"Kristy, 34
Fit and happy!
Goal weight met on March 30th, 2004
123.5 pounds gone/103.25 inches lost in less than a year
Starting size: 26 Size now: 8"

Can you please share what exactly you did?
How long did you stay in induction?
How much did you exercise and what type of exercise did you do?
How much water did you drink?
And finally, What types of food did you eat mostly, and what did you absolutely stay away from?

Thanks so much! I'm in my second week of induction and so far I've lost 7 lbs. You have the type of results that I want! Any info you can offer will be helpful! Thanks again!!!

She is my hero too!
She doesnt post as much lately, but I bet she will still find you, just hang in there.
I miss her and her journal too!

Any way, if you do a seach by user for all her threads you can find her advice to me and many others while your waiting for a reply.

My own advice to you is that this works, yes it does, and you can do this and feel good. And of course my favorite saying that I now know is true, NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS!!!!!!!!!!"

Good Luck!

Thanks and Bump for KristyC!!!

WAit! Melissa, you've lost 59 lbs yourself! I want to know the same things from you!!! PLEASE! :P

romp ba' bomp bump

Hello CarbStarve,

I am replying as you asked, please disregard anything you want to, and remember advise is only worth what you pay for it, ie, nothing!
I will happily tell you my regime to see if you can pick through it and see what you might learn.

Now, I dont know your goals. Are you in a hurry? Because alot of people are happy with 1 lb a week?
But truthfully, I would not be. And I would expect at your starting weight that you should do really well, unless you are taking medications unbeknownst to me. If that is the case you need to refer to Dr. Atkins book concerning different kinds of medicines and what they imply.

Having said all that, I will assume you are just like me, anxious to get this off and have no major health risks.

My plan goes like this.....
When I first started I really believed I would never make it. I thought at the worst I would give it a week, or the 2 week induction and then move on. I did not believe it would help me and even though I read the book, DANDR, I had heard so much negative things that I thought I would be sick etc. But I was going to die anyway, might have been from anything so it might as well be from a fat induced heart attack.

My life was full of excuses why I could not diet, low self-esteem, hiding behind my fat, ugly clothes, fat jokes, depression, and general unhappiness. I was not the typical "jolly" fat person. Oh, to everyone else I was, but deep in side I was miserable. I never went out to social things and really felt a prisioner inside my body. Luckily, I did not have any health problems other than being tired or winded up steps or the occasional back ache. It seemed to me that FAT was the ruler of my life and it was the cause of all my problems.

So, I read the book and decided to do the induction. Just 14 days.
And the first 2 days I had a headache to beat the band. I only felt good after the 4th day. But what was great was the feeling of not being hungry. Wow, I could not believe it possible. The second thing I noticed was that my mood swings, afternoon tiredness, and sugar balance made me stable for the first time in my life!! Oh My Goodness, Praise the Lord this might work!! Because my first week was so successful I did one more and then one more etc.

I did ALOT of research and reading etc trying to try and avoid any stalls and zero loss weeks. I wanted to loose quickly as I have a big reunion coming up at the end of July. So I really have given this WOE my all.

My weekly stats looked like this....
Week 1 = lost 7 lbs
Week 2 = lost 5 lbs
Week 3 = lost 3 lbs
Week 4 = lost 3.25 lbs
Week 5 = lost 2 lbs
Week 6 = lost 2 lbs
Week 7 = lost 1.75 lbs (upped my fat percentages)
Week 8 = lost 2 lbs
Week 9 = lost 4 lbs (began L-Carnitine)
Week 10 = lost 3.5 lbs
Week 11 = lost 1.5 lbs
Week 12 = lost 1.5 lbs
Week 13 = lost 3.5 lbs
Week 14 = lost 2 lbs
Week 15 = lost 3.2 lbs
Week 16 = lost 3.8 lbs (began OoO)
Week 17 = lost 3.5 lbs
Week 18 = lost 0 lbs (This week was my first 0 loss week)
Week 19 = lost .5 lbs
Week 20 = lost 3.5 lbs
Week 21 = lost 3

I was dissapointed in my results on week 18, but seeing that I stopped the OoO this off week, and realizing that the last 3 weeks were really good, I suppose my body must catch up. And the weight moved again the next week. I weigh in is only on Monday so I am smiling again. I am back on the OoO and will not take a break again, the other health benefits are worth it.

