Restrictions, Beschmictions

In case anyone is sitting there trying to figure out what the second word in my title is supposed to be... it's supposed to be be-sch-mik-tions.  You know, a totally nonsense word to rhyme with restrictions.  Not sure the sarcastic gesture carries as well through a computer screen as it does when it's coming out of my mouth.

So, I've been on Atkins for 4 days... starting day 5 today.  And even though my biggest challenge is yet to come (the weekend), I feel really good about how my week has gone...and how surprised I am about how easy it's been for me to avoid "restricted" foods.

Every day, I've watched those around me chow down on carbs.  Fries, mashed potatoes, pasta, pizza, cobbler, bread... you know, the really tempting ones.  I've sat, I've watched them eat it, it didn't get to me.  Not one single, teensy, tiny, bit.

This wasn't what I expected.

I expected horrible cravings, headaches, withdrawals, lack of energy, severe crankiness, hiding in my closet in a fetal position.  But?  Not a single one of those feelings have come over me.  Well, except some minor crankiness - that doesn't stem from my lack of eating carbs whatsoever.

Then, it kinda dawned on me why I might not be feeling those feelings.  Because I'm actually enjoying the foods that I'm eating - and I don't feel deprived of anything.  I've felt full every time I've eaten.  I've enjoyed the food I've eaten.  I haven't had to eat tiny portions that are gone in three bites.

The last part is what has stumped me the most.  My meals haven't been the size of a baby's fist.  They've been "normal" size... meaning they don't look lost on a normal sized dinner plate.

And what's even better is the fact that even though I'm not counting calories, my Atkins tracker does and I've been eating way less calories that I thought I was.  WAY less.  Craziness, right?

I've been tracking everything I eat.  Atkins makes it pretty simple.  I just have to scan my food, do a quick search, or choose from the list of allowed foods and then it calculates my carb intake, calories, and percentages.... you know all that stuff I hate to deal with.  It then charts it all for me so I can see the progress I'm making.

Monday, I consumed 25g of carbs (my target is to be within 20-25g).  I had 1585 calories.
Tuesday, I consumed 23.2g of carbs and 1731 calories.
Wednesday, 15g of carbs (a low day for me) with 1400 calories.
Yesterday, 22.8g of carbs and 1525 calories.

Looking at those numbers, I feel really proud of myself.  My caloric intake is actually a little low - according to all those number tests I did in the beginning that calculates height and weight and stuff.... but I'm not one to throw my full trust in to a small tracker... so I take it as a little "wiggle room".  Or margin of error.  Or whatever.  I just refuse to eat more just to please the computer.  The way I look at it, I'm satisfied, full, not craving anything... so I must be doing something right.

Last night I had one of my first eye opening experience to how "OK" Atkins is going to be for me.

I had to stop at the store on my way home to grab some frozen pizzas for the kids and Hubby to eat for dinner.  I wondered what on earth I was going to do because I definitely couldn't eat the pizza... but just had this horrible feeling that if I ate one of my frozen meals - I wouldn't feel happy about it, and would end up swiping a piece of the pizza.

So, as I walked past the dairy case in the store, I got an idea.

I grabbed what I needed and we headed home.  Got home, Hubby cooked the pizzas for all of them...and I started preparing my dinner.  While at the store, I had picked up turkey sausage crumbles, turkey bacon, and broccoli in cheese sauce.  I grabbed two eggs from the fridge, scrambled them up, added the turkey sausage crumbles, cooked a couple slices of the bacon, and had a cup of the broccoli in cheese sauce with it.

Totally the negative, stereotypical Atkins meal - prepared much healthier.

And you know what?  It was absolutely delicious!  In fact, my kids were jealous that I was eating what I was eating compared to their pizza.  I don't blame them... my plate looked fantastic.  I savored every, single bite of it...and was full and satisfied when I was done.

While at the store, I also picked up a box of Atkins Endulges (Atkins friendly candy bars).  Not that I've really had any cravings for chocolate.. but they looked good and I wanted to try them.  I picked up the coconut in dark chocolate variety...and you know what?  They taste JUST like Mound bars.

I fully expected to eat one and then be dying for another.  But, nope.  They were just the right size to nip my sweet tooth in the butt and leave me...once again... feeling totally satisfied.

Of course, I know that I'm only in to my first week.  I could just be experiencing that "new diet smell" and feeling so great because I'm trying so hard... but I have to admit, I feel pretty darn happy with the foods that I can eat.  I'm eating more vegetables than I have in a long time, I'm eating the proteins I love, and due to the fact that I pretty much always feel full - I don't feel like I'm being restricted from anything.

I just hope I'm feeling this great next week.

I'm also VERY curious to see what the scale says on Monday morning.

But, until then... I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.