I am a new member today, just came across this site by accident. I started Atkins on 08/02/04 and lost 15 pounds right away!! If that wasn't encouraging I don't know what is LOL I just want to say hi to everyone!

HI. You're definately off to a great start!!! Good Luck!

Wow, 15 lbs already, what were your eating habits like prior to starting Atkins? Did you consume alot of sugar and simple carbs, including pasta and white breads? I started this on Aug 2nd as well and have lost 2 lbs. But maybe that is because my goal is only 10 lbs. Keep up your will and confidence!

My eating habits before consisted of Mt Dew Code Red and Candy bars to get me through working night and day. I am a transcriptionist and the work was not coming in as a regular job would so when it did come in I would pound Mt Dew to keep me awake and the candy was my dinner!! Yes I was real bad!! I have since stopped all of it, no caffeine at all, no sugars so it was definitely a change for my system that is for sure. I am at a plateau no and not losing a thing....but I am still testing out what I should take in and what isnt good for me too. Oops! I ate pickles and thought I could have them but found out I couldnt, no loss there !! I wonder what everyone loses and does it just stop like that and/or does it keep coming off on a regular basis? I heard from a friend that she lost 35 pounds but then she stopped the diet and gained it all back. I think excersising is necessary also. Does anyone do this to boost their weight loss??

Dear Compchick,

How's your "Low-carb" way of eating going? I'm hoping that your not getting discouraged. This is something that is really important to stick to for not only the weight loss aspect, but to make you feel better about yourself and to live a much healthier and happier life.
I'm not sure of how your experience is going. I don't see any new entries, but if you feel like you've messed up, or you just can't stick to it, DON'T GIVE UP! Let today be a fresh, new start for you. You will continue to lose, you will feel better and you will eventually reach your goal. You must think of this journey as a long haul. It definetly is not a short term thing. Your friend lost 35 lbs. then stopped and put the weight back on? Well, of course she gained the weight back. As soon as you begin to eat the "OLD" way again, you will gain it all back. You really have to follow the "Lifetime Low Carb Eating Plan". It goes in stages, eventually letting you eat a more normal way and still be able to keep the weight off.
I've had a few tempting moments in the past 11 days, but overcame them by asking myself a few simple questions....Is this food that I'm craving worth a minute of pleasure right now and the feeling of failure later? Or, can I beat this momentary craving and feel empowered to keep going and watching the weight drop? Is THIS food more important than me being thinner? I feel that if I question myself about the food before I eat it them I am holding myself accountable. I am deciding wether or not I'm going to eat that food or not. I'm THINKING about what I'm eating, unlike before I started "Low-carbing" when I just got hungry and without even thinking popped something into my mouth. I think this is one of the BIGGEST changes in my lifestyle now....actually THINKING about what I eat and feeling IN CONTROL.
Let me know how your doing?
~Byebye30~(now 25)

Hi There,

I just wanted to welcome you to the forum, by the way we just started a challenge, where we post our daily menu's and support and encourage each other,,,,feel free to stop by and check us out...best of luck to you...I hope to see you there... click on the thread ..even if it's just to peek inside




http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=203106

Hi Byebye30,

You caught me LOL yes I am getting very discouraged. I lost the 15 #s then got very excited to see more come off and I have been at a stand-still since then. I was just telling my daughter this morning that I was going to quit this diet since it completely stopped working for me. Then I got your letter...thanks!!

I dont know why I am not losing anything i am doing everything right. I have looked into the South Beach Diet which has more variety but I had acess to the Atkins diet so I started that one instead. South Beach looks better to me though so I am going back and forth with the thoughts on it right now. Just discouraged thats all. My daughter is doing this with me and she is not losing either...she lost 10#s then nothing since. I wonder what I could do to jump start the lose so I would feel better about continuing on with it?? I wonder if anyone has any suggestions to this one....I am really ready to just give it up, struggling with it right now alot. I want to see weight loss LOL

Thanks for checking in with me...I havent been on the site for a couple days now and that was a good thing, it brought me back LOL Thanks!

