Good Morning Everyone,

Hope your weekend was great. Mine was

I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and be back later, my boss is here this week and very needy so I'll check in when I can

HUGS !!

Happy Dance! I just got on the scale and I am down 4 pounds total for the week! What a great start for the challenge! I havent weighed this little in 2+ years! WOO HOO! only 12 pounds to go to get to my virgin fat again! Back in 1999 I had gotten down to 169. I am really focused on that now! WOO HOO! TOM is due today too!

I am shocked too because I had a really long weekend. My 1997 Dodge Caravan decided that at 99875 miles the transmission needed to go. We just paid it off last year!! I was so upset! But I am not the proud owner of a 2003 Mazda MPV now and I LOVE IT. Between the cargo room and the leg room.. and all the cool new features vans have now compared to when we got the old van, I absolutely LOVE it!

I gotta run now because I have to take the kids to school and them I am off to the gym! I will check in later though!

Have a great morning!!

Congratulations Karen - that is SOOOOO cool!

I was disappointed to not see a loss this week since I haven't cheated at all. I'm gonna plug on though. I will start my walking plan tonight and BodyFlex tomorrow.

Good for you Karen! You're such an inspiration.

Have a super week gals!

Hey. I just wanted to drop in and say "Hi!" I am starting the Atkins Diet today (Oct. 6). I posted by bio, and I look forward to getting to know all of you!

Take care,
Jina

I got on the scale this morning to find myself down 10 pounds from two weeks ago.

My weight was up and down all week - induction week two also included my first AF in 5 months, so I went from 277 to 283 overnight, and then back down to 277 4 days later.... now I'm finally down to 275. I think that induction would have gone better for me without the untimely TOM.

But, otoh, I'm still down 10 pounds!!!!! WOO-HOO this is a huge success for me. I haven't successfully lost any weight (pregnancy aside) for almost 10 years... this is a HUGE step for my self-esteem.

Makes it easier and easier not to cheat... though I did have some cravings for carbs when they were right in front of me (like handing McDonald's french fries to my daughter...) but I can say that the one bite convinced me that I really didn't miss the carbs as much as I thought I did.

I have a mental "tastebud" that makes me remember foods and how they used to taste to me. They no longer taste as good as I thought. Had ONE bite of my dh's dinner roll and said "hmmm, okay I can live without it.." when my pre-Atkins self would have eaten three of them. So, a cheat for me will have to be something really worth it and not just some french fries or bread...

It's an interesting transformation for me - a carb addict. I'm happy to say that I have thwarted temptation more times in the last week and a half than I ever thought possible.

I have a goal.... and am going to stay focused on the goal.

KAREN you go ring leader !!!!!!!

Jina, welcome to the boards

Super hang in there, is there anything your doing different in your diet ? is there any way we could help you ? what kinds of foods are you eating and do you keep a fitday journal for us to see?

I have to keep a watch on calories too or I won't budge. Even at 1600+ the scale won't move do you exercise ? Thats my biggest problem, I don't, I hate to but know I should.. OY VEY! Just this week I'm giving up any lc sweet foods, syrups, chocolates, ice cream.. .and the worst thing than that...PEPPERONI!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!

Hang in there, we love you and want you to succeed. Here...grab my hand and lets go for a walk.. but warning, your gonna have to pull me

HUGS EVERYONE !!

Jina! Welcome!!! You will love it her! Post here helps and these gals are the greatest!

Lisa!! WTG!! Are you staying in induction or are you moving on to OWL? I have been on induction for 9 weeks now and plan to stay here through the end of the year at least...

Suprsized - Hang in there! That walking will help! Also, if you post your menus maybe we all can work together to help you find if there is something that is stalling you.

Leens - I have to watch calorie intake too. But I am wondering if I am eating too little now with all the working out I do. I stay below 1450 as much as possible. I am going to see what the next week does for me and go from there I think...

Ok, I better jump in the shower! My DD will be home from school in an hour and I want to do some cleaning! Still hot and sweaty from the gym!

Hugs to all!

