Hi, My name is Joan and I just found this site today when I was surfing for information on this new diet. I'm so glad to be here.

DH and I bought two books. Atkins for Life and The South Beach Diet. In reading the two books, it appears that they are very similar. DH is going to start Atkins tomorrow and I started today with just counting my carb intake and learning what I can and can't have. Everything went okay today, but I'm feeling hungry tonight and don't know what to eat. We need to go to the grocery store and get some things tomorrow. I also need to concentrate on learning what I can and can't have.

I'm looking forward to being a member here and I've learned so much from the posts I've already read. There's so much valuable information and help here that I may be up all night reading.

I'm also going back to aerobics class on Monday. I went last winter, but quit this summer when it got hot. I'm an avid gardener and thought I was getting a good amount of excersize that way anyhow. I may have been wrong though, because I haven't lost an ounce all summer.

Last winter I lost 25 pounds but all I was doing was keeping tract of my calorie intake, and then I hit a plateau that I could do nothing about. I'm hoping that this diet will get me started on the losing cycle again.

Joan

Hi, Joan! And welcome! I'm not familiar with South Beach so am not sure what to tell you about the hungry thing! I know on Atkins, when you get hungry, you eat, plain and simple. And I LOVE that! Within a few days, though, you don't get hungry nearly so often, and it may work the same with South Beach.

Take this from one gardener to another: Gardening is work! Especially if you are stubborn like I am and do everything with one little tiller, shovels, rakes and hoes. But still, usually when I garden, the only thing I'd notice different about my body was the fact I'd get more muscle tone. My weight never changed much. Hopefully next year will be a whole new game!

You may want to start you an account at http://www.fitday.com There you can track your food, exercise, etc. The activities area includes things like gardening, and you can play around with it and see just how much impact various activities have on you.

Best of luck to both you and the hubby!

Thanks Lila! I'm munching on fresh broccoli now, so that's taking care of the hunger so I can sleep without them tonight.

Yep, gardening is major work! But, somehow it doesn't seem like it is, because I enjoy every minute of it. Unlike aerobics or excersizing. I suffer through that.

Thanks for the link. I'm going to go check it out.

How does everyone figure out their body fat percentage? I have a scale that figures it along with my weight, but I'm hoping the scale doesn't know how to do it right. 41% fat is almost half my body!

I've been reading here for hours and I'm going to have to force myself to go to bed. So much to learn.

Thanks for the great site.

So glad you found something you could munch on! I just got a hungry bug, so had some blackberries and cream. Geez, I love Atkins!

There are at least a couple of bodyfat calculators out there. I think you need one that actually uses measurements in addition to your height to get it reasonably accurate. Some of them only go by height and weight. One of the good ones is at http://www.zoneperfect.com/Site/con...lator_Women.asp I could be wrong, but 41% seems a bit high at your height and weight. I have a daughter, same height as you, and at 5 pounds less, her body fat was about 34%.

I don't enjoy exercise, either. I'd much rather work in the garden! It always seems enjoyable, even when the sweat's running and I'm a pantin', LOL. I am thinking about getting some Richard Simmons videos, though. When I had a TV, I had one of the tapes and I really liked it, because he's just plain fun. Now they're on DVD so I could actually watch them!

Lila, that Fitday site is awesome! I played on there half the night and learned a lot. I can't wait to get back there today and get everything set up. What a helpful tool that site is.

Gotta go check out your link for the body fat calculator too. I can't imagine that my body fat is that high, but maybe it is.

Thanks, and have a great day!

Today DH and I both started off right. We made an omlet and split it. We are both stuffed and only 2 carbs each! I think we are going to like this diet.

Hi, Joan!
Welcome to Atkins, and to this great forum.
I don't know anything about South Beach either, but I'm sure you will find people on here who do.
I think you had probably best decide which one to follow, at least for the first 2 weeks, and then you can change, or adapt, once you get going.
The books tell you the rules, but this is where you will find the ideas and the motivation.
All the best!
med

Hi med!

It's so nice to meet you! I love this site already. Between here and the Fitday one, I was up half the night and back at it again today. So much helpful info. You are right, you can read the book to get the details and rules, but it's interacting with real people and reading real life experiences that keep you going. I'm looking forward to it.

I am going to go with the Atkins diet, as that is the one DH chose to do and it will just be easier if we both do the same. Since he has more weight to lose than I do, I think it's only fair that he choose the one we do.

Hello again, Joan!
Isn't it a great site! So's fitday, but so far I eat similar things every day, so I haven't bothered keeping it up. I did it for 2 days, and found my fat isn't high enough, so now I try to remember to put butter on my veg! I'll definitely use it again, when I get going again.

See my sad story? 9 weeks of success and then 2 weeks' holiday nearly put it all back. There's a lesson to be learned there - but it was worth it!

