Hello all. I'm Natalie, I joined almost a year ago, when I went a few months doing Atkins with much success.... for a while. I've been off the diet now and I've gained allll the weight back and I'm trying to start over again.
Problem is... I am horribly addicted to sweets (and basically all foods unhealthy, but sweets in particular).
I hardly remember the guidelines of induction, but even Splenda sweets are no good for induction, right? I believe I remember reading that Splenda may cause stalls. I didn't use it last time and I didn't stall much, so I'm afraid that I'm not on track this time.

Also, I have completely forgotten which Induction foods I enjoyed last time. I'm having SO much trouble avoiding carby foods. This is my third attempt at starting the diet again in the past 2 weeks! I've read a lot of recipes, but most don't seem induction-friendly. Could anyone offer some suggestions on their favorite foods?

Much appreciated!

Natalie

back Natalie!

If you're going to begin Induction again and you're fuzzy on the way it works & what you're supposed to be eating, you may want to re-read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution to refresh your memory. Doing Induction precisely as it was written is very important to insure success.

In the meantime, the following links may be helpful to you:
http://www.atkins.com/articles/atkin...-of-induction/
http://www.atkins.com/articles/atkin...eptable-foods/

As far as Splenda is concerned, it should be limited to 3 packets per day. And yes, you are correct, it does indeed cause some people's weightloss to stall.

While there are "legal" sweet treats, even on Induction, avoid sugar alcohols & so called "sugar-free" treats entirely. Sugar alcohols are EVIL!! Sugar alchols DO have calorie content and despite what you may or may not have read, have been shown to have an effect on blood sugar.

Lots of people eat them & it doesn't appear to effect weight loss. However, those same people experience gastric distress that keeps them on a constant path to the nearest rest room.

The people that don't experience the gastric distress are the ones seeing the effects of sugar alcohols on the scale.

Either way, it hardly seems worth it to me!

Bottom line, be it sugar-free or low carb...junk is still junk just the same!

Doing Atkins correctly does work...for a lifetime!!!

You CAN do this!!

All the best to you!!

very helpful, thanks!

Welcome aboard Natalie! I, too, am back at Atkins for the 3rd time...at least we know one thing...IT WORKS!!! I use the recipes from this website (my favorite being the cauliflower bisque (which I turn into a seafood bisque)...OMG...it is sooooo friggin fantastic, you won't believe it's good for you!! There are a host of other very good recipes which are easy to make (trust me...I cannot cook to save my life). Well, here is goes: http://genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html "Linda's Low Carb Recipes". Enjoy! Joyce

Heed JerseyGyrl's words. She is has lost and is maintaining her weight loss.

I wish you all the best. I know how hard it can be to stay the course. I myself just got back to Atkins after a three month lapse. I didn't gain all the weight back but 14 pounds was enough for me to see that I needed to make a better choice. Hopefully, if you have another lapse you will make a better choice sooner rather than later.

It may take you a few days to a week to break your addiction to sweets and flour. If you can eliminate all sugar substitutes, that may help break the addiction quicker. However, if you want at least one cup of coffee, using a little splenda may not be so bad. Splenda was Dr. Atkins preferred sugar substitute. Those sugar free bars and shakes are not advisable during induction.

I don't really eat any of the Atkins special category foods, i.e. hard cheeses, cream cheese, olives, avocados, sour cream, or heavy whipping cream on a regular basis. I do use splenda for the only cup of decaf coffee I have at work. So about 90% of my 20 net grams of carbs all come from veggies. I have these huge salads for lunch and dinner with protein and mayo or olive oil. And for dinner I also have another veggie. All of my food choices are among the acceptable food list for induction.

My favorite meal is a cabbage and ground turkey. You brown the turkey, making sure to season your meat well. If you are using ground beef, you may have to drain some of the fat. Add your chopped cabbage to the pot, stirring well. Let cook for 5-10 minutes, until the cabbage is as crunchy or soft as you like it.

You know you can always come here and talk to us about what is going on. This is especially helpful when you are having a lapse or even feel a lapse coming on.

bambi - thank you! that site is just what I needed!

sylvia - good advice. I've decided to re-re-start induction. I need a more strict plan because I've gotten into the habit of cheating quite a bit and it's not helping the weight loss...obviously!

Natalie - I just tried the swiss chicken rolls (Linda's Low Carb Recipes) for my SuperBowl party and wow!...was it a hit...if you like chicken marsala, then you'll love it. (tip...try adding 3/4 tsp xanthan gum - for thickening). yum yum...enjoy!

Also, although alot of people on this thread disagree with me...I've gotta tell you...I feel your pain on the sweets. I am also a "sweets lover", in particularly...chocolate. What "I" have found that helps me to stick with Atkins is those sugar free peppermint patties (york or Bach's). A serving size is 3 pieces...and yes, it does have sugar alcohol...and no, I don't live in the bathroom or has my weight stalled, but, I only have 1-2 pieces a day after a meal (lunch/dinner).

If you are like me...and you feel that you just can't stand it anymore...rather than give up on the diet...try a piece...it might help you the way it's helped me. However, if you find that it's increasing your cravings, then you should probably cease all sweets and detox the Atkins puritan way. Just my experience and opinion...glad that your back...I know how hard it is to restart! joyce

Hmm, those sound pretty good. I'm TRYING to cut out all sweets for as long as I can, but if that fails, I'll have to give them a try!

