guidance pls. I'm near my goal!!! Anddont want to get fat again
Hi everyone!
I've had alot of success with Atkins, lost abt 47 lbs in 7months. I'm excited. I'm 10 lbs from my goal weight. The last couple months I lost at a rate of 2-3 lbs per month versus 10 per month when I just started. LOL! But I think that that might be becuz I'm near to my oldbody size.
I'm so terrified of carbs now.... afraid of getting fat! (I also have PCOS so sugar really is bad for me)
I didnt do phase 2 cuz I'm not a fruit or nuts fan.
So starting this week I started with complex carbs as per phase 3 - potato, plantain. I still try and avoid wheat though I have indulged a very little. AndI try to have those carbs only at one meal to avoid insulin swings. PMS cravings for sugar crazy! Didnt have it this bad in previous months. I think it's the lack of variety in my diet of meat and veg that's causing a little boredom.
I've come too far to sabotage my success. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Congratulations on getting close to goal. If you don't want to sabotage your efforts, you probably should do phase 2 if even for just a month or two. There is more to the phase 2 level than to add in fruit and nuts and they are WAY before potato, plantain and wheat. Phase 2 has you gradually increasing your carbs while still losing weight and since it lets you add in other foods, you won't be so bored. Phase 2 is also where you learn your Critical Carbohydrate Level, so you can make sure you don't overdo the carbs and gain the weight back. I wouldn't jump into Phase 3 without knowing your CCL.
Congrats Jenngold on getting so close to your goal! That is WONDERFUL! I agree with MsChris... there is always a reason to doing it the way Dr. Atkins had it set out. It is a good idea to find out how many carbs you can eat during the day without gaining.. or losing.. and it does take time as your body changes during a month (TOM and all)... so try phase 2 for at least a few months to learn your Carb No BUT I say Congratulations! I hope I get to where you are before the end of the year! By then I want to hear about your lifetime maintenance program!!!
If sugar is a problem for you, commit to permanent abandonment of it. Its a psychological journey i happen to be on. I like it. It feels good though it took some time to work through it mentally. I feel very committed, though i do have a couple of out clauses for very occasional situation and one of them does not include Christmas. I hope to stay off sugar through christmas though i know it will be a time of great challenge so my plan then is to cook other really delicious foods which are not sweet. And at least i do not have kids and large family all around so it should be possible.
Learning to eat balance nutritionally with carbs will be what saves you. I eat carbs and don't have a problem with them but i can't over eat them either. I suspect you should not find it hard to include them without gaining weight if you are watching your calorie intake at the same time.
I can't see your height weight and how close to mine it might be but I eat
maybe one or two toast only for breakfast
none for lunch if i have it at breakfast
none at dinner
I might have toast at lunch instead of breakfast.
At such a breakfast i might have 1/2 cup yoghurt and stewed fruit
or 1 cup unsweetened cereal like rice bubbles or cornflakes and 1 cup milk
and if i had carbs at dinner i would have 100g spaghetti.
But now i'm eating more protein, trying to include it at each meal, though i don't eat meat so a lot of my protein is legumes which also contains carbs.
I have a big lunch of 1 cup legumes with 1-2 cups salad, a little cheese for flavour, a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and not many nuts.
So long as you are having protein and veg at each meal, you shouldn't feel the need of a lot of carbs.
But you have to begin to be aware of your fat intake because I think your body will now be using carbs for energy, if its not already and so the insulin will not be allowing you to excrete the fat that you might have done if you were in ketosis.
Eating the foods i do, i do not crave sugar at all. I eat fruit. Fruit is an excellent source of sweetness. Fruit is not to be feared. It won't make you fat. You won't over eat fruit. But fruit juice on the other hand could be a problem because it doesn't satisfy you in the way that a whole piece of fruit does.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MsChris
Hey Jenn!
Congratulations on getting close to goal. If you don't want to sabotage your efforts, you probably should do phase 2 if even for just a month or two. There is more to the phase 2 level than to add in fruit and nuts and they are WAY before potato, plantain and wheat. Phase 2 has you gradually increasing your carbs while still losing weight and since it lets you add in other foods, you won't be so bored. Phase 2 is also where you learn your Critical Carbohydrate Level, so you can make sure you don't overdo the carbs and gain the weight back. I wouldn't jump into Phase 3 without knowing your CCL.
Good Luck,
Chrislyn
I agree with Ms Chris. Phase 2 allows you to slowly (an additional 5 carbs at a time) add additional foods per the carb ladder to determine your CCL. This is different for everyone.
If you want to keep the weight off, you will need to determine what foods cause you to gain. Phase 2 is the key to finding this out. If you don't like fruit or nuts, don't eat them....but....slowly start adding more veggies etc. to learn how it affects you.
I've been doing Atkins nearly 10 years and I have 1 baked sweet potato a week. That being said, you may be able to eat 2 or more. Phase 2 is your blueprint for determining that.
All the best to you!!
Thanks very much for teh replies. So far the lentils are good, I'm losing albeit slower. I do have potatoes approx teh equiv of one small potato twice a week. So I'm watching things now.
lentils and other legumes and pulses are excellent foods for protein and fibre and other valuable micro-nutrients. Learn how to cook a range of them in different ways to keep your diet varied and your appetite in good shape.
Most vegetarian indians, eat these foods 2 or three times a day, along with lots of vegetables and dairy. The lentil and legume dishes are usually eaten with another complex carb food such as rice or some sort of bread but you don't have to. Its just they go well together for flavour. I eat them mostly with lots of other vegetables but when its an indian recipe, i really like them with rice or bread.
If you go with more mediterranean recipes they usually include a small amount of meat in the recipes and they eat bread on the side but not too much and usually without butter on it.
guidance pls. I'm near my goal!!! Anddont want to get fat again
BUT I say Congratulations! I hope I get to where you are before the end of the year! By then I want to hear about your lifetime maintenance program!!!
