This is my first post on this section of the forums, so hello! I came here looking for new recipes for induction friendly meals and thought I should post and say hi!
I decided to start Atkins after picking the book up whilst at home over Christmas. I read the explanation of how even wholegrain carbs and fruit can cause cravings and blood sugar changes, and was intrigued enough to give it a go. Before, my diet was very heavy on wholegrain pasta / rye bread and I always had cravings for sweet things (especially KitKat Chunkies and other chocolate, I am a chocolate fiend!) I am quite into healthy baking so I always make my own cakes with nuts instead of flour, agave syrup instead of sugar etc. However healthy I thought my diet was, reading the book has made me consider that my dependence on carbs makes me want chocolate and unhealthy food all the more...
So, I started Atkins today to try and see if a new way of eating will really make a difference! I am committed for at least two weeks!
I foresee my main problem being breakfast. I always eat porridge (with reduced fat milk) for breakfast, every day without fail. I don't really like eggs or bacon, so that is out. Today I ate a hardboiled egg (just about tolerable) and another one at around 11am, which tided me over until lunch. I think i'll just have to do this until i'm allowed to reintroduce a small amount of oats.
I'm excited to see whether Atkins will help me and what kind of side-effects I get (weight loss / bad breath / more energy), I will report here as I go along!
So far, so good! I haven't really experienced any side effects, except for going to the toilet every hour! I have tried to keep my water intake up but I noticed today my heart rate was well up on what it should be whilst running, so maybe I am a little bit dehydrated.
I have no idea whether i'm in ketosis or not, but my blood sugar has been stable ever since the first low carb breakfast on Monday. I am now at the end of day three, am I right in thinking it is all better after the fourth day? I am a convert!
Hey Claire! Glad to have you trying it out. You seem to have the bases covered. I think most people start to feel "good" after about a week. That's when all symptoms of the Atkins "flu" go away (usually) and you stop feeling tired. It sounds like you're doing great keeping yourself hydrated. I hope you find success!
Hey Claire! Glad to have you trying it out. You seem to have the bases covered. I think most people start to feel "good" after about a week. That's when all symptoms of the Atkins "flu" go away (usually) and you stop feeling tired. It sounds like you're doing great keeping yourself hydrated. I hope you find success!
Hi Linsy!
I haven't really had any symptoms of Atkins flu, so maybe i've got that to come! Now i've got into low carb cooking, it is not too bad. Salad, salad, salad and grilled veggies. I've been having avocado and linseeds with my salad every day to keep the essential fatty acids up, and full fat cheese and cream. Yummy! I surprisingly don't miss carbs and I don't have any hunger pangs either (yet?) I'm looking forward to the end of the induction so I can have nuts, berries and quark though.
It looks like you've done really well with Atkins so far, well done!
Thank you. Once you get into the "groove" of Atkins cooking and eating you stop worrying about things you can't have. It's become second nature for me to say "I can't have that, but I can have this."
You probably won't ever have hunger pangs. This WOE is high in fat and protein, which keeps you full. I can eat far less and still be satisfied on this plan than a high carb plan.
Like you, my typical diet for decades has been carb-based healthy foods. Despite that, I would quickly gain weight whenever I got sloppy about counting calories. Over the years, I noticed that eating starchier foods (whole wheat bagels, lentils) gave me more trouble. This last time I reached my goal weight, I decided I would try Atkins if I ever gained again. Here I am! I've been very pleased with the results so far.
Have you considered other options for breakfast? There is no reason you have to eat conventional breakfast foods. You could eat dinner leftovers. Since you like hard boiled eggs, how about egg salad on an oopsie roll? Or maybe the cauliflower faux mashed potatoes would work if you feel like something with a smooth consistency.
Find something that works for you. My hubby can eat oatmeal every day for breakfast and stay satisfied till dinner. I couldn't make it to lunch.
Another idea for breakfast could be a protein shake. Once your 2 weeks are over and you're on OWL, you could always make a shake with whey protein powder (find the lowest carb sugar-free one you can find), berries and almond milk. Of course, this isn't suitable for Induction and you'll need to experiment to make sure none of the ingredients stall your weight loss, if weight loss is what you're going for.
You could make ham or turkey roll-ups, like turkey spread with cream cheese/maybe some peppers/whatever you want really and then rolled up. Deviled eggs are good and can be prepared the night before. Some people like to make lettuce sandwiches/rollups by putting meat on lettuce with condiments and then rolling them. There are lots of lighter alternatives for morning if you don't like the conventional breakfast foods.
