Atkins Induction Reduction
B L D

20 grams of Net Carbs per day.

The bottom line: Calories count- but they’re not the whole story. The right kind of calories- protein, healthy fat, plenty of fiber, which is the cornerstone of the Atkins Nutritional Approach - can make a major difference in the success of your weight loss program. This study strikes another nail in the coffin of the theory that “all calories are created equal”.

Morning walk

Evening Hike

Thanks Jacqui :hug: Do you really think the Diet Dr Pepper made up the 4lbs? I think your psyche helped with that. It said you've done so well without it why add it back in? ... it'll just have you drinking it daily instead of water! <-- your psyche talking :D Now if it bloated you, then nope let[s not drink it (says the Pepsi Max and Coke Zero girl :D they both make me burp like crazy :)

Thanks PrairieQueen, I may saute mine also. It's quicker :) I'll also be using bourbon flavoring.

mars I like your menu yesterday. Sure better than my menu most days :)

Carol, we were talking about different foods at work this morning and I said I wish there were a lot of foods that I didn't like, I'd be skinny. But as it is there are enough things that I like to keep me cramming them in my mouth :D. I don't eat the skin on the potatoes. I peel it off and mash it with cinnamon, nutmeg and margarine, yum :) the kids said it needed brown sugar but I thought it was ok :) LOL on the relaxed fit pants :) I felt like that when I wore plus size tops. There are always darts on the sides/boob area, well I'm not busty so I had a hard time with tops and bras. Big wide back and small cups, hard to find ;)

Hucklebeary, Sounds like you have a good plan going on. :)

me, I'm up 2.6lbs

Hi everyone, still here but my mobile keeps swallowing my posts. Apparentky it thinks I'm too gabby.
Carol Ooooh crispy potato skins sound so good. Probably less carbs too. Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where they tried to sell just the tops of the muffin. What to do with the rest...

Jacquie Hope you've arrived safe n sound!

Hucklebeary Wow lots of very interesting info. I love low carb because it keeps me satisfied. My brain doesn't run well anymore unless I have more carbs than I'd like.

Rennie I live peas too. And they have loads of protein. No one gains wt from eating too many peas,lol.

Today I made a run to WalMart. We don't have one near me. OMG, I found so many odds n ends I needed plus my carry on replacemt (old one sprung a hole yesterday). I even found those clip on sunglass thingys. That means I wont be always tangled up in lanyards! The clerk, a sweet man, was incredulous that anyone would wear these in public.

So far meals okay today: hotel buffet, eggs w cheese w just a bite of the nuffin, couple of melon cubes, whey shake/coffee.
S b-up bar These are doubling as padding in my luggage, lol.
L stale salad of spinach, slivered almonds, a lot of craisins, fat free dsg
S orange
D? I feel like a hamburger.

The rest of the whey shake will be breakfast. It's my power food, additives and all :rofl:

Thanks Rennie! I know I sound like a broken record, maybe even an enabling broken record, but imo you are too hard on yourself!

One more thing I was going to say, totally off the subject. I dreamt that I hit a little white dog with my car. It was just awful. One if those dreams you have that hangs around all day. I have to keep reminding myself that I didn't. Probaly just my monkey brain in overdrive, but I often attribute dreams to what I ate or lack. Otherwise, monkey brain is finally settling into quiet mode. Already am seeing great birds here in Miami, just at the airport hotel.

mars, :hug: Someone has to be hard on me. I want to lose weight yet my husbands unopened chips were sitting on the table and who opened them ME. :nono: How long will you be gone? If it's not too long, I'm gonna try to eat like I have some sense for those days. Let me know ... :)

rennie I'm back to Florida Nov 16, ehere I can post. I am finding that if I can be good--not perfect, just good, for more days than not, my weight goes down. It isnt fast but it is sustainable. It sounds like you are subject to frequent cues from your fam. The nutritionist I vonsulted last yr re my binge eating told me that the nerve pathway for impulse eating, ie instant gratification, is faster than the one ehere we make a choice like "but I want to lose weight". She told me to try to delay any response to urges to eat for just a few seconds, to let the rational brain catch up and have a vote. Easier said than done!

