Welcome to February's Induction thread!!!

I wanted to at least get this thread started; but I also wanted to let you all know that due to some life issues that have to take precedence over internet time, I have end my time here. Hence the "closed" under my title.

I wish you all well in your journey. My time here has been fantastic, but real life needs to come first for me right now. Have no fear, I WILL be staying on plan -- gotta earn those beads! I am up to 3 now...woo hoo!

Peace to all!

~ flamanette ~

Is this thread only for those who strictly follow the Atkins induction phase? I am eating "induction-like" except that I eat more veggies than are allowed. I believe the carbs from veggies are to be at around 12 or so? I eat several cups of salad and one or two 10oz boxes of frozen veggies per day. I am not fat from eating too many veggies so I figure that if eating more than what induction actually allows helps keep me rooted in plan, so be it.

The rest of my eating is fish, chicken/turkey, ground beef, and eggs, very limited cheese. I am kind of looking for a "home" here on 3FC, and therefore the question about the strictness of this thread.

Thanks!

Phoenix

Sorry to see you go but best wishes for your ongoing plan with life!

I am starting Induction (again) today. I realized I didnt do it like I should have before and was way out of line. Hoping that it fills in with what I need this time and I see some progress on the scale.

Hope everything goes well for you, Flamanette. Thanks for starting the February thread.

Phoenix, it's sort of up in the air as to the "strictness" of this thread. Flamanette started a January Induction thread with the intention of bringing together Atkins Chicks on continuing Induction. But she's signed off and won't be back for a while, I guess. Before she left, she started a February Induction thread.

Bottom line: Where this thread goes is up to those who have been posting here. How do you want the thread to continue? Or does someone want to start a new one? Phoenix, welcome to our board. Hope you find a "home" with us.

I am on Induction still. I have been on it for three weeks now and have lost 10 pounds. For some reason I am struggling the past couple of days though. I want something sweet really bad. I thought the cravings were supposed to stop. I have not had any up until now. Trying to keep busy by reading what is going on here with others.

Hope to lose another 10 pounds in Feb.

Sorry to see you go, Flamanette! Do check in with us from time to time!

Sandy - I think we should just keep on keepin' on with this thread as it is. No big deal for one of us to start the new one every month.

Phoenix - Welcome! I also eat more veggies than the book says. But only because eating so many heavy foods for every meal and snack is getting to me. I guess time will tell if it's going to throw me out of ketosis or not.

Thanks for the advice on lunches. Sometimes I just overthink things, and that made me forget about the simple salad.

Sooo...today was my first weigh in for my community's biggest loser contest. Their scale read 2 lbs lower than my own. But either way, I've already lost 3 lbs since I started induction on Friday. I've even messed up a few times just trying to get it all straightened out. But yay! anyway.

Does anyone make homemade shakes for breakfast? I need something a little more portable and little less eggy. lol I don't want to use the atkins shakes or bars right now (or maybe ever) though.

I know what you mean by the heavy meals getting to you. I've been loving stir-fry lately because I need the lightness of the vegetables. I ate the white castle cheeseburger pie a few months ago but I don't think I could eat it again because it's way too rich.

I eat between 2-4 cups of veggies a day...Today it was 2 cups of squash/broccoli/zucchini for lunch and dinner was 2 cups of romaine. I actually enjoy the veggie part of my meals which is a big change from pre-Atkins!

Yes, yes yes! I LIKE the veggies! Now that the starchy carbs are banished (gosh I have not had bread/pasta/rice/cereals, etc. in so long...), I really look forward to my veggies, and lots of them, seasoned all sorts of ways. For dinner tonight I threw 3 handfuls of bagged salad into a big bowl, dumped some hot ground beef and blue cheese dressing on top, and I was in heaven!!!

For lunch I had a box of frozen spinach, with my own butter and garlic and fresh mushrooms, all cooked in the microwave -- it was so so yummy.

