[FitinTime]

Hi Jerseygryl,
I was wondering what you ate to lose weight. You look so awesome! I'm at a plateau right now, only lost 28 lbs. I gained a couple, I know I'm not eating alot of carbs. I could be pms-ing, but I think it's too soon.
Here's a sample of what I eat:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 or 3 no carb sausage patties, water.
Snack: pork rinds (sometimes) or an Atkins bar
Lunck: Salad w/ thinly sliced radishes, cucumbers and sometimes bell peppers, with about 2 tblsp of 2 net carbs dressing and a diet Rite soda.
Dinner: meat, same type of salad as lunch, water and a diet Rite soda.
I do drink water througout the day.
Sometimes I snack on a few walnuts, or celery pieces.
One thing I do is always have vegetables or salad.
For lunch sometimes I will use a low carb tortilla, it's about 3 net carbs, with some turkey a little mayo and lettuce cucumber and a little bit of avocado.
Basically I eat this same way all the time, I just eat different meats.
One time for dinner I made fried fish with the pork rinds and soy flower. It was very good. I made turnip fries to go along with it.

One other thing I have given in to from time to time is sugar free ice cream made with Splenda.
Is this my downfall?
Anyway, I know I'm not eating alot of carbs so I'm not sure what it could be.
Any help will be appreciated!

[JerseyGyrl]

Hi FitinTime

I've been doing Atkins for over 3 years now and I am not an expert but..Atkins does work.

As far as my typical menu is concerned, I am what other's on Atkins would refer to as an "Atkins Purist"...meaning, I stick pretty much to the basic's. I don't eat many "low carb products" like pork rinds, Atkins bar's, diet soda, low carb tortilla's, soy flour, sugar-free ice cream. I do however, eat low carb/low sugar yogurt and as an occasional treat, Fage greek yogurt (Delish!!) with a little DaVinci's vanilla or english toffee syrup. I will also occasionally eat nuts. I don't do this often as I admit I have a problem with portion control. I also limit cheese to about 1 oz per day and no cream cheese at all because I have a portion control problem with that as well & learned early on it seems to stall me. This is basically my daily menu:

Breakfast- 1 hard boiled egg, 2 or 3 links turkey breakfast sausage, 4 oz Dannon Light & Fit low carb/low sugar yogurt, decaf herbal tea with 1 packet Splenda & 1 Tbsp heavy cream

Lunch - salad with 1 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, sliced cucumber, cold cooked green beans, cold cooked broccoli florets, cubed grilled chicken or tuna salad, 2 Tbsp ranch dressing (2 carbs)

Dinner - Meat (fish, chicken, pork or occasionally, beef) & a veggie

I try not to snack between meals, if I do, I'll have a hard boiled egg or some tuna salad. I also drink 128 oz a day of water...just plain water.

Many years ago, my chiropractor recommended walking as being the best form of exercise so...I try to do a lot even if its something as simple as parking the car way across the parking lot when I go to the mall to get more walking in.

The best advice I can give you is: this is NOT a diet..or a temporary fix I can do to lose weight & then go back to my "old ways"...this is a total & complete lifestyle change 365 days a year...no excuses, no exceptions. Some may say I am very strict but, it works for me!

You CAN do this!!

All the best to you!!!

Kim

[Lovemylife]

Jerseygyrl is absolutely right about this being a way of life. I thought I was in a plateau several times, but when I went to my calendar, I actually had lost 20# in 2 months, so look at your calendar and make sure you aren't doing better than you think. I did have some weeks no loss, then next would catch up. I also agree with Jerseygyrl about the prepackaged stuff except I do eat 3 Carg serving beef jerky and pork rinds occasionally as they are better than eating the other junk you see in the stores. I don't eat ANY atkins products as they have way too many carbs, they also no longer adhere to Dr. Atkins philosophy about sugar alcohols.

[JerseyGyrl]

Originally Posted by Lovemylife

I don't eat ANY atkins products as they have way too many carbs, they also no longer adhere to Dr. Atkins philosophy about sugar alcohols.

Don't get me started on the Atkins bars
"Atkins Nutritionals" claims they are "appropriate" for Induction!! Look at the acceptable foods list, do you see Milk, Soy or Peanuts listed These ingrediets are in Atkins bars. And in case you are wondering how they arrive at the 2 net carbs they list on the front label...they claim these bars have 0 grams of sugar alcohol...then they deduct for glycerin, which incidentally...IS a SUGAR ALCOHOL!!!
I told you not to get me started!!

