Atkins Stage 2: Ongoing Weight Loss

[Jonahsafta]

Originally Posted by peanutte

Hooray for a care package from Mom, and another one you can look forward to, Dove!

I have a happy announcement. I just got my 2 new pairs of Old Navy jeans delivered. Size 4. Now, let me be the first to say I fully believe an Old Navy vanity-size 4 is really a size 8. But that is not the point. The point is, before I re-started, I was in Old Navy size 14s. So I have dropped from a 14 to a 4 in less than a year.

2big, you know I don't do tape measures but believe me, I do take note of the holes in my belt and the size of my jeans. I had to make a new hole yesterday. You may ask: why don't I just buy a new belt. I like seeing my progress, though!

wow!

[peanutte]

Whoa, that quoted post was from a good while ago. How are you doing, Deborah?

Dove, whatever we can do to help, you just let us know, okay? I applaud your determination to get right back to your plan.

[lancer1977]

Originally Posted by 2big4mysize

I make pumpkin butter since induction days of 1 small can pumpkin 1 8 oz block of softened cream cheese and 4T pie spice. just warm the pie spices add the cream cheeses and blend well. then add the canned pumpkin and warm about 1 min in the microwve to allow the spices to infuse the whole thing. stick it in a covered dish in the frige and enjoy it spreads like PB and is good off your fingers as well so no other food needed but goes great on flax hot cakes for breakfast or with a plain OMM.

Man I need to troll here more frequently you guys are full of awsome tastiness.

If your treating this concoction like a peanut butter alternative, could one just stuff it in a mason jar and let it cool that way or does it need to be in a dish for some supernatural reason?

As far as feeling bad, I'd feel proud to get back on the horse so quickly. I usually let months (years) lapse between my cheats I only pray this time will be different. On the plus side me and the misses now have preemie twins who require a lot of attention and time so were trying to get it right this time.

[2big4mysize]

Originally Posted by lancer1977

Man I need to troll here more frequently you guys are full of awsome tastiness.

If your treating this concoction like a peanut butter alternative, could one just stuff it in a mason jar and let it cool that way or does it need to be in a dish for some supernatural reason?

As far as feeling bad, I'd feel proud to get back on the horse so quickly. I usually let months (years) lapse between my cheats I only pray this time will be different. On the plus side me and the misses now have preemie twins who require a lot of attention and time so were trying to get it right this time.

well portion control and carb count are the dish issue. after I get it in the dish and cooled I can cut the dish into 8 equal serving sizes and know I have 1 ounce of cheese and 1 carb gram, about 3T of pumpkin carbs, and 1/2T of pie spice carbs. then if I want 2 servings I just scoop 2 blocks out. when things are ojn Jars measuring gets sloppy and suddenly you notice the 8 servings jar is empty and you only had 3 servings.

[2big4mysize]

Glad you are back on track Dovellette.

time for a new care package of veggies cheese and more blackberries so what do you want anything other then cauliflower and broccoli? they got zuchinie slices I'm thinking you might use as chips and spread with a high fat dip.

oh and did the tomatoes do okay? I can get more of them if you want. I got some more muschrooms already.

[peanutte]

I'm up .4 pounds this Friday. You know what I'm not going to do about that? Get mad, blame the "evil" scale, fret about what I ate all week, frantically start looking up threads about "meat and egg fasts", post in the Main Lobby and ask everybody what I'm doing "wrong", or otherwise give it a second thought. I know I am eating right, and it's all part of the process. Things should be slowing down as I learn what constitutes Maintenance and what will result in continued, albeit slow, weight loss. I'm not going to make my "goal" of 140 by the end of the month, and that's fine with me. I'll reach 140 when I reach it. On OWL I was losing about 4-6 pounds a month, but at this stage, I think 2 pounds a month is very reasonable.

How's everybody doing?

[lancer1977]

Originally Posted by peanutte

I'm up .4 pounds this Friday. You know what I'm not going to do about that? Get mad, blame the "evil" scale, fret about what I ate all week, frantically start looking up threads about "meat and egg fasts", post in the Main Lobby and ask everybody what I'm doing "wrong", or otherwise give it a second thought. I know I am eating right, and it's all part of the process. Things should be slowing down as I learn what constitutes Maintenance and what will result in continued, albeit slow, weight loss. I'm not going to make my "goal" of 140 by the end of the month, and that's fine with me. I'll reach 140 when I reach it. On OWL I was losing about 4-6 pounds a month, but at this stage, I think 2 pounds a month is very reasonable.

