Since leaving kk, I have been back and forth with what I should do. I started reading and reading and reading. The more I read the more confused I got. There are so many different plans out there. The other day, Hilary told me "you need to pick a LC plan and then stick to it". Thanks for the knock upside the head, my friend. I needed that. I'd still be reading and eating.

I have decided to go with Atkins. I started induction yesterday. I have, and have read, the '72 book and just 'found' the 2002 DANDR on a bookself in my den. Didn't even know I had it. LOL I'm going to start reading that today.

Now that I have an actual plan, things should get back on track.

Any other Atkins books anyone can recommend? Is there anything I should absolutely avoid? Thanks yall!

Atkins for Life is great, as far a Atkins goes. It helps you to see how you will be eating in the future. Also Living The Low Carb Life by Dr. Jonny Bowden was a great read. Jimmy has recommended lots of great LC books. I so believe knowledge is power, and I'm finding that my LC journey has been nothing but wonderful. Stick to the book, I am doing DANDR 2002, and it will be much easier. I stayed on induction for about 10 weeks and now I am adding the carbs and sticking to the food addition ladder. It is awesome to see how my body reacts to different food.

Good luck and I'm glad you are here and picked a plan!!

Stick with the 2002.

When you get closer to Maintenance, read Atkins for Life.

Good for you OceanBlue! Go figure, the answer was right there on your bookshelf all along, that must have been kind of a Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz kind of moment:

Dorothy: Oh, will you help me? Can you help me?
Glinda: You don't need to be helped any longer. You've always had the power to go back to Kansas.
Dorothy: I have?
Scarecrow: Then why didn't you tell her before?
Glinda: She wouldn't have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.
Scarecrow: What have you learned, Dorothy?
Dorothy: Well, I—I think that it, that it wasn't enough just to want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em — and it's that — if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?
Glinda: That's all it is!
Scarecrow: But that's so easy! I should've thought of it for you -
Tin Man: I should have felt it in my heart -
Glinda: No, she had to find it out for herself. Now those magic slippers will take you home in two seconds!
Dorothy: Oh! Toto too?
Glinda: Toto too.
Dorothy: Now?
Glinda: Whenever you wish.
...
Glinda: Then close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, 'There's no place like home'.


I'm glad you've decided to click your heels!!!!

OMG! You are such a copycat! You just have to follow me everywhere... I'm glad that you finally picked. The people here in the Atkins forum have been absolutely wonderful. Listen to Dave and Charles...they are the masters.


I am down .4lbs this am. I wasn't feeling so hot yesterday. I don't know if it was getting back into ketosis or the meat, but who cares? I lost some weight eating cheese. There really must be a God in Heaven...

Good for you. Glad you are settling in with something you feel comfortable with. Best of luck to you, you'll do great!

Congrats, OceanBlue:

We're all here and rooting for you. Hilary was definitely right, find a plan and stick with it. Any of those Atkins versions will serve you well in my opinion. I only read the latest book and it was just fine. There were very good reasons for the revisions.

In addition to Atkins for Life, I would wholeheartedly recommend Regina Wilshire's Weight of the Evidence blog. There, she has begun to tackle the Rules for Induction. She demonstrates how the principles learned in Induction are really instructions that frame the maintenance plan you will use for the rest of your life. You can find it here: Rules of Induction

All the best,

Charles

Thanks Charles. You always know the right thing to say. I only felt bad for a little bit an it passed quickly. I am just so fond of eating these great things that taste wonderful and losing weight.

Boo - Good luck and come back here often.

Charles - thank you for the information. I will definately check out her blog. I have heard her name thrown around quite a bit.

Hilary - I had a headache most of today. But it is gone tonight. I definately will be hanging out around here. There is so much info. here. I think I'll just follow you and Charles around. Hey, I was down 5lbs today!

We went to Outback for dinner tonight. I had my steak with broccoli. It was nice not having to tell them "no butter please". It tasted so good with some butter on it. I also had a salad with blue cheese dressing. Haven't had blue cheese in a long time. I felt like a normal person. It almost felt like I was doing something I shouldn't. Like I was eating off plan.

It is so cool to be able to eat like a normal person and still lose the weight! Hilary, you lost too!

Boo - yea for Outback. I am so glad that this is working for you, your doctor, Mark, and me(you are in the forum with me ).

I'm not losing so fast .4lbs in 3 days isn't so good, but I think my body is going through a lot because I am changing to atkins and putting the meat back in, so I am being good to my body and waiting.

Charles - you da man..

Ok this morning outback has me a little freaked out. I added my dinner to my dailyplate. The steak alone is more calories than I normally eat in a day. That's not even a starve yourself kk day. I'm not going to wig on the fat though. Fat is good. Fat is good. Fat is good. 1911 calories can not be good for a 5' person though. Is that as bad as I'm thinking it is? I have to watch it today. I am down .5 today. I am so confused on the calorie thing.

I don't count calories, Boo. NEVER HAVE since I've been on my low-carb journey. One of my fellow low-carb blogging friends asked me to send a sample of my daily menus to analyze and this person found I eat about 3,000-3,500 calories a day while maintaining my weight. Sounds impossible, but it happens when you are livin' la vida low-carb!

