Hi everyone. I just started college about a month ago and I've already gained 10 pounds. I lost weight successfully on atkins before, but I don't want to return to that because it was not a plan I could stick to, and the thought of going into ketosis again scares me. I was wondering what you all think of this low carb plan that I came up with:

i can have eggs, salad,meat, cheese and full fat dressings
I'm allowed to have more salad though, as well as beans and a piece of fruit/day if I want it.

This is what I ate today:
breakfast: scrambled eggs made with PAM
lunch: salad with 2 hardboiled eggs, cheddar, and ranch dressing
dinner: same salad as lunch, 3/4 cup of kidney beans, piece of pork (dipped it in my leftover ranch)

Does this sound like it will be successful? Keep in mind that I've been bingeing consistently, so any change will probably be good for me.

Thank you so much!!

Hello!

Well, I think you should add in a couple protein snacks in between the meals - the trouble starts when you get hungry on low carb. I don't really know what to think about the kidney beans. Someone else will have to field that question. Also, I would suggest adding a veggie at dinner - you need the extra vits. and also to keep the meal interesting. Beware of the 'eating in a rut' with low carb - being bored with what you're eating is DANGER, DANGER (Will Robinson - sorry, couldn't resist). And what about adding some bacon/ham or ? to those scrambled eggs?

Good luck to ya. My daughter is a freshman also and has added that 7-10 lbs., too! And while she is walking her legs off all over San Francisco too - go figure.

Kel

I agree you need meat- protein... and eating is important- I eat 6 times a day! I'm never hungry and that way you don't overeat at one meal.

example- this is what I ate yesterday
breakfast- 1 cup of cheerios and skim milk- 30 carbs
snack- 1 cucumber
lunch- 3 slices of deli ham (you can find no carb ones) and egg salad (mayo- 2 carbs)
snack- whole wheat wrap and 2 tbs of cottage cheese and lettuce (wrap= 12carbs, cream cheese- 2)
supper- 2 porkchops and yellow mustard
snack- sugar free popsical 3 carbs

I'm trying to stay between 40- 60 carbs a day and 30 minutes of strength/ cardio (Curves workout) every day except for sunday and it's working for me- lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks.

PS and get you some one a day womens vitamins or something- you need extra vitamins if you're dieting.

Hi,
This looks a lot like the plan that Suzanne Somers came up with, called Somersizing. You can read about it at www.somersize.com or here on 3FC's, Aleka wrote a review of the plan. She's (Suzanne Somers) written several books about it, the best one in my opinion is Suzanne Somers Fast and Easy.
There are 2 phases of Somersizing. The first one called level one, is where you do food combining. You would eat what you listed, but you would eat all your proteins and fats together (with your lower carb veggies) and eat the beans without fat or protein and with lower carb veggies or fat free dairy products. You can eat fruit, but it has to be seperate from every other kind of food. On level 2, you would eat more like you've listed above. So, yes, this will work, but it may work a little slower than following a plan.
Now, the problem with making up your own plan is, you don't always have time to vary what your eating. For example, take the eggs. Your eating 6 eggs a day. I know, they are cheap protein, but they get boring after awhile. Besides, you will have some awful gas if you keep eating eggs like that, trust me, I know When you follow someones plan, you don't have to worry if your getting enough vitamins or enough of a variety of things. Also, you won't get as bored as easily.
If you eat salads 2 times a day, you will lose weight. If you can do it. Salads also get really old, really fast. I ate so much salad at one point, I thought I'd just if one more lettuce leaf entered my mouth.
So the answer is, yes you can lose weight doing that, but is it something you can stick to? If you find out that it's not, then why not look around for a plan other than Atkins that you think interests you and give it a try?
Good luck, Nikki

You shoulnd't have gas from eating eggs unless there is a food intolerance - that can sometimes happen when one eats the same food day in and day out. Gas shoulnd't occur with any foods, as long as it's digested properly. If it does happen, I'd recommend keeping a food diary to help you spot any food you might be sensitive to.

ElisaB,
Everyone has gas. Are you really saying that you never pass gas? I've been an RN for over 20 years and I know that it's part of the digestive process. What I meant was, if you eat 6 eggs a day, it will be very smelly, this occurs from the sulfur in eggs.
Nikki