How's everybody doing?

I know I'm not alone in having that "quick fix must lose 100 lbs in 1 week and look awesome now" mentality. I had been losing 2 lbs a month or so for a while so anything quicker then that is a blessing. Wasn't doing atkins just eating less and lifting. I have to keep reminding myself that muscle weighs more then fat. So in the battle of the scale bulking up doesn't help in the short run. In the end I think me and the wife came to realise our previous eating habbits were self destructive and we need to change our whole style of eating if we want to stay healthy and live a long life with out children.

[peanutte]

I know I'm not alone in having that "quick fix must lose 100 lbs in 1 week and look awesome now" mentality.

It's very common, Lancer, and I think what happens is: we know we're overweight, fat, or obese; we're not delusional. And it takes a while to be ready to change that because on some level, we know it is going to take some time and effort but we want it RIGHT NOW.

People go through many stages as they gear up for a major life change. The stages typically are as follows:


Precontemplation (Not yet acknowledging that there is a problem behavior that needs to be changed)

Contemplation (Acknowledging that there is a problem but not yet ready or sure of wanting to make a change)

Preparation/Determination (Getting ready to change)

Action/Willpower (Changing behavior)

Maintenance (Maintaining the behavior change) and

Relapse (Returning to older behaviors and abandoning the new changes)

Applying these to beginning or returning to low-carb would look something like this:

Precontemplation: I've gained some weight but it isn't that bad--is it? Oh well, anyway, I guess I'm just living my life. I wouldn't want to be on a diet and starve myself or anything. It's healthier to just accept my weight. Our society is too obsessed with thinness anyhow.

Contemplation: Okay, actually I am pretty unhappy about my weight. And I got bad news at the doctor's office. I had better think about making some changes or I will suffer the consequences. God, I don't want to have to be on a diet, though. But this weight is really bothering me.

Preparation/Determination: Low-carb sounds interesting/has worked for me before. I'm going to read/re-read the Atkins book. Hey, you know, I think I can give this a shot. I'm going to set a date for [X] time in the future and that will be my start date. I'm going to try to get my mind back in the swing of things. I'd like to lose [X] pounds. I hope I can do it.

Action/Willpower: I started Induction! I have all the groceries I need for the menus I have planned. I keep referring back to the book to keep myself on track. I'm going to give it my all. I'm organized and prepared.

...Hey, this is working! I passed up the opportunity to cheat three times in the past two months. I feel great and I've lost weight. I am starting to feel like I know I can do this for life!

Maintenance: It's a year later! I stuck with it and now I know how to eat, and it doesn't feel like a diet. I'm happy with my results. Sometimes it's been slow and sometimes it's been hard to stay on course, but I've learned how to deal with that. I know to stay away from [food/s X] and [situation/s Y] because they set me up to be tempted. I know I have to keep up with [habit/s Z] because that helps me stay on track.

Relapse: Well, I think we all know what relapse looks like.

But Lancer, getting back to your comment about unrealistic expectations, that's what happens when we are thinking in terms of immediate gratification and are living in fantasyland. Who wants to sit around thinking about the lengthy process I just described? People are more comfortable imagining the possibility of losing a lot of weight in about a tenth of the time it took them to put it on.

In my opinion, if the way we look at weight loss is not in line with reality, then being successful and keeping it off has no place in reality. If we reassess our goals and make them more specific and achievable, we might have to be patient, but hopefully our results will be solid and maintainable.

[Dovelette]

Originally Posted by 2big4mysize

Glad you are back on track Dovellette.

time for a new care package of veggies cheese and more blackberries so what do you want anything other then cauliflower and broccoli? they got zuchinie slices I'm thinking you might use as chips and spread with a high fat dip.

oh and did the tomatoes do okay? I can get more of them if you want. I got some more muschrooms already.

2big, EVERYTHING was amazing. I'd love to try the zucchini slices, that sounds wonderful - I like to make a yogurt cheese dip mixed with mayo and strained "yogurt de casa" and I bet that would be fantastic on the chips! Honestly the broc and cauli were so great, I can't think of anything that would top them. The tomatoes did great as well, used them in salads and a couple of chicken dishes as well. I think next I'll use them as a pizza topping.

