I would say that you're probably not eating enough. Throw some snacks in there!
Also, remember that you should be eating some form of fat/protein with your carbs, so at lunchtime, put some chicken on that salad! Or, better yet - chuck the salad and have some stir-fry!
I think we all assume that salad is the only way to eat our veggies at first. I remember being so sick of salads that I thought I'd puke! So mix it up! Make stir-fries, steam your veggies, saute some mushrooms, Stuff a bell pepper with meat and cheese - there are tons of options so don't limit yourself!
Ok. That confuses me then. Because I swear (probably I'm misunderstanding then) the book says you're not supposed to have more than 2 C of veggies a day. I keep wondering where my daily carbs were supposed to come from.
The book says 3 cups of veggies per day for the first 2 weeks. I think I probably ate more veggies than that, but I did stick strictly to the list of foods that we're given. There's a heck of a lot you can do with that list!
I was very careful about not cheating AT ALL and made sure that I was eating a varied diet. I lost 20 pounds in the first 3 weeks! Just keep in mind that this is not a "diet". This is changing your eating habits permanently. If your caloric intake is too low, you'll send your body into starvation mode thereby countering your good work!
When your 2 week period is over, try taking a look at the food logs in the Atkins thread. You can find lots of great ideas there as well as all the fun recipe places you can go to.
Last edited by StarPrincess; 01-08-2004 at 05:02 PM.
many have a minimum intake of 1200 cal to 1500 cal depending on your weight and your muscle mass. check into www.fitday.com and you can judge your daily intake and caloric status. it takes a bit to get around the site but princess is right that is the fastest way to stall your progress. you may noe feel hungry but it is imparitive to eat and get the body running knowing it has enough fuel for those muscles or it will slow metabolism and start to burn the muscles for food (protein can be broken down and turned into fuel) and if you do not give your body enough to run on it will dispose of the thing that uses the most fuel the muscle ans pack it on for the fat as you are starving!. the body is actually very efficient. so do not give it a reason to go into the "starvation mode"
EAT!! ENJOY!!! if you are not fully satisfied and not fully happy with your WOE you will drop it and then go back from where you started FAT!
I think you need more meat and fat. Just salad for lunch is not sufficient.
I follow the original version of the Atkins plan from 1972 and in it he stresses not to count calories. He encourages us to eat as much meat and fat as it takes to feel satisfied, especially in the first couple of weeks. Two small salads a day is all the veggies we're allowed but after that you can add carbs in 5gr increments per week. This is the only plan that works for me, gets me into ketosis and feeling really good. If the new Atkins diet encourages you to count calories, then it might just as well be WW. (just my humble opinion tho)
Linda I agree I do best when I really restrict the carbs and do not vary too much. I do not recomend counting but if you eat too little then you need to have an idea how far from your baseline you are and can add more to eat.
I wasn't counting calories. It is just what I ate that made me full. So I need to exchange the noon salad for a hamburger instead. Or some type of meat. I'll have to try that!
(went to fitday.com--I was not only under the new version of Atkins 20G carbs but I also was under 1000 calories a day). I'll be doing my best to up that!!
Fitday is a godsend I LOVE it. If it wasn't free, I'd even pay to use it (well, not that much). I love how I can track exactly how much I eat and the ratios of protein/fat/carbs comes on the pie chart!
I just want to point out that there seem to be some differences in the amounts being stated as "from the Atkins book" Ive noticed this before on some of the other other threads.
Im thinking that amounts and totals have changed with different additions???
Yes...2 cups of salad is what my book tells me to eat! I went back and checked 2x. Lady Adnerb, you had a question before too, I cant remember what it was, but I remember thinking that it was right, but someone else didnt.
Im not here to correct anyone, just to point out that there seems to be different information coming from different "Atkins" books.....possibly a difference in the additions.
Anyway, LadyA....you need to eat more lol but make good choices in your additional calories
I have a question, when it says you can have half an avacado as well, does that mean + your normal carbs. Im sure the eb sit says that .An Avacado has quite a few carbs.
It was really god mashed with a bit of lime , tuna , cheese and a dollap of sour cream wrapped in a lettuce leaf though!!
Since there seems to be confusion on veggies, here's what I just copied off the Atkins website:
Quote:
These are the foods you may eat liberally during Induction:
All fish
All fowl,
All shellfish,
All meat,
All eggs,
*Oysters and mussels are higher in carbs than other shellfish, so limit them to four ounces per day.
**Processed meats, such as ham, bacon, pepperoni, salami, hot dogs and other luncheon meats—and some fish—may be cured with added sugar and will contribute carbs. Try to avoid meat and fish products cured with nitrates, which are known carcinogens. Also beware of products that are not exclusively meat, fish or fowl, such as imitation fish, meatloaf and breaded foods. Finally, do not consume more than four ounces of organ meats a day.
OTHER FOODS THAT ARE ACCEPTABLE DURING INDUCTION
Cheese
You can consume three to four ounces daily of the following full-fat, firm, soft and semisoft aged cheeses*, including:
cheddar
cow, sheep and goat cheese
cream cheese
Gouda
mozzarella
Roquefort and other blue cheeses
Swiss
*All cheeses have some carbohydrate content. The quantity you eat should be governed by that knowledge. The rule of thumb is to count 1 ounce of cheese as equivalent to 1 gram of carbohydrate. Note that cottage cheese, farmer’s cheese and other fresh cheeses are not permitted during Induction. No "diet" cheese, cheese spreads or whey cheeses are permitted. Individuals with known yeast symptoms, dairy allergy or cheese intolerance must avoid cheese. Imitation cheese products are not allowed, except for soy or rice cheese—but check the carbohydrate content.
