Low Carb & Atkins Diet

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Hi All! While I am new to posting, I have been reading and cheering you all on for the last few months!! Your postings have been so helpful in so many ways. They have kept me going when I was down - mainly because you have honest in sharing your struggles as well as your triumphs...and given me many many good laughs too! I thought it was time to join in the sharing.

So...here's what I can tell you about me. I have been following Atkins since the middle of January...I am one pound away from losing my first 30. I am a mom of 14 year old twins...one boy and one girl. I have a wonderful and supportive husband who is my best cheerleader. Sadly, he and I have been done this road twice before in our almost 20 years of marriage. When we first met I as around 135 (and thought I was fat). At my highest...which I hit this January I was 232.... my lowest weight was 112.

Since mid life is here, my goal is to get back into the 130's....not sure of a final number but just a range. I think I will know when I hit it....but will see, it's all part of the journey - one I'm looking forward to with new permanent "life changes" this time.

Height 5"5
January beginning weight:232
Current weight 203
Goal weight 130's

Nina · Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:57 pm Post subject:

Welcome and Congratulations on your weight loss so far!!! Smile

tracyred · Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:35 am Post subject:

hey oo (wink)

30 pounds in a few months is awesome!! i wiss i could go that quickly!!! mine seems ot be slowing...but i'm giving up cheese, vinegar (except in my mayo) and the other candida things for a bit i think to see if that helps at all....

tracy

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Hey there Tracy!!!! Why vinegar???

That 30th pound is being so elusive...errrrr.......I even went for a long bike ride yesterday hoping that would help that next little number appear on the scale....eliminated the almonds that I had introduced into my diet, that had not seemed to effect anything...AND....I actually put on a 1/2 pound this morning. double errrrrrrrrrrr.....

There is always tomorrow!

Hey how bout you....got all the chocolate out of the house?

tracyred · Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:48 am Post subject:

fermented stuff - dr a lists vinegar as one of the things to avoid if you suspect a yeast issue...

sooo, giving it a go for now. hmmm, not that i had vinegar in anything besides the mayo... Smile

but next time i make it may have to use all lemon juice instead of half vin, half lemon....

i hope i don't have a yeast issue...... Smile

yeah, man - always tomorrow....

t

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

I just got a different edition of the book....I had the Atkins for Life (Can't remember the complete titlte) but it came out AFTER the original "new and improved 2002 edition/// so I am reading/rereading that the first 2002 issue....haven't come across the vinegar yet, but I just made it through to the induction chapter last night.

tracyred · Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:19 am Post subject:

it's in the bit about why one might not be losing weight - talks about medications, etc. that's all i remember. i've done a LOT of atkins reading today and it's a bit of a blur....i remember key words "vinegar"... "soy sauce"..."sour cream"..."fermented"...."carbs"..."the"..."and"..."you"....

.............

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Hey 30.5 pounds lost as of this monring!!!!! Doing a little dance!!!!
33% of my goal reached in three months! I AM HAPPY!

Nina · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 1:43 pm Post subject:

Congratulations!!! Very Happy

Woo hoo!!

Tril · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:18 pm Post subject:

WOW! Well done!! Smile

loser lady · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 4:25 pm Post subject:

Fan-TAB-ulous!!! Congrats!!!

LL

tracyred · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:24 pm Post subject:

oh, that is so good olive.....you must be so happy with yourself!! well done!

ina · Established Member Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 30

wow, you have lost lots of weight..great! well done!

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Thanks Ina.....some days it does not feel like much....but I am almost back into a size 14 so I am making progress...it's just knowing that I use to be a 6-8 that makes it seem like a small step. But small steps are better than no steps!

ina · Established Member Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 30

that is right. it is direction you are taking those steps that matters the most! and if you can make your journey pleasant at the same time...you are the winner. also, you know you were healthy before- why could you not be the same again?! you know it is possible!
x

Tril · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:03 am Post subject:

Hey "OO"... how's it hangin'? Smile

You said: "...some days it does not feel like much....but I am almost back into a size 14 so I am making progress..."

I just have to address this. You've lost a LOT of weight. It's important to recognize your success... and enjoy it. Now, not just when you reach your final goal. You ARE making progress. And not just in reducing your size... there are other areas you're making strides in as well. I really don't think we can change the way we deal with food and our bodies w/o also changing some other things about ourselves. It's all about growth... and learning... and acceptance. You're doing all of that. So reach around and give yourself a big 'ole pat on the back. You deserve it!

