Thanks HeatherRene, I need the encouragment.

TOM is here and I feel bloated. I am not going near the scale this time because I know it will be about 2-3lbs higher and I dont need to see that.
I think I did a good job sticking to the plan last night.
Morning started with an omlette and a cup of green tea. I think I will add some vegetables to my meals today. Didnt do my morninng tradmill routine today, I plan to catch up on it in the evening.

Yesterday went well food wise but I was not able to do my Treadmill in the evening. I could not get to it this morning either, but I plan to get on the TM this evening.

Today BF: OMLETTE with green tea
lunch:eggs with decafe coffee
dinner: chilli, two hamberger patties

Nope, could not exercise last night or this morning. After I go home from work or even later on days after school, I feel like I should give whatever time is left to my daughter. So I go home and try to eat first so that its not too close to my bed time. Ofcourse after eating I start feeling the sluggish feeling and then by the time I am done doing learning activities like crafts with my daughter or done playing with dolls with her, I have no energy to get on that treadmill. It is tough to do it in the morning since I have to leave really early. Hmmm... sounds like I am making good excuses here but it is true. I have all the intentions of getting on that treadmill but just cannot find the appropriate time. Cant really afford to get a gym membership at this time and even then, when will I get the time to go to gym? Previously, I could go out for a little walk between breaks from work but now with the weather getting cooler, cant really do that either.

Hmmmm there has to be some way out, I'll have to give my body the importance that it deserves I work in a six level building so I can do the stairs up and down the building and that should account for something (will atleast keep my butts in control). I'll just have to find a way to get on the treadmill on regular basis.

BF this morning: omlette and a cup or coffee

Are you getting enough veggies Ambition? That might help with your energy level. Just a thought!

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Started Atkins-1/2/04
174 lbs at heaviest



5'0 154/136.5/130

Thanks crystalrp. I think I do need to incorporate some vegges in my diet. Moreover, I also need to remember to take my vitamins everyday.

Today is the end of the second week and the scale has not moved since the last week. I weighed myself this morning and I am still at the 4 lb loss. TOM was here during the last week and last night I kind of overate too. Therefore, I am not going to let the scale bother me. This morning although the scale did not show any changes, I was able to comfortably fit into a pair of jeans that I was having trouble with before. So, I need to concentrate on the process and not on the scale. I am not going to let it make me loose hope. Moreover, with my goal of loosing 1.5 lb a week, I should have lost 3 lbs till the end of the second week and I have lost 4. So I am still ahead of my goal and I think that my body is just adjusting to the 4 lb loss in the first week.

Hey, Ambition! I haven't been able to chime in here the last few days....my pc caught a virus and got messed up....but we're back now.

I think you're doing fine. You will fine-tune what you need to do as time goes on. As I have been through alot of trial and error, I have found I have to always try to do well on my "Big 5" to lose weight consistently:

Eat right (of course!)
Drink enough water
Exercise (even if it's only for a few minutes)
Take my supplements
SLEEP! I am still struggling with this one.

You will find what works for you (and what doesn't!) in time. In the meantime, keep up the good work!

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Thanks Maxibee for your continued support.
Last few days have been really interesting and busy and therefore I have not been able to write in the journal. I should say that there were many temptations around me to get off the track but I tried my best to stay on it. However, I was not able to do good portion control so I dont know what the scale will say on Saturday. We'll see.

hey there, just wanted to say hi. hope school and work and family life is going well for you! girl, make sure you're getting' those veggies in! how many carbs are you aiming for these days? maybe it's time to bump it up? sometimes that can help the weight loss to start rolling again .....?
take care - we're almost to the weekend!

