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

Happy Saturday

There is nothing like the feeling of eating clean. For 10 days I have gone back to basics and I feel so much better. I am sleeping better, not crashing in the afternoon and I don’t feel bloated at all during the day. Another side effect for me is that I don’t eat more than 3 meals a day. Not because I limit myself but because I am completely satisfied. I am eating about 2300 calories a day, some days a little more and some days a little less, but I feel good and have lost 9 lbs in those 10 days. I’ve lost 3 inches off my waist which was most likely bloat and water.  I feel better.. I FEEL better.

It has been a horrible year for me. Horrible.. I just let go of me and what I needed. I was so focused on what everyone else needed while taking care of my kids and husband and work and everyone else. It is easy for me since I am definitely a caretaker.

I have been struggling a few years. This being 50 is hard. And all the hormonal changes make it harder. losing pounds for me is so much harder than it used to be and I gain with a vengeance since this all started in 2012.. I was in a good groove and hormones hit and it was a nightmare. It was so hard and so tough, I gave up on me.

It is not pity just reality. I have a hard time with what I look like vs what I look like in my head. Even in a size 6 I would look in the mirror and only see flaws. It disables me to move forward.

There are many of us who have been successful on Atkins and then had some stumbles. I am not ashamed of that. After the last year, I am just glad to have survived it. I think the kicker came for me is when I started to have health problems because of the stress and the running and not taking care of me. Your brain just starts to click off.

I hope that sharing here and there will help someone else in my boat, who always takes care of everyone but themselves. In the end it really comes down to the airplane scenario. You can’t help anyone else unless you put the mask on first. You have to be there to help them. So try and put your health and self first in this. Make yourself a priority. It doesn’t mean become selfish or self centered. It just means plan for you. Plan what you want. Keep your goals in sight and keep moving forward! You can do this!

 

 

 

How I do Atkins

One of the many things I love about Atkins is that it can be done many ways. There is no one way to do it and lose weight and gain health. It can be tailored to likes, dislikes, lifestyle and availability.

I am more of a clean eater. I normally keep to whole foods with a few exceptions. I count whole carbs and not net carbs, because that is what works better for me, and I also keep my calories high. It is how I lose the best and easiest. I do keep bars and shakes for running out and about and road trips and they work great too, but in everyday life I like to keep it clean.

I eat three times a day and my afternoon coffee. That is all I need to stay satisfied because my calories and fat are high. It is not as  if I am hungry at 3 o’clock I feel like I can’t eat, but as a rule I am not hungry during between meals.

Breakfast today was egg beaters omelet with cheese and coffee, Lunch will be Tuna salad on lettuce with cheese and my vinaigrette, diet coke. Dinner will most likely be roasted chicken with skin on and a heaping side of my creamed spinach.

I average about 2200 calories a day.

I hope that if you are starting Atkins you will get the books and read them. ALL of them, because in each book there is a plan that is a little different than the other books and you will be able to find one that will work for you.

I originally started Atkins in 93 and did it with the Atkins Diet Revolution. After the births of my children and gaining up to 270-something, I started with the first diet revolution and progressed to the NEW Diet Revolution. Where it goes to 20 net carbs with 12-15 nc being veggies. That is what helped me lose 96lbs in about 18 months. Along the way I tweaked and worked the plan to change things up and learn what worked best. I always keep a journal that is written along with FatSecret. For me that is the best and easiest way to track food. It has the biggest library of items and makes it easy to track weight and food imo.

The point of this post is don’t feel like you have to do Atkins like everyone else to succeed.. Learn the plan and do it your way. Learn to listen to your body and don’t be afraid of the journey. It does work. You can do this!!!

2017

I have been gone awhile. When I say life has happened, it has in a monster way.

My parents both had huge medical issues last year. I really should not have either one of them this year. Thank God they are both here and healthy again!!! Of course I ended up with my own health problems  that I’ve had to deal with.

Then I lost my aunt in December. That was a huge loss.  She was only a 8 years older than me. She was very very sick and her passing was hard.

She was my original Atkins buddy in the 90’s.  Her and I would talk Atkins and share recipes and eat well together.  I used to make my cream of asparagus soup for us and we’d eat all of it and chat and hang out.

Its been a traumatic year, the hardest year of my life , but I have to get back to me   I’ve gained weight and felt miserable as I just let life run me over.  No more   It’s not in me to give up long term or to let go of what is important to me and what makes me feel alive.

I’ve been back on plan 100 percent for a week now and I feel better and stronger.

