I decided to start a journal showing my meals.

I'm a mom of eleven children--17G, 15G, 13G, 12G, 11G, 8G, 6G, 5B, 4B, 3G, 7moB. I homeschool the eight oldest. My husband and I also have a full-time online bookselling business which supports the whole family.

I'm 5' 6" and small-boned.

My high weight was 178# in October 2003 when I started Atkins 2002 and circuit training. My first 30# came off within 3 months.

At that time, my weight loss slowed, but as this plan is for life, I was in no hurry. The last 15# came off over the next year and a half. I reached my approximate goal of 132# in September 2005

I was nursing a baby when I started low carb. I had a low carb pregnancy that ended with the birth of a baby girl in September 2004 and I nursed that baby eating low carb. My weight was well-controlled through this pregnancy. I ate well, and gained 15#. (Based on the fact that I was still overweight at the time of that pregnancy, I think this weight gain was okay. I never restricted my intake.)

I had another low carb pregnancy that ended with the birth of a baby boy in March 2007. This time I gained 50#. I did very well with keeping my carbs down *BUT* I ate too few calories, too little meat, and too little fat. My husband and I were very busy ramping up our online business and I didn't take the time to cook really good meals with lots of meat, fat, and vegetables.

While I kept my carbs down and actually ate very little, I gained quite a lot. When my baby boy was 6 weeks old, I found myself with 35# to lose. With a return to first principles of Atkins--eat liberally of meat and fat, eat veggies--I saw the first 20# fall off within about 3 months.

The last pounds seem to be coming off slowly, but I am happy with that. My current weight is 143#. My goal weight is somewhere around 130-135#.

I am small-boned currently wearing size 2-4. I have some size 1's that fit and a couple of size 5/6 that don't look too big.

I'm at Pre-Maintenance, eating well and not in a hurry.

SEPTEMBER 30th. (This was my 18th wedding anniversary.)

I am nursing a 7 month old baby, so that affects my portion sizes slightly.

Breakfast--
3T extra virgin coconut oil
(supposed to be one of the healthiest oils)
3 eggs
about 1/3 cup frozen spinach
about 2-3 ounces roast duck.
2-3 ounces of Brie

This made an omelet for two. I cooked it in an additional tablespoon of coconut oil and split the omelet with my husband. A luxurious anniversary breakfast. The duck was leftover from our anniversary dinner out two nights earlier.

Lunch
6 oz ribeye broiled
(Ribeye is higher in fat; higher fat meats or adding extra fat is best for my plan. We get 6 ribeye steaks for $10 at Wal-Mart.)
Small salad, just mixed greens with about 1 1/2 tablespoons Marie's blue cheese dressing
(We choose our dressings according to which have the highest fat content; this is usually in the refrigerated produce section.)
About 1/3 cup of French green beans with extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon or so of chopped pecans.
About 1/3 cup of creamed spinach
(frozen chopped spinach, heated in the microwave, 1/2 T butter, 1 T sour cream, a touch of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt; very fast and easy)

Snack
2 small squares from a dark Chocoperfection bar. These are sweetened with oligofructose (chicory powder) and erythritol (almost zero calories). This is expensive but it has a GI of about zero. NO CRAVINGS. It tastes *very* good, but portion control is not a problem for me at all. Erythritol is not like the maltitol in
Atkins. No calories and no digestive problems associated with it. (I avoid maltitol most of the time. Not only does it cause digestive disturbances for me, but it has a calorie count and glycemic index close to WHITE SUGAR! What's the difference, then, I wonder?)

Dinner
Two Triscuits with two small pieces of cheddar cheese
(NOT AN INDUCTION FOOD OR AN EARLY ATKINS CHOICE! I am at Pre-Maintenance.)
2 eggs and 3 strips of an all-natural turkey bacon fried in about 1/2 T butter.

I am constantly watching for hunger and cravings. This is the Atkins way. Eating this way I experienced NO cravings and really enjoyed my very satisfying and tasty food.

OCTOBER 1
Regarding my eating plan, I strongly believe that in order to get different results, I need to make and sustain the changes that are best suited to my tastes, habits, and budget. I'm really eating luxuriously. I'm not depriving myself to lose weight. I'm nourishing my body that it will release fat and find its own best composition.

I always try to keep a touch of luxury in my meal plan, thus the name of my journal. Eating a sufficient *quantity* of food is not all that it takes to keep my meals truly satisfying.

Breakfast:
Pancakes--1 egg, 2 T Flax-Z-Snax hot cereal mix (mostly flax and bran), 2 T extra virgin coconut oil, 1 1/2 T half-and-half, a pinch of baking soda, a pinch of salt, a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla. Cooked in 1T coconut oil, topped with 1T butter and a little Vermont Sugar-free Syrup. (Dusting these with a bit more nutmeg after the butter and syrup really puts them over the top for taste!)
2 slices turkey bacon cooked in 1 T butter, with all the pan drippings poured over the bacon on the plate.
(If you've noticed that this breakfast is mostly fat, you're right! Fat, not protein, is to be the replacement for carbs on Atkins. I sure had plenty of energy after this beakfast!)

After breakfast, I very slowly enjoyed two servings (one bottle) of Fuze Slenderize. (It is not for induction, but it is very tasty!)

