Hi Everyone,

I started Atkins on 1/23/04 and I have lost 8 lbs. I was hoping I would have been one of the big losers w/ 10-15 lbs lost but, I guess I need to be happy w/ any weight loss. I have also lost 2 inches in my chest, 1 inch in my waist, and nada in my hips. Not too bad. I keep doing those ketone sticks in the morning and they are always purple but, I haven't seen the scale move in a week. I haven't done anything any different this week than I did the first week when I lost the 8 lbs. I think I may try the fat fast this week??? Does this really work? I am staying away from the bars, shakes, and artificial sweeteners too. No cheese and no nuts either. I have just been eating protein and 1 salad per day w/ olive oil and ~icky~ white vinegar. Also, I don't take any meds and I am not on birth control pills.

BTW,I like this site...it has great information and support!


Thanks for listening!

start Atkins 1/23/04----275 lbs
current 2/06/04--------267 lbs
mini-goal #1 2/23/04---260 lbs
mini-goal #2 3/23/04---250 lbs


***final goal****------150 lbs

Welcome aboard!
Stick with it. Weight loss with Atkins is all over the place. It can be frustrating, but if you are consistant so will your weight loss, over the long haul.
That is great that you are taking measurements. I rely on my measurements to get me through those weeks where I think I'm not losing.

Good luck on your journey!

Hi Helena and Welcome ! Sounds like your doing a gr8 job. I really wouldn't worry to much since you are in ketosis, but I don't recall you mentioning exercising any. Thats really important and so is drinking LOTS of water. Make sure your doing both if you aren't. Just remember some lose faster than others don't give up sweetie it will come off.

~ Amy

Motto To Live By ~ Nothing Taste As Good As Skinny Feels

Mini Goal ~ To reach 250lbs. by my birthday 5/30

Thanks snburch. I am determined to lose the weight so, I am in this for the long haul. Btw,your dog Ollie, is very cute! I love animals...I have a 14 year old cat that is my baby.

Hi My2Angels,

Thanks for your reply. I have been drinking the 64 oz which I find very difficult because of the job that I have. My job doesn't allow me to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes. Also, I do walk in the park with my husband 3 nights a week. We do 3 laps which is just under 3 miles. My husband is one of those lucky human beings who literally eats twice what I eat and is still skinny without exercise or anything. I ask my doctor all the time if he could suck out some of my husband's metabolism and inject it into mine....he just laughs and says if he could do that he wouldn't be my doctor because he would be rich. Anyway, I am intent on sticking with this Woe so, we'll see what happens.

Hi Bevbme,

Can we have cider and balsamic vinegar? I thought it had carbs in it. The white vinegar that I have been putting on my salads is absolutely horrid though! I've been putting a little oregano, basil, and pepper on the salad to make it taste a little better.

Have you found fitday.com ? Its a nutrition site to help you track the content of your meals-It tracks calories/carbs/proteins and lets you know where calories are coming from.
Fat is fuel on this plan and should be biggest % of your calories. Add some more veggies to make up your carb allowance-and buy some decent vinegar! Cider vinegar is ok and even balsamic in small portions.

I just wanted to say hello & welcome you... I just started as well. I found a dressing (in the dressing aisle) called carb advantage.. with 0 carbs. (even if you check for hiddens!) It tastes wonderful if you wanted to try to find that.
I have to remind myself to stop stepping on the scale every day, and just looking for the overall progress: inches (or cm at this point! GRIN) lost, energy gained, appetite decreased... I am finding it easier to walk now, with more energy than I have had in months, which is my personal encouragement to continue this.
The numbers I bet catch up!
You are doing great!

Welcome Helena! You have done well so far and with your attitude, will continue to lose. Enjoy this WOE, it really is the best!!

As for dressing, we have some called Renee's -- they are in the refrigerated section. They are pure decadence and if you read the ingredients, they often end up at 0 or very few carbs. I especially like their Caesar, Cucumber and dill, and Extreme Cheese dressings. Hope you can find something like this in Tampa Bay!

Louise

Thank you for the dressing suggestions. I am going to go to the grocery store tonight so, I will see what's available. I'll let you guys know if I like the taste or not. I wish I wasn't so picky when it comes to food. Oh yeah, and I put my info into fitday.com and everything works out pretty well. Except, when I tried to put in cocktail sauce for my shrimp it entered it as 1 cup instead of 1 tbsp and I couldn't get it to save the info. correctly??? Can anyone shed some light on this?

Welcome to the TDC! You are off to a great start!

It is normal to have the loss slow down, so I wouldn't worry about trying the fat fast just yet. Give your body a chance to adjust to this new way of eating for awhile first. I would also agree with the other posters about using fitday. It's a great way to track whether you are getting the right amounts of food, nutrients, calories, etc. If you haven't been tracking, then that is the first step to do.

If you have just started exercising, it can take some time for your losses to start showing. It may take up to 6 weeks or so. I just bought a body fat analyzer and I'm finding it a great way to determine if you are losing fat on the inside, but not seeing the scale drop. With the amount of walking you are doing, you may be building up some great muscles in your legs, especially if you were inactive before.

I use Ken's salad dressings. They have 1 carb, but they are very good.

Good luck!

Welcome! As you see, you have found one of the most supportive forums around. Glad to hear of your weight loss in the beginning. Also consider that your body may be building up for a "whoosh" where you suddenly lose several pounds all at once.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Birdgirl

Welcome!

Isn't is sooooo frustrating when you are doing everything right and nothing is happening! Since starting in January I have gone weeks without a loss and then al of the sudden a 5 pound loss! Then two days later, a gain for no reason. I guess the hardest part is to stay of the scale and trust what you are doing. The scale will catch up to you. I've lost 20 pounds sinces January and while I am jealous of those who are losing faster, I think about how much better off I am now and even if its a slow loss, it sure beats gainning!

Good Luck
Christy

Welcome! Balsamic vinegar is a no-no during Induction. We're glad you are here!

Welcome Helena and way to go on the 8 pounds lost. Just think, even if you only lost 2 pounds a week, you would lose 104 pounds in a year. My weight loss comes in spurts, I may lose one pound this week and 6 pounds next week. Your body has its own agenda, it will get the point sooner or later and the pounds will start dropping.