When I first started and found this site, I met a very nice lady, KristyC, whose success was remarkable, (she is too by the way) Unfortunately, she doesnt have the time to post as often but she was my mentor so to speak. And I did everything she did. Her main advice was WHOLE FOODS and nothing else. She had alot of energy and bubbled over with enthusiasm in every post. Just the kind of person I am attracted to! Her advice was easy to follow as I am not able to get LC foods here anyway, so the whole food thing was a given. IMHO, this is one of the things I think that alot of people do and wonder why they are not as fast as someone else.

I set up a fit day account (free) and type in RELIGIOUSLY every thing that goes into my mouth. I found that when I did I could immediately see what was missing in my day. Then I knew what I needed more of. I put in my weight and found my BMR and that is the amount of calories that I shoot for. I did raise my fat as well, as I found that i was only at about 60-65% and now I shoot for 75-80%. In order to do this I take one tablespoon of flaxseed oil straight! (holding my nose! )Mostly though I only make an average of 75%.

Here is my fitday, feel free to have a look.
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/Public...Owner=HeMe2Kids

Mostly, my days are the same, by choice. I love omelets and salads and meat. So it isnt really a problem for me. I only find some cravings related to TOM, or just purely wanting something for fun, not because I am hungry and I eat it if I want it. I consider this a WOE and not a diet. I am not one of those die-hard fanatical must be perfect kind of Aktins person. Having said that I have only had something about 3 times and it never put me out of ketosis. This due to the size of it. I ate ONE FORKFUL of cake on my childs birthday, one chocolate carmel during TOM one time, and at easter I had a bite of chocolate rabbit. I did not eat the whole thing, I did not let it go to a binge it was really only a taste. It is still a life and I want to live it.
BUT, thin (ie. losing) only gets better/easier and strenghtens your resolve. I tell you the truth and I had read it before, but now I really believe it, NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS. I think I am actually becoming vain!!

Breakfast is:
1 egg
1oz cheese
2 oz Meat, bacon, sausage, ham, steak, etc
1 oz onion or veg in the omelet

Lunch is:
Meat
Salad with hardboiled egg, bacon, cheese, full fat dressing

Dinner is:
Meat
Veg (usually mashed cauliflower with butter and sour cream)
More salad

Obviously, your calorie allowance will give you way more choice! More meat more eggs, more everything.

My Main rule (and if you dont take anything else from this post take this)

NOT MORE THAN 2 (maybe 3 Oz) of hard cheese
and NO dairy other than cream cheese or heavy cream.
I drink 3 liters of water a day (about 100 oz)

I dont eat yoghurt, or any other LC item, No diet coke, No Coffee
Regardless if it still fits into my 20 carb limit. I mean a slice of bread could still "theoretically" fit into my day and still be under the limit but would switch my metabolism back to glucose burning. I want it to stay with the fat burning.

I do occasionally make my own dessert combination.
I do the cream cheese rolled in SF jello powder,
I do mix cream cheese, heavy cream and strawberries, or rasperries in a blender with some saccharin (like a joghurt)
I do mix cream cheese with Peanut butter and sweetner rolled in cocoa powder, kind of like reeses truffels.
I do eat nuts sometimes, (2 times a month maybe)

My exercise routine is this:
works out to be 4 hours a week, so I will try to up it. I just bought two tapes and I will take the dog out for more walking. But my usual stuff is:
1 hour exercise class, with stretching
1 hour heavy step aerobics
1 hour medium step aerobics
1 hour mixed class = 1/2 hour step and 1/2 hour exersice

Time is my problem with 2 kids!