Sorry about all the typos!

Mars, my hand is quicker than my brain. I can have that food in my mouth long before I think about it! LOL I used to be so good at that delay tactic, but no more. Honestly, I always heard that if you want something, wait 20 min and then if you still want it, eat it, but most times you will decided not to eat it. When I lived alone I never had any snack food in the house. If I wanted something, like ice cream, I had to get in the car and drive down the hill to the little convenience store where they sold individual ice cream novelties. Sometimes I wanted it bad enough and went for it, but most times I didn't want to go through all that so I skipped it. I never bought a multi pack to keep in the freezer. It was always just 1 for right now. It was more expensive to buy that way, but much better on my waist line. That was when I had discipline with my food. I also only bought the little individual bags of chips. You know, the ones that have 5 chips in them and the rest is air. I had a few chips then it was over until the next craving. No full size bags of chips for this girl. Well, that girl.

Today I made the crusted butternut squash and ate half of it!! So good!

Hucklebeary, your plan is very close to what Jacqui is following, except she has a cheat day once a week. That is part of the Slow Carb Plan. No starchy carbs for 6 days then one day when you can have them. She is doing great following that plan. Me? I failed miserably.

Jacqui, I cannot give up my diet coke completely. I keep it at home and usually have one a day. I did quit ordering it when we eat out because they charge so much for it and unless you have them refill it several times it's just not worth the money. I can buy a six pack for what they charge, and they give you all ice, so you're getting very little coke. So I order water in a restaurant now, unless it's included in the cost of the meal, like at the casino buffet.

ok mars, November 16th it is! You've got a deal, even though you didn't say it ;) our challenge is on :D You are at 165.2 I won't be there by then but I won't almost be at 180 either :crossed:

Carol ... yep you hit the nail on the head --> my hand is quicker than my brain. I can have that food in my mouth long before I think about it!

Ok Rennie you're on! I just realized I'm in same time zone as you & Carol & maybe Jacqui. Thanks for the challenge Rennie. It will keep me in this solar system with my food intake.

Carol Isn't that crispy butternut the best???

I had dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ. I f I didn't have to get up at 3am, there would have been no stopping me! But I will stop there before my flight home snd do it justice. Had a chopped SW chicken salad w corn, blue ch, tiny bit of avo. They held the bacon & tortilla strips but I had some bbq chips served as appetizer. I think they were baked cause they were just so-so, lol. Feeling full now , maybe ate a bit too much but Blue cheese has been calling me, just like Jacq's Dr Pepper.)

mars, I just realized you are from Cali :). I love famous daves. I haven't been there since we left VA. I wonder if they have them here. OK bedtime, I'll talk to you all night and I have to get up at 1:20am. So nite nite :)

WannabeHealthy - I can't do cheat days.

Today's menu......

Break - McD's burrito w/hot sauce, ice tea w/stevia
Lunch - leftover lemon/mushroom chicken & pasta
Dinner - feta/bacon burger w/o lid, spinach salad w/maple-Dijon vinaigrette

Check. Check.
Day is done.

'Night Rennie!

Carol I have been laughing all evening about your comment that your hand us faster than your brain! You & SMF are maestras of one- liners!

Nice day, congrats on that Hucklebeary!

We just had our group debriefing. The leader asked if anyoneone in the group knew for sure that they had significant overweight luggage. Just me. He was thinking we could all weigh our luggage together and split the overweight fee. But at least our body weights span a good range. lol

Time to re-zip the luggage.

Mars, what're we gonna do without you? Glad you enjoy the "humor" and glad that I found a place where I can be a goofball and not be rejected. Doesn't happen that way IRL--the goofball only comes out for my kids...and "professional comedienne"?? shudder I'm not quick enough (brain is not--same hand as Carol's), plus people laughing at me would make me cry!

