So I have successfully completed day one of Induction. Well, okay, I haven't actually gone to bed yet, so technically today is not over, but I am done eating for the day, so for all rights and purposes, it is.

I was fine all day, even during my hour weight training session. In fact, I was so not hungry that I forgot about dinner until nearly 7:00. I'm a little hungry now, to be honest, but after dinner is always rough for me, so I'm just going to ignore it. I've certainly eaten enough calories today (around 1600, not that I'm counting, but I counted my carbs in SparkPeople so I counted calories as a side effect) so I'm not under-eating. My brother-in-law has done Atkins before, and he assures me that the hunger goes away after a few days. Time will tell!

I didn't weigh myself this morning because I'm at the end of TOM, so I'm still retaining water. I realize that means I won't know how much weight I drop during Induction, but if I get under 150 I will be so unbelievably thrilled, you have no idea. I'm not counting on it, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I think you should eat if you are hungry

Ketosis, once it kicks in, will lower your hunger, but for now, esp. if you are weight-training, I think you should have a fat or protein (or both, ha!) snack.

And you should have a large water drop your first week too, maybe even going into your second week.

Happy losing!

Yes, It's only been about a week for me and I noticed I'm not hungry all the time, but i eat every so often out of habit. Especially at work, my breaks are every 2 hours and I usually eat! But lately Im not hungry so I don't eat.. and It's a lil hard to get used to, but I eat when im hungry and after i workout

The change in hunger was the big difference for me between low carb and every other diet I've ever been on. It's why I stay with low carb, and why I don't cheat.

For a while I ate out of habit and at specific times but now I really try to follow my hunger more because I know it's less ravenous & more real. I do make execptions to that when I'm away from home & know that low carb choices are harder to find -- in that case I'm better off eating a low carb snack or meal even if I'm not really hungry rather than face being really hungry with nothing but carbs around.

If that happens it will be a major change for me, because I'm ALWAYS hungry! That's traditionally been my problem with sticking to any plan, though I've managed a decent amount of success with calorie counting.

Berkshiregirl, you're right, and I did have a deviled egg last night to stave off the starving hunger. I'm ALWAYS hungry at bed time, though, so that's pretty normal for me. Maybe that will change once I hit ketosis. That would be a nice change.

Thanks for the encouragement, ladies. I did my usual hour of cardio this morning and had plenty of energy, which was great. That's why I'm tracking my calories, to make sure I eat enough to keep up with my workout routine. Anyway, I work late tonight so I have my menu planned for the day already. I'll keep checking in here to keep track of how it's going.

Good for you! That's great! I always think the first few days, the first week in fact are the hardest! Beginnings are always hard.

You are doing great with the exercise, too! Good for you!

I think everyone else has given super advice, go ahead and eat something low-carb if you are hungry! Your body might need some more fuel after you exercise, especially.

I'm so excited for you and I can't wait to read your posts in the future where you say you feel great, have energy, aren't hungry all the time, don't feel a need to cheat, etc.! Oh, and the weightloss is a nice side benefit too.

I do feel pretty good, Lori. The carbs always make me feel sort of hung over, so not having them in my system has made me feel better already. I might be singing a different tune tomorrow when I try to lift weights after work, but I hope not.

I'm glad you are feeling better! One thing I just noticed today is that I don't have big bags/indentations under my eyes anymore. Losing the excess water makes my face look less puffy and more healthy, without those big bags under my eyes I could never cover up even with concealer.

Well, the verdict on day two is that I am much less hungry this evening than I was yesterday. That's excellent news. I'll probably still have a snack when I get home (I'm at work for another half hour tonight), because I burned a lot of calories working out this morning, but I feel pretty good. I can't report a loss yet, but maybe tomorrow the scale will have gone down a little from today's (kinda terrifying) number.

Also, I am super thirsty. That's a good sign, I gather. I'm too cheap to shell out for Ketostix, so I will rely on the scale and my clothes to tell me if it's working.

Temptations avoided today: an Italian Cream Cake with fresh orange curd filling (I made it so I know it's good) and a tray full of cookies from the local organic restaurant, both left over from a work party Saturday night, and the Valentine's Day candy aisle at the grocery store. I didn't even really want any of it, so that's a good sign too.

I too have lost that "hungry feeling" which makes me very happy! I don't know if it's supposed to be that way but it is. And since I have been doing the walking exercise every morning (4 days in a row now), I am drinking lots more water and I have to "remind" myself to eat.

I was never a breakfast person so forcing myself to eat some breakfast is a little difficult for me. I do eat lunch or brunch and add salad to that besides eating dinner. But that's only 2 meals a day and I wonder if I am messing up.

Lori, like you I have noticed my face has changed. The puffiness has gone away! Even my Mom said my face looks thinner. I don't have that bloated look to my face and those bags are going away which makes me very happy!! I really love this diet!

Toby

I'm down three pounds this morning, which is probably a combination of TOM ending and my new eating plan. Whatever, I'll take it!

Toby, I never ate breakfast when I was young, but now that I'm in the habit I wake up hungry and really look forward to breakfast. It's my favorite meal of the day. I still miss oatmeal, but I suppose I'll get over that in time too. Maybe once I'm done with induction I'll try that mock oatmeal recipe that's floating around here.

Interesting. I was never a breakfast person when I was younger and at 53 years young, I am still not a breakfast person. I have no idea why that is.

My favorite meal is dinner! Yet because I do eat lunch or brunch, I don't over eat my dinner. If I do feel hungry late at night, that's when I take out a hard boiled egg and eat that, then I am fine. I just happen to love eggs!

Toby

I think as long as what you're doing works for you, it doesn't really matter when you eat. Myself, I am sort of on egg overload already, which is a problem. I need to come up with something for breakfast besides omelets, I think. I'm down three pounds this morning, though, so clearly the omelets are working.

Congratulations on the weight loss, Caroline! You are doing great!

Wow, Caroline...you've lost a ton of weight already! Congratulations! You're the one who's mixing it up by switching to low-carb, right? So far, you seem to be doing great.

Don't forget, you may hit the few days of "Atkins flu" soon...but it will resolve quickly. For me, it was achey legs and a bit of fatigue....but once the ketosis kicks in, your energy really revs up.

What I think could be so great about this for you is that it may be the key to maintenance for you. I am just like you...in that, I was constantly starving on every other diet (any diet involving regular carbs...other than the ones in veggies and dairy). I was able to maintain for 12 years with low-carb maintenance and I believe the key was that I did not have to deal with the constant hunger, the cravings...that led to binges, etc. Those were the things destined to ruin any long-term success for me....but low-carb maintenance was easy.

Simple carbs are the kiss of death for me, when it comes to ever controlling my weight. It's like night and day....starving/craving all the time versus totally normal eating patterns. For me, it's a no-brainer. Why struggle and keep failing repeatedly?

I mean, I do have lots of will-power....BUT, constant hunger is just too much for even me and my will-power always failed me, finally. But on Atkins, it's literally a breeze for me.

deena