I'd be happy to move too as long as I know where to go. It's so nice to talk to other people who are just starting this!

Feffy, my husband and I also jumped in with both feet. We set a date that we would begin and tried to eat all of the carbs in the house during the week leading up to that time. We're on a pretty fixed budget because I have just gone back to school so we couldn't afford to lose the groceries but by the end of that carb-fest I was SO ready for the diet to begin! I will say though, the first few days I had some pretty painful withdraw.

I've only been on the diet for a week but I've found it really easy to stay under 20 carbs as long as I follow the rules of induction (3 cups of salad only, 3 ounces of cheese, etc.).

Nicole, what did you do with the carb food that you had left? We threw away all of the stuff that had been opened but have tons of unopened food and I'd feel bad throwing it all away (I'm talking a few bags full of groceries). I looked in the phone book for some sort of food bank but can't find anything (I'm new to Tampa so I don't know the area very well yet) and the bags are sitting in my kitchen just waiting for me to have a weak moment!

My weight loss has stalled since the original 16 so I feel pretty certain that it was just a beginning-of-the-diet fluke! A week later and I feel better then I have in a long time though!

_________________
Start Weight 223
Current Weight 207
Goal Weight 145

Welcome, New Chicks! Hold onto your perches as I move this row of nesting boxes into the Main LC Coop!

Lamby, we didn't actually have that much stuff left over as we just don't keep a lot of stuff in (small kitchen) but we just tossed it. Couldn't find anywhere to donate it and frankly, didn't have the space to keep hanging on to food we had no plans of eating. So, it's outta here.

Glad to hear you're feeling well - my husband and I were just saying the same thing. I had started to have heartburn/indigestion (and I thought it was just an old people affliciton) ALL the time and I haven't had it even ONCE since I started Induction. MY husband had developed all kinds of stomach problems that seem to have just evaporated. Woo-woo. It's good to feel human again.

Neither of us have lost anything in the past few days so we're starting to tweak things again here and there. For one, I'm going to get a lot more careful about water. I normally get my basic 64 and after that, just whatever I feel like. I'm going to make more of an effort to step that up.

I think we're going to put the scales away till next Monday. The day to day up and down (down 2, up .5) is just TOO much of a roller coaster for me. I'm getting paranoid. Next Monday is our last day of "official" induction and after that, we'll decide what to do next.

Yeah, if we didn't have SO much I wouldn't have hesitated to just throw it away to get it out of my sight!

It's really funny, we seemed to have been in the same place when we started this thing. I was also getting heartburn a lot and hadn't noticed until you pointed it out, but haven't since I started. And it's fantastic that your husband isn't having stomach problems anymore!

I think putting the scale away is a good idea. I get discouraged if I don't get results immediately (which I know is silly and unrealistic). I just can't help but step on that scale. Maybe I'll put it in the trunk of my car or something to get it out of my apartment!

What are you thinking you'll do about induction? I think I might try to stay on it for now.. I'm not tired of it yet. I think I will get to a point where I will need to introduce new foods into my diet and then move onto the next phase.

________________
Start Weight 223
Current Weight 207
Goal Weight 145

We are just going to put the scale somewhere out of the way and inconvenient to get to. We'll weigh again next Monday. I too get VERY discouraged and impatient if the scale doesn't move every day - as if that's really going to happen! I know it's expecting too much and still, I expect it.

I think we have this week of induction and then we'll probably try for two more. It hasn't been THAT bad and I think we have the "formula" down for now. Plus, I have a LOT to lose. Two more weeks won't hurt me.

Hi chicks. I am still haning in there. i did cehat yesterday but gosh It was too hot to cook!! and I was packing DH to go for the next few days. (he is camping with the boys) I am going to visit them tomorow and well i hope I do not laugh too hard. I am sure they will do just fine.

I will say that I think I alowed my self to cheat is that the scale like you guys have said is not moving very well in fact it seems to be going in the other direction. (I know it is salt) but it is so depressing that I just pigged out on subs. so please keep the scales away and hide them even for the month.

Well got to go to bed. I have an early morning tomorow.

Hide those scales, Sue! Don't let them get to you. If you do your part, they'll catch up eventually!

Brandy

I am so bloated it is not funny!! (I did great today untill I visited DH who is camping with my 2 small boys and of course we had to have the marshmellows!! LOL) But yes those scales are going to be hid. actually they are down stairs and I will not weigh in front of everybody, and when one gets on the scale every one runs to see!!

But ready to go all out again starting tomorow. and exercise will start this weekend!!

Well, I'm ten days in with no cheats, a net loss of 7 pounds - but the scale hasn't budged since last Friday morning. So guess I'll be taking my own advice about haning in and waiting for the scale to catch up. ACK. I'm SO impatient. I won't be weighing again till Monday (we didn't hide the scales till this morning) but if I don't show SOME kind of loss, I'm going to be SO disappointed!

I's just so frustrating when I'm not even cheating AND I'm drinking the water and being careful and blah blah blah and the darn scale just won't move.

Just wanted a bit of a whine. I'll stop now, I promise!