RE the spousal issues....well, I'm fat/he's never been; neverending eye issues/perfect vision; organized/disorganized; constant worrier/chill; female/male....wouldn't you be annoyed?! Well, ok, really, he forgot my birthday...Again. But (always a big but, sigh---wanna exchange butts, Carol?), everything's fine. Just my version of Shark Week.

I swear I miss a lot in all these conversations. I didn't notice Rennie being hard on herself ?

My shoes were tight this am and the wt has been going up. I don't think it's sodium--I don't eat processed stuff and don't add THAT much salt. Must be the RA meds....(getting better with the injections...the urge to faint or cry is less.) Anyway, a new puzzle.

Dang, I still have work to do and I'm tired.....better get back to it.

SMF Don't worry, I will have much to say in 2 wks. Enjoy the rest,lol. I sure will miss my friends here.

SMFI got mixed up with who's who in your opposites pairs. I'll retead in the morning when my brain isnt so foggy. But dang, forgetting your birthday sucks. Happy Belated Birthday!!! I remember how I felt when BF did that. Last yr a pal who is male forgot my bday. He is there and thoughtful in a lot of other ways. He said he just can't manage to keep track of birthdays & anniversaries. Once he explained it, I was ok with it. But he is not my husband so maybe that would be different.

Your kids are lucky to have a Mom who can be a goofball!

Yay for getting on top of the injections!!!!

I'd better get to sleep. Alarm set for 245a so that I can enjoy the whey shake!

Getting ready to fly. Hasta la vista mis amigas queridas!

Mars, "significant overweight luggage." I would have taken that personally. LOL I see I missed your goodbye, so I guess we'll see you in 2 weeks.

SMF, DH and I have the same issue, I'm fat, he's not and never has been. He does not eat big meals, but is big on junk food. It has no effect on him. I will say he has never forgotten my birthday or anniversary, ever, but I forgot his BD once. I went to work and never thought of it until lunch time. I even called him on my 9AM break and he was waiting for me to say it. He had looked all over the house to see where I left his card. No card. Finally, I called him at lunch time, but still didn't wish him HB. As soon as I hung up I remembered, and called him back. I felt so bad, but he was OK with it. We get into it occasionally about my weight, but he has faults too that offset my weight. I tell him that I was thin when we married, but he always insisted that I eat when and what he did, so it's his fault I gained.

I have forgotten friend's birthdays, too. When I do that, I always say "If you never look any older, how am I supposed to know you have birthdays!" That usually soothes the hurt. LOL

I don't think I want to exchange butts, but I would willingly relieve you of some of the padding.

PrairieQueen, I see that the sausage burritos are 2/$2 right now. How much are they regularly?

Hucklebeary and PrairieQueen :wave:

mars did you say your luggage was overweight or did you just think it? Did you all end up weighing the luggage together? Wishing you safe travels my friend :hug: oh mars when you get to catch up. I've done well today ... so far ;)

SeeMyFeet :hug: you're too cute ... I do love your humor :) ... oh I'm sorry he forgot your birthday. :hug: Well Happy Belated Birthday to you :hug: SeeMyFeet, I think mars means when I get on myself about my slip-ups. I have so many, I figure I have to tell myself that this isn't the way to succeed and that this can't continue to happen ;)

Carol and SeeMyFeet, well this is 3 of us --> my husband is tall and thin (with his Pepsi gut), He eats junk constantly, always has, and nothing. Carol you are funny re: padding :lol: Did you try one of the burritos?

Jacqui :hug:

B
L
D
Check.
Check. Check.

Wannabehealthy They're $1.29 at the McD's I go to, but I think it's a little higher than some of the others locally, because it is right off 71 in the middle of nowhere. They used to be $1.19 last year and before that they were always 2 for 2.....inflation :)

PrairieQueen it's been a couple years since I had a Sausage Burrito and I think they were $1 back then. Inflation. I might try one next time.

