Hello everyone. Checking in for the first time this month - schedule has been super crazy so I rarely have time to sit down and just surf the net.

Keeping up my healthy eating habits and upped my workouts. I finally am starting to feel good after months!

Sam - congrats on the weight loss!!! You look absolutely amazing, and are an inspiration to me!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Good morning everyone. Still dreary out there, but at least the brain is firing on all of its cylinders (which at my age means about 4 of 6!).

Sam Glad you back home and back in your own bed and hopefully are feeling much more rested this morning. And please don't beat yourself up -- you have worked very, very, very hard to get to this point and I seriously doubt if you were not pushing hard enough. It's ok for us to love ourselves!
Ubee Yes, I'm retired, but old habits die hard. I think that after 30 years of doing large project work, I always have to have something going. Little secret......organizing a project and actually working on it sometimes takes several days (or weeks) for the two parts to join. I imagine if you had a pity party it was deserved -- or at least the emotional part. You can do this. Make that we can do this!
Cindy Glad you're back on track foodwise, but am so sorry to read that your leg is acting up again. Definitely worth a doctor's visit to find out what's going on there. Cooler temps sound much better, too.
Misstoni Good news on your being able to tell the difference in how you feel as a result of your efforts.

Hi to everyone else -- Fi, Terra, Donna, Tootsie, and I'm sure I've forgotten someone. Hope all of you are ok and get a chance to post soon.

Off to the gym and then into town for gardening supplies. It was pouring cats and dogs on the way home yesterday so I delayed the shopping excursion. Got the laundry done and vacuumed 3 times since the dogs tracked in so much junk from outside throughout the day. It's going to be a long 2 weeks with having both dogs here again.

Have a great day.

TRIGGER WARNING:

I watched Ashley's story on My 600 Pound Life. Since there is more than one, the Ashley with a mom who is a complete narcissist <insert derogatory adult word here>. I don't usually resort to name calling, but this mom reminds me of my mom. Belittling me, and then a few hours later acting like nothing happened and then saying that she loves me. The thing about my mom, is that she is a behind your back talker. So she doesn't even have the lady testicles to say it to your face, if you're a stranger. If you live in her house, and you are a child, she'll criticize you to your face. "I wanted a thin, blue-eyed, blonde-headed daughter." The fat, I'll give her that. I can control my eating and exercise. I can't control my genetic structure. You want a blue-eyed daughter? Marry a blue eyed man. Then my dad making veiled insults in the form of platitudes. "I don't care how many men my daughter marries. I will always love her." For the record, I married one man. I dated others, but apparently, in my dad's warped mind, dating, without his input, constitutes marriage.

Hi everyone.
tootsie that is horrible. I think you must be one of those persons who used her parents as an example of what NOT to do. I really am sorry for your pain. It is sad that they tried to turn their mental problems into yours. You are a good and very loveable person.
Betsy I love to organize and plan a project. Doing the actual physical work is another problem. Today I am going with the Nike commercial. "Just do it." I bet the next two weeks will be long. That is a long time for a doggy slumber party. You are a good doggy momma!
Hi Miss Toni!
Cindy always listen to your gut. Glad you are going to get your leg checked out. WTG on having a good food day. Mine was pretty good today also.
It is pretty quiet today.
My weight conscious cousin will be joining our coffee shop weight loss group. She might be just the person to help us get serious. I hope so I am ready to meet my 2016 goal.
Have a peaceful day.

Hey Everyone another quick post...it's game 7 of the stanley cup playoffs so I'm taking a quick break to say hello.

I'm feeling better today but didn't get a good nights sleep. Went to bed early and DH woke me up 3 times last night for 3 different things....sigh. Maybe tonight.

Tomorrow I'll be back to personals but wanted to say to Tootsie is that your mom reminds me of mine. You aren't alone. I was always belittled or guilt tripped into feeling ashamed for anything I did. My mother didn't do a good job on feeding me healthy food when it was her job but in her eyes my weight issues were never because of her. I've already decided to cut her out of my life after my grandma dies because right now she lives with her and its impossible for me to cut ties unless I cut my grandma out my life and I don't want to do that. My mother had no business having children...she's always been self centered and always left my brother and I to fend of ourselves. My brother was smart to move across the country to Colorado to get away from her but I can't.

Anyway I could go on about that but it isn't worth it...I love you guys and thanks for always listening.
Have a good night!

