Diets

If you've ever tried to lose weight you've probably read that, "diets don't work". And it has to be a "lifestyle change". You've heard that eating less and moving more is the only way. I had come to believe this very strongly. And then I started Atkins. And it is working. I guess since I've heard so often about diets not working, etc, that I keep feeling the need to defend this diet. I keep thinking of things I should say and come on here and post. And that's just ridiculous.

The bottom line is right now this is working for me, and that's all that matters. Right? And it's not really that bad. I had some major successes this weekend, which I attribute to doing all this with Aaron more than just trying to stick to a diet. I baked cookies for our babysitter and I didn't eat 1/2 c of cookie dough. In fact I barely had a taste of cookie dough. I cant' say I didn't taste any - I'm only human after all. But it was waaay less than I normally would have eaten. And then when I took those piping hot, delicious smelling cookies from the oven - I ate half of one. A far cry from the 12 I would have eaten a couple weeks ago. Another success was taking the girls to Chik-fil-A. I let them get ice cream cones. Well Olivia got a milkshake and Abigail got an ice cream cone. ANYWAY - I knew Abigail wouldn't eat an entire cone so I scooped half of it right into the trash can. And when Olivia drank about 1/2 of her milkshake and then said, "Here Mom, you can have the rest." I took one tiny sip and threw it away. Normally I would not have thought twice about eating half of Abigail's ice cream cone, and finishing Olivia's milkshake. Nothing of it.

The one area I haven't done anything is exercise. I have a list of excuses a mile long. But I know I need to get back in the habit. For my soul more than weight loss. I think I am less grumpy when I workout. So this week I'm going to work on that.

Current weight - 222.3

Atkins Day 5

Last night I dreamed that I was eating a bagel. A huge New York style bagel. With butter. And a big glass of orange juice. It was a great dream. Then I woke up.

So I feel like I need to explain Atkins a bit. They are always modifying and updating this diet, so Atkins now isn't exactly the Atkins of 10 years ago. I am reading a lot about it and I think this really is the best fit for me.

Right now we are in "Induction". It's the most restrictive part of the diet. You can stay in it as long as you want, or at least two weeks. I was only planning on two weeks, but maybe I'll do it longer since I am seeing good results.

During Induction you eat very little carbs. Like 25 net grams. And those all need to come from vegetables, pretty much. So basically what I've been eating - scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese for breakfast. For lunch a salad with some kind of protein. Either shrimp or chicken. And then dinner is where things have gotten tricky. It's just hard to break the habit of a starch side. So we're eating a lot of veggies and some protein for dinner. Last night we had chicken breasts and salad. And bacon. We've also had steak and steamed broccoli,  corned beef and mashed cauliflower. So it's not just eating a ton of fat. And in a couple weeks we add fruits and whole grains.

I am enjoying it really. Even if I am dreaming about bagels. But I love meat. So it's working for us.

Current weight - 223.0

Yeah it's been a while

I just get tired of saying the same stuff. Kind of like my last post said, it's just discouraging being on this road and not getting anywhere.

My thoughts are changing slightly. I am going to go to the doctor next week... like I said I was going to do a few months ago. I just wonder how healthy I am. I have been dealing with some health issues. I was diagnosed with Epstein Bar (Barr? I've seen it both ways) when I was a teenager. I think it's acting up again, or turning into something else. I don't know. I just feel tired a lot. It's more than tired, it's like my bones are made out of lead. And my throat hurts every morning. And I'm so tired. And my joints ache. So yeah...

But I feel like weight loss would help me with these issues. But it's hard when I feel crappy like this.

So guess what I'm doing now... Atkins. Yup. The ever controversial Atkins diet. The only reason I don't see myself failing miserably is because Aaron is 100% on board with me. We are doing it together. Which makes it so much easier.

I also recruited my SIL Molly to be my accountability partner as far as working out. We call/text each other every day to let each other know how we're doing. Celebrating and motivating.

My current weight is 225. I'll keep ya posted.