1 Month down... :)

Well it is January 31, 2009. I have now officially been bread, pasta, potatoes & sugar free for 1 month (unfortunately though I did have HFCS in my mayo...learned that lesson).

But it's now been one month and I must say - this has got to be one of the absolute EASIEST "diets" I've ever followed that I seriously know will become my "way of eating" ...

1. I'm NEVER hungry - unlike low-fat diets where you almost HAD to feel those "hunger pains" to feel like it was working.

2. While I work out about 2 - 3 x per week, I'm not KILLING myself at the gym 5+x a week to make it feel like I'm "burning" all those calories away and not losing ANYTHING. :(

3. It's easy to go to restaurants now - other than saying no to the potato, lol.

4. I've only gotten "sick" twice this month - and in all honesty I think it's from too much fat...which is weird because I'm SUPPOSED to be eating fat...but oh well - two times in one month is SO much better than 4 x a week!!!

5. I LOVE LOVE LOVE eating REAL salad dressing instead of that plastic no-flavor nasty low-fat / fat free crap.

This Way Of Eating (woe) is just absolutely AWESOME and the funny thing is - I used to be one of those opponents of atkins, who would tell anyone who listened, "oh it's soooo bad for you. all that fat will clog your arteries, there's no WAY i could eat all that fat." you know all the things you've always heard about low-carb diets - but i'm a total and absolute convert and I must say I love love love it now!!! :)

I absolutely will continue this way for the rest of my life. I commit to that. And that's not saying that I'll NEVER have a potato again or brownies, because those things CAN be incorporated into this WOE but much later down the road.

Plus, there's a ton of no-flour no-sugar recipes out there that I CAN have that are probably just as good.

Well again, I'm 8 pounds down and I have 28 pounds to go. I know I won't lose 8 pounds per month - but if I could even do just 5 pounds per MONTH I'd be sooo happy! :) IF that becomes the case, I'll hit my goal in 6 months - July. I can deal with that - by then it'll really be time to start planning the wedding and damnit, I WILL be in a BEAUTIFUL dress that when I look in the mirror, and see pictures I LOVE myself and the weight i'll be at! :)

SNOW DAY part deux...

Ok - so it's 12:00 p.m. and I just came back inside from shoveling the driveway.

I decided to put my heart rate monitor on and I burned 260 calories just shoveling the driveway!!!!

I actually feel like going to the spinning class tonight at the gym at 5:30 - but we'll see.

that's all. later!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!

wow - well there's 11 inches of snow outside right now and it's STILL snowing!!!!

yeah...i helped Dan get his car out of the driveway today - but my car is in the garage...and the snow on the actual driveway - in front of the garage - yeah i'm NOT shoveling that to get out today.

i called in to work - SNOW DAY!!!! i probably need a day off anyways - i have some awesome books I really want to read that I got from the library and haven't had the time to sit down and even start them yet:

"GOOD CALORIES / BAD CALORIES" by Gary Taubes & "SUGAR SHOCK" that i want to read as well.

I'm gonna take some pictures of this snow as our "first snow in our first house".

prolly post again later and post some pics too. later!!! :)

SOOOOO pissed at myself. :(

This is the post I posted on the atkinsdietbullitenboard...

PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES!!!!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO mad at myself right now.

I have ALWAYS been one to read ingredients lists - even before I started atkins - when I was on weight watchers or when I was just doing it "on my own" - i ALWAYS read ingredients lists (along with the nutritional information)...

But now I know why it has been 25 days and I ONLY lost 5 pounds my first week on atkins and haven't lost anything since. I am so mad, i want to cry...

BUT before I tell you why - I will say that the second I saw this, I threw the bottle out in the trash - no questions asked, even though the bottle was still pretty full and I hate "wasting" food...I didn't care - out in the trash it went this morning.

So before i even started atkins, I've ALWAYS looked at the ingredients list to make sure that what i'm buying does NOT contain ANY type of corn syrup - especially High Fructose Corn Syrup...

But yup - what was right there smack dab in the middle of the ingredients list of my wal-mart brand mayonnaise? yup - you guessed it. HFCS - or as I like to call it POISON!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know how or why I missed reading the ingredients when I first bought this (and, btw, this is my second bottle of this type of mayo this month) - but I am sooooooooooo mad and upset.

If this is the reason why I haven't lost anything, than I accept my mistake and understand why I haven't lost more than those first 5 pounds that first week.

But believe me - that POISON is absolutely OUT of my house and I am going to read EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT of everything I buy now.

Which, again - I usually do - but for some reason I just didn't on this item - it has 0 g carbs/0 g sugar - but i just didn't look at the ingredients. :(

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's funny - those stupid commercials for HFCS - trying to convince everyone that it's "good" for you because it's the same, nutritionally as sugar - HA!!!! just because it's 'natural' doesn't mean it's healthy. Cocaine is 'natural' - marijauna is 'natural' - tobacco is 'natural' - yet NONE of that is "good" for you...and those commercials - the person saying it's "bad" doesn't know why - well, here's why:

Sugar spikes the insulin in your body. When you're Diabetic or Insulin Resistant (such as I am) - this is a VERY BAD THING because when insulin is spiked, it over-compensates for that extra insulin and it gets stored as fat in your body. When you eat any type of sugar - be it table sugar, HFCS, fructose, glucose, any type - you get hungrier and once your insulin spikes and CRASHES - you want more. It really is just like any other drug - you eat it - you need more - it's a never ending cycle. Just like when a smoker has a cigarrette and has tobacco in their system - it just makes you want more...

anywhoo - this is just a lesson learned and at least I found out now instead of 2, 4 or 6 months into this. it's OUT of my house FOREVER!

sunday 25/January/2009 - revisited...

ok, so I know I posted today already, but I just feel like posting again! lol

well - today was one of those absolutely "blah" days. Dan and I woke up around 1 p.m. and literally laid around in the living room until around 5 p.m. when I finally decided it was time to go grocery shopping. I really DID want to go to the gym - but I did't. In fact I just didn't do ANYTHING except for the grocery shopping today.

