*snickers* You shoulda seen my DH before starting Atkins! I declare! The man never tucks in a shirt, always wears t-shirts or polo-type-shirts, and the bottoms were hanging out away from his body! I was going to take a picture of him tonight (will get one later, though) and he asked, 'Why, so you could put it on the web?' And I said, 'Yeah, right beside that one of you sitting topless at your PC with the 'pregnant belly'! Before and after pictures, right? Anyway, he's sure looking a lot better and feeling so much better, too! It took him under two weeks to go down an entire pant size. Now, though, it's not coming off so fast, but he and I both know it will eventually.

Mistakes
1. Having nuts in the house.
2. Taking NeoCitran (20g carbs).
3. Taking dizziness as a signal that I need more carbs.
4. Eating carbs so that I lose no more than 5# per week (chickened out after losing 5 for the week).
5. Accepting wheat bread, apple juice etc. when eating in restaurants: better to go without.

What I did right
1. Ate lots of vegetables.
2. Give preference to real foods.
3. Read tons of books.
4. Learned heaps about fat metabolism and nutrition.

..but I thought dizziness WAS a sign you need a few more carbs? Also, losing more than 5 lbs a week is not only difficult but dangerous, IMHO... Everyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Mistakes:
*Buying cashews. Which always leads to eating cashews. Telling myself a "small child's fistful" is the size of a small child...
*Not drinking enough water to compensate for coffee drinking.
*Falling into the sameoldsameold trap. I had to learn to cook.
*My cravings went away so quickly and easily I didn't realize they could start up again as quickly. "Tortilla" creep was a problem since so many of my favorite restaurants do wraps. I learned to just get them without the wrap.

This is my favorite thread and full of wisdom!

Here are mine:

1 - Weighing myself more than once a week.
2 - Nuts! Too hard to stop at the right time.
3 - The franken foods stop my weight loss everytime.
4 - Exercise does make a difference as much as I hate to admit it .
5- The biggest mistake of all was thinking I could stop this WOE at anytime and return. Nope.

Orchid

What a great thread to find! Originally, I came to this site in July 2003 when I tried Atkins. I did everything WRONG.

1. Read the book, understood the book, but never referenced the book again... especially when I needed the scientific evidence to keep me working the program.

2. Too many legal treats - my entire meal plan revolved around sweet treats. I was coming down hard from my sugar addiction and using 5-10 Splenda packets a day along with 1/2-1 cup Da Vinci syrup to ease the withdrawal.

3. Way toooo much dairy. See above.

4. Fear of fat. 'Nuff said.

5. Not dealing with the emotional/mental aspects of being a food addict.

6. Being too obsessed to the point of compulsion with counting carbs - like I used to count WW points.

I am a newbie on PPLP now, but I feel like I have such a better handle on this WOL!

Hi karen I don't understand the problem with the sugar free jello and whipped cream problem, could you explain it to me please. I am using lite whipped cream, if this makes a difference.

Thanks Denise

The problem is not with the Jell-o and whipped cream, it's with eating too much Jell-o and whipped cream and artificially sweetened foods. The fake stuff can make you think it's all fine because it's low-carb, but for a lot of people - like the ones posting about it in this 5 page thread - it's not.

Karen

This is an awesome thread. I'm a newbie (again) and this good down-to-earth was very needed. Thanks Karen (and company).

This is a wonderful thread!! I only wish I would have found it earlier..

things I did wrong

Cheese...' nuf said
weighing to often
too much splenda
not enough ,ok, ok no excercise.


things I did right

-hardly ever giving into low carb products (pizza crust, bars etc)
-never allowing myself to be seved hasbrowns, toast or other carbs in a restaraunt.

my personal fav

******a tattoo of a stained glass compass on the top of my foot, so that anytime I feel I have lost my way in life I can look down and find my path.

Neen

I have to say that one of my biggest mistakes is thinking that I could do it all overnight. That somehow this new WOE was the miracle cure and that I'd instantly become the twin of barbie and have a perfect body overnight. So of course when I woke up the next morning on my second day of Atkin's and didn't have a shapely size 2 1/2 under the covers I was discouraged...But after a healthy dose of reality and a shake of willpower and determination. I stayed the course and in two months I finally into those pre-prego pants that have collected so many layers of dust in my closet. I've finally learned good things are worth the wait...



~ Cori ~

My biggest mistake was not coming out of the closet fast enough at work about Atkins. Some people still do tease me a little bit I think because of the way I eat, or think it is freakish. But I'm the one that's losing weight and not them, so .

Every choice you make should be for yourself and not to make someone else's life easier. If there is a possiblity that there won't be any good food for you to eat at a party, bring your own. Demand that for dinner's out that you go to a place where you can get a decent guilt-free meal.

My biggest newbie mistake? Probably not eating often enough....I really struggle with that one. I just don't feel hungry any more.....so when I'm active (I work two jobs and have some volunteer activities) time doesn't often permit me to stop...and I don't even think about eating when I don't feel a hunger pang. I know it's not right, but without all the carbs to stimulate my appetite...I have a hard time remembering to eat....and I still inadvertently skip way too many meals...and almost never snack.

Wow.. I wish I found this thread two and a half weeks ago. This is my third and final week on induction and after reading this thread I realized that my biggest mistake was eating the SF jello with whipped cream each night for dinner and sometimes lunch too. I figured it was carb free so enjoy. I didn't realize it maybe the trigger to my sweets cravings. I'm sure I made other mistakes (like hidden carbs, cheese) but the biggest one is definitely the SF jello & whipped cream.