Hucklebeary, I did WW for a while and did well with it, but I could only succeed by attending the meetings and I couldn't afford the meetings. It seemed so stupid to pay someone to weigh me. And i can get pep talks from 3FC. But it's not a spanking. Everyone does what works for them. I think any weight-loss plan will work if you stick with it. That's the hard part.

Hi everyone, I wanted to jump back in today but I am headed to the hospital! My daughter-in-law just went into labor with their twins!

And just to keep up, I weighed 174 this morning. I'll have to read all the posts later. I can't right now. But I hope everyone is doing well! :grouphug:

Carol let me know what you think of the burrito? I can't try one until possibly after mars comes back :) I'm being good so no triggers ;)

:congrat: to your son and DIL Jacqui :) Glad you're back :hug:

Jacqui sending positive vibes out to momma and babes :)

Today's menu.....

Break - McD's sausage burrito w/hot sauce and ice tea w/stevia
Lunch - more leftover chicken w/lemon-mushroom sauce over angel hair pasta
Dinner - slow cooker ham and beans (dried from 2014 garden) and leftover spinach salad

Rennie, I have had the burritos and they are good, but I normally prefer the sausage and egg McMuffins. The burritos are lower calorie and probably lower carb.

Jacqui, congratulations on the new grandtwins! Hope all goes well!

PrairieQueen, beans and ham :drool:

Thanks Carol :) You know ... I don't think I have ever tried an egg McMuffin ... I don't like the way the picture looks :) Looks like a puffy egg thing ... though that is what I get when I make my egg concoction in my little Easy Eggwich :D but I made it so I don't mind ;) and I just eat the eggs and whatever I add, no bread ;)

mars I had a 3.9lb whoosh ... I ate properly got my water in and all of that bloat is gone. You are making me work Lady! I even have your name on my calendar the day you return :). The kids are gonna say Mommy, who is Mars?!!!! ok 172.1 today that leaves me 6.9lbs to lose ... I've got this my friend :)

Jacqui, praying Mommy and baby's are doing well :hug:

So today was a longggggg day. I got to work at 7am and left at 6:15pm due to parent teacher conferences. We had a meal provided (all pasta, rolls, and thankfully salad).

Break - McD's sausage burrito w/hot sauce and ice tea w/stevia
Lunch - very small set I got of leftover ham/beans (in anticipation of the "snack" and pub wings)
Snack - small salad w/low cal balsamic vinaigrette
Dinner - grilled spicy pub wings and two light beers

...feeling the need to whine...
Yesterday's meals...
B: oatmeal & coffee;
L/S salad & >2C fresh fruit;
S (while cooking "dinner") ~4 pecan halves, ~1/2 T cream cheese;
D ~2C brussel sprouts.

I'm counting every calorie like it's bail money for my baby....Less than 900cal yesterday and right at 1200cal average and 100net carbs average for the week...and I've been stalling/gaining all this week. Even while exercising every day. At my weight! Ugh. Just, Ugh. And, No, I don't feel thinner and clothes fit the same. I need to exercise and I don't think I can go lower calories or lower carbs and still function.

I've been up since 5am, and my goal is to get to the gym and start an earlier exercise trend. Maybe the schedule change will shake things up? Anyway, should be less crowded. (Fingers crossed that I stop this chatting and get my butt in there.)

Did someone say "twins"? Awwww...hope everyone is doing ok. So many sweet cheeks to kiss!

"Wannabehealthy: Mars, "significant overweight luggage." I would have taken that personally. " :rofl: :rofl: New meaning to the term: SOL :rofl:

Hey ALL! I miss y'all! I am running, running, running with the new babies, watching my 3-year-old grandson, and having family in! I am exhausted and I mean exhausted! I still don't have to time to sit down and read posts and get back in the groove like I want, but I will as soon as I can! I hope you are all doing well! I haven't weighed today yet so I can't report my weight at the moment, but I have been drinking Diet Dr. Pepper because I need the caffeine! :lol: I just hope the sodium doesn't get me, but if it does, it does. My eating has been on point, so I'm good there! Anyway, the babies are each 5.13 lbs and 19.5 inches long. One has been put on oxygen but that's common. After all, they are 5 weeks early. He may have to stay in the hospital for up to 2 weeks until his breathing is normal. My daughter-in-law and other grandbaby are expected to be released today or tomorrow. Okay, gotta run! :grouphug:

