Hi Michelle, Your menu looks good ! I would try to add more veggies. You should try to get 15 to 20 grams of carbs from veggies. That may be partly why you feel dizzy. It's normal to have an adjustment time where you feel crapy it should pass in a few days. Keep it up your doing great!

I'll be back to post later, Have a great day!

I love veggies, but I've been afraid of going over the 20 carbs a day. Like, what happens if I eat 25 grams of carbs?? I still need to buy the strips so I can track ketosis. I haven't been on it even 48 hours yet so technically I wouldn't have reached ketosis yet. :)

Hi Ladies,

I'd love to join you. I'm doing a mix-it-up version of low carb. I have PCOS too and have always felt best eating this way.

I'm doing something along the lines of Perricone, Sonoma, Protein Power, and clean-out-the-freezer-so-I-can-defrost-it. Dave is much more of a pasta/potato/rice person, but I just limit my servings and make sure there are lean protein and lots of vegies at mealtimes.

My biggest problem is after dinner munching. I eat good stuff--nuts and cheese especially--but too much. Bad habit that's hard to break. My other problem is consistency. I do well for awhile, they stop.

Are most of you on Atkins? I have some of his shakes. The cappucino one is pretty good.

Michele, your workouts sound fun! I'm thinking of joining a four mornings a week group that sounds like yours. Not sure if the times will work for me yet. I love the idea of being outside for exercise.

Look forward to getting to know you folks,
Mary

Hi Mary, Wecome to the group. I have the same problems.

Michelle, you can have 20- 25 gr carbs if most of them come from veggies, also you don't count the fiber in the veg, you deduct it from the total carb count, so you actualy can eat quite a lot of veg and stay below the limit. I eat lots of cucumber, peppers, brocolli, asperagus, radishes, cauliflower, tomatoes, etc. To many veggies never stall me, I only stall when I start eating to much dairy or nuts or other carbs.

welcome Michelle & Mary!

I'm not sure if I'd call my dizziness, but after 3 weeks on Atkins, I'm still feeling very CHARGED up...kinda like I'm running on high octane fuel or something. It usually hits about mid-afternoon. I'd describe it as my insides are vibrating - weird, eh?

I've been keeping my net carbs to 20 but might try to up it 5 or so with an added veggie and see how it goes. Thanks for the suggestion Puncezilla & Jersygyrl..

Kris, that's great that you're feeling charged up in late afternoon. That's just when I start feeling low energy!

We had chef salads for dinner last night. We have them in the summer quite often, but it's still cold here. It was just great--reminded me how much I love them. Lots of lean protein, lots of vegies. And I have a no carb caesar salad dressing that's really good.

Dave had garlic bread with it and fruit with his. I was pleasantly full from the salad--definitely a successful dinner.

I'm getting back on the exercise wagon--today is strength training and a few minutes on the exercise bike, plus walk the dog.

Hope your day s going well!
Mary

Really awesome story- so today at Platoon was cardio day, and I've never attended this class before. But staying in the level 1 group seemed okay during arm and leg day so I figured I'd be alright. Well I'm not a runner (but I wanna be) and I have a permenatnly sprained ankle and like NO stamina.

So we start out running and all of the sudden we are out of the field we always workout in and start crossing streets and going into neighborhoods and stuff, and I was losing stamina quick! I started to panick because I couldn't keep up with the group and just thought "well, guess I'll have to turn back once they're out of sight..." But then out of nowhere this other trainer ran up beside me and said, "you ok?" I gave a very huffed "yea... I just have never ran this far before." He realized I was in no shape to talk so he just ran next to me the whole way in silence. I was so slow- about 6 whole minutes behind the group, and he ran beside me the whole time.

There were many moments during that whole run when I thought my lungs or my ankle would give out, but with him running beside me I just couldn't give up... and we made it all the way back to the field! When I could talk I thanked him so much for staying with me, and he said "that's why we're here. Platoon leaves no one behind." And I was like... wow. I wanted to cry b/c I know these people actually care whether I succeed or not!

Then I asked him how long that run was and he said about 2 miles and I almost fainted. I NEVER thought I'd be able to run 2 miles ever! That's almost a 5k!!! Now I know I can do this! I don't know if the trainer (Greg) knows how much of an impact his actions had on me. And he didn't tell me to go faster or 'pick it up.' He knew I was doing my best and he just made sure I got back to the field safely and not alone, or feeling defeated! :)

Way to go Michelle!! Thats fantastic you found a good workout group, it's nice to know some people realy do care. 2 miles of running is awesome!!!

