[Spedmom]

Morning everyone!

It never ceases to amaze me how many "medical experts" out there take the Atkins diet, futz with it a tiny bit, call it their own, and tell everyone they have singlehandedly found the BIG ANSWER to our overweight woes. Example: There's an article in the February issue of Discover magazine entitled "What Does Science Say You Should Eat?" This is Dr. Walter Willett's "NEW" food pyramid...."Willett's alternative Healthy Eating Pyramid draws a distinction between good and bad fats, between whole-grain and refined carbohydrates, and between healthy and problematic sources of protein. It also moves potatoes out of the vegetable category altogether." Duh. He's big on exercise (double duh), and emphasis foods with a low glycemic load (triple duh). I guess this dude wasn't making enough in research and couldn't bear for the South Beach people to make all the money!?!?!?

Ladies, science is finally catching up to us!!!!! This is an article you have to read if you ever face an intervention like I did the other day. By the way, funny thing........yesterday one of those Pringles-chomping mommas actually asked me (in private) if she could borrow my Atkins book!


I'm loving life right now!

[Tummy Girl]

Hi Spedmom, guess we seem to be the early ones 'round here I saw that food pyramid thing too, wasn't he trying to have it approved by the government as the "new" pyramid or something? It seems that there is a growing realization that carbs should not be your main source of calories but Atkins is still somewhat on the fringes anyway. (But then again most people think I eat butter for meals so no wonder.)

It's funny when the nay sayers come calling isn't it? I've been acousted in a bathroom because of it, "tell me how to do it, I need to know!" I was a little taken aback, I'm not used to be asked for diet advice over a stall. But slowly the converts are coming, I think results speak for themselves in the end, I just let my abs do the talking and they speaks volumes now that they're not muffled by 40lbs of fat. The thing I find interesting about all this is that my doctor suggested this plan due to my unstable blood sugar. If I tell people that but leave out the "atkins" they seem to not protest at all. It's the same eating plan either way. But I've had a lot more people enquire about the plan since there was a special about it on Dateline. I didn't see it myself but it seemed to change perceptions a bit at least with my work collegues, it must have been some show.

So off to shower for another fabulous day at work, a day with no meetings so I can finally get some work done!

Happy Thursday All
Tummy

[lady_adnerb]

I was hoping that they'd call off school today! The weather yesterday got VERY nasty! We're used to being below 0 w/wind chills---but we had icy roads & -30 temps. Our buses aren't as good as they used to be and so not reliable. I made sure the girls were VERY bundled up!! So looks like I'm going to work today. lol. Then it's another Girl Scout meeting after school lets out.

Hope you all have a good day.

[Shimma]

Well, here goes day 3 of induction for me. Everyone says it gets easier but I swear it had better get easier fast!!!! I haven't gotten any horrible headaches but I' constantly hungry and I crave.... of all things.... Cheetos. Ugh!

[jane8760]

Good morning ladies: Yes you are up bright and early.....I am still putzing at my desk this morning...little slow today.

Shimma: It will get easier. Make sure you are eating enough. Don't worry about the fat and calories for the first two weeks. Just count the carbs. Eat, eat, eat. Don't be hungry whatever you do. As for the headaches...consider yourself very lucky. I had them wicked! It has been over 3 months now and induction is just a memory. I still only do 20 grams a day but have relaxed a little from the strict induction rules....I have peanuts....my little treat.

lady_adnerb: We are a little warmer today but it may snow. Oh well, spring is on the way, spring is on the way....if I say often enough maybe it will come true.

Tummy Girl & Spedmom: Isn't that interesting.....everyone is jumping on the band wagon now. I am a little nervous about that though. I wonder about the backlash that may happen. We shall see. When I went to the grocery store last night there was this end isle that had an entire display of low carb foods. They were called Carbsomethingorever....can't remember now But Skippy peanut butter was one of them. I has only 3 grams. I was so excited BUT WHEN I GOT HOME AND READ THE LABEL ON THE REGULAR JAR OF PEANUT BUTTER IT HAD ONLY 5! Big whoop! Like Star said once....Frankenfoods make me nervous.

