I haven't noticed that...We were getting pretty loose with out diet so this week we are right back to basics. My husband had just been doing Atkins a few weeks when he had his physical last year....his cholesterol was 198 and this year it was 188....so he was down 10 points...His doctor recommended Atkins.

I'm beginning Day Four of Atkins. I honestly feel as if I deserve a ticker tape parade or something. Yesterday my neighbor made the most gorgeous pineapple upside down cake I'd ever seen! I know that there will always be a reason to go off of a diet... but in all honesty, I hadn't even seen a pineapple upside down cake for several years... and this one was SPECtacular. The carmelized cake looked like something out of a magazine. But I didn't have any.

('scuse me while I go to the "Great Regrets" forum and cry my eyes out.)

Maybe it's because I'm only on my fourth day but I don't feel any different at all. The first day I had a few carbs... but when I didn't lose 20 lbs by the second day I decided to go completely without carbs for the first week just to get the ball rolling.

I slept like a baby last night... and hope to sleep well again tonight so that I'm not tempted to break into my neighbors house at midnight and hork down that cake!

Here's the dilemma... my neighbor's mom injured her hip and needs me to stay with her today and tomorrow from 1-4 while she goes to work. That's SIX hours of being in a house with pineapple upside down cake leftovers!!!

Wish me luck... I'm gonna need it!

How long have you been on your diets?

Yeah Candy, what is UP with the not losing 20 pounds after the first day?! You should have lost at least 10 pounds for not drooling on the pineapple cake!

Kathy - Low carbing makes me energized. I never need that mid-afternoon fix of eating or napping. Just because you eat low carb, doesn't mean you are eating high fat, plus there are good carbs and bad carbs. I try to avoid the bad carbs and try not to overdo the high fats.

I hear ya, Janet! Ya know... if more people lost 10 to 20 lbs by the second day... we'd all probably be able to stick with a diet long enough to do some good! Maybe we should rethink this 2 lbs a week thing... :)

BTW... I spent nearly 4 hours with that cake today. I hid it! I was banking on, "out of sight... out of mind" to help me through it... and it did.

Launching into day 5 (a record for me!)

I am tossing in this food for thought...I am doing WW...this week I have been EXHAUSTED by 1 pm right through to bed...looking at my food diary - I have been having HIGH carbs, very little protein - I get this way when I need to adjust prozac (I have a hormone serotonin/melatonin imbalance)...so today I am off, going to have eggs at breakfast and make sure I pay attention to reversing this today and getting Less Carbs, More Protein & fruit/veg to see if I feel better.
Interesting to read your post CandyWA and very happy you are sticking with your diet.
Cheers,
McPeg

I'm officially at 5 pounds lost since last Monday. This morning my hubby (aka the "Little Debbie Snack Cake and Milk every night eating cheater") announces "I've lost 9 pounds". I hate men.

Is anyone doing supplements? The books says you need vitamin supplements. I haven't done any so far.

Janet, congratulations on your 5 pound loss!

I am watching my carbs, for breakfast most morning I eat 2 egg beater eggs, and a glass of light soy milk.
I haven't eaten a potato, rice, bread, etc... for 10 weeks now, and have lost 33 pounds.

Janet, I am taking One A Day weight smart multi vitamin, calcium (I hear calcium also helps weight loss) fish oil, and vitamin C every day. I also have added exercise just about everyday. I started out walking, and about two or three weeks ago I joined the gym. I'm doing about an hour of cardio 5 days a week, and weights every other day. Good luck, sounds like you are doing really well.

Candy, If you can pass up that cake,you have great willpower, and you are doing good! By the way, I have always thought that if you pass up on something like cake that you should be rewarded with a pound coming off lol. Too bad it doesn't work that way.
alice

I've been AWOL for a few days (had to have a little out patient surgery) and I'm trying to get caught up on all the posts.

