Day 55 - Meat Fast Results and Cheesecake

CW: 266.8

My meat only days are over. In fact, they only lasted about 4 days. This is for various reasons, but mainly because it is recommended not to stay on a meat only fast for too long because it will lead to constipation, irritability, huge grocery bills... etc. But, I do believe that I actually might start doing it for three days out of every week. 3/7 meat only. It is not as difficult as it seems and it does decrease your appetite.

For instance, even after going off of the meat only way of eating, for the next few days, I was still not all that hungry. One day all I ate was a three cup salad with ranch, a 10 ounce piece of salmon, and three eggs. This is a huge decrease from how much I was eating in the past.

It did bump my weight down quickly. I am now 266.8, which means I am averaging about a 10 pound loss per month. Healthy, no?

Obviously I would like to be losing faster, but I cannot complain about 10 pound monthly losses. In the past I have crashed the weight off and so it came off very quickly... The bad part about this was that I couldn't stick to the crash diets as a lifetime maintenance plan and so as fast as the weight came off, it came back on just as quickly... if not quicker.

Therefore, I am okay with this 10 pound loss. It is quite good. Still no cheating.

55 Days and going strong...

Oh! I also made Atkins Cheesecake!


My friends and family loved it! :)

Recipe can be found here: http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/recipereview/showproduct.php?product=901

Day 48 - Meat Only.

CW: 269.2

I was getting frustrated with the "slow" weight loss, so I decided to try a Meat, Egg, Fat fast. Basically what this means is that I can no longer eat vegetables or cheese. I thought this would be surprisingly hard but it has been pretty simple.

This is supposed to push you hard into ketosis and stimulate weight loss again. Basically, I am just using it to get back to basics and to make sure that I am not over eating my carbs.

We will see how well it goes.

Day 42 - Processed Foods

CW: 271

On the last day of my sixth week, I feel like the diet has been a success. I have lost an average of 20 pounds... it goes up and down based on the day.

I have learned that I am still not good at eating in moderation and my stomach rebels when I eat too much processed food.

On the whole, I am eating a lot healthier and a whole lot more whole food... which I do believe is the main purpose of this diet.

I would like to have lost more weight, but I feel pretty good eating this way and my energy is up.

Sometimes, I do have to remind myself that my worst day on Atkins is still better than my best day before Atkins...

It is difficult resisting certain foods. Lately, it has been popcorn and cupcakes. But, you just have to remind yourself that you want to be thin more than you want that momentary taste on your tongue.

Day 41 - Sugar Free Candy.

I have been going crazy with the sugar free candy since I just recently found out that I am allowed to subtract the sugar alcohols from the total carb count...

When I first got the candy, I thought, Whoopee! I can eat chocolate and life savers and werther's!

And while all of this is true... it makes my stomach horribly hurt.

And it contributes to the gas that I am already experiencing from all of the salads.

I guess that I just need to eat it in moderation... like one piece a day, because it has been painful.

Day 37. - Frustration and constipation.

Warning: TMI entry.

I have not lost weight on the scale in a week.

This should be okay, considering how much weight I have lost so far. Yet, it is really frustrating.
In addition to this frustration, I am... constipated.

I thought I would avoid this common Atkins pitfall by eating a lot more vegetables than I am supposed to be eating. This worked for the first 5 weeks, but in this sixth week, it is... how should you say... not.

And, another issue is that when I do manage to... have to go... it is like all of it in one day, constantly running to the restroom.

Day 35 - Boredom.

As this is the last day of my 5th week, I felt I must write an entry.

I feel like I must be blatantly honest.

I am getting a bit bored with my current way of eating. I am craving chocolate a great deal. Along with ice cream, donuts, quesadillas, pizza, sour patch kids, french fries, mashed potatoes, and cinnamon rolls.



Also, I still am not a fan of water and I still avoid it like the plague.

I have also noticed that as I become more bored with this way of eating, I become less satisfied with the amount of weight I've lost...

I think, one cupcake will not hinder this. One Hershey kiss... just one.

What really keeps me from cheating at this point is knowing that I have gone 35 days without cheating and if I do so much as put one forbidden morsel in my mouth, the countdown starts over.

