I've lost 7 pounds! I'm so happy about that!

I actually started Induction before I had Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution (2002) in my hands. I'd read it before, many years ago, and figured I knew the basics and could find everything I was missing here and elsewhere on the Web. I wasn't wrong...but

MY version of Induction wanted to include those "sweet treats" from the new Atkins website people: chocolatey bars and sweet shakes labeled safe for Phase 1.

Oh, and maybe coffee was bad for some people, but I just couldn't be one of those, could I? I would drink it moderately, no more than two cups each morning.

And if I wanted a little splash of rum over ice now and then, that couldn't really hurt much could it? No carbs, after all.

And supposing I didn't have time to pack a real meal for lunch, couldn't I just get some Vienna Sausages in a little can, maybe some pepperoni or salami, or even sliced luncheon meats? Same thing, isn't it?

And diet softdrinks, like my beloved Diet Mountain Dew, might cause some kind of insulin response/sugar spike thingy in SOME people, but surely not me.

Oh, and cheese is the most perfect food. Why limit myself below the 4 maximum ounces allowed? I'm ENTITLED to those four ounces of cheese every day.

Nuts are for OWLS? Whoooo! WhooO! WHOOOO gives a hoot? (okay, I never went for the nuts while on Induction, only the peanuts in those allowed Atkins Advantage bars, so why count those?)

So you see where I find myself tonight, quite possibly the most important night of my Atkins Odyssey. The night I'm going Chapter 11 ALL THE WAY.

No more babying myself, or kidding myself, or indulging those old bad habits that don't serve me anymore. All that stuff I mentioned above is over -- for the next full 14 days.

I feel like I've been sitting behind the wheel of an exciting new sportscar, playing around with the sound system and sunroof but not really testing it out on the road, and I'm finally ready to drive!

Anybody else been here? How did your life change once you really changed your life?

My getting serious approach was a little different. I came to low carb via Gary Taubes and so I looked up food counts and counted carb grams without worrying about where they came from for many weeks.

Only later did I start to investigate that maybe certain foods were better or worse for losing weight. Still, although I've often gone for weeks with my carb grams in the 20-25 range, I've never followed "Atkins Induction" because I've always had some caffeine. I keep nuts in my purse at all times as my "emergency rations" although nowdays I need rations less often and I've always been careful with quantities. I also saw that I plateaued with too much cream so I now try to cut that back quite a bit -- tea is now black in the mornings, because it was too easy to put in a lot. I try to find things I can live with long term, but I am willing to cut back more when I want to push the weight loss.

I know from experience now that if I really want to lose I need to mainly eat meat. To be really careful with veggies (I can very easily overeat even low carb green veggies) and cut the cheese back a lot.

YAY! Standing ovation for you, Firefly!!!

I had a similar experience way back at the beginning. I thought I knew what the diet was....and I did have a good bit of it correct...but with a metabolic diet, every detail counts, I came to learn. Eventually, when I read the book...I found myself reading it over and over...and almost had it memorized. It really motivated me for some odd reason. It was almost like going to one of those WW meetings...I'd be totally psyched and energized from reading it.

To be honest, you WILL find that there are certain caveats that work for you. For instance, I have no problem using caffeine. However, I DO have to severely limit the Splenda I put in my coffee....or in anything...THIS time around. I also, like Kim, can pretty much eat almost all the low-carb veggies I want and have no problem....but sarahinparis seems to have to limit them.
*I* do have to be very careful with dairy products...half and half, cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, etc. I have no problem using the 4C drinks....I like the cranberry pomegranate one (this brand uses Splenda rather than Equal like Crystal Lite does)....I'm assuming this is because they use the liquid sucralose without the maltodextrin so the Splenda is not a problem there. I was never much of a diet soda person....but did NOT have any problem with diet pepsi back when I did Atkins in the early '90's.

You will have to find which rules strictly apply to you and which other ones you can be more relaxed with. That takes time and experience but you'll begin to sense exactly what you can and cannot eat without negatively affecting your ketosis or weight loss.

Again...good for you! Everyone contemplating Atkins or on Atkins should absolutely read the book!

deena

Thanks for the replies. Yes, this lifestyle takes a lot of adjustments and making little changes to get things off to a good start.

deena, I know what you mean about it being such an individual thing. Hopefully by going back to strictly what is in Dr. Atkins' book in Chapter 11 -- eating nothing that is not listed there, and following all the advice very strictly, then I will see a little improvement. Maybe then I can add a few things I like back, one thing at a time, so I will know what doesn't work for me.