I've been having a little treat as a snack lately that I just realized is rather porridge-consistency. Put 1 ounce cream cheese in a bowl with 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, and microwave it for 30 seconds or so until it is warm. Stir to blend. Splenda and cinnamon to taste. The pumpkin gives it a bit of a grainy texture similar to dissolved oats in porridge, and the cream cheese lends it milky smooth creaminess. Maybe this can be a breakfast for you? You even get a serving of vegetables this way Good luck!
Mmm great! Thanks for all the good ideas, I especially like the pumpkin porridge idea! I could also mix berries with quark once induction is over. I will look out for protein shakes and also start eating dinner leftovers (although there never are any!?) Thanks everyone!
Another issue, my heart rate is faster than it normally is and I am a bit worried. Normally its resting pace is 60bpm but now (I have tested it a few times) it is between 70-100. Has anyone else experienced this? I am thinking my body might just be adjusting.
I jumped on the scales and my weight seems to have gone down from 152lbs to 149lbs (in three days?!?). The lowest I want to go is around 144lbs or 140 if it looks ok, but I won't stress myself out to get there. I will wait and see what it looks like on Monday morning (after a week on induction).
As my goal is more to get my blood sugar under control and get rid of cravings, rather than lose more than a few pounds, I was considering moving onto the pre-maintenance phase after a week so I can have a bit more variety with the foods and hopefully help my heart rate get back to normal. If I did this, do you think my cravings and blood sugar problems would come back? It'd be a shame to undo all the good work because I feel much better and more 'even' during the day.
Thanks for all your advice so far and have a good day
I've been noticing the same about my heartrate. Not a fan. Not sure why it's happening.
I would recommend moving through the rungs of OWL rather than jumping to pre-maintenance. Hopefully your losses slow enough that you can do so at a reasonable pace. OWL is there to teach us how our bodies react to certain food groups, so we can selectively decide what to add back into our diet. Maybe strawberries cause sugar cravings in you, but raspberries don't. That's what you find out in OWL. I think I read somewhere that if you don't have a lot to lose you can add carbs back in 10g increments rather than 5g, that will slow your rate of loss down too.
But I bet if you have been on a high-carb diet up til now, that first three pounds is mostly water, and you won't see that rate of loss up to your goal.
Ah ok, I suppose that makes sense! I think i'll wait and see how I feel on Sunday as to whether I do the induction for the second week or jump to owl. One thing is for sure, I haven't had any symptoms of suspected food intolerences since i've been on atkins (bloating, dodgy stomach etc). It'll be interesting to take this elimination approach to see what it is my body can't cope with!
I wish this thudding heart would go away though, it makes me worried i'm going to have a heart attack (which is ridiculous, I know!). I hope yours goes away soon too.
Claire
ps: had some nice aubergine pizzas with sardines and mozzarella for lunch - yummo!
I'm on induction myself, but I'm not an expert on Atkins. Heart symptoms really concern me. Atkins recommends seeing a doctor to get blood workup and a prescription for a potassium supplement before starting the diet (I'll admit that I did not). Can you go see one?
I had some issues with muscle cramps but I've been using a potassium-based salt substitute (AlsoSalt -- it's potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride) and haven't had any issues since.
Ooh where did you find AlsoSalt? Regular grocery store? I am concerned about potassium after doing some reading about it & low-carb diets, and my multivitamin only has 2% of my DV of potassium in it!!
Heart issues scare me too. I have some blood stats from about a year ago, but I haven't had any done especially for Atkins.
I've decided to change to OWL as of Monday. I would have done a week on induction by then and I don't want to start seeing low-carb as a crash diet so i'd rather crack on with the rungs of the ladder and get a few more food choices (mmmm nuts and berries!). If my heart rate doesn't slow down after that, I'll go to the doctor.
Alsosalt sounds interesting but I don't live in the US, and not even in the UK anymore, so I doubt it exists here... Nor do any of the low carb products (which is probably a good thing for me!).
AlsoSalt isn't a low-carb product (and I bought mine at the grocery store). It's just a brand name of a potassium-based salt substitute. If you are after potassium, any brand will do. They have been around for a while to cater to folks who need to restrict sodium bc of blood pressure. There are also "lite" salts which are a mix of sodium and potassium chloride.
It does taste salty, but i won't pretend it tastes like NaCl. AlsoSalt claims to have a taste advantage (over other potassium-based substitutes), but I wouldn't know.
But if you can get checked out by a doctor, that would be better and they can give a prescription for more potassium if it turns out you are deficient.
My Atkins Blood Sugar Experiment
Good luck!
Nor do any of the low carb products (which is probably a good thing for me!).
