Hi, Everyone.

My name is Carla and I am single, 35, and live alone with my three cats.

I stumbled upon this site three days ago while looking for some low-carb recipes. The next day I joined and began my journal(though if you aren't drinking caffeine I don't suggest going there-I'm rather long-winded and boring~lol).

I am just beginning my low-carb journey after being in denial about my insulin resistance and pcos for the past six months or so. I have the Insulin Resistance Diet book but I cannot have as many carbohydrates as the doctors who wrote it suggest without staying hungry and craving sweets and starches.

It will take me a couple of months of saving up to afford another book and I am trying to decide which of the "programs" that are mentioned on this site I am going to stick with but I've already started getting much lower in carbs. I've cut out all refined carbs except for Pepsi(but I've not had one today-yay).
Based on some of the journals and forums I've been reading through I have a few questions and hope y'all have some answers

1. I've read that we need to keep our calories up to at least 10X our weight. I have no idea how I could do this. Yesterday I had a little less than 1700 and by the time I eat dinner tonight I will have about 1900. My ratios for today after dinner will be around 64%f/5%c/31%p.

I have a lot of health and physical issues, one of which leaves me pretty sedentary. I do a little bit of exercising while sitting(i.e. heel raises for my calves and such) but I walk very little on the average day because of intense pain.

Sooo ... .my question is, do I really need to eat 3800 calories right now?

2. Does anyone have any ideas for exercises I can do while seated that would not aggravate my mid and low back?

3. Does anyone have any recipes that they cook regularly that are very easy to prepare and perhaps microwavable? It is very difficult for me to stand at the counter preparing a dish or at the stove stirring it often or at the sink washing lots of dishes.

4. Does anyone have any suggestions about which plan might be best for me at this weight if I can handle only a few carbs without cravings and have insulin resistance?

5. Does anyone have any suggestions at all to make this way of life more affordable? (I live only on my disability, though hoping that will change once I get some of this weight off-hoping my back pain will ease then)In other words .. smile .. say you were just beginning this program, you are very overweight, rather poor(about 100 dollars a month to spend on food), and not very ambulatory .. what would you have wanted to know in the beginning that would have helped you get the best possible start please?

Thanks so much for this forum. I have learned so much just over the last three days and am feeling very motivated by what I've read and the interaction in the journals that I've seen.

This has been a real blessing from God to me. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Carla/odyssey

Hello there and welcome

You found the most wonderful site for information and support.

I believe the formula for eating 10 X your weight is based on your goal weight. If you are happy with 1700 Cal don't force yourself to eat more. The key is to eat until satisfied and not to go hungry.

I started with Atkins and the food pretty much kept cravings down. You can get a lot of information on line under www.atkins.com. If you have problems walking..how about swimming? It should be something you have fun doing in order to keep it up.

Start your own journal..there you can meet a lot of people, share your dailies and I often whine in mine

If you have more questions come visit me.

Take care and good luck

Hi there and welcome....
You do have lots of questions...I agree with Mischa...Atkins apparently works very well for insulin resistance...
As for the calories...just eat until satisfied...no need to stuff yourself trying to get you calories up to where you thinkthey should be...I tried to increase my calories, and gained a bit...so have cut them back again...whatever works for you
I am a strong believer in Atkins...did it years ago and lost a great amount of weight...but as with all of us, strayed from the path and here I am again.
There are many, many recipes here...the mock mashed potatoes, yummm. Pizza quiche...again...yum...
I don't know what the price of groceries is in your area...I live in Canada...but Atkins relies on meat, eggs, cheese, fish...salads and low carb veggies...
I have trouble digesting meat, so have to force myself to eat it, but live on many of the other recipes.
Hope you find what you need...and feel free to visit my journal...
Take care

Hi, Carla, welcome to the Forum! A few suggestions for you for quick & easy meals (my specialty hehe): The recipes are on the Forum, or if you can't find them, you can PM me your email address and I will send em:

All-Meat Chili (makes a BIG pot, perfect for freezing in portions)
Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (at least 4 servings)
Deep Dish Pizza Quiche (limited only by your imagination)
Pork Chops in Sour Cream (in my journal just a day or so ago)
Fried Cabbage & Peppers
Sausage-Egg Muffins
Balsamic Chicken
Eggplant or Zucchini Lasagna (any number of recipes here on the Forum)
Zucchini Nut Muffins (lkonzelman's journal)

That should be a good start for you.. and, having tried them all myself, I can vouch for em! Good luck!

Thank you, Mischa, DarB, and Jean, for the lovely welcome.

Mischa, I've looked at Atkins. My only major concern about it is the fact that I truly only like about five of the vegetables on induction and fear I would burn out very fast on them all the time since I have so much to lose. At the beginning of next month I am going to get a couple of cans of high fiber beans and see if eating them ups my cravings. If not then I will be a lot better off-more fiber and more variety in my foods.

I don't know how to swim(smiles). I've been told all my life that fat floats but it never did for me. Plus I have issues with my feet and legs after a very intense round of lymph edema and I am ashamed for anyone to see them. Maybe by the end of the year I will feel well enough that I will be able to start walking a little bit. I live just off the high way but can walk around the apartment building then hopefully.

I started my own journal three days ago but as you've already seen I am long-winded and don't expect too many people to pour over it. Will put them right to sleep lol

Hi, DarB. I was reading a journal last night and you were being a new person's mother hen .. smiles .. I saw you saying many of the things I was thinking as I read over the menus the person had (haha).

You wrote here that you strayed from Atkins and are now back. May I ask you please(if you don't mind answering) what you think the biggest factor was that lead you to stray? Was it the food or was it stress or something else?

Hello, Jean. Thank you for the meal suggestions. I have a small freezer so cannot really freeze anything ahead but will try reducing the recipes to a couple of servings next month when I am able to buy the ingredients.
I actually got pretty much everything I would need for the deep dish pizza quiche yesterday but I've run into two snags. One is that I am not sure I could limit myself to just a couple of slices a day right now so I'm going to hold off on it a bit. The second is the fact that I had forgotten I had baked nothing since I moved here and I have no oven pans(lol) so couldn't have made it yesterday anyway. Most of my possessions were destroyed in 1999 and I've only gotten absolute essentials since then so .. no pans .. I'll have to see if my mother has one I can borrow.

Thanks again, everyone for welcoming me.

Sincerely,
Carla