Pinkbikini

Agree- just looking at pinterest makes me gain ;)

I've been good for 6 weeks now. Down 12-13 lbs. Hoping for 10 more in the next month before the next land-based vaca. When we get back we'll do a modified low carb this spring/summer with lots of working out.

All the regulars still kicking around in here? It's been 3 years since my last cruise and we're gearing up for another in 2017! I've been back on Atkins since Jan 1st and I'm losing from my highest weight ever. Yikes! Hope everyone is doing well.

-Pink

Atkineers,

Just stopping in to say Happy New Years to all of you!

Much love,

PINK

Checking in...back on induction :)

No next vacation planned yet but looking forward to a few of them next year if possible. This year has been... really stressful to say the least! Not having a weeklong getaway in over a year has definitely taken its toll.

Glad to see familiar faces here. Will try to check in more regularly now with a new computer and new high speed internet at home!

Pink :p

With the weather getting better I thought I'd post and say hello.

Jean-- I hope you're feeling better post-op for your thyroid. HUGS!

Besides that DH and I went to the superstore a few weeks ago and stocked up on meats, cheese, and veggies (fresh and frozen). I have been slowly backing down on my carbs. I know if I could kick it into gear and do a strict 2 week induction I could probably lose 5-10 lbs in those 2 weeks. I stocked up on salmon as a seminar I recently went to (I'm in healthcare) advised getting more than a pound of salmon in your diet weekly to get the benefits of those omega 3s and 6s. With my sushi intake (as expensive as it is) I'm lucky to get 3-4 oz weekly so we purchased a big bag of that and plan to have 1 lb each week for each of us to try to be healthier (and provide some meatless meals without substituting rice and pasta like we would normally do for the chicken, pork, beef, etc).

Exercise is non-negotiable though. DH got me a bunch of yoga and pilates videos this past month. I took a class this spring about meditation and such so I'm in a good place to incorporate that with my aerobic exercise to have a healthier me ;)

We likely won't be cruising next year as DH wants to see China...takes away some of the motivation to lose much more weight as I'm comfortable where I'm at... I think to really have an effective loss you need to meld the environment (no sugary or starchy foods available) with motivation (the desire to lose), and then effort (Exercise being the big problem). Its effortless when you do those things but the sticking to it seems to be the biggest problem for atkineers in our low-fat, sugar-laden society.

Ah well... we're eating salmon, broccoli, chicken curry, and cheeseburgers (mine are of course bunless with mayo and mustard, no ketchup). What are you guys eating to kickoff summer?

Pink

I find the more restrictive I am (induction levels for instance) the better I lose. Others find that they lose better when they climb the rungs of OWL incorporating small amounts of other fruits/veg etc. However you do run the risk of stalling when you incorporate new stuff which is frustrating. Also the closer you get to either a plateau weight or a low goal weight the harder you fight for every pound you lose.

Frustrating! good luck.

Bailey and Bella,

I cheat on my cruises for several reasons. Number one, I love sampling the food and drink in different countries. So I drink their soda, beer, or special alcohol...and I eat their national dishes even if they have bread, rice, or gasp, sugary decadent fruit or frosting! I usually avoid the bread baskets and desserts onboard because I don't enjoy them. DH understands and doesnt have the waiter place the bread basket. However he always gets a few desserts (I will sometimes order cheese if I am truly still hungry and DH knows that if its absolutely to die for to share a bite with me and there's been 1 time on our many cruises that I've actually agreed that I needed a whole one for myself and had room for a whole one and ordered it. Occasionally I will get ice cream with lunch on a sea day.).

Good luck on your cruise. I always do lots of activity on our cruises and frequently hit the gym in the a.m. so I never come back too much heavier than I left!

PINK

Hey all,

I'll look forward to checking in when I can (no internet at home right now) throughout these next few months (they're our toughest due to the high sugar/carbs for celebrations!). I plan to do some baking this winter and bring the cookies/sweets to work/other service orgs that we work with throughout the year. But I'm hoping to focus on healthy eating for myself and try to avoid/limit as much of the bread/pasta etc that I can. Need to really keep my focus on healthy eating since fall/winter can be harder without the fresh fruits and veggies staring you down from every direction.

We're headed to costco today- plan to stock up on meats and thaw those slowly. Will have to see what they have in the way of veggies and load up on those! Salads are great for lunch in spring/summer but I like something warm in winter. We will be trying lots of new soups this fall and I'll try to post any really good/low carb recipes I try that you may not already be doing. After Thanksgiving we always pick up a few turkeys to freeze for less than $1/lb which gives us tasties for all of December!

