2022 and working it out

I know it has been a long time. I have been though a lot in the last few years as we all have. My health has been a roller coaster going through vertigo and heart issues along with being 55 now and fighting hormones for every pound.

Earlier in the summer I knew I was ready again. It has been painfully slow 7.5 pounds in 6 weeks and then another 2 pounds this week finally.

I wonder how long it will take to find out all the pandemic took from us. I know it took who I was away. Constantly locked up and not able to just get out and explore.

I had starting gaining weight with menopause on 2012. No matter what I did I gained. For 4 years before that I ate as a routine. I worked at understanding my ccl and knew where I had to be to maintain 98 pounds lost. But all of a sudden no matter what I started gaining. I grew frustrated, got lazy and slacked off. I would say I gained 50 lbs back of what I lost. It hurt. It made me angry. It made me feel less than and unworthy. My drs told me to try other methods and I did but they don’t work for me.

I Am A Carb Addict.

It is that simple. If a diet tells me I can eat them and lose I will and I wont lose even though that is the way the plan works.

in the beginning of the summer I started thinking about what I loved about Atkins. The weight loss, for sure but more than that I felt good. I lost the brain fog, the bloat, I lost in all the right places. I felt good.

So that is my focus this time around. I had my cholesterol done recently and will have them done again in 6 months to a year. 9.5 pounds isn’t much but I have to say everyday I feel a bit more like myself. I know this will be a long journey. I lost 79 pounds in the first year last time and then 20 the next. I am pretty sure I am going to be lucky too lose 20 by next year but somehow I have to be okay with that. I am not spring chicken. My Children are almost grown. I don’t want to spend the time my husband and I have ahead not feeling good.

So here I am. Ready to whip out recipes, tracking, and trying to accept this new chapter with grace and patience.

Baylor

Slow and steady….

It is so hard to wrap my mind around how things change as you get older. Some things just happen more slowly. Weight loss seems to move at a snails pace and I am hoping I just keep moving in the right direction.

I’m very curious to see what things will still work for me this time and what things won’t. This week has been Brussels sprouts week. I love them. I just love them. Sautéed in butter salt and pepper and it’s like candy to me. This week I have focused on protein fat and veggies. Im not as consistent as I want to be yet but I’m just trying to get back in the groove and eat well.

I am way past the point of working for a bikini body. I just want to feel good in my skin. I want to feel healthy and strong.

Dinner tonight was steak, Brussels sprouts and coffee with cream for dessert!

Here’s to tomorrow!

Baylor

Progress. Slow and steady.

So of course it is not as fast as it has been in the past but as of today, I’m down 16 lbs and 5 inches in my waist! I’m

Happy with that. I’m eating only allowed foods. Not measuring or counting. I’ve done this long enough to know what I need to do for me to be on track. I eat no processed foods. No bars. No keto snacks nothing like that. I make my own treats and most of them are in recipe pages here. I’m completely satisfied.

My plan is to go back to gym this week and start back slow. I’m not going to try and be 20 again but I feel it’s super important to hold onto what I have at this age. And build on that. My goal is strength training to increase some muscle mass and feel stronger.

I think one of the most important things to a successful weight loss plan is to make sure you know your goals and a good plan to achieve them. Don’t let anyone else set them for you. You do it. You take control and choose for you. Know what you are eating and it’s affect on your body.

Please please don’t be taken in by the new Keto craze where people are drinking ketones. It’s ridiculously expensive and you don’t need it. You can achieve the same thing eating correctly.

My favorite book to recommend for Atkins is his very first Diet Revolution book.

Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553271571/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_eAVfFb4CK9VMT

Not the one with net carbs. The one that started Atkins. You may choose to follow net carbs. That’s your choice and it’s a good one, but there is nothing like that first book to see what Atkins actually is and how it really works. It explains the science and process. The graduate to the other books. The New Diet Revolution. Atkins for Life, there is one written by Collette Heimowitz the head nutritionist for Atkins that is a day by day, week by week plan.

There is New Atkins for a New You. That’s the book I am in.

You can do this. It is not hard. It is an amazing way to eat and feel satisfied while losing weight.

Please always know you can reach out for help and guidance.

You got this!

Ahh the patience game.

So this time doing Atkins I’m not worrying so much about measurements and exactness, although I do measure and weigh if I have no idea what the count is in the food I’m eating or if it is higher in carbs, but I’m eating on instinct. More of the Atkins for Life approach.

I’m not in a hurry. I’m enjoying eating and losing inches. At this point I’ve lost 10.5 pounds. But my clothes are fitting better and I am feeling better. Less aches and pains, sleeping better and enjoying food again. It doesn’t feel like the enemy anymore.

I’m going to challenge you to make sure this is not all about the measurements and scale but also about enjoying life. Making it luscious and yummy and not starving or insanely difficult.

You can lose weight. You can enjoy it and you can reach your goals.

My goals are to be healthy and stronger. To come out of menopause feeling better than I did going into it.

Figure out your goals and the go and get them!

1 week back in results.

So one week back on the Atkins train and I’m down 7lbs.

I’m not hungry between meals, I’m not really snacking except at night when i used to snack all day. Healthy snacks but nonetheless snack.

I’m at about 1900 calories and that is working. I don’t let it decide ahead of time, it just seems to be where I’m falling daily.

