Well, I'm kinda new around here but I already feel at home, thanks to everyone's support. I feel like I've been around forever! So, I thought I would try journaling and see where it takes me . . . certainly it can't hurt!

I am one week into Induction, and as of yesterday's weigh-in I had lost 10 pounds. That made me feel really good. I did cheat some last week - did some emotional eating - but still managed to lose. I'm not really feeling it in my clothes yet (though I have lost inches) but I am feeling it in the way I move. I have more energy and I feel a little more limber. I also don't feel bloated - that's a big one. Before, I always felt bloated, especially in my stomach, but that seems to have gone away.

Today has been a struggle though. I quit smoking today. In retrospect, I should have either been on this WOE for a while before quitting, or stopped a few weeks prior to starting Atkins. Quitting smoking during Induction isn't easy! But I've made my decisions and now I'm working on two of my biggest health issues at once. I know when I make it through I'll be better off.

One of my biggest problems is all the food at work. It seems that someone is always having a birthday, or is leaving, or is celebrating something, or there are leftovers from a company event. Of course, the only place to get my water is the kitchen, where all the food is. And rarely is there anything healthy there. It's all sweets and bagels and all the things I have always had problems with, things I'm trying to free myself from. And that's where all my cheats have been happening. This past weekend I stuck to plan beautifully - I was a model Atkins eater. Today, quitting smoking and celebrating someone's birthday with food, well, I did nibble a little bit. Honestly, I think it's more out of habit than anything else. I wasn't hungry, but it was THERE.

I've put a lot of thought into the psychology of my eating and still haven't come up with a lot of solutions. I know that my upbringing had something to do with it. I come from a very poor family, so we ate whatever was cheap, which of course was usually high carb. I remember a period when all we had to eat were pancakes for about two weeks because there was nothing more in the house. Vegetables were rare because they were expensive - except potatoes, because they were filling and relatively cheap for the amount you got. It's no wonder that I weighed 130 pounds when I was 6 years old.

Also, this lack of food instilled a deep "clean your plate" mentality that still lingers for me. My therapist has told me many times to just try to leave something on the plate and I just can't. I see people who leave stuff on their plates and I actually get angry, because I remember what it was like growing up, where you cleaned your plate every time because it might be your last meal for a while. It seems incredibly wasteful to me to not clean your plate. I honestly don't know if I will ever get over that particular feeling. I guess I'm just going to have to learn to put less on the plate if I'm going to clean it

All in all, I'm doing well so far, and I'm trying not to beat myself up for the slips. I have a tendency to beat myself up like crazy for everything and I'm just tired of it. I want to lose this weight, I'm taking responsibility for it, but I'm focusing on the entire journey and in order to do that, I can't flog myself for every little extra carb. One day at a time . . .

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Eddie
President and Founder of the Intergalactic Order of Brussels Sprouts Haters

G'day Eddie - wow! Switching to lowcarb and quitting smoking similtaneously! How brave! Very best wishes for success with both! And welcome to journalling - its excellent. But hey! Eating inappropriately and using mood enhancing substances are not moral issues eh. Just bad choices! And we're all makin good ones here - so looking forward to hearing about your journey of good choices for you!

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The fox is wild!



5'3" Maintaining 121-125
Original weight 198 +

Eddie:

Also stopping by to welcome you to LCE's fantastic journaling!

You'll find that it's an important tool in your journey...

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Tina

welcome eddie...
soon enough your habits will change... and you will be able to walk right past that crap at work without wanting it.. even OUT of habit..

take a vitamin... drink plenty of water... walk some when you can..
it all adds up..

ten pounds is a terrific beginning!

much sucess!

kim

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kims SECOND journal is HERE
kims new blog
KIMS BLOG !!
SUGARFREE BLOG

Thank you everyone for checking out my journal and for the kind words

I have to say, WHAT WAS I THINKING when I decided to stop smoking right now????? Yeesh! The lack of smoking makes me want to eat, which leads to me making bad decisions. I've been fairly good today except for the chocolate cake . . . . . and I'm back on plan tonight. I SO want to run out and get a pack of cigarettes right now!!!

You know all those non-smoker low-fat nosy types who think that low fat is the only way to go that say, "Oh, if you want to eat when you are quitting smoking, make healthy choices like celery or carrots." What a load of CRAP! If I can't smoke I want every bit of sugar I can get my hands on. Who the h*ll really believes that celery is going to fight off a cigarette induced food craving??? What planet do they live on?? Yeah, I'm going to snack on celery, right. A carb and sugar addict. Well thank God the only thing that I can say is that I can do things like the mock danish and cream cheese and all the high fat/sweet things like that. At least that helps.

Argh, I'm sorry. That was just the lack of nicotine talking. I am wearing the patch but I'm wondering if they're not working. I've had them a couple of years, and the expiration date on them says 3/06, but I wonder if they're already losing strength. I am getting hypnosis tomorrow and hopefully that will help. If not, I'll go buy some new patches.

Well, this is a forum for LC, not quitting smoking I haven't weighed myself since Sunday, when I found out I had lost 10 pounds. I'm trying to break it down in 10 pound increments since I have so much to lose, that way it doesn't seem so daunting. 160 pounds is a lot. My long term goal is 200 pounds. That may seem like it's still pretty high but I have a very stocky build, and I'm 5'8" tall. I actually carry my weight well. Everyone has trouble believing that I weigh 360 pounds - they all guess around 250. While that's nice, I know how much I weigh and what it's doing to my body. So I'm going for 200 - for now. When I get there, if I need to lose more, then I will. But I honestly can't remember what it's like to weigh that - I'm guessing probably sometime in elementary school or something since I was already 130 in first grade, as I mentioned before. So I don't know how I will be as an adult at that weight with my height and build. I'm excited to find out.

