Hi,

I have been here several times before. I am still a "newbie" though. I am taking this seriously for perhaps the first time in my life. I have a bulging disc in my back...my trainer (I actually started exercising in earnest, lifting weights and running, walking and doing the ellyptical) and my chiropractor told me if I would just lose the weight all my pains would go away. Family history is not too great either. I have been doing Atkins for 2 weeks and 2 days. My question is this:

Is there a "right" time to use the ketostix? It seems my "darkest" readings are at night right before I go to bed. Is it different for everyone? I bought Ketostix during my first go around with Atkins, and never got any positive results, so this is really exciting to me to be getting dark readings (between light and moderate).

My second question is:

What kind of vitamins do you all recommend? I find that I am crabby and tired, weak almost. I am still having cravings too.

OK, I am coming up with another question too...sorry!! Is there anyone else taking Zoloft on this website? I am finding it hard to get the pounds to "melt off" and am wondering if this medication could really be holding me back. I have lost 12 pounds and 7 inches from around my body in the 2 weeks and 2 days, is this normal? The first time I did Atkins I lost like 8 pounds in the first week alone. I weighed 241 on the night I made my big decision. Now I am 229. My goal weight is 140 (which I was before I had kids) and I know I can get there, and I know that this weight did not magically appear overnight and not to expect it to come off overnight (darn!!)

I have been praying to my Lord to help me with this... can anyone out there in Low carb land understand? Any help at all would be appreciated, words of wisdom, anything... I am really scared for the first time. It is a big undertaking and I'm freaking just a little bit. I want this to be a success, I know it will be but I can't do it alone, I realize.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amy

amy- with ketostix, different people find different things. in reality, it doesn't even matter if you use them or not. they are just another way to measure progress and maybe encourage you is all. if they worry you, don't bother.

if you're feeling crabby, weak and tired after 2 weeks, there is some problem. do you have the atkins book? are you following the plan to the letter? do you have any other medical conditions? and have you consulted with your doc?

see, normally after the first 3 or 4 days, you can expect to get a surge of energy and feel great. so the fact that you're not at this point makes me think something is off kilter somewhere.

i'm not sure about zoloft and/or other ssri's. i do take wellbutrin, but that is actually helpful for weightloss and part of the reason it was prescribed for me.

i personally take a mutlivitamin, and extra b and e, plus assorted other supps depending on what's going on with me and my mood. at minimum, i suggest everybody take a good multivitamin though.

and your losses sound fine. it's very much an individual thing, and subsequent runs with atkins tend to have slightly lower losses than your first time out.

the best thing you can do at this point is review your plan to make sure you're following it, start taking those vitamins, and call the doc if you don't start to feel better quick!

oh, and relax. i'm getting some fairly anxious vibes from your post there. take a deep breath and maybe hop in the tub or something. you've got all the time you need, so take it one day at a time...and let us know how we can help.

peace out.

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EatSmart Nutritional Scale Review

You are right about the ketostix. They are darkest at night.

Vitamins: Take at least a multivitamin every day. I take a multi, B 50 complex, and 500mg of C. Sometimes fish oil and melatonin to help me sleep. Also I sleep better if I take them before bed. Make sure to take something as at least one person has reported hair problems without vitamins.

Have heard that Zoloft can make some people pack the weight in the first place, and sometimes make it more difficult to loose. However I agree with goddess, your loss looks good.

As someone who spent 6 months working in a research lab that studied the relationship between stress and antidepressants, I must recomend exercise as a must. It has been shown in rats that giving them a running wheel, if they use it to run or walk, produces the same effect as antidepressants in the hippocampus - an upregulation (increase) of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). The BDNF increase occurs due to an increase in norepinepherine. So exercise basically can function as an antidepressant, specifically similar to an SNRI. Furthermore, when exercise is combined with an antidepressant treatment, it synergistically increases the ammount of BDNF to a greater degree than either intervention alone. Thus antidepressants + exercise = more depression relief than antidepressants alone!

I must stress that this does come from experimental work with rats at this point. I am not sure if anyone has tested this in humans (it is sort of hard to do that while a person is still alive).

