yeah…I’ll get right on that…
The first time I did Atkins I lost 52lbs. After that I never really could go back to low carb and stick with it. I lost 10-20lbs on a couple of occasions doing it but it’s hard to maintain. I get tired of hamburgers all the time.
I did get quite creative and made a pizza dough from crumbled pork rinds and eggs. Didn’t taste bad. Now they have low carb flat breads and such.
When I lost 52lbs my carb intake during the day was like 6 carbs. I saved my carbs so I could drink a sixer of Mich Ultra at night, lol.
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Balancing your diet is so much better for you than cutting out carbs. You need to have them in your diet, especially if you have an active lifestyle and or work out. Big weight losses at the start of a diet are so misleading as it’s usually water weight, things really start to slow down after that.
17.4 carbs… 6 mich ultras is 17.4 carbs (<<in my best rain man voice)
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Oh yes, I know all about water weight. 
I was just having this conversation today about a balanced diet. As I get closer to my goal weight, I’m able to balance it out more and more. I was up to 300 pounds at my heaviest after having my first daughter. I’ve tried everything, every diet, clean eating, spin classes, working out 5 nights a week, counting calories, etc etc and nothing has given me results like low carb eating. My carbs are low enough to make a lot of people uncomfortable, I know. But by doing so I get my body into ketosis and I’m burning fat for fuel rather than depending on carbs for fuel. And quite honestly, I don’t work out right now. I mean I get on the stair master now and then, and I’m a stay at home mom of four so I’m anything but sedentary. But I’m not in the gym lifting, and I’m not training for a marathon or anything. So carbs just build up and turn into fat. I feel wonderful and clear headed when I limit my carbs, unlike when I try to restrict fat and calories. It works for me (I’ve seen the results!) but I know it’s not for everyone. You do what works for you!
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Your situation is a good example of when that really works. I was talking in general terms. I know too many people that go in for fad diets and have no idea what they’re doing. Congratulations on your results and keep up the good work.
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So I cheated a little on induction 
I had to have my beer. Back then I thought Atkins was the best diet ever. “You mean I can drink beer and lose 50lbs? Sign me up”!!
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I’m not as low in carbs as I know I should be to lose (currently around 30-40 and need to be at <20 from what I’ve found), but I’m well maintaining what I have lost and I feel great eating this way. I love the food, I feel clear headed and more energetic, I’m not constantly feeling like I’m starving to death, and I’m all around happier. I’ve found some creative ways to sub stuff and get some variety without eating hundreds of carbs. That being said, I keep vacillating between “Do I really buckle down before Christmas and try to get lower?” and “Meh, I’ll keep with what I’ve got and cut after the holidays.” LoL.
My struggles lately have been mostly due to lack of time. I’m hoping that will change and I’ll be able to do more weekend prep so I don’t have to worry as much during the week about cooking. Since we’ve been doing ‘fast and dirty’ we’ve been using a lot of “low carb” tortillas and high-fiber or sugar free bread to do things like wraps and sandwiches. It’s not a ton of carbs but it certainly adds up. Fresh vegetables tend to go bad before I figure out what to do with them so we do mostly frozen but that takes time as well. Microwave steamable veggie bags are a life saver, but they’re expensive. I need a microwave steamer. 
My morning latte was an interesting thing to figure out. I was using sugary syrup (Torani salted caramel yumms!!) and whole milk. I tried half and half watered down a little, cashew milk, soy milk, and almond milk. I settled on splenda, flavor concentrates (Inawera creme brulee is really good), and 80% unsweetened almond milk and 20% half and half for the milk. It’s not exactly the same, but it works and I have come to like it a lot. Except, with the holidays, I’ve started using “sugar free” pumpkin spice creamer. It’s yummy but I’m pretty sure it is sabotaging me.
For the most part, I’ve been sticking with it. The hardest for me is when I’m with family. I did take a break on Thanksgiving and gave myself permission to eat everything. 
I hate having to explain to people how I eat and deal with the well-meaning but exhausting: “That’s not healthy, you shouldn’t do that, you’re eating too much fat, etc.” speeches. Low-fat, low-cal dieting got me 60 pounds down, and I’m glad, but it also gave me gallbladder issues in the process. I’m not keen to have it removed so I deal with it, but I don’t want it to get worse and eating this way has seemed to really help. I don’t get attacks as often as I was and when I do they aren’t as bad. Far from scientific evidence, but it works for me.
So, I’d say I’m 70% succeeding right now. I’m glad you bumped this thread cuz now I have more motivation to get with the program again. 
