My husband and I lost over 40 pounds last year on Adkins then fell off the wagon and gained it all back PLUS! We started doing Adkins again a few months ago and have lost some but have been stuck on a plateau for the last three weeks! We have both been so frustrated that last night we went to IHOP and both binged bad! The waitress we had told us that she has lost over 80 pounds doing Sugarbusters. It sounds very similar but she said that she can eat breads? I would LOVE to try this diet but am confused...
I have been reading threw the threads and I think I get the skinny. ( I think?) No white bread or rice, no sugar except artificial, no corn, bananas, white potatoes or peas?
But I can't find anything on here about fats? Do I have to watch my fats? Can I have whole wheat bread with butter? Or do I have to eat it dry? And what about say t-bone steak? or Cheese? Do I have to watch the amount of foods I eat?
Also can I have cereal with milk as long as it's whole grain cereal? And if so should I use whole milk or low fat milk? I would like to start today but am just so confused...
Please don't tell me to read the book... Hubby and I are both very busy and don't have time to sit down and read an entire book before we get started.
Can someone PLEASE just give me the simple how too's to doing this diet so we can get started. Please help is you can... Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
feffyy
06-26-2008, 12:33 PM
Sorry, one more question...
What about Adkins bars and shakes? Are they ok to have?
kaplods
06-26-2008, 01:06 PM
If I remember correctly, Sugar Busters does not allow white bread or bread made with white flour (so only 100% whole grain, not "made with" whole grain). I don't remember it's position of fats, and I don't know about the Atkins bars and shakes (though I think they'd be fairly compatible).
I've read Sugar Busters, Atkins, South Beach, Neanderthin, Carbohydrate Addicts, Protein Power, several of the Zone books and several Glycemic Index titles (and those are just the low carb/Low GI books).
I don't know that I would ever recommend any of them to someone who didn't want to read the book. The plans are far more complex than simple food lists, and any attempt to summarize them quickly is going to lose important information.
For a condensed version of the plan, you might consider The Low Carb Bible by Elizabeth M. Ward. The book compares and summarizes Atkins, carbohydrate addicts, neanderthin, protein power, schwarzbein principle, south beach, sugar busters, Suzanne Somers, and the zone. I borrowed it from the library, and have added it to my "to buy" list.
If you want a plan that's super easy to follow and doesn't require any background knowledge, I'd suggest counting - whether counting calories, Weight Watcher's "points," exchanges, or carb grams.
I consider the exchange system very compatible with lower carb eating, and extremely quick and easy to learn. It also encourages and to some degree ensures a balanced diet. The Hillbilly Housewife website (google) contains exchange plans of three different carbohydrate levels, as well as food lists for the exchanges. I printed out these, and keep them in a binder, along with "checklist" journal to check off my exchanges.
tops.org (in the tools pages) also has exchange information, lists, and even "deal-a-meal" type cards to print out.
Good Luck!
meowee
06-26-2008, 05:51 PM
You definitely need to get the book, but in the meantime have a look at the "frequently asked questions" subforum . . . you may find some of the answers over there.
All the GI/GL based plans stress good carbs vs fast-acting carbs and, (as a very general rule of thumb) . . . white stuff and highly processed stuff are generally going to be fast-acting carbs. Good fats (not saturated and definitely not hydrogenated trans-fats) are also allowe, as are good lean protein sources.
Bottom line -- no matter how you go about it -- calories do count in the end even though it may not be neccessary to count them, one by bitter one. Somehow, you must take in fewer than you burn up.
Good luck . . . we are all here for you . . . :hug:
feffyy
06-29-2008, 05:35 AM
Thanks for the advice girls. I think I'll break down and read the book. I am just so frustrated with the way my diet is going. My husband and I have both been doing low carb and walking and playing tennis every night and we are just going no where. SIGH...
I have been stuck at the same weight for over a month now. Something has to change...
snapless
06-29-2008, 07:10 AM
Sorry, one more question...
What about Adkins bars and shakes? Are they ok to have?