Not really exercising but I never have the first two weeks as I change my fuel source.

I also bought keto sticks. I know a lot of people today don’t use them or like them but it helps me know where I am and what impacts my ketosis state. It also is just a nice visual affirmation and instant result. It really helps with my mind set.

What I have learned most about Atkins is there is no one right way to do it. I have always liked the stripped down initial version the best, but have also followed the DANDR version and done well.

I know for me starting low and slow will be an asset as I fight all the hormones and current situation.

I know I’m 100% on eating and sleeping.

My goal is to lose a total of 50lbs. I’m down 7. 43lbs to go.

Menopause has been hard on my body and my mental state. The fight to even maintain was exhausting. I gave up. I just couldn’t eat really well and see scale continue to rise. Now that I seem to have settled into menopause more I see I can start losing again.

You ordered a new copy of DANDR And Atkins for Life. My goal is to have a living Atkins plan as I did in 2008 that kept it easy for me to maintain and still eat off all the rungs.

Here’s to week 2!!!

Menopause and Atkins

I know it’s been a while since I posted. Let me tell you that perimenopause/menopause is harder than I thought.

My experience was that no matter what I did I could not lose weight. My old Atkins habits were not enough. I could not longer move up the ladder like I had in the past and still lose weight. I did feel better but the frustration and emotional toll was too much.

What I have learned is I need to go back to the original Atkins plan. I will move very slowly through the process. I have to journal everything and make notes of changes and weigh in daily.

It is working. My body is responding. I’m hoping the extreme bouncing has stopped.

I started this plan 5/13/2020 and am down 6.2 lbs.

My cravings have stopped. I am having the classic headaches but it will pass.

My life has changed a lot since 2008. And I realized that it all makes me who I am today. I have not managed stress well and I have not maintained my weight loss. And it’s okay. It’s not how I would like it. But it’s what happened. If I sit around feeling bad about it, nothing changes. Nothing.

I’m 53 years old. I want to be fit and be able to enjoy my life without adding to the normal aging issues by being overweight and inflamed.

I feel like us carb addicts, true carb addicts have to just know it is like any other addiction. It is hard to manage the addiction by dabbling in eating them here and there.

For now it’s a beginning again. I have not been able to lose more than 15 lbs by moving up the ladder. So then I have gotten frustrated and stopped.

This time I am waiting a full month at in induction before making any changes. I am counting full carbs to start. I need to cleanse myself and get myself in the right mindset. Quarantine has not helped! But it’s time to move forward!

If you have ever fallen off the wagon and crashed, join me! Let’s take this one step at a time and follow the plan and process. It’s okay if you aren’t doing it exactly like I am. You can do this !

One Week BACK!!

I gotta tell you I feel really good. I really forgot what control feels like on Atkins. I am not tempted to cheat. I am eating well every day and planning each meal for the most part. I have not eaten off plan in a week and I have lost 7.8 lbs, I am sleeping better, I don’t crash in the afternoon and I feel most focused.

I have had an insane 2 years. Family members have been ill, my husband blew out his achilles tendon last fall and was out of work for almost 5 months. I was rear ended twice in a month and still feel the effects of that last crash that totaled my car. I am smack dab in the throes of menopause and it is a roller coaster of epic proportions.

I have taken care of everyone else but me. I have worried and focused on everything but me. I’m not good with me. It feels selfish and uncomfortable but I need to focus on it now. I am into my 50’s and if not now, when?

I have documented my ups and downs. Nothing makes me feel as good and as free as Atkins does. It takes some focus and some planning but gets easier with time. I am so excited to see where I am one month from now~!!

 

Atkins Community is back!!!

I am so excited it is back!! I don’t know what I would have done without it on my journey!!

It has always been the best place to share information and learn about Atkins from not only amazing members but from the Nutritionist and other moderators that are there and waiting and willing to help!!!

Please if you are going to do Atkins go sign up!!!

 

No more clothes…

Well, I am now at the place where I am running out of things that fit me. I am firmly in the medium sizes so I have to get rid of the larges which doesn’t leave me much!!

 

I really feel good in my Atkins groove. No weigh ins and no stress. I eat well and what I like and I don’t worry about any numbers.

Please please know that there is absolute freedom in doing Atkins the way Dr Atkins intended. READ his books.. The beginning ones. It is so easy to follow and so good to eat!!!!

If you are struggling, stop reevaluate and eat well!

No after vacation bloat…

There is nothing better than coming home from vacation and not feeling guilty or fat or bloated.. Stuck to my plan 100 even though some days was tougher than others to find something good to eat.

Most mornings was just coffee. I brought grape tomatoes and mozzarella for lunch and dinner I ate what I could out. One night I had filet and lobster tail, so no I didn’t suffer. I walked  a lot and they had starbucks on the boards so coffee with cream was my dessert.

I don’t feel like I missed anything. I had a great vacation and I ate well. My only treat at the shore was Cashews. Those big colossal warm ones they sell on the boards. Yum!

I came home and my clothes are looser and I did not miss a beat.

You can do Atkins anywhere and make it work. Don’t give up and don’t give in..

It has been 206 days on plan since my recommitment to Atkins and eating right. I missed this feeling. So glad to be back. 🙂