So back from my dr's appt - and here's the good news. She is actually okay with low carbing (I was nervous having heard other drs freaking out) and in fact mentioned that a couple of her diabetic patients were lcing and were doing great!

She was very impressed with my almost 35 lb loss, but she did encourage more exercise stating that 150 minutes per week was the goal. (I think I can do that??? )

I asked her about bloodwork on low carbing - and she suggested some of the usual tests (cholesterol, hemoglobin, electrolytes) and added uric acid. She even told me not to worry too much if cholesterol was higher due to low carbing as it is the ratio which is the most important. I am thrilled to see she is very supportive (e.g."you look great, keep up the good work"). Now await blood test results, and if all okay, back in 6 months for more blood tests.

Now for the eating before dinner scenario - thanks to Lisa for bringing this up - and I am here to confirm her "experiment".

Last night waiting for dh to go out for dinner and was STARVING - could hear my tummy growling a mile away. Found a convenience stores WITH NOTHING I COULD EAT IN THERE (was hoping for some little packs of cheese or something)....then spotted a Starbucks.

Got a new favorite: decaf breve latte - which is a latte made with CREAM instead of milk - this is to die for - absolutely rich and decadent. I had that and felt much better.

Met dh about 1/2 hr later at Outback and could barely finish my dinner (salad w/ranch dressing, broiled swordfish and veggies - actually changed my plan from steak as I knew I would be stuffed)....so guess what leftovers I have for lunch (time to warm up the swordfish and finish my salad)

So it works - something really high fat before eating (even if it's a drink?) seems to curb hunger and decrease eating!

I was also freaked out due the previous day's macadamia attack with over 2000 calories logged in - lots of water yesterday and happy to report scale down to 186.6!!! (It does sometimes help to "stir up" things with extra cals or carbs).

Glad to see many of you are now "sweet enough" and don't need as much sweetener in your coffees - keep it up, it definitely works.

As for the yogurt - check the FAQ section - I actually wrote to the Atkins Center who informed me, we must COUNT all the carbs in our yogurt - and that the "lactose eating carbs" theory is not really true. (I have found a whole milk/10% plain yogurt which is EXCELLENT, very creamy and rich, with only 8 carbs per cup, and occasionally have about 1/2 c with sf syrup or a few blueberries mixed in).

Expecting more cold wet rain this weekend UGH!!! (but dh and I have are "ditching" the 3 kiddies and are planning to spend the night in a posh downtown hotel, and wander around shopping and eating and generally having a good time! )

Froufy

Gosh StoryBookMama, you sound like me last week. Darn that ol' cookie dough!!! It was my turn to bring something to the coffee club at church and darn if I didn't leave it to the last minute and the only thing I could think to make was peanut butter choc. chip cookies. WELL THE DOUGH WAS BETTER THAN THE COOKIES!!!..LOL, and since then I've been packing the leftover cookies in my boys lunch boxes everyday just to get rid of them. Good for you in losing that extra pound.....and now no more dough for either of us...OKAY? I have been watching what I've been eating but since that dough on Sat night, each day I've had to have a little sweet thing. Yesterday was my first clean day with no little cheat. I did however have 2 T of whip cream....YUMM. I've got weighin tommorow morning and then a friend is having an open house tommorow night. I'm to bring an appetizer, anyone got any good ideas for an Atkins friendly dish? I was thinking of a shrimp ring, but I'd rather make something than store bought.

oh my gosh! i am literally stuffed. we just got home from having dinner with the landlords and the wife's sister and husband. we arrived at 7:30 pm and got home at 12:20 am. we had been told that the meals run late. i am stuffed to the gills. there were nine, maybe ten dishes to the main meal, then baklava with chi and turkish coffee, then eight varieties of nuts and dried fruits. finally, there were bananas and home grown apples and pears. our plates were served and added to without asking. a banana and apple were put on my plate in the last phase. my dd did eat half of my banana. i am terrified to look at the scales tomorrow and the whole next week for that matter. this was some of the best food that i have ever eaten. the company was wonderful too. the brother-in-law had to do all of the translating. it was a wonderful evening all in all.

Froufy, you are just going to hate me

I LOVE the Starbucks breve lattes and treat myself to them from time to time. Unfortunately, 12 oz (in a tall) of heavy cream has 12 g of carbs

I looked it up from three different sources because I just didn't want to believe it. It turns out heavy cream only has "zero carbs" when you're having a tablespoon or so of it

I had really been missing my lattes so I was thrilled to have something I could order. I still get it from time to time and add it in to my calculation...

WHOA!!!!
I have never been to Starbuck's but I work with people who will actually walk past our specialty coffee cart in the cafeteria on their way to their car to drive to Starbuck's midday for a "good" cup of coffee!