I've been maintaining within the 5 lbs of my goal weight which is ok with me considering how "naughty" I've been all month- mashed potatoes when we're out at dinner, Chinese food a few times which is so loaded with rice and carbs, and yes I snuck a few treats on Halloween since work has been so hectic and I've been picking up extra hours. But I know with good focus I can start the new year at goal weight.

Who's with me for the next 8 weeks????

Pink

Congrats Txmom to 1!

I am personally caffeine addicted. I still have at least my 16 oz coffee and then a tea later in the day (sometimes decaf but still) and then often have diet soda and or coffee on days off of work.

That's a huge success!!!!

Jean-

You're going to love it. And IMHO after visiting many, many countries in Europe- September is a perfect time to be in the Med!!!!!!!

Yes, let's get you in shape- we've only got 11 months left! Get to it ;)

JEAN

WHERE ARE YOU HEADED??? Tell us all about it-- 2011 is never too early for all of us to plan along with you especially since some of us may not have another cruise getaway until, GASP, 2012!!!! :eek:

So.... what's everyone eating this week?

At our house:

rotisserie chicken from costco

curry chicken (DH will have rice with his, I'll just have mine in romaine lettuce wraps) with bell peppers

plenty of caesar salads with chicken slices and broccoli (my crunchy veg of choice in there lately)

chicken parms (with homemade tomato sauce) obviously no breading and mine will be again on a salad (with balsamic) while DH has his w pasta

some tuna cans with mayo for lunches

We have been hiking up a storm. Already been twice this week. Going to keep heading out to enjoy foliage and the last of the warm weather until it rains/gets too cold. Pup loves it and we get 2-4 hours exercise in with every hike doing easy-moderate trails in our mountains!

My goal is more likely to lose 1-2 lbs/month instead of per wk as I dabble with some higher carb choices in an attempt to make this a more permanent lifestyle change and also since I'm so low now anyway that these last few lbs are killer to lose and dont melt off as easily as the first ones did. Maybe if I were stricter I could but I get the feeling now that I'm basically at a great weight that people are watching me more. And sometimes feel self conscious about what I do/dont eat in social situations (parties, gatherings, workplace) because I feel like people always ask me what I'm eating for lunch when they see me in the break room or observe whether I grab a bagel mid-morning too. Sometimes it is very awkward to refuse those high carb snacks because people feel like I'm restrictive like I have an eating disorder or something. Anyone else relate??? People get upset when they think you're dieting and your weigh looks fine to them (esp when they're much heavier).

Thoughts?

Also, does anyone have any REALLY great low carb soups/stews. We will be needing some warm comfort food soon and DH is already suggesting baked mac and cheese, poutine like we had on the trip (fries with gravy and cheese curds for those who havent been up to Canada), and potato based stews... eek, help!!!!

Lisa- Congrats on making it to the sweet spot! way to go-- can't wait for you to hit your goal!!!

Jean- So glad the wedding went well. Your daughter is lucky to have someone to do all the details and dirty work-- I'm sure she had a great day and will never forget all you did to make that happen. And um wedding cake, who refuses that??? Good luck with restarting back on LC way of eating.

DH and I just had the most fabulous vaca to the maritimes. Earl hit right smack in the middle of it so we had to get our tails out of Nova Scotia and back to New Brunswick. Did a lot of driving on a few of those days. But overall the most beautiful scenery, friendliest people (Canadians are so great with tourists), and lots of tasty food varying from down home cooking to sweet decadent pastries once we got into quebec city and montreal. I went off diet while we were there- stuck to mostly LC but had at least a piece of bread or taters each day... like lobster roll in bar harbor maine I ate the roll, fried clams at fundy bay, or at this little country cafe where we had a nice breakfast I limited to just 1 of 4 slices of whole wheat country bread I was served... but once we got to quebec/montreal all bets were off. I ate croissants for breakfast, croutons on my caesar, rice with my indian food... I was naughty.

We did hiking almost everyday until Earl then it became more of a sitting vaca, lots of driving, with a little walking in the cities/shops etc each day but nothing near the calorie burning that happened in the national parks that first week. I'm grateful I came back just 3 lbs heavier after all those buttery croissants.

My puppy is glad to have me back and is spending the day snuggling with me while I catch up on bills and whatnot. The crisp fall chill is already in the air here-- not sure how that will impact our ability to do long walks/hikes...as winter will surely strike soon. BRRRRR!!! But I wholeheartedly recommend an atlantic maritime Canada cruise if anyone is considering it because its just the most beautiful/friendly place ever! We may take a cruise this winter (just a short one to Bahamas or something) but now that we have the house we may just do some long weekend trips next spring instead. Uncertain how finances will play out.

Hope you all are well! Glad to hear everyone is working out. I start up on p90x again this evening...blahhh...will probably be hurting quite a bit this next week or two but know I wont be closer to goal if I dont start kicking butt sooner than later...