Kris, I get the same thing after the first few weeks, feeling realy charged up, a big change from my usualy low energy, drowsy self. It can be hard to find the right balance, if my carbs are to low I have so much energy I can't sleep properly.

Mary, Low energy in the afternoon is usualy due to low blood sugar, maybe you need to add a snack around that time. Or if you have caffeine in the morning and it starts to wear off around that time, that could cause a drop in energy too. I used to have the same problem, but have had a lot more consistent energy level since being on atkins.

I'm doing OK today, still haven't been on the treadmill. It's my second day back on induction so I'm feeling a little tired.

Hey there everyone!

Michelle, that is so awesome about Boot Camp. You can definitely go farther when there is someone beside you doing the same thing. And now that you have gotten all the grain-and-fruit-contributed-glucose out of your system, you will see results fast because you are burning the fat. Remember, your body is making glucose from your own fat. This is why eating fruits and grains will not help you lose fat. Make sure you are eating enough because on a low-carb diet cutting back on calories will cause weakness and/or a stall. Then looking at your meal for Tuesday, you are definitely not getting enough fat or salad/veggies. Where is the dinner salad and green veggie? Put some peppers or asparagus or broccoli in that omelet.

Come on Puncezilla, let's get back on the treadmill. You can do this.

Although I worked out Monday and Tuesday, after this weekend's migraine, today was the first day that I felt like my old self while on the treadmill. I think I'm going to give up the strength training while I work on upping my cardio endurance on the treadmill. I want to run for the entire 20 minutes. We shall see.

hello everyone! I'm new and I was hoping to join this thread. I love to idea of daily check-ins. I've been doing LC for about three weeks. Lost 6 lbs. Could have probably lost more if I didn't go off plan twice (for two days each, eek!) and if I exercised more. I just started a new routine and ordered two fitness DVDs to work out to at home. I'm amped now.

I'm a bit of a foodie and I cook every day, and I cook really awesome stuff. It's the best part of being Low Carb! I'm obsessed with recipes and cooking.

I'm so proud of you all for your successes and even more proud of you for sharing your setbacks. It's brave.

Nice to meet you all!

:)

Teresa

:bravo: Sylvia!!

Unfortunately, the majority of people have the common misconception Atkins is a high protein eating plan. Atkins is what is referred to as an adequate protein eating plan. What Atkins is...its a high fat eating plan. Its high fat for a specific reason. When you initially begin Atkins (the Induction phase), the sole purpose is to switch your metabolism from carbohydate burning to primarily fat burning. It also curbs cravings by getting your blood sugar stabilized. Addictions to foods...such as sugar, alcohol, caffeine, grain, corn or wheat derivitatives...are totally eliminated during this phase of the Atkins Nutritional Approach with it is done correctly as the book instructs.

As Dr. Atkins said "For people addicted to sugary, high-carb or high-glycemic foods...just as for alcoholics...moderation simply does not work."

Welcome Teresa!
 

:wel3fc: Teresa!!

You've come to a great place for advice, support & encouragement!

Are you doing Atkins?

Since you enjoy recipes & cooking, you might want to have a look here: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html
There are many delicious recipes on that site & the Induction friendly one's are marked with an *.

You CAN do this!!!

All the best to you!!!:)

Thank you!

I absolutely LOVE that website! I was kind of obsessed with it when I first started.

best,
Teresa

Hello to all the newcomers at 3FC's!!! I came across this wonderful article written by Jane Galt that I would like to share. I have noticed many questions posted on the "do's and don'ts" of low carbing, I thought this might be beneficial and especially helpful to those new to the low carb way of life:

1) Fat can indeed be turned into glucose, and is on a regular basis, by your liver. Whereupon it enters your bloodstream as sugar. Protein can also be turned into sugar with little effort by your body.

2) Your body likes your blood sugar steady. If you stop eating carbohydrates, your body will turn protein and fat into glucose. There is, at least as far as I can tell, no magic about getting your blood sugar from sugar vs. fat or protein, except the blood sugar spikes caused by ingesting large amounts of refined carbohydrates that I discussed below. You do not lower your blood sugar by cutting carbohydrates out of your diet; you just make it steadier.

