Hi, my name is Melanie (Melameter), I am on the Atkins diet, and have been since May 1st. I have lost 15 pounds. I live way out in the country in Central Texas, with my husband and 2 sons. As you can see I am surrounded by males. And they could care less to talk about my diet, the only thing related to food I ever hear is "WHATS FER SUPPER?"
I would love to have someone to talk to, it would really help to keep me motivated.
I need a buddy..... If you are interested please respond. I would love to hear from you. Melameter...

Hi Melanie,

I'd love to be one of your buddies!

We have a few things in common. I too have 2 sons and a husband. And while my husband is very supportive, I sometimes see his eyes glaze over when I start talking about my diet...lol.

I live in a pretty big city now, [Norfolk, VA] but have lived in a little town in GA of under 30,000 and loved it.

I started this WOL [Atkins] May 14th and have loved it more every day.

Do you have a journal yet? They are very helpful.

You are at the right place if what you want is support. This is a great group of people, and a wonderful resource for info.

Later,

Renee'

It is so nice to hear from you, I was reading where you lived in a smaller city of 30,000, I chuckled because the town where I live has less than 600. It is very small.
Actually my nearest neighbor is almost two miles away. It is 25 miles to the nearest grocery store.
I really love it though.
I bet if you where here in my shoes you would go crazy, because your used to lots of people?
I dont know you may love it...
How old are your children? My boys are 13 and 10.
My 10 year old son wants to go on my diet with me, he could stand to, he is pretty hefty. I am seriously thinking about letting him do it. My only concern is, if he eats high fat and carbs when I am not looking, it would not be good for him, but I dont guess it is good for him to be overweight either. It is just really hard when you send them to school, and all those vending machines.
Well speaking of the children its time to go to tucking them in, so will talk to you later...
Thanks for replying, I am going to enjoy corresponding with you.
What is Virginia like, I have never been there. Is it flat or hills?
Melameter

Hi Melanie,

The 30,000 I mentioned was actually the size of the whole county, even so our little town sure had more than 600 people in it...lol. I miss it sometimes. It's so nice to have strangers wave at you and smile or say,"good morning" when you walk by. If you try that here in the city, people think you are trying to start something...lol.

The part of GA we lived in was in the foothills. Here in VA we live on the coast and it is so flat that you could watch your dog run away for hours....lol j/k

Our sons are 16 & 17. They are good boys and we are very proud of them. My oldest just bought a set of weights yesterday and told me I could use them anytime I wanted to. I know in my heart that he bought them with me in mind, bless his heart. He knows I've been trying to save money to get a "total gym" and money is tight. He has a full time job and can spend his money as he pleases, and he wants to spend it to help me...makes me cry I'm so proud of him.

I think it's great that your son wants to try this with you. It would be easier for him as an adult if he were to start eating healthily now. As far as the "vending machines" don't we all have our own "vending machines"? No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. If he really wants to do this, just let him know ALL about it. Teach him what are the best choices and [this is the hard part] let HIM make them. Do not ever set yourself up as the diet police. Be his buddy. Encourage him when he is doing well, and comfort him when he is not doing so well.

Enough preaching, sorry, but I kinda have bad experiences with dieting as a child, and think they have added to my past troubles. I do very much believe that it could be wonderful for your son, but think we need to be careful not to allow our children to judge their self worth by their weight. It can be tricky, but I know you can do a good job being his buddy, afterall who loves him more

Later,

Renee'

hi melanie:
I too lived in a small coastal town on the north shore of lake eirie. i just moved to a small city and i'm loving it. i have 4 children all grown (29,27,27,and 24) my son, and one of my daughters have gone on the atkins diet with me. it is quite fun. we all cook and share meals frequently. my son just got married on the weekend and already i miss the fun. my daughter, sam, calls me with new recipes and has been a real encouragement. i don't know what i'll do when she goes to japan in the fall. i'm needing a buddy myself.
i started this diet, or should i say lifestyle, in april 2002. i'm pretty new at this myself. being perimenopausal and having thyroid problems has made it a bit of an uphill battle but i'm pleased with my 9 lb loss so far, at least i've stopped gaining which had been going on steadily for over 2 years.
working out 3 X a week has helped to. i find that the weights have really helped me lose inches even if the scale is slow. i bought a denim suit last fall and never got to wear it. i had gained 5 lbs and that was it, it was too tight. now i can fit in it! that's important. i feel great. i'm feeling more beautiful and happy.
i hope that we can buddy up and have some laughs to.
take care
jane anne

