Hello to all, I've been reading the books and thinking about starting the Atkins diet.

I've tried so many times to loose weight and failed. My big draw-back is that hunger gets the best of me every time.

I'm a 52 year old mother of 4, I'm 5'6" tall with a medium build and at the present time I weigh 278 pounds. I am planning to start college next fall. I wanted to go to school really bad when I was young but my parents just didn't have the money, so I gave up that dream and got married and had children.

My last two (twins) will graduate in May and at last it's my turn. I plan, with my husband's blessings, to quit my job this summer and register for school in the fall and become a full time student. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself.

I would like very much to loose some of this weight before I start school. I've been reading some of the books, they talk about carbs and dance around the subject of calories. The more I read the more I'm becoming convinced that in the end it will still all boil down to counting calories which obviously has not worked for me.

I would like to know from some of you who have been on this diet for a while and been successful at it just how do you go about holding down your calorie intake when you are eating such high fat food?

[This message was edited by BettyR on 09-06-03 at 03:32 PM.]

Betty

In answer to your last question; I don't. When you start Atkins, you are on such a low amount of carbs that the calories really don't matter. Of course you can overeat, but that is different, the thing is you can eat until you feel full. I know that nothing about this way of eating seems to make sense at first, we are so used to the idea of fatty foods being fattening, but Atkins believed that fat does not make us fat; it's what our body does with the fat that matters, and if you don't consume enough carbs to produce instant energy, your body won't store the fat you eat, but it WILL burn off your stored fat to provide the energy.

I am 49, 5'6" and a mother of 4, with twins as my last effort. I'm on HRT and not much of an exerciser, so I was prepared to lose slowly. I lost 13lbs on Induction (but nothing like that rate since).

You can do this. Do you want to? You have only your fat to lose!

Best of luck, and welcome to the boards! People here are very friendly. Do visit often, and never be afraid to ask. I am really a beginner here and only stuck my nose in as I thought you and I had similar stats.
Clare

Welcome, Betty!


I have never counted calories, and I've never been hungry since I started this way of eating. No kidding.

Prior to that I had several experiences with low fat/low cal diets which worked ok, but I always ended them and regained with a bonus. I couldn't figure out how to turn counting calories while feeling hungry and deprived into a lifetime eating plan.

Hang around here for a while, you'll get all sorts of inspiration.

Maggie
5'1"
Atkins since '98 (160)
Maintaining nicely (110)

Redhead until further notice!

Betty:

Yours and my story are quite alike. I was 36, seven months pregnant with my 5th pregnancy, and started college as a Freshman. I gave birth at mid term exam time and went back a week later. I started to low carb the following summer and have been ever since.

I was intimated by all of the young people at college, but I was determined to make it through and lose the weight as well.

I lost the weight but due to circumstances I won't outline presently, I didn't get my degree. I only lack 15 hours of having my BA, however.

I lost over 150 pounds in a little less than 2 years. I went back to see my Freshman English instructor and when I walked in, Ms. Hardyman said: "Yes, may I help you?" Now this woman knew me well because she had recommended that my writing be published. She coached me and set me up with several editors in Washington, DC. So, when I walked into her office nearly two years after I had been in her classroom at 352 pounds, she didn't know me. It took me saying to her my name and then she said: "Wow! You look like a teenager, April!"

After that I didn't feel one bit intimidated by the young people in my classes. Plus I could walk across campus and run up three flights of stairs to make my 582 English class my third year without even getting winded.

When you begin, make sure you get a checkup at the doctor and get your blood work done. Weigh and measure yourself. Be informed...as informed as you can be...about the low carb way of life. You see, it isn't a diet. A diet implies a "quick fix" and something you can ditch later. I feel better than I did when I was a teenager and this truly is a way of life.

When you're in the Induction phase, please do not concern yourself in the least about calories. When you start your ongoing phase, don't worry about calories. It's not until you get well into your ongoing weight loss phase that you need be concerned about calories, if at all. Some people never have to count them, and some of us do.

I've been doing this over five years now and I find that I need to count calories at this stage of the game. It's just something I do. I still eat all of the veggies I want and most of the meats I want, but I do practice portion control.

Good luck to you and best wishes in your endeavors. We hope that you post here often for support and to give us incentive and encouragement, as well.

PS: By any chance is your last name Rubble? (Sorry...I was thinking of Betty Rubble from the Flinstones...silly mood I'm in tonight.)

April
352 / 205 / 180
5'10", large frame, size 13 shoe
www.geocities.com/aprilreinhardt

Hi Betty and welcome!

I was a bit younger than you when I started college at 36, but I had 5 children. The youngest one was in kindergarten. I was a bit intimindated at first, but soon I was just "one of the guys". I now not only have a bachelors degree, but I also went and got my masters. I now work teaching students who have special needs and I love it.

I also love this way of eating (WOE). I hope you join us .