However, in addition to the antidepressant effects, exercise will also help you loose pounds, and do it much faster than diet alone. Furthermore, you can probably experience this to some degree by just walking a couple (2-3) miles a day. I know that I can tell the difference in my ability to cope with stress, it goes down whenever I don't get a chance to do my 3 treadmil miles.

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Started Atkins on 9/20/03
235-->190; 150 goal

Hi, Amy. You've heard from the experts so far. I just wanted to add a further endorsement to the advice about exercise--which you are already doing with a trainer.

I highly recommend daily walking, outdoors if the weather is suitable (wear sunscreen!) I also love Leslie Sansone's indoor walking workouts. You can find these everywhere--Wal-Mart, Target, etc.

For me, exercising at home has been the most convenient choice over the years. By now, I have quite a large collection of videos of all kinds, and a few key pieces of equipment, like free weights. It's hard to make excuses when I can just fall out of bed into my workout clothes and get started before my brain wakes up.

Best wishes! You can do this.

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


My Fitday Journal

Whew...

Goddess, you are right... a fair amount of anxiety went into that post! You see, because I have done this before and have failed, it makes me feel frightened. I don't want to remain this way for the rest of my life. I want to get back down to pre baby weight and be able to run around with my babes and play. (Even though I am way overweight I do a pretty good job of it!)

The lucky thing about me is that I am very strong, so I can still move my body with ease even though I have all of this weight on it. You know, I was at the gym and I tried to pick up a 100 pound weight and carry it around. I could not do it! That is what my poor body must endure day in and day out, no wonder my back hurts!!!! Anyhow, I am much more calm right now than I was the other night.

I will be going to the doctor to have my bloods done to make sure I am not potassium or sodium deficient. Right now I am taking OneADay CarbSmart vitamins along with 325 mg iron pills (I have low blood iron, not quite anemic yet, but almost). Thank you all so much for your quick responses. I do appreciate them all. I'll tell you, this is definately the place to go for encouragement, support and advice. I was reading Maggie's posts last night. She has included everything in there! Well, thanks again. I am going to peek around in the recipes.

Amy

Hang in there, Amy! You're doing all the right things.

All that's needed now is a l-o-n-g term perspective. The longer your time-line, the easier it is.

What you are doing will ultimately normalize your weight and allow you to maintain it for the rest of your life. As a long term spinal-problem person (I have a congenital roto-scoliosis, which instability predisposes me to disk problems) I can assure you that every bit of weight you lose will be a huge benefit to your back.

I hope that, at over two weeks, you are starting to move into OWL. (Start with more veggies. ) This is probably the most important part of the program. It is your training ground to discover how your body reacts to different foods in different amounts. Keep it simple (minimize "prepared", "special" and "convenience" products and foods) and you'll do fine.

p.s. Watch the iron. Although you may need some at the moment, this way of eating generally provides a very good iron intake, so keep an eye on this. When your iron levels are ok, you may want to cut back on, or eliminate, the iron supplementation. Too much iron can be worse than not enough. Work with your dr. on this issue.

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i understand exactly what you're talking about, because when i started out, i had tried everything under the sun more or less. to even BEGIN to hope that you can do it, it will work, and more importantly that it will keep working, feels scary. you wonder if you're setting yourself up for disappointment. you think, well, maybe it works for everybody else, but there will be some weird thing with my body that it will suddenly quit or something! it doesn't matter if it makes sense. when fear gets ahold of your brain, it doesn't make sense.

[reading success stories and looking at before/after pix was helpful for me at this time, or anytime that i started to wonder if i could do it.]

but i would suggest to reframe your experiences. see, i don't think you've "failed" before. i think you just haven't finished yet! as long as you're trying, you haven't failed. and if you take a break from trying, well, then, it's a break. it doesn't undermine or undo the success you've already had. and when you go back to trying, to actively working on improving your body and your life, then you haven't failed! you took a break. as far as i'm concerned, the door's always open, so the only way you can actually fail is give up forever.

in fact, i'd go a step further, and start defining the work you're doing now as making you a success NOW. success attracts more success. realize that every little step you take, every pound you do lose, every effort you make to improve your health makes you successful right now! once you wrap your brain around that, it all gets so much easier.

for me, the challenge was much more mental than physical. when i got my brain on board, the body followed suit. hang in and keep doing what you need to do, and before you know it, you'll find yourself exactly where you want to go. focus on what you want and the good work you're doing now, because you get what you focus on.

peace out.

