5/13.... 178.5
5/14..., 178.5 - no change, things are slowing down
5/15....176.5
5/16....176.0
5/17....176.5 - too much low carb ice cream
5/19....177.5 dh and our day off, did virtually nothing
5/20....177.0

SW: 210.2
CW: 209.4
GW: 205.2

5/14. 210.2
5/15 209.8
5/16. 210.4
5/17. 209.6
5/18 211.6
5/19 210.8
5/20. 209.4

Smith...food journeling is not that hard to me unless my schedule is really full. Just takes some disipline. I usually write what I plan to eat and then make changes if needed. The first 80 to 90 days of this I journaled daily and consistantly lost. Since I've been slacking on the jounaling I haven't been losing as well... It's easier to cheat when you aren't planning ahead and when you don't write down everything you put in your mouth! Makes sense huh! :)

Ok it sounds like we all had better days! Thanks for the encouragement Mara!

I took a break for a few days while we had out of town guests. I am terrified to step on the scale. I really went crazy over the weekend. I will check tomorrow and join this challenge. I had to write this tonight to make sure I actually follow through tomorrow. :-)

Smith- congrats on winning the last challenge!

Sue, that's a great reward for yourself (and will help keep your step count up on days you use it!)

I'm relieved the scale moved down just a little.

Waving hi to everyone too...


SW : 187.4
CW : 187.0 (-0.4)
GW : 182.4

187.4 May 14
186.6 May 15
188.2 May 16
189.0 May 17
187.0 May 18
187.4 May 19
187.4 May 20
187.0 May 21

Welcome back Travelor! I know EXACTLY what you are going thru! oh yeppers!!! Me too I had 2 weeks of off plan and whap! Don't be mad at yourself.. just start again. (Which you are!) Its like taking the first step outside your door... once you start, you will keep going!

SW 228
CW 228.4 (+.4) going down slowly... (Had a very stressful/Anxious night)

GW 223 (this better be fast!!!)

Man, this is a good reminder for all of us!

A really good food journal will have you both planing all your food and then marking any changes you make. I've had this week planned out and it does make a big difference I don't make decisions of what to eat, just whether or not it's time... And sometimes I decide well, maybe I'll swap the lunch and dinner...

The act of journaling indeed makes us make better choices (that's also true for money, by the way, if you keep a spending diary like Mint or Quicken you'll find yourself spending less!)

And I'd just add one more level, that of weighing and measuring food - no matter how long you've been at this, there are always a few foods that surprise you ("oh, wow, that's how light my coffee gets with 2 tablespoons of cream, hmmm I must usually be using 4..." - and I actually stopped coffee for a while after realizing that).

I worked with a diet coach years ago who had a money back guarantee. If you didn't lose weight with her she offered a full refund. The catch? You had to provide your food diary for the whole time. She knew, of course, that if you kept the food diary you would lose weight, and if you didn't lose weight, you weren't keeping the diary. She said she'd been doing that for 15 years and never once had to issue a refund!

My first step whenever I'm frustrated with a stall or slow weight loss is ALWAYS to journal my food. Just the act of doing that is usually all it takes to get things moving, actually, but even if not it would be the first step to help identify problems - foods that can stall, portions too big, too many carbs, or calories...

The scale was not forgiving....

SW: 174
GW:169


I gained 6 pounds! Yikes!

5/13.... 178.5
5/14..., 178.5 - no change, things are slowing down
5/15....176.5
5/16....176.0
5/17....176.5 - too much low carb ice cream
5/19....177.5 dh and our day off, did virtually nothing
5/20....177.0
5/21....176.0....half way there!!

scary how fast it creeps on...glad you're back traveler!!

thank you carol and sarah about the food journaling....

SW 337.0
GW 332.0

5/13 337.0
5/14 336.8 (stubborn stubborn pound!)
5/15 336.6 (ARGHHHHHHH!)
5/16 335.4 (now we're talkin!)
5/17 333.6
5/18 332.6
5/19-5/21 DNW

Whew! been busy! Glad to be back!! Had a field trip with my daughter on Monday --- which I've shared with many of you I was literally sick over thinking about fitting in the seats - which I fit fine. So lots of worry for nothing lol
We had a blast - I stayed on plan pretty well -- breakfast i had at home with 2 boiled eggs and a turkey sausage patty. Lunch was provided - roast beef on rye, i just ate the meat - and I was still starving lol in the lunch was cookies, sun chips, and a fruit cup -- the fruit cup did have some canteloupe and blue berries - since that is allowed on phase 2 i ate those but gave away the rest.
And dinner was a pizza buffet - i had a salad and scraped off the toppings of 2 slices of pizza.

Tuesday I spent the day at the dr with my grandad and today has been trying to catch up at work etc. So - I've ate all induction only foods, but can't say my fat %'s have been correct -- and I've had a lot of my dinners very very very late so I'm not sure what the scale will reflect tomorrow lol but we shall see :)

Note on the food journeling -

I agree, and honestly I think it's crucial to success ---- you have accoutnability and you can visually see what you are doing right and wrong. And make changes from it.