So that's ok. It's one day. Tomorrow is the start of a new work week and tomorrow night I'll hit the gym.

I'm going to start and try something new with my eating journal...I'm going to try and include at the end of "TOTAL FOR THE DAY" where all my carbs actually came from, as per vegees. Technically I'm supposed to have about only 3 cups of vegees a day, but I'm supposed to have at LEAST 12 - 15 of my carbs for the day come from vegees. So that only leaves me 5 - 8 carbs left from meats/cheeses.

so we will see. :)

Sunday 25/January/2009 - back up 2.5

We had our housewarming party on this night and while I didn't touch any alcohol, pita bread, or anything else that would have been in the absolute "no" category, I had:

1. some chicken wings

2. some meatballs (no breadcrumbs)

3. vegees (celery, broccoli, cauliflower)

4. a LOT of spinach artichoke dip (which apparantly was made of ONLY cream cheese, spinach & artichokes)

5. chicken fingers (removed all breading)

6. blue cheese dressing

So I did not write down what I had. I am starting brand new/fresh this morning, Sunday 25/January/2009.

I honestly don't think I did TOO bad - as I didn't overly stuff myself to where I felt miserable (which I normally do at parties) - and we had a FABULOUS turn out too. It was great!

Now, I got on the scale this morning and yesterday it said 189.5 whereas today it said 191.0.

I'm ok with that, for now - since last night I know I wasn't induction friendly (specially with the dip).

But I'm rearin' and ready to go today. I'm back on track and will be doing induction to a "T" as much as possible. :)

rules for this week:

1. I will NOT get on the scale until next saturday.

2. I will go to the gym at LEAST 3 (if not 4) times this week.

3. NO FRUIT OR SEEDS whatsoever. Induction foods only.

Plus, I have the two books waiting for me at the library right now, "SUGAR SHOCK" by Connie Bennet & "GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES" by Gary Taubes. These are two books that Jimmy Moore talks about and I think they will help me educate myself EVEN MORE on why I need to be doing this for life. I also have another book on hold, but i'm in "line" for it at the library. I can't wait to read these books, but of course this branch of the library isn't open today (sunday) so I will have to wait until tomorrow.

Well, I'm off as my fiance is CRAVING a baconater from wendy's and I myself am thinkin' that sounds pretty darn good. :)

That and a side caesar salad.

later all!

189.5!! :) but we'll see...

Ok - so this morning I woke up and I'm absolutely STARVING...so I get on the scale and it FINALLY said 189.5!! woohoo!! Course, I'm not going to go by that just yet - but it IS nice to see that number - ya know?

I'm not going by it yet mainly because I can tell I've got nothing in my body right now.

But it IS nice to see that number! :)

Tonight is our housewarming party (finally after 2 1/5 months! lol) - but we're making chicken wings (which i can have!!!) we'll have a cheese ball and tons of vegees...and my best friend is bringing her stuffed mushrooms, with some that won't have any breadcrumbs, just for me. :)

The party starts at 5 so hopefully I can get to the gym this afternoon after we've cleaned up and made sure the house is "perfect" for everyone...

But yeah - I've decided to give induction another full 2 weeks as this past week (technically my first rung of owl) I cheated and had peaches & sunflower seeds. :(

But I WILL do this and this time I'll do it "right". :)

that's all for now! latahz!

"Allergic to Sugar?"

Ok - so It has now been 17 days that I have been on atkins. One thing that I have noticed is that my appetite has gone down very low. I'm just NOT as hungry as I used to be - in fact I used to feel hungry alllll day long - and now it really is only when my body says I'm hungry - not just my brain.

It is hard to stay away from sugar, still, mainly because it's more mental than anything. The fact that - for the past 29 years of my life, I've enjoyed MANY sugary foods - cookies, cake, candy bars, etc...etc...and I LOVE the way they TASTE. However - now that I've been learning to live low-carb and really educating myself ON living low carb - I really am beginning to wonder if I'm "allergic" to sugar.

Now, I don't get an "allergic reaction" such as breaking out or anything like that - but having Insulin Resistance keeps me from processing carbs & sugar the way "normal" people do (course, what is 'normal' anymore anyways?).

I've been listening to the podcasts of Jimmy Moore's now (livinlavidalowcarb) for the past 2 weeks - and he's had MANY interviews with doctors and specialists talking about low carb living and I'm seriously beginning to feel like I AM "allergic". When I eat sugar or high carb foods, granted my brain and even taste buds are happy - but the rest of my body is not.

I've been overweight most of my life, with a few stints here and there where I DID lose weight on low-fat diets, only to gain it all back.

The past few years, while I haven't been "perfect" - I've been eating the way I was taught with the weight watchers program - low fat, high carbs, high fiber. Now - granted, weight watchers IS fabulous program for those who's bodies can handle high carb foods and who CAN do low fat.
But - after years of struggling and feeling like I was eating "right" - eating whole grains, low fat, etc...I've come to realize that this 29 year old body WASN'T eating right. Not for the physics of my body anyways.

Now - as far as living low-carb / high-fat - I am still a bit confused as to what is "healthy" anymore - mainly because for SOOOO long I've been told how "low-fat" is the way to go and how "high-fat" is BAD for you.

And now that I AM living low-carb / high-fat - all the podcasts I've been listening to and the board I frequent (www.atkinsdietbullitenboard.com) and the atkins book is telling me differently.

