Atkins: Phase Two - O.W.L

I made it! Its been 17 days since I started Atkins and I'm still alive! I thought I'd just dieeeh from sugar and carb deprivation. Drama much? So now I am in the second phase of Atkins which is Ongoing Weight Loss or OWL for short. Like Harry Potter but not quite as magical. Sigh. So this week, I can up my carb intake by a whole 5g! Woohoo. You know I am being sarcastic right? Whats 5g? Basically 1/2 cup of strawberries. I know, sounds really lame huh? But I've been so deprived that I am ever so grateful for that sweet, sweet taste of strawberries! I can also eat raspberries and blueberries but who can bloody afford those here? My other fruit choices are rockmelon and honeydew which fantastic! It has a great sugary hit and I thought I wouldn't be able to stop myself from eating more but surprisingly, I managed to stay satisfied with that tiny portion (half cup) of rockmelon.

On the scales, it has been impressive. 11lbs to date but I don't really feel it. My clothes feel more or less the same. Okay, maybe I can breathe a little better in them but more importantly, I can breathe a little better when I'm exercising! Scary, my poor heart must've been working so hard. Breakfast remains a challenge. I've been having omelettes. Cheese and tomato, plain cheese, cheese and mushroom, mushroom and chicken, etc... Sigh. I've had soft boiled eggs several times just for a change. This morning I had scrambled eggs and sauteed mushrooms. Super rich as I used 1/4 cup of cream for the eggs. Very satisfying. I think I might go buy some bacon for breakfast this weekend. Yum. 

My afternoon snack! Grilled chicken with homemade mayo, hard boiled egg (white) and alfalfa sprouts

So my challenge now is slowly adding different foods from the carb ladder. I'm suppose to go slowly, adding 5g of carbs each week while monitoring my weight loss. If I continue to lose weight, then I can keep adding til I find my limit. This is going to be a battle for me because I am so impatient. I guess it would help once I'm able to have a bigger variety of foods to select from. Until then, lovely glorious pieces of fruit!