I have been away from this thread for far too long. I just scanned the postings and there are so many familiar Chicks on here that were on when I was last posting. Does anyone remember this old Rooster?

For some reason my body refused to lose any more weight by calorie counting. I was weighing and measuring everything and I even went way low on calories (900) for quite a while with no increase and no decrease in weight. I gave it a lot of time, 6 months to be exact and got discouraged and started bingeing. I quickly found that although I could not lose I certainly could gain.

I finally decided to try again and really shake up my body so I went on Atkins Induction. Started weighing and measuring and counting Carbs, Fat and Protein instead of calories. I have been on it for 23 days now and am losing. Lost 15 lbs so far. I am very strict with my carbs. Most days Carb gram count is in the single digits.

Glad to be back!!

Hi everyone, just a quick check-in tonight. Food was mostly good today, so I'm getting there.

I saw the doctor this afternoon about the pain in my leg. She is sending me for an ultrasound to rule out a blood clot. She doesn't suspect that is what it is, but since that is the most dangerous possibility she wants to rule it out first. So I should be going tomorrow for that. Otherwise I will be home tomorrow, elevating and resting it. Doctor's orders.

Have a good day tomorrow.

Larry: Welcome.

Cindy: I hope that your leg issue is nothing serious.

Sam: It's so sad that there are shitty peopke in this world, especially if that person is a mother that is supposed to love and care for their children.

Ubee: Yes, that is my thought about motherhood. I do NOT want to be my mother. It's good that your cousin will be joining your group. That can be a good motivation. You should have no problem reaching your 2016 goal.

Betsy: How do you have all of that energy? I wish that it would rub off on me. I feel nauseated and tired right now. I did a 4 mile Leslie Sansone workout, walked with the kids for a bit, then went grocery shopping. Ended up walking a total of 7.21 miles today.

Marie: Nice to see you back.

Good morning everyone. It's finally stopped raining here so I'm making out my list of places to go and things to buy......time to get the yard ready and I need annuals and and and.

Tootsie You must be an incredibly strong person to have the insight to understand your parents and to have created a good life for yourself. There is a thin line between a parent wanting what's best for us and wanting what's best for themselves. And as the child in the situation -- regardless of our age -- allowing ourselves to step back from the parent/child relationship instead of continually trying to please them takes enormous courage. I chuckled over your asking where I get my energy......and then I read all the exercise you did. I think we just expend our energy in different ways and your way is definitely healthier.
Ubee Glad your cousin is joining your group -- I was wondering if it was still getting together. It sounds like you're making that turn back into staying on plan. I know these past few weeks/months have been tough for you. But you've had more than a few things to handle and hopefully your life is beginning to settle down again. You know we're rooting for you. Should I go put on my cheerleader outfit (I keep thinking how awful it would look on me between the varicose veins and the box pleated skirts that we wore when we were in high school!).
Sam Hope that DH had a good reason to wake you up 3 times. I always have so much trouble staying on plan when I'm exhausted.
Larry Make that LARRY!!!!! So glad that you're rejoining us. And I think our bodies just get tired of losing weight in one way only and need a shake up. I'm not on Atkins per se, but am definitely counting carbs. Glad you're back with us and congrats on the shake up.
Cindy So glad you went to the doctor and are getting it checked for a blood clot. Hope you have a good book to read today while you're resting and keeping it elevated.

My floors look like most of the outside is now inside, but I refuse to wash them since they would just look this way by tonight. Once Becky goes back home, I'll give them a good scrubbing. In the meantime, I seem to now be vacuuming every day. Ugh.

Time for some breakfast, the gym, and then shopping. I need to hit the grocery story for a few items. I meant to mention that I finally tried the zucchini noodles. I hate to admit how much I enjoyed them -- didn't miss the pasta at all and that's saying a lot!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Down 2 pounds today!! :

That makes 17 pounds in 23 days

Just picked up Ketone test strips and tested for the first time. They show I have a moderate ketone level which means I am following the Atkins low carb plan correctly.

I just realized that I am officially past the super morbidly obese range. I am now just plain morbidly obese. I look forward to losing the "morbidly" term.

Larry WELCOME BACK!!!!!! I wondered where you went!!! So happy to see you posting here!!!! We were all worried for a good while about you...last time you were here your health wasn't doing too good. I hope you are doing better and hope you continue to post here!!!