Who do I believe? Well - even though low-fat HAS worked for me in the past - knowing that I've TRIED AND TRIED AND TRIED to lose weight on high-carb, low-fat diets and yet I CAN'T lose any weight doing it that way anymore - I guess it's now just trial and error. The only thing I guess I CAN do is try something new and see if this DOES work. right?

The last time I went to the doctor (in December) - she kept re-iterating to me "low-carb. low-carb." So I figure she MUST know something I don't. She told me to make another appointment in about 6 months or so after I've lost some more weight (only if I do low-carb, of course) and we'll get my blood work re-done.

That is one reason I'm doing this. I NEED that "goal" sorta thing - such as like when I was in school and I'd do homework to get to that graduation date - I need that goal of getting to the doctor's and having her tell me that I did things right.

I'm the type of person that needs that re-iteration and praise that what I'm doing IS good/right whatever you want to say. :)

Plus - damnit - my wedding is in 18 months. If I can just get back down to 160 (30 more pounds) in 18 months I would be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy. :)

Oh well - that is all - I will write more later.

Induction is "done"...for now - on to "OWL" (ongoing weight loss)

well - technically I've made it through the 2 week induction and I've lost 5 pounds (196 to 191) - i'm VERY happy with that loss - and I know part of me should continue with what is called "extended induction" - but I think i'm going to go ahead and add fruit back in this week. Just a little - just some raspberries and blueberries. and only 3 days this week.

Even though the "OWL" (ongoing weight loss) rung for fruit is like 4 weeks away - I seriously feel like I need some - but I'm going to be good and ONLY have berries (very low in carbs and high in fiber).

this week I will also be working out again - last week I didn't since it was TOM. I am also hiding my scale! I promise myself I will NOT get on that scale until next saturday.

I'm also changing up my breakfast. Instead of scrambled eggs (which I'm seriously sick and tired of. :( - I'm gonna have fried eggs (only 3 instead of 4).

I commit to go do 4 days of cardio and 3 days of weight training this week.

Hopefully I'll see another loss next saturday! :)

Saturday 17/January/2009

so i went to the gym today...and i did a chest & arms workout (no cardio)...and halfway through i started feeling sick so i had to cut my workout short (i'd say i got about 90% in though) - but I 'ran' to the bathroom and left.

i went and bought myself a salad - came home and ate it - but the headache wouldn't go away. so i fell asleep and when i woke up (about 3 hour nap) i got up and still felt shaky...so i HAD to have some sort of sugar and I did NOT want to 'cheat' and have a cookie (although it did look tempting!) but i didn't - and instead I had some natural peanut butter & sugar free jelly - which seems to be helping - but now I'm sitting here - it's almost 9 o'clock and i'm just NOT hungry.

I HAVE to continue this low carb life - because I trust my doctor and she's the one who told me to go on it - and with all that i've read and listened to so far, I do NOT want to end up diabetic, which runs in my family and I'm "pre-diabetic" and pretty much in line for it. :(

as much as i miss sugar and some specific things (such as sushi) - i reallllly want to follow this through and really make it my lifestyle - and it'll be a few weeks until I can have fruit again - but i'm almost wondering if i should go ahead and add it back in to see if it helps.

anyways - we shall see. ttyl!

Friday 16/January/2009

well - today there's really not a lot to blog about...I'm still weighing in at 191.0 - but i'm STILL in the middle of TOM too. I'm wondering - having had NO sugar if that's why TOM is a little longer than normal?...

anyways - because TOM is here I haven't exercised since Monday. I just don't exercise during this week.

things are going good though - i can definitely tell that my body IS changing - i HAVE lost 5 pounds and my jeans ARE looser. :)

even though the weight # hasn't gone down - i am VERY happy that I've given up the sugar and carbs - however, at the same time part of me IS mentally missing the sugar...i don't even think it's cravings - I think it's more just mentally saying - "you know, you've eaten sugar all your life and it hasn't physically KILLED you...and you know it won't ACTUALLY kill you...go on have a bit" but I know I can't. It's NOT healthy and while I won't drop dead from eating a cookie - if i keep eating sugar the way i used to - it will eventually kill me because i WILL eventually become diabetic if i DON'T stop eating sugar.

this is just as much a MENTAL journey as it is a physical one.

i really hope i get to that point when i look at sugar and it just absolutely disgusts me - but we'll see.

oh well that is all for now.

more later!

feelin' guilty (for about a minute) then feelin' FABULOUS!

OK - so last night we went to BW3's (like we do on a weekly basis) - and last week I did good - had a bunless black and blue burger and a caesar salad...

well last night I had 12 wings with medium sauce (only 1 g carb per tbsp and no sugar) and a side salad with blue cheese dressing.

well, the "guilty" feelings came last night after we got home and I was lyin' around still feelin' a little full from dinner and I started thinkin' "man, i really messed up - i shouldn't have had WINGS!!! not on a 'diet'"....

but then i stopped myself and remembered - actually, I CAN have wings - in fact, wings are almost ENCOURAGED - skin and all! now, the sauce wasn't induction legal at all - but again, it only had 1 g carb per tbsp and NO sugar...so i got over those feelings pretty quickly.

then - this morning - well my weight really hasn't moved too much (i'm in the middle of TOM right now) - but I put on my jeans (which were a size big when i bought them to begin with) and the belt i've been wearing with them and instead of the 2nd set of holes - I HAD to go to the THIRD set of holes in the belt!!! I can't tell you how AWESOME that made me feel this morning!! :)

I know it's only been two weeks - and part of me feels like, "man, i've ONLY lost 5 pounds"...but the other way I'm looking at it is this: Had I NOT started atkins and I'd have KEPT trying the low-fat high-carb thing that I've always known - i could almost guarantee that I would NOT have lost even those 5 (and who knows - maybe have gained?!) and I definitely would NOT have been able to go down a set of holes in my belt.