Right now, the goal is simply to get to 40. 40 days of deprivation. Though, I must admit, up until very recently, I did not feel deprived at all.

I don't know why it is hitting now.

I think it is the realization that I eat the same things over and over again. It's time to spice up my menu a bit.

Day 33 - Diet Police.

Throughout this entire dieting/lifestyle changing experience, my roommate has been good about keeping me on track.

Her mere presence keeps me from going off plan because even though she is not following the plan with me and she is not really on any kind of healthy eating regimen herself, it just helps knowing that she knows what I am supposed to be doing.



It's kind of like... I feel as though if this will succeed for me and I can be healthy, then maybe it will motivate those around me to do it as well. I don't want to let myself down because I feel like this is my last chance.

I am so tired of dieting, so tired of trying... this has to be it.

And so far, I have had nothing that was not on plan.... with the exception of diet coke.

But as for my roommate being the diet police, I say this in an endearing way. When we are going somewhere, she will be the one to ask what they have and to explain my eating situation... and then to ask me if I can have certain things, etc. etc... it has actually been extremely helpful.

It lets me know that she is super supportive of me and wants me to succeed and everybody needs that.

Day 31 - Eating Out Difficulties.

CW: 275

Tonight, I went out with my friends to a Thai restaurant.

Now, up until now, I have been able to find something that I could eat anytime I dined out. I never thought that a Thai restaurant would turn out to be the one place that I could not find anything safe.

I decided to order a dish with Beef and Vegetables. Without the sauce. I asked for them to sauteed it in olive oil to which the server said that they don't sauteed... they can only steam because everything is cooked in a wok. So, I said, that's fine, just steam it all.

Not fine. Terrible. The food tasted bland without the seasoning but the seasoning definitely had too many carbs in it.

So, I took the food home, sauteed it myself in olive oil and made a dip out of sour cream. It tasted delicious.

Still, not a fan of having to pay $15 for a meal I still have to go home and dress up myself.

Day 30. - What is up with this slow weight loss!

CW: 275

I feel like the scale won't budge! It is frustrating.

Watching TV shows like The Biggest Loser and I Used To Be Fat makes me feel like such a failure for only losing 15 pounds in a month. These people are losing at least a pound a day... I need to step it up.

So, on that note, I am going to add a workout routine with a final end goal.

I am going to train to WALK the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville on April 30th. The time limit for completion of this event is 4 hours, which is approximately an 18 minute mile... this is a slow mile...

STILL, my mile is currently more like a 20 minute mile.

I did look up the final finishing times for last years race and the final finisher finished at 4hrs and 45 minutes... so I know they won't kick me off the course or anything and finishing is.... well... finishing.

I found a training schedule and am starting this tomorrow.

Now, of course, the goal is to burn an extra 3500 calories a week in order to lose an additional pound each week. And, also... to get in better shape, better health... blahblahblah... ;)

Day 28. - Yes, Ketosis makes your pee smell.

CW: 275.2

Today is my 28th day on the Atkins diet. So far, I have lost 15.2 pounds. I would have lost more had it not been for the cough syrup fiasco.

I noticed while using the facilities earlier today that my pee smelled. It is a familiar smell to me now and it is a good smell in that it indicates that one is in ketosis. This means that you are in prime fat burning mode.

Now, I don't like this smell, and in fact, I shower a lot more than I used to, but it is interesting that your urine changes smells based on what you eat and based on your lack of carbs...

Day 27. - Short term goal - Skydiving!

A few days ago I decided that I wanted to go skydiving for my 26th birthday...

So, I looked it up and right there in black and white was the weight limit... 220 pounds. Now, I know that that seems like a lot of weight to most of you, but to me, it is 56.6 pounds away from where I currently am.

Therefore, that is my new goal... to weigh 210 before my 26th birthday on May 18th... 66.6 pounds... now. I know that this is pushing it, but I am definitely going to try.

approximately .5 pounds a day. Yes, definitely pushing it a little hard. Still, it's worth a shot and it is good motivation not to cheat one single day.