Atkins Info

[Muppet]

Hello

I would like to give the Atkins diet a go. I could really do with a list of what I should and should not eat. As I am from the UK we don't have things like the Atkins bars etc. Recipes aren't too helpful as I cannot get some of the things here.

So to clarify.

1. What do I eat and how much
2. What shouldn't I eat
3. Drinks
4. Things I should be aware of
5. Do I need to eat every meal or if not hungry skip some(occasionally, hate brekkie)

Thanks

Shel ( I checked out the websites but still confused)

 

[wovenwonder]

You really should buy the book so you can truly understand the concept of this way of eating. A good website to get some info is www.lowcarbfriends.com -- I am eating low carb, have read the Atkins book, and now understand it -- but I'm not exactly doing Atkins -- just a similar way of eating that I've found to work for me.

Drink LOTS of water -- at least 8-10 glasses every day

Take a good well rounded multi vitamin every day

Atkins is a 'no caffeine' program too. Also no aspartamean -- but Splenda sweetner is okay.

Be prepared to feel very ill and major headache's the first week or two as your body comes off of its sugar addiction

Eat all of the meats, eggs, etc that you want to. Limit cheese to (I think) 3 oz per day. Stick to low carb veggies such as salad -- use REAL full fat dressings - broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, wax beans, zuchinni, asparagus, etc. - Full cream and butter are okay -- milk and margarine are not. Eat whenever you are hungry. Try to eat something for breakfast to jump start your fat burning machine for the day! I sometimes have leftover from the night before dinner for breakfast -- think outside of the 'normal' breakfast foods that you've been use to.

Once again --- I fully suggest that you buy and read the book and check out the website I recommended.

 

[Debbie in Townsville]

The Atkins site has lots of info on it, too: Atkinscenter.com I recommend getting or borrowing the book if you can.

Don't worry about all the Atkins bars & shakes. I do better without them!

I felt ROTTEN the first few days of Induction. The kids said I was detoxing! LOL! But now I feel better than I ever did before. Every once in a while I will have a planned cheat day. It reminds me how good I feel doing Atkins and I'm never tempted to go off for good. Even after I've reached my goal weight, I'm going to eat low-carb. I have so much energy and never get food cravings any more.

 

[Rhonda]

Here's a sample menu for the first 2 weeks (induction period when you're trying to clean your body of carbs/sugars):

breakfast: eggs & bacon

lunch: 2 cups of salad veggies (lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, etc.) with REAL dressing - I like Caesar dressing the best! A couple of pieces of lunch meat rolled up with a slice of cheese.

dinner: meat (as much as you want) (roast beef, hamburger, chicken, turkey, fish, pork, venison, etc) along with 3/4 cup of cooked veggies (beans, broccoli, cauliflower) but stay away from corn and peas - they have too much sugar.

Drink LOTS of water, and stay away from caffeine and aspartame (if you can).

See my next post for after the first 2 weeks.....

 

[Rhonda]

Sample menu for after the first 2 weeks:

breakfast:
eggs
bacon or other breakfast meat
cheese (cottage cheese is ok)

or

1 piece of low-carb toast (I buy Lite bread at the bakery - find one with the lowest carbs, and the highest fiber)

lunch:
salad with REAL dressing
lunch meat
cheese

dinner:
any meat and cooked veggies (except corn or carrots)

or

"Meatza Pizza" - one of my favorites! Flatten out hamburger in a pizza pan and bake for 15 minutes. This makes the "crust". Then, top with your favorite toppings: pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, lots of cheese, and a little tomato paste with spices. Bake again til the cheese melts - about 8-10 minutes. Yummy!

Snacks: Macadamia nuts, almonds, deviled eggs, pepperoni slices, beef sticks, jerkey, cheese cubes or slices, etc.

Dessert: one of my favorites - whip up heavy cream til thick, then add a few tablespoons of cream cheese and 1 tsp. cocoa and some artificial sweetener (Splenda is best). Mix up and serve in bowl - Cream Cheese Chocolate Mousse!

Feel free to email me with any questions about Atkins, or recipes, etc.! Also, check out www.lowcarbfriends.com for great bulletin boards and recipes! You can also order Atkins bars, etc. from them - but don't go overboard with those things. They make many people stall (including me!)

 

[Muppet]

Thank you all so much for your info.

 

[DixieDreamer]

Hate to harp on this... but get the book and READ IT! You cannot be successful with this unless you fully understand how to do it. Also, EAT YOUR VEGGIES. This is not a all meat and fat diet... nor a NO carb diet, but a LOW carb diet... with the carbs coming from natural low glycemic foods.

I have been on the Atkins WOE since the end of July of this year. I have lost over 26 lbs, my cholesterol numbers have dramatically improved and I feel wonderful. I wish you success.

Lowcarb friends site is a great one too!

 

[MHopkins2]

Pretty much what everyone else said, with these additional points...

* Should you happen to be a veggie-hater (like me!), you can still succeed on Atkins. Your choices are more limited, but it's possible. When I'm being "good," I live on meat, cheese, and mushrooms!

* Watch out for sugar & other carbs in places you don't expect. Always check the label on any sort of prepared food - tomato sauce and "regular" (i.e., not bought at the health food store) peanut butter are notorious for this, but check every label just to be sure.

