This is my 4th day on the diet and I have been doing great, so far I am down 6 lbs. My concern is that my calorie intake is really low. I don't want to stall my metabolism by not eating enough, but in order to keep my carbs at between 20 - 25 I have had to stop eating even if I am a little hungry.

The first day I ended up at 1077 with 22 carbs.
I had scrambled eggs for breakfast
Cauliflower bisque for lunch
a couple cheese sticks for snacks
steak and salad for dinner

The second day was 1202 with 33.6 carbs
I had eggs for breakfast
soup for lunch
8 green olives for snack
steak & salad for dinner
a couple of cheese sticks for snacks
and a sugar free jello

The third day was 899 calories 27 carbs
Eggs for breakfast (I'm not very adventurous in the morning)
Taco soup for lunch
1/2 avocado

I was in a hurry so I ended up eating
Taco soup for dinner
and the other 1/2 of avocado
Sugar free jello
pickles for snack
cheese stick

The carbs that I am eating are mainly from the veggies in the soup. I made it myself, so I know that I am not eating anything crazy. My concern is what should I be doing to get my calories up more so I don't stall my weightloss by not eating enough. When I did this diet years ago I thought I could just eat as many veggies as I wanted to and not count those so that is what I did... but I also didn't have great success by doing that. This time I wanted to try really hard to stay within the 20 -25 carbs a day and even though I am really not eating very much I am still going over that most days.

I would appreciate your advice!

Thanks Kim I appreciate the tips! This weekend I am going to grill up some chicken breasts to keep for salads during the week. I made the locarb soups because they were quick for me to warm up during my lunch break, but they do have more carbs in them than a salad with meat would have.

Do you have any suggestions for locarb snacks to have instead of cheese. I like those because they are easy to throw in my purse and take to work with me. I did find some small little dill pickle packs that are 1 carb that I tried one day...not as good as the cheese, but it filled me up.

Oh and yes, I have read the book, but it has been quite a few years now, I don't have a copy because it was my mothers. I went to the website for Dr. Atkins wife that was recommended to refresh myself on somethings after reading the the new website is not following the rules from his book.

I've experienced "starvation mode," on many diets over the past 35 years or so - and I can tell you that I've never experienced it on a low-carb plan. You do want to eat enough to satisfy your hunger and keep your energy levels up, but you can do that without counting calories or going hungry.

You said that in order to keep your carbs at between 20 - 25 you have had to stop eating even though you're still hungry.

If you're hungry, you need to be eating (that seems to be one of the most important principles of eating low-carb safely), and you don't have to stop when you run out of carbs. You just need to continue to eat foods that have no carbs. Fat or protein (ideally, a little of each).

I think you're trying to carry over too much dieting advice from other plans, and trying to apply it to Atkins. You shouldn't have to worry about starvation mode, if you're eating to satisfy your hunger.

Do not be afraid of fat. Fat is not your enemy, especially during inductions.
When you're eating low-carb (especially induction-low), it's especially important to eat enough fat.

Often the light-headedness, dizziness and fatigue of "induction flu" that people talk about is not so much about carb "withdrawal" as it is "rabbit starvation." (Cutting fat AND carbohydrates out of your diet at the sasme time, is dangerous and can dehydrate you quite quickly, as nasea, vomitting and even diarrhea can occur).

Low-carb cookbooks can help you with ideas for meals (I'd stick to Atkins cookbooks until you're comfortable and familiar enough with the Atkins program to recognize recipes that fit with the plan, and those that don't in other low-carb plans).

Thanks Kim this looks great!

Hi Tonya,

I was curious what you put in your taco soup (and why it's called "taco" soup...because the name makes me think of taco chips, which are a no-no).

Soups in general tend to be low-calorie. Occasionally, I will get a craving for soup but to be Atkin's-friendly, it's generally a meat or vegetable broth with meat (usually chicken for me) and low-carb veggies tossed in....a very low-calorie dish.

kaplods is totally on the money here. It is the fats that will get your calories up. On Atkins, you must totally ditch all the low-fat beliefs from the past. Most of my veggies I either steam and put butter and some sprinkled cheese on or roast in olive oil or saute in butter. I also make chicken and egg salad with full-fat mayo for not only snacks but to put on salads, to up the calories.

I personally love veggies and while yes, I do toss them in soup sometimes and eat plenty of salads, there are a whole variety of other ways to prepare them.....and with the addition of butter and some cheese, you can really up the caloric intake for the day.

deena

I actually got the taco soup from the Linda's Low Carb recipes page that someone posted. It tastes a lot like chili with no beans. I like it.