I know nothing about Sugarbusters but I can tell you that Atkins bars and shakes are not acceptable for induction on Atkins -at all- and I wouldn't even recommend them during other periods for Atkins much less any other 'plan' either. They are, like most stuff of this nature, full of things your body does not need.
If you were eating these that might be a good reason why you 'fell off the wagon' with Atkins.
The most important pieces of advice I can give you about any 'plan' is:
1. Read read read the book (I would say read it at least 3 or 4 times) and know exactly what the 'plan' is before you start in on it. Don't rely on other people's interpretations (threads and forums).
2. Make sure it is a plan you can commit to for the rest of your life. This should not be considered a 'diet', this should be considered changing your woe into something (you can live with) that is healthy for LIFE.
3. As with any nutritional or exercise change, consult your doctor before you begin anything.
Good luck finding a WoE that is healthy and acceptable for you!
meowee
06-29-2008, 10:15 AM
My understanding is that Atkins bars are kind of packed with refined carbs so definitely could not be recommended for any GI/GL plan I can think of. As Snapless points out they are not even recommended for Atkins.
She also gives very good advice in her three points too . . . I particularly want to repeat the one about this having to be a 'lifestyle change' not a diet. :yes:
SlowMovingWoman
07-03-2008, 05:07 PM
I copied the following off a support board quite a while back. I can
not vouch for how accurate it is but it seems to me to be a post
with good, reliable information in it. A couple of things I remember
and believe to be accurate are no more than 3 to 5 grams of sugar
in a portion of anything. No sugar at all is best. Two servings
of starch a day to lose weight and 3 to maintain. These should be
whole grain. Use low or lower fat such as skim, 1 percent or 2 percent
milk. Remove visable fat from meat before cooking. You don't count
carbs but you should strive to eat things that will not drive your carb
comsumption high. I plan to re-read the book and start again soon.
Hope this helps.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following is most of an email I send to friends who are interested in starting....
If you enjoy eating, this is a good-news book.
If you choose to eat out frequently, this is a good news book.
If you want your blood chemistry to improve while you continue to eat more savory foods, this is a good-news book.
If you want to lose significant quantities of weight, this is a good-news book.
If you are diabetic, this is a good-news book.
All these benefits are possible while you are feeling and functioning better in the process!
SB! proposes a way of eating that will allow you to eat most foods in normal quantities, possibly even in larger quantities that you presently consume. You can have three full meals a day and even appropriate snacks. There are not many things that you cannot eat....what you need to avoid most are foods or combinations of foods that require the secretion of large amounts of insulin to regulate your blood sugar. By doing this, you can get slimmer and healthier simultaneously.
Refined sugar in any significant quantity is toxic to the human body and moreover, significant quantities of sugar are derived in our digestive systems from carbohydrates and starches. Certain of these foods cause a definite strain on the health of the body, probably the mind and certainly the waistline. Fructose, the sugar in fruit will not normally hurt you, but eaten at the wrong time or in the wrong combinations can create both digestive and metabolic problems. Therefore, what SB! recommends is a low-sugar diet.
Aside from a few direct bas effects, such as dissolving our teeth, sugar largely acts as a stimulus in causing our pancreas gland to secrete insulin. Insulin has some good effects on our bodies, such as regulating our blood sugar level, but the bad effect caused by the overproduction of this megahormone are certainly impressive and are described at length in the book. In a nutshell, insulin causes our bodies to store excess sugar as fat. (My note: Let me say that again...insulin causes our bodies to store excess sugar as fat!) Insulin also signals our livers to make cholesterol. The two biggest health news stories these days are American's weight and cholesterol explosion! Once you read the foods to avoid list and compare it with our typical diet, you'll see the direct connection with the fast food industry and how we've been eating)
There are only a few things you cannot eat in the SB! WOE. ( I use the term Way of Eating vs Diet because the word diet implies a temporary fix and SB! is a permanent food change). They are the carbohydrates that cause an intense insulin secretion. You must virtually eliminate:
* White Potatoes
* Corn (and all corn products like chips, grits etc.)
