Hello All!
I'm new to this website but I've heard great things and could definetly use the support that seems to be given on this site!! I've decided to start Atkins (again) and am trying to keep on track this time. What better day to start, then today? Right!
I've struggled with my weight for my entire life, I think it's always going to be a struggle but with will power I think this will be a good new begining. I must say I'm a little embarassed that it's such a struggle but I have to stop worrying about anyone else's opinion and focus on me.
So I'm off to the grocery store to shop for the right stuff and lots of bottled water. Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated!!

Brandy

we all struggle dear thats why we are here with each other. i myself have just started atkinsing i've yoyo'd in weight since joining this site 4 years ago i dropped 40lbs to 226 and i'm now up again to 322 usually i find that my slip ups are when i'm not posting or reading posts.

Groceries i'm still in week one well day 3 to be precise, i like to play around for dinner on the first day i had grilled chicken breasts with a small amount (half a cup loose) of baby leaf salad served with black olives and feta cheese, drizzled in my lovely mustard sauce. 1 desert spoon of creme freche and a quater to half a teaspoon of mustard stirred and warmed gently in a pot (careful with the mustard on week 1) i'm using colemans english mustard the carb content per 100ml is high at 19.1g but i'm yet to meet anyone who can eat it from the pot. so quater of a teaspoon you might get half a gram of carb at a push. its tates great too.

Well I don't usually post here but I would love to give you both a GREAT BIG MASSIVE GOOD LUCK!!!

Slimmingsi I just LOVE your "britishness" quote... it's fab. I was just looking around and I'll have to go along with most of that.

aye its taken from a thing my house mate had that listed stupid facts like 7 people a year are seriously injured in napkin related accidents? how!

to 3FC's Brandy, you will certainly get ooodles of support here. Glad your here

Slimmingsi.... good luck with your first week nice to see your sense of humor is still intact

Hi Brandy,
I am back at it again too! I lost 50 lbs last year and maintained it through December. Then I slowly back slid from Jan. through July and put approx. 20 lbs back on. So here I am, telling myself that this time I am going to set a major goal for myself and stick to it. I completed 2 whole weeks yesterday. And this morning I am down 6 lbs... I've done 16 miles total in 2 weeks on my elliptiacal and walking. When I lost last year, I also exercised too. I find that if I don't exercise, I don't stay motivated.

Good luck. If you need someone to chat with.. send me a message. We all need the support and encouragement to stay on track. You CAN do it!

Wow, thank all of you for your great advice and words of support. I think this will be a great tool for me, it seems no one really understands how hard it is both mentally and phtsically to lose weight.

It's been 115 degrees here for a week so walking hasn't really been an option, I'm thinking week one start Atkins again and then next Saturday I'll start walking.

Work is what I'm dreading, so many constant offers to go to lunch, pot lucks, etc. I'm hoping I have enough willpower to decline.

meeee toooo. I started back on the good old Dr. Atkins Diet..have been missing sugar for about 4 days..and have that headache thing goin today..(couldn't be that it is 109 here today..).. So. My reasons are simple, divorce after 34 years of marriage..and I am still under warranty..lol..and I need to "get fit", rather than have a fit..am on my way! pm me if ya get the chance..could use the support, and it is one foot in front of the other for me..

Brandy, that's what I like about these forums and why I am so glad I found them. Everyone here understands and has been through it. It is so nice to find others who will support you. Because unfortunately not everyone will support us in our lives. Take work for instance, you are right about how hard that is. It seems everyone likes to watch what you eat and police you... but they are right there to offer you the foods they know you shouldn't and most likely won't eat. I wonder if somehow people like to see us fail. I have strong will power though, and just SAY NO.

If you want it bad enough, you'll stick with it and be successful!! We are all here to help!!

I'm starting again as well! I did Atkins for a spell in 2002 & was successful, but then I fell off track & gained the 40 back plus 20! I'm so disgusted with myself - something MUST be done! So I'm back to Atkins!!

It looks like there are quite a few of us all starting back on the same day/week.

I do find it odd that people are so gung ho for you when you start dieting but those are the same people who will offer your birthday cake, doughnuts, etc.. One of the hardest parts is a lot of my social outings are around a meal, I don't want to shut down my social life but I don't want to continue to put my own health and self worth on the shelf. It's a hard balance

So now I'm trying to figure out the best weighin schedule, it looks like some weigh daily and others weekly, what's the best? Maybe we should all weigh in on the same day, I do well when I feel held accountable or that I have to make public my progress. Anyone interested?

Hey that sounds great! Pick a day, and count me in! I have no idea what day is best. I tend to check every few days to stay on track. But I think I would rather only do once a week... and get EXCITED about the weekly loss!!

Alie

ok. I am an atkin afficiando, but have been mulling over something new...have you read the book.."your fat can make you thin". I wanna say the doctor who wrote it is named Dr. Enra, or Enza...he used to be with Aitkens, a co/founder as I understand, an esteemed endocrinologist..he maintains that deficient seratoinin levels (in your brain)...are responsible for the majority of carb cravings..everyone likes to think that sugar is the culprit, but his research indicates that is not the case..Seratonin can only be manufactured by the brain in small doses, and is replenished when we sleep...deep sleep, akin to REM..or consume carbs.. complex carbs, not just simple carbs..he advocates low carb, and low fat, which Atkins does not..Atkins is strictly carbs...and the fat you consume is part of the deal...anyways, low seratonin levels are what make you crave carbs...so address sleeping appropriately, and watch the fat intake, and Atkins away...if you get the chance pick up that book, see what you think. He advocates low dosages of trazadone, which in days gone by, was an antidepressant, but nowadays, allows you to enter a state of sleep that is condusive to seratonin production...I am not sure if I like that idea, or not, but it is supposed to be non habit forming, and ultra low dose..one thing I know, is most of us do not sleep well...have you found that to be true? He says most of us are sleep deprived, and we start it at a young age, college or new borns seem to be the trigger point for sleep deprivation..which sets up a chemical inbalance, so......I think I am gonna go take a nap...lol
hope your day is good...Salad with salmon for lunch, with some fresh tomatos from my garden, and a little bit of cuke..nice and cool..and another gosh dang jug of wadda....

red

Beeyore, Hi and Welcome!
I think a weekly weigh in for accountability is a great idea.

Hi Red, Welcome to the board,
I havent read the book your talking about but wouldn't trust anyone who advocates the use of antidepressants for anything other than depression. Some are prescribed as sleep aids and are for occasional use only. most of them, Trazadone included, can cause increase in appetite, as well as other undesirable side effects.
Most of us are sleep deprived, usualy due to poor habits, or stress, which can be detrimental to wieght loss. I would try to get more sleep naturaly befor resorting to pills.

Good luck to all of you who are just getting started, or starting over (like me).

am glad you posted that, I have the same feeling, and don't know what else trazadone can do, but am not about to find out, any time soon. I have an aversion to chemicals in pill form and any other form...for that matter..lol.
hope your day is good, and thank you for the welcome...
pretty nice place, this.

red