Hello all,
From all the posts it seems like most are doing really well! CONGRATS!

I am baking a low carb pizza! The crust is made with heavy whipping cream, eggs, cream cheese and parm cheese. we will see how this goes. If it is good, I will send you guys the recipe. I am pretty excited!

This is my 8th day back on induction. So far, so good. I am trying lots more recipes this time. I am excited, as I have said, to finish the goal I started years ago. It was fine moving into maintenance then because I felt good where I was. So far 9.5 lbs down in 8 days. It's been hard to work out though, because I have been sick Which sucks. I can't wait to finish this goal AAAAAH I would really like to be down 12-15 more by March 17, that is my 29th birthday

As far as the breathe... I have noticed that. Especially because I am a college professor, and when I lecture and my mouth gets dry its even worse! I have noticed if I am drinking a lot, I don't notice it .. but if not yikes, it's weird. I forgot about this from last time!

As far as the bars/shakes... again, I think that if you have a sweet tooth, they are a bad idea. But I didn't really have much of a sweet tooth (aside from gummy worms) before ... so having one bar or shake a day isn't hurting me at all. It's strange because they were NOT okay last time I did induction. But, again, so far so good.

I am really playing with recipes more this time, and loving it.

Hope everyone is doing great!

I've never really had a sweet tooth, so I have no idea why the candy caused me to crave. It didn't really make me crave other things, it just made me want more candy/a bar because it tasted so good. I ended up eating the bar and it was delicious.

I have 2 left, and I want to save them for my flight in 2 weeks so I can eat them on the plane. I hate dealing with food at airports. I get so paranoid that I'll miss my flight (even if my layover is like an hour) that I find my gate and just stay there, lol.

OMG Low Carb PIZZA!

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recip...?recipe=925417

There is the recipe. SO amazing. You must try

I get the bad breath. Thank goodness for sugar free gum! I second buying the sticks and testing for ketosis, but I'm a pee on a stick kind of. Girl I guess, should have seen me when I was trying to get pregnant! Lol.

I had to get some Atkins bars today. I have to have another choice for breakfast than eggs. I like eggs but every day is too much. Also some mornings I need it to be really quick. I made some almond flour crackers to put peanut butter on and. I am going to try a flax meal flat bread recipe today too. This might work for quick breakfasts. I will be fine too when I add yogurt back in and maybe some berries but I am doing another week of induction (plus nuts) because of my cheat birthday meal. Next week I am going to add a few more carbs and see how I do.

One thing I think I have discovered is I am sensitive or allergic or something to wheat. Who knew? I have IBS and for the first time in 20 years it isn't bothering me. I also had bleeding gums which are now completely gone. I am not going to be eating wheat products again for a long time.

CAMom, I used to have very loud stomach noises before I ate low carb. Another poster who used to come around here mentioned that I could be sensitive to wheat. I seem to be okay when I eat low carb tortillas and whole wheat bread, though, so maybe the loud stomach was just a result of years of overstuffing myself. Eating low carb does great things!

I'm glad you found a solution to your problem, It's almost my birthday as well, and I'm having a very small "cheat"...a homemade sugar-free carrot cake made with fresh carrots and cream cheese frosting. It's still on-plan, but the cake is more of an OWL or maintenance food so I'm planning on going over my carbs a little bit. I can't wait!

I haven't been using the strips long enough to see a correlation yet. You are absolutely correct about high levels sometimes being a sign of dehydration. My understanding is that if you have been drinking a lot, then your urine is diluted so you might show lower levels of ketones throughout the day than you would first thing in the morning. I think of it like a pregnancy test, and consider the first thing in the morning the most accurate time to check.

That being said, even when I turned the stick as dark as it would go, I was (and still am) drinking between 10-12 cups of water a day, so I'm trusting that in that instance it was truly a high reading.

I do wonder though if there might be a correlation between weight and the level of ketones. For example, since I am at a very high weight, it makes sense to me that I might be burning fat and throwing off ketones at a faster rate than someone who is only slightly or moderately overweight. In any case, I am satisfied to have any reading at all.