It was my DH who made the decision to do Atkins, as well. He has less to lose than me, and lost more than me in the first attempt. Not fair! (Men do.)

Bye now.

med

Oh med! I see that you did put lots back on during your vacation. I hope that doesn't mean that the weight we lose on Atkins will come back so easy.

I'm only two days into this, eating more than I did before and I'm hungry. DH isn't hungry though and is eating less than me. I think it's all in what we were eating before.

DH says I'm hungry because I'm reading up on all this so I'm thinking about food all day. I told him he's lucky I'm doing the research and telling him what to do.

We ran into a problem tonight when we were trying to figure out what to take to work tomorrow for lunch. We finally settled on a salad with shrimp and boiled eggs, and we cooked some hamburger patties to warm in the microwave. We were going to settle for the salad, but I have aerobics after work and I'm afraid that the salad at noon wouldn't have gotten me through the workout.

Finally got to the link that figures out the Body Fat, and it's calculation is a little better than my scale's calculation. Not much better, but then I don't think I will find a calculator that will tell me my BF is 20% for quite some time.

Hi, Joan!
Look at me! I lost 9 of the 11 lbs!

So the answer to your question is a no, it doesn't really go back so easily. Most of it must have been fluid.
The second week of our holiday was all-inclusive and we got completely out of ketosis, if we weren't already after the first day! French toast with maple syrup for breakfast every day, , buffet desserts, and at least 2 cocktails a day, plus wine. It had to be done!

I'm sorry you are feeling hungry. Are you having your full daily allowances? 230g salad, and 200g veg? I have to admit I sometimes get hungry about an hour before lunchtime, when I start smelling everyone else's lunch, but I just have more water to keep me going!

I am still taking cold food to work for lunch, (meat or fish with salad, plus cheese and tomatoes), but if you have a micro, there's nothing to stop you having a bowl of LC soup or even reheated leftovers from the night before, or from the freezer, if you feel the need of something that feels like a proper meal?

I had a look at the body fat link but it asked for measuremnets, and I haven't taken mine for a month, so maybe I'll do it next time I remember to measure.
Right now I'm more interested in getting into some of those clothes that seem to have shrunk!

Bye, but my last word for now is if you're hungry, eat!

med

Congratulations med! I'm so happy that you have lost those pounds so quickly. It must have been water. I hope you continue to lose now.

I'm doing better today with the hunger, but I also feel a little sick to my stomach. It's getting better as the day goes on.

I'm making my grocery shopping list. I'm going to the store tonight so we have more choices to pick from. That will help too.

So, I'm feeling better about this today. The first few days were tough, but I think it's getting better already. DH doesn't seem to be having any problems with it at all, so that's good.

Hugs,
Joan

Good morning, Joan.
I hope you feel good soon. There's a poll here somewhere about how long induction side-effects last, and I think most people found they went on the 4th to 5th day, but some take longer. They reckon it depends on how much carb you were eating before.

I always have done weekly menus and shopping lists, but they are even more imortant when you are trying to stick to a strict regime. The shopping trolley is a whole lot emptier on Atkins, and cheaper too, because we are not buying biscuits, wine or coffee.
Tell me what you are having for breakfasts? Mine are a bit boring.

MY DH didn't have any trouble with induction first time around, but this time he has headaches. I had headaches last time and this time, till about the 5th day, but I feel good now.

Keep it up! It works!
med

Breakfasts have been hard around here. We both work and we've been used to grabbing fruit or a muffin to eat on the way to work. Now we can't do that. The We've only had to work one day since we started, and that day we ate boiled eggs. Not too good. On the mornings we've been home we've made omlets. Breakfast is going to be a problem for awhile.

I'm doing much better today. In fact I feel pretty darned good. DH, on the other hand, is starting to get headaches. I hope they don't get so bad that he quits, but he seems pretty excited about this.

We weighed this morning and I'm down 6 pounds and DH is down 12. We were pretty happy about that.

I hope you are having a good day. We are going to grill steak for supper, so I'm looking forward to that.

Hi, Joan.
Well done both of you on the weight loss. I don't think your DH is going to be discouraged by the headaches if he lost 12lbs!
I only lost 4lbs in my first week, and 1lb in my second. It's a wonder I persevered!
DH lost far more than me and had people noticing after only a couple of weeks. Not fair. I'll let you know when anyone notices I've lost!

Breakfasts are the most boring thing - at least in these early stages.
I like reading journals of people who have posted their daily menus, to get ideas. Of course some look interesting, and then you notice they are on a different diet, so you have to watch that!

I had to go into hospital yesterday, overnight, and it mucked up my eating plan a bit, so I'm hoping this morning's breakfast sausage didn't put me out of ketosis!

Hope you enjoyed your steak. Bet you did!
We have duck breasts for tonight. Yum.

Bye
med