And lastly, (I know you were hoping this would end soon )
My supplements (taken everyday) that are considered an arsenal of weponry is as follows:
Multi-vitamin
Extra Vitamin C
Extra Magnesuim + B complex
Extra Calcium
Table spoon of Flaxseed oil (toliet and up my fat)
Fiber sachet (mainly psylum husks for the toliet)
Chromium
L-Carnitine
Oil of Oregano
Omega 3 oil capsules (Salmon Fish oils for cholesteral)
And recently added a hair and nail supplement

If you really want my HARD DOWN TO THE GROUND advice for LOSING:
My tips are:
1. Take it seriously! I pretend this is life or death for me and I dont cheat. This is becuase of upcoming party. I will experiment more later.
2. Start a journal and really use the great info on this site and the wonderful insight of the great and friendly people here on the board.
3. Dont use any LC frankenfoods stuff
2. NOTHING that is not on the acceptable foods list.
3. Drink your water, No coffee or at least change it to green tea
4. Be religious in your fit day
5. Up your fats
6. Do your exerise

I hope this helps you. Good Luck.

Wow! Lots of good info girl! Thanks so much! Now, for the questions..

1. Can I get a list of low carb acronyms? Not familiar with Oo0 and WOE.

2. " do occasionally make my own dessert combination.
I do the cream cheese rolled in SF jello powder,
I do mix cream cheese, heavy cream and strawberries, or rasperries in a blender with some saccharin (like a joghurt)
I do mix cream cheese with Peanut butter and sweetner rolled in cocoa powder, kind of like reeses truffels.
I do eat nuts sometimes, (2 times a month maybe) "

Can I get recipes? Those look YUMMY!!!

Everything on your list is what I've been doing. I'm not cheating at all. I'm eating what's on the list. Working out. Drinking Water. Taking Supplements. Staying away from frankenfoods. So it looks like I'm on the right track! Hope I'm as successful as you!!

Also, I'm a little unclear... are you still doing induction? I think I'll be able to do it for much longer than the 2 weeks. I really like being able to lose weight and eat yummy stuff too! I did buy the Ketostix and I'm in full blown ketosis! Dark purple baby! Hehe! Been like this for about 3 days. I can feel and see the fat layer thinning out already and it feels great!

Thanks for the awesome info! Huge help!

One thing I have been doing that you say is a no no is the cheese. I eat about a cup of shredded cheddar (from block) a day. Sometimes maybe even 2 cups. I'll try to keep my cheese down to 3 oz from now on! Thanks!

Hello CarbStarve

The longer you read this site the more you will learn about the particular experiences of all the LC (Low Carbers) doing this plan.

As for the accronyms there is a list on this site and you can find it here.
http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips003.html
I also had to use it when I first started. Soon you will be abrevieating with the best of them!

OoO stands for Oil of Oregano (be sure it is ONLY the Wild Mountian VULGARE species, normal Oregano is NOT the same thing!!) I think that is why some have said it does not work for them, etc. Lots of supplement places offer BOTH kinds and the normal one is cheaper so lots of people go for that one and wonder why it doesnt work. Yes, it is not cheap, but its other properties for health, like treating yeast infections and enhancing mood swings are worth it for me too. I am not going to stop just to see if is really working. Some take it one one week and off the next. I tried that and you can look at week 18 and see why I now no longer stop it. I take if full time.

I haunted this page looking and reading every single subject, especially the tips and stalls.
http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips.html
Also, this forum has a tips and stalls section.
Yes, I admit it, Yes, I am (and have been) OBSESSED with not falling into the trap of a true stall. Therefore, I made lists of every single thing that someone said tha might stall them. Even though I know what stalls one person, may not stall another, I assumed that it would stall me and without trying it, just did not do it. (This relates to my upcoming renuion and my fear of being taunted, perhaps you would feel more confortable with doing a bit of adventure eating, I just was not willing to give up one day of potential loss)
And, since I like the foods so well, I just never had the need/desire to try cheating in an all out re-feed, etc.

As to what level I am on, I think it would be classed as OWL (phase 2 Ongoing Weight Loss) because I do eat a couple of things that are not on the acceptable foods list, but my carbs are still about 20 which is induction levels so I dont know what I am called. Well truthfully I always had trouble getting enough carbs at all, despite eating all the veg required.
I know others will be shaking their head in disbelief here, but I live in Europe and have no access to LC frankenfood stuff. I buy my meat at a butcher (common practice here) and there is no sugar curing, or packaging stuffs going on here) I even have them cut my bacon, nothing I eat except the occasional salami jerky comes in a package. I really only have access to whole foods. So pure meat, eggs, veg and cheese are it.

