Hello, I'm new to this board, but I have done Atkins before with some real success - its when I revert back to my old WOE that I'm in trouble. So, same old story of "gaining more back than you lost" happened to me - more than once. But, hey, maybe I've learned my lesson - I'm doing something different by coming here and reaching out to you wonderful people.

I do have one concern about LC-ing. When I followed this WOE before, it was more expensive than my "normal" (tho drastically unhealthy) WOE. Since I am a new single mom, I am really trying to stretch my food dollar. Can any of you give me some advice for some fairly inexpensive foods for lunch (to take to work) and dinners? (tunas good but not every day!)

And secondly, I have a pretty terrible addiction to caffeine. When I stop drinking coffee I get migranes and feel like I have a terrible flu or something. My goal is to get the monkey off my back, but I can't do it cold turkey without missing work (it makes me that sick for several days). I have already started to mix my coffee with half decaf in an effort to wean myself. My question is, how much difference do you think it will make on my weight loss (what was your experience?) if I slowly get off caffeine. Currently, I drink 2 cups of 1/2 regular/ 1/2 decaf with a packet of sweet n low every morning. I will go down to only one cup as soon as the mild headaches I am having go away.

Thank you for reading and hopefully responding! I am looking forward to spending some time here with you folks and am happy to be of support any way I can.

Holly

Welcome,

Caffine affects everyone differently. I can probably stand to drink it in moderation. Others, have to stay clear away from it. I do think you are on the right path with the half-caf idea.

as far as food menus...I'm a terrible cook. Not the one to ask on that one. But I always try to save a buck so I shop at discount stores and always buy on sale.

Someone else on the forum mentioned this site, you should visit.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze4n46b/...pesdesserts.htm

Happy Mother's day.

Welcome Holly!

As far as the grocery bill, oddly, the hubby and I find we spend so much less because we do not go out to eat a lot anymore. Besides that though, some things we have done include: getting a Sam's Club membership - they have great deal on meats and veggies, and we have begun buying these frozen sirloin burgers and chicken tenderloins, as well as frozen veggies for quick meals. We also have a local butcher who gives great deals on his meats and you can get some wonderfully fresh and non-chemical cuts. I was also watching our local news the other night and they did a whole segment on saving $ when doing LC and their biggest suggestions were: buy chicken mostly, and buy frozen when you can. Just some thoughts for you.

As far as the caffeine, my hubby had the same issue although perhaps not as severe. He quit the habit over 2 days where he knew he could stay in and dealt with the headaches as best he could. We are both caffeine free now, and liking it! If you need to do it more slowly, I think as long as you are moving in a positive direction, it is a good thing. Best of luck with it! Keep us updated on how you are doing!

~ Lori

Welcome to the forum Holly

My favorite easy-on-the-pocketbook food is eggs! I like them and eat dozens a week. I only eat the whites, since the yolks don't agree with me, but I fix them all the time, adding some sauted veggie or a little meat - yum! I also eat them hardboiled for a snack.

I still drink regular coffee, so no help from me there. I tried to give it up many times and I get headaches and always felt like I was in a fog.

Great to have you here!
Mary

Welcome to the TDC and Happy Mother's Day!

Coffee affects everyone differently. It is my one remaining vice and I refuse to give it up! I drink several cups of coffee a day. I'm sure it's not particularly good for me, but I seem to lose weight anyway.

As far as eating less expensively, I find it a lot easier to find protein sources inexpensively (meat and chicken go on sale and can be frozen; eggs are cheap) than to find decent quality vegetables inexpensively. Fortunately, we are headed into summer when the price of produce goes down. Since you are in Seattle, you might have more luck with this than I do. When I lived on the west coast, it was easier to get good produce.

I'm pretty boring with regard to lunches. I tend to eat salads with some sort of protein on top (chicken, eggs, cheese, tuna, whatever is handy). I always pack the dressing in a separate container and add it right before I eat the salad; otherwise it gets soggy. I make my own salad dressings with olive oil and red wine vinegar plus spaces and a little grated parmesan cheese. I think that probably saves some money over buying bottled dressings. I make a big bottle up at once and store it in the refrigerator. However, the olive oil gets hard when it gets cold, so you have to take it out a little before you eat it or run the jar under warm water to melt the olive oil.

I do save a lot of money that I used to spend on snacks, because I don't eat as many snacks!

One way to think about this is that as a single mom, you can't afford to get sick and be out of commission. Spending money on good, lowcarb foods is an investment in your health, particularly in the long run. It's going to cost a lot more if you develop diabetes, high blood pressure, and other weight related diseases.

my grocery bill has come down too. i stick to the outsides of the store like they say- buy veggies that are in season- and meats and poultries and seafood that are on sale. we eat alot of eggs too- just the whites. its the processed specialty diet foods that will cost you. stick to the natural, fresh stuff and buy smart.

i dont know a whole lot about coffees, but from what i read- its not really the coffee thats the problem, its the milk or cream and sugar that goes with it. even the sweet n low aint that great- maybe u could try splenda? my other half has the same problem with the headaches when he doesnt drink coke- im assuming due to lack of caffeine... i challenged him to quit for a week- and he did- the headaches were gone in 3 days.

Hi Holly,

I am having the same concern as you about the price of LC food. I stay away from the specialty products, and only eat fresh vegetables, a little canned or frozen vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and cheese. For snacks I eat some pork rinds and sunflower seeds. We eat losts of chicken. Around here, you can get 10 lbs. of chicken thighs and drumsticks for $3.90 most of the time. We also eat lots of eggs because they are cheap. The fish we eat is Whiting we found at Wal Mart. It is in the frozen fish section and is, I think, 7.99 for a 5 lb box. If you could find that, it would last you a long time. I think cheese and the fresh vegetables are our biggest expenses. We try to buy the produce when it is on sale if at all possible. Wish I had a place for a garden, but our back yard is way too shady. That would be a big help. Do you have a place you could grow a few vegetables? Even a couple of things in a flower bed would be a help.

