7/23/00-Day 2
198.5/198/140
To Date: 1/2 lb. lost
My husband and I started our low carb diet yesterday.  I had lost ½ lb when I got up this morning. I did well for my first day.  I have a very bad weakness for starches, mainly potatoes.  I love mash potatoes, fries, baked potatoes.  You name it, I love it.  The worst time of day for me is in the evening.  I am suddenly starving.  We walked for 40 minutes today.  I'm planning on getting in the car and clocking our distance so I can keep up with how far I walk.
Well, I need to go to bed, but I will try to keep this journal up to date as much as possible. 

7/24/00-Day 3
198.5/196.5/140
To Date: 2 lbs lost
This morning I got up to a pleasant surprise.  I had lost  1 1/2 lbs!!  That brings my total to 2 lbs.  As I said on my beginning page, my goal is to lose 2 1/2 lbs a week.  I only have to lose 1/2 lb to reach my goal for the week. It looks like its going to rain, so I hope I will be able to walk today.  I normally walk between 8-9 pm.  Its too hot to walk earlier!

7/25/00-Day 4
198.5/196.5/140
To Date: 2 lbs lost
I didn't lose any more weight yet, but that's ok. Last night I got some more keto-sticks so I can test my ketones. I am up to high now. (only one bar left for the highest) So, I am doing very well :) I was really glad to see that. We walked 40 minutes again. We sorta drove around our walking trail and it seems to be about 8/10ths of a mile. That means we are walking almost 2 1/2 miles a day. Not bad.

7/26/00-Day 5
198.5/196/140
To Date: 2 1/2 lbs lost
A new day. I lost a half pound, so I have lost my weekly goal amount! I am still in ketosis. I'm at moderate now, dropped down just a little. The exercise really seems to make a difference. I was pretty sore yesterday, so we didn't walk, but we did go to Sam's, Office Max and the Mall, so we did some walking. We will be walking tonight. Speaking of "we," It really helps to have someone to diet with you. Right now my daughter is with my ex-husband, so we don't have to be tempted by other foods she would be eating. She's 15 and in PERFECT shape. I hope she never has to go through this.

7/27/00-Day 6
198.5/195.5/140
To Date: 3 lbs lost
A half pound lost. I'm still going, even if it's slow. We walked again last night. I am still going pretty good in ketosis. Levels are highest at night, so I try to only check it then. (especially since the sticks are so expensive) I cut mine in half to make them last longer. There is plenty of space to see the results on half of one.
One thing I am still not doing on this diet is drinking plain water. I HATE water. I have tried to flavor it up some, but it's still "yech" to me. I drink a LOT. Thing is, I am a caffiene-aholic. I drink around 2- 2 liters a day. I'm sure I would lose more weight if I could drink water instead. I am going to try to start drinking more. I really need to get some bottled water or something. Our water is not that great.
I'm planning on adding my website to some webrings, but I am trying to get more on it before I do. I'm still reading other online journals and they really are inspiring. It makes me want to hug these people and say "you can do it!"

7/28/00-Day 7
198.5/196/140
To Date: 2 1/2lbs lost
I got up to a real disappointment today. I had gained back a half pound. I'm not real sure what caused it. I didn't eat anything wrong, we walked 40 minutes, and I even drank water. I was really upset until I checked my ketosis. I am back up to moderate. (next to the highest level) I did eat some pork rinds last night, so that was probably it. Lots of salt in those. Hopefully tomorrow morning I will have gotten rid of that extra 1/2 lb and some more to go along with it. Tomorrow will be my weekly weigh-in, so even if I don't drop the extra 1/2 lb, I will still have reached my weekly goal. I know one thing, I will make sure I don't eat pork rinds right at bedtime, and when I do eat them, I will be very sparing with them.

Last night we went shopping and I found a Brita drinking bottle. It has the filter built in, so I just fill it with water and ice and it purifies it as I drink! Now maybe I can make myself drink more water. I sure am glad we found those. It would cost so much more to buy bottled water all the time.

7/29/00-Day 8
198.5/196/140
To Date: 2 1/2lbs lost
Oh well. I didn't lose anymore weight, but I have reached my weekly goal of 2 1/2lbs. I have been drinking more water. Yesterday I ate some wings for lunch, a steak and salad for lunch and about 1/3 of an atkins bar. I looked back at that this morning and realized that I didn't eat enough. It is possible to not eat enough on Atkins diet. If you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode and holds onto its fat. This morning I started out with some bacon and eggs. The last couple of days I haven't eaten breakfast.

I remembered my vitamins this morning. I am sooo bad at forgetting to take them. I always wait to take them until I eat and I always forget then. I need to figure out a way to remember to take them when I eat. I guess I could put a note on the fridge.

I am still staying from moderate to high in ketosis, so I know I'm eating ok. : )

7/30/00-Day 9
Today is my birthday! I'll write tomorrow : )

7/31/00-Day 10
198.5/196/140
To Date: 2 1/2lbs lost
Geez yesterday morning was terrible. I got up and had gained 1 1/2lbs!! I felt bad alllll day because of that. I was ready to quit if today was any worse. My children are with their dad another week, so I was kinda sad not having them with me for my birthday. Today is mine and my hubby's One Year Anniversary. I almost wish we had started our diet August 1st. I forgot about the "eating the cake top-1st anniversary thing." Now we can't eat it. If I had lost a lot of weight the first week, I might have tried to eat a little bit with him, but it's been such a struggle to lose the weight I have, I just can't chance it. I guess we will wait a little while then eat it. If its sat in the freezer for this long, a little longer won't hurt it.

We didn't walk Friday or Saturday. Somehow we got too busy. I'm glad we got back on track last night. It's been a little cooler the past few days, so that certainly helps with our walks. I'm still not really drinking enough water, but drinking ANY is better that nothing. I still hate water. Yech!!