Hey again, sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I had to take my mother to the doctor in Austin, yesterday, I was gone all day.
We went to the mall and I was trilled to try on clothes, It is amazing just what 15 pounds will do. I bought 2 pairs of shoes and a couple of cute sleevless shirts, and then went to a mexican food place and had fahita meat with sour cream and cheese pico de gallo, mmmmmmmm I really felt mistreated I just love this diet.
I hope your dog doesnt decide to run away...ha
I bet it is real pretty there. I know what you mean about the people though, I lived for a short time in Tampa Bay, Florida, I dont think I have ever met such rude people. My husband says I just have not been to New York???
That is so sweet of your son to buy the weights, they sound like great kids. My boys are good kids, but as differnt as night and day. Colton my youngest, does want to do this diet, but he decided to wait until school starts. The boys live with their stepdad and I, but are going to spend July with their real father. ( I miss them, and they are not even gone yet.) But it would be hard for him to try to diet away like that. He gets homesick, and I know that is a terrible feeling. I will take your advise to heart, I know that he has to lose weight because he wants to, not because somebody makes him feel like he has to. All I can do is provide him with food and be there for him. I would love to see him lose a little weight though, but only for his health.
When he was 6 years old he went with his dad for the summer, when he left (to Florida) he wore a size 14 slim, when he came home he wore a 16 husky. His dad let him eat nothing but junk food and candy. I told his dad, he may think he is doing good by letting the kids have all that junk because they love it, but it was not good for their health. Colton has had a problem ever since.
But maybe he will do good on Atkins, after all it was his idea...
Well talk to you later...Melameter

I would love to buddy up, as they say you can never have to many friends.... I think it is so great that you have such encouragement from your family. And I know how great it feels to get into those clothes that have not fit in forever. I have a little short black dress, that I used to love to wear, it made me feel so feminine. I have not fit into it for at least 4 years, I got it out a few weeks ago, and started trying it on once a week, it helps me to see how much I am losing. It is still a little to tight for comfort, but it will zip. When I feel good in it, like I used to, I am going to wear it out to eat a big yummy steak.
You are doing good, I know you would like for the weight to come off faster, But I have always heard that it may be better to come of slowly.
I have only lost 15 pounds, and I have not lost any in the last week or so.
So you live on Lake Eirie?, I have never been to Canada, although someday would love to go. I love traveling and seeing things I have never seen.
Been to see the redwoods in California, it is unbeleivable how big they are. We took a bunch of videos, and I use them for inspiration on my diet, as I weighed my goal weight when we went, I felt so much better too....
I have been alot of places, but would love to see it all before my times up... Dream on...
I have enjoyed it all, except it didnt take me long to look at the desert, got tired of looking at sand and cactus in a hurry. When you are in the cattle business, That dry stuff looks terrible, means it is going to cost you a small fortune to feed them.
Well, I better go now, have had company from Arkansas, and they are supposed to drop by on there way home, I would hate for them to see me with my hair sticking up and my nightclothes on.
Later.... Melameter

hi melanie, there's always a few favourite clothes we save in the back of the closet hoping to one day fit back into them. 6 years ago i went on the "food and the gut reaction" diet (very similar to the low carb way of eating except you're allowed to eat fruit and honey) the goal was not to loose weight but to heal my bowels(ulcerative colitis) i did lose 30 lbs though and kept it off until i had to have my gallbladder out. anyway, i have some beautiful clothes that used to fit that i'm dying to fit into again.
last year when we went to europe with my ailing dad, i wouldn't buy any neat clothes because i refused to believe that i would remain this heavy. how sad is that?
i also love to travel although i had not done much while i was married to my exhusband. he always claimed we couldnot afford it but i find it interesting that on my own i have been able to afford to travel much more.
i have managed to help my kids to understand that you can't afford not to travel. it broadens and enriches your live so much.
canada is truly a beautiful country. if i were to visit it for the first time i would visit the rocky mountains. i took my kids on a horse back trip into the mountains a few years ago. it was an incredible trip. we slept in logging tents and ate in a cook tent. we really roughed it. and we spent all day riding to remote places in the mountains and seeing things very few people get to see. it was awesome. then i guess i'd see newfoundland. it's very rugged and very picturesque.
i guess you can tell i'm a woodsy, roughen it kind of girl.
i don't think i could handle the dessert, no trees. the land is so naked.
my daughter just called needing some encouragement about the diet. it's costing her a fortune so i suggested that we find some recipes that we could improvise with and cut down some of the cost. and she's getting sick of eggs.
i'll grind up a bunch of pork rinds for her to make "french toast" some mornings. that should help a bit.
she's trying to save for a "teach and travel" course that will teach her how to teach english to children in foreign countries. it's been a dream of hers for years and now that its getting close she's finding that her diet is "eating" into her "teach and travel" funds. ironic eh?
she's so determined though to stay on the diet andstill save money to go. i think she will have her cake and eat it too.
anyway have to go pick up the paycheques so........
later
jane

Melanie,

Hope all went well at your moms appointment.