I also second the weighing and measuring --- I spend a few hours on Sat prepping everything for the week - I cook or buy rotiserrie chicken take off the meat and measure it into 3 oz servings and put them in baggies in the fridge. I wash and prep veggies, plan the dinner menu and do any prep work for meats etc before hand. I boil eggs make some deviled and some leave for salads, etc. Whatever can be done in a few hours on Sat to make it speedy during the week is a huge help. And do not do not have things in the house you can't eat - and make sure you have plenty of things on hand to eat so you aren't making do with something you shouldn't have.


For those who are going up, the good thing is you aren't waiting a week and finding out it's been going all wrong (that is why i do like weighing daily, for now). But, don't make excuses - you guys can do this! Look how far you have come already!

scale is up, but I'm not really believing it - I grabbed it out of it's usual place and put it somewhere else because of organizing going on at home and I'm really not sure it's weighing correctly where it is.. I probably need to try to find a new home for it for a few weeks, since I keep moving it around and I don't think scales like that very much...

SW : 187.4
CW : 187.8 (+0.4)
GW : 182.4

187.4 May 14
186.6 May 15
188.2 May 16
189.0 May 17
187.0 May 18
187.4 May 19
187.4 May 20
187.0 May 21
187.8 May 22

SW: 174
CW: 173.6
GW: 169

I need to exercise today.

Alli- that is dedication. I always makes excuses when we are on the road. I know I can't handle sitting through a pizza buffet. You are already so close to winning this one.

We are staying in a small cabin this weekend that does not have a refrigerator. We are bringing a cooler with meat in it.....but I am struggling to think of atkins side dishes that don't require refrigeration. I am bringing eggplant and peppers to put on the grill. Any recommendations?

Sarah and Carol (Newme)... I agree!!! I too have a food journal and very rarely cheat on it.. I try my best to write everything I eat/drink... The nice thing.. is if you get frustrated - you can read back on the days when you were losing and see what you were eating then. :) and then I see the other days where I had a "bad off plan" day and wow... it kicks me in the head. LOL

Sarah... Need to find a Happy Home for that scale! Do a blessing before you put it down and tell it how happy it wil be staying there! LOL Hey you never know!?!

Travelor.. 6 lbs... well ME TOO except mine was 8 lbs.. But I am losing and so are you! :) WOOHOO

Smith.. GREAT losses already in this challenge.. You and ALI will race to be the winner! :)

ALI I think we need to tab this page... I can't believe how good you were with those foods in front of you! WOW... 1 meal is easy to adjust.. but you had a bunch! KUDOs to you!

SW 228
CW 227.4 (-.6) going down slowly this time.. Feel a woosh coming tho (sigh.. I ate during woosh week... so missed it this month) boo!

GW 223 (this better be fast!!!)

Question - what do you all mean by woosh week??

Well I weighed this morning and am up to 335 :(

SW 337.0
GW 332.0

5/13 337.0
5/14 336.8 (stubborn stubborn pound!)
5/15 336.6 (ARGHHHHHHH!)
5/16 335.4 (now we're talkin!)
5/17 333.6
5/18 332.6
5/19-5/21 DNW
5/22 335.0


So -- thinking about why --- well Tuesday when I came back I was at the dr all day with my grandad - I had bought a box of the atkins morning bars -- I had one of those for breakfast Tue and Wed (Wed was at my daughter's school for her awards ceramony) and I had picked up a bag of pork rinds -- those still allowed on atkins right?

So these are the only two diet changes I've had.
I know Atkins says you can use those bars for any phase but they all have stuff in it that's not allowed on induction. It also says low net carbs but carbs on the box don't reflect it. I bought them to use on my trip if I needed something to snack on but never did - so used them for two mornings where I was in a big rush.

I'll def nix those for sure. And the pork rinds.

Other thing is TOM. So all of that combined could be causing the weight gain --- if I'd known I was gonna gain I'd had a slice of pizza! HAHA :)

I"m having issues with TOM too - here 4-5 days, off 2-3 and right back again - my doc wants me to start on BC, but I'm worried it's going to effect my weight loss so weighing those decisions now too.

Traveler - any veggies you could bring and throw on the grill would be good - I love asapargus on the grill. Also there is a reciepe for grilled cabbage - you cut it in 4 wedges, cover it in salt pepper a little butter and bacon bits (I use the real bacon crumbs, no nitrates as opposed to bits), and wrap it all in foil, grill for... umm I can't remember how long lol I do it in the oven. I'll try to look it up, if you don't hear from me in time though just google grilled cabbage and you'll find it :)

As far as resisting foods in front of you that you can't have - don't think it wasn't insanley hard to do so - but... I made a decision when I started this - what did I love more? Food or being able to do things with my daughter? Food or risking my health any longer? Food or the wondeful feeling of my pants not literally cutting me in two b/c my fat pants are now too small?

When I see foods I want, or think of foods I want that I can't have - I remember why I'm doing this. And *usually* feel vindicated when I get on the scale the next day and see those numbers still dropping - except for today lol :) But that's ok, I know what could be the causes so I"m eliminating them and remembering to be patient for TOM as well.

woo hoo -- lol i'm excited I finally get a ticker!!! HAHA :) I just had to make a post and check it out!