I CAN do this. I WILL do this. I MUST do this for life.

Sugar and carbs are - unfortunately - the enemy for me. I DON'T need that sugar I used to eat. and the "good carbs" such as beans, whole grains and fruits - WILL eventually be re-introduced into my diet - but for now I'm staying in induction.

ttyl!!!

atkins' endulge bar

ok - so TOM is here this week and i think THAT is why i've been craving sweets so dang bad.

now - i went ahead and purchased TWO of the atkins endulge bars over the weekend and placed them in my drawer at work. well - temptation got the better of me and I just had one - and MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN was it omg GOOD! :P

Now - according to the package it's 19 grams of carbs but 8 grams of fiber and 9 grams of sugar alcohols with 1 gram of sugar...according to the "math" of subtracting fiber & sugar alcohols from the carb count - it comes out to 3 grams of net carbs (19-8-9= 2 + 1 gram of sugar= 3 grams net carbs).

technically I'm not supposed to have one of these until phase 2 and I'm still technically in induction - but man did my brain say i needed it! lol

and I figure - the bar, being 3 grams net carbs is SO much better than binging on something I shouldn't have otherwise - right? :)

so I had it - along with 2 boiled eggs and 2 no-sugar-added sweet gherkins - and maaaan was it good! :)

we'll see if i get sick from the sugar alcohols, as I really don't know how those will affect me - but I just felt like i needed to come on here and blog about it :)

i really do think, though, that i am absolutely going to buy me the sugar free / no sugar alcohol chocolate chips from carbsmart.com for occasions such as this.

Week 2 of Induction - Wednesday 14/January/2009

well - it has been almost officially 2 weeks that I have been on atkins. I have not had ANY processed sugar (or even fruit) - ANY white flour - ANY processed carbs since Friday 02/January/2009.

while at times it's been "easy" - other times it has been hard.

I know that I'm going to continue doing induction for what they call "extended induction" for at least another week.

this morning I got on the scale and it said 190.5 - again, that is down from 196 two weeks ago.
that is - for me - AWESOME!!!!!! but - i do know that i NEED to really hit the gym harder.

I really did want to go to the gym and do weight training last night - but I ended up NOT because I went to the dentist yesterday and while there - i get SOOO comfy in the dentist chair (yeah, weird, i know....lol) - but I got sooo sleepy and a little mad about money (i have to have another crown done in april) that I went home and took a nap instead - then at 8 p.m. my show The Biggest Loser and then Law & Order SVU were on - and then it was time for bed.

so anyways - tonight I am DEFINITELY working out. whether it's at the gym or at home, I'm not sure yet (weather sucks ass outside right now!!!) but I WILL get at LEAST 30 minutes in tonight. :)

so anyways - not really too much else going on. so I'll update more later!

Induction Week 2 - Tuesday 13/January/2009

Well - things are going good. :)
Really not too much to report today.

I went to the gym last night and did 30 minutes of cardio - but I KNOW I honestly NEED to really do resistance training and not as much cardio. I think that is what I'm really going to try and concentrate on is resistance training (along with some cardio) - but I'm not going to concentrate on cardio like i used to. EVERYONE keeps telling me that your body keeps burning calories after workouts when you have done resistance training because MUSCLE is what burns fat.

It is hard - but that's only because I don't have a "plan"...I have a few ideas from muscle and fitness but cardio is so much easier to do...however - that's my next step is to really put together some weight training sessions (course, I have to do this by myself because getting a trainer is WAY too damn expensive).

But I DO know I'm only supposed to workout each body part once a week (that'll help a lot! - meaning I won't feel like I HAVE to do a full body or anything...)

So I'm thinking 3 x week: 1 = legs. 2 = core. 3 = upper body/back

Then the other 2 x week I'll do cardio.

I CAN do this! :)

As far as atkins goes though, I must say while I'm still craving some fruit - I just love knowing that it has now been 12 days and I have not had ONE piece of chocolate - NO white flour - NO bread, pasta or potatoes. It's been hard one some days and easier on others - but I WILL do it! :) And i've got to just keep taking it absolutely ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Wow!! 5 pounds down!!!

Ok - so it's been 10 days now, and I am down 5 pounds!!!! I seriously do NOT believe it!!!!!!

Actually, I got on the scale this morning and it said 190 (which'd be 6 pounds down) but I don't want to believe that just yet. :)

But wow. Again - this is NOT easy - yesterday I wanted some fruit so damn bad it wasn't funny! BUT again, like I posted yesterday, I know that eventually I will be allowed to re-introduce - and until then I've just got to do this thing right.

Dan really wants to see me succeed at this, I know he does - but, last night he did say, "don't buy any special low-carb products off the net until you've stuck with it longer" - which I understand where he's coming from and I couldn't agree more. We were looking at carbsmart.com online last night and there's a few products I definitely want to purchase, but again, like he said, not until I'm sure that this is the direction I want to STAY going in...

And I really think it is!!! While it's hard in the fact that I reallllllllllly want some fruit or something sweet - it's SO easy NOT counting calories!!!!