Lunch--1 ribeye, medium salad with 3 baby carrots on the side, plenty of blue cheese dressing

Dinner--lean steak. Lean steak is not an especially good choice for Atkins, so I added extra olive oil to my plate and had cheddar cheese and blue cheese dressing on my medium salad. (I don't often have two so similar meals in the same day, but this is what last night's cook--my 17 yo dd--wanted to make for dinner.)

Snack--Homemade coconut fudge.
I am still tweaking the recipe on this. I will post it soon, but it's almost all coconut oil, which is actually one of the healthiest of oils.

No hunger between meals. No cravings. I feel well and energetic.

OCTOBER 2
Breakfast--
Beef Pinwheel Steaks with Swiss cheese, roasted red pepper, and spinach (I happened to go through the meat department one morning, just as all the yellow clearance stickers were being applied!)
2 eggs fried in butter, with the frying butter

Snack--
Coconut Fudge
This edition was much better than yesterday's; I am still working on the recipe! (This used 2T coconut oil; I ate the whole recipe except for little tastes for the little children who were close by.)

Lunch--
Mock pizza--The "crust" is made of eggs, butter, coconut oil, and turkey
sausage. This is actually what my kids ate for breakfast. I just took a small piece about 3.5 x 3.5" and spread is with a thin layer of Hunt's Sugar-free spaghetti sauce and added peppers, mushrooms, cheese

Long stalk of celery filled with 50% butter and 50% cream cheese. (This tasted much better than it probably sounds! Next time I'll add a little onion dip mix, I think! I'm not totally sure I'll like it better; we'll see.)

Supper--
Parmesan chicken--bone-in, w/skin chicken breast flattened a bit and deep gashes cut in breast meat; put under broiler bone-side up, when browned flip, when done pour a *nice* extra virgin olive oil in all the gashes and sprinkle Parmesan cheese (not the green can kind) over it thickly. Put back under the broiler for one minute. Salad with cheese and tomato

Note the generous fat allowance. 60-70% of my calories come from fat. I have tons of energy eating this way and feel very strong and healthy. No hunger except right before meals. No cravings.

Valerie,

Do you know where the high protein bars recipe is? I got the ingredients (pb, almond meal, protein powder, etc) and now can't remember where I saw the recipe.

Also, my daughter (who was homeschooled from 5th grade, btw) is looking into atkins but but she is a single mom (another sad story) to 4 kids and is in grad school. She is afraid she can't afford the low carb lifestyle. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

jonoandemsmom, I am already planning to do some ultra low-cost days to show what can be done. I'll include prices! As a mom of eleven and formerly with a very low income, I have learned some tips for eating very inexpensively but very well.

If no one pipes up with the protein bars recipe, I'll see if I can uncover it for you.

It's me , again.

Do you know if the flax seed muffin recipe (with 2 T gr flax seed, 1 egg, etc) would make me gain weight? My Dr. seems to think so but out of 12 carbs, there is 11 grams fiber. After getting off Kimkins, my sweet tooth is back a little.

OCTOBER 3
Breakfast
Flax Pancakes made with 2T coconut oil and 1 egg.
Turkey Bacon fried in butter with frying butter

Snack
Flax-Z-Snax Granola 1/2 serving.

Lunch
Salmon Salad on baby spinach
Salad was made with mayonnaise and sour cream, onion and pickle. My kids used it for sandwiches. I added a drizzle of nice EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) over the salad.

Well, I had a book sale at 5 pm, was looking at books and packing up until after 7 pm, so I didn't get home until nearly 8 pm. I didn't plan well for this and so didn't eat until nearly 9 pm. NOT GOOD. I had five hardboiled eggs in the fridge; I should have at least taken a few with me.

So at nearly 9 pm, I had the other
Beef Pinwheel Steaks with Swiss cheese, roasted red pepper, and spinach
A little scoop of leftover salmon salad
A serving of Flax-Z-Snax granola w/ half-and-half

I was just TOO hungry when it was time to eat so I didn't make a nice "real meal" for supper. But once I did eat, I felt much better!

I didn't have enough veggies yesterday. (The amount might be just right for someone else, but it wasn't enough for me.)

COCONUT FUDGE
2 tablespoons SweetPerfection
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon cocoa
3-4 drops vanilla, no more

Melt or partially melt the coconut oil if needed. Mix all ingredients well, spoon onto wax paper, and freeze for about 5 minutes.

Melts quickly, so you'll need to lick your fingers!

This is a tasty treat and a good way to increase healthy fats in the diet.

The cream makes a big difference in the quality of the result.

33 grams fat (excellent for Atkins!)
6 grams carb; cut to only 3 grams if you substract the SweetPerfection
2 grams protein
(I'm an Atkins girl all the way! I don't look at the calories!)

SweetPerfection has a glucose index (GI) of zero. I don't have any hunger issues or cravings with it so far, but I've not ever had it in large amounts.

I was wondering what you did when you had unexpected company. I have a 16 year old son that loves to have his friends over. I never know what to feed them that won't kill my food budget. This happens several times a week. Also, do you feed your family the same thing you eat or do you make something separate?

Thanks.

Susan