WOW!! 15 pounds!!!
It must feel great to be able to shop for new clothes. You go girl!!!
It's going to be a while before I buy anything sleevless...lol

You are probably right that it'll be hard for your son to follow any type of plan while with his dad. By the time he gets back maybe he will be even more encouraged by how well you are doing

Sorry so short, today has been hectic and time is running out here at work. Don't worry, I'm my own boss...lol, so I'm not in danger for doing this at work.

Again WOOOHOOO 15 pounds!!!!!

later,

Renee'

Jane,

I would love your recipie for french toast!!

You have what sounds like a great family. It must be wonderful sharing this WOL with them as you do.

You are so right about saving our "skinny" clothes. lol...I've been tempted many times to have a yard sale, but never quite got rid of any of my favorites.

Renee'

hi renee'
french toast....yum yum! you can have it for breadfast or for an elaborate desert...kind of like belgin waffles (sort of).
i got this off the lc recipe website.
1/2 bag unflavored pork rinds (or 3/4 cup gound pr)
2 eggs
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 packets sweetner (splenda's the best)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
crumble pork rinds until fine (i grind mine in the blender 4 bags at once)
beat eggs well then mix with the remaining ingredients and beat again. add pork rindsto egg/cream mixture and allow to sit for 5min. mix will thicken to a "gloppy" phase.
meanwhile heat skillet or griddle with butter or oil, and when hot, fry pancakex until golden brown on both sides.serve with cinn. butter or low carb syrup.

cinn butter
(can't get lc syrup in my district so i made this up and it's quite good)
3/4 cup butter
1-2 tsp vanilla
1- 2 tsp cinnamon
whip together with electic mixer and keep in container in fridge until needed.

DESERT
make pancake as above
spread with cinn butter
spead 1 tsp of sugar free strawberry jam on top
top that with a dollop of whipped cream (made with sweetner, of course)

I know it all sounds kind of icky but promise you will love it , our whole family loves it and honestly never tire of it and its one of the cheaper things to eat.

also when we were in paris last year we had cafe' creme and what that is, is a dollop of whipped cream stirred into coffee. add 1 packet of sweetener, and a little vanilla and you have a wonderful desert coffee. just make the decaf a little stronger and it makes a really rich flavourful coffee.

enjoy girls!
jane

ps: you girls are doing excellent in the weight lose dept. and i'm inspired.

I am so tired it has been a long day. It all started after I logged off of the computer this morning, I had time to take a shower and my mother in law showed up, she is the sweetest woman alive, but loves to talk and talk and talk, I had company fixing to show up, and I tried to tell her, she just lives right here beside us, anyway, my company showed, I am still in my bathrobe with wet hair, I still look terrible to this minute.....
I am really not vain at all, go around in my oldest most comfortable t-shirt most of the time, but I wanted to look nice today, have not seen these friends from arkansas in awhile, argggggg
But they have all left and now I can relax...
I was reading about the french toast, I cant wait to try it, will have to get to the store for ingrediants. Sounds good. I have tried the coffee like Jane was talking about, it is really good. I am trying to stay on induction for awhile longer, I dont really know what to do, I dont lose weight very fast on induction so what would happen if I started eating more?
Canada sounds really pretty, I would love to see the mountains, I have seen the grand tetons, they are pretty. I live in the heart of the hill country, no mountains here, just hills. But its home.
I was going to tell ya'll about my mom, she is so lucky guys, she had been going to the same dr for years, and he happened to decide to move, so she was tranferred to see a new dr, new to this area, he asked her if she had ever had a mammogram, she was 63 years old and had NEVER had one. He insisted she go get one right away. They discovered a little lump, it turned out malignant, she had invasive ductal carsinoma. But because they caught it so early, she had a double mastectomy, but had to have NO chemotherapy or anything, they got it all! THANK GOD!!!!! My mother is my very best friend. Anyway, always take care of that kind of stuff, dont put it off, its important! I have to take her to Austin every 4 months just to be sure everything stays okay. And so far it has.
I tried not to write a book, but I am so glad my mom had such luck with her dr. if she had not have, there is no telling what would have happened.
Well guys I am tired and think I will curl up with a good book for awhile and get some sleep.
Talk to ya'll later... And just wanted to say this is really nice chatting with you both Goodnight Melameter