At first - and granted, it's ONLY been a week and a half - but last week, at the beginning of the week, yes - admittedly I expected the weight to "fall off" like I've seen for some people online - like on day 2 or 3 for some people, they'd already lost 5 pounds - and my scale wasn't budging - and believe me, i KNOW better - but it's the whole "i want it now" mentality - and I KNOW I need to be patient (but i'm not a patient person, at ALL)...but again - I know it WILL happen. It's been 10 days now and I AM down 5 pounds!!! that's an average of 1/2 a pound a day - and I'm TOTALLY cool with that! I don't expect that to keep happening - but it is January 12, 2009 as of today. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to hit my goal of 160 (30 more pounds) by June 30 - which is when we are going back to Cedar Point (where Dan proposed last year!).

and...if at ALL possible - if my body will even go this low - I'd be extremely elated to be 150 (40 pounds down) by Thanksgiving - which is when we see his family again (the holidays).

I KNOW I can do it - I just have to take it one day at a time. :)

later!

Day 9 - Week 2 of Induction

Well - today was actually hard for me...when we woke up (late) I realized we were out of eggs. So I went to Arby's and got a chicken salad (no dressing from arby's, added own at home)...and a large roast beef (threw away the bun).

I went grocery shopping and while I was in the produce section, man it was sooooo hard not to buy some fruit!!! I was craving fruit soooo bad. :( But I didn't do it. I know that eventually I will be allowed to re-introduce fruit into my diet - but until then, I will follow the plan as it says.

I didn't eat that much of my dinner - we went to the fresh market here in indy and he got a stuffed salmon and I got a piece of ahi tuna. It was good - but i'm so used to tuna with MAYO...not just butter. It was good - just a new taste for me. But the piece was 8 oz and I only had about half of it - we also had green beans.

I WILL do this thing right though - I know it's not going to be easy - but I'm GOING to do it. Yes, it's about weight loss  - because I really want to lose weight - but it's ALSO about getting healthy.

I know a LOT of people don't believe that atkins is healthy - and i understand because I was one of those people - but seriously - what's healthier - a little bit of more NATURAL fat or sugar (which, granted, i'm starting to miss) - but sugar, which messes with your body's insulin - and keeps you FAT :(

My thing is - I have to believe in my doctor that she is right about me having Insulin Resistance...because it makes no sense to me - why - in the past - I'd exercise and eat "right" (meaning low-fat, low-calorie) and not lose ANY weight - but low-fat, low-calorie also means HIGH carbs...and those carbs and sugar is what was holding me back. When I'd eat low-calorie, high sugar, high carb foods - that sugar would push my cells to make MORE sugar to over-compensate and just turn into fat. :(

it sucks - it sucks major donkey balls...but oh well - I HAVE to do this - the only other choice is to keep gaining weight and eventually end up with diabetes :(

I WILL do this right though - and I WILL eventually be allowed to re-introduce fruit and even possibly grains into my diet too - but until then - it's meat, cheese, eggs & vegetables.

plus, I WILL be a buff bride!!!!! :)

Day 8 of Induction

Ok so it is day 8 of Induction and I did damn good this morning and afternoon (breakfast and lunch) and then we went to dinner at Benihana's.  While I'm OH so damn proud of myself that I didn't TOUCH Dan's sushi (although part of me oh so wanted one!) I didn't even TOUCH one! :)

I did good on the main course too - I got steak which also came with 3 shrimp and sauted mushrooms and vegetables - bean sprouts & mushrooms. I also had the salad - which had ginger dressing??? :( and their onion soup.

There's a couple different websites with different nutritional facts FOR that onion soup - there are a few that say like 25 calories and 3 grams of net carbs (which i'm SOOOO hoping that one is right) but there's a few others that include white flour and milk!

I THINK I did pretty well - as long as that onion soup IS only 3 g of net carbs...the bean sprouts were a little high - but I think those should be ok too.

More than anything though - I need to look at the positives:

1. we went to a japanese resteraunt and I didn't TOUCH the sushi (i LOVE sushi).

2. i didn't touch the fried vegetables that jenn & tom ordered.

3. when the waitress asked what type of rice I wanted - I politely declined any rice at all.

4. i pretty much only had meat & vegetables - in butter sauce

5. my only fear, really, is the onion soup and the ginger dressing. :(

so anyways - tomorrow starts a new week (well, sunday - technically) and I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and this week I'm going to try and SERIOUSLY follow ALL the rules of induction - as I thought I had been this week, but may not have been.

Plus - I will NOT get on the scale until NEXT saturday. :)

See's ya tomorrow!

Start of Week 2 of Induction! Day 8 - 10/January/2009

Well - today is the start of week 2 of Induction. :)

And - today did NOT start out good...

Weight wise - the scale showed 192.5!!! That makes me SO happy! Last week - my starting weight was 196 - so that's 3.5 pounds DOWN! woohoo!

HOWEVER...I woke up and first off my upper back was hurting. :( so I layed on a heating pad for a bit then got up to make breakfast. While I was making breakfast (my normal scrambled eggs, cheese & bacon) - I had a bottle of water and decided to try and use one of those flavored SUGAR FREE tea packets.  I took my multi-vitamin and not even 2 minutes later my body said, "nope - i'm not having this" and I ended up throwing that and the few bites of breakfast I'd already eaten up. :(

Well, that just goes to show, even though it SAYS sugar free - it's still processed and my body just can NOT handle it now. That's a GOOD thing to know - but at the same time, it really sucked.

I am really looking forward to this week, however. :)

1. Again - I'm giving up my seltzer water - and I plan on drinking ONLY plain old water from now on.

2. I will NOT be drinking ANY of the atkins shakes.

3. I commit to work out at least 4 x this week @ at least 30 minutes per workout.

So more to come! :)

Day 7 of Induction (end of day)

Ok - so today was actually a LOT better than I thought it would be. :)

1st off, I realized that TOM is not here yet (but will be next week)...

I exercised in the basement by doing 35 minutes of step aerobics to my FAVORITE step aerobics video (Gilad) now that we have a room where I can DO aerobics AND use the VCR! lol

I also did 20 minutes of The Biggest Loser's Bob's weight loss yoga.