The pancreas is the primary organ that figures out how much energy you have and how much you need, by monitoring glucose concentrations in the blood. Low blood glucose stimulates the secretion of glucagon (it's like the opposite of insulin: where insulin sweeps extra sugar out of your blood and stores it as fat, glucogen puts extra sugar into your blood from carbohydrate, protein, and fat stores); high blood sugar stimulates the production of insulin. If you eat fewer carbohydrates, the preferred source of blood sugar is protein, either from your diet or your muscles, because it's easier to break down. Your body turns to fat only as a last resort. That's why the protein content of Atkins et al. has to be so high; otherwise your body would start cannibalizing your muscles.

3) Fat does indeed turn into fat quicker than sugar or protein. Why? Because the liver is responsible for turning all your extra food into storable form. Since the fat is, well, already fatty, it's easier for your liver to pass it through to your adipose tissue than to initiate the transformation of carbohydrate or protein into fat for storage. Also, because the fatty acids require less synthesis, turning fat into fat is much more efficient than turning carbohydrate or protein into fat. This isn't based on some sort of sympathetic magic "fat makes you fat" study as some have argued; it's based on what we know about cellular metabolic mechanisms. From what I can see, arguing against this would require overturning current medical understanding of the entire fat metabolism process. Anyone who says they're consuming 4,000 calories a day on Atkins and losing weight either has a **** of a metabolism, a **** of a metabolic disease, or a tapeworm. Your body doesn't just excrete the extra fat you consume; it stores it. The same way it stores extra protein, or extra carbohydrate: as adipose tissue. AKA body fat. Arguing otherwise requires arguing that your body simply excretes the extra fat -- how? There's no organ responsible for excreting it, it doesn't appear in your urine, and it sure doesn't get reabsorbed into your intestines to be eliminated in your feces. Where's all the extra fat going?

4) Your body gets its quick energy from glucose; most of your working muscles use glucose unless you engage in sustained (+10 minutes) activity with one muscle group. Your brain and many cells in muscle tissue can only use sugar. That's why your body keeps your blood sugar steady. Other muscles that are used all the time, like your heart and lungs, prefer ketones or fatty acids, which deliver a longer, steadier kick. But they can get the ketones they need from sugar as well as fat; the only difference is where the ketone bodies are produced; in a high carbohydrate environment, they're synthesized in the cell, while in a low carbohydrate diet, they're synthesized from fat in the liver.

5) The average American gets 40% of their diet from fat. Guess what's way under the FDA recommendations? I'll give you a hint -- it isn't protein. In other words, we haven't been following the dietary recommendations that Taubes says are making us fat.

6) Calorie counts are roughly accurate, and are based on how much weight people gain over the long term from eating given substances. Saying "A fat calorie is different from a carbohydrate calorie" is true but not useful; the calculations are not based on some theoretical idea about how much energy they should provide, but how much energy they in fact do. In other words, a gram of butter causes an average observable weight gain of more than twice that of a gram of sugar. Now, they may have different, significant effects on appetite and satiety (they also may not).

7) Unless you are severely dehydrated, your kidneys don't care how much water you drink. As long as there's enough water in your system to allow you to pee, the stuff from your kidneys passes out of your system just fine. It's overwork that can damage your kidneys, not concentration of metabolites.

8) Eating too much sugar probably makes susceptible people diabetic by causing insulin spikes. But sugar isn't the only culprit. If diabetics go on a high-calorie, low-sugar diet, they don't have as much success as if they go on a low-calorie diet. Because insulin is involved in the fat metabolism process, total body weight also matters. Interestingly, sugar isn't the only thing that triggers insulin production; so does high levels of amino acids, which is the symptom of consuming more protein than you need for cellular repair and muscle-building.

9) The Atkins diet cuts out more fat than people think. While it's true that there's more fat from animal soures, there's less fat from french fries, Cinnabons, and the like. And it's easier to consume an entire bag of potato chips than a 20-oz steak.

10) You need fewer calories than you think. I'm a very tall woman, and my basal metabolism rate (the number of calories you'd consume if you were lying flat on your back all day, and doesn't that sound nice?) is 1500. If you're shorter than me (and a female with an office job), yours is less than that. Most people only need 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day, not the 2,000 the FDA recommends.
Hope you all have found this article helpful. Joyce