Ok here goes... was doing soooooooo good when i started induction last August.. By Christmas i was down 45 pounds... Since then i have been "playing" around.
I don't feel good , tired, blah blah blah.

I just have this... negativity this time like i didn't have before. Maybe cuz i "went off it" so i am thinking it doesn't work.. You know all the past things we tell ourselves from past failures. But i know it does as i did it before.
It was me who said... "lets let things slide during Christmas".. Well this is May and i am still sliding.

My thought right now is... that it is so much easier to grab what i want.. that being.. pizza, hot dogs, pastas etc. . YA,YA,YA,,... i know.. that stuff is what is making me fat. But with 4 ppl to cook for and them not liking "vegetables/salads and protien" it makes it tuff.

I have a young boy (6) who will not eat vegetables unless they are cut up fine in mashed potatoes. He too needs to cut down. But to get him to eat protein and vegetables would be tuff with out his potatoes. He wont eat salads and so lunch time meal for him is a sandwich or bagel etc.
Dont say.. well he will eat what you put in front of him in time. NO HE WONT.. we have done this and when he tries cucumbers, salad, or plain veggies he literally starts to gag and throws up. I am hoping in time he "grows out of this"

My daughter needs to do this too but I am so sick and tired of watching her , eat her "atkins" meal with her nose turned up and to find she is "sneaking foods" at other places etc. I keep telling her if you are not going to do this then say so cuz i am not going to pay the price of veggies and salads and take the time to prepare them etc if you are not doing this behind my back as well ( she is 12)..... I have found her lunches that i make for her in a bag in her locker days later. I think she should be losing when she isn't eating but she obviously is sneaking stuff elsewhere.

So i guess with her going against me and seeing how easier it is to have the things we love I am really feeling that "it isn't going to happen" again.. BUT for myself i need too.

Any suggestions with "kick starting" myself into gear?
Do many of you write out what your going to have for meals so many days in advance?
Other then salads..... vegetables are a tough one other then the standards Broccoli, cauliflower.
Any help with .. side dishes to go with the "protien" at meals would be helpfull.

And of course since i have not been doing great i hear from people, "well just as well cuz the fat and protien from Atkins, you will probably have heart problems down the road"....... So that starts making me wonder.

I will say.. when my daughter and i do induction and did induction we were on it for 4 months straight... and since when we start it back up we start with induction of course and never really go off it as we feel we need the induction faze longer due to the amount of weight to lose. Atkins hotline said we can stay on it for 6 months .
Do you guys recommend not to be on it that long due to , "getting bored" with it?
For me i have so much to lose that i am thinking that is the only way.

Anyway..just being very negative on myself and wondered if any of you could... SMARTEN ME UP

I did the exact same thing! I fell off the wagon in December and it took me until February to get back on the wagon. This forum is a huge help!!!! Take some time and read back through the threads and you will find MANY people who have had similar issues. Also, there is a section for parents whose children are LCing also. This way of life works, I have read too much good info. on this way of eating (WOE for short) and if you look at the research, it just makes sense. Dive into it, and re-immerse yourself in the WHY of this. Why this works, why you lost the weight before, how bad do you want to slim down. And exercise is the best! You are in the right place. There is support here and help at your fingertips. Best of luck with getting back on track!!!!!

Look at the recipies section on here Ive made peanut butter cookies,danishes and many other yummy very low carb
(none expensive)foods.Keeping track of what you eat on fit day helps give u something to do also.

You've got your hands full, but it's do-able....it'll just take some work at the beginning.

There's a recipe on this site for faux mashed potatoes using cauliflower and all the goodies that would go on a baked potato. Try that with your son. The cauliflower gets mashed and then add sour cream, (I add a bit of chive cream cheese) bacon chives, butter, salt, peppar, and a bit of cheddar cheese. You could try to add chopped veggies for him...maybe spinach?

Check out the recipe section for other really good ideas. Quiches with eggs, cheese, veggies, bacon, etc might work too.

I dont plan my meals but I do try to have "quick fixes" in my fridge. Grilled chicken...pre-made omlettes or quiches...ceasar salad (just add the dressing) ...things that I can grab and eat or nuke quickly so that I'm not always having to cook.

If you have things available that are ok to eat...you'll be less likely to grab a no-no item. I'm still basically on induction and truly don't get bored. There are plenty of foods out there that can be spiced up to hold my interest and when I really feel a need for something different than my norm, I run to the recipe section on this site.

With the kids...if you simply HAVE to make a sandwich for lunch or school...try switching to low-carb bread or wraps. Any serious reduction in carbs will help them, and though these products tend to be a bit pricey...if you stay away from them and only use them for your children...it shouldn't be too bad.

One good thing is that, if you follow the plan...you are pretty likely to see a significant loss fairly quickly. I find that when I've had alot to lose (regardless of diet) the weight comes off quickly at first (I think your body tries to help out and get itself to a healthy weight). No gaurentees, but if you're strict with yourself...I'd bet you'll find additional motivation every time you step on your scale (just try not to get obsessed with the floor monster).

Good Luck!! You can do it!

For you child that will only eat veggies in mashed potatos, keep a box of instant mashed potatos handy and make him a single serving. VERY easy.

my 7 yr. old is pretty fussy too, but I make us seperate meals (its just the two of us so its not too hard). I eat my salad with meat and cheese, I give her vegetable soup (or beef vegetable) with crackers and and cheese. In her lunch she gets a ham and cheese sandwich on 60% or 100% whole wheat bread. ..the only white bread my kid gets is hot dog buns at birthday parties. I send applesauce, and baby carrots with ranch dip. My kid eats lunch with kids who take salad to school. when I saw that, it was easier to convince her that she needed to eat the carrots. The only other veggies she eats are the mixed frozen kind. she might get a banana too (better than granola bars).
I figure I will make one change at a time with her lunches for school and one change for her meals at supper and whatever else I can sneak in. I already have her eating 4 oz. of steak -which I wrap in bacon when cooking. She'll eat anything with bacon on it. Last night we had turkey meat wrapped in bacon and broiled in the oven- she had the carrots with ranch and I had big salad.
I still give her granola bars and pop tarts sometimes, because it is easier. But I am upping her protein and cutting back her bad carbs slowly and I hope by September i'll have her taking salads to school.
It's one day at a time.