One more thing... 3 months ago, what if you'd made a different decision and hadn't done this??? Where do you think you'd be today? Bigger? Sadder? More miserable? Still struggling? Now think about you today... and compare the difference. THAT is success. It's not where you are that counts... it's where you're headed. And you're headed in the right direction!!!

Love ya

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

True confession time............
(she takes a deep breath, the lump in her throat is visible as she swallows hard) I.....I.....Iateacookie..... I ate a cookie. Embarassed

I have not varied from my new diet choices in three months....but yesterday was a rough day. I cooked an entire meal for a group - a meal that I chose not to eat because it is not friendly to my way of living (but everyone else' s is seems).

I made a rich very high carb dish (that everyone loved and had 2nd's and 3'rds) with 2 loaves of homemade bread, a wonderful salad (that I did eat) and homemade cookies made with butter! The cookies were awesome....how do I know....because I ate one Shocked

. Why did I make a meal that I could not eat you might ask. To be honest, because I had promised to make dinner for this group - but needed to make something that I could afford (money is tight at the moment) and use things I had in the house... (using up traces of my former life choices you might say)

The funny part is that I think I might have a wheat allergy. I itched all night!!! I hardly slept because I was itching so much! Funny...one of the very things that I have been highly addicted to all my life is something that I might actually have an allergy to.....wonder how that figures into everything.

The up of this is (now Tril don't yell at me) I did not gain any weight...actually lost 4/10 of a pounds....because I only ate salad for dinner....nothing else....no protein....only spinach and lettuce with a 1 (gram of carb's dressing. Will I eat a cookie again. Nope.....too much guilt....to much itching......but it did taste good. Laughing

Nina · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:55 pm Post subject:

Isn't amazing how our bodies react to sugar (poison) after not having it for a while?! I remember feeling terrible cramps after my icecream hiatus.

I was looking for motivational quotes when I started this WOE and so I kept a list of them with me and around the house. I especially like the following one: "You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there." - unknown

So you stumbled, but you decided to get up and continue your journey! That is excellent! No one ever said this would be smooth sailing but you have the right approach! Get back on the wagon and take it one day at a time.

Tril · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:18 pm Post subject:

OO... what??? YOU'RE HUMAN?? How DARE you! LOL

No, I'm not going to yell at you. You're suffering enough at your own hands.

It's entirely possible that you do have a wheat sensitivity... it's quite common for people to "like" the very thing their body can't process. It's the built up abuse from the chemical/compound that your body can't handle that brings out the reaction. So, you might not have reacted to it as a kid, but the more you forced your body to deal with, the less it was able to deal with it. That's why people develop allergies later in life. Their bodies finally reach the point where they can't deal with the exposure and they have a reaction. Sensitivity to strawberries, wheat, eggs, soy, poultry, nuts, shellfish, etc can all show up later in life.

Nina... great quote! Very appropriate! Like my own WW lecturer used to say, "Brownies don't make you fat. PANS of brownies make you fat." Don't sweat the little stuff OO.

Tril

tracyred · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:30 pm Post subject:

ah look Olive, it was one cookie - and i am happy for you that you didn't eat 12...12 is my number! Smile

- never could eat just one.......

so hey - you had a taste and suffered for it with the itching and guilt....but now it's time to let it gooooo, set it freeeeee (said in a new-agey voice, very calm and peacefully Smile

)

you're doing great, and one cookie is not going to be the boss of you!

take care,
tracy

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Tracy......if you knew just how much havoc that d#$#$ cookie created in my life yesterday you would join my campaign to ban all cookies from the planet!!! I'm serious!!! I was craving anything and everything yesterday...I have not had that problem in three months. I spent more time talking myself out of eating things I shouldn't eat yesterday that I have for the the last two years!!!! Most of the time I succeeded...we won't talk about the rest.... All because of one little cookie.

The little vixens are still in the house....I am going to force feed them to dh if he doesn't eat them voluntarily today. I did send a bag with my dd and her bbf as they went out the door...but there are still more....they are like dust bunnies...they are everywhere I look...only these little villains have voices that call in the night "Ollllliveeeee.......Ollllivvvee.........we are here.....COME TO US.........we need a warm tummy to feel complete.......HEEELLLLLP us Olive......