CompChick

Gosh, I can't believe I just lost a whole letter that I wrote to you. I thought I was signed in, but I wasn't! That really stinks!
Anyway, you shouldn't be discouraged. You've lost more than I have and we started about the same time. Just think of how your going to feel if you don't stick to this compared to how you will feel if you do and lose the weight that you want to lose . Think about next summer and being able to wear shorts and a bathing suit without feeling self concious. It's really worth it!
I have heard that the South Beach is more liberal than the Atkins. I'm doing the SB, so I'm more familiar with it. It's definetly liveable. I could eat this way for the rest of my life and I think that's the most important thing. You have to be able to do this for the long haul. You can work the foods back in that you really enjoy, eventually.
Here are a few ideas/helpful hints:
*remember that during your pms week you could be retaining water, so don't be discouraged by no weight loss or a couple lbs weight gain.
*too much salt also will make you retain water.
*make sure your drinking enough water.
*stalls are NORMAL! Don't sweat it if your doing everything right.
*try www.fitday.com. I just started recording my daily food intake and realized that I was getting a few too many carbs during my induction period, so I changed my carb intake yesterday and lost 2 and a half lbs by this morning. It keeps you in check and lets you see a visual of what your eating.
*stay in touch with this forum. Support is very important in the beginning.
*this way of eating DOES work! There are thousands of people out there who have lost alot of weight doing this.
KEEP IT UP! YOU CAN DO IT!
TALK TO YOU SOON....
~Byebye30~(NOW 22.5)

Compchick,
Welcome! Your off to a great start! Stick with it . It's perfectly normal to stall after a while~ Try meauring your body weekly. I had a size change without losing a pound.
Best of luck!
Dezis chalenge is great! Join in!

Thanks for all the encouragment you guys!! I will definitely try your suggestions. I do drink 12 glasses of water a day!! But I am thinking I should record my daily intake, that would probably help me alot! I will check out that site today.

Funny thing, I stuck with the diet and this morning was down another pound so I will keep with it....although I feel I should have measured myself in the beginning, which I didnt do!! My daughter and I were talking last night and she turned to me and said, OMG Mom your arms look so tiny. We started comparing arms and I realized that yes they had lost a lot of fat on them. Go figure my arms would be losing first LOL But nevertheless, that did make me happy.

As far as losing inches goes and not pounds...I didnt think that was possible but I am starting to see some changes all over my body without a loss in a while...I kept telling myself it must be my imagination cuase that just doesnt happen, but you say it does and that amazed me that it was just at the same time I was thinking it LOL How is that possible? LOL

I will definitely try to keep going, does anyone do a certain excercise routine that works good for them? I started out with Tae Bo's eight minute workout LOL and did that for a couple days but when I didnt see a change I quit. I love Pilates and was thinking about buying the CDs for that program. I would love to get more into weight training, if I had the money to do so. I used to train all the time when I was younger. I only have small hand weights now though...I am wondering if that would be a good choice with this diet or not. Thank you both for your uplifting words!!! I really need to stay more active with everyone to stay positive here.

Have a great day!

welcome and good luck with low carbing you are going to do great.

The one thing i always tell newbies is to get a journal (top of page for introduce yourself on a sticky ) people can look at your journal and give you feedback and you meet loads of people that way to.in my experiance i have learned so much and it helps so much.feel free to stop by my journal anytime .

hang in there , i hope the low carbing helps you .people are very supportive and will help you along in this journey .good luck

Hi Paula! I am in Mid-MN where are you from? If you dont mind my asking. I dont see many from these parts usually. Nola

Meira,

Thank you for your help. I have looked at the journal area but have not quite figured it out yet. I will take another look at it today and see what I come up with. Thank you. Still hanging in there.

Nola