It Is Time...

...for some light reading!  As I've mentioned previously, I had started Atkins.  I am on day 5 of my two week Induction phase.  I've been doing really well!  I've been in Ketosis and feeling great.  I have curbed my appetite.  I'm not hungry constantly.  I've been making better food choices.  For example, when I want a snack instead of bad food or even food that I'm allowed but tend to binge on I would choose green peppers or something to that effect.  This is a huge deal!  I NEVER eat veggies.  I am trying very hard to make sure I get my vegetables in.  I've never eaten so many veggies willingly before.  Past attempts at Atkins I didn't even eat enough vegetables.  This time is different.  It's amazing.

Even though I have done this way of life many times, I tend to forget important details of the lifestyle.  So I searched in our numerous boxes of books and found my Atkins book and started re-reading it.  It's a good read and it's full of information that will help me succeed and do this correctly.  I do want to mention that I am reading the 2002 version of the book.  This was the last book that Dr. Atkins himself wrote before he passed away.  I find reading this version to be the best version to read.  Any versions of the book that have been released since Dr. Atkins passed are all about selling the products (bars, shakes, etc.).  Now those products aren't bad but they are misleading.  The website and current editions of the book say that all these products are good for any stage of Atkins, but that just isn't true.  For example, the bars are full of nuts.  Nuts aren't allowed until the next stage of Atkins (On Going Weight Loss Rung 3).  For me, I am going to do what Dr. Atkins originally wrote about.  Later on in Atkins I will start adding the shakes and bars (I LOVE the shakes, but I'm not allowed to have them yet).

The main differences between the 2002 edition and the more recent publications are rather large in my opinion: The Induction vegetable amount, the fluids that count as the daily water amount, the sodium intake thing, no Alcohol Rung in OWL Phase, a separate "milk rung" in OWL, a "juice rung" in OWL, Pre-Maintenance (just to name a few).  So for me, the 2002 version is working.  I don't know if I've lost any weight but I feel a whole heck of a lot better (weigh day is Wednesday).  I'm winning the battles!  I haven't had very bad cravings, and any cravings that I do have I have not given into them.  My aversion to veggies is slowly subsiding which is pretty awesome.  I never saw myself as someone who would like veggies.  This alone is pretty awesome. 

To follow up on the gum chewing post, I have really put an end to that issue.  I still chew gum every now and again but not as much as I have been.  It was causing major sugar cravings and because of that I knew I had to stop chewing so much gum.  Instead when I have the urge to chew gum or eat something when I'm not hungry, (still working on this habit...) I drink my water.  I drink a lot of water and this seems to help.  It helps in curbing the bad habit, any cravings, and it helps me from binging or over-eating.  I'm almost done with the 1st week of Induction, and I'm working out...I feel great!