I leave AGAIN today for the main island. I'm looking forward to my mom bringing flax meal and 17lbs of protein powder; I'm NOT looking forward to leaving my "comfort zone" so quickly after getting back. But, like you said peanutte, what am I going to do, get mad at the scale? Do a M&E fast? Freak out? Nah, maybe a few months ago LOL but acceptance has come. Slowly, but it's come. It's the whole serenity prayer thing - change what I can, accept what I can't, and figure out the difference. Last time I planned and planned and then things didn't go as planned (the hotel was supposed to have breakfast and last time that included eggs, ham and cheese...this time they had nothing; we ended up at several gatherings at the Embassy, I spent time in my 'host village' etc), and so I accepted that, I accepted the water weight (which, as fast as it came off, that's what it was for the most part) and pretty much the second I got home I was on plan. I still look great, I'm still sliding into size 8, and I told hubby if he notices while we're on this leg of travel, if I'm letting the "acceptance" go to my head (meaning, if I'm being a little TOO accepting of those things I have to deal with lol) to whisper "Size 6...size 6..." LOL

I know I mentioned before I'm having some problems now, and I still am...and I know maybe it's horrible to say so, but I feel like I'm so much HAPPIER now, 30-something lbs lighter, and I find myself not able to include "And your fat too!" in my self talk when it arises. It's like I know weight shouldn't be tied to my overall happiness, but well, it seems to be for me lol Anyway, that's really helping me from turning to food when I'm feeling icky, I know it won't make me feel better at ALL. Actually, I'm finding a huge corrolation between mood and food for me. Now, it could be that when I'm traveling I"m not as good about a LOT of things, like water, vitamins, prescriptions, so that is causing an overall imbalance in my physically body, but I also feel like the additional carbs make me just feel really down. Ugh, and I'm very happy to report that I have lost the taste for bread. I just don't like it, I think it's gross.

peanutte, thanks for the post below as well as it relates to LC. And also, lancer I think everyone at least at some point has had the quick fix mentality. I think I STILL have it to a degree, I mean I WANT to get all the weight off fast, but...it's not happening. So when people want to throw in the towel and give up and say "What's the point?" I always think "Well, what's the alternative?" If I HAD given up any number of times that I hit a brick wall, I'd be back at 188 today and strugling to fit into my size 14s, nearly in tears. And I wouldn't have been quite so popular at the disco last night either

[haleybop1]

peanutte, i went back and looked at the owl blog and read your posts when you had stalled or were moving slowly and it inspired me. You were frustrated then, stuck with it, lost and are now giving the advice. It was my motivator this week. thanks!!!

[peanutte]

I'm glad you were able to find some renewed motivation, haley. I haven't really had any true stalls, but 2big sure has, and she stuck with it and has maintained her loss...she's my hero!

And also, lancer I think everyone at least at some point has had the quick fix mentality. I think I STILL have it to a degree, I mean I WANT to get all the weight off fast, but...it's not happening. So when people want to throw in the towel and give up and say "What's the point?" I always think "Well, what's the alternative?"

EXACTLY, Dove. If you give up, what are you getting out of the deal? You get to eat a bunch of food that you weren't eating on your diet? You get to resign yourself to being fat? Wow, that's some reward.

[lancer1977]

Originally Posted by peanutte

I'm glad you were able to find some renewed motivation, haley. I haven't really had any true stalls, but 2big sure has, and she stuck with it and has maintained her loss...she's my hero!



EXACTLY, Dove. If you give up, what are you getting out of the deal? You get to eat a bunch of food that you weren't eating on your diet? You get to resign yourself to being fat? Wow, that's some reward.

I think it's an issue of ongoing motivation for myself. I usually diet in early spring to look good in a swimsuit so Im not embaressed to enjoy water parks, I dont hit my ideal goals, then towards the middle of fall I cheer the beginning of hoodie/sweater weather and go on a 3 month wendys binge. I've been working at this for about a year now doing this and that, hopefully this round of Atkins + my workout regiment will be the nail in the coffin for my inner fatboy.

[2big4mysize]

so we should all face south east and holler Dovelette size 6!!!!!! every day so the winds can carry it to your ears while you are out of your comfort zone.
What size were you last time Mom saw you? bet she will be so impressed. Hope she doesn't think you are starving and organize a carb mass mailing to you in Africa.