I am up 1 today but I am not going to fret. I had some mozzorella sticks yesterday at lunch so I know they were my downfall. But they were good!
Today I have my low carb tortilla stuffed with chicken and cheese with some sour cream and my homemade salsa. Can't wait...want it now as a matter of fact.

Hope you all have a wonderful day. Will check in later.

[Shimma]

Day one I felt like I was constantly eating... and I was! I ate about every 2 hours. Yesterday wasn't AS bad but still felt like I hadn't eaten in days if I went for 3 hours without eating. The hardest part is during my night class (which I go to straight from work)... I tear through a snack in the car and then have to sit for 4 hours in class and listen to my tummy growl. Hopefully today will be better.

Good news though! My sister is entering a contest at her place of work... whoever loses the most weight (it's a calculated score with inches lost being so many points, lbs lost being so many pts and % body fat lost being so many points) and the winner gets a trip to Cancun! So, she's going to be starting Atkins next week which means she will no longer be munching on chips while I'm trying to forget that carbs exist! I'm going to try and bring her in here as well. Support is gooooood.

[StarPrincess]

Good morning, everyone!

Spedmom - that's too funny about the co-worker! I'm still giggling.

Tummy - I totally agree with letting the results speak for themselves! Since starting atkins 6 months ago, 6 friends and 4 family members have started it as well. It's not all because of me, but I think seeing people that are being successful in something definitely gives others some inspiration.

Brenda - stay warm!

Jane - Now you know why I'm a compulsive label reader! It's funny to compare real foods to the frankenfoods and see how little difference there really is. Expecially those stupid candies and trying to tell us not to count the sugar alcohols!

Shimma - Ohhhhhhhhhh! I want to go to Cancun! Are you drinking enough water? Also, are you really hungry or is it just that munchy, dissatisfied feeling? There's a big difference. If you're really hungry, then eat! If it's dissatisfied munchies, find a distraction. I had the second problem for about 3 or 4 days when I started because my body was wanting those carbs so bad.

As for me, I'm tired!!! DH and I went out last night and true to form, didn't get home until after 1:00 this morning. I had to be at work at 6:00!!!

I've got school tonight, so it's going to be a looooooooong day! The good news is that I'm down a pound - and right in the middle of TOM!!! Yippee! I am now a mere 5 pounds away from "normal" weight range and 20 from my goal weight. I'm so excited I could just piddle!

DH was fabulous this morning! He got up and cooked me some bacon for breakfast as a make-up gesture for keeping me out so late. Mmmmmmmmmmmm - I love bacon!

[Theo'sgirl]

Hi ladies,
just dropping in to say have a great day, I am off to work!

I have 2 people in training that have questioned me about Atkins, one is a WW lady she said how long have you been on it? I said since the end of Oct. She said FOR THAT LONG???? I said well how long were you on WW?? (people make no sense, then I explained that I have to eat like this for the rest of my life, it is not a diet) She said that was really unhealthy and left.

Then there is the girl that is on Atkins she is on her 2nd day of induction and she is eating LC foods but all the ones that are not allowed in induction......hmmmmmm setting your self up for bad results??

have a great day!!!

[Shimma]

Wow Star, congrats on being so close to normal weight!!! That's got to be incredibly fulfilling. My sister is soooooooooo dead set on winning the cancun trip, you should hear her.... it's all about Cancun. They get to do it in groups and her group keeps turning people away saying "sorry, you're not heavy enough". If she makes it, I'll be very happy for her..... BUT... even though I'm her roomie and her most favorite sister of all time...... she's NOT taking me to cancun with her if she wins! *gasp*

I'm trying to drink enough water and I' m constantly convinced that it's never enough. My class doesn't allow any liquids or foods because they just cleaned the carpets and they want it to stay nice in the there. I try to drink as much as possible during my prep period and lunch break because I tend to forget to drink when I lecture. You'd think I'd remember so I don't become one of those teachers that get the gross crusties at the corners of their mouth! heheheh

I'm thinking that my hunger is just munchie-related because.. as usual... the only thing I'm really craving is... of all things... Cheetos. I never even ate cheetos on a regular basis before! Must be the combination of carbs and grease... mmmmmm Today is a new day though and I'm off to have a snack! Take care!!!!