CandyWA -- I'm so proud of you!! I don't know that I'd have the strength to pass up pineapple upside down cake (or any cake for that matter). We have a local independent bakery that makes "to die for" donuts and sells them warm and gooey. I'm dreading the next time someone brings them to work -- I might need to relocate my office to another floor!!

Janet -- Congratulations on those 5 lbs and hang in there. Darn those men, why does it have to be so easy for them and so hard for us!! As for supplements, I did buy the Atkins Basic 3 and Essential Oils. I also picked up L-Carnitine and Coenzyme Q-10 from Wal-Mart.

Alice -- I can only hope that I can follow in your footsteps. I would love to be 30 lbs lighter in 10 weeks.....I think I'll set that as a goal. Are you doing the "hard-core" version of Atkins or a more modified version? Do you know how many carbs you're taking in each day?

Kathy -- Do you take in any caffeine? I know I'm not suppose to have caffeine, but I really miss it. I'm not a coffee drinker and didn't drink a lot of soda to begin with, but I may need to go back to having one can of Diet Coke a day.

Here's my scorecard: Three days on Atkins, three days recouping (in bed and under pain meds). I'm really looking forward to getting back on track and maybe start exercising in a couple more weeks. I haven't felt like cooking the last three days, so we got fast food carry out -- I stuck with the Arby's low carb turkey and bacon wraps -- boy are those good (and really BIG and filling)!!

Tonight, it's salad and grilled chicken. Tommorrow night will be steak (on the grill) and steamed broccoli (not my favorite veggie, but it will do).

Janet

Thank you McPeg. I have no option but to succeed. Our vacation the first week of June will either be fun (having lost 20 lbs) OR it will be a humiliating experience as I'm going to be seeing people I haven't seen for 20 years. I was young and thin when I moved away. I don't want to shock them too badly.

Losing 5 lbs in a week is good, Janet! 9 would be better... but that seems to be a guy thing! My husband loses a few pounds when he skips lunch for two days! It's soooo not fair. But hey... we don't get nose hair so maybe it all equals out in the end.

Alice... I don't typically have ANY willpower. None... zip! This upcoming trip has motivated me in a way I've never experienced before. And I totally agree... passing up cake should net me at least a pound off! 33 lbs... wowwwwww!!!! Huge congratulations!

Janet... new rule. NEVER mention warm gooey donuts again! I'm seriously ready to drive 40 miles to Krispy Kreme... thank you very much! :)

One last thing... I want to thank all of you for participating in this discussion... it's been more helpful to me than you can imagine. Tomorrow is the first day of my second week. When I am tempted to eat something stupid... I'll come here and read your comments... and say to myself, "if Alice can lose 33 lbs... so can I".

Hey guys - what's this about Arby's wraps?! Nobody has told me about those things. How many carbs?

I'm officially over my first two weeks! Still at 5-6 pounds lost. I went to lunch w/a friend at my favorite hamburger place today (Beck's - her idea, not mine). I ordered a hamburger w/bacon and pulled off the top bun and only ate about 1/2 the bottom bun (felt soooo guilty eating that small portion of bun). I also drank a HUGE bottle of water.

DH is still cheating but he's not going to deter me. Said he talked to a friend of ours who is a cardiologist and she told him that Atkins is a bunch of hooey. I told him "hooey" or not, I'm sticking with it.

I tried the subway chicken wrap last night, it wasn't too bad. I think the spinach salad is better though.

Janetwilson

Janet,

The Arby's wraps are really good!! I don't think I'm suppose to have wraps during Induction, but it was kind of an emergency -- just had surgery the day before and didn't want to cook. Anyway, according to Arby's website (hopefully it's correct??), most of the Carbys run anywhere from 1 to 6 carbs, with a couple of them around 15 or 16. The one that I had was roast turkey, bacon, ranch dressing, lettuce, tomato and onion and it was listed as having 5 carbs. The wrap appeared to be a wheat blend and there was very little dressing (but that might vary by location), but just enough to taste the flavor. And, it was quite filling -- it was all I needed for dinner. As a general rule, I'm going to try to avoid eating out -- it's just too tempting for me!!