Here's a blog post I wrote about calories on a low-carb diet:

"Even On Low-Carb, You Count Calories, Right?"

Boo - seriouly...Don't worry, Be Happy...

I am having so much fun eating this way. I had some ham fried in butter and 3 eggs, also fried in butter, and then a liberal sprinkling of cheese on top for breafast..yum! Then I will have my salad..oh, the possibilities..

Repeat after me....Calories don't count, Calories don't count, Calories don't count. Close your eyes and say it again three times. Don't start thinking about moderate calories or anything like that. Focus on getting full on protein and fat. Chicken breast is good, but it's a little on the lean side. Try some chicken thighs or wings. The dark meat is more fatty and it will provide more energy plus enable your body to jettison its fat stores. 1911 calories is nothing. It's not how tall you are, but how much you weigh. If you weigh a lot, you can not go about eating like a person who weighs nothing. Your body will think there's a famine and respond accordingly. It's not, "you are what you eat." It's more like, "you are what your body does with what you eat." - Eades. You have to feed that metabolism.

You didn't get fat by eating too much. You got fat by eating the wrong types of food. If you're getting full on fat and protein, you will lose weight. Trust me on this one.

Hang in there, we're with you.

Charles

Girrrrrl, Charles is so right. That is my new theme song, "Calories don't count, yea, yea,...Calories don't count..Whoo hoo.." You are so lucky that you can't hear my voice on this one. Just eat off the induction list and no worries. I have been eating like 2000 calories or so and I have lost .4 lbs the last two nights.

Ok. Charles, I'm just gonna read every post you make from now on.

Calories don't count woo hoo? And, did you think you could keep Charles all to yourself? How come you didn't tell me about him? That is so not fair.

Calories count, but you just don't have to count them when you're livin' la vida low-carb. Please read "Even On Low-Carb, You Count Calories, Right?"

Whatever! Don't burst my bubble. How about ratios matter. I can't stop singing my song..."Calories don't count..yea, yea.."


How are you doing, Boo. I am doing so good. I am so much happier now that I am having fat, fat, fat. Never thought I would be so excited about it.

That's the point, they don't really matter because you don't have to be imprisoned by counting them. I'm happy to see you succeeding, Hilary!

I have a question and wasn't sure where to put it so I'm hoping someone comes a long that can offer suggestions.

I have a turkey breast tenderloin that I bought seasoned with rotissery seasonings already on it. I took that out to cook for dinner tonight. I was just going to throw it in the rotissery oven but I think I want to do something different. Any suggestions on how to prepare it that could add some good tasting fat?

There's already LOTS of good natural fats in that rotisserie, but you can smother some butter on top if you want to.

If it's the whole tenderloin wrap it in some bacon.

Thanks for the ideas yall.

I didn't feel like having to clean the rotisserie so I just smeared butter over it and put it in the oven. Since there is no skin, I hope this helps it brown some. This should be pretty good for making turkey salad with the left overs. Thanks again.

"You didn't get fat because you ate too much, it was because you ate the wrong kinds of food." ~ Charles

This is the saying now stuck to my refridgerator in place of the kk guidelines.

I am catching on. My ratios for yesterday looked good but my calories were in the 700-750 range. Ratios were 46/6/48 - f/c/p.

Started the day out with bacon and eggs for everyone. Made everyone's lunches today. Nice low carb, fatty protein lunches. They both eat around 12:30-1:00 so I'm interested in seeing how hungry they are when they get home aroun 4:30. They both usually head for the pantry for some carbs. Wait till they get home, the chips etc. are not in the pantry anymore.

This week is Stanford testing and the Otis Lennon Ability testing at school. I'm hoping the change in diet will help keep her from getting tired during the testings.

Thanks to all for the help in making the changes. I already am feeling better, both physically and mentally.

That's a good motto to live by when you're livin' la vida low-carb, Boo!

Boo - You are doing so good. What did you pack them for lunch? I need some ideas.

I'm very suprised, Jimmy, in that link you provided, the comments to your story contained one by Regina Wilshire, one of my favorite low carb all-stars. She talks about a perceived need to count calories in maintenance to accomodate the extra carbs that she added back. If she's counting carbohydrates, I agree. If she's counting total calories, she needs to get back to writing about those Rules we've been missin'

Charles

Thanks, Jazzy. If I can help in any way, please don't hesitate. I've got a new life and new body. I feel obligated to add my two cents, only if it's three cents that someone needs.

Best regards,

Charles

I just wanted to check in.

Mark and Chelsea have not come home nearly as hungry the past 2 days. I have had dinner on the table by 5 or so and then everyone has gone to bed earlier too. The things I have been giving them for lunch seem to be staying with them longer than the carb filled lunches of the past.