[jane8760]

Where is everyone today? Slow around here.......

A new "Low Carb" store opened up near my office so of course I had to go check it out. Pretty impresive. Had much more of a selection than another one near my house. I was getting a kick out of the woman in there though that were picking up the bags of snacks etc. I know they just think that if it is low carb it is ok. They had the Keto instant potatoe mix but I didn't get it. I thought I have done without potato this long why bother now. Maybe for a special dinner or something. I was going to buy the Vanilla Soy Milk because that only had 1 gram in a cup but I didn't because I figured I have gone without it this long and I get plenty of calcium in my vitamin and cheeses etc. that I should be ok for now. Besides the only reason I ever drank milk in the first place was because I used to have Chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast for breakfast every morning. I didn't buy the pasta because I don't want to do that stuff until I have lost all if not most of the weight.

What I DID buy though was more of the LaTortilla Factory tortilla's. Those are my favorite. I make the worlds thinnest pizza with those suckers but I love it! They also have hamburger and hot dog rolls that were only 1 gram each. I wasn't going to get them because again I for the most part have gone this long without any kind of bread so why bother but I looked at the ingredients and they were true and since they were only 1 gram I figured if I only had them once in a while it should be ok. I also got the Keto bread crumbs. I make chicken parm a lot (because I can ) so I thought I would try them. Also I love to snack on mozzorella cheese and I thought I could make my own cheese sticks. 1/4 c. of the crumbs is 3 grams. Again, as a treat that isn't bad.

The only evil thing I got was ONE little orange cream truffle I couldn't help it. There they were sitting in this package saying "take me, I'm sugar free" yeah right! Took one anyway. I am a sucker for orange creams!

Question for StarPrincess if you see this......I have been meaning to ask you how many grams of carbs you do a day now. I have stayed with 20 since September. I don't intend on increasing that yet but I was just curious.

Well that was my lunch shopping experience. The place had some nice cookbooks too!

[StarPrincess]

Hey Jane! It is slow around here! I'm wondering where all our "old" folks have been lately.

Anyway, to answer your question, I'm all over the place. Most days I keep it under or around 20 grams. Once every few weeks I go up as high as 30 just to test the waters and shake things up a little. Sometimes I'm around 10. But I've avoided going over 30 so far. I don't feel like I want to work on increasing my carb intake yet. I try to be good about posting in the food log, so you can get my carb count there, too.

If you end up trying the pasta, let me know what you think. I've tried a few different kinds and can't get past the texture. It reminds me of dried worms! So spaghetti squash is my best veggie friend and I go through a lot of it! It's completely induction "safe" too.

[jane8760]

Thanks StarPrincess. I'm glad to know that I am doing about the same and with you doing so well I'm sure I will too.

I hope the breads that I bought weren't a bad idea. I think if I just have them once in a while it should be ok. They may taste like chalk anyway and I won't even want them.....4.99 for each package...that will suck. Oh well.

In case anyone is interested....On FitDay they have a software that you can download for 19.99 that is nice. It is similar to FitDay but can do a little more and you don't have to go on the web to use it. You can print out more things than on the web version.
I live religiously on FitDay. Just wish I knew what my numbers should really be. I think my sodium is too high and my calcium to low. The fat number always freaks me out

People are starting to comment on my weight loss now I'm lovin this!

[StarPrincess]

I can't answer for sodium, but calcium for women should be 1000-1400 mg a day from what I've found.

[lady_adnerb]

Work is done for another day and I don't have to work tomorrow due to no school for the kidlets. I'm getting a little scared that no more weight is coming off. I don't think i'm losing inches either. Possibly due to the sugar in the lunch meat I was eating? Or maybe the Advantage bars I had here and there? I'm trimming down again on what i eat to see if that was somehow the problem. Maybe I was having too much veggies? UGH--I hate not knowing what's going on.

[StarPrincess]

I'd place my money on the advantage bars. When I discovered the truth about sugar alcohols and stopped eating the sf candy, I lost 1/2 a pound a day for 2 weeks. It was wonderful! Try just cutting out all sugar alcohols and see what happens. If you change a whole bunch of things at once, you won't be able to pinpoint the problem.