Hi all. I searched for "Atkins" and found these boards. I recently bought Atkins book, and briefly looked it over. I did a similar "diet" approx. 20 years ago, and was very successful. HOWEVER, I was about 20 y.o. at the time, and my metabolism was working much better back then! LOL
Anyway - I was wondering if anyone could just let me know a few things. I understand the overall basics of this diet. I'm thinking that IF one is "allowed" to have pork rinds on this diet, I just might be able to do it - I am an absolute "chip" addict, and I think maybe if I could eat pork rinds, then it will make it a little more tolerable. Does anyone else eat these while on this plan?
Also, am I correct in thinking that I can, pretty much, eat as much of things like: cream cheese, tomatoes w/mayo, and any/all cheeses? (As I said, I read some of the book, so I know about eating proteins mainly: meats, cheese, eggs, etc., but find it hard to believe that I can sit down and finish off an entire container of cream cheese w/pork rinds, and still lose weight!)
I, too, have been up & down with weight all my life, and sympathize with all posts I've read on this board. I can most certainly relate.
SO - any and all info. would be greatly appreciated.
Dairy projects do have small amounts of carbohydrates, so they are not unlimited. You would have to count those carbos and count them towards your daily intake.
Tomatoes have more carbos than dairly products - so those are definitely not unlimited.
Oooh OK - thanks for the info. I knew that sounded too good to be true! Do you have any knowledge of people who are on this diet, and do eat pork rinds? I'd like to know if these could be eaten, since they have no carbs.
Again, thanks for taking the time to give me this info.
Thank you for admitting that it is getting out of hand over there(dont worry, im on your side!) i reprted it to the moderators and was told that "someone"(i will leave out the name) was just "expressing his/her opinion" i say it could have been done more courteously and appropriately.
Thank you for admitting that it is getting out of hand over there(dont worry, im on your side!) i reprted it to the moderators and was told that "someone"(i will leave out the name) was just "expressing his/her opinion" i say it could have been done more courteously and appropriately.
Thanks for the support, but I enjoy a good challenge. The more miss-information that I see posted regarding low carb diets, the more I dig to find the real story. The science to support this way of eating is out there if you are willing to look hard enough.
Alan
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The tragedy of science is the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. T H Huxley
Alan - Thanks SO much for all the info. This was exactly what I wanted to know.
I'm guessing that as long as FOR THE MOST PART - I stick to meats, eggs, seafood; then incorporate some cheeses, dips, pork rinds, maybe a few olives (?), etc. while watching carb amounts, that I can do this.
I just don't know. I know it's hard for EVERYONE, but I have a 16 y.o. son who eats, eats, eats anything/everything, a husband who pretty much always wants meat/potatoes for dinner, AND now my Dad is with us because he's ill, and I have to fix him "special" meals pretty much at least twice a day. I realize I'd have to commit myself if I really want to do this, I just don't know if I can.
About 4 years ago, I simply cut down on calories, and exercised about 4-5 times a week. I dropped about 70 lbs., over about a 2 year period. But I have been trying this over the past month or so again, even though I haven't really been exercising like I should, and can't lose anything it seems.
SO - I'll let you guys know over the next couple weeks if I decided to commit myself to this - I KNOW I should.
Again, thanks so much for the helpful info., and I'll keep checking back. These boards are really great.
veronica, don't forget your vegetables. Even in the induction period (<20 grams of carbs per day) you can have 2 to 4 servings of non-starchy vegetables per day. All types of green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, etc. are very low in digestible carbohydrate yet are loaded with vital minerals and vitamins. After the induction period, you can increase these even more. Just count those carbs. If you don't have one, a good carb counter book is handy until you get into the groove with this diet.
