Don't beat yourself up on the imitation crab - it wasn't intentional, and that's an important point. You really should be proud of yourself for that. It's all just one step at a time, and you won't make hat mistake again now that you know. My grocery is now selling foil packs of real crab meat in the meat department so it makes it as convenient as the imitation now - that's what we use in the stuffing for the salmon.

Well, the conference went okay. I wasn't able to keep up induction, but I did stay under 25 carbs each day, so at least I was low carb. I was even able to resist that MidWest airline freshly baked chocolate chip cookies - that one was tough! Oh, and my presentation was well received too !

Don't get the wrong idea, I wasn't an angel - I had a partial Koshie Go Lean bar for breakfast at the airport before my 6am flight, they are 16 carbs total and I had 3/4 of it. I should have eaten at home but my husband and I were going to stop at the Perkins by the airport for a low carb breakfast together before I left, unfortunately, they were not open 24 hours like the one we usually go to so I was left with airport vending machine options. I also had a half glass of red wine during the 'cocktail networking session', but at least I passed on the cookie breaks and the dessert the next day at lunch....so I'm still claiming success.

On the topic of scales, I will weigh myself occasionally during the week, but my 'offcial' weigh in day is once a week on Thursday morning- same routine you have, get rid of anything that I can that would make me heavier . Since I was out of town this week I did it this morning I didn't lose, but I didn't gain either and I am down a half inch on my waist. I find that my measurements change even when my weight doesn't and that sometimes the scales can depress me and then I want to hop off the wagon. So after some experience with that, I now have a strict rule that anytime I weigh myself - official or not - I always take my measurements too so that I keep a realistic perspective.

Hope your feeling good today and you aren't letting the crab error set you back.

- D (that's my nickname - Dee)

Ack! Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner - I didn't get an update in my email from this thread... weird.

Anyway, I'm glad you're back and am sure you are as well! Sounds like you did a SUPER great job during the conference! Keeping it LC while in that kind of environment has to be a HUGE challenge, so Way to Go!!!

As for my misstep, I'm still sad about it, but I definitely didn't let it deter me. It's so weird to me that I've done this (Atkins) twice before (losing 30 the first time, 20 the second) and yet I remember it being such a HUGE struggle to be anywhere near a carb. It was like I felt deprived and left out of something great when watching others (especially my family) eat my carby faves and I was "stuck" with yet another chicken breast. Maybe it's because I'm a better cook now (if I do say so myself ), but I think it has more to do with my mental state of knowing THIS IS IT. That, and constantly repeating, "Carbs are my enemy" and believing that will all my heart definitely helps. When temptation rears it's head, I may take a nibble off a piece of my baby's pizza crust, because I want the *crunch* factor, but while I'm chewing, I realize, "This isn't worth it by any means!" (and those little 'sneaks' happen maybe once every 4-5 days). I'm also experiencing a seriously diminished appetite. I'm almost down to two meals per day because I get busy and my hunger pains aren't intense enough to make me stop and get something to eat. Yesterday I only ate a late lunch and then dinner.

I should have started with a measuring tape, but I'm afraid that's not something I'd stick to doing. However, on the VERY bright side.... just before Christmas, we were getting ready to go to my hubby's Christmas party and I was absolutely NOT going to go because I literally had NOTHING to wear that fit me (well, I could squeeze into some, but it looked grotesque). I was crying and telling him to just take the older boys, I'd stay home with the baby, etc. He said I should run to the store realy quick and get something to wear, so I did... Fashion Bug's plus section, of course. I got a great deal on two shirts and two pairs of pants even though I was sad b/c they were size 20 meaning all my 16's and 18's even were too small. Anyway, I've been wearing those pants nearly every day since then b/c they were SO comfortable (stretchy courderoy material that's soft and felt good). Anyway, three days ago, I was doing laundry and realized my pants were falling off me! I had my hands full with towels and was on my way to the bathroom when the fell down! So, those 20's are history! YAY!!!

Any good success stories like that to share yet?

__________________

Teresa (34)
Wife to Mike (33), mommy to four boys:
Tyler (14), Mason (9), Bradley (8.5) and "Baby" Logan (2)

Oh, and sorry for bad manners, I was just so anxious to reply back since I feel like I left you hanging! Nice to meet you, D! My name is Teresa and funny enough, my nickname is often "T" (my family calls me Terry, but my girlfriends from high school just call me T).

__________________

Teresa (34)
Wife to Mike (33), mommy to four boys:
Tyler (14), Mason (9), Bradley (8.5) and "Baby" Logan (2)

Nice to meet you too T - way to go shrinking out of those 20s! Stop and think about it, that was just since the holidays - your doing really great. BTW, I hope you had fun at the Christmas party - that night started out pretty rough!

My big success was getting back into a couple of my work skirts this week. Since fall I have been limited to only a few skirts and trousers for work because of my weight and being to stubborn to buy more volume of bigger sizes. I know it's weird, but I felt like is would be admitting defeat so when my weight went up I just bought enough to get by. So now it's really cool, like getting new clothes without having to spend money.

