) salad w/ about 3.5 cups of romaine lettuce, turkey or chicken or some type of meat in it, another ounce of cheese and 2 tablespoons bleu cheese dressing - not reduced fat.
For dinner I have a steak, another salad (just lettuce) and some vegetable, usually cauliflower, broccoli, or green beans. I also have 2 snacks during the day of sunflower seeds or nuts or a 1/2 an apple - depending upon my mood. I use fitday.com to compute my intake and calories for the day. I take multiple supplements, also.
Most importantly, I weight train 3x a week for 30 minutes. I feel the increased muscle mass has allowed me to rev up my metabolism. I also do cardio 5x a week for 20-30 minutes. I am not fanatical about it - but it is necessary for me.
Well, I know this is lengthy but I hope it gives you some insight. Best wishes and let me know how it's going!

Sure, Binghamton -- know it well --

Lived on the West Side for several years, and was married by a justice of the peace downtown. And then married again in a Catholic Church on the south side several months later -- haha.
Have to say I miss the spiedies -- say, without the white bread spiedies would make a great LC treat for the summer!

For those of you who are spiedie-deprived -- and that would be anyone outside of NY's southern tier or Northern Italy -- spiedies are chunks of meat marinated in the vinaigrette of your choice and then grilled. The classic spiedie is then wrapped in white bread (no fancy schmancy whole wheat for good Binghamtonians!) and eaten like a hot dog. Of course the LC world would bag the bread, but the meat is the attraction anyway.

I like using lamb with a bit of mint in the vinaigrette. My wife is fond of chicken with oregano.

BTW, we might have shopped in the same Wegman's -- huge monster of a store just off 17 in Johnson City, by the Mall? I loved that place . . .

RA Vimala

Spiedies are awesome! I do exactly as you said - bag the bread. I also put them in salad. I like the pork ones myself. You can get Lupo's and Salamida's spiedie sauce online. I also use them to marinate chicken for the grill. That is strange that you got married by the J.O.P. then the Catholic Church - that is exactly what we did! My family lives on the West side and my husband is from the North side. Sadly, Binghamton is not what it used to be. But, we still have the spiedies!

-Lizz