Forgive my newbie-ness!

I'm loving Atkins so far, but I have a question. Is there a certain amount I -need- to eat? I just haven't felt extremely hungry today, but don't feel as though I've eaten alot. Is it ok if I fall under 20 on my carbs, or don't get a certain amount of fat in? Thanks so much!

I would not worry about falling under a certain amount of carbs per day.

Going below 20 carbs a day is basically occasionally ok....doing it for extended periods of time is another story entirely. Not eating enough will cause your body to go into starvation mode....which essentially means you won't lose because your body will hang on to what it has to compensate for not getting enough...if that makes sense to you!

Personally (and I know others may disagree) I feel veggies & salads are most important on Atkins. The rules of Induction say 12-15 of your 20 carbs for the day should be coming from veggies on the acceptable foods list & salads. And additional veggies are on the first rung of the carb ladder when progressing to OWL (On Going Weightloss...the 2nd phase of Atkins).

Fat is also an important part of Atkins. Choose a bit fattier cut of meats, leave the skin on chicken, use butter, olive oil, full fat salad dressing (2 carb per serving maximum), heavy cream, full fat cheese, sour cream etc.

I hope this answers your question Glad to hear you're enjoying Atkins!!

It definitely did! Thanks so much! I'm getting about 10 carbs a day from veggies, I'm going to try and raise that today.

Well put Jerseygyrl!!! Damn...all that cream, fat, skin (oooohhh...I love crispy skin)...who couldn't do this???? One thing for sure Journey...I doubt you miss anything about your old way of eating once your further along in Atkins...it's friggin fantastic!! I know you'll have much success....here's to happy eating! Joyce

I am brand new to this web site and also brand new to forums and threads and blogs. It's all very confusing to me I have just started Atkins today again. I have been successful doing low carb in the past, but always fall of the wagon and gain it all back. I really want to just stick with it this time and hopefully this web site will help me. Does anyone have any advise to what thread I should check out?

You've come to a great place for advice, support & encouragement.

If you have any questions...just feel free to ask

All the best to you!!

In retrospect, I find that any time I've fallen off plan, I set myself up for the fall by skimping on veggies/salad. Without that vegetable to balance it, no matter what protein and fat I eat, I just can't stay on plan. Anybody else ever have this experience? As a kid I was a dedicated carnivore, and could have lived happily without anything green and crunchy, ever.

Dido here!!! I have found that to be absolutely true. The last time I did Atkins (10 yrs ago after daughter #2), when I slowed down on the salads, veggies, I broke away from the diet!!! Not this time though....gotta stick to the good stuff! Joyce

Also I find if I imput my foods into fitday.com
I pay a lot more attention to what I am actually eating