* If you start to feel down about things you can't eat, go crazy with something you could never eat on the "standard" low fat diet. My favorite "dessert" (warning: this sounds gross, but I swear, it's really REALLY good!) is bits of real butter in whipped cream.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I've never really tried Atkins, and only read some of the book, but from what I recall (as MHopkins2 pointed out) you really need to watch out for sugar in foods, like sugar-cured bacon (I couldn't FIND bacon that wasn't sugar cured, even the bacon we got from our own pig!) and deli meats.

Thanks for all the other info. I'm thinking I've really got to do this THIS time. I bought the book last year...the "trick" is to read it!

 

[MHopkins2]

MaryAnne - Good luck!!!

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by MaryAnnDVC
I've never really tried Atkins, and only read some of the book, but from what I recall (as MHopkins2 pointed out) you really need to watch out for sugar in foods, like sugar-cured bacon

I had a real tough time avoiding sugar when eating out, back when I was on Atkins. You need to watch out for everything, even Cole Slaw. It basically comes down to accepting that to a great extent the only thing you can eat out is pure meat.

 

[wovenwonder]

I've been lowcarbing since June and have dropped 32 pounds. I find it VERY easy to eat out. My favorite is a tossed salad with real dressing, some sort of meat (usually chicken breast or seafood -- but sometimes steak) and a side or two of the lower carb veggie of the day (zuchinni, green beans, or broccoli for example). I especially love to go to places with salad bars and load up on all of the legal veggies -- YUM! I am eating so much healthier than I did in the past - and I am feeling terrific!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I've been doing Atkins since Jan 2 (lost about 4 pounds so far) and Friday night we took mom out for her birthday...to a PASTA place, no less. I ended up getting a lobster and scallops casserole, without the topping...just in butter. DH got it WITH the topping...looked delicious, but I had NO cravings for it! Instead of my "potato or pasta" choice, I asked for a vegetable...I got steamed broccoli. Oh...and first we had salads...I pushed the shredded carrots aside, and asked for (full-fat) dressing on the side. I drank water, and didn't have any birthday cake...and didn't care! It was wonderful.

 

[DixieDreamer]

Congratulations MaryAnnDVC!! It really is an easy plan to eat out on... you made good choices... and ATE GOOD!

 

[Buckalew]

I just did my first day on Atkins. I swore I would never do it but after hearing more and reading the books (ugh! I am so sick of reading that book! LOL) I decided to try it.

I overslept (that was bad for bacon cooking) so I had some cheese on my way to church.

For lunch I had steak, a salad and squash.

For dinner I had an omelet. It had cheese, bacon, onion and mushrooms in it. It was the first egg I have EVER eaten in my life! (well, not counting the ones in cake! ) I have actually been very full all day and am not a big water drinker but managed to drink quite a bit (but not a gallon )

I have a slight headache right now.
Mare, did you feel bad the first few days? 4 lbs sounds great to me. I am trying to lose so I'll feel better for my WDW trip that I am hopefully planning this year.

Any helpful hints or recipes would be great. Thanks for that link too!!!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Brenda, I had a splitting headache on day 2, but I think it was because I fell asleep all scrunched up on the loveseat all night. Other than that, I've felt fine. How's it going?

I don't have recipes yet...I'm winging it, and basically eating fairly simple foods...chicken, pot roast, eggs, bacon, etc, and salads. I'm heading to the supermarket tomorrow to pick up a few things and experiment a little more with salmon, scallops, etc. But I'm not much of a cook.

 

[Buckalew]

Mare,
I got on the scale yesterday (day 4) and had lost 4lbs. I was amazed since I am eating and feel full--I truly haven't been hungry doing this. I am starting to get over the sluggish really craving stage...man, that is a tough way to feel. I am glad it gets better.

I am doing simple foods also. I am not a gourmet cook but I see the link DixieDreamer has can tell you how to cook just about anything you can think of.

How are you doing? Anything that you have experienced that I should watch out for. I am ready for lots of energy!

Is there some kind of treat that you or anyone knows that you can have during induction? That seems to be the hardest part for me. It isn't that I really want a cookie now, but I'd like something... LOL

 

[dizneegirl]

I tried to start a thread with low-carb recipes on it here... maybe with a few more people low-carbing, we'll get a few more recipes?

Low Carb Recipes

 

[tw1nsmom]

I've been doing atkins since jan 1st, and I'm having a really hard time losing weight. I haven't cheated at all, I'm almost always in some form of ketosis (from mild to large on ketone sticks), but I keep losing and gaining the same five pounds. I have lost and kept off five pounds. It's the next five that keep coming and going. I'm trying to watch my portion sizes and when I'm starving or having binge tendencies, I've concentrated on eating meat. I don't expect rapid weight loss (although it would have been nice). I would just like the scale to go in one direction. I feel better eating this way, but I have approximately 100 pounds to lose and would like to see more steady progress. Has anyone had this problem? Any advice? Anyone doing/done the fat fast? Help!

 

[wovenwonder]

An average of 1-2 pounds per week is a healthy weight loss. So, if at the end of your first month you are 5-10 pounds lighter -- you are doing terrific! I always seem to flucuate alot during the month. But the end of the month I am lighter than the first of the month -- so I know that I am moving in the right direction. It is going slow for me -- and I've had a few set backs over the holidays. But I feel better than ever eating this way --- so I know it is the way for me.

If you truly do not lose over a months time -- you may want to try the KISS way of eating low carb. This stands for 'Keep it Simple Sweetie' and is explained Here -
KISS Rules


Started 06/17/02
current stats
247/215/139
5'2''