Hi all,

Was reading past threads on people in Calgary doing Atkins and the Low Carb thing. Any active get-togethers or anything going on?

I'm on my 2nd day of induction and lost 5 pounds - am very gung ho. Lost 45 pounds with my hubby doing low fat/low cal but I reached a plateau last November and nothing has worked to move me. I've come to realize that carbs are my enemy and I want to lose this last 40 pounds before Christmas and fit into this fabulous dress I want to have made.

Looking forward to any support/messages and possible get-togethers that may happen. Love to talk to others in the same boat.

Lynn

Hi CalgaryLyn!

I'm a new user too, just joined yesterday. Its so nice to meet someone who has lost a significant amount and then hit a plateau and now ready to take off the rest. That is me exactly!!

I've been on a low-carb diet for 1 year now and I've lost 52 pounds. I started with Atkins, then after about a week I switched to Suzanne Somers. I really missed the fruit so I liked her diet better. I started combing the two and then hit a plateau for about 3 months. Now, I'm just sticking with Suzanne Somers (i.e., not allowing nuts like Atkins does). I think that is helping. I also exercise a minimum of 3 times per week.



Its really nice to meet another Calgarian! Keep in touch!

Cheers,

Tracy

Glad to see I'm not alone here!

What part of the city do you live in? I"m in the S.E. in Riverbend and I work downtown.

Have you been to the Diabetic Depot yet? I'm thinking of heading over there sometime on the weekend. But I'm reluctant to - I've lost 8 pounds in 2 days of induction and I don't want to mess with it even though I'm missing bread in a huge way.

Thanks for responding!

Hey!

8 lbs! Good for you!

I live in Woodbine and work at the University.

I've never been to the Diabetic Depot. Where is it? Would you be able to buy low carb bread there?

I found after 1 week on Atkins or Suzanne Somers, the bread cravings went away. Just hang in there!

Atkins bars have been my saviour through this lifestyle change. They satisfy my sweet tooth and are totally legal to have. You can buy them at Costco (south) or just recently at Superstore.

TTYL,

Tracy

Here is the address:

#4, 4604 - 37 St. SW
Calgary,Alberta
T3E 3C9 Canada
Tel: (403) 685-4010 Fax: (403) 685-5995

It is a block or two north of the Glenmore Trail on 37th St.

They have a good selection of LC stuff. Advantage bars at the same prices as the big stores, Old Dutch brand pork rinds (also at Safeway), Thicken Thin, lots of sugar free sauces & syrups, Lakeview LC bread, Keto spaghetti & ketchup, and Pastalia brand fettuccini ...

You also get a good feeling of dealing with a true local small business. The lady who runs the shop is fairly knowlegable and has at least tried most of her product.

Other sources of product are: GNC - for supplements (the mega formulas are very close to Atikins and are time released, you may want to add chromium &/or potassium) - and alternatives to Atkins shake mix (which I don't recall actually seeing anywhere).

Community Natural Foods - Across for the Chinook C-Train Station. Has Advantage Bars, Atkins Bake Mix, Rasp & Maple Syrup- and a large bulk foods section for your Soy Flour, Psylium Husks, Wheat Bran etc.

Healing Alternatives - Had Endulge Chocolates (Atkins candy bars, a bit "waxy" but decent flavour.) The proprietor said she was constantly ordering more Atkins stuff (has a big sign on her window) but was not getting all she orders.

Now I am looking for that there RC Diet Cola (with Splenda) and "Thin Ice" cooler, anyone?

Dez

Hey Dez - thanks for posting all that info!! I'm gonna head over there this weekend and check it out. I'm a little leary of the bars but I'd really like to re-introduce some sort of low-carb bread next week. I really miss it.

What part of the city are you in Dez? Would be really cool if we could get a group of Calgarians together for a coffee or something and talk low carb and life!

Tracey - you're making some remarkable progress on your plan - congratulations! I hope to be like you one day. By the way, how did you post your pic so that it shows up when you post all the time?

Have a great Friday - the sun is shining!!

Morning!

Thanks alot for the Diabetic Depot information Dez and all of the other low-carb tips. This message board is extremely helpful!! I have a colleague who has gestational diabetes and she's heading over to the DD this weekend. She's really excited. I will definitely check it out too. Sounds wonderful!