I have been lucky, my 5 year old loves veggies. She used to take the breading off of the chicken nuggets at Mcd's! But the regular bread thing is catchin up to her now. When I started this WOE it was just natural to change some of the things she ate to. I have spent a lifetime of quick picks type eating. So I to keep things handy that I can just grab and go. I pre cut celery, keep salad handy and cooked meat just heat and eat. I made a big thing of meatballs the other night (big fave of the lil one). I think it is less stressful to keep stuff handy. Try that it will take your mind off of things.

I am so thankful to read this today. I started Atkins in September of 2003 and I did really well lost right there at 50 lbs and then after the holidays(and 16 pounds added on) messed it up and never really got back on it-so my husband, two children and myself are getting healthier. So today I started induction on Atkins but my husband and girls are doing the Low GI so they can have more fruits and vegetables-even though my 6 year old will not eat salads she will eat green beans, peas and corn on the cob and she loves fruits. This time around I am going to keep a journal and I want to drink more water so I thought that I might try to drink 8 oz of water before and after each meal to start. I have a wonderful husband and since we both work we each take a turn fixing a supper/and cleanup so yesterday we designed our meal plans for the week and each night we will know what to fix-we usually eat out on Friday night and Sunday afternoon after church. I wanted to add that I didn't exercise for the first two weeks of induction the first time around but afterwards I started to incorporate riding a stationary bike and eventually got up to 10 miles 3x a week and even bought a 2 person weight machine-but that to went to heck but and this is a big but I have a lot to live for (as like we all do) and I want to make the most of it.
Barbie

quote by Barbie...>>> husband and girls are doing the Low GI so they can have more fruits and vegetables<<<<<

Barbie... what is the Low GI?

I purchased and read a book about carbohydrates and how they rate on a glycemic index and how they break up into the blood stream. Basically you have a stoplight diet plan-the red lights are "no go" foods, the yellow lights you can have occassionally and the green light are the "go foods. The book breaks it down just like that and they have coded pages in the book-we have it copied and on our refrigerator. I do not have the name of it in front of me righ now but I will check back with it-I read threads to PCOS Low carb and found that many are using this and have had success and have followed it for quite awhile. I decided to do Atkins again because I know that it works for me. How have you been doing with Atkins the past couple of days? I hope you and your family will find a happy median. My third day on induction and not so bad, I am starting to get a headache I think it is for lack of caffeine-did that the first time around to-it will pass.

Barbie

Juzame,

I'm not if I can "smarten you up" as you say ,but I wanted you to know you're not alone. I lost about 30 lbs. on low carb last year & gained most of it back in a short time

One of the major reasons why I've struggled is the convenience factor and because my family (DH, 12 yo DD, 9 yo DD & 5 yo DS) doesn't like low carb foods. All I can say is keep trying to stick it out & keep plugging the veggies Yes the kids are still eating junk food and their vegetable favorites are few (12 yo will only eat raw carrots or green peppers, 9 yo only salads & 5 yo only broccoli spears). But a few veggies are better than none & if they eat junk elsewhere at least they're getting a variety of good choices at home. I'm currently working on getting my 12 yo DD to stop sneaking the junk food-- am very concerned she'll turn into a binge eater. But it's a slow process.

Another thing to try for your son is turnips in place of potatoes. I was skeptical when I tried them because we all hated the cauliflower potatoes, but I threw them in the crock pot with a pot roast & the kids ate them up They also liked the spaghetti squash as long as they could have regular spaghtetti sauce on it.

Good luck to you!!

My kids are 1,2 and 3 and none of them like vegtables no matter how hard I try. I just keep putting them on their plate and hoping one day they'll change their mind. But my job is to be a good example to them. Yes I still give them rice and potatos but not a ton of "sugar type" snacks. Basically they don't eat what I eat but I know I need to do this WOE so I make them something different than what I'm eating, plain and simple.

Personally I don't think staying on induction is they way to do this for life. If you truly are in it for the long haul than how long it takes to lose it all shouldn't be your main focus. Changing your life and losing weight slowly are the best ways to keep it off. You will still lose weight in OWL and you will have soooooooo much more variety and won't feel deprived of much of anything.

Best of luck to you!

Jenny

I started LC-ing last July and did very well... then I quit, and all the weight came back. I've been feeling horrible since then. This time around, I am committed! You can be too! Just tell yourself that this is your life from now on. It gets easier after a while.

I don't have kids, so I can't really help you there. Maybe, as someone suggested, you make LC goodies and "trick" them into eating them, not knowing that they are LC. Tricking your kids probably isn't good, but sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures!

Welcome back and best wishes!

Juzame,

The Low GI Diet book that I was talking about is by Rick Gallop and it's title is "The GI Diet-The Easy, Healthy Way to Permanent Weight Loss". Hope is all going well for you and your family.

Barbie

Thanks all for your coments and suggestions...

BARBIE,.... so far since Monday.. RIGHT ON TRACK!.. i have been doing good.
The second day fought wanting sweets but hung out.. and am on my way i think now... I do have to get into the "water" drinking though.
I will look for that book.. ur ideas are great Thank you