Hi all! hope you dont mind if I join in here!

I struggle terribly with depression, and I think a **** of a lot of it stems from my weight. I'll be honest, nothing bad happened to cause my self loathing but I just dont like me at all I guess. I have really bad problems about a year ago and almost lost my job due to the depression affecting my job, but I managed to bounce back a bit from that. I've lost 40 pounds so far and (although I cant see any difference) I think its helped, I don't feel quite as worthless anymore. I used to sing in bands, but I haven't for a while as I dont like people really looking at me because I look awful but I missi t loads and want to do that again too.

yeh....hmm

alanafx,

Sure we are glad to have you.

I gained 3 lbs even though I am in full ketosis with my test strip turning the next to the darkest purple. I just don't understand it. I did find out that by MRC I have lost 3% body fat, 1.6 BMI and gained 1/2 lb of muscle. I hope everyone's weigh-ins are better than mine.

Hi firegirl - Sorry your weigh in turned out to be a conundrum for you. I'm not sure what ketosis is and how it relates to weight loss, but it certainly sounds like it was a surprise. Sending positive thoughts your way - hope you got it figured out. Don't give up

Hi alanafx - Welcome to the thread. I'm a newbie to this thread myself, although it doesn't stop me from talking/writing a bunch, lol. 40 pounds - congrats! Weight loss definitely helps improve our mood. Good job!

How's everyone else doing?

I have some scale progress today. Last week was a long, tiring one, but I got through it. 10-11 hr days, come home, grabbed a quick snack (apple & blackberries), then stepped on the elliptical or my other workout stuff. Thursday and Friday I was spent, but I did good on the calories. All in all, here is my progress:

First thing in the morning weight (dehydrated):179.4 lbs

After breakfast (more realistic weight): 183.6 lbs

I like to do both measurements so that I can see how much water I'm retaining when I'm getting more exercise. I call my after-breakfast weight more realistic because it reflects the amount of work I was able to put in last week. I wasn't hungry at all, all I did was modify my schedule to drop my cals a little and work out a little. So, it makes sense that I'm down 1.5-2 pounds this week.

Proud of myself Thought I'd share my progress with you ladies

Congrats on the great loss, Coffeeshopgirl!

Ketosis is a state your body gets into if you do not consume many carbohydrates. When you are in ketosis, your body burns stored fat for fuel because it doesn't get enough fuel from your carb intake. I am following the Atkins program and if you eat properly, you will stay in ketosis and burn your stored fat. That is why I couldn't comprehend the weight gain. I have successfully lost significant amounts of weight with Atkins in the past, and I have never had a gain while in ketosis. One checks that state by getting ketone testing strips and passing one through their urine stream. There is a color chart on the side of the bottle that lets you know where you are on the chart.

DH and I went across the state of GA yesterday to put up a vertical gardening system for our neighbor's sister and to bring a truck back for him as he had no way to get it home. We had Chinese food last night and I stayed on plan with my eating except for two bites of an imitation crab salad and casserole. I was impressed to find on the menu this morning at the restaurant an Atkin's breakfast which consisted of a grilled chicken breast, 2 scrambled cholesterol-free eggs, and a piece of whole wheat toast (which I didn't touch.) For lunch, they fed us smoked ham, turnip greens and a salad. All of which was on plan. This is the first trip I ever took where I stayed on plan with my eating. I am proud of me!

Thanks for the info on ketosis, firegirl. I'm scratching my head too - if you were in the fat burning zone, then why are you gaining. I would at least think you'd maintain. Now I see the confusion. Is there a support group or message board that comes with the Atkins program?

Happy to hear about the healthy menu while you were out of town! It is so tough to stay on plan when there's bad-for-you food around. Good job!


So, remember how I said I took 2 days off last week? Well, I got onto the elliptical today and pumped out 30 minutes (3 sets of 10 mins). I think I'm at the point where I can step it up and do 2 sets of 15 minutes. I'll try that out on Monday. Tomorrow, the plan is 5 mins hula hooping, weight lifting circuit, and 5 more mins hula hooping.

It helps a bunch to post about this. Sometimes you just need to talk it out. I hope I can stay on track this time

Hello ladies. Today is going to be a tough day. I am taking my daughter back to school. It is a 2 hour drive, 4 hours total on the road. It drains me leaving her, plus the drive.

I bought my walking video, I need to get started on it. I'm going to start with 1 mile walks. I'm not going to kill myself.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about myself lately and despite my size, i am really happy with my body. My new Dr isn't, she is after me to lose weight right off the bat. I myself am happy with myself. The only reason I am going to do this is for my health. My knees have been really been bothering me. I kind of wish she would just leave me alone. I may end up changing Dr's.


I hope this post finds you all well.

coffeeshopgirl: Boy, you are really making progress with your exercise program! I hope the longer duration goes good for you. That is a big jump in that level of training.

ohiofreespirit: sorry to hear you had a rough day. Keep up your spirit! We are here to support you. It is great that you got the walking video. That is a good place to start. When I started walking for exercise back in 2005-6, I bought a CD of walking music from the 1970-80's that I really enjoyed and I walked my socks off listening to that CD. I got others over time and none compared to that first one. I always went back to it when I needed a lift. I am glad to hear that you are happy with your body. My doc always tells me to lose more weight also. You and I are the same height. I am very large boned, kinda built like a man with b**bs. I am shooting for 165 and my doc wants me to go down to at least 157. My DH ways NO, he says I start getting too thin in the face at 170. We will see where I end up.