98% of what I eat is on the Induction list.
I will stop at McDonalds for a Chicken Ranch and a Burger without bun, but I use the Cesar dressing not the Ranch one, and the whole thing is about 10 carbs for the meal. Apparently, the chicken is processed, but that is about it.

The only other things I eat that are NOT on induction is:
Fruit - Strawberries or Raspberries
Occasional nuts/seeds
sour cream (but I think this is allowed now on the new version)
some of the heavier GI vegs, ie, a bit of carrot in my salad.

I had read that sometimes your carbs can be too low, so I realized that I could add onion, and other veg to stuff so now I do and I actually have to try to get 20 carbs net. So now my omelets have onion in them, and I eat a strawberry concoction EVERY SINGLE DAY at night while watching TV. I made it up and call it my ice cream. This is my favorite and almost only dessert.

Frozen Strawberry Dessert. (Makes 4 portion/cups)
500 gr Fresh Strawberries (1 1b 2 oz) This is just how ours are sold, I use one box
125 gr (4 oz) Philidelphia Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream (Fluid)
2 tsp liquid Saccarhin (not the powder kind or you have more carbs!)

I use a mixer and crush the berries to a pulp, throw in the cream cheese and heavy cream and beat till cream whips up nice. Then add the sweetner.

I divide and freeze it in 4 portions in paper cups. It is not like ice cream as the consistency end up icy. But I love italian gelato and I scrape the top to get spoonfuls to eat it and it takes a long time to finish one. And helps me to get 8.5 (6.25 NET) more carbs. Which I need to keep my body from stalling.
Amount Per 1 cup According to FitDay
Calories 230.5
Total Fat 21.25g
Sat Fat 13g
Poly Fat 1g
Mono Fat 6g
Total Carbohydrate 8.5g
Dietary Fiber 2.25g
Protein 3.25g 7%

I have tried other "sweet" things, like the mock danish, but it was not my cup of tea so to speak.

The truffle things dont really have a recipe. I just take cream cheese in the portion I want and roll in it SF jello. I dont do this so much since I added Aspartame to my list of stallers! SF jello has that in it. (that dreaded list just keeps growing with all the posters here on this site)

The other original truffel sweet thing is just cream cheese and peanut butter in equal portions, ie 1 oz of each and some liquid sacc again (or any sweetner but you will have to count he carbs) and roll it into SF cocoa powder. I like reeses so now I do .5 oz of the cream cheese and 1.5 oz PB to get more PB taste. Really this is just as you like. When you experiment you will find lots of stuff that is fun.
Once I wanted pb so i made pb and cream cheese and whipped cream with sweetner and called it pb joghurt. I am a strange bird. If it is on the list and I can have it, I try it any way I can think of that takes my fancy. But on the whole I am not a sweet eater.

I much more prefer the salami and cheese microwaved to chips and diped in dressing or salsa and sourcream! Everybodys taste is different.
I recently tried pork rinds. But I suppose you have better stuff there, mine were awful things hard like a rock, I think they were called cracklings, so maybe I havent got the right thing here.

About the Cheese thing, I think in hindsight that I stay on the 2 oz of hard cheese becuase I have the strawberry thing every night and it has another oz of cream cheese in it. So that would make a total of 3 oz MAXIMUM a day. I bet you'll find that your shredded cheese is probably not too bad, as when it is shredded you get more so you will need to measure it for sure. My only advise here is to be 100% sure that it is NOT that processed stuff and is the real hard natural thing. No velveeta, or American slices kind of thing. That is made with milk/lactose which is sugar!

I would hate to be a person who says something is a NO-NO, I am just letting you know what works for me. And I am not willing to try other things yet. Please remember this is a WOE (way of eating) and should make you feel happy. As for me, I dont feel deprived. I read others do. So you need to find what works for you. I gain confidence with every lb and inch lost. No food can give me that so I actively choose the better feeling.

