Sunday, May 29, 2011

Atkins - Week 2

Week 2 wasn't as good as week 1 on Atkins. I actually had 2 days where I cheated, and it wasn't light cheating, it was more of a I was hungry and we didn't have the money to go to the store, so I ate the high carb that was on hand. I am proud to say that the next day I jumped right back on the 20 net carb bandwagon and stayed on since.

I do love the challenge of this program and trying to figure out how I can eat as much as possible and stick to the 20 net carbs per day. I am just going to have to learn that I can't just eat a big salad per day and that be it on the veggies. I did start incorporating pumpkin into my foods (4 net carbs = 1/2 cup) as well as ground flax seeds (0 net carbs because all the carbs are fiber).

I was a little upset that I only lost 2 pounds this week taking my total up to 9.4lbs in 2 weeks, but I also lost 9 1/2 inches, so that along with those 9.4 pounds lost reminds me that this is worth doing. I have noticed that on the days that I'm on program and haven't cheated that I don't feel hungry and have no desire to cheat. I realize that after two weeks of looking back at this journey that I have to make sure that there is enough fresh/frozen veggies in the house for me each day or I will fail.

Another thing I worry about with this is that I'm not getting enough calories in per day if I eat a few higher carb things because no matter how low carb you eat, your body does need so many calories each day to function. But that's part of the challenge that I like with this way of eating.

I have started doing a low carb protein shake made with unsweetened almond milk for breakfast, some days with pumpkin to get a veggie in for breakfast. I also have started doing something that I remembered doing for the South Beach Diet. In the SBD they recommend eating ricotta cheese with cinnamon, lemon, or lime and splenda. So, what I started doing as a dessert is 1/4 cup ricotta whole milk cheese with a tsp of sugar free jello mix or 1/4 cup pumpkin with pumpkin pie spice and splenda. It is just like flavored cheesecake and with the SF jello it's 3 net carbs, with the pumpkin it's 5 net carbs.

I'm ready for a week of no cheating and more consistent exercise.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Week 1 Down

After hearing seeing a commercial about a free start-up kit and about the success of a friend on the Atkins program, I decided to check out the website. I've heard over the last few years that it's a similar weight loss program to what doctors recommend for women with PCOS to lose weight, and after a lot of research my views on Atkins changed. When the low-carb craze began to really take hold again about 8 years ago, I was skeptical because I only knew what bad things I'd heard about it.

I'd heard that you only eat fat-laden meats, tons of cheese, lots of protein, and little to no carbs. Boy, was I misinformed. I realize now after researching the diet that it's the exact same thing as what most popular diet programs try to do, they want to cut out the refined sugar. If you actually find out what the program is all about without just jumping in and only eating meat and cheese, then you'll know that the majority of the 20 net carbs they want you to eat during induction are supposed to be veggies. Yes, you can load up on all the meat and cheese you want because they have very few carbs, but the focus of the plan is really on getting people to eat 12-15 net carbs per day of veggies, which means eating healthy.

I admit, that after years of eating lean protein, I am still trying to get my brain around being able to eat full fat cheese and other dairy products as well as fatty cuts of meat. I am proud to say that I haven't cheated on the plan and had anything with tons of refined sugar. I am definitely a sugarholic but I've fought the cravings for a week and am still going strong. I am also proud to say that in 7 days I've lost 8.6lbs and am very happy with those results. It's also been difficult with Mike and my mom because they are constantly trying to get me to eat candy or something because they "forget" that I'm on 20 net carbs per day.

I also have realized just how much I hate veggies since I started Atkins. There are core veggies that I like (which of course seem to be the highest in net carbs) and others that I can tolerate but just not eat on a regular basis, and some that make me gag even thinking about eating. I've never liked veggies. I am trying to plan better and find more ways to diversify my palate when it comes to veggies. I am determined to get more veggies into my diet because I have noticed the last few days when I wasn't eating hardly any veggies that my weight loss slowed. I understand why but still can't quite make myself eat one more salad.

On the exercise front, Mike and I have been walking at least 3-4 days a week. It's not as much as I'd like but there are days where we just don't seem to have the time or the weather just doesn't allow it. Usually when the weather keeps us in, I try to do a workout video but it doesn't always happen because there are days that I am just not motivated to do it. I know logically the more exercise I can get in each day, the faster the weight will drop off.

I have also experienced a side effect that I wasn't aware of...because of the drastic change in my carb intake, it kind of shocked my thyroid/hormones into a reaction. At first I was a bit concerned because it moved my cycle up by a week, but after some online research I found that this is quite common during induction on Atkins. Now, I don't exactly enjoy this side effect coming up a week early, but I'm looking at it as a positive sign.