Hi Kim & AUD....
I am back to Atkins after being diagnosed with Diabetes. I know the first 5 weeks are very tough for me so I will probably be here a lot for support. I have been on these boards since 1999 - that's a long time of being very unhappy with my weight. It's really depressing so I am NOT going to dwell on it.

My first child was born 12 years ago on Wed. We took all 3 kids out to dinner to celebrate and I came home and told everyone Mommy is not going to be pleasant for the next 2 weeks - . I woke up on Thursday and am following Atkins Induction. Maybe by her 13th birthday my behind won't be hanging over the chair of wherever we take her to dinner.

Kim your success is so encouraging - GREAT JOB!!! I'm sure you must feel like and entirely different person. I can't wait to feel better too!
Nice to meet everyone here.
Kim

Welcome back Kim

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Leenie... 11 THOUSAND POSTS?????
I saw that last night before bed and I thought - oh my I've missed so much!!!!


It's great to be back (I have to change my avatar since that baby is no longer the baby...she is 6 and the older daughter is 12!!!!) I can't believe it's only my 3rd day and even though I have a real short temper today (not just induction) - I already FEEL better. If I wasn't so stubborn I might have felt better a long time ago. I've tried so many other plans - Nothing works for me except Atkins.

Oh my sister went into congestive heart failure when she delivered her baby last year. It was VERY frightening so I'm glad you don't have it. Gee you think Atkins is restrictive- her approved foods was awful!!!!

I read in my Atkins Vita-Nutrient Solutions book last night that the supplement Taurine (1500 - 3000mg) is to be taken daily to help with water retention. I ordered some last night from Vita Cost so I'll let you know how it works. I always retain water in my legs and feet in July and August - hate it! I don't really eat many salty foods either so I know it's my weight.

Have a great day -Kim

OK changed my avatar... can I go back to the one from 5 years ago? - Eh, I'm thinking when I lose 30 lbs - I will take another pic and then it will be encouraging.

So far so good today. Not really wanting to eat the house - and I even had to make sweet stuff for church tomorrow.

Off to put the oldest to bed.

Hopefully no one minds if I post here since I'm on a variation of Atkins.

My goal for the week is to make sure I eat breakfast every morning regardless of how not hungry I am, to make sure I drink enough water, and to not miss a single day of exercise.

I fully intend to start this thing on Monday and stick with it. I did it years ago and it worked rather well. I know it's going to be hard, being that I cook not only for myself, but for 3 skinnies that are always hungry! My goal is to make it through induction without any slip-ups! Peace!

Hey there! I was wondering if you guys could help me update some info? I wandered over to the South Beach forum a few days ago out of curiosity as to how SB differs from Atkins, and I found that their sticky on comparing the two plans was distinctly misleading.

I mentioned this rather sheepishly on their chat thread, and they checked it out and agreed that it should be corrected, and asked if I could help? But I figured that I'd be better off asking you folks (especially our resident Atkins Yoda, JG) for help on this one. Here's what it used to say:


1) Atkins - does not make a distinction about the type of FATS consumed--eat as much bacon you want! Eat all the trans and sat fats (that are bad fer cholesterol) until you are sated..
SBD - Trans and Sat Fats are discussed in the book and are to be kept at a minimum . "Good Unsat Mono and Poly fat consumption are encouraged within reason. (There is a guide to limits -see the Stickies section.)

2)CARBS: Atkins - There is no distinction between Carb types and the effect of them on your health. Atkins limits all carbs including vegetables and whole grains. In general, Atkins provides for very limited vegetables and carbs in general and Whole grains are not discussed at all. The focus is on total grams of carbs..

SB encourages consumption good carbs are part of the healthy eating plan (Pretty much unlimited green veggies and legumes, --and as you move to Phase 2, adding more veggies... (in general root vegetables are limited as well as corn) and adding in Whole grains like sourdough, wheat, oats--(essentially unprocessed/whole foods) .


3) Southbeach "focus" on lower GI load foods to stabilize body production of insulin in order to control and maintain a level of insulin in your body -doing so, you do not have the sugar spikes in your blood that contribute to feeling "false" hunger..
Atkins: maintain very low carb intake to promote the body release of fat to use as fuel and place you in ketosis.

4) Southbeach: Discusses and promotes eating low sat fat lean cuts of meat..
Atkins: no discussion on meat types

The staples of Atkins: eggs, cheese, meat -- minimal grains,fruits and veggies

South Beach: eggs. LF cheese and meats, whole grains, most fruits and veggies.

All diets work if you stick with them.. the thing is :what can you adapt to as a lifestyle going forward? What can you do long term?Everybody is different.. What "works best" is what you can do for a life time..

I'm not trying to say 'Go Atkins! Choose Atkins!' obviously, because I know that some people find Atkins too damn intense to stick with, and that they're more likely to follow and stick to a slightly more moderate plan. I'd just like to get a comprehensive and accurate comparison of the key points of the 2 diets. Anyone out there fancy helping me draft something?

That sounds like something JerseyGyrl would be excellent for. I'd offer to help but I've not been around very long yet.