Glad you are understanding the world doesn't end if you eat off plan a little but you'll feel awful if you stay off plan alot. I have been craving food on these roids and not sleeping much from the allergy meds so I'm ready to dive into something but can't figure out what I need so I'm still on plan carbwise but I know I'm over eating cause I'm so hungry.

Okay veggies veggies and veggies. did you see the tomato powder they have? it is freeze dried ground up tomatoes you can use for anything tomato in the way of sauces. want some to make some cream of toamato soup for the next time you get sick?

speaking of freezing today in church the soloist sang Freely Freely but Mother with her AD thought it was freezing freezing so naturally she was singing freezing freezing as the chorus and since the out side temp has dipped into the 60s after being in the mid 80s everybody around us was agreeing with her that it was cold in the church this morning cause the heat was off and the AC had been running chilling the place before the folk in charge arrived and turned it off this morning.

[jamistar77]

Good Morning everyone. So, I am on my 2 1/2 week induction right now. I have about 7 - 9 pounds... ugh depending on the day, to go until goal which at that point I should be a size 6, 130. I lost 11 pounds the first 10 days, which was amazing. Still eating the same, the weight loss stopped and it just yo yo's now, for almost a week. 137-139-140. So, with that, I'm contemplating on moving on to OWL. I'm not at a point on the month where I should be heavy or anything. Is this normal, is there such thing as a post induction plateau? Any ideas on breaking though this?

[peanutte]

2big, your mom is absolutely hilarious. Actually I shouldn't say that because obviously she is elderly and a little out of it (or just hard of hearing), and caring for her is quite a job you've undertaken, but you handle it all with a sense of humor and that comes through in your posts.

Hi, Jami! I'm so glad you came over here after your Induction. Very few people do; they ride the Induction train for a long long time, and then get near goal and are unprepared for how to transition into the rest of their lives.

You've lost about half the weight you want to lose, so it would be very appropriate to do OWL. That doesn't mean you will stop losing weight, so don't worry about that. It does mean you get to try a wider variety of foods and experiment with upping your carbs by five grams daily each week to see the point at which you stay the same instead of losing.

Do you have the book? Re-read the chapter on OWL.

As for your question about a mini-stall after Induction: it is a very common phenomenon for people to have a two week halt to weight loss following Induction. Their bodies have adjusted and are hesitating. I know it's annoying and frustrating but here's what i would do if I were you:

Keep doing exactly what you've been doing for one more week and see if the scale settles at a slightly lower weight after bouncing around for the past week. When you hold on to a certain weight for a solid week, then at that point I would go ahead and start the first rung of the carb ladder which means having 5 more grams of Induction-legal vegetables for a week. Also: do you weigh every day? There's nothing wrong with doing so, but you might be happier weighing once a week. The daily fluctuations can drive people nuts.

If you lose a little weight that week (at your weight and with your goal, I would say no more than a pound should be expected), then go ahead and move to the second rung, which is more dairy and fresher dairy like cottage cheese and yogurt.

The other thing you can do is keep your carbs at 20 net grams but go ahead and start rung one, and simply swap up to five grams of additional Induction vegetables for five grams of something else. I trade vegetable grams for some of my cheese grams, for example. Some people might eat 4 ounces a day of cheese which is 4 grams of carbs--I would rather use those grams for an extra portion of veggies, myself, and get my fats and proteins from animal protein than dairy.

I don't mean to confuse you, so if you have any questions, please ask. Again, welcome, and congratulations on your great progress so far.

Oh, one more thing: you asked for any ideas about breaking through your mini-stall--yes, actually why don't you tell us what you usually eat. if you are using artificial sweeteners, bars or shakes, or a lot of cheese, cream, or cream cheese, those are common stallers.

[haleybop1]

Just a quick question about owl. I'm upping my carbs and really haven't noticed anything. What exacly should I be looking for cravings or no loss? I lost 2lbs during induction and now average about 1lb per week. I seem to tolerate each thing I've added. My hunger hasn't increased, still in ketosis and having about 35carbs. Should I continue to up the carbs? I'm happy with what I'm eating. Should I be aiming to lower the fat? I did read the book. I just find real life experiences from posters seems to be easier to understand. I want to lose about 30 more. Thanks!!!