I burned about 525 calories tonight!!! go me!!

Then for dinner - I made an OOOOOH so yummy shrimp scampi & broiled zuchini with cheese and MMMM it was awesome! :)

I've also really thought about it and I think it may know why I haven't lost anything yet.

1. I've been drinking seltzer water. - I thought seltzer was legal on induction but it's not. So down to the cupboard in the basement that goes for a while. :(

2. The chicken I have (Tyson frozen stips) have sugar in them!!!!!!!!! DAMNIT! that realllllly pisses me off - damn food industry. So yeah looks like those are a "no-no". :(

3. I need to find a new snack for my morning snack at work. I have been eating celery all week - with whipped cream cheese - and while celery IS induction friendly, as is the cream cheese, it does have a bit more carbs than other vegees...so I'm going to figure out some other snack for that time of morning.

4. I bought a 4-pack of the atkins shakes last week - but if you ask on the atkins diet bulletin board, those are a NO NO (even though the atkins site says they're ok...) so NO more of those. :(

5. I HAVE worked out now 5 times this week (sunday, monday, wednesday, thursday & friday!! yay go me!!) but three of those days were only 20 minutes each - thursday night was only about 15 minutes...friday however - 55 minutes!! yay!

But I really think I need to get VERY serious about my working out again. I need to start lifting weights AS WELL AS doing cardio.

I am totally committing myself to the low-carb lifestyle now. Even though I haven't lost any weight this week, I must say that I am OH so happy that I do NOT have any sugar or white flour in my system! That is just AWESOME!

so yeah. i hope those of you who may actually read my blog do feel inspired or get something out of it. I know that writing this blog really keeps me accountable for everything - and I need that. :)

more to come later!

morning of Day 7 of Induction...grr :(

Ok - so it's Day 7 of inductin and while I am SO happy that I've now been sugar free and white flour free for 1 full week (YAY ME!!) - it's frustrating because I got on the scale today and it said (first off) - 195.5. My starting weight last Friday was 196.

Then, I got back on the scale with nothing on and it said 194. :)

But still - that's ONLY 2 pounds (if that's even right)...

Of ourse, however, TOM is coming today - so I want to blame having not lost anything on TOM.

But I REFUSE to quit!! I LOVE knowing that I'm white flour and sugar free. It feels AWESOME!

But it is extremely frustrating....

I think I plan on - for this second week of induction to:
a. drink only regular water - give up my sparkling water for the week :(
b. for my salads use only oil & vinigar (no processed dressings).
c. exercise at least 4 x at 30 minutes each.

I WILL and CAN do this!

Day 6 of Induction

Well - I have now officially been sugar free, white flour free and alcohol free for 6 full days - and I feel FABULOUS!!!!!

Now - granted, it hasn't been extremely easy - but it hasn't been that hard either. :)

Tonight, however, was definitely a test of my will. We went to buffalo wild wings - which is a normal thursday night meal for us...(every other thursday maybe?) and NORMALLY I'd get 8 boneless (breaded) wings in medium sauce with a basket of buffalo chips (fries) and a tall Michelob Ultra.

And then I'd go home and be sick for a couple hours in the bathroom. :( But I'd always tell myself it was worth it cuz it was soooooo yummy.

Well - tonight we had to get it to go and brought it home. I got 1 black and blue burger and a chicken caesar salad!!! :) the burger was OHHHHHHH so yummy - and I threw out the bun and didn't touch ONE fry that it came with (gave those to Dan).

I was very satisfied - it was VERY yummy and I'm good to go. :)

I also bought some ketone strips today and it says right now I'm "small" in ketosis. Which is good. :)

I also went ahead and bought a multi-vitamin as I realized that now I am getting NO calcium in my diet and I'm afraid I may be losing other vitamins as well. So it's a women's one-a-day multi vitamin. :)

I had my "analysis" at the gym tonight - and yeahhhh. well he worked my legs out - which was great - but then, of course, he tried selling me a full training package. Which - if I HAD 2 grand to waste then I'd totally do it - but yeah no. I'll figure it out on my own.

But anyways - I still can't believe it's been 6 days and I'm SUGAR - WHITE FLOUR - and ALCOHOL free! Here's to another 6!! :)

Day 5 of Induction (a day late)

Well, it is morning of Day 6. Yesterday - Day 5 of Induction went fairly well. :)

I DO feel like I'm eating a little too many carbs right now (I'm averaging about 25) - so I'm going to really have to research this week and see what's easiest to take to work with me in my lunch bag for snacks.

Last night, when I got home - I let Jillian Michaels kick my butt! I really LOVE the DVD that Dan bought me (Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred) and I also have Bob's Biggest Loser Yoga - along with a TON of old videos as well. I think, though, I may buy some more of Jillian's non-biggest loser stuff. She works you OUT! Plus - I have to remind myself something she says in her 30 day shred "I've got 400 pound people who can do jumping jacks - so I KNOW you can do it too!"

I must say - 6 days now of being SUGAR and WHITE FLOUR free - my body feels great!

I don't think I'm losing anything yet - but I really think that won't truly start happening until I start REALLY exercising again.