Pink

ps new pic of the pup in the profile

Lisa,

90 grams of carbs...WHOA... do you remember what a typical daily meal plan at that carb level would have looked like for you?

I'm curious as I am creeping towards goal but have TOM issues this week so not expecting too much from my body... I have a feeling my ACE will NEVER be that high. I see weight loss stop on a daily basis at 30-40 net right now so I'm eating more of an OWL level 1 (25 carbs) with the extra veggies everyday and with occasional extra treats like the tofu noodles, blueberries or yogurt some days (2-3x/week). I'm so excited to hit goal and start experimenting with the OWL rungs to see if my body is sensitive to particular food groups at those carb levels or the carb numbers themselves.

Pink

who has been "rockin" bikinis at least twice every month this summer (thanks for asking!) in a variety of colors as we go hiking and beaching at our local state parks with our pupster-- the blue, green, pink one, the orange and pink wildcat one, the pink jcrew one hasn't made an appearance but I'm sure it will when we get to Canada...

To all...

I'm technically 3 lbs from the goal I set earlier in the summer! Of course this goal is the high end of my goal weight so I'd be ok being just a couple lbs under that...ha! Always reaching for more. DH of course tells me I look fine and we indulge occasionally. Next week we're hosting an ice cream social so I'm plotting out my cheat day for that day ;)

Wanted to let you all know what has worked better for me this time...

Vegetables are my centerpiece

Now, don't think I've gone mad. I still love meat. But my meal focuses on vegetables first (and I try to eat those first) and then I supplement with a small portion of meat (the recommended 3-4 oz), eggs, or fish and now that I'm close to goal I include extra carbs of berries and fage greek yogurt or nuts/nut butter daily. I even tried those shirataki noodles last week and thought they were tolerable if I play with them a bit.

What I'm trying to say is that I used to have say:

ground beef burgers with eggs for breakfast

chicken breasts with the requisite 2 cups salad for lunch

pork chops with an extra cup veggies for dinner

and then I'd sneak in oils, butters, and sauces to come to 15-20 carbs daily. I thought by making meat my centerpiece (at 0 carbs) I'd more effectively use my daily limits. But I think as you lose that initial weight and then get closer to goal you gotta cut back on the fats a bit too- that means not eating meat 3 times/day, not soaking everything in butter (but hey I still butter my broccoli and cauliflower at night) and occasionally even having GASP vegetarian meals. I've found it really helped this time.

I am a bit heavily reliant on caffeine right now which I shall need to stop once I get to goal but it keeps me happy and sane so I try not to freak out. I'd say I drink 32-48 oz of it a day in some form (coffee, diet soda, tea). Not good. I do however attempt to get 64 oz water in as well by having the water immediately before and after the caffeinated drink.

Anyway, that's what's working for me along with tons of exercise. Hopefully I can keep this up in the fall/winter as DH spoiled me on my birthday with new wii fit plus and some more videos. Winters in New England pose a huge challenge- if it were mild year round this walking thing would be a piece of cake!

We've gone hiking at least twice/month this summer and taken advantage of our state parks. We're planning to do a lot of hiking on our vaca to Canada next month in the parks there (which will be great cause I'm not passing up tasties like the ice cream stand in Maine, lobster rolls, chowder, and delectables at this tasty pastry shop in Nova Scotia...oh yeah, I've got naughty foods planned AND mapquested because that's part of my enjoyment in life!). Fortunately there will be many low carb choices on our trip too though- mussels, lobster in the shell, and moose burgers for example and I'll try to make healthier choices on those days! We're also planning to do grocery shopping so that we can do a lot of breakfasts and lunches ourselves which means I'll have good control over what I'm eating!

I implore you to redesign your meal plan for just 3 weeks making low carb veggies your centerpiece and see what that does for your weightloss efforts:

-cauliflower

-broccoli

-red and green peppers

-spinach

-spring greens/salad mixes without carrots

-celery

-cucumbers

-small amounts of stewed tomatos made into homemade sauce and served over chicken (or those shirataki noodles if you ever eat those in your diet)

I've been enjoying these in my diet this summer as I've now lost 15 lbs and sometimes just have 2 meals/day that are really substantial with two additional "snacks" of say celery and almond butter in the late p.m. as a pick me up and then steamed cauliflower or broccoli with 1 tbl butter before working out at night (right now eve workouts are better for me!).

Hope you guys hang in there and take advantage of our final months of warm weather if you live in an area that gets too cold to exercise in the late fall/winter months.

Take care all!

Lisa-

So sorry to hear about your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. It's wonderful to read what a rewarding life he lived...