Karen,

I'm going to stay on induction - but with one modification. I'm going to add some macadamia nuts in to the mix so I can have something crunchy and salty in the evening with dh is munching on chips and stuff. Just 1/4-1/3 cup's worth. But, except for that, I'm staying on induction. I don't plan on adding any other nuts/peanut butter or anything like that for a while yet. I admire your ability to do it for that long - I hope I can follow in your footsteps like that... or at least until Thanksgiving.

My surgery is this Thursday - so I'll stay on/go back on induction after my hopefully short hospital stay. I'm sure surgery will throw me off a bit - but I'll get back to it as soon as I can.

By the way, I looked at beef jerky over the weekend and was shocked at how many carbs are in it. I don't want to deal with that so jerky is out for me.... and pork rinds have got to be just the nastiest stuff I've tried ever next to Vegemite....

I am off work today and fasting for Yom Kippur (jewish Day of Atonement). I am HUNGRY, HUNGRY, THIRSTY, THIRSTY (no food or water)...and only 4.5 hours to go...but who's counting? Sure makes you think of those less fortunate who go without food on a daily basis!

Karen - CONGRATS on the great weight loss. You are an inspiration to all...and I too traded in my 1992 Nissan Axxess for a 2003 MPV a couple of months ago! I am also enjoying my van, and with 3 kids (one with a set of drums!) we really need the space. Mine's silver color? What's yours? My old van was also behind the times...as I now have a CD player and those fancy folding seats...and don't you just love the SUNGLASSES HOLDER and specail garage door remote holder?

Welcome Jina - hope to hear how you're doing on a regular basis!

Storybook - you are also doing GREAT! Keep up the good work...and TOM does make things a bit more challenging..but the good news is if you stick to it, eventually all the weight will come off! I was also on induction for about 3 months...and just recently in the last few weeks have added a bit of fruit and nuts and cottage cheese - only a few times a week, not on a daily basis. Carbs are usually between 25-30 per day!

Supersized - hang in there....I know it's upsetting, but I always remind myself that the weight loss is not linear...and I will not lose regularly on a weekly basis - but in bits and spurts. I keep reminding myself that if I stick to it, NO MATTER WHAT, eventually the scale/inches will catch up!

So I think I lost about one single pound this week - but I'll take it! . The scale is now teasing me and hovering around 190.2....(okay one glimpse at 189.8, but that didn't last long!). I am hoping to break thru to the 180's this week, but with TOM around the corner, it may take longer. I am sticking to it.

Looking forward to breaking my fast tonight at 7:17 pm...not sure what to eat, but will try not to go crazy and stay in carb control.

Froufy

Good Luck Froufy on not stuffing yourself silly, that would be sooo hard for me to do. Although I used to fast for 36 hours and did rather well....... dem days is a gonner lol.

Storybookmama, good luck w/your surgery on thursday, did you say it was stomach surgery ? we will be praying for you.

hugs

Well, not stomach, per se, but abdominal. I have what appears to be either a very large hernia just underneath and to the right of my belly button OR just a large area where the muscle wall has weakened due to my pregnancy/c-section in March of 2002.

They are hoping they can fix it, if it needs to be fixed, laparoscopically. If not, worst case scenario, it will be regular surgery.

Thanks for the well-wishes!!

Froufy! Good for you on the 1 pound gone! I am Catholic, so I understand the fasting... We do it on Ash Wednesday and good friday. When I was growing up it was EVERY Friday of Lent. We are/were allowed a small meal (Soup, broth basically) and that is it! I cant imagine not eating or drinking ANYTHING. I am sure you will do fine afterwards!

My MPV is Black with a grey interior! And yes.. I LOVE my sunglasses holder and the place for the garage door opener! I love the power windows and locks too! Didnt have those before! And those seats that fold flat in the back! Now we can go to Home Depot and get plants with out having to take all the seats out!

Lisa! Good luck with that! I will pray that it will be laproscopic! Recovery is so much easier!!

Lisa, my FIL just had hernia surgery on Friday, he was in and out the same day (he's 80 years old). I visited him yesterday and let me tell you, he's walking around like it was nothing.

Your gonna do great !