[2big4mysize]

welcome to our newbies.
post induction scale weight loss hesitiation is so common it even has a title PISS. if you check your inches you will discover that you are still shedding body fat but because of complicated biochem reasons the body doesn't like collapsing inward so your body is busy stuffing your tissues where body fat is bing removed with fluids. at some point your tolerance for the biochem interfereance from those fluids will exceed your threshold level and your body will generate a chemical to remove the fluids and overnight the scale swill move disporportionatly to what you did the day before. folk call that a visit from the WHOOSH Fairy cause whoosh scale pounds vanished. then you will see that pattern fro the rest of your weight loss journey no change on the scales and maybe even a little gain and then suddenly pounds gone. It works that way on any diet plan.

Haleybop1 glad you are trying ut the OWL rungs. One of the goals in OWL is to discover your individual stopping point carb level so yep you want to keep adding the carbs slowly until you discover your number. then you back down below that number and keep losing body fat until you are 5-10 pounds form your healthy goal weight and then you move to premaintnenace.

We are watching also for any food or food rund that causes us weight gain, or cravings. Some folk get cravings with a whole rung and others with just certain foods on the rung. Dr Atkins said if you get cravings or weight gain from a food or rung drop it immediately. you can try it again at a later date because our bodies are changing inside the longer we low carb and something that caused an insulin reaction today may not in a few months.
I still can't do celery sticks nor anything Splenda sweetened without wild cravings and it has been 7 yrs for me though.

[2big4mysize]

Peanutte she has Alzheimers and their comprhention of the words they hear gets scrambled as the diesease effects the different brain areas involved in processing sounds. She has excellent hearing as she can her what is being said in the kitchen when she is in the TV room. She doesn't understand it but she hears it.
I can be sad, depressed, grieve and cry about how a stranger lives in my Mother's body and I have to care for that stranger as it de ages back to infancy in physical and mental abilities or I can see the humor in things we discover each day. For my long term health I chose to be excited about the new discoveries.

[peanutte]

Oh, I am truly sympathetic, 2big. We lost my grandma to an Alzheimer's related sickness--pneumonia, I think?--that went rapidly downhill...and it was at a point where there was a DNR or "no heroic measures" order. I say it was related because she was dehydrated from forgetting to drink anything. Ugh. But her personality and spirit was mostly gone and had been for years. Once in a great while she had a moment of clarity, but usually she lived in bewilderment, fear, paranoia and anxiety. I didn't visit her as much as I should have and I regret that. This was about 10 years ago that she died. She was a wonderful grandma. I hated the fact that the last decade or so of her life was spent in such a twilight state. It's horrible to witness.

So, although I find your descriptions of your mom's antics to be funny, I also understand there is a lot of very real pain underneath the anecdotes. You are a strong, positive person in so many ways. Your mother is lucky to have you.

[jamistar77]

Originally Posted by peanutte

2big, your mom is absolutely hilarious. Actually I shouldn't say that because obviously she is elderly and a little out of it (or just hard of hearing), and caring for her is quite a job you've undertaken, but you handle it all with a sense of humor and that comes through in your posts.

Hi, Jami! I'm so glad you came over here after your Induction. Very few people do; they ride the Induction train for a long long time, and then get near goal and are unprepared for how to transition into the rest of their lives.

You've lost about half the weight you want to lose, so it would be very appropriate to do OWL. That doesn't mean you will stop losing weight, so don't worry about that. It does mean you get to try a wider variety of foods and experiment with upping your carbs by five grams daily each week to see the point at which you stay the same instead of losing.

Do you have the book? Re-read the chapter on OWL.

As for your question about a mini-stall after Induction: it is a very common phenomenon for people to have a two week halt to weight loss following Induction. Their bodies have adjusted and are hesitating. I know it's annoying and frustrating but here's what i would do if I were you:

Keep doing exactly what you've been doing for one more week and see if the scale settles at a slightly lower weight after bouncing around for the past week. When you hold on to a certain weight for a solid week, then at that point I would go ahead and start the first rung of the carb ladder which means having 5 more grams of Induction-legal vegetables for a week. Also: do you weigh every day? There's nothing wrong with doing so, but you might be happier weighing once a week. The daily fluctuations can drive people nuts.

If you lose a little weight that week (at your weight and with your goal, I would say no more than a pound should be expected), then go ahead and move to the second rung, which is more dairy and fresher dairy like cottage cheese and yogurt.