I just went to their website though and looked at their nutritional info. I would have thought like Froufy that her choice was perfectly on program....but check this out! - not trying to make you freak Froufy but we all need to be more aware of what we think is perfectly within the plan but then turns out not

Cafe Latte Breve (size tall)
12 oz.
420 calories
36g fat
15g carb
<1g sugar
10g protein

Now I use heavy cream everyday in my DD coffee that we make at home....YIKES! Need to do some more investigating on just "how much" cream I am adding to each of my 3 cups daily! I must be having at least 9g myself in those 3 cups. Boo Hoo Hoo.....

Oh No...this is TERRIBLE NEWS!.....I figured it was more cream than allowed...but not that much more! YIKES....I am so sad to give up the breve lattes (is there a smaller size.....??).

Too good to be true I guess. So can they make a cappuccino w/rcream? Anyone tried that? Will have to stick to regular decaf unless I can find something more exciting without megacarbs!

I also use cream or half and half in my coffee, but try to stay aware of amounts. I usually have two large cups per day and alot 3 oz for both! (no splenda cuz I'm sweet enuf )

Froufy

Froufy, the Atkins people are probably right about the carbs in yogurt. All I know is that the yo-cheese made from yogurt is very rich and creamy and if I have a half cup of it mid-afternoon, I get through that mid-day slump without going wild looking for snacks and eating everything in sight. There are also a lot of Atkins followers who are experimenting with yogurt and are claiming that adding yo-cheese/yogurt has helped get them out of long-lasting stalls. It has helped to keep me from eating foods that are higher in carbs (such as nuts) and I'm sure the calcium is beneficial. After a half cup of full fat yogurt mixed with yo-cheese, I'm absolutely stuffed to the eyeballs.
I realise that it's kind of scary and risky to suddenly start eating what has always been considered a no-no on Atkins Induction, but I'm adding carbs back in and I'd rather add in yogurt than bread. For one thing, I know the bread will give me carb cravings and the yogurt hasn't.
Fullfig, that TUrkish meal sounds divine. Do I dare to ask what all the dishes were? No sheeps eyeball stew?

Froufy,

Try a Tall Decaf (or a Split) Americano. It tastes better than Drip and you can add the amount of cream you would add to a regular coffee... saves on the carbs in the Breve.

This is what I do when I order from one of the 9 or possibly 10 by now Starbucks shops within one mile of my work.

Of course, BA (before Atkins) I discovered the Malt Creme Frappucino at Starbucks. Probably more fat/carbs/calories than any one person should have in a day... but MAN was it good....

linda--it was divine. i couldn't even start to name the dishes. they didn't even tell me the name of some of them. not sheep's eyeball stew though. i know there was berek--sort of a phillo dough shaped like cigars, stuffed with meat and just a hint of cheese--my fave. dried and roasted red peppers stuffed with rice, herbs, meat, and not sure what else. some type of rice and herb mixture rolled in grape leaves. some type of minced lamb made into a perfectly round ball, coated in beaten wheat. 3 cheeses, but i don't care for turkish cheeses. proschuto--i know that is not how you spell it--thin, thin slice of meat that they call bacon, but is not because muslims do not eat pork. salad. pide--this one was thicker, more like 1.5 inch french bread almost. some kind of cold dish that had beans and thick sauce--have no idea what all was in that one, and tried not to ask. i want to think there was one more, but cannot visualize it right now. next, there was heavenly baklava--homemade is 1000 times better than what you find in the pastanis here. they had honeycombs from their own hives just outside of town--but didn't have any of that. this was served with chay (chi) and turkish coffee. then, there were nuts and dried fruits. there were pistachios, peanuts, cashews, butternuts, something that looked like chickpeas but were nuts, something that looked like very light raisins but weren't, another type of nut that i'm not sure what was, and something they called licorice--but not like we have--it tasted like small chunks of dates that were coated in powdered sugar. the last phase consisted of fruit--bananas, pears, and home grown apples--the best apples i have ever put in my mouth. i was so stuffed that i was miserable. they served our plates and added to them as we ate. my belly was so tight. they were very interested in what we eat for thanksgiving. it falls right after their rammadan(sp) ends. it begins around the 26th or 27th of this month and lasts for 30 days. during that time they only get to eat after sundown. we have been told it is more dangerous on the roads toward the end of this time as they have not been getting their daily coffee. i'll have to test this theory with my own eyes. so, we may have them over to eat with us then. the two couples have invited us to go with them sometime to their house in anatolya(sp), which is on the mediterranean. they are all so nice. the brother-in-law used to work with an american base here. they are all very fond of americans. americans contribute greatly to the low economy here.

anyway, i'm sure you weren't really asking for all the extra details. but, i got carried away thinking about the five hour meal.
thanks for asking, linda!