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I used to think this, but putting fresh veggies in a plastic jug, pouring boiling water in then microwave them for 5 minutes and its as good as. Better actually, I do brocc sprouts thin beans cauli and kale in there then take it work, grate cheese on and warm it up for a min and a half. Delicious 
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I stock up on the birdseye bags when they are on sale to eat when I run out of fresh veggies and don’t feel like a trip to the store. I eat a whole bag by myself as a snack/side, sometimes as the whole meal. Reynolds makes steamer bags you can use for fresh veggies but they don’t work quite as well as the birdseye bags IMO.
I did the low cal low carb thing when I started trying to lose some weight in 2013. Then I went paleo, flexitarian, vegitarian and even tried vegan (lol I failed hard). Now I am back to flexitarian where I get 10 - 20% of my daily cals from Meat (not counting dairy/eggs). Some days I won’t eat any meat.
I went from 200+ to 145 pounds (5’ 8" frame) and actually had a hard time maintaining weight after dieting for 3+ years until I got a step tracker I could use with my calorie tracker to better track my calorie burn instead of just using my phone. I tried Fossil Q with MyFitnessPal, then Fitbit with MFP and finally settled on just using FitBit for everything. Now that I am at my ideal weight I go with a lowish carb higher fat goal on days I don’t drink (typical macros are between 30C/50F/20P and 30C/40F/30P). On Bourbon (no carbs) drinking days my carbs (and total cals) go thru the roof when I get the munchies. As long as I keep the drinking days separated by day or two of not drinking I have been able to maintain my weight +/- 2 to 3 pounds since getting my fitbit in July.
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If they’re frozen veg I bung them in a bowl with a tablespoon of cold water, sheet of kitchen paper towel on top (kind of helps absorb some steam), 3.5 minutes and done! It’s defo cheaper than the ready to steam bags
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It’s hard to get much cheaper than birdseye bags when they are on sale for $1 each but that doesn’t happen often at my Kroger. Can often find them on sale for $1.50 a bag though. I don’t mind having to pay $1 to $1.50 for the convenience of not having to trim/cook and wash the cutting board/knives.
I am a big fan of raw veggies though too. Yesterday for my dinner side I had diced tomato, cucumber and onion covered in cottage cheese and jalapeno hot sauce since I didn’t have any spinach for a salad that I would normally put those veggies in.
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I have this on pretty much everything lol!
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These silicone steamers are great. Throw some raw chicken and veg and cook in minutes. Easy to clean and since they’re silicone rubber storage is no problem (squish!)
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Awesome, way to go!
I feel ya. Although my family is pretty cool about it. My mom is on a low carb diet and my little brother who is a personal trainer has done keto on and off several times, so they don’t give me any grief if they see me skipping the bread and buttering my bacon… 
Do you ever do bullet proof coffee? Coconut oil, butter, sf sweetener (optional) goes in the blender with your coffee, it’s quite tasty! And with all our flavors the choices are endless (I like fw coconut cream pie in mine. Mmmm!)
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I’ve heard of the bullet proof coffee, but I am not sure how to do it with an espresso machine and I’m not willing to give that up. The ritual of making the coffee has become as important as the coffee itself. I’ve tried putting the coconut oil in the milk when I froth it and it works okay. Also putting it in with the espresso and frothing it works (better than the milk) but it messes up the separation of the espresso and crema and then my latte art (which, admittedly is somewhere between medical text illustrations and jackson pollock paintings) comes out looking funny–er. I know, I’m a snob. LoL.
So I got a message from my physician that my cholesterol is a little high. It was way high before I lost weight, then it went down to the ‘black’ and since being on LC, it’s gotten slightly elevated. He wants to put me on meds, but no way jose. If it were dangerously high I might consider it, but it’s only slightly high and the benefits don’t outweigh the risks (lowered IQ! I need my braimses! LoL). Anyone else had this convo with their doc before and have tips? He’s pretty good, I like him a lot, but he’s fresh outta med school (I go to a teaching hospital’s clinic) and pretty well indoctrinated that fat is bad and carbs are crucial.
Made some LC shake and bake chicken wings with broccoli and cheese…stuff…for dinner. Did about a bag of hot and spicy pork rinds from Aldi in the blender with ~1/4c flax meal and a couple tablespoons of almond flour. Then shakey shakey in a gallon ziploc. They turned out great. Sprinkled a little tiny bit of ranch popcorn seasoning on them. Yum. The cheese was an oopsie…thought it was queso blanco and it was queso fresco. Turns out they are definitely not the same thing. LOL. I was hoping to have a cheese sauce and it wound up more like ricotta. Ate it anyway. It was good.
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I just went to Aldi last night and I was in heaven. They have all their fancy holiday cheese stocked! I love cheese. 
(Don’t worry, I bought more than just cheese.)
11 days back on track, 12 lbs down!
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Yep, I’m digging this thread back out… Lol!
I’m down almost 30lbs since Thanksgiving! I just had to share my excitement.
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Yup I need to change it up a bit too have to get ready for the wedding in June I just sent a join request! Thanks
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Wow that was quick… And approved
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