Newbie saying hello

[bigmark66]

Hi folks,

My name is Mark, 45, British but living in Dubai (Pork is no problem here). 6'4 and have for the past twenty years been a five pint a day guy, plus the usual Pizzas, Kebabs and Carb junkie stuff.

Two months ago I was 21 stone, stopped drinking for a few weeks as I'd had enough, lost a bit of weight which was not suprising so I thought I'd start Atkins as I was off the booze and so Induction was possible for the first time in numerous years.

So I started Induction 2nd April. This week I'm 19'3. Some might say excellent but I'm not too sure. The first stone was a result of no beer I'm sure. I lost a few pounds over a few weeks then the last 8 pounds fell off overnight the day I stopped drinking diet pepsi?

I really am doing the carb counting, food weighing and correct food groups as per the book but I think I should be seeing a couple of pounds falling off each week rather than a chunk suddenly.

I'm rereading the book trying to see where I am going wrong. Today I've cut out my diet 7 up. Left cheese and chopped red pepper out of my omelet. Now I'm surfing trying to learn where to get Nitrate Free Ham and Bacon which is where I stumbled across one of Jim's posts. Thanks Jim, I was reading about BMI's last night and I thought getting below 30 for a tall muscular man was imoossible, well done, I've joined this group to stalk you lol.

Could salt/sodium be a problem? My mouth constantly feels salty. I'm determined to find a reason why I'm not losing in a more steady way. I'm staying off the booze and have 8 weeks to go before I get into my Speedos.

Any tips anyone?

Thanks

Mark

 

[coffeelover]

Welcome Mark, Your doing great and a stone is great.

The citric acid in the 7 up could be the prob. Make sure your drinking lots of water too. And cheese does stall some.

I'm sure Katie will pop in she has great ideas and advice.

Good luck

 

[Alpaca]

Welcome Mark... Try and keep low-ish on salt as bodies will find any excuse to hold onto water... You need a certain level obviously but too much isn't good. Watch out for anything with chemicals in as some of us stall - I can't seem to tolerate any sf product at the moment which is really annoying!

Good to have you on here and good luck!

 

[bigmark66]

Thanks ladies for the support so far.

As for keeping salt low - I've never ever added salt to anything so I don't have a bad habit to break but looking at my Nutritional breakdown on various bits of software I see that I'm 150% RDA by Lunchtime.

Todays menu so far. (we're three hours ahead here in Dubai)

Unsmoked back bacon, three rashers, three egg omelet cooked in butter with two medium chopped mushrooms.

Lunch - can of low brine Tuna Mixed up with about three tablespoons of Helmans Original Mayo.

7" Celery stick and enough Iceberg Lettuce the cover a third of a dinner plate.


Dinner will be Roasted Pork Belly and Runner Beans, I might pinch a few carrots but will leave the spuds, peas and gravy alone.

Oh, here in Dubai we drink water by the gallon even though we sit in air conditioned rooms all day.

Cycled for ten minutes,
felt like an hour as my tires have gone down a bit.

Tuna in brine and pork belly is nt an average salt day.

No soft drinks, just one decafe coffee with evarporated cream.

 

[Kat1e]

Hi mark and welcome Sounds like you are dong well - keep going. All bodies different so dont worry about linear vs lumpy losses! Do try to be clean and green - ie avoid anything with sweeteners etc and try to enjoy protein and fresh veg as a staple and tons of water.

Enjoy!

 

[ladyfelsham]

Hi Mark and welcome

From reading Jim's many pearls of wisdom, what seems to work best (especially for blokes) is protein and green veg - stick close to that and you will see a regular loss

 

[bigmark66]

Hi Mark and welcome

From reading Jim's many pearls of wisdom, what seems to work best (especially for blokes) is protein and green veg - stick close to that and you will see a regular loss

Meat and veg is cool, so too is fat and cream.

I do feel odd at not having a very healthy looking hi fibre breakfast cereal though. Also at passing the fruit bowl without grabbing a piece.

Mark

 

[bigmark66]

Welcome Mark, Your doing great and a stone is great.

The citric acid in the 7 up could be the prob. Make sure your drinking lots of water too. And cheese does stall some.

