Hello. My name is Mary. I've been looking around trying to decide which diet to make my last diet ever. I decided on Atkins and will start on July 1st. I just got back from shopping and bought up some meats and eggs, etc. I was hoping to buy the Atkins book but Wal Mart didn't have one so I will order one tonight online.

I have a couple of questions. I hope someone here can give me some acceptable brands of bacon, ham, hot dogs that doesn't have the nitrates in it. I looked at every brand tonight and couldn't find one that was nitrate free. Please give me some ideas.

When I was researching Atkins online, I saw somewhere that it said a person who is diabetic should not be on a diet that puts you in ketosis. Anyone know anything about that? I am diabetic.

Thanks!

Hi, good luck on your new adventure - I like the mindset of your 'last' diet, but don't beat yourself up if you slip. Life and weight loss is a journey, and there is not one moment that decides, it's a daily thing, so be gentle with yourself.

I agree w Kim that reading a book would help. In addition to Atkins, you might want to check out Dr Bernstein's diabetic diet book (google this, I don't have the title around) - he is a Type 1 diabetic who took control of his diabetes via low-carb eating and it inspired him to go back to medical school, become a doctor, and now he is full-time dedicated to treating diabetes (Types 1 & 2), using a low carb approach (his own, it's not Atkins).

I found my way to reducing my carbs earlier this year after reading a book by Gary Taubes called "Good calories, bad calories". It's a very scientific book (but I work in science, so it was ok for me) and it just made low carb seem like such a logical alternative to the struggle of dieting I'd been dealing with all my life. I was a few weeks into weight watchers when I read the book (and I was successful) but decided that I needed to give it a try, and for the FIRST TIME in my life I am not hungry, not thinking about when I eat next, etc. I'm losing at a similar pace to how I've done before, maybe even slightly faster, without being hungry, without cravings, really without much effort. In short, although I started it because I was convinced that there was a real scientific logic that carb restricting works for some people, I am sticking with it because I feel good, it's working, and it's not a struggle. Just the other day my husband said "well, you can eat this <high carb snack> when you're off your diet" and I replied "I'm not so sure I'll ever be off this diet - I think I may eat this way forever." I mean sure, I have a glass of wine from time to time, and desserts and special meals once in a great while, but feeling good makes sticking with this easier than going back to battling my self control vs my appetite.

I feel good, I look healthy (skin glowing, glossy hair, etc), I eat butter, cream, avocado, etc. Like Kim I eat bacon infrequently. I do try to buy it from the health food store, but it's not something I feel comfortable eating daily. If you really love it and eating it will make the first few weeks feel better by being more indulgent, then I'd go for it, but longer term it's something you'll want to not eat in vast quantities.

Hi Sarah and Kim. Thanks for all your experience and knowledge you have shared with me. I have read Dr. Atkin's book but it was several years ago and I definitely need a brush up. I have ordered DANDR and the diabetic book from Amazon and hope it gets here real soon.

I am so confused about people saying to eat lean meats, go easy on the bacon, etc. I've read a lot of posts like this during my research of the last few days, not just here but other Atkin's sites. To me, as I understand it, eating all this eggs and bacon, cheeseburgers(without the buns of course), steak and buttery sauces, etc., is the draw that attracts so many people to Atkins in the first place.

My brother lost over 100 pounds on Atkins, a few years ago, eating this way. Of course he eventually quit the program and gained quite a bit back. But he still weighs less than he use to.

I desperately want to lose this 150+ pounds I need to. I'm 51 and my health isn't too good. My husband is considering leaving me. Just waiting for him to decide. I'm getting my son to do it with me and I pray he has the strength to stick it out. Scales won't weigh him so I don't have an idea how much he weighs but I'd bet it is between 500-600 pounds. I did just buy a pair of scales that weigh up to 1000 pounds and I haven't gotten him to weigh on it yet. Hopefully he will by the morning. He is just 24 and has no job, no education and no life. He lives day to day not caring because he is so miserable.

I'm sorry for rambling on. I really need us to start now while we are both willing and basically ready for tomorrow. I have the books coming and look forward to reading them. I have an appointment set up with my doctor to get all bloodwork and such done but they can't see me until July 29.

I hope to have your support getting started this way. Thanks!

Wow! OK, I guess I do need to read the differences between the two books before I start. It's apparently changed since I had read the oldest version. We'll wait until then. See you around and thanks very much for all the information.

Just sending positive thoughts your way. Read the books, decide which plan you want to do, and go for it. You CAN do this. I lost 99 lbs the first six months I was on Atkins. It is very doable, stay positive. Best wishes.

Thanks DCHound for the encouragement. You've done very well on Atkins, as has the others. I hope to have those stats one day.

I talked with my son and he was very upset when I told him that we weren't going to start right now. You have to understand that I've been trying for a long time now to get him to start a diet with me to help him lose those hundreds of pounds he's overweight. Up till I mentioned Atkins he wasn't interested in anything, anything at all. Atkins is the first time he was excited and ready to go on 7/1.