Vegetables
You can have two to three cups per day of:
These salad vegetables are high in phytonutrients and provide a good source of fiber.
Other Vegetables You can have one cup per day of these veggies if salad does not exceed two cups. The following vegetables are slightly higher in carbohydrate content than the salad vegetables:
For salad dressing, use oil and vinegar (but not balsamic vinegar, which contains sugar) or lemon juice and herbs and spices. Prepared salad dressings without added sugar and no more than two carbs per tablespoon serving are also fine.
Acceptable Fats and Oils
Many fats, especially certain oils, are essential to good nutrition. Olive oil is particularly valuable. All other vegetable oils are allowed, the best being canola, walnut, soybean, grapeseed, sesame, sunflower and safflower oils, especially if they are labeled "cold-pressed" or "expeller-pressed." Do not cook polyunsaturated oils, such as corn, soybean and sunflower oil, at high temperatures or allow to brown or smoke.
Butter is allowed. Margarine should be avoided, not because of its carbohydrate content, but because it is usually made of trans fats (hydrogenated oils), which are a serious health hazard. (Some nonhydrogenated margarines are available in health-food stores.)
You don't have to remove the skin and fat from meat or fowl. Salmon and other cold-water fish are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Remember that trying to do a low-fat version of the Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM will interfere with fat burning and derail your weight loss.
Artificial Sweeteners
You must determine which artificial sweeteners agree with you, but the following are allowed: sucralose (marketed as Splenda™), saccharin, cyclamate and acesulfame-K. Natural sweeteners ending in the suffix "-ose," such as maltose, fructose, etc., should be avoided. However, certain sugar alcohols, such as maltitol, do not affect blood sugar and are acceptable.
Saccharin has been extensively studied, and harmful effects were produced in the lab when fed to rats only in extremely high doses. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed saccharin from its list of carcinogens, basing its decision upon a thorough review of the medical literature and the National Institute of Science’s statement that there is "no clear association between saccharin and human cancer." It can be safely consumed in moderation, meaning no more than three packets a day. Saccharin is marketed as Sweet'n Low™.
We discourage the use of aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet® and Equal®) because of clinical observations that it slows weight loss in certain individuals. The FDA has approved the herb stevia for use only as a supplement, not as a sweetener.
The Atkins preference, however, is sucralose (Splenda™), the only sweetener made from sugar. Sucralose is safe, noncaloric and does not raise blood sugar. It has been used in Canada for years, and the FDA recently approved it after reviewing more than 100 studies conducted over the past 20 years. Note that each packet of sugar substitute contains about 1 gram of carbohydrate, so don’t forget to include the amount in your daily totals.
Acceptable Beverages
Be sure to drink a minimum of eight eight-ounce glasses of water each day, including:
Filtered water
Mineral water
Spring water
Tap water
Additionally, you can have the following:
Clear broth/bouillon (not all brands; read the label)
Club soda
Cream, heavy or light (limit to two to three tablespoons a day; note carbohydrate content)
Decaffeinated coffee or tea*
Diet soda made with sucralose (Splenda™); be sure to count the carbs
Essence-flavored seltzer (must say "no calories" and should not contain aspartame)
Herb tea (without barley or any fruit sugar added)
Lemon juice or lime juice (note that each contains 2.8 grams carbohydrate per ounce); limit to two to three tablespoons
*Excessive caffeine may cause unstable blood sugar and should be avoided by those who suspect they are caffeine dependent. Everyone should try to avoid caffeine. Grain beverages (coffee substitutes) are not allowed. Alcoholic beverages are also not permitted during Induction; those low in carbohydrates are an option, in moderation, in later phases.
Special Category Foods
To add variety, each day you can also eat 10 to 20 olives, half a small avocado, an ounce of sour cream or three ounces of unsweetened heavy cream, as well as two to three tablespoons of lemon juice or lime juice. But be aware that these foods occasionally slow down weight loss in some people, and may need to be avoided in the first two weeks. If you seem to be losing slowly, moderate your intake of these foods.
I bought some beef summer sausage. has no sugar. can I actually eat that? I've been thinking about what Star said---and I probably could use with a snack that has meat. I'm not sure what other type of snack to have. It sucks being a picky eater also. I'm not crazy about cream cheese (unless it's a cherry torte). lol. So how do I increase my carb count (if all I can have are veggies and a limited version of those?) and meat count?
Yes, you can have summer sausage! Make sure you read the label to understand the carb count. I think I generaly count 1 gram "just to be safe".
Honestly, I didn't count my carbs until I went off the 2 week rules. And I probably ate more than 3 cups of veggies a day, but I'm not sure.
That being said, there are items on the acceptable foods for induction list that are higher in carbs. For example, spaghetti squash has 4 grams of carbs per 1/2 cup and you're allowed up to a cup of it - that's almost half your carbs right there!
Play with ways of combining your veggies! Stir-fry is a favorite of mine and I can combine all sorts of things. There's a clam chowder recipe that I posted in the Soup area of the recipe section. It's completely induction-friendly and tastes pretty dang good, too!
Just remember that when you have carbs, they should be consumed with some sort of fat or protein to lessen the impact on your blood sugar.
Eating Enough?