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EatSmart Nutritional Scale Review

LOL... Goddess! I love the "peace out" thing!! My brother says that all the time!! Only he says, "Peace out sistahhhhh!!"

Anyhow, You have really helped me. You, and Maggie, and all the others who have responded. Is there a way that I can keep the encouraging words somewhere here or should I copy and paste them? I think you are right, I have to look at the success I am having right now...that is some great advice right there! My brain has finally climbed aboard, so "Yay for my brain!"

I have not moved into OWL yet. I am thinking that because I have so much to lose that it would be benficial to me to stay with induction for another 2 weeks. Also, is there a part of this website that will be a food tracker? I don't think I am eating enough carbs at all. For example, here's what I ate today:

Breakfast was 2 hardboiled eggs, 2 cups coffee w/ splenda and fat free half and half; lunch was a salad with wet tuna (whole mayo), and some Kraft CarbWell ranch dressing; dinner was on the bone buffalo wings no breading or flour, celery stix and blue cheese dressing.

Does that sound about right? The salad was probably 2 good handfuls of romaine lettuce, a few diced yellow pepper strips, cucumber, and a couple of cherry tomatoes (those I did add ... I missed them!). I think that's pretty good, but i would like to know exactly how many carbs that would be.

Well, thanks everyone for helping me... and believe me...you did help a lot!!

Amy

glad our thoughts have been helpful to you. as far as carb tracking, i know a lot of people around here use fitday..,

on keeping copies of messages, check the thread tools for an "email this page" option to send a copy to yourself...

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EatSmart Nutritional Scale Review

About fitday...

Go to fitday.com and register. It's free (although you can purchase home software to download, and many find this much better).

In fitday, you can record your daily nutrients. It takes a little practice to get the quantities right--sometimes I shock myself because I forget to adjust the quantities and end up seeing the total for, like, 28 cups of cream. Aaack! But after awhile, it just takes a minute. Tracking is one of my favorite tools for enjoying the program.

Fitday records total carbohydrates, including fiber, in the main chart. However, in the summary box at the top of the page, the fiber is listed separately, so you can determine net carbs with a simple subtraction.

OWL for me is about 30-35 net carbs--and I try to eat at least 20 gms of fiber every day. Your numbers will be different, and that's part of the work of learning how to make low-carb your own lifestyle.

Best wishes.

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


My Fitday Journal

Thank you Barb! I guess I have a lot of work to do. When you are doing OWL, how much do you typically lose in a week? Of course, I wish I were Geanie and could wiggle my nose and blink and all the weight could be gone in a second... I am thinking it will probably take me about a year to a year and a half to lose all 100 pounds. I will be going to Fitday, thanx for the tip. You must have been shocked when you ot the reading for the 28 cups of cream!!

Paladin... thanks for the great information! That must be so interesting to see happen. I actually walk a 4 mile route 2-3 times a week. I go to the gym to lift weights 3 times a week. I also have been using my ellyptical machine at home 1-2 times a week. I tried before doing it without exercising... not a good thing, no movement in my weight at all. This was of course 2 years ago now. I was doing well on my walks. It was taking me about 45 minutes to walk to 4 miles, then I increased to 5 then 6. Then I broke my ankle, had to stop exercising and of course, gained back all the weight and more... so it goes. Anyhow, thanks!!

Hi, again, Amy. "Typically" is not a particularly helpful bit of information when you're working out your own low-carb lifestyle. There IS NO typical pathway. Just yours.

I know you have your heart set on losing 100 lbs. within a certain time frame. However, I urge you to focus instead on the step-by-step, daily process of learning how to make low-carb your new lifestyle.

Weight loss with any new lifestyle is not a straight-line process. Please read hdyhouse's anniversary success story, and see how he coped with a long period of time when he didn't lose anything. And yet, he has been successful on low-carb after a lifetime of yo-yo dieting.

You'll do well if you stay the course. Naturally, you can come here for encouragement at any time--and all of us have days when we feel like things are never going to work for us! Just come back, and we'll give you a pep talk.

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


My Fitday Journal