adventures in atkins

so my sister is getting married at the end of the month.

it's a small a city hall wedding, the big shindig is next year. but that doesn't mean that the photos we take on that day are going to disappear, so there's been some internal pressure from myself to lose weight.

in comes atkins.

and all of a sudden, the world is full of things like this.

for those of you who are not familiar (which was me), here's a brief summary.

yes, it's a diet where all you eat is meat and cheese. but not really. that's what i knew going in. here's how it all went down...

yahoo had posted what the ten most effective diets out there... they evaluated long term success, short term weight loss, etc. everything. and atkins was at like, number 5. but what caught my eye was it's high ranking in short term weight loss. like, 15 lbs in two weeks. jiggaWHA? hells YEAH!

i've said for many months now that all i needed was something to kick start my process, that once i got down to my goal weight, i'd be fine maintaining it. i can maintain weight. i just really struggle to lose it. so this seemed perfect. who cared that it wasn't ranked well for long term weight loss? i'd shed some pounds, still be able to eat cheeseburgers, and all would be well with the world.

not exactly.

the program is based on teaching your body to burn stored fat instead of carbs. so you have to lose all carbs in the first phase, to teach your body to do that. at the same time, you measure a strict amount of carbohydrates that you eat naturally (in veggies, etc), to make sure you're getting carbs that are worth it - have a lot of fiber, nutritional value, etc.

so, meat, cheese and most veggies are in.

out are all forms of flour, sugar, starch and anything else with carbs. yes, that means booze.  that's a LOT more than you think it is. i didn't realize how carb-centric our world is, but now that i can't eat them, they're everywhere. and in EVERYTHING. did you know there's sugar in taco seasoning? i didn't. it's on my no list.

it's been almost six days now. the cravings are easing, and i'm getting used to the program. my appetite is down significantly, and i've been losing weight incrementally. so far: 2 lbs, about 1/2 a lbs a day... i'm pleased with this. at the rate i'm going, which feels manageable (not easy, but doable), i'll lose 15 lbs by the 26th, when i head to florida. that gives me four days to maintain, and boom, wedding.

it hasn't been easy though. the first two nights, the sugar cravings were INTENSE. it's seriously hard for me not to eat fruit. i'm so used to ending my day with something sweet, whether it's ice cream or just juice or some grapes.... it's strange. if there's bread sitting in front of me, i have to sit on my hands. it's strange how much my body wants it!

also weird? the breath. my breath smells like a cat. because my diet is similar. so i'm having to make a serious effort to brush my teeth after meals so i don't repulse people. but not a bad habit right? repulsing people is SO 2007.

in all, as the days pass, and i get used to this, i see it more and more as a viable way to live your life... there are three more phases of the program that i'm supposed to go through - to ease my way back in, add carbs as you go. and i will, for sure, but i'm not sure what my regular eating habits will look like when i'm all said and done with this. i can say that my taste for sugar has already waned. i went from two splendas in my tea (you're allowed three forms of artificial sugar a day, those counted as two of them) to just one. and that's not even real sugar...

i can't imagine what a shock to my system the wedding cupcakes are going to be! a delicious, amazing, wonderful shock that may put me in a sugar coma.

anyway, it's been a process. and one that i want to share more about. i have, in general, more things i want to say, so hopefully i'll be back on a more regular basis, sharing them with you guys.

especially that first day i'm allowed to have bread. sweet jesus, that will be amazing.