Day 14 - 74.5kg/163.9lbs

So two weeks in and I am down 5kg (11lbs) from my hightest weight and down 2.5kg (5.5lbs) in the last two weeks. I am aiming to lose .8kg (1.76lbs) per week, this seems like a sensible amount to lose. It will take me six months at this rate, but six months seems like a manageable amount of time.

I haven’t added in exercise yet, and Im not really sure why. Last year I was making it to the gym about 4-5 times a week. Doing both weights and cardio…. now….. nothing! I actually live closer to the gym now, I can walk there in 4 minutes.

Well my birthday is 6 weeks away and I would like to be back down to 70kg so I can wear some of my nice clothes, and I know that I can’t do it with food alone. I am really looking forward to adding more red and orange vegies into my diet, and I really miss the nuts I use to eat….

This weeks goal…. get to the gym friday night and sometime sunday.

Wish me luck, cos I really need it!

Day 6 - 75.8kg/166.8lbs

So it feels like the hardest part is over for the moment. Ive gotten through the first five days without any major issues. The head aches are gone and I feel strong enough to go the the gym. I made it there yesterday, but just to weigh myself. 75.8kg (166.8lbs) so I’ve lost 1.3kg (2.9lbd) which is not bad considering that I haven’t started the exercise part yet!

Why did I choose atkins and what exactly am I doing?

My sister went on a “no sugar” diet at the beginning of the year. She has two kids and has been carrying nearly all her baby weight since her little girl was born six years ago! Her and her husband have lost weight together over the last six years, but always put it back on. So she went to her Doctor and was given a program that involved stages… the first two weeks were really strict and then it eased up a bit. No pasta, potatoes, sugar, chocolate, soft drinks, fruit, fruit juice. Sounded just like Atkins to me! So I re-read the basic principles on the Atkins Website and went and did the grocery shopping.

What have I been eating for the last five days? Smoked salmon, Chicken breast, Kangaroo, Avocado, Cheese, Olives, Cucumber, Cos lettuce, Coffee (1 cup per day). I made mini-frittatas with chicken and leek in them and they have gotten me through the hardest moments.

The key to doing this successfully (well in the first week anyway) is to be prepared. After I did the grocery shop I cubed up half the cheese and cucumber so I would always have something to grab, the mini-frittats have a great flavour so when you have one you actually feel like its a bit of a treat anyway. I always have drank my 2 litres of water a day so that wasn’t a problem starting. What has been hard is cutting my coffee back to one cup in the morning - I was drinking about three a day (thats 30g of sugar just in the coffee!).

Atkins induction ( the first two weeks) is 20g net carbs per day. Ive been sitting about 22-26g per day which I am very happy with. The next step is adding in the exercise….

Day 4

Hey there

I have survived the first three days. Man they were hard, and I pretty much felt like shit for all of them. Tired, headachey, cramps, grumpy…. Today… well today I felt clear. I felt good… and just a little bit thinner!

There was a hairy moment on day two when I thought I was going to be out of the house for about an hour and it turned into three. I hadn’t taken any food with me…. I felt so sick and people kept offering me bread or potatoes. Mad dash to the closest supermarket and I bought cheese and smoked salmon.

I feel good enough to get to the gym tomorrow morning, so I will weigh myself then. Im looking forward to incorporating cardio and weights.

Bigger update on day 6

joey

Day 1

So its Friday and its day 1of 182. Man that is a scary number!

Im doing the whole low-carb/Atkins thing and I feel a little weird writing that down!

I have to say that I really feel like shit….oh wait the bottle of white wine and the half bottle of vodka might have something to do with it! In all my wisdom I decided that seeing as there is no alcohol for two weeks I should drink a ridiculous amount in some sort of goodbye… I wouldn’t recommend it, but I’m certain I would do it again.

My starting weight is 77.1kg (169.6lbs). I will be sticking to the 20g carb limit for the first two weeks and then re-evaluating. Also there will be no exercise for the first 3-4 days while my body gets use to burning ketones instead of sugar.

There is a post coming about Atkins Anger, just at the moment it looks like a four-year old wrote it… thats what excessive drinking will do to you!

Later

Goals

There is so much stuff out there, about weight loss, about positive thinking , about goal setting. Just a basic internet search will find all this stuff and you can spend days reading all about it. Spend weeks doing on-line quizzes and exercises.

But how do you really come to terms with your goals. My long term goal is to lose 20kg (44lbs). I know what I will look like, because I’ve been at that weight before. I will be able to rescue a whole lot of clothes from garbage bag hell and I will be able to buy a normal size bra that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

But my mind doesn’t really get it, I have to remove 20kg (44lbs - 154000 calories) from my body. Every single day for the next six months (26 weeks - 182 days) I have to consider what I eat, I have to plan exercise (and do it)…

So I put it off… because 182 days is a long time. I will start next week because this week we have two dinners to attend. I will start next week because I had extra work on this week. I will start next week, because this week is nearly over.

Actually I’m going to start this Friday, because that is the first day I can do a proper grocery shop and get to the gym. So two days to plan and then its on - no matter what my mind thinks!