The book is really, really important!

What about that new book coming out? Will that replace the 2002 book by Dr. Atkins, or would it be wiser to stick to his last book?

Me neither, if that's what it's all about.

I would not be interested in looking at this new book for useful info. regarding Atkins but I WOULD be interested in looking at it just from the perspective of seeing how much of a money-making plan they might be trying to turn it into.

I am amazed when I read the sections here on the various diets out there...specifically the ones that require huge investments of money. Many require huge fees up front and then the purchase of expensive items (mixes, supplements, etc.).

People desperate to lose weight are often very vulnerable to plans like these...unfortunately. They are needlessly expensive and don't seem to have a great prognosis for long-term success or maintenance.

To be fair, there are many other dietary plans like Atkins....where you simply invest in a book and then control the cost of the items you buy in the grocery store yourself. No fees or special expensive foods/supplements required that you must buy from them.

So I'm curious to see if there will be any changes from a money-making angle.

deena

I started Atkins in January and think I am doing ok. I mean, I have the odd diet soda and I drink coffee and tea. I hit a plateau for a while and then started losing again so I don't think it was any of those things that made me stall. I do eat more protein in the form of meat and fish and have no problems with eating the low carb veggies. I think it was Kim who said it wasn't the vegetables that made her fat and I have to concur ..... it's certainly not the vegetables that led to my weight gain, and so I don't really limit them in any way. Having said that, I am not eating corn and peas etc.

I ate a cookie tonight and in the past I would have berated myself, had another one calling it all a failure and then stuffed myself with whatever I could find. Tonight I said, okay, thats a cookie, you ate it, it wasn't all that good and I feel kind of sick afterwards. I will be back on plan tomorrow and I don't think the cookie issue will arise again. I have hit the point of thinking that this is not a diet, but a lifestyle .... and maybe thats what will make this work for me this time.

That is great, Shells. Your cookie encounter sounds like a lot of my thought process lately. So far, I've done my thinking ahead of experiencing and managed to avert guilt trips -- and I'm happy that I don't even want the foods I used to think I couldn't live without. But if I ever do cave in over something sweet and forbidden, I'm going to try to remember what you said and not continue the downward spiral.

Firefly....i love the title of your post! No more Atkinsing around! hehe! Good for you! I feel the same way but my approach is more like sarahinparis' ...I do have caffeine and occasional nuts and sunflower seeds. I have had some up and down times lately but I am back on track with Atkins as I have been Atkinized!!!!!!!!!! haha! I love proteins and how they make me feel. I hate how carbs make me feel! I'm not weighing but I can tell my clothes are getting bigger! I may weigh in a few weeks but not gonna let that number get me down. Like Lori says...slow and steady wins the race!

Everyone here is doing so great - we will be healthier and happier by summer for sure!

Hi LeslieLou! I'm glad you liked my title for the post -- I thought it was rather clever LOL

Lori -- we are all doing great, aren't we? I'm really excited about summer too. It will be nice to have energy for those poolside activities and shady woodland hikes (and to maybe get a nice new swimsuit, too )

I am just in day 2 of getting back on plan, too.

I did well the 1st week- 100% on plan. Then week 2 I was a little more lax in measuring and counting and gave into pizza and wine and and...

Overall I did lose 10 lbs in the 1st 2 weeks- and I was excited- then the next 2 weeks I gained and lost the same 3 lbs.

So, I read the book and recommitted and I am back now and actually feeling good about it.

The only think I've really missed is pizza.

While we are on topic, if anyone felt like reviewing my fitday for today and yesterday I'd love your opinion... am I missing anything? ooops- I guess I can't share a link... darn. Ok I added my fitday to my profile so maybe you can access it that way.

And ok- just want to say I came here from a different board and I already feel like I am so much more comfy here.

Thanks Jerseygyrl... I have seen those... but when I went off it was situations where I was a guest and brought a side dish that was "safe" but the smell/sight was far too much for my weak will.

One success I'm celebrating is that a friend gave me a bunch of specialty brownies that are my favorites (for my birthday), and I put them immediately into the freezer knowing that they were off limits. They have been there since MONDAY! My idea is that I will bring them to a party so everyone else can enjoy them. :-)

Am I being completely naive to think that when I am on maintenance I will be able to have a slice of pizza on occasion? In moderation? I haven't read the whole book yet (just staying in the induction chapters since that's where I am), but I hope that when I am on maintenance I'll know myself and my triggers well enough to incorporate things like pizza without it leading to a binge.

The brownies I think would always lead to a binge.