Susan ( AKA Northwest)
207/178.5/160

Calleva-
Your nose, I'm sure will always be welcome. Thank you for the encouragement, we M.O.M.s (mothers of multiples) have to stick together. I saw a lady in the grocery store on Wednesday with identical triplets. They were little girls, about 3 years old and the most precious things I'd ever seen. I'm looking so forward to being a grandmother. My oldest has been married for 4 years now and still nothing. Oh well, I'm sure it will happen one day.

One question, what is HRT?
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Maggie-
Thank you for the kind words, I'm sure I'll need all the inspiration I can get.
Is there really a town in NY named Hooterville?
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April-
I'm in awe, you are my new hero, on top of everything else you're also psychic. Betty Rubble is a nickname I got stuck with when I was a teenager. It's an inside joke that's way too embarrassing to go into here. All but my closest friends (people who knew my husband and me when we were dating), don't know that my name isn't Betty. My oldest daughter is 27 years old and she still doesn't know why her father calls me Betty when my given name is Gwendolyn.

I hadn't completely made up my mind to take the low-carb road. I was still kicking around the idea of the Weight Watchers diet, not that I hadn't already tried it and failed. But your story has made up my mind, as I sit here finishing off the last bite of this Snickers bar I just ate.

I'm very sure this is not going to be easy for me, but hey, most things in this life that are worth while don't come easy. I'm going to have to make up my mind to do this. I really need to do this. I've already been to the doctor and she said that my weight is beginning to affect my health. She is warning me that if I want to be here to enjoy the grand-babies that I'm so looking forward to, that I have to take off this weight.

So thank you so much for the words of encouragement. I'm going to try very hard to follow your example.
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Susan-
Thank you I think I will join you.

Betty

HRT = Hormone Replacement Therapy. I take the minimum dosage, and it helps with symptoms of menopause, by topping up one's depleting hormones. Hot flushes, creaking joints are a thing of the past with me (on the whole). Atkins didn't approve of it, but Schwartzbein, another low carb writer, does. Some women can't tolerate it, but I'm one of the lucky ones. I don't plan to be on it long term.

Yes, the thought of grandchildren has been one of the factors in making me want to avoid heart disease and diabetes. My daughters are still in school (pre-college) and my son is 21 and not settled yet. It will be sometime before I become a doting grandma.

I have a friend who began a degree course mostly by correspondence (part-time, and with some classes). He is in his mid-50s and does janitorial work. He's been a manual worker all his life and academic work is a skill he's had to pick up as he went along. He's doing great. Over here, lots of people do these courses later in life. Best of luck!!

Calleva-
Oh,hormones. So far I haven't needed them. Every year when I go in for my oil change and lube job, my doctor takes blood and checks my hormone levels and blood sugar. She also very kindly explained how women store estrogen in body fat. She smiled at me and stated that I'd probably never need any. I smiled right back and said aren't I the lucky one.

Betty,

I'd just like to say a couple of things (besides "WELCOME!", of course) ...

First of all, my grandson is my most important motivation. On May 16, before I decided to change my life, I went to his kindergarten graduation. It was the most precious thing I'd ever seen. I was so proud I was bursting with tears. At that point I decided it would be REALLY cool to be here for his high school graduation, too, and decided to do something about my health.

Second, read the Atkins book closely about how low-carb controls blood sugar/insulin levels. Those things have a DRAMATIC impact on cravings and hunger, and when you turn that crazy roller coaster off, you're just not hungry. I've done this for 14 weeks now, and I only get hungry when it's mealtime, as I should be. As far as calories goes, I have yet to count one on purpose. When I was entering my menus in fitday.com's journal for a while during induction, I noticed my calorie count was below 2000... it was probably above 3200 before! But even at the 2000/day level, because of WHAT those calories were, I was never hungry, nor had any cravings.

When I see someone wanting to start this woe, and I see a question like this "how do you go about holding down your calorie intake when you are eating such high fat food?" it indicates to me they haven't read the book. It is SO SO IMPORTANT you do so to understand how this works, and why it works. Not just so you can be successful at it, but also so you don't start trying to let your low-fat, calorie-counting ways interfere with variety, fun, and dare I say it, decadance, this woe allows... such as the wonderful pumpkin cheese cake I made last nite with REAL whipped cream (7gms carbs)!!

Join us! Enjoy yourself. The numbers below don't lie!

Mikeyrat

Started Atkins 5/30/2003
337/283.5/237 - 6'2" 43 YO
Wife: 224/194/165 - 5'11"

Glad to have you aboard!

Don't worry, you WON'T be hungry. The opposite usually happens on this woe (way of eating). People are eating such tasty, satisfying foods (because of the fat in them) and they find they don't GET hungry.

Some of us have to remember to eat lunch! Especially when busy. It's easy to forget.

Drink your water and good luck!