About the coffee, you are doing exactly what my son is doing (he is also LCing), making it half and half. He has been losing weight fine while drinking it this way. As for me, I have avoided caffiene, but didn't drink that much anyway. My daughter is also LCing, and drinks an occasional regular Diet Pepsi and is also doing fine. I think it just depends on the person. I know that caffiene does affect your blood sugar, so that is why I aviod it.

Anyway, I am glad to meet you, and I hope you have great success losing the weight you need to lose. I look forward to celebrating your victories with you.
Martha

In terms of the financial aspect. My monthly food bill has gone way down. I now eat out about once every six weeks. I never buy specialty coffee anymore. And I don't drink alchool much at all. I find shopping for cheese and produce at my neighbourhood grocer is a lot cheaper than at the big chain stores. I also buy meat in large quantities when it goes on sale and freeze it, since that is my biggest expense. I under stand the difficulties of giving up coffee and cafene. I am a University student who gets an average of 4 hours sleep a night. But if your reaction to not having it that strong, (like mine was) then it is probably in your best interest to quit. I know that personally even decaf makes me stall. I would suggest switching to decaf and quiting cold turkey. Just like carbs, you need to detox of caffiene, and it is not going to be fun. But, what is more important to you coffee or, being fit and healthy?

Thank you all for your kind words of advice and encouragement. I am feeling like maybe I can actually DO THIS!
I am really blown away that I stumbled upon this forum of people all working toward the same goal! I have seen other boards like this one, but there were not as many folks and seemed like they might be less open to newcomers.
I am going to reread the relevant parts of my Atkins book, and get started as soon as I get paid and can grocery shop. Its such a bummer to be so broke! I've been making so much rice and pasta its coming out my ears. No WONDER I feel so fat, bloated and sick! In the meantime, I am not going to waste my time. I am going to continue to decrease my caffeine, continue to walk (my first time walking for the sake of exercise in aaaaages was just yesterday!), and stay here, reading all of your inspirational posts.
Folks, seriously, I feel better already. I had really begun to fear that I could not control this beast inside me and that I would never be healthy again.
Thank you all -
and happy mothers day!
Holly

I can't really say anything that hasn't been said already. Tuna, eggs, chicken. Salad greens with the protein on top is usually lunch.

One of my favorite things to eat is broccoli and chicken with cheese on top. Chicken, peppers, a little onion, a dab of salsa, a dab of sour cream, and cheese.

I just want to second something that was said earlier. You should really get a Sam's club membership. They have excellent prices and the things you get there will last for quite some time. Also, whenever something freezable/storeable goes on sale, I buy in bulk (which may explain why I found 8 bottles of Ranch dressing when I was cleaning the kitchen cabinets!).

I tend to eat a big salad everyday - either for lunch or dinner. I buy Romaine hearts from Sam's and cut them up. It's enough to fill a 2-gallon zip-loc bag. To keep myself from getting bored on the salads, I vary what protein I top them with - steak, chicken, turkey, tuna, etc.

One last thing, if you don't have a Food Saver, zip-loc bags can become your friend. When I have the time to cook, I cook in big batches and freeze everything in individual servings. When it's time to eat, all I have to do is pop something in the microwave. Also, this cuts down on wasting food, thus reducing the number of trips to the store.

Hi JustMoony, I'm in Seattle too! Anyway, it's really hard in this area to NOT drink coffee, it's like sacreligious or something!

I cut back on my lots-o-coffee habit, my first grande coffee is regular, anything after that is decaf. I'd definitley get rid of the blue/pink sugar packets, try spenda instead, its great and doesn't affect blood sugar.

Best of luck!

LL

Welcome, JustMoony. I'm from the Redmond area. Our food bill dropped after the first week or so. No more restraunts, fast food etc.

We buy from the sale ads: whole chicken $.59/ lb (drop it in the crock pot), roasts for $1.99, cut it up & freeze the extra (it also goes in the crock pot). Eggs at Costco also their frozen chicken breasts are a good deal. DH uses a lot of tuna & mayo.

Check out Costco & Cash and Carry. We get a lot of our veggies at Albertsons on their 10 for $10 sales.

Good luck

I totally understand the budget thing. I recently went off atkins for a month (because of high grocery bills) and gained 19 pounds (yes in ONE month!!!) So I"m back on and went shopping and cut my monthly grocery bill by 25 a month from what it was when buying pastas and rice!!!

EGGS, Tuna, CHICKEN (legs are VERY CHEAP), and buying in bulk (i shop at costco) really help.

One thing I like to do for lunch on the go is egg salad , but since the same thing all the time gets boring I make different kinds. Like ranch egg salad or ceasar egg salad things like that to mix it up a bit. And I do chicken legs a lot, cook them the night before (again vary the flavors) and heat them up for lunch.

I think that the high grocery bills come in when you're trying to LC and the rest of the family is not. Some things are ok like the meats and vegetables, but my husband and son still want the potatoes, pasta, fruits, cereals and "goodies" for their lunches at work. If it I didn't have to buy their extra foods in addition to mine, LCing groceries wouldn't cost that much at all. I don't complain much, at least my family eats what ever meat dish and veggie I have planned for LCing and even gobble up the occational LC dessert whenever I make that, but my friends family won't touch a thing at dinner if they think it's LC...hubby included, so she has to cook 2 seperate meals...I don't envy her grocery bill!