[breakfastsurreal]

Hey all, I am thinking about trying Atkins out, because I think it would work well with my body...my whole family pretty much has the same eating habbits as me, and my brother and sister both went on Atkins about a year ago and shed tons of weight off-and kept it off! I haven't bought the book yet because there are a few things I would like to know before I commit to the diet...

1- is it NO carb? or just very low carb?
2- I have heard some negative things about atkins before, are these things mostly myth? (causing osteoperosis, low carbs cause no energy)
3-Is the book all I need? Does it give recipes and foods? or will I need to go buy some cook book or something?

Also, I am a pretty picky eater...I don't know how to cook very well...I will try my hardest, but do you think another diet would be better suited to someone who is picky? I don't want to be limited to 2 or 3 different foods because they are the only ones on the list that I like.

Thanks guys!

[petra65]

I may not be the most seasoned low carber on the board but I will put my $0.02 in. I have been low carbing for about 3 months now and am pretty sold on it as a healthy lifestyle. Atkins is not a NO carb diet, it is low carb. Under 20 grams for the first 2 weeks (what is referred to as induction) and then you can increase slightly after that. Most people feel they have plenty of energy on low carb diets unless you are a high performance athlete-like a marathon runner. I can't answer the osteoporosis question, but I haven't heard any credible evidence that it causes that. The book contains a few recipes but you will probably want to buy at least one additional low carb cookbook.

Here is my little piece of advice. There are lots of low carb/good carb diets out there and there is not one that is right for everyone. If you decide you want to go down this path, I would recommend spending a little time researching some different options and deciding which plan might be best for you. Some allow more carbs right off the bat than others, some are easier for vegetarians than others, you need to assess your food preferences and lifestyle and see what will work best for you because this will only work if you can stick with it over the long haul. I personally tried out 3 plans before I found the plan that was right for me. Good luck. Let me know if I can be of any help.

[breakfastsurreal]

I know I need to plan first...but I really want to get started...I went to target and couldn't find the Atkin's book (ok well they had it in espanol but that would take me 2 years to read) but they did have the South Beach book...and it was only like $6 and I aLMOST picked it up...but I didn't...I am in a hurry because I have to go to the store in 2 days to buy 2 weeks worth of food and I am still clueless what to get...I mean I want to follow a plan, I have tried "shopping healthy" before and it just doesn't work out for me because I will buy all these healthy things but I will never eat them! I always end up snacking on my bf's (unhealthy) food.

[petra65]

At least go to the diet page on this site and read about a few of the diets: Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power, Fat Flush, Schwarzbein Principle, the Zone, etc. Then go to Barnes and Noble or Borders or wherever and get the book about the program you like. You first need to make a committment to the program or this won't work anyway. Maybe you need to talk to your bf about what you are planning to do and see how he can be supportive of you.

[lady_adnerb]

If you can't get the book, a good place to start would be the Atkins website. Where the plan online is more lenient than the book (allowing more bars and such), it will give you the basic instructions on how to do induction. It's entirely possible the first couple days (or a week) you might be tired and not feel well (headache) but that's due to your body protesting. It DOES get better and you DO get energy. So if Atkins is what you're determined to follow and can't get the book, start with the website, at least you'll be able to buy the foods you know you'll be able to eat.