Today's breakfast was a grilled chicken breast (leftovers) and a salad; lunch was 3 oz. of turkey, 3 oz. of cheese and a cup of beef broth; dinner will be scrambled eggs and bacon, maybe some salad and jello.

Janet ("the other Janet")

We eat a lot of salad on Atkins, I chop everything up into very tiny, bite size pieces and use leafy green lettuce, boiled eggs, avocado, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, cheese green onion and lots of salt and pepper for flavor - top it with Atkins low carb Italian dressing and it's wonderful!

We also do taco salad - adding in grilled chicken and using queso for dressing.

Gonna try those Arby's wraps this weekend...

Hi Ya!
Thought I'd been really nosey, pop in and say hello!
No one here is allowed to beat themselves up for any reason what so ever!!! I mean it!
Just take your hand and pat yourself on your back because you ARE here and posting and thinking. If you have a weak moment, get up off your buns, get moving and burn some calories. If ya feel sorry for yourself - just turn on the TV and look at all the war torn areas where people are starving and would be grateful to have our problems. Treat yourself well - you are a temple. Have an extra long shower or bath, have a facial, condition your hair and think about where you want to be in a few months. Keep thinking about it. If that doesn't get ya motivated, strip down to your undies and stand infront of a mirror. Look honestly at yourself. If your weight loss is slow - stick with it. Mine is very slow but the progress is there. It doesn't matter what your age, you can only improve with better informed meal choices. If you need more support - join a club, start one - even grab a friend and go for a walk. If you live in a hot climate - go mall walking in the air conditioned buildings (buy yourself a diet drink or flavoured water!).
I am sooooo happy to see this post continuing. We are all winners here. Even if we don't hit our magic numbers but keep striving towards them - we will succeed.
Tonight I am enjoying home made soup (I really love it) and going to watch Erin Brockowich again after cleaning the kitchen.
Did gain 3 pounds on the weekend - it was a very, very special get away with DH - but I am happy, back on track today and moving forward again. No mental issues because I let the weekend go. Today is a new day.
Hugs to all my new pals!
Keep putting one foot in front of the other and don't give up!
McPeg

I can't believe I haven't cheated! This is a first for me. It must be what they call being in the zone. Janet, your salad sounds delicious... I didn't know avacado's were low carb.

Yes, you can eat avocado's on Atkins. Somebody please let me know - is couscous (sp?) a carb, like rice? I had about 4 tablespoons at a board lunch today.

I passed on the most delicious looking brownies and cookies, I'm so proud of myself!

Janet KS - I tried the Arby's wrap last night! You can get ANY of the Arby's sandwiches on a wrap instead of bread. I had the French Dip. Checked their website last night and it was just under 2 carbs. DH (little debbie snack cake and milk eating cheater) decided to forego the wrap and order a Market sandwich - it was a mere 74 carbs!!

Wearing capris today that wouldn't button last month!

Congratulations Janet!!!! That's what makes it all worth it.

So how much weight has little debbie snack cake lost during all that cheating? 74 carbs in one sandwich! I've been absolutely oblivious till now. I'd think I was doing well if I just didn't get the fries with that order!

This diet sure brings on a whole new awareness.

C

Janet, couscous is a pasta product - definitely a carb. I've not seen whole wheat couscous, but I think it may be out there. Perhaps you could have ww couscous on Phase 2 of SBD?

Well, I guess 4 spoonfuls of couscous isn't going to kill my diet - just have to be more careful next time! Luckily I'm past the induction stage.

Today was the Mother's Day Tea at church - my mother, grandmother, aunt, cousins, etc. were all there. They served sandwiches on croisants, cubes of cheese and sugar laced fruit salad and tons (yes tons) of gooey desserts. Wanna know what my pretty little china plate had on it? About 20 pieces of cubed cheese! These sweet little old ladies kept asking me, "are you sure that's all you're going to eat dear?". UGH - I hate going to meals where the menu is controlled like that!