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Eddie
President and Founder of the Intergalactic Order of Brussels Sprouts Haters

keep that excitment going! that is what will keep you going...at least at first.. when you need it most!

trying to quit the deathsticks AND lose weight is a HUGE undertaking..

i wish you much success in BOTH endeavours!

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kims SECOND journal is HERE
kims new blog
KIMS BLOG !!
SUGARFREE BLOG

Hooooo yep - you were certainly brave making that decision there Eddie! That's a really tough one for you. I'm sitting here laughing at your words - been there - done that - got the T-shirt! Yeah - right - as if we are going to opt for the celery! Do we look nuts? Its great to see you have a realistic weight goal too. You'll get there - be kind to yourself! If you make a wrong choice - put it behind you and keep trying to make appropriate ones. Its one foot in front of the other for a while and pretty soon it becomes a way of life. Best wishes. Call in and say 'hi' to other journalers too - most people welcome company.

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The fox is wild!



5'3" Maintaining 121-125
Original weight 198 +

Hey Eddie...Thanks so much for stopping by my journal and saying hello. It's nice to "meet" you I was cracking up at your rant about the celery! When I quit smoking a few years back I had candy hidden under my bed so the kids wouldn't get it! I also gained a bunch of weight so you are doing very well not giving in to those cravings! Sounds like you are off to a great start on both this WOE and quitting smoking! Come and visit my journal anytime. Have a good evening

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Kim, thank you for the encouragement!!

Beachfox, I've been spending most of my evening going around to different journals (as you know by now ) and am really enjoying it! It's good to get different perspectives.

Vickie, nice to "meet" you too! Glad my "celery rant" gave you a laugh.

So I'm doing a little better than the last rant As you can tell I call it as I see it But since I'm all alone right now this was the best place to rant! The cravings have passed temporarily. The last time I quit smoking I chewed lots of gum and sucked on a lot of candy. I'm not willing to waste my carbs on sugar free gum, and I have definitely experienced the sugar alcohol thing in the past when following Atkins about three years ago. Let's just not talk about the time I ate a whole bag of Sugar Free Baby Ruth's in one sitting - yes, a whole bag. Needless to say I wasn't sitting for a while after that, but I was doing a lot of something that rhymes with it. However, this time, at work, I do have some sugar free candy. Baskin-Robbins brand Chocolate Mint hard candies. I can have one of those and it satisfies the sweet tooth, the cig craving, and by limiting it to one piece, no nasty side effects. Plus, by having them at work and not at home I'm not eating them constantly.

So I put my picture in my avatar, and that was a big step for me. Hate having pictures taken of me. However, I decided that if I was doing this, I was going to have the "before" picture up. Actually, the picture is from last May, but nothing has changed except my attitude

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Eddie
President and Founder of the Intergalactic Order of Brussels Sprouts Haters

Hi Eddie!
Just popping in to say welcome to LCE! Congrats on the 10 lbs down... WOOHOO!
1st goal met, now on to the 2nd one! You can do it!
There are lots of helpful folks here, so just hollar if ya need some help

Best wishes!

__________________
Shelley


Visit Kassie's Korner


"A goal without a plan is just a wish."
--Antoine de Saint Exupery

I’m SOONER born,
And SOONER bred,
And when I die,
I’ll be SOONER dead!
GO SOONERS!
I be ready for some football!

One little walker-runner Dude for every 10 miles!

Welcome aboard, Eddie!

I so admire your determination with giving up your smokes and carbs at the same time. Might as well go for the gusto. We're a real friendly, supportive bunch on this forum, as you've already found out. I like your idea of taking your losses 10 pounds at a time.

Hang in there, take it day at a time. The lights are on around here 24/7.

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Eddie!! Welcome home!! After reading in Fox's journal that you work with a lot of women, I'm not surprised to hear that you're surrounded by treats at work...why, why, why is this necessary in the workplace??? (don't answer...I'm just spouting off). Trust me...it will get easier to keep the temptations at bay...be sure to arm yourself with some low carb treats.

You're doing great...10 pounds in 1 week...WooHoo!! :great:

Keep the faith...we'll be here for ya...

Eddie:

The lights are on here 24/7 - and so are some of (us) chronic LCE people.

10 pounds in a week is great! Keep up the good work!

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Tina

Hi, Eddie, Welcome aboard. Having been manager over women... you have my sympathies.. sure hate to admit that. But, there are days, shut your door, that's what I would do.

Glad to hear you are doing well with this WOE... don't let the women tempt you... mmmm and what does that mean

Hi Eddie!

I so do NOT envy you quitting smoking. I've been smoking for a LONG time, and hope to give it up eventually.

Feel free to rant about the nicotine withdrawals This may be a LC board, BUT everything in our lives affects our eating habits, so youo can pretty much rant about whatever you want in your journal and someone here will relate to it!

LOL about the fat free/smoke free people! The only time I managed to quit was when I was pregnant with my son and I wanted a cigarette through the ENTIRE pregnancy. I restarted after my maternity leave (work is not a nice word), and I still smoke even though I'm a SAHM. I just smoke less

It sounds like you're off to a great start!

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Katie
275/238/150
Restarted 01/08/2007
37 pounds lost!
http://justanotherfatgirl.blogspot.com