Miss Thank you so much for the love!!! It means a lot to me that I inspire you....I never thought I was much of an inspiration but it makes me happy that I can be here for others Hope you are doing well and glad to see you posting again

Cindy Hope everything went well at the doctors...Get plenty of rest!!!

Tootsie You are right about the shitty people in this world. I've vowed never to treat my children the way my mother did me if I am lucky enough to have kids one day. You are doing so well with you weight loss I'm so proud!

Betsy It was whatever with DH. He was looking for his partial and couldn't find it one time, then wanted me to catch one of our cats that's in heat and put her in our laundry room to sleep so she doesn't wake us up through the night and I can't forget the last one lol...oh well. Didn't get as good of sleep last night either...Stayed up too late watching hockey and it wasn't even worth it, my team lost in overtime and I fell asleep right before the overtime started so I missed it anyway lol...

So I have gained back a couple pounds. Not sure what's going on this week. I can't figure out if it's because I'm back to eating oatmeal as my breakfast again instead of the eggs like last week or what. I can't stop drinking water I'm practically chugging it every chance I get because I don't want to gain this week. I thought I was doing good but now I don't know. DH suggested exercising more....I already exercise 5 days a week for at least an hour every time...How much more do I need to do??? The only way I could possibly do more is if I work out once early in the morning before work then again after work...and I don't know if I can do that and still get enough sleep at night. Thoughts???

I didn't get to mention yesterday but my doctor's office called me and all of my blood work came back normal so my sugar levels and cholesterol were good...I'm not sure what else they checked but they said I was fine.

When I went grocery shopping yesterday I got some egg substitute to try instead of having regular eggs all the time. I didn't realize it until I got home but it has a lot of ingredients that I can't pronounce in there which is not part of my clean eating plan. I want to make sure I keep my fat levels down and carb levels down too but not sure how. Maybe I should just stick to regular eggs but not have the eggs with a meat like when I made those egg cups with the sliced pieces of ham. Maybe just do egg and veggies and a little cheese? Or skip the cheese all together?? I'm having a hard time and not sure what to do now because I'm still taking in under 1000 calories a day but I'm not sure where to cut to get me to lose weight. I'm trying not to stress about it because that will just make me gain more weight from stress. I just hope I can figure out the right combo soon. Maybe I just need to switch to protein shakes for breakfast. I haven't had a true protein shake with nothing added to it so I don't know if it is filling or enough or not but that might have to be the road I take. Any suggestions are welcome. The way things are looking now I'm going to have to fight even harder to lose 40 pounds by the end of the year.

I wanted to mention too that I think I pulled a ham string muscle. Ever since I worked on my legs doing these new exercises I learned my right leg has been really sore back there and I'm getting sharp pains going down that leg. I can't not work out but I guess I'm going to have to play it safe when I do and skip doing legs for a couple weeks until it heals.

I need a shower and to get dinner going. Having a breakfast dinner tonight and DH said he's going to cook. We shall see. Hope everyone has a great night! Thanks for all the love and support!!!

Sam: Either less oatmeal, ie 1/4 of a cup instead of 1/2 a cup, or do 1-2 eggs, and the rest as egg whites. Wal Mart has egg whites in a carton shaped like a milk carton. I put Mrs Dash on mine.

tootsieroll81 Thanks for the welcome

Cindylh I hope your leg is better. I see you are from Upstate NY. Is the snow starting to melt yet? I am from just South of Buffalo. DW and I moved to Florida five years ago.

betsy2013 Thanks for the kind words welcoming me back.

SamIAm86 Also thanks for the Welcome back. My health is much better now, thanks for asking. I tell people that each morning that I wake up I am in good health. I am following Atkins 2002 book which means real eggs are a diet staple of mine. I only have one Kidney so super high protein diets are out for me. My Plan is low carb, high fat and moderate protein. seems to be working well so far.

Another Great day on plan. I do all of the cooking at home and my wife is not eating low carb. So I usually have to prepare two different meals. Our main meal today was easier. I cooked an Atkins friendly chuck roast with fresh steamed and buttered cauliflower. My wife also had a baked sweet potato but I passed on the starch. :

My Totals for 5/14/2015 are:

9g gross Carbs (NOT NET CARBS), 101g Fat, 83g Protein

Daily Goals:

18g Carbs, 109g Fats, 88g Protein

WOW!! Down another 2 pounds this morning! :

That makes 19 pounds in 24 days. Mr Atkins!! :

My test strips still show a Moderate Ketone level. This is great. Now to keep it that way!!