The other thing you can do is keep your carbs at 20 net grams but go ahead and start rung one, and simply swap up to five grams of additional Induction vegetables for five grams of something else. I trade vegetable grams for some of my cheese grams, for example. Some people might eat 4 ounces a day of cheese which is 4 grams of carbs--I would rather use those grams for an extra portion of veggies, myself, and get my fats and proteins from animal protein than dairy.

I don't mean to confuse you, so if you have any questions, please ask. Again, welcome, and congratulations on your great progress so far.

Oh, one more thing: you asked for any ideas about breaking through your mini-stall--yes, actually why don't you tell us what you usually eat. if you are using artificial sweeteners, bars or shakes, or a lot of cheese, cream, or cream cheese, those are common stallers.

Thanks Peanutte for all the info. I do have the 2002 DANDR book. My menu hasn't changed much from induction. I still have my 2 cups of morning regular coffee with cream and liquid splenda. Only thing out of the ordinary that I would have from time to time, everyother day or twice a week is sugar free, 0 carb candy... Only one though And sometimes I have Lipton green tea, It does contain aspertame, so I just have one a day. Everything else I consume is stickly on Dr. Atkins Finite list. I don't eat the bars or shakes. Most of my foods are whole foods, natural and some organic and i use the recommended cream and cheeses.
Although... The other day I was a sucker and I bought some summer sausage, It says less than 1 carb per 2oz servings. I had some last night with cheese, but wasnt sure if I should eat anymore. What do you all think?
I did try my first go of atkins last spring, although i was a little to liberal, needless to say I wasnt very successful. this time I am going by the book. I am excited to start OWL. I love veggies, I plan on doing this slow and steady. Ideally, I would like to stay at each Rung for 2 weeks at a time. The first week maybe add 5 carbs every other day. The second week 5 more carbs every day. I'm sure my methods will change, but for now thats the plan. This seems like a great thread by the way. I look foreward to stopping in sometimes!

[jamistar77]

Originally Posted by 2big4mysize

welcome to our newbies.
post induction scale weight loss hesitiation is so common it even has a title PISS. if you check your inches you will discover that you are still shedding body fat but because of complicated biochem reasons the body doesn't like collapsing inward so your body is busy stuffing your tissues where body fat is bing removed with fluids. at some point your tolerance for the biochem interfereance from those fluids will exceed your threshold level and your body will generate a chemical to remove the fluids and overnight the scale swill move disporportionatly to what you did the day before. folk call that a visit from the WHOOSH Fairy cause whoosh scale pounds vanished. then you will see that pattern fro the rest of your weight loss journey no change on the scales and maybe even a little gain and then suddenly pounds gone. It works that way on any diet plan.

Haleybop1 glad you are trying ut the OWL rungs. One of the goals in OWL is to discover your individual stopping point carb level so yep you want to keep adding the carbs slowly until you discover your number. then you back down below that number and keep losing body fat until you are 5-10 pounds form your healthy goal weight and then you move to premaintnenace.

We are watching also for any food or food rund that causes us weight gain, or cravings. Some folk get cravings with a whole rung and others with just certain foods on the rung. Dr Atkins said if you get cravings or weight gain from a food or rung drop it immediately. you can try it again at a later date because our bodies are changing inside the longer we low carb and something that caused an insulin reaction today may not in a few months.
I still can't do celery sticks nor anything Splenda sweetened without wild cravings and it has been 7 yrs for me though.

wow, thanks, i feel much better. I love that accronym, way to funny! Celery, Of all things would give you cravings, sometimes things just dont make sense. . I heard a lot of people stall on peanut butter. I hope I can keep eating it and still lose. Im really looking foreward to the nut rung. forgive my grammer. Im baby sitting and holding my 1 month old cousin. i needed my baby fix. LOL

[peanutte]

I am excited to start OWL. I love veggies, I plan on doing this slow and steady. Ideally, I would like to stay at each Rung for 2 weeks at a time. The first week maybe add 5 carbs every other day. The second week 5 more carbs every day. I'm sure my methods will change, but for now thats the plan.

Yeah, this sounds good; you don't add the new food every single day, just three days the first week. You can go ahead and stay on a rung for however long you'd like before moving on. You can take it very gradually, for example: let's say I am on Rung Two, the dairy rung. I am dying to try some yogurt. So the first week on that rung, I add 1/2 cup of yogurt on three different days. That week, things are fine and I lost a pound. The next week, I decide to try cottage cheese, so instead of the yogurt I have cottage cheese three days that week. I don't lose anything. Hm. My calories and carbs were the same, so that means cottage cheese might be a food to avoid, and yogurt isn't.