LCE Member since 2001
http://www.ilovelowcarb.com
Size 24(start lowfat)/Size 18(start LC)/Size 14/Size 8

Betty (Gwen)

Please join us, you sound like you'll fit right in with this great group of people.
Rob

Betty,

Welcome aboard! I believe we all have had doubts about this way of eating. I mean eating all that fat? About 1 1/2 yrs ago, I needed to drop weight and as quick as I could. I started atkins right after Christmas. My starting weight was 224. I was in the military and had unlimited access to the gym (ok from 5am-11pm) but it was free and I took full advantage of it. I would go to the gym before work for 2 hrs and after work for an hour 6 days a week. I had unlimited support from the people that I worked with. They were GREAT!!! I ended up losing 44lbs in 2 months. I felt great and looked great and still had 25 more to go. With the support that I had with the command, I knew I would be able to do this. I had unlimited energy, my co-workers would "remind" me to go to the gym, and they gave me time to nibble here and there.
I decided (due to lack of better judgement) to get out. I was so depressed, that I quit doing everything that I had worked so hard to accomplish. Even though I acted happy I really wasn't and I missed everything about military life. Even the BS. I started going to the bar every night and went back to junk food. I would buy a 5lb bag of potatos and they would be gone by the end of the week.
I turned back to LCing because it is the right choice for me. It is the way of life I want to pursue. I didn't feel like that before and that is where I messed up. Now after only losing 3 measly pounds during my induction period I was pretty depressed again. But this time, I am sticking with it. I know this works. I am working on some short and long term goals, and sticking with them.
I never have counted calories, and when I started using fitday, i was extremely surprised at how much I was consuming and not gaining any weight.

This is not a diet. I keep saying this to myself to keep me mentally prepared for my new way of life. I hope you will join us here! This is a great circle of people!

wow! I am really long winded today! Now that you know my life story... Welcome!

222/219/150
Started Atkins 8/19/2003

Betty...

I envy you that Snickers bar. So...when is your start date?

April
352 / 202 / 180
5'10", large frame, size 13 shoe
www.geocities.com/aprilreinhardt

Thank you all so much for making me feel so welcome.

April, I started this morning. I'm sure I'm going to make mistakes but for the most part I think I understand what to do. I had some fried bacon and some left over deviled eggs for breakfast.

You should have seen the look on my husband's face this morning when he walked into the kitchen and saw me standing there frying bacon and stuffing a deviled egg into my mouth. I had told him I was planning to go on a diet. He has this little lopsided grin he gives me when he thinks I've lost my mind, which is come to think of it, fairly often. I'm sure he was thinking to himself "some diet."

He's one of those lucky people who can eat what ever he likes and never gains any weight. He also loves good food and never says anything to me about my weight. I think he's afraid I'll quit cooking. I'm very sure he's going to love this diet. In the past when I'd go on one of my low calorie diets he would suffer in silence, and then gleefully tell me that he loved me just the way I was, as he stuffed his mouth when I would break down and cook in his words some "real food".

This time around he will get to have his real food, and hopefully a little less wife to love.

April, I have a question, I've been reading through some of the recipes on other low-carb sites and they use a lot of almond flour, which I have gathered is finely ground almonds. Are we allowed to have these things like almond flour, cream cheese, sour cream and ricotta cheese on induction? There were a lot of other ingredients in some of the recipes that I didn't even know what they were, so I guess I won't worry about them since I obviously won't be eating any of those.

Betty:

So glad to hear that you started this morning. That deviled egg...was it made with mayo or Miracle Whip? Can't have the miracle whip. It has sugar in it.

Learn to read labels. Better yet, read the book. I implore you to read the book. Until you get one, please read this to know what you need to get from the grocery store, and never deviate from that list:
Rules of Induction

Keep in mind that "just one bite" is the kiss of death for this way of life. You want to achieve a state of ketosis and you cannot do that by ingesting sugar, in whatever form.

I'm not sure about the almond flour. Please ask Sharron Long, one of the moderators on these boards, about that. She has published her own low carb cookbook and everything, so I'm sure she'll know. As for the cream cheese, sour cream, and ricotta cheese, I don't see why not as long as you stay at 20 grams of carbs per day. Limit yourself to 4 ounces of cheese per day.

If you were going to go on a roadtrip to a place you've never been before, you'd go to mapsonus.com or get a road atlas and chart your way, wouldn't you? I mean, if you started out not knowing where you're going, you wouldn't make it.

Same thing applies here. You need a roadmap so that you are quite sure of where you're going and that roadmap is the book (Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution <DANDR&gt and as much information you can possibly glean about low carb. That way you can make informed decisions about what you're eating and you won't look back a month from now and say: "Well, I GIVE UP!! I've been doing Induction ALL WRONG and I've only lost 1 pound and this diet really stinks and I'm going back to the way I was eating before!"

Believe me......I've heard lots of those complaints and it's only because those people didn't take the time to read the book before beginning.

*sigh* I'll get off of my soapbox now. All you hafta do is know what you're allowed to eat and don't deviate from it. Not even "one bite". Please read labels and make sure you are eating less than 20 grams of carbs per day. Don't guess. Keep a tally sheet. It adds up fast.

Let us know how you're doing....

April
352 / 202 / 180
5'10", large frame, size 13 shoe
www.geocities.com/aprilreinhardt