Alright, so I have added veggies to my diet now.
Weight loss has come to a halt! There are a few obvious reasons that I know of and then there are things that I am not sure about.
Reason # 1: I have not been exercising at all. I started doing treadmill half an hour a day during my vacation week but then as soon as work and school started, I simply do not find the time for that.
Reason # 2: I gave in to the temptation of getting on the scale more often and stated noticing that the numbers were not moving in the right direction and got a little discouraged. One of the days last week, I gave up hope completely and ate all kinds of carb loaded stuff.
I did notice a little difference in how my clothes fit and therefore think that although the scale did not move, I was loosing from my waist but I am just worried why the scale started moving in the opposite direction??? Beside that one day, I have been watching my diet pretty closely. So I don?t know what happened??? TOM was here and I did not loose much during it but now it has been a week since that and I actually gained a pound after TOM??
I am at the end of week # 3. I was planning to loose 1.5lb/week. Started at the wt of 147lb minus the planned loss would come upto 142.5, however I am 2lbs behind that goal and am currently at 144.5.
So, at this point I have 2 options:
option 1: to give up after 3 weeks of trying, consider myself a failure and go back to all the carb loaded stuff because what?s the point of keeping away from those if I am not loosing any wt
option # 2: think about the situation more realistically. It has only been 3 weeks and one of which had TOM. No matter what, I still have lost some weight since the start. If I would have not started on LC, I would probably on the other side of 147, might have reached 150 by now. I think I have spent enough time to plan and work on achieving my goal by the new year and I think that giving up at this point will be a great loss of time and energy. I think there are still things that I can do to can back in control. Like trying really hard to exercise, portion control and getting in my daily fluid intake and keeping up with my green tea.
So, I think that option # 2 seems more appealing to a rational mind. If I would give up now, I will be just repeating the mistakes I made in the past and its not worth it. The one day in the past week when I gave up and started eating all kinds of carbs, I really did not feel good. I lacked energy and had really guilty feeling. I don?t want to feel like that when I start the new year. NO NO NO, I refuse to accept that. I am making a conscious decision not to give up at this point. A conscious decision means that I realize that I will have to take certain steps and spend some time to work on my goal and changing despair into hope and I accept that challenge for myself, because I know I AM WORTH IT.

Hey, A. I so understand where you are coming from! Take a peek at my journal sometime and you will see! It's very important to stay on this WOE and be as consistant as possible. It works so much better when you don't go on and off plan constantly. Some people don't believe that, but it's been my experience. Each time I start over, it is less and less effective.

I've gotta get going now....I'll check back in on ya later in the week. I just wanted you to know you're not alone in your frustration. TOM is just leaving me.....with 4 extra pounds......:(

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Thanks Maxibee for understanding what I am going through.
Okay, so now I have completely commited my self to not having any slips till new year. Not that it will not happen but I am going to try my level best to avoid it.
BF: omlette and green tea
snack: coffee with low carb sweetner
I'll try to post as often as I can, keeps me on track.
I just went up and down the stairs on the 6 level building I work at, doing that more often should help me tighten the problem area (my butts and thighs)..so what if I cant get up on a stair master :jump:

grrrrrrh, the cravings are back. It?s amazing how as soon as I start eating some carbs, the cravings take no time to come back.

However, I am trying my best not to eat off of plan. Remembering my mantra "I am in control and not the food" . Trying my best to keep on track. It?s also very important to note that I have associated food with stress of school. I think that I am craving right now because I just went through my schedule and found out that the next two weeks are going to be very very busy and I have an assignment due and a test next week. While going through the schedule, my mind kept telling me, leave this and go to the cafeteria for a snack. My mind was telling me to escape away from the reality of my busy schedule and drawn myself into food so I can forget about the test and the assignment. After all these years, my mind still does not understand that food has never been the solution, all that it does is that it deviates my attention and motivation away from the task that really needs my attention and then I just feel more sleepy and bloated and do not feel like getting back to the task till the very end moment and then I need snacks and munchies and caffeine to keep me awake all night long to do my assignments. WHAT IS THE RESULT: A substandard result of the assignment, addition of 2-4 lbs. and a guilty guilty conscious. I need to break this cycle. I am in graduate school now and it is time to stop hiding behind food and face the reality and show the world my true potential by putting all of my energy to my work and not to waste it in food.

Therefore, I promise myself to put all of my time and energy to the two assignments that are due next week and keep away from overindulging in food because doing that just drains my potentials away.

Hey Ambition! I'm so proud of you!!! Do you have any idea how HUGE that is that you recognize that you want to eat out of stress and you are avoiding it? That is awesome!
YOU ARE IN CONTROL, NOT THE food!!!
big hugs your way!!!

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Heather

Thanks Heather, I need all the support that I can at this time.

I am making a deliberate effort to get on the treadmill now. May it be at 10pm (like yesterday) or at 4 am (like today). I know that if I get on the treadmill religiously, it tones my lower body and so my butts are not sagging down and that plays a major effect on making me look slimer.
I am also making an effort to add veggies to my diet. So since last two days, I am making salads with different veges in it and some meat. Tastes good with vinegrette.