I'd be interested in getting together for coffee and chatting or starting up a support group. I think its a wonderful idea, Lynn.

If you want to set your picture up, click on your profile, then the avatar link and then upload your picture as your avatar. If you have any troubles let me know.

How is induction going?

Cheers!

Tracy

Induction is marvelous today. Zero cravings, feeling energetic, no headaches - just feel plain great!! Day 4 - still 8 pounds but I'm pretty happy with the success so far.

What's made me even happier is that I went to the Diabetic Depot at lunch and bought a pile of lo-carb stuff. Hot cereal, flax meal for pancakes, pancake syrup, pork rinds (divine if you're in the mood for a chip!), carb-free mints and candies, carb-free ketchup (a biggie for me if I"m gonna eat eggs). Well worth the trip there for sure!

I've also managed to recruit 5 women to do Atkins with me just based on my results alone. My book is gone on permanent loan to everyone who wants to read it. I'm very happy about having buddies here at work that will feel my pain on not-so-great days.

Is your hubby doing lo-carb with you or are you on it all by your lonesome? I really enjoyed losing the first half of my weight with my hubby and am finding it a bit more difficult modifying things for myself and resisting temptation at dinner time (mmmm...perogies) but I'm determined to do it. He's also a bit skeptical but I guess time will tell when I"m a skinny lynny!!

How about you Dez - how's your journey been?

Hi everyone

I'm in Calgary as well, up in Arbour Lake (NW), which is my office as well (hubby and I are computer techies and have a software company run out of a home office).

I've been following the Somersizing plan since the end of April and have had great success. Atkin's didn't work for me because I felt sick/dizzy/tired during the induction phase and found it too restrictive. But I agree that LC is the way to go as long as you can find a plan that works.

I too have just found out about the Diabetic Depot but haven't made it down there yet. I found out AFTER I'd ordered some low/no-carb stuff from a Canadian site, but I'll still check it out. I too, reminisce about the days I could have perogies. I actually bought a ZeroCarb bake mix from that site I mentioned because they originally say you can use it in place of flour. I thought "Perogies, here I come!". Sadly, it doesn't quite work that way so it may be one of those things I can have now and then once I've reached my goal. ThickenThin not/Starch works GREAT for gravies and sauces if you've never tried it. I'll be interested to see the prices compared to buying online.

BTW, there's a Community Natural Foods downtown as well as the one by Chinook (10th Street and just about 14th Ave SW)

I've got a girlfriend of mine and her sister who are also Somersizing but otherwise I don't really know of anyone fighting with their weight so it's good to meet you all.

Hi everyone and welcome to Davista!

Your induction sounds like its going great, Lynn! I'm very happy for you. Can you give me a run-down on what you normally eat during induction? I'm hoping you have some better food ideas than I've had during that phase.

Thanks to your note on Friday about the Diabetic Depot, my husband and I popped in there on Saturday. First of all, what a wonderful woman who owns it. She's very knowledgeable and gives you a run-down on the products you are purchasing. She gives helpful suggestions as well. I purchased bread, hot cereal, granola, and pork puffs. The bread is fantastic, I must say. So are the cereals. WOW! I was also happy to find ketchup. I'm with you on the egg and ketchup thing, Lynn! I bought some of Atkins "Ketch a Tomato" in the States in June but of course you can't buy it here. I'm interested to see how good the keto ketchup is because Atkins is really good.

My husband isn't following the low carb diet, however he works eves and I work days so I'm not cooking for him all week. On the weekends, we eat what I can eat for supper and to be honest, he loves it. Occasionally, I'll make him some potatoes or corn, but normally, he sticks with the low carb on the weekend.

I think its cool that you are sharing your books. As we lose weight, its amazing how it inspires others. My brother lost 60 lbs on Atkins and he loved food as much as I did. I figured if he can do it and keep it off then I sure as heck can! I'm so grateful for this WOE! Its something I can stick with forever!

Talk to you all later!

Evening all!

Glad you made it to the DD Tracey. They have such great stuff there. I had the flax cereal this morning - vanilla almond and it was terrific - very filling, couldn't even finish it all!! The ketchup when mixed with mustard on top of a big fat hamburger from the Superstore (cheesy sirloin burgers with ZERO carbs!!) is just like the regular stuff. I like their mints there - got some licorice ones that do the trick when I think my breath may be a bit keto-stinky.