I baked a batch of the flax muffins (6 muffins, 3 servings) and they gold moldy fast. Pretty disappointed, but I thought I'd mention it b/c I thought they were safe in my container. I guess I should have kept them in the fridge..oops~! Running my 2nd day of week 4 in my couch to 5K tomorrow. Woohoo.. Unfortunately I am right back where I was 2.5 weeks ago weight wise. 159 again. Quite upset at myself and really wondering why I am having such a hard time this go round. I gain super fast and don't lose fast at all. I've gained 20 pounds since October. I have been up and down the same 20 pounds over and over again since May of last year!

Yeah, you have to refrigerate these guys since they don't have all the fun preservatives that are in packaged food. I know exactly how you feel about dealing with the same pounds over and over. I'm up 5 whole pounds just since Friday. I know it must be water weight, but its disheartening nonetheless.

I know it may not seem like it from your perspective, but from mine, 159 is not a bad place to start over from. Just hang in there! You'll make it!

Thank you! I know you're right..159 isn't bad. BUT I started @ 172, got down to 124 and now am back up to 159. Just disheartening to do it over again. I can't imagine how hard it is to lose the weight you're losing, so I commend you for your efforts and your perseverance!! Thank you for the reality check. Just difficult knowing I've done it already and have to do it again b/c I got lazy!

CAMom- I know what you mean about being a pee on a stick, my hubby and I have been TTC for almost 3 years now, we will surely need some sort of fertility treatment to get pregnant but with his health issues its kind of 'on hold' for now (i've only ever seen one positive opk and never a positive hpt). I got some atkins bars last night too I have them for an 'after work' snack but I haven't had them the past few days so I guess that's a good sign. My favorite are the chocolate peanut butter ones but they were out last night so i am going to try the chocolate chip cookie dough ones. Meanwhile I find it interesting that your IBS is better. I have found I have MORE stomach issues so far on atkins but I think I'm finally adjusting. I used to just eat very bland or sweet and high carb before and that seemed to help. My stomach doesnt like me when i just eat meat i need veggies or something with it to make it not hurt it seems.

Rocki - Congrats on the C25k! I know what you mean on being disheartened about regaining weight. I've lost and gained weight my entire life. I am hoping this will be the last time I have to lose this much! I never want to see over 200 again!!! (and yes I would take 159 myself but i remember being that weight in college and thinking about how fat i was but now i'd take it, its still overweight for my height but closer to a healthy weight than i am now!) Meanwhile how did you bake the muffins? were they just the mim recipe? I like my mims nice and warm though so I don't know if i'd like them refridgerated but that would save me a few minutes in the morning if I made them a few days in advance.

I think I found a good food 'routine' that agrees with my tummy. I love my mims and they only take a few minutes to make so I make that for breakfast, then for lunch a spinach salad (that was sooo good yesterday) and then for dinner something yummy and homemade i never had issues with dinner. I actually make better dinners now than when I ate high carb. I used to use pre-packaged stuff most nights then once or twice a week I would make something 'from scratch' so to speak and now I do it nightly. I know i need to come up with some faster stuff though for nights when i have 0 desire to cook. My husband can cook very well but with his health issues he can't do anything right now.

Meanwhile, I seriously need a haircut. My last one was in October. I can't really afford to go to my stylist though, she's not insanely expensive (~30 bucks) but enough where its been detering me and I dont really want to go to a cheaper place just because she always does such an awesome job and I have great hair for a month or so and then I start to need a cut again but put it off until it gets unmangeable. I am thinking of setting a goal so i can 'earn' the hair cut. What do you girls think the goal should be? Completing induction or getting weight to 189 or something (out of 190s type of deal) or something else? I would love to wait til my 174 goal but I'd be living in pony tails if i did that. lol Thanks!

I just tried a muffin in a minute and they are incredible! The options for me know are endless... Use them for sandwhiches, toast, muffins, garlic bread. Breakfast!! Much better than Atkins bar, much fewer ingredients and no strange chemicals!!!

I cannot turn my ketosticks dark purple anymore . I know it doesn't really matter and as long as you turn them any color you are in ketosis. But ever since my bday treat, I have not been purple, only pink. Oh well.