1lb ground beef
1 sm onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1tsp chili powder
1Tbs cumen
8 oz cream cheese
2 cans Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chilies
2 cans beef broth
1/2 cup heavy cream

Ooh, that soup sounds good.....and very Atkins friendly. How many servings does that recipe make?

In my previous post, I meant to say that the soups I make tend to be very low-fat (I don't really worry about the calories) so I only make them occasionally. I also have a tendency to love to eat my fish raw but I'll make myself cook it so I can add butter, thereby making sure I get adequate fat. Inadequate fat seems to slow my progress.

Just scanning your daily menus, the first thing I thought of was that if you'd add butter, etc.....you would up the fat and calories and also eliminate the hunger you feel at times. The added fat satisfies you and also keeps you full much longer. Use plenty of butter in your fried eggs, on your veggies, etc.

deena

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/creamy_sw_taco_soup.html

CHERI'S CREAMY SOUTHWESTERN TACO SOUP
1 pound ground beef
2 3/4 ounces onion, chopped, 1/2 cup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 10-ounce cans Ro-tel tomatoes, undrained (tomatoes with green chilies)
2 cans beef broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

In a large soup pot, brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic; drain. Add the spices and cook a couple minutes. Drop the cream cheese in bits into the meat. With the back of a big spoon, smash it into the meat until no bits of white remain. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat through.

Makes 8 cups or 6-8 servings
Freezing not recommended

Per 1/6 Recipe: 361 Calories; 29g Fat; 18g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 6g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 271 Calories; 22g Fat; 13g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs



This soup is very good, quick and easy to make and has a bit of a kick from the Ro-tel tomatoes. I didn't time it, but I'd guess that this soup only takes about 15 minutes at the most to make.

Thanks so much, Kim.

8 servings would equal 1 oz. of cream cheese and 1/16th cup of heavy cream (hope I got that math right) per serving. I was interested in how many servings in order to calculate these two items in particular because I'd personally have to watch the amount of dairy products I eat daily in order to maintain maximum progress. But those numbers are excellent. I'm going to have to try this soup.

Most of my soups are large quantities of vegetable or beef broth with some sort of meat and tons of veggies tossed in. This soup sounds thicker and much more interesting compared to the ones I make.

deena

Deena - The first time I made it, I only added two cups of beef broth because I wasn't using cans like the recipe calls for. I also used one can of ro-tel tomatoes and one can of diced tomatoes since that was what I had on hand. It turned out a little more thick and creamy and a little less spicy.

I made it again last night and added 20 ozs of broth since I assumed by cans they were the 10 oz size and it is quite a bit thinner. I also added the 2 cans of Ro-tel and it is still very good, but quite a bit spicier.

Salivating over those soups here....

Tonya, it does seem like your calories are very low. I find trying to make sure I get enough protein is sometimes an issue - I try to make myself eat it at least twice a day -- like you I can get reliant on low carb soups & some other things and find my calories really low. Okay once in a while, but it's not good for your metabolism long term...

There are things like beef jerky & salami sticks that you can keep in your purse for on the go snacks that have a lot of protein.

Tonya,

My mom was a militant "health food" advocate and we never had any salt, pepper, or spices on our food. So I rarely eat any salt or pepper and don't like really hot/spicy foods. Could I just use regular canned tomatoes? And which ones would be similar to the Ro-tel's? Whole, chopped, stewed?

I think I could handle the chili powder and cumin but not the chile peppers. In fact...hmm...maybe onion powder instead? I love ground beef with tomatoes and onions and the added cream cheese sounds fabulous.....just not a huge fan of Tex/Mex type spices at all. I do like onion powder, though, and often sprinkle it on meats before cooking. Maybe I'll tweak it just a bit only regarding the spices. The onion and garlic is fine, though.

The only food I sprinkle just a little kosher salt on are roasted veggies and also on farmer cheese mixed with tomatoes and cucumbers. The Giant stores here carry this farmer cheese that has 0 carbs and it's really good.

Also....do you guys use mayo without sugar? You cannot find that here and I have to go to a neighboring state to get Duke's mayo (without sugar). However, on occasions when I've run out, I've noticed that the local mayos with sugar (Hellman's, etc.) don't seem to affect my ketosis or weight loss. There must be just a speck of sugar in them.

deena