Haven't really come up with "great" ideas for meals. Managed to branch into Kale for a green vegetable tonight to go along with the burgers. I bought an omelet pan for the microwave that I use at work. Can't wait to try the flax pancakes - bought some DaVinci syrup to go on them, but I'm pretty happy this week with the flax cereal and eggs so I might wait until next weekend to try those. I find that I eat pepperoni and cooked sausage-type foods and celery for lunch rather than a salad. It's tough to find variety for sure. Haven't been able to give up that one cup of coffee in the morning - don't think that will happen. But that's my only "vice" in induction and it doesn't seem to be affecting things yet. Hopefully tomorrow I'll see a pound or two more off since I rowed the boat while the hubby fished all day today!!

Can't wait to get to work tomorrow and see how many of the 5 are really going to do this with me.

Big challenge next weekend - have a wedding on Saturday night. I"m not done my 14th day of induction until a week Tuesday and I'm thinking I want to stay on it as long as it's working well, so I'm in a bit of a quandry about whether or not I blow it all on Saturday with food and drink and start clean on Sunday. I'd really like to be able to have a few drinks, but I don't even really crave anything enough to blow the food part. I can't believe how much I don't crave. Made my son peanut butter and jam sandwiches for lunch today in the - they are my absolute fave and I didn't even miss them. I don't want to go through withdrawals again so maybe I'll be a good girl LOL

Sheesh.....what a short weekend. Back to it tomorrow.

Have a good Monday!!

Lynn, that is so cool the cravings are gone!! When my brother started Atkins (he's lost 60 lbs and kept it off for over a year), he told me the cravings would be gone within a week and they sure as heck were! I was so happy! That is why low fat diets or Weight Watchers didn't work for me because I never got off the carbs so I never stopped craving them. Its so good to be free of them!

I'm so happy for this forum because sometimes I feel like no one out there understands the low-carb WOE. It will be nice when the major grocers like Safeway and Co-op get on board and really give us a low-carb alternative. I wrote to Canada Safeway and asked them to forward my note to the Woodbine Safeway about carrying low carb products. We'll see if they do anything about it. The more of us that speak up and ask for our alternative, the quicker they will respond I suppose.

Thanks for the tip on the Superstore hamburgers. I'll give them a try! How are the people at work doing? There is one lady here who tried Atkins for 5 days and gave up. Another has been doing low-carb since January and she's lost 20 lbs but doesn't stick with it all the time. I think people need to realize that this isn't a diet, its a WAY OF EATING forever.

TTYL,

Hi Tracey,

Well I did my one-week weigh-in and I'm down 11 pounds. I know this won't continue but I'm very happy. It exceeded all my expectations. It's funny though - the only thing I still really crave is fruit - especially bananas. But my clothes are way looser and I"m on my way to a size 14 so I'm pretty stoked.

I talked with the manager at IGA yesterday about L/C stuff. They sell Splenda, Jello Light and the pork rinds so are conscious of it. But still not quite there as far as I'm concerned.

Girls at work are on day 2. Feeling all the symptoms of carb detox but I think they have staying power. We all set our goals and we'll share our victories so it will be a good support network.

I actually frequent another BB as well - www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com and have found a couple of Calgary ladies there as well. Plus the amount of information that gets shared is phenomenal. Check it out if you get the chance!

Wow! You all have done so well! Congrats! I came accross this thread today and just had to say "hi"...I also live in Calgary, and have been LC since Dec 2002. It hasn't always been easy, and hell, I fell off the wagon with a couple big servings of Fries Supreme(mmmmm, Taco Bell).
I have also found Diabetic Depot to be wonderfull, the owner (Brenda) is fantastic. I have tried a good 75% of her LC products. I live in the NW, in Edgemont, so driving out there is a trip, but worth it.
BTW, there are no diet colas sweetened with Splenda avail in Canada.

I finally managed to get down to the Diabetic Depot yesterday (I'm also in the NW and so it's a bit of a drive) but sadly the wonderful owner I've heard so much about wasn't there. Just a very large man behind the counter who looked either bored or irritated (I couldn't tell which) and who didn't have a single clue about any of the products. But it didn't stop me from buying a few things and I will definitely go back for more.