Cookies are evil!!! I think they should at least be ban from the Mid-West!!! Whose with me on this???? Let's make it a law!!!! NO MORE COOKIES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI!!!!!!

mignonmykel · Established Member Joined: 02 Jul 2008 Posts: 45

I had thought about you yesterday afternoon--
my mom and I were headed out to get dinner and we passed Culver's... who's flavor of the day was cookie dough extravaganza or something like that. So I thought about the cookie dough, then I thought about, why do they need to make it a flavor of the day? they've always got the cookie dough... then I thought of this heavenly sundae with cookie dough and hot fudge i had a week or two ago (pre-re-start). So all the cookie dough on the brain made me think of you and your dozens and dozens of cookies.

let me tell you... if they were in the house, or even just the dough... I'd have to seriously contemplate re-starting my low carb woe once again. thank goodness no one's asked for cookies!

Tril · Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:59 pm Post subject:

Since I'm east of the Mississippi, I'll support that ban!!!

You know... thing is, before living craving-free, you wouldn't have even NOTICED what that one cookie did to you. You'd simply have eaten all the cookies and then gone looking for more sugar/carbs. So... use this experience to reconfirm that living without cravings is MUCH EASIER. You don't even need willpower when you don't want it.

How are you feeling today? I find that it takes a good 3 to 4 days to work something like that out of my system. Good luck and hang in there. The longer you go without feeding the sugar monster, the faster he goes away.

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Well you are right Tril.....it is better today but I still am having to tell myself "no." I was fine (at a meeting all day) until I got home....it is raining hard here...lots of weather warnings out...I am alone....and while there is a bag of cookies on the counter...I am not craving them - but something. I am trying to ignore the entire thing.....the two things that have come out of this are -

1. Acute awareness of the fact that I truly am a carb addict. One ingestion of my "old" norms and I am back to square one.
2. How bad the stuff really is for me....if one encounter can throw me off this much what the heck have I been doing to my body all these years.

Now to wait this out.....in another day or so it will be over...but until then I think I need to take care that I don't have a relapse or turn into the biggest witch in the midwest......head snapping is starting to feel like a good option this p.m. - thank goodness the kids are gone and I am alone....but not really....

Tril · Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:24 pm Post subject:

Yeah... I get it. Alone is good so you don't "go off" and regret it later. Alone is not good cuz no one would see you eat those cookies and it's bad weather. Just keep reminding yourself that IF you slip, you start all over again with the cravings... it's not worth it. Feed that "feeling" protein and water. Have a cup of tea. Do your toes. Write me a note. Anything to get your hands busy and your mind on something else.

Thinkin' boutcha!

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

DH is home - made it without slipping...though he may have to take me to the hospital for water poisoning!!! I have had 6 32oz glasses of ice water in the last two hours!!!!

I did almost blow my stack when he stood in the kitchen munching on those d@#$ cookies...... only 4 left......I have no desire to eat one....but there seems to be little protein in the house - cheese is gone too....but the water is filling me up (and over) .....so...if I can get my work done tonight for tomorrow and drag it out till it's time for bed.....I'll have it made in the shade!!

Time for that recommended cup of tea!!! (Just what I need MORE water!!!....though I have to admit it is tasting really good....detox is almost complete)!!!!
You can tell the weather is nice everywhere but here....no one on the board....so I treasure your support Tril!!! I keep telling you....your a gem!!! - A rare and wonderful one!

Ornery Olive Very Happy

tracyred · Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:10 pm Post subject:

hey ornery - sorry i wasn;t here - i'm in australia so i was in dreamland during your crisis (probably - i didn't check the time)

anyway - for a treat while my husband is having something of his (chocolate, ice cream, whatever... Smile

...
i sometimes have chai tea, strongly brewed, with - i get some cream, mix in some boiled water, and foam it up. add it to the chai, and it's a latte! oh and a good squirt of stevia for sweetness. it will never be a starbucks chai latte, but that's a good thing becasue that stuff is all syrup!

take care, n ot long til it's all gone (cravings!)
bye!
(off to church)
tracy

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Sounds great Tracy!! I will have to give that one a try!! For me a really strong cup of decaf coffee is the biggest and best treat (in the liquid form) that I can have...other than a glass of Merlot which I haven't seen, smelled or tasted since the last week in January.....that is going to be my treat after the next 10 come off....a big ole' glass of merlot...... Very Happy

Thinking that might be at the end of May.....motivation to keep on losing...Wine!!! (as opposed to whine lol)!