[FitinTime]

Wow, now I'm going to look at those bars alot more closely. One thing I heard is that your suppose to deduct the fiber from the total carbs, so those bars shouldn't be too bad, everyonce in a while. I think?
You both gave me some good advice and encouragment. I do want this to be a lifestlye not just a quick fix.
Thanks you two for replying back to me, you helped alot!
I'm going to keep going until I reach my goal.
Whoo Hoo!

[JerseyGyrl]

I warned you not to get me started on Atkins bars
An Atkins Advantage Chocolate Peanut Butter bar contains 22 total carbs, if you deduct the 10 grams of fiber, you have 12 net carbs. Perhaps in a pinch, if there are no other low-carb foods available, they would be OK. Having said that, it would be a much better choice if you are out with nothing low carb to eat, to find a fast food place (McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King) and get a salad or even a burger or cheeseburger (minus the ketchup) and toss the bun. IF you simply HAVE to eat one of those Atkins bars...I'd count it as 12 net carbs...not the 2 net carbs Atkins Nutritionals claims.

[Leenie]

I agree with you Kim... those frankinfoods are horribly misleading. I wish I never ventured into that forbidden zone of sugar alcohols when I was doing Atkins because it totally destroyed my hard work.

.

[chickadee315]

does this seem reasonable to you?

1 or 2 eggs for breakfast (depending on how hungry i am) (1-2 carbs)
cheese string (0) and 4-6 strawberries (3 grams - 1 DF = 2)
for lunch today i am having 4 turkey meatballs (5g carbs) and cauliflower with butter (8 grabs carbs but 7 are dietary fiber = 1 carb right?)
then likely 22 almonds (5grams - 3 Df= 2)
romaine with 1.5 oz chicken, 1 strip bacon, sprinkle of hard parmesan, 2 tbsp caesar dressing (10grams carbs)
lots of water, 16 oz sparkling water with lemon and an 20oz iced tea with one packet splenda
so assuming i calculated correctly(i use fitday) thats 34 carbs - 12DF = 22

should i have more or less of anything?

[JerseyGyrl]

Hi Chickadee

Just curious, are you on Atkins Induction

[chickadee315]

yes technically i am and i know i am not supposed to have stawberries or nuts.......but i am having a hard time thinking of things for snacks that are easy.

[JerseyGyrl]

Originally Posted by chickadee315

yes technically i am and i know i am not supposed to have stawberries or nuts.......but i am having a hard time thinking of things for snacks that are easy.

Yeah, strawberries & nuts are a no-no on Induction. Easy snacks are string cheese, hard boiled eggs, deviled eggs, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, crispy cheese "crackers", pepperoni, pork rinds. Personally, I'd stay away from the nuts for now. I'm also curious about the iced tea...is it bottled or do you make it yourself? Is it decaf?

[chickadee315]

the iced tea is brewed from a bag its its either white or green tea so no its not decaf but its not to bad i dont think, i am worried about eating to many eggs otherwise i would do HB more often - what are crispy cheese crackers??

i did buy some salami last night and roast beef which i am going to try to eat instead of the nuts - only 1 carb for 5 pieces but i am trying to stay away from to many processed foods.

i will cut out the fruit tomorrow but even though i have been about 19-22 carbs the past 3 days should i still be able to get into ketosis or do i need to restart without the fruit?

p.s have you tried any of the recipes on the atkins site?

[JerseyGyrl]

Everyone is different...me, I'm an Atkins purist...meaning I go strictly by the book. If I want iced tea, I will make my own using Celestial Seasonings decaf tea's (there are SO many great flavors...True Blueberry is delish!!) or, 4c makes a powdered ice tea called totally light, its decaf & made with Splenda.

Crispy cheese crackers:
http://genaw.com/lowcarb/cheezits.html

Don't be afraid of eggs or fats...that is the beauty of Atkins. I don't blame you about too many processed foods...its best to avoid those & eat real foods.

As for fruit, I'm not much of a fruit eater except for the Summer when I do occasionally enjoy blueberries & melon.

I've never tried any of the recipes on the Atkins site. For some of the best low carb recipes on the net, check out this site:
http://genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html

All the best to you!!

Kim

[chickadee315]

Thanks so much - i am starting to notice my sugar/carb cravings starting and its only day 3 - thanks for the website i cant wait to try some of the recipes i figure if i can stand these next 11 days i can stick it out.

do you mind if i asked how quickly you lost during induction? I am hoping to hit my goal by end of november since i am going on vacation and am trying to stay on induction for at least a month thats the plan anyway.

[deedee10]

Thanks FitinTime for asking JerseyGyrl how she lost her weight. I was wondering the same thing because she looks fantastic. You're both an inspiration for me!