* White Rice
* Bread from refined flour
* Beets
* Carrots
* And of course, refined sugar, corn syrup, molasses, honey, sugared colas and beer
* Limit caffein to one or two cups of coffee per day - caffeine produces gastric acid which stimulates, not suppresses appetite
Fruits to avoid are:
* Watermelon
* Pineapple
* Raisins
* Bananas
It's also very difficult to find many packaged sandwich meats, canned vegetables, cereals and sauces without sugar, but it's possible. Beware of hidden sugars in ketchup, barbecue sauces and salad dressings. Heinz is coming out with a no sugar ketchup, I use original Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and Furmano's has a great tomato sauce that's always been no sugar added. Puffed Kashi cereal is available at Food Lion, as are WASA Rye crackers, Triscuits (a SB snack staple) and Red Oval Stone Ground Whole Wheat Crackers.
The list of foods you CAN eat is very long, so I'll just list some of the ones that might surprise you:
Beans
Apples
Cheese
Butter
Slow Cooking Oatmeal
Pure Fruit Jelly w/o added sugar (Polaners)
Peas
Pears
Eggs
Whole Grain Bread
Nuts (my favorite are cashews)
Cherries (in Yellow Box)
Sweet potatoes
Apples
Yogurt
Whole Grain Pasta
Chocolate (60% or greater cocoa)
Shredded Wheat
Lentils
Cantaloupes
Cream
Whole Grain Brown Rice
Peanut Butter without added sugar (Simply Jiff, Smuckers)
Oat and Wheat Bran
There are lots more!!! You may find you're doing less eating out and more cooking at home, but the results are worth it, I promise!!
The next thing to think about is QUANTITY. Portion size is very important. The portions of food that you select for each meal should fit nicely on a plate. All of us know what a dinner plate looks like. It has a flat bottom and is flanged around the sides. Your meat and vegetables should fit nicely on the bottom of the plate and should not extend on or over the sides. If you place the proper serving on the plate, then the need to count grams is not necessary - a handy thing to know when eating out.
Reading the portion sizes and the carbohydrate labels on foods is invaluable - Most packaged food will fool you into thinking it has very few carbs if you read only that number and don't check the suggested number of servings that number is based on. In general, you can also deduct the number of grams of fiber from the number of carbohydrates.
All that said, because I'm diabetic, I also use a general carbohydrate per meal guideline from the American Diabetic Association and base my carbs on the Sugar Busters! Way of eating:
If you decide to give SB! a good shot, I promise it will work. In the first few days or week, you may find that you feel tired and grumpy - that's your body "detoxing" from all the sugar in your old way of eating. Although it's a little harder to change at home when old foods are available, I suggest you take a weekend to begin. After reading the book, I completely emptied my house of everything that was not "legal" and started my pantry from scratch. It was hard to throw out unopened pasta, almost a full 5lb. bag of sugar, and the white rice and grits...but removing the temptation seemed a fair trade for being healthy and thinner. Buying fresh fruits and vegetables to cook seemed more expensive in the beginning, but in the long run my grocery bills have averaged out to about the same.
Obviously, I can't cover the entire book in this email - even though it's really long! - so, if any of this makes sense or resonates with you at all, I encourage you to get the book.
Kate
feffyy
07-08-2008, 03:58 AM
Wow thank you all so much for all of the help and thought out messages! I really do appreciate it!
It's just so frustrating trying to lose weight. I can't believe I gained back so much when I was doing so good last year. I really thought I had this beat and now back to square one AGAIN:(
I sometimes wonder if I will ever get there? I don't want to spend the rest of my life fat and un-healthy I really do want to make a lifestyle change instead of "going on a diet"
I am going to go to the book store and pick up a copy of this book and take the time to read and understand how this works. It would be so awesome to actually see some weight come off and STAY OFF for good! I want to be able to get on the scale at night after a show wet and weight in the 100's again! Right now I am at 244 lbs (5'7") and am in a size 20. I want to be a size 11 again!
Thanks for all of the help and support and good luck and good health to us all!