However, those results can't be considered conclusive because you might have had more sodium that second week and retained water, or something like that.

It's all a big experiment.

Summer sausage is not a horrible food in and of itself (I'm from the northern lakes states originally, and we love our summer sausage up there), BUT if it is not that "natural", i.e. it has a lot of weird ingredients and preservatives and sodium, it might stall you (and it might not--see, aren't I helpful?). I had some summer sausage early on, sometime last spring, and it was SO high in sodium that I decided it wasn't worth it.

As my Atkins has progressed, I have stayed away from all deli meats and cured meats with the exception of one ounce of diced ham steak that I use in my eggs a couple of times a week, some weeks. And also, if I am traveling I will compromise by having the most natural deli meat I can find in my hotel fridge. Other than that, I just don't use those processed meats any more. That's just my personal preference.

[haleybop1]

2big-I can appreciate your stories with your mom. My mom is just starting dementia. She gave her mother's diamond ring away to "someone" the other day but can't remember who that was. She also didn't think it was her mother's diamond ring. I have to laugh or I'd cry. She'd feel so bad if she knew what she did. She lives in a senior housing place and my guess is there's a very happy housekeeper right now wearing a family heirloom.

[peanutte]

haley, that is awful! I'm so sorry. I hope the person is honest enough to give it back. Who would take advantage of a senile old lady like that? (Don't even answer that, it's too depressing.)


How has your week been, haley?


Oh and by the way, sorry to change the subject, I had my thyroid tested for the first time since starting Atkins last January. Allegedly my numbers look great. I requested copies of my test (and the previous tests) sent to me. So much for low carb "ruining your thyroid".

[haleybop1]

Originally Posted by peanutte

haley, that is awful! I'm so sorry. I hope the person is honest enough to give it back. Who would take advantage of a senile old lady like that? (Don't even answer that, it's too depressing.)


How has your week been, haley?


Oh and by the way, sorry to change the subject, I had my thyroid tested for the first time since starting Atkins last January. Allegedly my numbers look great. I requested copies of my test (and the previous tests) sent to me. So much for low carb "ruining your thyroid".

I'm just trying not to think about the ring. The sad part is she and her sister fought about having that ring and my mother was adamant that she get it. Now it's just gone.....

My week has been good. I went to vegas with DH for 2 nights and went to two buffets and stuck to my LC WOE. I'm sure I was over calorie wise but I weighed when I got home and the scale was the same so happy for that. I also drank no alcohol. I was thinking I would try a glass of wine to see how it affects me and then just decided I didn't want the calories. I had some berries for dessert which were heavenly. I never thought I'd get so excited over some berries but it was like a chocolate cake after having no sugar for 7 weeks.

Have a great day!!

[jamistar77]

Originally Posted by peanutte

Yeah, this sounds good; you don't add the new food every single day, just three days the first week. You can go ahead and stay on a rung for however long you'd like before moving on. You can take it very gradually, for example: let's say I am on Rung Two, the dairy rung. I am dying to try some yogurt. So the first week on that rung, I add 1/2 cup of yogurt on three different days. That week, things are fine and I lost a pound. The next week, I decide to try cottage cheese, so instead of the yogurt I have cottage cheese three days that week. I don't lose anything. Hm. My calories and carbs were the same, so that means cottage cheese might be a food to avoid, and yogurt isn't.

However, those results can't be considered conclusive because you might have had more sodium that second week and retained water, or something like that.

It's all a big experiment.

Summer sausage is not a horrible food in and of itself (I'm from the northern lakes states originally, and we love our summer sausage up there), BUT if it is not that "natural", i.e. it has a lot of weird ingredients and preservatives and sodium, it might stall you (and it might not--see, aren't I helpful?). I had some summer sausage early on, sometime last spring, and it was SO high in sodium that I decided it wasn't worth it.

As my Atkins has progressed, I have stayed away from all deli meats and cured meats with the exception of one ounce of diced ham steak that I use in my eggs a couple of times a week, some weeks. And also, if I am traveling I will compromise by having the most natural deli meat I can find in my hotel fridge. Other than that, I just don't use those processed meats any more. That's just my personal preference.