I have an appointment with a trainer tonight (the "free" analysis they give you at gyms) - so hopefully he can really show me some stuff to do. Course, he's also supposed to go over "nutrition" with me - and I told him when we first met that I'm doing Atkins and he looked appalled - even when I told him that my DOCTOR was the one who TOLD me to do Atkins. But then I felt I needed to justify it even more and I told him, "well, I DO have Insulin Resistance." And he was like, "oh, well I guess that makes sense.". Ok whatever. You're not here to tell me how to eat - ONLY how to exercise. Plus I'm going to tell him, "what's healthier, eating a low-fat, high carb diet that keeps me HUNGRY all the time and the carbs/sugar constantly raising my insulin levels, which in turns turns into fat and gets stored in my body - OR eating just a bit more fat than "normal" and NOT eating ANY sugar or white flour or anything like that which will SPIKE my insulin levels, which again - in turn, turns into fat and gets stored in my body - or the fat, which gets burned off because the body has nothing else TO burn. :)"

So we'll see. I'll post tomorrow about tonight's experience.

Well, TTYL!

Day 4 Induction (a day late)

Well it's actually the morning of Day 5 of my Induction phase, but I needed to write about yesterday.

Yesterday I did NOT have my sugar-free red bull at lunch. :(
I was seriously feeling the caffiene withdrawal and was EXHAUSTED during the afternoon, went home and took a nap before dinner. I'm going to go ahead and have one - once a day - and see if it hinders my weight loss.

One AWESOME thing, however - that I've noticed now after only 4 days of NO sugar NO carbs - I've not had ANY issues like I have had in the past few months, as far as right after a meal ending up in the bathroom for 45 minutes! :) Even Dan, my fiance, noticed it last night - commenting that I haven't been sick in a few days. It's AWESOME!!!

Yesterday - I had probably a few more carbs that I should have at dinner. Dan made his awesome broccoli/flank steak stir fry - which the broccoli is good - red pper - good - flank steak great - and even the 3 tbsp soy sauce (3 g carbs total spread throughout the entire thing) not horrible...the issue was that he used the juice of 3 oranges...I don't know how to count that so I didn't. :(

Oh well though - it's a new day and I DIDN'T eat the rice he made with it (for himself)...

Part of me really wanted something sweet yesterday, but I overcame the urge and when I got home I had one of the cream cheese clouds I made with sugar free/calorie free kaluah syrup. :)

And even though I know that I DO really like sugar and I LOVE chocolate - it's NOT worth it. I know it's not. I know that one day I probably will eat sugar and/or chocolate again but it will be a very conscious decision and not just in passing.

Well I'm off to update my food intake! :)

End of Day 3 Induction

So today was good. I had about 20 g carbs. I am in the process of downloading the podcasts of "Livin La Vida Lowcarb" - I listened to them all day at work and there's still a TON more to go!

I'm really liking the atkins plan though (yeah i know - me - i can't believe i'm saying that! lol) - but it SERIOUSLY makes sense. I've grown up and it's been ingrained in my head that fat is the enemy and carbs aren't bad...when - in reality it's the total opposite!

I've come to realize that all the low-fat high-carb diets I've followed - I've literally "dieted myself fat". That is just rediculous.

So we will see! The scale isn't really showing anything yet - but it's only been 3 days. I need to put my scale away and be patient. :)

More to come!

End of Day 2 of Induction - exercise for the day

Well - today I went back to the gym. I didn't do too much there. I walked at 3.3 mph on the treadmill for 20 minutes. Burned 134 calories there. Didn't really get my heartrate going too much though.

Then, however, when I came home - I decided to do the DVD of Jillian's (Biggest Loser) that Dan bought me the other day. Man - the "easy" session kicked my freakin' ass!!! 20 minutes and I burned 204 calories. :)

It was a bit hard for me - only because I haven't worked out hard at ALL since August! Last year I was doing sooo well working out (but not losing! ha!) and I was getting fairly strong and endurance and all that - and then I just quit and not working out for 4 months will really hurt you. :(

But I WILL get back into it. I plan on doing it SLOWLY - but I WILL do it.

I have a meeting with one of the personal trainers at the gym on Thursday night to get back into a workout plan.

I really have a good feeling about this. :) 

that's all for now! latahz!

Beginning of Day 2 of Induction

Well, I posted before/after pics of how I look at this moment in time - January 04, 2009.

I know it's not AWEFUL - but I'm NOT happy with it either. :(

I HAVE been 160 before and I WILL get there again!  I've been reading Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and it's honestly made me cry a few times. Everything it's said so far (and I'm only on chapter 5!!) but EVERYTHING it has said so far just totally hits home and makes perfect sense.

Sugar - High carb foods - all of those things were what was KEEPING me fat - when I have been taught my whole life that FAT is the culprit. I really want to believe what the book says that FAT isn't the enemy but SUGAR and CARBS (bad carbs that is - white flour, rice, etc...)

As I've posted before - I consider myself a "professional weight loser" - I've tried different diets and I've lost and gained so much weight I've honest to god lost count! This time it WILL be different. I'm very excited - very motivated - and above all COMMITTED!!!

It will be difficult at times, and I know that - but damnit - SOMETHING has to change!

Yesterday - Day 1 of induction went pretty good...I only had 18 carbs total :) We even went out for dinner and I had myself a 12 oz ribeye (and OH so yummy) - and I asked the waiter for some A1 sauce - not knowing the carbs/sugar in it - and when I got it - I saw that it was 3 carbs/2g sugar per TBSP. and ya know what I did? I put it to the side of the table with the bread basket (and didn't touch the bread either!!!!!!!) And - in all honesty - a PART of me WAS tempted - but nope I didn't do it.

It's just so funny that the ONE eating plan I myself have said along with the masses is "sooo unhealthy" is the one I truly believe WILL make me healthy! I'm a total convert!!!!

Again - a lot of it is the book. It just makes total and complete sense.

One thing he says, (duh) is: "When you control your intake of refined carbohydrates, you avoid the foods that caused you to be fat."

I've come to realize that the low-fat high-carb diets I've always done - while they worked for a while, and I did lose weight, - has done more damage than good. I've literally "dieted myself fat".