Little Debbie snack cake eating cheater is up to 13 pounds lost. Today we hit Arby's for lunch (I HAD to eat something more than cheese!) - I got a wrap and he got the breaded chicken/bacon/cheese sandwich combo with a coke and curly fries. I just gave him the "the look" when he ordered. The girl behind the counter put it on the tray and asked "whose order is this?" and I replied "the chubby guy next to me!"

He'll probably have lost another 4 pounds by tomorrow morning....

Okay I'll admit it, I ate a hamburger yesterday - on a bun! It was my mother's day "treat". FIL grilled out and I pigged out! Back on track today!

Wow I pulled the low carbers "out of the woodwork"! Why don't you gals/guys (?) start a new thread and keep it going? There is plenty of interest! Thanks for the answers to my questions and even I gasped at the Little Debbie carbs - wow! Kathy

On my 20th day of NOOO cheating... I went out to an all you can eat seafood restaurant with the best of intentions. I had king crab and huge shrimp and salmon..... I was doing really well till it was time for dessert. You'd think on a full stomach (all within the bounds of Atkin's, of course) that I could get out of there without taking a bite of lemon meringue pie, cheesecake, apple cobbler, blackberry pie, and strawberry shortcake! But nope... I had a big bite of each and every one of 'em!

So is tomorrow my 21st day... or my first?

(PS..... it was heavenly!!!!!)

The pie bites are history - today is a new day! Steel your resolve to stay on track and keep the carbs low. If you can do that today and the rest of the days, then the pie bites won't completely undo all your hard work the past 20 days.

You can do it! Stay focused!
Teresa

I sure hope you're right, Teresa!

I really was disappointed in myself. But today is just another day in the life of a woman obsessed with succeeding on this weight loss quest.

I'm considering shifting over to weight watchers because it's filled with healthy foods. I'd still incorporate a lot of the low carb products... the bread (toasted) is actually pretty decent and it's only 6 net carbs. But since my body isn't willing to let go of weight quickly (meaning this diet won't be short term) I don't want to deprive it of the foods I really feel are important for healthy living. My inner sense of logic and reason suggests to me that fruits and veggies and grains are the right things to eat.

It was the cookies, candies, and pastries that caused the problem :)

Candy, My inner since of logic speaks the same language yours does. While eating low-carb does work for some people, when you crunch the numbers it is no mystery how it works.

Whether you take WW Points, Atkins, South Beach or Food Exchanges...the bottom line is if you were to take a recommemded day's intake of food and look up the calories you consumed it all they all would add up to 1200-1400 calories a day.

A person could presumably under eat or over eat on points if you make the wrong food choices within the program. White bread averages 70 to 80 calories a slice while some whole grains can be as high as 150. Eat five sandwiches a week and you have added 700 calories to your diet. Are whole grain breads healthier? Probably. But I can have 4 servings of ice cream if I eat white bread and still end up the same. Or I can not eat the ice cream and maybe lose almost an extra lb. that month.

Fruits and veggies are 1 point? Not if the only fruits you like are bananas and nectarines as opposed to berries and apples. So the programs work so that if you eat a variety of foods it "averages" out to lower calories. Few of us want to eat the same food day after day.

All that being said I do think that although some people do OK eating a lot of carbs, I think a higher protein in take helps. I know that I try to get some protein at every meal because if I don't I feel sluggish.

Everyone needs to find the plan that works for them and whatever works for you is a good thing. Being overweight is unhealthy and if eating a certain way helps you take some of those lbs off doesn't matter how as long as basic nutrition needs are met. Followed to the letter, every plan used by those on this forum are on meets those requirements. Its just hard to "follow to the letter" because we are social animals and should be able to have our cake and lose it too.

So now that I'm off my soapbox let's all continue on and end up being the losers we want to be.

Well, it was a loooong weekend. I cheated on Saturday by having a Dr. Pepper (my first in over a month). It was intentional too - I drove to a convenience store and bought it! Won't do that again...

Still haven't lost much more weight. Gotta get on a regimented exercise program!!