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I’ve been following the Atkins induction phase (20 grams of carbohydrate or less a day) for the past seven days. Since then
* I doubt I’ve lost much, if any, fat in just one week but I’m not retaining water at all. At my size, it takes a long time for other people to notice when I’ve lost weight (water or otherwise), but I can tell in the way my underclothing, wedding ring, and shoes fit, as well as how my cheeks look. The purple shirt I wore last Wednesday fits marginally better already. When I limit my intake of simple carbohydrates, I don’t retain water.
* My joints aren’t achy, even first thing in the morning. They hardly ever are when I limit my simple carb intake.
* I’m not craving salty snacks and sweets – even though I’m right in the middle of PMS. I rarely have PMS cravings when I limit my simple carb intake.
* This time last month, I was so fatigued (a common PMS symptom for me) that I felt I could’ve slept 14 hours a day and still not had energy. This month my energy level is way up. I haven’t dozed off at my desk this week (and how embarrassing is it to do that!), even though I’m not getting myself into bed any earlier than a week or two ago. I have plenty of energy for the things I want to do when I limit my simple carb intake.
* I’m not waking in the middle of the night with heartburn or acid reflux and haven’t been eating Rolaids through the day, nor have I been getting stomach aches. When I limit my simple carb intake, I don’t have digestive trouble.
* The dark circles under my eyes are lightening. They’ll never go away completely – they’re hereditary and half my dad’s family looks like someone blackened their eyes – but when I limit my simple carb intake, they’re not as apparent. (At least to me and that’s what matters in this case!)
* Today I have a cold. It’s not a bad one, just an annoyance. In spite of having a cold, I look and feel healthier today than I did two weeks ago – and I wasn’t ill then, nor was I PMS-ing. Limiting my simple carb intake just makes me feel better.
I keep emphasizing limiting my simple carbohydrate intake over “low carbohydrate” or “no carbohydrate” because I think that’s actually the key. I don’t thing eating vegetables or even limited amounts of fruit and whole grains make me feel tire and unhealthy and make me fat – eating flour and sugar does. (And probably corn and potatoes, alas!) The only reason I picked Atkins for now is because I know how to do it, I know it works for me, and I enjoy it. I think I’ll be making the switch to South Beach soon, though, because it seems more doable for Irish. Once I do that, I’ll find out if I’m right about limiting simple carb intake being the key (since South Beach allows more complex carbohydrates than Atkins does almost from the beginning) or if I really do need to cut out whole grains and fruit to feel well all the time.
Now Irish and I just need to get our butts off the couch after supper and take a walk before we read, watch tv, play computer games – all those lovely, sedentary things we like to do!
* I doubt I’ve lost much, if any, fat in just one week but I’m not retaining water at all. At my size, it takes a long time for other people to notice when I’ve lost weight (water or otherwise), but I can tell in the way my underclothing, wedding ring, and shoes fit, as well as how my cheeks look. The purple shirt I wore last Wednesday fits marginally better already. When I limit my intake of simple carbohydrates, I don’t retain water.
* My joints aren’t achy, even first thing in the morning. They hardly ever are when I limit my simple carb intake.
* I’m not craving salty snacks and sweets – even though I’m right in the middle of PMS. I rarely have PMS cravings when I limit my simple carb intake.
* This time last month, I was so fatigued (a common PMS symptom for me) that I felt I could’ve slept 14 hours a day and still not had energy. This month my energy level is way up. I haven’t dozed off at my desk this week (and how embarrassing is it to do that!), even though I’m not getting myself into bed any earlier than a week or two ago. I have plenty of energy for the things I want to do when I limit my simple carb intake.
* I’m not waking in the middle of the night with heartburn or acid reflux and haven’t been eating Rolaids through the day, nor have I been getting stomach aches. When I limit my simple carb intake, I don’t have digestive trouble.
* The dark circles under my eyes are lightening. They’ll never go away completely – they’re hereditary and half my dad’s family looks like someone blackened their eyes – but when I limit my simple carb intake, they’re not as apparent. (At least to me and that’s what matters in this case!)
* Today I have a cold. It’s not a bad one, just an annoyance. In spite of having a cold, I look and feel healthier today than I did two weeks ago – and I wasn’t ill then, nor was I PMS-ing. Limiting my simple carb intake just makes me feel better.
I keep emphasizing limiting my simple carbohydrate intake over “low carbohydrate” or “no carbohydrate” because I think that’s actually the key. I don’t thing eating vegetables or even limited amounts of fruit and whole grains make me feel tire and unhealthy and make me fat – eating flour and sugar does. (And probably corn and potatoes, alas!) The only reason I picked Atkins for now is because I know how to do it, I know it works for me, and I enjoy it. I think I’ll be making the switch to South Beach soon, though, because it seems more doable for Irish. Once I do that, I’ll find out if I’m right about limiting simple carb intake being the key (since South Beach allows more complex carbohydrates than Atkins does almost from the beginning) or if I really do need to cut out whole grains and fruit to feel well all the time.
Now Irish and I just need to get our butts off the couch after supper and take a walk before we read, watch tv, play computer games – all those lovely, sedentary things we like to do!
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