I'm sure Katie will pop in she has great ideas and advice.

Good luck

What could citruic acid do?

Apart from corrode my teeth of course.

Mark

 

[bigmark66]

Hi mark and welcome Sounds like you are dong well - keep going. All bodies different so dont worry about linear vs lumpy losses! Do try to be clean and green - ie avoid anything with sweeteners etc and try to enjoy protein and fresh veg as a staple and tons of water.

Enjoy!

Tons of water is my middle name.

Thx

Mark

 

[bigmark66]

Welcome Mark... Try and keep low-ish on salt as bodies will find any excuse to hold onto water... You need a certain level obviously but too much isn't good. Watch out for anything with chemicals in as some of us stall - I can't seem to tolerate any sf product at the moment which is really annoying!

Good to have you on here and good luck!

Found some Nitrate free bacon today which should help lower my salt.

Finding any bacon in a Muslim Country is great but special brands is very rare.

Thx

Mark

 

[Fionut]

Hi Mark , can't offer any pearls of wisdom as such, but just thought I'd say hi!

 

[bigmark66]

Hi Mark , can't offer any pearls of wisdom as such, but just thought I'd say hi!

Well thanks very much.

BTW how did you put those stats and goals there?

 

[Fionut]

You have to go to your profile and edit it. You should be able to do it now you have enough posts. The link is at the top of the web page. Can't do it mobile-y

Sent from my HTC using MiniMins so excuse random words that have been autocorrected!

 

[bigmark66]

You have to go to your profile and edit it. You should be able to do it now you have enough posts. The link is at the top of the web page. Can't do it mobile-y

Sent from my HTC using MiniMins so excuse random words that have been autocorrected!

Nope, I need 50 post for that. Just hit 20 today so uploaded pic and worked out the signature bit.

Mark 6'4". Was 21 stone, is 19 now, two month goal is 17 stone. BMI says 13 stone but that's just daft.

 

[Fionut]

Bmi s are scary. I've got to loose tons to be correct.

Sure I updated my stats before 50 posts. Thought when I signed up I added them. On the left of your post under your user name is there an edit statistics or something? Trying to remember without being on comp is hard. Lol

Sent from my HTC using MiniMins so excuse random words that have been autocorrected!

 

[bigmark66]

Bmi s are scary. I've got to loose tons to be correct.

Sure I updated my stats before 50 posts. Thought when I signed up I added them. On the left of your post under your user name is there an edit statistics or something? Trying to remember without being on comp is hard. Lol

Sent from my HTC using MiniMins so excuse random words that have been autocorrected!

Nope, as I only joined yesterday I'm fresh with the current rules, maybe they've changed though.

Got a good feeling I'm going to wake up to a nice drop on the scales in the morning.

Mark 6'4". Was 21 stone, is 19 now, two month goal is 17 stone. BMI says 13 stone but that's just daft.

 

[Kat1e]

I agree - bmi isn't necessarily the right thing to aim for. My initial goal was much higher...the surprise with low carbing was discovering that as i continued to eat this way, my body was happy to drop more. In fact i even have a 25 at the front on myb mi now - not trying to lose more as run out of money for new clothes. But hubby has to positively eat cakes and donuts - otherwise loses too much weight :sigh:

 

[Fionut]

Nope, as I only joined yesterday I'm fresh with the current rules, maybe they've changed though.
.

Ah, maybe. Will have another think when I'm back on line.

Don't weigh yourself too often, it'll fluctuate. Mind you my male friends seem to loose faster than us ladies.

Sent from my HTC using MiniMins so excuse random words that have been autocorrected!

 

[southwestgirl]

Hi Mark - to put things in the your profile - yes, before 50 posts - go to Settings, top right. Then look in the LH sidebar under My Settings, and you'll see Edit Profile.

I am new too and have no clue how things used to be!

With regard to BMI - I think the charts can be very misleading. My husband is low carbing too, he's lost 40lb since the end of November with very little effort and he says he's not felt hungry once, he is losing much faster than I am. According to the BMI chart he ought to weigh less than 13 stone which is just daft. He is just seeing how it goes, how he feels, what size jeans fit!

 

[Karen]

welcome to minis! Hope you find keeping a diary is helpful for you. xxx