Tril · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 12:40 am Post subject:

Wine is one of my indulgences. I have 1/2 glass most nights. With a small chunk of super sharp cheddar. I'll sip my wine, relax, catch up on here and then make my dinner. This week I'm trying a new wine... a chardonnay from Chili. It's really good... remind me sometime and I'll go look at the name of it. It's four letters. I'd never seen it before. You've done really well to go this long without your wine, OO!

I'm having a cup of tea right now... it's so relaxing at night.

Hope your bad weather clears up! I just saw on my weather "thingie" that rain is coming our way. Gee, thanks. Wink

Tril

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Oh man.....you have just given me HOPE!!!! HOPE!!! I can lose weight AND drink!!!!! AWESOME......
still I think I will wait until I hit that ole' 40 down on the scale b/f I indulge.....the bad news is that more that one drink and I am wasted....can you imagine what a glass will do to me after 4 months of no alcohol??? It might be a snooze fest! Poor dh.....

Tril · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 1:35 am Post subject:

OH, you don't know the half of it... just wait... why do you think I have just 1/2 glass? When you eat low carb alcohol effects you even more/faster. the lower your body weight, the less alcohol you can handle, too. I'm a very cheap date these days.

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Well, for all my pain, suffering, general complaining...moaning and groaning I have good news!!! Down another pound!! Saying "no" used more energy that I thought!!!!

Tril · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 9:50 am Post subject:

LOL... Maybe it was the pain, suffering, general complaining...moaning and groaning that caused the weight loss! LOL Congrats!

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

I'm sure it was.....all I know is my skirt (which was the next size down) that was "ok" to wear two weeks ago....now glided on with room to spare!!! I have to say I felt good about it....it helped to make it a good day!

Tril · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:13 pm Post subject:

That's GREAT to have clothes fitting so much better in only 2 weeks! Congrats!

Tril

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Well I have been gone for the past four days locked away with a group of people at a retreat....a retreat full of food....candy....junk...lasagna..garlic bread...mashed potatoes, gravy...fruit, fruit, fruit..pancakes, french bread...3 meals...5 breaks a day with baskets of food being passed around the tables....and sandwiches and chips everyday for lunch......................

AND I Lost Two Pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and am now in the ones!!!! 198!!! WooHOO!!!!

I not only resisted..but I took food for me so I would succeed!!!

I DID IT!!!!! AND I AM PROUD!!!!!!

tracyred · Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 2:59 am Post subject:

AweSOOOOMMME!!!!!!

THAT IS FANTASTIC!!!! well done olive - you are a ROCKSTAR!!!

i am soooo happy for you - boy, i cant imagine being in aplace with all that temptation - gives me hope that if i ever am, that i can resist as well!!!

well done!
tracy

Tril · Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 10:53 am Post subject:

OMG! That's SO GOOD!!!

Welcome to ONEderland!!!

Tril

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you very much!!!!!

And this morning when I got up and weighed in for the day....I was still in Onederland!!! I gotta say in January I never thought I would hit that. The weight had just not been coming off - no matter what I did or how hard I seemed to try. I have this overwhelming sense of hope that I have not had in a longggggg time when it comes to weight. I had resigned myself to being obese for the rest of my life....now I am only steps (pounds) away from moving out of the obese category to overweight....and I know know that I CAN make it to an "idea" weight category....it may take a year - but it is so worth it!

And since you take 4 pounds of weight off your knees with every pound you lose...I have now taken 136 pounds off my knees!!!! This should mean when I get to the knee replacement age I will be one of the people that can keep all my parts!!!!

Well back to reality after 4 days away from the family and work.......

batlou · Senior Member Joined: 02 Apr 2008 Posts: 600

Congratulations on firmly placing yourself in "One-derland". That is such a huge accomplishment particularly since you were stuck at a retreat all weekend surrounded by food. Remember this feeling you have right now if you ever want to eat one of those cookies again. This is what you have worked for and you should be very proud of how successful you have been so far.

Regarding wine and booze…I will occasionally have a beer (12 pack last about 2 months). I searched the web for lowest carb beer and found that Bud Select is very low carb, 2 point something carbs per 12 oz bottle. Additionally, I have zero tolerance for the stuff. I was able to go crazy this weekend and had a large amount of Absolute finished with about 6 beers and still managed to lose this week. I am not saying that is a good idea but it was Derby Weekend and I have not let loose in a very long time.