Drool! I'm going to haul out my Middle Eastern Cookbook and look up some of this stuff. There has to be SOMETHING that is lower carb!

Hey, ladies! Yay! It's Friday!!

I've been gone for a few days for work, and I couldn't check the board, and boy, did I feel like I missed out! There is just so much great information and funny stuff going on here.

Well, I never strayed from Atkins while I was away. At least not intentionally. Yesterday, I had a cucumber-tomato-onion salad with grilled shrimp on top. It had an olive oil and some type of vinegar as a dressing. It was delicious!! But, the more I thought about it, the more I think it might have been balsamic vinegar, which I know has sugar in it.

Other than that, though, I was right on. For supper on Wednesday night, I had a salad, asparagus and prime rib -- it was wonderful!! There were lots of temptations -- wine, crab dip with bread and one of four desserts the group of six ordered to share. I managed to pass on all of them, but it was difficult when the macadamia nut cheesecake with toasted coconut went by...

Thanks again, Froufy, for the simple suggestion of cutting back on sweetner use. I know it sounds like a simple thing, but I really never thought to try it! My coffee tastes just fine with only one instead of two... amazing!

I like the idea of eating something full of fat before dinner -- especially something like whipped cream and sf pudding or coffee with cream! You're right... my mother would be shaking her finger at me and getting on my case for eating dessert before dinner! But, thankfully, it's hard for her to do that since she's in Kansas, and I'm in Florida! Aha!

Well, I hope everyone else is doing well. Thanks for all the great reading material!

Take care,
Jina

Good Friday morning everyone....

Well today was weigh in day and I stayed the same...not stressing about it though. TOM is at my door. I am still on track so I will just keep pluggin along.
I did get into a pair of smaller jeans this morning but unfortunately I have a big wedgy going on
But remember "It is more important to look good than to feel good"

I fell into the sugar alcohol black hole yesterday. I bought some Atkins chocolate bars to help my craving for Halloween candy and it wasn't until AFTER I ate it that I remember the sugar alcohol. If I count that then I am over my 20 for the day...if I don't I am ok.

I am not going to fret over it....water over the bridge.

Except the bridge is going over Chinese food tonight
I can only be as good as I can. I may make tonight a small treat night. "Two MaiTai please"

I thought it was water UNDER the bridge...but maybe my bridges here are too high? LOL

Lisa...what's in a Cafe Americano (just decaf espresso I think?) I have iced decaf cafe americanos in summer as they are the only ones at Starbucks which are not pre-sweetend!

Jina - glad to hear you did so well - good for you! It's nice to see that one can still travel and go out and have a good time!

Fulfig - what a STUPENDOUS MEAL - wow, I bet you were stuffed, I was getting full just reading about all the goodies you enjoyed.

Well I bet you want to year about last night's (non)dinner? My intentions were good, but I find I'm tired and hungry when I get home (late on tues and thurs)....I did find some leftovers for kiddes, and then started munching on those EVIL MACADAMIA NUTS. I did exert some control, and finally settled down, but with the added diet pop I was full....so that was my dinner (and it's pretty high in carbs and calories too!).....added some "dessert" of course (1/2 c. plain yogurt w/sf raspberry syrup) and still ended up with almost 30 carbs and 1566 calories (within my range).

This morning I jump on the scale fearing the worst, and I am down another lb! (or more?)....with a low of 185.2! How exciting is that? (Don't worry the can is now finished).

I am a bit nervous about the weekend tho, as we are going downtown to have FUN, FUN, FUN without the kiddes and staying in a hotel (Westin) attached to our downtown shopping mall! Will be eating lovely food and drinks (I know no more breve lattes, and there is a Starbucks there too!). Hope I can resist and not do too much damage. (e.g. Martini hour at a very posh bar downtown....and lots of GREAT restaurants in the Market area downtown - will be VERY HARD to pick where we will eat dinner). Hotel restaurant is also very well known and has excellent cuisine if we want to stay in.....great view (overlooks the canal and the Parliament buildings). We also get a $22 credit for breakfast there and I hear the brunch is absolutely awesome!

Froufy (cold but sunny out today - supposed to rain all weekend)

Over, under....potato, patato DID I MENTION POTATOS!

I am so having a hard time this week, I'm on plan but I don't think a 1/2 of jar of pnut butter (no sugar) is "really" on plan. OY!

I am thinking about starting to add yogurt into my diet as well, I would like to give it a week and see, hey, I'm not losing by eating pnut butter so what the hay!

Can anyone give me any advice b/4 I go and buy some. I've heard some mention to buy full fat yogurt.

I am definitly NOT weighing myself until NEXT weekend