Just started Atkins today and so far have made it through lunch. This morning I had 2 eggs with cheese and some bacon. I am thinking is that what I am going to have to have every morning? There is not that much that you can eat in the morning. I think dinner will be the easiest meal. Can anyone give me some ideas?
What do you snack on during the induction phase?

Thanks
RFP

Hi girls! Here you are

I was so happy to find this group then I thought I lost you all! Glad to see you all again. Wow reading threw all of your posts we are all really in the same boat here! I thought I was the only one that was impatient with the scale. I am terrible! I will get up every morning and run in the bathroom strip down and what ever I see on the scale sets the tone for my entire day. I have promised my self that I was not going to do that this time. I am with you all on hiding the scale out of sight! Mine is under the bathroom counter.

Well I started my first day yesterday. Thanks for the advice girls! You talked me into just going for it! Think I did ok? But I did have more then 3 oz of cheese. Think I am confused on the “Atkins Free Food List” what does it mean “FREE FOOD”??? Guess it doesn’t mean to eat all you want right? I had a terrible headache early in the day, and felt really hungry all day! Allot more then normal. My usual eating routine is coffee, coffee, and more coffee all day with no food or water etc. (I know, I know) then by 6-7 PM I end up starving and eating anything I can find at night! Yesterday I ate all threw the day. Cheese, pork sausage, eggs, broccoli, chicken, I had two diet caffeine free Pepsi (that is ok right?) and allot of water!

I am a little scared about hearing of all the plateau’s you all are hitting. Is this normal on this diet? I was thinking maybe because with Atkins you build muscle that weighs more then fat, so maybe your measurements are moving, but just not the scale? Is anyone Measuring?


Feffyy

Heaviest (267 pounds)
Current (267 pounds)
Goal (137 pounds)
Lightest (145 pounds)

Alright since the beginning of this post I have stood still. I have not been able to run because of lack of energy and dizziness. I was pointed in the way of some vitamins I should be taking and I will have started them today. I have not lost a thing since the 4th day!! I believe it was a lot of stored sugar weight or water weight. It's been tough but I am trying to stick it out!!! But I am craving more now than I was at the beginning.

I have a hard time with snacks too... I am a picky person and I don't like much of anything and haven't found much that I like so I have pickles and cheese...I am sick of them. I have searched the recipes...I don't know... maybe something will catch my eye!

Golfer, since my stand still I'm starting to consult my food journal from last week (when I was losing) to see what's different. All I can see is that I'm eating way less (not interested in food) and not getting in the salad like I should. I wonder if that's part of it? Have you kept a food journal? If you compare the past few days to the first few days, what's different?

I realize that after the first rush, things are just bound to slow down - but I don't want them to STOP altogether!

As for snacks - honestly, I just haven't been interested. My husband eats sugar free jello (sometimes with a little whipped cream), string cheese, peperoni nuked till crispy (better than it sounds), and the occasional Atkins chocolate bar (we usually share one as a little taste is all I really need). Maybe you can try some of those? I will have one of the above every now and then - but mostly, just am not hungry in between meals. Oh, and olives. I have a friend who swears by olives with cream cheese. To each their own.

feffyy, you've found us! I really think the scales might just NEED to be once a week for me. I really can't get past the day to day fluctuations (or lack thereof) and it's hard to keep the big picture in mind.

As for the "free food" list - I think it means you don't have to pre-set an "acceptable" amount but the book and site do emphasize taht you should eat if you are HUNGRY, not just to graze or because just because it's allowed. I had a little headache or two in the first few days, but I think it was just getting over the sugar/caffine dependency. I LIVED on Diet Coke and Altoids all day. Now I limit my Diet Cokes (I refuse to drink caffine free) to two a day and drink either caffine free green tea (on ice) or water all day.

Plateaus, in my experience, are normal on every diet. I think in the beginning, you can usually get past one by either being patient and waiting it out (not bloody likely) or shaking things up (starting to exercise or increasing your exercise, having one off- plan meal, something to switch things up). The closer you get to your goal - and THIS is from watching other people (I WISH I was fighting those last five or ten) they slower the weight comes off. That's less about diet and more about just how the body works. From what I can see, anyway.

I'm going to start MAKING myself eat those salads twice a day again. That's really the only thing that's very different so maybe if I do that, the scale will be my friend again and I won't have to hurl it out the window!

Hello all, I had just stumbled upon this site a few weeks ago, and have gotten more involved with all. I am at 231 and 5'1", my doctor recommended low carbs but I am realizing how hard it is. I have a friend and we are trying to support one another with the LC dieting.

I have increased my water intake to 115 + oz p/day and have noticed a decrease in the swelling of my legs, but I really miss my Dr. Peppers

Hi Angel B! My husband is missing the regular soft drinks as well, but he's switched to having a few (like two) diets a day. Stinker is shedding weight like madness so it must work for him. Meanwhile, I'm still at a standstill. Has to pick up again soon tho, right?

Guys, I don't know what to do. I am being very careful. I am having 20 or fewer carbs a day. I am drinking tons of water. Tomorrow it will have been a WEEK since I lost anything (no, I have not been able to make myself hide the scales yet - everymorning I'm hopeful and I want to KNOW). And I'm in the early stages. This is when weight loss is supposed to be fast and furious, right? ACK! WHY NOT ME?