I have felt so yucky today. Yesterday I had a bad headache and stayed in bed with an icepack for a good part of the day. This morning I came home after dropping her off at school and threw a steak on the indoor grill for breakast. I couldn't eat it. So I fried up a couple of eggs. Fed those to the dogs. Everytime I have gotten hungry and tried to eat something I have felt nauseous. I was down 1lb today but not being able to get anything down is starting to scare me. I don't want to get used to that again. I have only been able to get down about 2qts of sweet tea today. (using splenda of course ) I'm sure it will pass. Today is day 6 on induction. I pray I hope I hop out of bed tomorrow with that burst of energy and a hearty appetite.

See yall later.

Boo - I am so glad that you checked in. I was getting worried. I was just the opposite the other nite. I thought I had a hollow leg.

Has this non-appetite been going on for awhile for just a few days?

BTW - diggin' the new picture.

Boo:

Make sure you keep those veggies at 20g. There is no need to feel bad on Induction "not even for a single day" as Dr. Atkins said. Adding a little more carb may make you lose more and should take care of the headache. Make sure you take that multi-vitamin and get some potassium. How, lemons, tomatoes, Atkins bar -- all good sources of potassium.

Best regards,

Charles

Hey thanks guys, this thread was the slap upside the head I needed too. Ive felt lost and stalled for a couple of weeks since not following kimkins. Ive wandered around these boards and just cant seem to commit to a plan. I tried to research the Barry Groves plan but it seemed too confusing and since Ive been eating meat and fat and cheese and keeping carbs low Atkins seems like a good transition. Should I have restarted with induction again though? I didnt think it was necessary since I was coming off the other plan but now Im wondering if thats why Im stalled. I have not gained or lost since upping my calories in the last two weeks and for that I am grateful cause I thought it was just gonna take some time to start losing again but now that Im reading that you guys are losing Im not sure what I did wrong. I think what I am getting from your posts is that although upping protein was good I need to drastically up my fat in order to start losing again? I really enjoyed this thread, I hope you guys dont mind if I come along for the ride.
Debbie

Charles - thanks. I am feeling a little better today. The tomato seemed to hit the spot. I still have a headache though. At least with the tomato in my stomach I can take some asprin.

Hilary, starting on the 15th, I have slowly gone from 1036 down. Yesterday was around 400 since all I had was tea. I am planning on eating more today though. My stomach is not as upset. I've already eaten a whole tomato and a cheese stick. I also took some burgers out of the freezer for dinner.

I have that rash on my arms today. The same one I had while doing kk. This is exactly how it all started on kk. Headache, upset stomach and then the rash. I have to figure out what is causing this. The rash doesn't itch or hurt. It's just there and ugly. Covers all of my forearms.

Man I sound whiney. I'm really not whinning. Just tring to figure out what to do to fix this stuff.

Debbie - you're always welcome to come play with us. The more the merrier. Glad to see you decided on a plan too. There are so many people here that are so helpful.

You're transitioning Debbie, so your body will stall or even gain a little in the short term. Don't freak out. The weight will come back down...just keep working the plan, keeping your fat intake up and carb levels reduced. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

Love your avatar now, Boo! You're so pretty.

Thanks Boo and Jimmy. I wasnt too concerned about the stall. Ive gone from 195 to 169 and size 14 pants are getting looser even though no additonal weight has been lost. I play tennis five times a week and have quite a bit of muscle on my frame......everywhere except for my stomach that is but even my stomach has definately flattened out from LC even though theres still no muscle there lol Eventually I will have to start some type of core program to strengthen that area. I look and feel great now so however long it takes to lose the other 40-45 lbs I can be patient. I cant thank you enough Jimmy for starting the forum. Its gonna save so many lives.........you are such a wonderful blessing to so many.
Love Yas
Debbie

I LOVE YAS, too Debbie! It's such an honor to have the opportunity to serve you guys in this capacity and I've been blessed beyond measure at all the love, respect and consideration that everyone has shown to each other. THANK YOU for being a part of that atmosphere here. I am privileged to have you here.

I decided to follow Atkins too and not worry about my calories. I gotta go get me some butter!

I LOVE THIS!!!!

Welcome, Ilovethis!

Debbie, we're really saying eat fattier cuts of meat and you'll take care of the protein and increased fat. Fat is the key, but it's better coming from fattier cuts of meat. Yes, butter, mayo and olive oil are great, but if you do the fattier cuts of meat, you'll get more bang for the buck and there's no need to count.

Charles,
Oh I think I understand now... eating fattier cuts of meats will increase my amount of fat without having to go out of my way to add additional fat. Thanks that makes sense, but I still have another question....can I transition into Atkins from Kimkins,or should I begin again from Induction?
Debbie

Debbie, I went straight from Kimkins to Induction. I didn't add a whole lot of veggies at first, but I gradually added them back in. I was mostly concerned about getting my calories and fat back up where they belonged.

I agree with Amy's strategy, Debbie! Go to Atkins Induction and you'll be fine. You may gain temporarily, but the weight and inches will start coming down within two weeks. GO FOR IT, GIRL!!!

I'm starting Atkins induction tomorrow. After I gave up Kimkins I've been having a hard time sticking to anything. Therefore I will restart my low carb journey...

Maria