So here I am back  new recipes and posts and updates to come!!!

Happy 2017!!!!! On to great things!!!

Stop trying to be perfect…

In the end that is what will drive you crazy.

 

If  you are just starting, take it easy. Learn the plan and while you are drop all the flour and sugar and fries.. Read up, Learn about the plan. Stock up with good food.  NEW ATKINS FOR  A NEW YOU, the newest Atkins book makes it so easy for you to learn the plan. To make it something you can live on each day. The options are limitless within the rules of the plan.

I love the forum. But there you are getting information that is skewed by someone else’s experience even mine. I love the Atkins books. I really feel that if you want true success in something you need to be educated in it as much as possible. Learning only about
Induction is only going to make you an induction expert.. 😉

LEARN THE WHOLE PLAN!!! Learn how it works. Read more than one book. Then start the plan by stocking up and getting rid of trigger foods eat well and learn to enjoy eating. Don’t diet on Atkins eat!!!!!!

Good meat, Good fats, good veggies..

Butter, oil, bacon, all things you can add to make things flavorful and make your food taste good!!

 

 

 

 

 

Getting back in the game..

I just used the title of this post on an Atkins post because it is really speaking to me tonight.  I have had a hard couple of years. The biggest blow to me is the changes that come as you age..  hormones.. Little torture gremlins.. 😉

 

No one tells you how brutal it can be.

I have 30lbs I need to lose. I lost 8 the first 2 weeks and it made me realize this time is going to be different. I am older again, Now I am being attacked by hormones or the lack of them.. 🙂 But that is okay.

Amazingly enough, tonight I feel much stronger. I feel like there is a light again at the end of the tunnel.

Today as I ate my lunch of mashed cauliflower and fried pork chops, It felt good and easy. I am in the groove again. 🙂

That is my high today.. 🙂

 

 

 

I found my stride today.

Today I am out with a bunch of amazing people at my church for a conference. There is a lot of walking. Uphill. Downhill. Stairs.
As I was walking quickly through the hall of the arena, I realized I was not hugging and puffing. I was not struggling it feeling small. I found my stride. 🙂

I felt taller. It felt like a strut. It felt good.

I bought a packit lunch tote and have it filled with my food. One of the best things was an ice cold sliced plum tomato. This thing works!!

But today is the day, I found my stride. 🙂

Well Well Well.. Is it really that time?

For the past months, I have been having horrible symptoms. Some seemed heart related and with the family history, I was tested and cleared. Then I had symptoms that resembled a small TIA, Tingling on one side of my body, headache.. fatigue and scatter brained..

Yet all my tests came back good.

It started to make me feel like I was crazy. I had physical symptoms and people are telling me I am fine.

Cold chills, hot face to heat flashes, aching, headaches, fatigue, anxiety, the list goes on. So I went on line and searched.. Know what..

 

All are signs of menopause. ( do you hear the hallelujah chorus?? I DO!!).. It makes complete sense..

 

What I found when searching is that eating An Atkins lifestyle is really most beneficial to manage it along with some other things. I am going to start adjusting it here and there to see if I can get some relief along with getting back to regular exercise and consulting with Colette to find out the best foods and maybe some that would not be so good..

 

What I have learned in this Journey is that EVERYTHING is affected by what we eat. Atkins gave me a new lease on life. I truly believe it will get me through this next stage in the journey!

 

 

 

The summer is almost over!!

Where did it go ? Seems like not too long ago I was fishing out shorts for my boys and now I am buying school supplies and clothes!

This summer has been one of the best I have ever had. Being almost 100 lbsw lighter than 2 years ago, I can tell you that it feels like a whole new life now. I fell light and free. I don’t worry about going to the shore or not having to wear a coat to hide..

This summer has been full of freedom and living. I have enjoyed myself and stayed on my Atkins plan and even tested some new foods for me. What I found is that after 2 years, I am finally free of the obsession with food. I can have a taste of this or that and not have that driving crazy feeling to eat it all. I love how I eat , all the veggies, the meats and good fats. My favorite thing this summer has been braised cucumbers or cucumber and tomato salad with cheese.

I hope that wherever you are on your Atkins journey, that you are feeling great and enjoying the best food life has to offer. I hope that you are meeting your goals and learning all you can. There is no substitute for a well lived life.

Living Atkins Everyday,

Traci

My story airs in Boston…

http://wbztv.com/video/?id=89752@wbz.dayport.com

Thanks MIZSKI!!