Elizabeth, set a goal that you can achieve but not too hard that you get frustrated. I just got my haircut and colored today. At 42 it is not an option for me not to get it done... Haha... Too many Norwegian blondes in there. I'm not good about setting goals, I should set some though. I would really like to not wear plus sizes. That is my goal

Ha! I color my hair too but i do it myself. I've had white (not grey) hair since high school, it used to be just a little now its a lot. I'm only 30 and I'm probably close to 50% white and my natural hair color is black so it really shows. I use Revlon ColorSilk to cover it once a month it's only 2.50 on sale, has no immonia and is the only thing that covers that WHITE completely and doesn't fade. I used to get stuff at Sally's and that works well too but Color silk is cheaper i just use my own brush and have my own gloves on hand bc theirs suck. My stylist is like over 100 if I get my hair cut colored and styled. Looks great but too pricey for me!

Not wearing plus is a great goal. I'm in between myself now. I can wear a 14/16 and an XL for the most part but 1x still fit so I can kinda shop in both sections which is kind of nice for selection lol Not that I need to shop. I have a lot of clothes left that are in decent condition in the 10-12 range (and a few 8s). I really want to get to that size just because i have some really cute clothes that size. lol

Checking in from my business trip to south FL. Of course I was off plan today, but I DID do my running. I actually ran outside today which was totally new for me (usually do treadmill at the gym) and I made it without stopping. It was hard, but I did it. I can't wait to be running in a thinner body. I know it would be SO much better!

Elizabeth..sorry to hear about your problems TTC and your hubby's health issues. I hope things get better soon. I understand needing to get your hair done! I get mine permanently straightened and highlighted. I haven't had the highlights done since July and I haven't had the straightening since December 2009! UGH! It's getting totally unbearable at times and the color is just yuck. I have a lot of gray, but it blends well with the highlights. Now that my roots are all brown the gray is coming out more and it just looks drab. But, like you, I can't spend that kind of money right now. The straightening is insanely expensive and the coloring isn't cheap either!
Oh, as for the muffins..I mixed up enough for 3 muffins and put them in a 6 muffin pan so I made 6 smaller portions. Bake at 250 for 13-15 minutes. Someone else here posted that a few pages back. It worked out great. I just need to refrigerate them next time. What a waste that was. Luckily I bought a 2lb bag of flax meal, so I have plenty still!
Keep up the great work ladies!

horrible.day.

I feel sick again. I awoke at 4:30 from my husband pushing at me saying he thought he broke his hand. I said 'can u move ur fingers?' he said yes, i said its not broken then. But he said he hadnt been able to sleep. Apparently when pushing himself up out of a chair last night it started hurting badly. And for him to say something hurts badly it must really hurt because with his psoriatic arthritis he averages like a 10 or 12 out of a 10 point scale on a daily basis. So I said well do u want to try some medicine to see if that helps, but then he had me feel it and it did feel like something was poking up out of his hand so I said okay i will get up. Upon standing I immediately felt sick like i was going to throw up and/or faint at once I had to go down to the floor (i am an easy fainter so I know what to do). I know i went white and clammy but i dont think I went out. Dressed myself and him in a daze and got us out the door forgetting to grab a diet coke or an atkins bar or anything. So at ER I kept almost fainting too so i went to the cafeteria for a drink and something to eat and it wasnt open so i just got a soda and was trying to find something okay in the vending machine. Finding nothing I got a nutragrain bar, but I didnt eat it. By the time I got back to the room the xrays had gotten back and he did NOT have a broken bone the doctor wasn't sure what it was, possibly a ligament and told him to follow up with his rheumatologist.

So I went home and made my mim. Still feeling sick. I felt like calling into work or at least a half day I was so tired but I went in anyway. I have now had lunch (leftovers) and still feel sick. I'm out of it and indigestion and stomach issues are just going to be the end of me on this diet. I know its supposed to go away but ugh. Also my weight is staying about the same. A few days ago at night it said i was 193.4 but then by morning it was 194.something then today it was 195.6! I know its just water but its frustrating to be so sick and weighing the same as what I did calorie counting. I am thinking of going to the doctor to see what he has to say. I have to see him anyway before getting a refill for one of my prescriptions. I can ask if Atkins is what is causing my stomach issues or not. I really just want some milk or saltines or something. :P I hope I stay on plan tonight.

Okay. that was probably all TMI but i had to vent. back to work with me.

hope everyone else is having a good day!