Low Carb Archive - Things you wish you'd know before starting Atkins

Hi there!
I'm a newbie here who's planning on starting Atkins within the next week or so. I was just wondering if any of the more experienced members might be able to give a newbie some tips? Thanks! :)

How embarrassing. My first post and I commit a fatal grammatical error. :D

Hi laural and welcome :wave:

1. drink your water!!! all of it, and then some more

2. take your suppliments.

3. use www.fitday.com to log in your food intake

4. dont use the atkins bars to curb your sugar cravings (they stall alot of ppl)

5. make sure you have read the book thoroughly

6. post lots here and ask lots of questions.

Im sure some of the others will be here soon to add to what Ive said. Good Luck to you

Remember your veggies--it is too easy to get lost in protein but the veggies are vital to keeping you healthy!

Welcome to the fold Laural.

Robin, I think you got it covered, I'll just stick my 2 cents in about the ratios. I have found that the closer I stay to the 65fat/30protien/5carb ratio, the faster I'm losing. Fitday.com will help with that. I plan all my meals for the day in the morning so I can change things around a bit if the ratios aren't quite right.

Oh right and the first few days are going to be difficult so be prepared, but after them it gets so much easier you'll wonder why you never did it before. So lean on people, lots during that first little while and once you're over the hump, it's so much better.

Taking your measurements before you start is a great motivator for the weeks you don't lose any pounds because you often lose inches anyway. Helps with the stubborn scale problem.

Throw out the carbs and keep plenty of atkins friendly snacks on hand for the muchies (but not those dang bars!)

Wow that's more like 50 cents but there's so much to know. Good luck picking a date and hope to see you around lots.

Tummy

Splenda DOES in fact have carbs. <1 does not = 0. It equals something like .8 and that adds up.

Atkins bars cause many people to stall. I wish I had known I would be one of those people.

If you can live through the first few days feeling schlumpy, you will have more energy than you ever thought possible.

Hello Laural, and welcome to the board! I fixed your boo-boo. I know just how you feel!

My tips:

Bars and low carb candy can ruin it for you. Even though the net carbs is low, the sweeteners can stall the weight loss

Exercise is vital! I can't lose without it. I am learning that the hard way after several weeks of SLOWWWW losses. Some people can, but if you just get that metabolism boosted, you can just melt it away.

Cream adds up. Some containers say 0 carbs for 1 Tablespoon, but it might just be .49 carbs, which rounds down to zero. Depending on fat content, your cream probably averages 32 carbs for a pint.

Get an arsenal of snacks ready and waiting! Don't go to work or shopping unprepared. Keep ziplocks ready with nuts, keep some eggs boiled in the fridge for eating whole, or ready to devil in a hurry. String cheese, sugar free peanut butter, veggies and dip.

Read the labels! It is amazing what all has sugar, corn syrup, corn starch, modified food starch, glucose, dextrose, etc. Hidden carbs can really screw you up when you really thought you were doing very well.

Drink loads of water, cut out the diet drinks. Have them for special occasions if you must,but you need to flush out with water.

A support group is vital to me. I have to be accountable for my successes and failures to keep me in line. Consider a journal on 3FC, and also regular posting on the message board can help.

Don't give up. The cravings don't last forever. The first week or so is hard, but then the clouds clear and you will love it!

Hope this helped!

Be very careful of nuts and cheese. The carbs in both can really add up and throw you off.
Watch out for fillers in sausages. If you read the label, most sausage manufacturers put cracker crumbs or wheat flour in their sausages. Many put sugar in as well.

Thanks a lot for the tips everyone! :) Thanks as well for fixing my typo, Jennifer! This is really helpful, and I'm storing up all this useful info. I just have a query though: Tummy gave a 65/30/5 ratio, and I reckon that on Atkins' that's great, but I have to confess that I'm somewhat reticent to consume so much fat. Old mentality that I still haven't broken out of I guess! So, is it necessary to consume so much fat? Dr Atkins does say to not fear the fat and not go too high on protein intake because of the blood glucose effect, but still...

Sorry about that. Newbie insecurities. :D

My first few days on Atkins my ratio was totally wacky, 40/55/5 (f/p/c) and I didn't lose as much. I'm a trained microbiologist (who works as a social worker go figure) although not a doctor, but your body can turn everything into fat, carbs , protien, fat doesn't matter, anything in excess goes to the butt, or chins, etc. And as long as you're taking your vitamins you'll still be at your recommended daily intake of every nutrient that dieticians recommend, without the carbs! And after all that's why we eat, to get the nutrients and it doesn't matter what "type" of food they are in.

As a footnote, my cholesterol is now 142! perfect and my blood pressure, blood sugar and all that good stuff is fantastic. So...it's a hard thing to wrap your head around I know but it's just new wisdom and not conventional. (oh ya and your skin will never be dry again, it's great!)

Good Luck Laural

I thought the Atkins book said something like: "if you eat enough fat then your system figures you are in a time of plenty and doesn't need to store fat". Does that sound right to anyone?

As tummy said, our wonderful systems will turn anything into fat. The key to the Atkins diet is to switch us off of burning sugar to burning fat for energy and the ratios are key for this.

The only other $.02 I can add to all the other good advice is to eat when you are hungry. Especially that first week, you feel really hungry and it is better to eat than to let it build - you're not counting calories, only carbs. Before you know it you'll forget to eat (that NEVER happened to me before Atkins) and the calories will also drop.

Good luck!

I'm just beginning week 3 on Atkins. Here are my tips,
Don't buy the bars, just don't do it, if you have them you will eat them! Save them for post-induction.
Don't be hungry, there is no reason for it. I deviled a dozen eggs and grabbed one every time I felt hungry for the first 3 (IMHO the hardest) days. They really did the trick.
Don't be afraid of oils and butter, dressings etc. I get my fat % up there with caesar dressing. My first week I think I ate too much cream cheese.
WATER. It will begin to taste soooo good, you'll crave it.
Always have a plan, right now I have cheese cubes and pepperoni waiting in the fridge, celery cleaned and cut, and HB eggs. My water is chilled in 3 30 oz water bottles, ready to grab. Set yourself up for success every day!

Good luck!

I just wanted to say thanks to RobinH and Tummy Girl for the fitday.com site and the precentages. I love that site and I think with both of those tools I will stay more on target. Thanks!!

Laural, I have only been on this plan for a week now. I have lost 6 pounds and where as the it takes planning to stay in the carb range I am feeling better everyday. I am noticing a boost of energy now and I no longer have the severe heartburn/acid reflux that I've had for years. All the sugestions the folks on this board have offered are priceless. Plan things out, rid your pantry and fridge of those high carb items, and go for it!! Good luck!!:)