No more though. That's not to say that in the future I'll never have another baked potato or sushi roll - but I won't be eating them on a regular basis - and when/if I do eat them again it will be a very controlled decision - not just an every day (or weekly or even monthly) thing.

Shoot - my wedding is in a year and a half - and I WILL be enjoying the cake I get. BUT I won't eat every bite I can get near either. And who knows - maybe by then I won't even LIKE sugar.? :)

Well anyways - today is Day 2 of Induction and I did GREAT with my breakfast - and even got in some vegees!! I've never done that - even on weight watchers!

I made scrambled eggs with 2 eggs, 2 egg whites, 1 tbsp cream - then I wilted spinach and added that - then put some cheese on top. :) it was YUMMMMY!

I've also been making my jimmy dean turkey sausage in the skillet instead of the microwave and let me tell you - the extra little bit of fat from the butter OH MY GOD makes it soooo much better! :)

Well - I'm off to make my grocery list for the week. More to come later!

Here is my before/after pic today:

Induction Week 1 - Day 1 - Saturday January 3, 2009

Ok, so I've decided to start induction today instead of Monday. I woke up this morning and realized we had NO eggs. :( So I went over to CVS and picked them up. Part of me was all, "wellll i COULD go ahead and have my oatmeal and wait til monday to start" but damnit no. I want to start NOW! :)

So here is my Daily Plate for today - So far it's just got breakfast because, well that's all I've eaten today! lol.

My plan is to try and keep it at 20 g net carbs today. So far I've had 4 g carbs and 38 g protein!

I will update often! :)

I also plan on taking some "before" pics of how I look now. These should be posted soon. 

Induction Phase - Week 1 - Monday January 4 - Saturday January 10, 2009

Well - even though it's Thursday night (New Years Day night) I'm still getting to know blogger.com and I will be posting my days for week 1 under the label "Induction Phase Week 1".

I plan on buying the atkins book tomorrow and really reading it / creating my grocery list saturday. Sunday is our grocery shopping day.

I'm really excited to try something new and I hope and pray to God that this IS how my lifestyle should be. We shall see!

One more post for today - My history :)

I am a 29 year old Desktop Publisher living in Indianapolis, IN.

I'm a professional weight loser.

AGE 17/18 - I lost 70 pounds in high school going from 220 to 150 my senior year just from exercising. 

AGE 20/21 - Then in college I went back up to 220 because well - I liked drinking/partying and when I did - my friends and I HAD to have 3 a.m. IHOP meetings! lol

AGE 22/23 - Well - my senior year of college I tried weight watchers and I had good luck with it. I went from 220 to 180 on weight watchers at the age

AGE 23 - My senior year of college I gained back 25 of those 40 that I lost on weight watchers and after I graduated college in 2003, I went back to weight watchers and went from 205 pounds down to 160!!!

Pretty much after I went down to 160, I maintained that for about a year but I had just moved down to Indianapolis from Chicago and hadn't really found my "niche" yet - going from job to job - relationship to relationship - my weight suffered (even though I was constantly exercising and "dieting") and I gained back 20 pounds...then I found my FANTASTIC job in June of 2005 and then in October 2006 I started dating the most FANTASTIC man. But - after we started dating - I tried to get back into exercising and eating right and even though - in 2007 I was honest to god exercising 4 times a week AND eating right - I couldn't lose ONE FREAKING OUNCE!!!! 

I went to the doc in October of 2007 and she diagnosed me with Insulin Resistance. Meaning that when I eat carbs, they just turn straight to fat. :( my body just doesn't process sugar and carbs like a normal person - and so I couldn't lose weight.

She put me on metformin and told me to try the Atkins diet - but I'd always been SO incredibly against "low carb" diets because I'd ALWAYS heard that they were "bad" for you...but I did lose about 20 pounds last year doing the weight watchers CORE program (basically all non-processed foods).

Then my boyfriend proposed in June and we started looking for a house in September so the weight came right back on because I stopped going to the gym and I stopped exercising.

In the past few months now, I have realized - not exercising and eating "whatever" that every time I eat a high carb meal - I get sick. :( I'm sick and tired of getting sick. So I'm listening to my doc and I'm going to learn the atkins nutritional way of life. :)

Thursday 01 January 2009

HAPPPPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Well it is January 01 - the day when people make (and usually break within a few hours) new years resolutions...

I can't really say that this is a NEW new year's resolution - since this has been more my resolution for what, 20 years now? lol...but this year I'm taking a different approach.

As in my past blog, I stated that I've gained and lost - gained and lost weight over the years so many times that I've lost track.

I know that last year I WAS losing steadily but then I came to a stand still after losing 17 pounds and around September I started gaining it back because 

A. I stopped going to the gym (we were looking for and bought a house - not an excuse, but c'mon!)

B. I just stopped eating right. :( I wasn't pigging out by anymeans - but I wasn't religiously following any type of eating plan like I normally did.

One thing I noticed though - once I started NOT following any type of plan and just eating "whatever" so to say...is that my doc was right - I should NOT eat high carb meals.

When I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance, the doc told me I should seriously think about trying out Atkins but I resisted because I've never heard anything good about Atkins...but in the past few months I've been getting sicker and sicker every time I eat high carb meals. :(

I won't say HOW i'm getting sick - just that I get sick.

So yesterday I signed up on the Atkins website and tomorrow - once bookstores are open again (I don't think they are today plus i'm not feeling great from last night, lol) - I'm getting the book and starting immediately.

I'm also going to start going back to the gym again and keeping track of that on Livestrong.com.

I know it won't be easy - and I know I won't be as "obsessive" as I used to be...but I will do my best because, damnit - I'm SICK AND TIRED of being sick!