Hi all!

I am new here!
My name is Amy, I am 26 and have two wonderful kiddos who are 3 and 7
I am 5'3" and my scale this morning said 195, which totally confuses me because yesterday I was 197

I am here because my daughter has come home from school countless times telling me her teacher said her and her class mates have to eat healthy!
My husband started healthier eating and working out about a month and a half ago, and here I am feeling physically like crap, and not being able to fit into anything!

I am big boned, but ave never been this big, I have always been between 130-160 and I felt good like that.
After I gave birth to my dd in 1997, I tatally stopped taking care of myself, I gained about this much weight, I stopped looking after my appearance, the whole nine yards.
Then when I was about 191 I realized I needed to do something.
I went to a doctor (Dr.Bernstein) who is a low carb, low fat doctor and his program was HARD, you were deprived soooooooo much on it, and on top of that it cost 90.00 a week!
I had gotten down to 170 with him, gained a few lbs. back after I quit him, and discovered low carb, I got down to 145 and BAM, got pregnant with my second.
He was born in 2001 and I have been gaining ever since.
It is sooooo hard for me and such a struggle because I grew up around REALLY good food!.
I make it through half a day of LCing and lose it!
I NEED help.


I am going shopping today I would love if someone could give me a "shopping List" because every week I try to start LCing, I go shopping and buy all the WRONG things!
I am here for the ong haul and hope that I can get soem support with this.

Thanks for reading!
Amy

Hi Amy, and welcome to the board. You will find lots of wonderful people and support here.

You haven't said what plan you are going to do (Atkins, etc.) but my advice is to get the book and read it befire you begin. There is a nice section in there about how to get yourself ready for induction, the first phase of atkins. What to rid your kitchen of, and what to buy. This information, plus a lot more is probably also on www.atkins.com.

It is hard to imagine getting through a whole day without the carby foods, but after the first day or 2, it gets easier, and then, the wieght starts coming off and you will feel so much better in general. I'm excited for you!

Good luck, post often and let us know how you're doing.

__________________
Renee
1/19/04
261/220/160
41 lbs off
60 lbs to goal



Race to 199 Challenge
Labor Day Challenge: Focusing on the Journey
Personal Goal: 199 by 12/31/05

You've found your way to a good place. If you just "stumbled upon" this website in a random search, consider yourself lucky!

The first thing to do is read around on this site. Look for "beginner" information of all kinds, FAQ, etc. Choose a low-carb program that looks good to you: Atkins, South Beach, Carb Addicts, to name just a few. Then BUY THE BOOK. You can find used or paperback copies anywhere. Or check it out at the library.

Here's how to make your shopping list TODAY:
--Start with the vegetables. Dark green leafies. Lots and lots. Mushrooms.
Celery. Green pepper. Broccoli. Cauliflower.
--Keep going around the edge of the grocery store, stopping at fresh meats, whole cheeses (not the processed kind), butter, heavy cream, and eggs.
--Next, pick up the salad dressing. Get the "good" kind (NOT low-fat or diet varieties) with 0-2 carbs per tablespoon. And some olives while you're at it.
--Pick up some boxes of sugar-free Jell-O.

That's a good start!

DO NOT BUY any "low-carb" foods like bread, snack bars, ice cream, crunchy snacks, etc. no matter what the labels say.

See the Recipes section of this website for some cooking ideas for tonight. Your family won't even notice that their dinner is low-carb.

Whatever you mean by "really good food" you CAN HAVE with a low-carb program. You just have to find out how to cook a bit differently. Many of us here think Mashed Fauxtatoes (made with cauliflower and other goodies) taste way better than that other stuff.

Get a book. Read every word. Keep it at hand every day, and when you're tempted, read it some more. Or check in here.

I'm 5'3, have come down 50 lbs. from 192 and stayed within 10 lbs. for ten years. And I'm way older than you. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Other lists and info at: www.atkins.com

Best wishes!

__________________
Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

If you click on the BEGINNERS at the top of the page, it will take you to some good information - near the bottom you can view a pdf shopping list.

__________________
Mary Kay 1/1/04 - 232
5/19/08 (5/23/08) - sw226/(cw222)/mg210/fg160