Tx Mom- Don't forget to exercise. At least 30 minutes/day and when I'm really intent on losing I try to do an hour in the morning AND at night! Bam, the scales follow suit. Also I try to eat all my veggies (3-5 cups/day presently) and then integrate things like meat, cheese, and eggs into that. Before when I did Atkins I would make the meat my centerpiece and have veggies on the side. Now the veggies are my centerpiece and I complement with meat. Cheese is something I easily overdo so I limit that most days too. Hang in there!

Hope you're all doing well...another birthday is around the corner...ugh. I'm almost down to a happy goal weight though. 5 lbs actually. This week I just maintained my weight but these next few weeks I'm looking to kick it into gear and finish losing by fall. Fall and winter make it harder to maintain weight loss. But this year we were unexpectedly given time off at work so we'll be headed on vacation (pushing China off a bit for next year due to financial limitations) and will be visiting Canadian Maritime Provinces. We're hoping to visit PEI, N. Brunswick, N Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland and possibly part of Labrador (though its awfully tricky to get around there- driving in a 10 yr old car is not recommended... we may cruise... I'm scurrying to plan this thing since its less than a month away).

Considering taking the dog but will probably board him for our sanity ;)

Hope you all are doing well and wanted to drop by and let you know I'm in the sweet spot of the final 5 lbs... it takes a lot of work but once you get momentum going it becomes easier to make the right choices and then I cut myself some slack 1 day/week and cheat a bit and get right back on track the other 6 days...

Enjoy the rest of summer- get outside and exercise!!!

Pink

One thing I did like about WW that I used for myself is their goal system. Instead of focusing on a goal weight which was like 20 lbs from where I started... they do % and lb weights in small goal increments which I thought made for cooler milestones.

ie

160 lbs start weight

5 lb goal= 155

5% goal= 152

10 lb goal= 150

10% goal= 144

and maybe your GOAL goal is 140.

That helps when you're trying to shed the last 20 lbs I'd say. And they say reducing your weight by 10% will lead to lots of health so even if you just set it for whereever you are it drops the goals into much smaller increments. I think it's easier to get from 155 to 152 in a week or 2 than to go from 155 to 150. I like that!

I've been staying on plan for several weeks now and losing 2 lbs week on average. I'm 10 lbs from my ideal weight right now. I just need to do my best to stick this out. My MIL is doing weight watchers. I count points with my atkins as I'd like to eventually transition but boy does weight watchers leave you hungry if you cheat and have too much bread, sweets, etc. So, for now I'm low carbing and just trying not to gorge on fat and protein so that I can continue my losses. Hopefully by end of summer I'll reach my goal weight.

Hope everyone is getting out to exercise daily. I know thats always a big factor in me losing lbs and maintaining diet too!

And JEAN, pup's name is Mowgli and he's still a doll. 23 lbs and counting on him!

I'm down 2 more lbs in the last month. I have 8 lbs to go to my ok weight (top o the goal range) and 13 to get down to the hottie weight! (a la sugar free sheila range). My pup has been a bit better walking since we bought him a harness!

This cold still has not gone away so unfortunately I've not been able to start p90x or do anything strenuous yet. I have not been completely carb free by any means so if I could cut back just a bit more on those and keep up the exercise I bet I could shed the rest of these lbs by the end of summer without a problem!

So, what atkins friendly food is everyone eating these days?

Congrats SeaBlu!

Do you always have salads at lunch? What do you like in your salads? Do you ever crave variety? That's where I trip up on Atkins... eating the same thing over and over and then I fall apart and eat something naughty.

here he is!

Hey everyone,

Life is good here. MR Pink and I bought our first home and got a puppy in the past month! He's the sweetest little thing. I'll try to add a photo in my id in a minute here. Anyway, working hard on leash training right now (10 wks old on Wed) so that eventually he and I can be walking buddies. For now I need to get past this cold I caught 3 weeks ago and then get serious about p90x. I'm going to be better with diet and exercise this summer and try to limit carbs (even when I cant be the perfect atkineer) and hopefully get to know my too small clothes again by the end of the summer. Otherwise, away they go...

Hey everyone!

Lots of excitement in Pink's world right now- we joined the gym, bought a house, and are considering our first family addition this spring- a puggle puppy!!!! We haven't been great about the gym but joining is a start and we got 1-2 days/week. I'd like to up that to 3 times week for 1 hour/time. I like the elliptical there better than the cheap one at my home. My weight is about 20 lbs more than I'd like to be and I am still struggling with that feeling of not getting it all off and allowing too many unsatisfying carbs into my life... Perhaps the stress of home ownership will be enough to propel me forward into weight loss combined with some carb restriction and exercise this spring. Otherwise I need a whole new wardrobe since I only fit into a few pair of pants now. :(

I'll pop in and see you all again soon.

There is no magic bullet for this- just conscientious daily choice.

Pink