I like a big juicy steak (a 16 oz NY strip comes to mind) with a green salad (easy on the salad dressing as many have quite a bit of sugar in them - vinegar and olive oil is best, but I like my Ranch) and steamed vegetables covered in real butter. mmmmm And a cold light beer or two or glass of wine to wash it all down (only after the induction phase). I think that's what I'm going to have tonight :-)
Alan
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The tragedy of science is the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. T H Huxley
I just wanted to tell you that the way I have found to really succeed is to keep it simple. Make all your meals based around your proteins. Your vegetables should not be more than 2 cups per day (1 cup cooked). You can use/eat pork rinds, but I personally would do so carefully. They have been known to cause people to stall. Once in awhile is fine, but I wouldnt make it an everyday ordeal, especially on induction. In reality induction is just that induction. If it isnt on the induction list you are to have none of it. Your cheese should be hard cheese only, not processed like singles in the individual packages. Cheese does have carbs. I use the 1970's book -- his first book states that you are not supposed to have more than 4 oz of hard/aged cheese per day and up to 2 tsp not tbsp of heavy whipping cream per day. There are conflicts between the two books, but I see a lot more people stalling on the new version than the people who go by the old version. (Just a thought)
I have known people through message boards who have actually gone to Dr. Atkins clinic and they say the same thing about the cheese and the cream. Nothing is too good to be true. The WOL works, but you have to work with it. You cannot have the total best of both worlds, but personally -- I'd much rather be sitting back... eating me a nice big steak with a salad and dressing, then a boiled chicken breast with a baked potato with no butter. Good luck and if you just keep it simple and drink lots of water, you WILL succeed.
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"Ryan Patrick" due May 11th.
218/176/135 (3/00-8/00)
176/198/200 (8/00 - present)
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"Ryan Patrick" due May 11th.
218/176/135 (3/00-8/00)
176/198/200 (8/00 - present)
Hello all. Thanks to EVERYONE for taking the time to give me your suggestions and tips.
Unfortunately, I did NOT even start this this week, as I had planned. I went out and bought pretty much all the stuff I would need, but for some reason just couldn't begin...ughh...disgusted with me.
I DID start back on exercising at least 4-5 days per week, doing a 20-30 minute tape (Richard Simmons or Leslie Sansone's) - BUT - I just can't seem to even stay within a somewhat lesser calorie range, say under 1600 or so. I know that, if in the past, I tried to stay right around 1600, AND exercise, I at least FELT like I was doing something productive in maybe losing a few pounds, even if they were to come off slow. But I have been extremely stressed with my Dad being here and sick, and just can't seem to get the right mind set.
I know that I have to just make up my mind and say "ok, now - you can do this" - BUT it just isn't working this time.
Again, I TOTALLY appreciate everyone's help, and I appreciate very much your taking the time to help me out. MAYBE - next week - things are going to be a little more back to "routine" - and sometimes that helps me get back on the right track.
I'll be back here checking out everyone's posts, and wish everyone luck with their daily struggles with this wonderful thing we call FOOD!!
You might want to try kicking off this low carb diet by treating yourself to a dinner out such as a nice steak with steamed vegetables w/real butter and a salad (easy on the salad dressing and no bread or potatoes). Or if you prefer, seafood or chicken instead of steak. I always feel energized after a meal like this instead of lethargic after eating too many carbs. And it's also a good feeling knowing that you can eat good food like this, and eat enough to be satisfied, and still lose weight.
I'm not sure what your situation at home is, but for me being single, one of the best things I did when starting this diet was to clear the cupboards and refrigerator of those high carb temptations. I tossed boxes of cereal, mac & cheese, cookies, candy, bread, frozen french fries, etc. That makes this diet easier because you can't be successful on this if you are nibbling on a cookie here or a piece of candy there. Those little things keep your insulin up and stop the fat burning process. Your cravings for these foods will subside once you've gone cold turkey on them for a few days.
Good luck!
Alan
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The tragedy of science is the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. T H Huxley
Unfortunately, I have a 16 y.o. son who eats pretty much anything/everything, AND a husband who enjoys all kinds of foods like: chips, candy, cheesecake, baked goods, he pretty much likes to eat all those foods, AND my Dad, who when he DOES feel like eating, wants mostly dessert type foods or breads (with cheese); so I really can't keep those kinds of food out of the house. That's a big part of the problem.
But, I'm going to try to, at least slowly, start backing carb-high foods out of my daily eating so much; then get myself psyched to do "actual" Atkins plan.
I'll let you know if I even get that far! Talk to you again.
Veronica I share your pain. I have a husband who is a junk food junkie. I am on my 4th day of the atkins diet and so far I have lost 5 pds with about 45 more to go. Once you get past those first couple of days the rest will be a cinch.
I have a question for all you Atkins pros out there: I read on his website that you can't have any food containing Aspartame in it. Well yesterday I went out and bought some sugar free sparkling jello and didnt realize that it had this ingredient in it until I read the list of ingredients today. I'm afarid that I may have goofed. Is this true because I remember someone saying in an earlier post that you can have the sugar free jello.