I think the main point of this WOE is getting a handle on what you can manage and what your body can manage as well. Once you have that figured out the rest is gravy and it becomes easier and easier to continue.

Tril · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 10:23 am Post subject:

OO!!! Where the heck are you?!? You don't get to befriend me and then just walk away.... get yo' butt back in here!!!

Tril

tracyred · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject:

DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Oh my goodness! I can't believe how long it's been since I have been able to post! I have been really busy with work - lot's of sick people...which means lots of time away from home for me!!!

How are you Tril?? Tracy?? I will have to catch up tonight on threads!

As for me....stuck...stuck....stuck for 13 days now....at 198....no matter what I do that stupid scale won't budge....I am trying not to lose hope. I know that many of you have been stuck longer than that - but at lower weights than I am at. Oh well - I am so busy right now that I don't have a lot of time to fuss over it.

How's the house sale coming Tril? I know..I know read your post!!!

Well, guess I need to read. And thanks guys. Its nice to know that you missed me...I missed you too!

Tril · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:54 am Post subject:

Hang in there OO... it's possible to get "stuck" at any weight. Actually, I think it's more a response to how much you've lost, not the number you're at when you get stuck. You've lost 34#... maybe your body just needs to adjust... take a breather... and then keep losing. Heck, if you can lose 34#, hang for a couple weeks and then lose another 34#, that plateau won't seem so bad, will it?? It's all part of the journey, part of the lessons we need to learn along the way... KOKO so you can break that stall at the first possible moment. You know if you give up, you'll break it by going UP, not DOWN! That's how I keep myself on the straight and narrow... staying the same is always better than gaining. Wink

Tril

tracyred · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 2:31 am Post subject:

WELL AT LEAST YOU DIDN'T JUST EAT A BUNCH OF COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!

Smile

hmm, that should be Embarassed

yes, i did eat some cookies....i've had a bad couple of days (sick etc)and just succumbed...but anyway, there it is....happy to say though, that i didn't eat them all (pack of 8 ), which would never have happened in my pre-atkins days, and also they were not as nice as i thought they'd be, and have made me feel quite sick, which i'm relishing. yes, relishing! i knew i shouldn't have bought/eaten them, but i did anyway, so i am *happy* to suffer for it!!

i was hungry and tired in the mall - why didn't i just go home?? who knows...anyway, the moment's over and i am suffering for it.

hmmm, me thinks there's still some work to do!!! Smile

- ah well, it took me years to become a full-blown sugar-addict; so not toooo shocked i;m not fully cured in 3 months!! but! am MUCH_MUCH better than i was!!!

anyways, olive, sorry to hijack your thread! glad you're back and keep on going (sounds stupid coming from me i know...but it's still good advice..hmm., think i'll take it too!) - listen to Tril; she knows things!

tracy

Tril · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 10:10 am Post subject:

I don't know anything that I haven't learned on my own journey, Tracy! I'm just further down the path. LOL And, fwiw, I've had my own "moments" with sugar. It's a dangerous world out there... and sometimes, that world comes into my kitchen. Wink

OO, hope today you wake up energized and feeling positive! The sun is just peeking through the trees behind my house. The woods are still misty and it's a very pretty picture. I can hear the birds and they sound energized and positive. Actually, they sound territorial. lol Anyway, hope you have an easy Atkins-day. I'll be thinking about you.

Tril

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

IT MOVED.....IT MOVED!!! THE SCALE ACTUALLY MOVED!!!!
197 This morning !!!!
Thanks for the thoughts Tril!!! I am staying home today and working from here.....Hopeful that my cellphone won't ring and I will get my work done - last week I spent my days off doing work...I wasn't real pleasant to be around on Saturday!!!

Tril · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 11:48 am Post subject:

Congrats!!!! Don'tcha love new lows???!!!??? Smile

Smile, you earned it!

Tril
ps... turn the phone off... it can't ring then.

Oliveoil · Senior Member Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 346

Wish I could but the kind of job I have means you live your life on call unless you leave the state!!!

batlou · Senior Member Joined: 02 Apr 2008 Posts: 600

Congrats on the breakthrough! Perhaps you are starting a new trend.