Bring on the veggies, I have no fear of getting fat on those!

Phoenix

Glad you all are doing well. I'm on day 3 of induction and down around 4 lbs already. I have a work function to go to February 16-18 and then my kid's birthday party on February 26. I'm hoping to stay strong!

We had a discussion of egg shakes going several weeks ago. If you're interested, just google "egg cream recipes" or "egg shakes." You'll come up with an Atkins link and many egg cream recipes; lots of sites call them "egg creams." Not a fan, but there are lots of ideas on those sites.

I'm on extended Induction but have a serious problem with eating breakfast. So far it hasn't seemed to slow my weight loss, but I think it would be better if I did it anyway.

I'm thinking of adding in yogurt. Maybe some Fage greek yogurt sweetened with a little bit of Torani. I think 1/2 cup has 3 or so carbs. Ever since I broke my stall, though, I'm so hesitant to add in ANYTHING that isn't strictly on the Induction list (except my stir-fry seasoning and soy sauce). Any thoughts? Should I try it but follow the 3 a week rule for a while to see if I stall?

Yogurt would be perfect. I love it, and I would be MUCH more likely to scoop some yogurt into a cup and add a little bit of sweetener rather than fry bacon, drain it, rinse the pan, melt the butter, fry the eggs, eat, and then clean up the pan and the grease. It's such a pain!

Linsy...
The 3 days I've been on induction I've had an omelet for breakfast. I chop up a small tomato and fresh spinach (a big handful of leaves) and I add that to cheese in the omelet. It takes no more than 10 minutes and I really love it. I usually add some bacon. However, I have the pre-cooked Hormel bacon that takes 45 seconds. It does say cured with sugar (it's down on the ingredient list, but still) but says zero carbs. It hasn't hurt so far and there's no way I could fry bacon every day. What a mess! You could probably even make a few omelets and then reheat them (you'd just have to be careful in the microwave b/c eggs explode easy)..I HAVE reheated them before though (esp scrambled). Oh, do you eat/drink any soy products? The kit I got says that soy milk (no sugar added, plain) is okay to have. So I drank a 1/2 cup of soy milk tonight for a little snack. It has 4 carbs per cup, so I figure that's better than the cream that I was drinking!

How to Manage Bacon: Bake your bacon. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Use a long shallow baking pan - as long as you can get. Line it with aluminum foil. Spray with non-stick. Put as many pieces of bacon as you can fit in a single layer. It's okay to lay them very close together; they'll shrink.

Cover with another sheet of aluminum foil and seal edges around pan. Bake it for 10 minutes, check it...you may or may not want to turn it. Seal it back up and bake until it's as done as you like. Watch it carefully once it starts to crisp - don't wander off. It'll cook very quickly at this stage.

Remove bacon, drain on a paper-towel or napkin lined plate. Use what you want and pop the rest into a zip lock bag and refrigerate. Let the pan cool, as soon as the grease hardens, gather it up and throw it away.

You want bacon? Into the microwave for 30 seconds. I like a boiled egg and my own pre-cooked bacon for a quick, no mess breakfast. It's so much less expensive than pre-cooked packages; you get a few ounces for the same price you can get a pound. It's worth trying.

I've cooked bacon this way for years when I had to make breakfast for more than two people. Enjoy!

Thanks Sandy. I just got a pound of bacon so I might try that. Does it taste the same after it's been refrigerated? I'm really picky about tastes...I can hardly eat hamburgers or chicken after it's been in the fridge and reheated. It tastes weird to me.

The pre-cooked bag @ Sam's is about $9 for 72 slices of bacon (that's less than a pound, but it's cooked already). My local store has 2-1lb pkgs for $7. I'll have to see how many slices you get out of that. Do you know how many you get in the packages you buy? Pre-cooked and uncooked weights are way different, so it's a bit hard to compare cost b/c it's not really apples to apples. I'll definitely use this baking idea though if I buy uncooked. Thank you!