Hi all! I've been on a plateau for about a month now and I'm sick of it! I really want to start a lowcarb diet but I don't want to eat all the fat. Are there any lowcarb-lowfat recipes out there? Anyone else feel the same way?
I personally think the low-carb way of eating makes sense. However, from my personal experience and from reading about others that have tried it, I think the concept of eating all the protein and fats you want while on this diet will only make you gain weight. Counting calories while on Atkins only makes sense. Do you really want to eat tons of cheese, pepperoni, bacon, pork, pork rinds with cream cheese, etc.??!! I think Alan's recommendations make a lot of sense - salads, veggies and a steak or fish, with maybe a lite beer once in awhile. For some more info on dieting see [url="http://www.cyberdiet.com."]www.cyberdiet.com.[/url] "Diet Detective" button under that cite is interesting.
Well since no one wants to answer my question about jello I guess I'll go ahead and respond to the last post. Can you please explain to me why this diet has been so successful to so many people? If it was so easy for people to count calories we probably wouldnt even need this diet. I guess you are trying to say that all the reports of weight loss that so many people have experienced false. C'mon if you are counting calories then you are not on the Atkins diet.
I'm afraid I have to agree - why even do Atkins "way" if you are still counting calories? The whole point is to satiate yourself with the foods allowed, that's the entire premise of his plan.
I realize that the point is not to eat pork rinds and cream cheese all day; my question, and point was, CAN I eat these things while doing Atkins, so that I WON'T feel so deprived of not being able to eat chips, which is a big downfall of mine.
I understand that the overall theme is mostly proteins, fats (taking into consideration "good & bad"), vegetables in moderation, and few carbos. It wasn't my intention to imply that I would simply sit around eating bags of pork rinds and vats of cream cheese; along with tubs of mayo all day!! I just wanted some info. from people who were currently doing Atkins, and asked if they HAD eaten pork rinds ALONG WITH all the other allowed foods.
If I wanted to count calories, as I have in the past, and done it with success in losing weight, I would go "that way" - but the option of trying it this way: eating foods that satiate, and being able to eat more of these foods, is an entirely different thing, IMO.
I've heard SO many success stories from people who have been "doing Atkins" - the way he says it can/should be done, that there has to be some merit to this way of eating to lose weight.
I eat pork rinds all day. The brand I eat(Mission)has 0 carbs and 0 sugar. So I basically munch on those in between meals whenever I get hungry. I also snack on the sparkling jello. I have noticed that the already made stuff has 1 gram of carb in it but the kind that you make has 0 carbs and 0 sugars. For breakfast I have 4 bacon strips, 1 hard boiled egg, and a slice of cheese and water. For lunch I have jello and maybe some ground beef. For dinner today I had a salad with cheese and baked chicken breast cut up in the salad and water. I have been doing this since Thursday and so far i have gone from 178 to 173. So I believe in the Atkins diet. I am not saying that you should or shouldnt do it but whatever you decide to do, good luck!
Congratulations on already losing 5 pounds! That's a big motivator when you see the weight coming off right away.
Like I said, I just haven't "committed" myself to trying it yet - I'm in quite a slump right now - but, I AM going to at least go back to staying right around 1600 calories starting tomorrow, and I'll exercise about 4 or 5 days a week. This is how I did it before - even though it came off "slow" - but I know that I can "live with it" pretty much, if I do it this way.
I really would like to lose quickly, but, as I mentioned, I'm just not ready to try it that way yet. I think I'll see what happens this way, and if I think I'm not seeing any results in about 3-4 weeks, I'll give Atkins a go. I know so many people that have lost LOTS of weight doing it.
SO - good luck this week, and keep up the good work!
Well today I weighted in at 171 for a total of 7 pds lost so far. I'm trying to get down to 160 before I move to Maryland on May 15th. I think if I stick with it I'll be there. I know a lot of people will probably say that it is not healthy for me to be losing weight so quickly but I think that I pose just as much danger to myself by being overweight(according to soceity). 7 down 11 more to go!
Keep it up snailmailqueen, keep me posted on your success!
Just now going to try Atkins... 
Good luck and if you just keep it simple and drink lots of water, you WILL succeed. 
with cream cheese, etc.??!! I think Alan's recommendations make a lot of sense - salads, veggies and a steak or fish, with maybe a lite beer once in awhile. For some more info on dieting see [url="http://www.cyberdiet.com."]www.cyberdiet.com.[/url] "Diet Detective" button under that cite is interesting.