And the compliments are flying now, and I am just about to cross over to 60 lbs lost. So I am excited.

Lastly, about the dark purple strips. I am pleased for you that you are in ketosis and I know your excited! Hurrah for you! But as a caution, ketosis strips only show that you are in ketosis, ie burning fat as a primary source of fuel. So that can be EITHER dietary fat or stored fat. Of course we all hope it is the latter, but the color is NOT the issue. I do also test and when I see DARK purple I up my water intake. The reason for this is that is not relavant how dark or light the sticks are. This only means that you dont have enough water diluting the ketones. SO, as I am also thinking of my kidneys and want a healthy body, I help my kidneys along with more water. This will show a lighter shade on the keto sticks but ensure that your kidneys have enough to process the ketones out and excrete them by urine.
If you are unsure, try this for me. Check your stick for me when you just wake up and it will be dark purple. Check it an hour after a steak and salad with water and it will be lighter. Reson being that you slept and body still processed ketones, but had NO drinks to help it along.
You dont want CONSISTANT dark purple without adequate hydration. DRINK your water so you dont have a problem later in life with your kidneys or having kidney stones. Drinking enough and lots of water is one of the induction rules and I think people slack on this.

Whew, I feel like a taskmaster, which I dont mean to be, but I am sooooo much happier now, I want everyone to feel like this!!

NOW, you tell me something, Where is your fitday and your journal? HMMM?
Others could check on you and give support to you there. Do you realise you could easily be 60-70 lbs lighter by Aug? I have lost 60 in about 5 months.
(Today is 59.5 lbs and tomorrow will be my 5 month anniversary)

I know that KristyC will be along soon, and I am sure she will answer you too.
She is so much better at this, so take notice at what she says.

See you around.

PS. I am visiting the USA in July/Aug and have family living in Birmingham, Madison, Sylacauga, Hartselle and Huntsville. I might be walking right past you!

Wow! Again, GOOD STUFF!

1. On the recipe for the strawberry and truffle thingys, what do you mean by "roll" them??

2. Good to know about the strips! I drink a LOT of water and it's still the next to the darkest. I don't do them in the morning, but rather at night. Maybe that's why they're dark... from all the fat I eat??? I know when I first used them it showed a "trace" but now it's in the "large" amount. I just hope my body is burning the right fat!!! This is what's keeping me motivated! I've lost 7 lbs since induction started on May 23rd. I thought it was 11 but I checked and my starting weight was 4lbs less than what I thought. So anyway, thanks for the info! And I doubt that KristyC is BETTER than you at this stuff... you're pretty darn great!

3. Where do I journal and put my fitday?

Also, I have family in Talledega and Huntsville as well! Small world!

HeMe, you are soooooooooooooo inspiring!!

Congratulations on your almost 60 pounds lost Melissa. And thanks for all the tips.

Re: Oil of Oregano. I've been seeing more and more references to it pop up here and I'm growing curious about it. What was it originally used for, do you know? I note that you talk about yeast infection and mood enhancing properties but now people are using it for weight loss? Just a bit confused here.

Oh yeah, I'd like to know about the OoO too!

Though I wasn't the person who asked the original question I just want to thank Melissa for "Paying it Forward!". You have been so kind and generous through all of your posts!! Congrats on the losses so far!

P.S. What is your average calorie consumption per day?

Thanks for the info. Great stuff. You really got my attention. Thanks again.

carbstarve,

One thing that I would add to the above comments. . . . .. . all of the people that I have spoken with who have been successful with atkins almost always share one thing in common: routine.

Find a groove which works for you and stay on it. Long, sustained periods of effective habits are what drive this thing.

Find out what is okay for you to have, and also not to have. Some people are okay(or not) with diet sodas, aspartame, caffeine, nuts, etc.

The first six months that I did this and was really losing weight, I would spend an average of 3 weeks on a fairly strict induction style plan. Then I would go nuts for one weekend to recharge myself(pizza, mcdonald's fries, peanut M&M's, beer) and then go at it again for a few weeks. Worked like a charm.

TC