I really don't do the deli meat either, Never much of a fan although being a Northerner ,myself, (north dakota, minnesota) the summer sausage and deer sausage always becons me. I grew up with dead deer hanging off my swing set, I have pictures LOL. The label does have some nitrates, but everything else looks good, such as no sugar. Maybe I'll just have some a couple times a week. My parents have a whole freezer full of deer sausage that my uncles made. They are aways trying to get me to take some, because they only have 100 packages, LOL. Maybe I will next time. YUM!

[peanutte]

When I had my garlic summer sausage, I would have one ounce of it cut into little wedges and eaten with one ounce of cheese cubes. That was back when I still had an afternoon snack. I think it's fine for a once-in-a-while thing. Here's what I would do, though: on a day where you're going to have some of that, don't have bacon or any other salty kind of meat.

I don't think salt is the enemy or anything, but I try to balance it out so that I'm not loading up on lots of salty things on the same day. Like if I had pickles, that would be the only salty thing I'd have. I just hate the way retaining water makes me feel and look, is all.

I would take that family-made venison sausage if I were you! When I moved to Colorado from the Twin Cities few years ago, one of the things I had to leave behind (i.e. throw out) was a package of venison one of my co-workers had given me that I hadn't gotten around to eating yet. Waaah.

[jamistar77]

Aww, Im sorry you had to give up your venison. If I lived my you I'd give you a package. Good idea about the salt. That's one thing I have been cutting down quite a bit. My husbands mentality is, if he dosent see the salt on his food, there is not enough!! Yikes, and gross.
Thanks for all yor advice. I'm signing off for the night. My nights get hecktic with dinner, football practice and homework. Have a great night everyone!

[peanutte]

I'm much more of a salt person than a sugar person, really. I like to sprinkle my coarse kosher salt on my food when I sit down to eat it, so I can use less and really taste it.

[2big4mysize]

Originally Posted by haleybop1

2big-I can appreciate your stories with your mom. My mom is just starting dementia. She gave her mother's diamond ring away to "someone" the other day but can't remember who that was. She also didn't think it was her mother's diamond ring. I have to laugh or I'd cry. She'd feel so bad if she knew what she did. She lives in a senior housing place and my guess is there's a very happy housekeeper right now wearing a family heirloom.

I feel for you. my grandmother gave her antiques to alleged friends because they would take good care of them for her. Of course their version was she gave them to them not to keep for her but to have as their own. Knowing that we as a family went to court and had my mother declared incompetent so nobody can take anything she gives them since she legally can't give them anything. She hids stuff all the time and can't remember hwere she put it. I can't tell you how many sets of car keys I've had to have made cause I forget and put them down on the table when we come home and forget to pick them back up after bringing in the groceries before she gets them. and poof they are gone. Once she put them under her pillow for safe keeping. LOL

I'd mention the ring to the head of the place she is staying because employees are not supposed to accept gifts from dementia folk and their license could be at risk.

Originally Posted by jamistar77

I really don't do the deli meat either, Never much of a fan although being a Northerner ,myself, (north dakota, minnesota) the summer sausage and deer sausage always becons me. I grew up with dead deer hanging off my swing set, I have pictures LOL. The label does have some nitrates, but everything else looks good, such as no sugar. Maybe I'll just have some a couple times a week. My parents have a whole freezer full of deer sausage that my uncles made. They are aways trying to get me to take some, because they only have 100 packages, LOL. Maybe I will next time. YUM!

oh on those deer I have 6 living in our yard so if y'all would like to come make sausage be my guest.

Yep as peanutte said OWL is the great food experiement where we are both the scientists doing the studying of the food reactions and effects on cravings, weight loss and health while also being the lab rat those food reactions are being studied on.

Peanutte you got those rules a little wrong. it is 3 days a week the first week you have a new to you food and then you can have it everyday afterwards if it doesn't give you any issues so an OWLER could sample the yogurt as you said and then add it to their WOE the next week while still testing the other fresh dairy foods. they would just have to count it in their previous carbs and give up a little of the other already aquired foods. it isn't just one at a time neither. you could test yogurt MWF and cottage cheese T TH S of the same week if you think you could know which one was effecting you should you have an issue.
Also as Peanutte said we need to do repeated studies to know exactly what causes the effect before we say that food isn't for me. it could be hormonal issues sodium issues or a new workout or illness that causes a weight loss issue so do repeat the testing to know for sure.