I've been searching more information on Atkins. I've been looking back through a lot of older threads here in this forum. I found one where people were reporting what they had eaten for the day. The people starting out on induction saying what they were eating wasn't much different at all in what we were planning on starting out doing. Something like bacon & eggs for breakfast. Maybe a beef patty with a cheeseslice on top along with a big salad with approved dressing for lunch. And perhaps baked chicken legs along with another big salad & dressing for supper. A snack or two.

That seems to be similar to what I see some others doing, like I said. I've got to get us started. Make additional changes when I read the book coming in in just a few days. Every day we're dying here...especially my son. I have a chance to help him now. For the first time he seems willing. I don't want to lose him. It's that serious to me.

If you all don't think I should be here right now, I'll try to stay away until I've read the book. But I have to do what I think is right. We're starting in the morning. We're ready.

Hi Mary and

Atkins is a great plan when done correctly, I have no doubt you and your son will feel so much better on it. Glad your here with us

Mary

Leenie

As a serial dieter myself, I would encourage both you and your son to "strike while the iron is hot" and start while the motivation is there!! Putting things off tends to set us up for failure. Go ahead and read the book while doing the diet! If you have some mis-steps...well that is ok. Just adjust and things will be fine!!! This is a wonderful community with truly supportive people!! Please ask lots of questions!! And read the threads!

Good luck to you!! You (and your son!!) can do it!!!!

Thank you all for the wonderful welcome!

We had a wonderful first day I think. We started off weighing ourselves to get our beginning weight. I weighed a few pounds down from my highest weight. This is very important...I talked my son into finally weighing. He has fought me tooth and nail over this. I told him that one day he would want to know where he started from to see the totality of the weight loss. He weighed a lot more than I even suspected. I won't say here in case he ever joins in himself. That info will be up to him. But he has a very long way to go and I'm so proud of him with his excitement to finally get started doing something about it.

I ate 2 fried eggs and 3 sausage links for breakfast.

I ate 1 and 1/2 hamburger patties and 1 1/2 cups of lettuce & romaine salad along with 2 T. of Ranch salad dressing with bacon.

This has kept me so full and satisfied all day. I couldn't eat another bite though I have to admit that the part of me that always wants to eat anyway was alive and well inside me. I ignored it.

Right now I have chicken legs baking in the oven. Will have 2 to 3 of those along with the salad I had for lunch. I don't think I ever enjoyed a salad more. Just plain salad greens and dressing.

My son will eat along the same lines as I. A little more of some things since he weighs so much more than I. Also he hasn't really eaten vegetables for most of his life. He's going to have to build up to eating them a little at a time at each meal until he finds out just how delicious they are. He only ate a few bites of his salad at lunch and I will encourage him to eat some at every meal. I can't force him to or he will quit.

Doing great on the water and have had the multivitiman. We're on our way!

to you & your son!! Sounds like you are off to a great start!
Keep up the good work!
You CAN do this!!!

Great job on getting started, and admiration for your son for facing his fears and getting started (by the way, cheers to you on some pretty great mothering that got him 1) to get going and 2) moved you into taking action while you were both motivated).

While I think the books are helpful to a point, I am a person who believes the only way you will have success is if you make a diet YOURS. That means you tweak it to work for you. I have a friend who does Weight Watchers plus a bar of chocolate. Works for her. She doesnt even count the points for the chocolate, but she cant imagine life without chocolate so she just made it that way.

Whatever approach you take with time you will modify and make work for you. Where the books can be helpful is when you are frustrated because you're not losing -- that's when it's probably a good idea to read them again and figure out if there are things you are doing differently than what is recommended, and if you're willing to change those things to have more success.

I think the period of starting a new diet is a very fragile moment, and I very much relate to what you said about 'eating bacon etc is why people choose the Atkins diet' - the fact that I can have real cream in my tea or coffee, and put lots of butter on broccoli, and have marscapone cheese by the spoonful (mixed w cocoa powder - yum!) are my "perks". Each of us finds our own. I personally don't have bacon often but if that's the food that makes you say 'this is worth it' than go for it.

I also think that as time goes on you might want to re-evaluate. I've never believed that we can make real lifelong change in one go. I think it's something that evolves over time. So while it's really important to cut carbs out pretty much completely to get the physiologic benefits of Atkins or most other low-carb diets, the impact of the foods you do eat (bacon, for example) is something that is as a life-long food every morning might not be the best, but if it can get you through the first few days, weeks, months when your new diet is at it's most challenging, go for it.

When I started I was so concerned with avoiding the carb suff that I didn't worry much about the quality of the low-carb foods I ate (ate a lot of salami and such because it was portable and low carb). As I've gotten used to this way of eating - no cravings for sugar, no hunger between meals, etc, I'm able to have more faith in my ability to avoid the carbs and able to focus better on what to I am going to eat. But I didn't get here all in one go.

If you can follow 'induction' style eating for a few weeks - so lots of fat and meat, small amount of veggies, no other carbs, then the rest will work itself out in time.

I'm really proud of you for getting started, and your first day sounds like a great success!