New to Atkins
 

Hi everyone! I am new to Atkins, but not new to 3 Fat Chicks. I have lost weight before counting calories, but after I stopped, I gained all of it back plus some. I decided to jump back on the wagon and bought the New Atkins book from Amazon. After reading through, I decided this was what I needed. I started 2 days ago (the day after Christmas) and have lost 3 lbs already. I am very happy with this loss and hope I can keep losing fast.

My best friend has done Atkins with great success in the past and I hope that I can keep it up. My sweet cravings have been super hard to deal with, but have managed to work through them by eating a dill pickle or something very high in protein when I get really bad. I sometimes feel like I am eating too much, but so far it has worked.

My goal is just to get to a healthy BMI by May. I am going to be the "best girl" in my friend Chad's wedding and I want to look pretty in my brides maid dress. Also, I will be 35 in May and just want to be helathier by then.

My ultimate goal is to get down to 140 (I started at 178) and then go from there.

I can't wait to get to "know" everyone on here and I am ready to cheer everyone on in there goal to getting healthy.

Hiya and welcome! I am in a similar situation in that I am a long-time 3FC calorie counter (and a yoyo dieting calorie counter prior to 3FC). I didn't wait to regain all my weight (this time!) as I had sworn to myself that if I got this far I'd try Atkins.

That said, I have not truly started Atkins yet. I am staying with in-laws, so I am in practice mode until I return home. I plan on starting induction for real right after the new year.

Things are very promising so far, even in practice mode. I am enjoying the foods I can eat that I have shunned for decades on a low-fat diet. I am having little problem avoiding the carby foods and my cravings have been under control.

I know at least a few other folks are planning to (re-) start induction in the new year, so we can all do it together!

Welcome, Beckyh! You'll find lots of support, encouragement, information and great recipes on this site.

Recipes from the "Recipes from the 'What's for Dinner'," thread, SunnyDC's recipe thread, and everybody's favorite "Linda's Low Carb Menus and Recipes" (http://genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html) will help tame your sweet tooth. The longer you don't eat sugar, the easier it gets...Thank goodness!

Also, I suggest you guys join the challenges. We love talking in those threads and sharing progress. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the welcome. As of today I am down 4 lbs. Not bad for 3 days. I know that most of this is water weight (as the book explains), so I am trying to let my mind know that it won't be like this forever. After induction I do not plan on weighing everyday, I just want to make sure that I am doing everything right and that the numbers keep dropping at this point.

Great work, Beckyh. A four-pound loss is excellent any week. I weigh once a week because I want to see progress in a nice, downward trend. I can't stand daily fluctuations of the scale. I do use ketostix every day as an indicator of how I'm doing and, best of all, the way my clothes are fitting.

If I lose two pounds, I feel as if I've had a really successful week. Four pounds is the most I've lost at once, but it was after a stall. Eating on plan every day consistently will give you your personal best weight loss. Good luck!

I need to get some of the ketosis strips. I will probably get some tomorrow. I need to get more veggies as we have gone through just about everything that I have bought. I bought a HUGE bag of Romaine lettuce at Sam's and it is gone. I thought we might end up throwing some out, but the hubby and son are eating more salads too.

beckyh: I'm in the same position that you are in- I'm not new to 3FC, because I lost weight 3 months ago on a clinic based pre-packed entree and shake plan (HMR), but could not stomach anymore shakes and gross entrees. I have been on the old Atkins plan before, and haven't had too much luck sticking with it. However, I've been researching the New Atkins plan and it sounds like it is a little more flexible . I haven't started it yet, but I want to give it a try. I think it will be easier, too, for me now because I am no longer working away from home and can now cook all of my meals (I LOVE to cook) whenever I want to. And it's a plus that my husband is going to do it with me :)
But, I'm waiting until next week, because we are celebrating our anniversary Saturday.
Good luck to you!