Induction food? Okay - I generally breakfast on scrambled eggs with bacon, or smoked salmon, and perhaps fried mushrooms. Maybe some cherrry tomatoes too. Sometimes I have poached salmon on a bed of lettuce, with poached eggs on top. This is nice with a blob of mayo mixed with Dijon mustard.

I do a lot of stir-fries (in Thailand houses tend not to have ovens, because it's not a traditional Thai foodstyle, so I don't get baking or casseroling as an option). I also do a lot of steak-and-salad, or chicken-breast-and-salad, that kind of thing. Sometimes crumble a little blue cheese and bacon on top. For comfort food, I'm terribly impressed by Doctor A's Cauliflower puree idea - it really DOES taste startlingly like mashed potato. I make it with lots of ground black pepper, fried garlic and onions and mushrooms and butter. I bet it would be good with cheese stirred in too. You could also use that as a topping for a delicious sheperd's pie - haven't done that yet, but it's only a matter of time.


Meanwhile, though...this is going to maybe sound annoying, but I think you need to change your mindset a little.

It's not cheating. It's sabotaging.

I think this is actually quite an important point, even though it sounds trivial, because I think it reflects a way of thinking about the diet that isn't helpful.

Your eating habits aren't some kind of external test that's being done to you - this is how YOU are changing your body, changing your health, changing your life. This is how YOU are reaching for the life you want to have, the body you want to have, the chances you want to have. This is how YOU are working towards being as strong, as sexy, as free as you deserve to be. There is no cheating involved - if you decide that the candybar is more important to you than achieving your goal, then you're consciously sabotaging your own work, not cheating.

And, you know, if the candy bar genuinely IS more important to you than reaching your goal, then that's okay. That's your choice. It won't hurt anyone but you, and if you're okay with that, that's fine.

But if you're not happy with your body, with your health, with the limitations that excess weight puts upon your skills, your attractiveness, your opportunities...if you want to be stronger, healthier, slimmer, more beautiful, then that IS attainable. But it's not free, and if you'd rather have the fleeting comfort of sweetness on your tongue, then that's your call.

I guess what I'm saying is - you can't have your cake and eat it! ; )

But you CAN have a lot of very delicious things, and if you DO stick to the plan, and NOT sabotage it, you may very well discover that your sweet tooth isn't really yours. That you crave sweets precisely because you've been eating them - and that once you cut them out, your body actually starts working in an entirely different way. I know I'm having absolutely no problems with being tempted by cookies and chocolates and so forth at the moment, even while shopping - and yet, before I cut them out entirely, I was physically incapable of eating 'just one cookie'. I had to eat the whole damn packet in one go. Every. Time.

Turns out that wasn't actually about my greed or self-control, it wasn't actually about what I wanted or enjoyed - it was simply about the way my body reacts to the carbs.

This isn't to say that what is working for me will definitely work for you - but I really do find that I'm thoroughly enjoying the foods on Induction (This is my 4th week of Induction - I've got at least 100lb to lose, so I'm going to carry on doing Induction as long as I can, I think), and I'm really not denying myself. And it's amazing how much stronger and more delicious the natural flavours in things taste, once you cut out the processed crap. The natural sweetness of cherry tomatoes and sweet bell peppers feels almost too much - like I've gone off-plan.

Um. Right, I think I sound like a total nag, and that's not very helpful. What I want you to realise, though, is that YOU are in control of your weight. You have all the power and all the potential, and you CAN do this, if it's what you want.

Faye!!! I couldn't have said it any better myself! And yes, you are right, it may sound "annoying" & as you mentioned, like you are being a "total nag"....however, people come to this board for advice, support & encouragement and that is what we try to provide to the newcomer's. I am not one to sugarcoat the facts. If YOU want to lose weight, then YOU are going to have to totally change YOUR attitude about food, as well as YOUR eating habits! Like it or not, that is the simple, honest truth!

A good friend of my Mom's was impressed with my weightloss and decided she was going to begin eating "low carb" (not Atkins...as she unfortunately did not read the book & believes Atkins is unhealthy). Before she even began her low carb journey, the first words out of her mouth were "I'm not going to deprive myself...if I want a baked potato, I'm going to have a baked potato!" Sabotage before she even began! And guess what, she ate her baked potato...as well as many other non low carb foods and it wasn't long before she decided "this diet is not working" and she quit.

If YOU make the choice to eat a baked potato, a candybar, a cookie, whatever the case might be....remember, YOU are sabotaging YOUR own efforts. If YOU are ok with YOUR choice to put those foods into YOUR body...then YOU need to take responsibility for YOUR behavior. In other words, when the weight isn't coming off, don't turn around and say "this diet doesn't work".

To put it in a nutshell...."If You Did What You Always Did....You'll Get What You Always Got". If you want to lose weight & be successful at losing weight...you must be willing to change a few things...starting with attitude.

I'm not saying you can NEVER indulge in an OCCASIONAL treat. There are so many "legal" treats on this way of eating (even on Induction) there is no reason to feel deprived.

The choice is YOUR'S....YOU CAN do this!!!