I also made a big find this week! If you want a great 'bread' recipe that is not only low carb but also induction friendly for Atkins, you have to try this:

Cleochatra's Best Ever Revol-Oopsie Rolls


3 large eggs
1 pkg Splenda
dash of salt
pinch of cream of tartar
3 ounces cream cheese (not Tbsp!) Do not soften!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Separate the eggs and add Splenda, salt, and cream cheese to the yolks. Use a mixer to combine the ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff (if you're using the same mixer, mix the whites first and then the yolk mixture). Using a spatula, gradually fold the egg yolk mixture into the white mixture, being careful not to break down the whites. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spoon the mixture onto the sheet, making 6 mounds. Flatten each mound slightly.

Bake about 30 minutes (You want them slightly softer, not crumbly). Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, and then remove to a rack and allow them to cool. Store them in a bread sack or a ziplock bag to keep them from drying out.

Makes 6@ about 85 calories a piece, >1 carb per

Cleochatra has her own blog ( The Lighter Side of Low-Carb ) and she has some great recipes sprinkled in with her daily chat.

Hope all is well today and keep up the good work!!

Oooohhh, yum!! Bet those would be good with a hamburger, some sauteed mushrooms and a slice of cheese along with some mayo & lettuce Have you tried them yet?? I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, so I'm going to have to pick up some cream of tartar and may be able to report back on them by tomorrow night

__________________

Teresa (34)
Wife to Mike (33), mommy to four boys:
Tyler (14), Mason (9), Bradley (8.5) and "Baby" Logan (2)

I tried them with a cheeseburger yesterday - it was really good! They are a carb each and since I'm following close to Atkins induction for my carb limits right now (with the exception of a Mojito once every couple of weeks ) I also need to count the cream cheese - half an ounce each - to stay on track.

I also made some into cream cheese Danishes yesterday for breakfast and they turned out great. I made the Oopsie rolls following Cleochatra's directions then before baking I made a cream cheese filling adapted from the mock Danish recipe (below). I put a fourth of that mixture in the center of 4 of the Oppsie rolls. You could increase the recipe to make enough for all 6, but DH and I only needed 4 for our breakfast.

Filling
4 Ounces Cream cheese
2 T Splenda (Bulk)
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla

I baked everything as normal and served the Danishes warm with butter. Two Danishes each (5 carbs for both by my calculations) along with decaf coffee filled us up and it was a nice change of pace.

It's not bread but it woks for me. Let me know what you think! - D

Hey, D, how's it going?!! Sorry I've been lax in posting; my work hours have gone from 20 to 40, so I'm doing the best I can to keep up with that while still homeschooling my 8 year old and entertaining my 20 month old. Add in a healthy dose of stress from my 8 year old step-son who has attachment issues and some visits from CYS courtesy of his crazy mother and, well, it's been a busy couple of weeks!

I'm down 15 lbs. now and seem to be on some kind of plateau. I realized I'm not eating as "clean" as I should be, especially for induction. My hubby bought me some Atkins Endulge candy for Valentine's Day and OMG, they are so good!!! But, it's filled with the sugar alcohols, so it's probably not doing me any dieting favors. I also had my first "allowed" cheat last weekend for my step-son's birthday - I had a small piece of store bought cake. After I ate it, I regretted it, but decided it wasn't going to deter me from my long-term goals and have been back on plan w/out any kind of issue (it didn't even knock me out of ketosis!).

How're you doing?? Do you post over on the lowcarbfriends website? I'm on their message board, but it's SO busy, I feel like a gnat - puny & insignificant... I love the recipes, though! And I screwed up my first (and only so far) batch of oopsie rolls, but did make a yummy SF raspberry jello oopsie cake which was AWESOME.

Anyway, for some reason I don't get emailed updates on this thread, so I'm going to bookmark it and will hopefully get back here more often.

TTYS!

__________________

Teresa (34)
Wife to Mike (33), mommy to four boys:
Tyler (14), Mason (9), Bradley (8.5) and "Baby" Logan (2)

Hey T - good to hear from you. We are both on the same pace, I'm down 15 pounds too. I think to keep going I have to gear up my work out routine. Exercise is not my strong suite, but I've got to get going!

I post some on LCF - my avitar is a pic of my cat. We have a vacation planned later this spring, so if my hub gets a good pic of me I'll switch it out when we get back. I'm not a big poster like some of the others are, like you I've got lots of other stuff going on - especially long hours at work lately, so I only get out there a couple times a week. I do follow Cleo's blog - I love the recipes and she has a great sense of humor. I am going to try her cauliflower bread sticks some time this week ... I'd love to do the pizza, but I don't think I want to go so far with the carbs for the tomato sauce and my cheese limit is 3 ounces per day right now while I am still trying to lose.

Have a great week! - D