[luv2clog]

Hi everyone,

I went back to weight watchers..but, I am so hungry. Thinking about doing Atkins. Can you tell me what you eat every day? Like what to eat for each meal and what to snack on mid morning and mid afternoon? Thanks!!!

[TripSwitch]

I restrict carbs, I keep track of calories, and I incorporate intermittent fasting in to the mix as well... And right now my low carb "plan" is probably closest to Atkins...

So this is what I usually eat... If I eat "breakfast" I like to have scrambled eggs with some smoked salmon... and I might have some cream cheese with some chopped chives with that, and maybe some fresh berries...

Lunch : I'll usually have a nice salad maybe with some cherry tomatoes and a nice size portion of lean protein... like grilled chicken or maybe some tuna... with some really delicious full fat dressing...

Dinner : I'll have another salad and for my main course something like salmon or maybe some grilled flank steak with a vegetable like asparagus or haricot vert...

And as far as snacks and treats go... I try to avoid them as much as possible... But I do allow myself a few squares of very dark chocolate on occasion... and if I really need a "snack" for some reason... I stick to things like a handful of macadamia nuts or maybe a small piece of cheese, or sometimes a few olives...

[luv2clog]

Thanks Tripswitch!! That really helps. Salads sound like somehing I could make at home and take to work. I don't cook much. I leave for work at 7 am and get home around 6 PM. I prefer something quick. Thanks for helping me try to decide my next step.

[Novus]

If you're completely unfamiliar with the concept of low carbing, you might want to try (or at least research) some of the structured diets like Atkins or South Beach to get an understanding of how and why it works. I'm doing low carb but my carb allotment is not nearly as low as Atkins numbers. I aim for about 60 grams a day; Atkins is 20. I don't restrict fruits and veggies. I just don't eat any grains (bread, pasta, rice, etc.) at all.

Here's a random example day where my numbers are within the ranges I aim for.

Breakfast
2 egg omelet with spinach, mushrooms, and feta
2 oz. homemade sausage (ground pork with my own seasoning mix)
1/4 C. sliced strawberries and 1/4 cup sliced banana

Lunch
Lettuce leaves filled with tuna salad, alfalfa sprouts, red bell pepper strips, and cheddar cheese
1 cup raw broccoli florets with 2 T. ranch dressing
10 grapes

Dinner
3 oz. sirloin beef tips and 1 cup portabella mushrooms marinated in creamy balsamic dressing
1 cup mashed cauliflower
1/2 cup brussels sprouts
1/4 cup diced kiwi and 1/4 cup blueberries

Calories: 1,398
Carbs: 60
Fat: 85
Protein: 110

[TripSwitch]

Originally Posted by luv2clog

Thanks Tripswitch!! That really helps. Salads sound like somehing I could make at home and take to work. I don't cook much. I leave for work at 7 am and get home around 6 PM. I prefer something quick. Thanks for helping me try to decide my next step.

I used to have a similar work schedule... except I would need to leave for work by 6AM and wouldn't get home until around 8:30PM...!!! lol... So cooking was the last thing I felt like doing... and I would eat out a lot... so I would do my best just reduce carbs where I could... like avoiding bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice... and replacing those with salad and extra veggies... and when I was cooking at home I would try to make some extra... like grilled chicken breast for example to have to take with me for a few days for my salads... and when shopping I would buy bags of mixed salad greens that needed less prep... and single serving sizes of things like cheese or packages of nuts, etc... basically anything that I could find that fit into my plan that I could just "grab and go"... to help keep me on track...

[luv2clog]

Thanks Novus and Tripswitch for the great suggestions. I think I will do some research and go into this prepared for success!! I just need to find something I can stick with.

[CabernetKitty]

It varies, but here are some of my staple snacks & meals:

*Turkey Bacon, 4 pieces for 100 cals

*Can of tuna w/ a tsp. of olive oil, abour 160 cals

*chicken brest, size varies but as long as you eyeball a reasonable portion it can easily be under 200 cals

*Celery, broccoli, spinach (all the low-carb veg more or less)

*Basically any lean meat

*Tilapia fillets

[seize the day]

I've only been low carb for a about a week, but my go to meals/foods have been:

Breakfast: 2 eggs (hardboiled or scrambled) each morning, with breakfast sausage or bacon. Sometimes I also have 5-6 blackberries, strawberries, or raspberries with my breakfast.

Lunch, I normally have a piece of meat (Chicken, fish, steak) With steamed broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, etc. Or, a spinach salad with meat (same listed above) and peppers, a few tomato pieces, an olive oil based dressing, some cheese and sometimes some nuts.

Snack, pieces of cheese, salami, nuts, hardboiled egg, jello, or berries with whipped cream (I make my own unsweetened with heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract).

Dinner, I like to make a taco salad, minus the tortilla. I use a little shredded lettuce, ground beef (or shredded chicken, shredded pork, steak, etc.) seasoned with cumin, chili powder, and garlic, a little bit of salsa or chopped tomatoes, a few pieces of bell pepper (I like green and red) a few pieces of onion, sour cream and shredded cheese with 1/4 or 1/5 of an avocado.

OR

A piece of meat with mashed cauliflower (make it the same way you make homemade mashed potatoes) and broccoli or spinach.

There are a lot of ways to make complete meals without bread/rice/pasta/potatoes, sometimes you have to be a little creative, but search online and you will find tons of good recipes.

[wiezinthejuice]

for breakfast i typically have eggs and bacon or turkey sausage. recently ive tried the atkins frozen breakfast meals and they arent too bad

lunch i typically have a salad with tuna or a flat out light wrap with lunch meat and cheese or tuna with a side salad

snacks i typically have macadamia nuts, pumkin seeds, pepperoni and cheese, depends on the day

dinner is usually meat and veggies with salad

dessert i usually go for sugar free jello and reddi whip or blue bunny sweet freedom bars. they are pretty low in carbs.

[darling320]

I just started a low carb diet this week. So, thanks for the suggestions! Here's what I've been eating

Breakfast-
2 scrambled eggs with onions&peppers 3 strips of turkey bacon

Snacks-
Yoplait light and fit greek yogurt
string cheese+turkey roll up
almonds

Lunch-
Tuna and flax seed pita bread
Tuna and lettuce
Salad with 3 oz chicken

Dinner-
4 oz meat (steak, chicken, fish) with veggies (spinach, brussel sprouts, salad)

[JerseyGyrl]

Since you specifically say you are thinking of doing Atkins, my first suggestion would be to read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution 2002 or prior editions. Reading the book before attempting the plan is critical to be sure you are doing it correctly.
On Atkins Induction ( the first phase of Atkins ), you are limited to 20 net carbs per day ( net carbs are total carbs minus dietary fiber ) with 12-15 of those carbs coming from veggies & salads on the acceptable foods list. Basically, you are not permitted to eat anything that is not on that list.
A typical day of eating on Atkins Induction looks like this:

Breakfast: Eggs, bacon or sausage. You could make an omelette and add cheese & veggies ( from the acceptable foods list ).

Lunch: A salad, I add cold, cooked veggies to it and top it with either grilled chicken or steak or egg salad, tuna salad or chicken salad ( made with full fat mayo ), topped with full fat dressing.

Dinner: Some type of meat, chicken or fish, a small salad with full fat dressing, a veggie with butter.

Snacks: String cheese, hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, sugar free jello with whipped cream ( make the jello yourself using Splenda as well as making the whipped cream yourself ).

I hope this helps