hi girls,
you probably won't see this til morning but i'll write anyway. then it's off to bed for me too.
i want to encourage you and your mom, melanie. my good friend, marj, had a double masectomy 13 years ago and has not had a recurrence of the cancer.
she did have to have chemo but she too was a very blessed woman.
my mother passed away 7 years ago....it seems such a short time ago. my sisters and i took mom out to lunch and shopping every 2 weeks for the last 2 years of her life. we had so much fun and laughed so much together. i am so thankful for the times we had together. they were precious.
last year we lost dad. before he passed on, our whole family took him to europe to see paris, scotland ( his mother was born there and we looked up her stats at the archives in edinburough and also looked up some cousins) and we had a party for him at the RAF club in london with the remainder of his squadron from the 2nd world war. i can't tell you what a wonderful time we all had. my cousin from germany met us in paris and we had a family reunion, sort of. 10 of us went and even though we are still paying it off, i wouldn't trade a lifetime of financial security for one day of our trip.
every day you have with your loved ones is a precious jewel. we have our memories forever.
i wrote a journal of our trip and plan to make it into a book for the family for christmas this year. (don't tell ha ha)
gerry, the fellow (mentally challenged senior citizen) i take care of, is coming to stay with me tomorrow and so i must get his bed ready and prepare for him. we have great fun, together.
so it's off to bed for me so that i can get up early and go to the gym and prepare for ger.
good night, good morning, and God bless!

your bud,
jane

Melanie,

Bless your heart, I dress comfortably too, but surely do understand wanting to look nice for people you don't often see. I would have been mortified. I hope you remembered that your friends came to see you because of you, not what you look like. This is easy to say, but I don't think it would be easy for me to feel. Seems we are quite similar in that...lol.

"I dont lose weight very fast on induction so what would happen if I started eating more?"

Believe it or not, eating too little can cause a weight loss stall. Your body can, and will go into starvation mode if it feels you are not going to eat enough. I have GAINED weight on a 500 cal diet!!! In fact, I think I gained most of my current extra weight on what would be considered by most to be a LOW CAL diet [800-1200 cal] I have lost every pound that I have [not that it's a huge amount] by increasing my food intake! My sister lost 135 pounds simply by starting to eat 3 meals a day [rather than the one meal she was used to] and INCREASING her cal count by 200%. It took her 1 & 1/2 years to do it. And since she is a parapalegic [has been since 16] I can safely say that it had VERY little to do with exersize.

Most Doctors scoff at this fact, despite the documented proof. I don't understand why they would, they freely acknowledge that if you don't drink enough water your body will store all it can, but fat...there is just no explaining how they think sometimes.

If either of you have a question about this please send me a private message and I'll be happy to provide more details.

Thank God your mother had to change Doctors. Imagine a Doctor this day and age not insisting that your mother have a mamogram before she was 40, much less 63. I agree with you that you can't fool around with these things and have my own cancer history to remind me to take care of myself.

FYI my Doctor told me flat out that my fat had very likely contributed to my cancer, it seems that fat acts as a producer of extra estrogin, and too much estrogin can cause "female" cancers.

So you see, we need to be even more careful than most.

Sorry to end on such a bummer, but remember, we are doing something about it. This is the best thing we can do, not only for ourselves but our loved ones as well.

Later,
Renee'

Jane,

How wonderful to have been able to enjoy your fathers adventures abroad. You will have those memories for the rest of your life. It must be very comforting to know how much happiness you brought to both of your parents in their last few years.

You are so right, family is the most precious gift God gives us.

Thank you for inspiring me to spend more time with my grandmother. I think I'll go see her today after work. She is a spitfire. 90 years old, almost blind, all but deaf, but it hasn't slowed her down. She does more than I do at 39. She is very involved in her church and until recently walked or rode the bus alone everywhere she went [she never drove]. She was widowed very young [mid 30's] and raised 3 children alone on a hairdressers wage.

Thank you for the recipie, it looks great!!! OMG a treat!!! I will definitly be trying it.

Later,
Renee'