JerseyGryl - I've definetly read the book, it's just that I've never been a big eater, I just ate the wrong things. I mainly liked muffins for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. All the carbs is what killed me. I never wished for more meat, I always wished for more bread. I guess even if I could I just would not want to eat six pieces of bacon for breakfast. I still want to eat a normal amount. What about portions? I know it's o.k. to eat 8 pieces of bacon, 3 hamburgers, 2 steaks and 3 eggs in one day, but is that good for you in the long run? I think I would want to go with leaner meats like skinless chicken breast, turkey and fish. I'm just not sure I like the fact of eating so much red meat and pork. I definetly like the eliminating the simple sugars and carbs though it's just all the fat and meat eating I'm not sure about... Are you still eating 6 pieces of bacon and such a day or did you just do that to lose the initial weight? Do you think the fatty meat helps people feel like they are not missing out on other foods?

SIO

Sio -

I understand your question... totally! I eat normal portions because I don't want to over eat. I know that others here have eated large amounts in the beginning of their loss, but they have also tappered off to fairly regular portions. I think I ate quite a bit in the beginning as well, but tappered off almost immediately. I eat lean meats, veggies, organic, and clean. I don't use artificial sweetners (though I used to) and I eat on a 9 inch plate instead of an average 13 incher, and my portions are pretty small, or what is considered AVERAGE. It is doable, and on Atkin's you shouldn't feel like you have to gorge in order to loose. I think what Kim is saying, is maybe add in a few more snacks during the day. If your body feels like it's going into starvation mode, you will stop loosing. It's your bodies way of hanging on to what you have in order to survive. Here is what I usually eat in a day, and am loosing just fine:

B - high protien shake with psylium husk and flax meal added
L - tuna in half of an avacado, tomato, and a slice of cheese
D - (last night) 4 oz steak with a side of asperagus, 1 cup of salad
Snacks - cucumber and yogurt cheese, or unsweetened coconut (yummy)

There are plenty of times that I only eat a vegetarian meal for dinner, so it is something you can work on if you don't want as much meat. You have to figure out the portion sizes and carbs of what you are eating so you don't exceed. If you are still in the induction phase, it won't be easy, but with time you can adjust to your liking.
Oh, and you can eat other forms of healthy fat like avacado's if you don't want to rely on the fat from meats. Also olive oil is another good substitute if you don't want to use butter. I use it more than anything else...
Good luck on your journey. Utilize this forum, and venture out into the weekly chat. You'll really like it there...

Oh o.k. Falon, that sounds great. I like your approach. I will try some of those healthy fats you mentioned and I love having vegetatrian meals sometimes. In fact, before I tried Atkins, I considered giving up meat (go figure). I will use the things you mentioned. I too am striving for a clean, lean diet and i just couldn't wrap my mind around so much meat and fat.

SIO

Thanks JerseyGryl, your menu sounds way closer to what I would eat. I just thought you had suggested I needed to eat more and suggested like 6 pieces of bacon and 3 eggs and I just knew that wasn't for me... Since you have been doing this so long, have you added back fruit and other complex carbs like brown rice yet?

SIO

Hello slimminginohio -

I have a different story on Atkins. I actually LOVE red meats and enjoyed the thought of being able to eat all of my favorite things. Before, I definitely overate everything in site. When I started Atkins, I was prepared with lots of things ready to eat so I didn't run for a bowl of sugar cereal or some other carb-loaded treasure.

My first week consisted of lots of red meats and veggies. After a few days though, my body was satified with less and for some reason, I learned how to eat differently. I now enjoy leaner meats like you. My menu kind of consists of the following:
B: 4 slices of bacon, 1 egg, 1 cup of decaf coffee, 1 tbsp half-n-half
S: 2 slices of bacon (told you I love meat)
L: Salad with either tuna or skinless grilled chicken breast
S: Celery w/ cream cheese or just cheese
D: Fish or chicken

But now, I don't eat the snacks as often. I'm happy with my meals only and drinks tons and tons of water. If I feel hungry (and I know I'm not -- that's just the old me wanting food), I drink decaf hot tea. Wonderful! And I have since cut out the night eating -- I used to be terrible about eating at night.

So basically what I am trying to say, is Atkins reteaches you how to eat and look at food. It's not about just eating fatty foods without the bread...it's about portion control and eating foods that will truly keep you satisfied longer.

I hope my little tid-bit helps you. And good luck to you! If I can do it, anyone can!

Sorry Kim, I do not agree with you. I lost 145 lbs so far eating whatever I felt like which included 6 pieces of bacon, sausage, and 3 eggs for breakfast if I wanted. A large steak, 3 or 4 hamburgers at a time, lots of cheese, etc. for lunch and dinner. I stick to the required amount of veggies.

All my stats are perfectly normal -- blood glucose, cholesterol, HCL, LDL, triglycerides, etc.

As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather not be hungry and tempted to eat carbs rather than worry about if I'm only eating chicken and fish and stuff like that. It's working for me and when I don't follow what I did to lose the weight so far, I start gaining.

No offense taken Kim. Every one of us loses weight differently and it's a trial and error to find what works best for each person. Some people lose better eating less and some lose better eating more. The trick is to get it to work!

I'm like Susan and Buffy-I don't try to limit how many pieces of bacon or burger I eat....if I'm hungry, and if I tried to worry about all of that instead of getting satisfied on the allowed foods, I wouldn't last long on this diet. Hey-I eat all I want of the free/clean foods, and I've lost almost 30 lbs in 2 months! Besides, all of the carbs we used to eat were turning into fat before anyway-probably more fat came from that on a daily basis than the natural fats we are consuming now, even if you do choose to eat 6 slices of bacon. Fat still clogs arteries, no matter how what kind of food it originated from. This is still a healthier way to eat than what got us here in the first place! On this diet, we are using the fat we eat for energy, not only burning off what we've eaten, but going past that and getting down to the stuff we have stored! I think that's why you can eat those things and have your cholesterol and triglyceride levels improve-fat we eat doesn't hang around in the body long enough to do any damage like before.