Awwwww....babies...That's a healthy size for 5wk preemie twins! (Although any one of mine was as big as the two put together!) Must be tough to take him away from his sibling....2 boys?


whell..Diddit...made it to the gym this am ....sure is nice-n-sparsely populated at that time. I like coming back home during daylight. ...I sure hope I can keep up this early schedule. But it took a long time to stop perspiring--change in exercise schedule plus lack of sleep. Cross fingers that I'm sweating away fat.

PrairieQueen that must be the norm for parent/teacher conference meals. They serve spaghetti with sauce, nachos and a salad with tons of croutons, with super sweet lemonade :) the kids like it though :)

SeeMyFeet, I have suggested to everyone today to try calorie cycling. It sure helped me when I plateaued. Just a thought :) SeeMyFeet, good job on the gym. I have that issue after the gym with perspiration. Then when I do cool down I'm freezing :dizzy:

Jacqui, what about the Diet Dr Pepper 10? Is that better? Have you tried it? My son likes regular Dr Pepper and he said the 10 taste the same to him. It's worth a shot :) Hope you can relax a little soon :hug: Aw, give your DIL a hug from me. That's hard going home and your bundle of joy is in the hospital. That happened with our first. She stayed in the hospital for almost 3 weeks. We were there, more than home.

I dropped another pound this morning. I'm happy with myself. A co-worker bought me a sausage biscuit from Bojangles. I love love love their biscuits but I didn't eat it. I ate the sausage and wrapped the biscuit for one of the kids to eat :)

SeeMyFeeet when I was restricting my calories too much, I actually stalled. I had lost weight without really trying the first few weeks of summer by just exercising (yard & garden work). Then I started trying to lose and restricted my calories too much I think. Once I eased up on myself with the calories but kept up with the yard work I started losing again. My body didn't think it was starving and let me burn some fat.

Today's menu.....

Break - McD's sausage burrito w/hot sauce, ice tea w/stevia
Lunch - more beans and ham
Snack - 3 almonds and 4 blueberries
Dinner - linguini w/macadamia nut pesto and chicken

Well, the whine seems to have done the trick, I weighed in 0.5lb less than last friday's wt. We'll see if it sticks over the weekend. I'm hoping the change in routine was the trick, and not the pooping. I can control my daily routine, but not my intestines.

I've thought about this calorie/carb cycling option, but I'm too scared. It's so hard for me to lose as it is, and there's enough natural variation in my daily intake already. Frankly, ladies, I haven't seen enough real evidence that it works. Though, I'm sure it helps some folks feel less deprived, which is not a big deal for me. (Not now, anyway)

Sooo...(drum roll please)...I've been hard at work with this for 54 days and I've lost 10.87 pounds :carrot: That's about 0.2lb per day or 1.4lb per week, which is the best I've been able to do. Exercise or no exercise. I'm trying to take the joy in progress and avoid calculating how long it will take me to get to ###.

I didn't get to the gym early this morning, as I needed more sleep. I would dearly love to make that a new habit.....Rennie, I did finally stop sweating yesterday and have been freezing since.

Hi Chickies! I am not at home so no weigh-in today, but it is Carb Day! :carrot: I haven't weighed for the last few days so hopefully my weight is not up, but if it is, it is. It's been a little stressful around here. My grandson who is still at the hospital has had some complications in the last couple of days, but we got some positive news this morning. Prayers and positive thoughts for continued improvement would be appreciated! Rennie, congrats on being a lb down and SeeMyFeet on being half a lb down! :cp: (SeeMyFeet, yes, they are twin boys.) :wave: Prairie Queen, Carol Sue, Hucklebeary and others! Mars, I hope you're having a great time! :yes: