Just wondering how many different countrys are represented

[Desertthorn]

So far, I see Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Austrailia, but I know there are more out there. Anyone from Europe?Africa?Middle East?
What country are you currently living in and what is your biggest Atkins hurdle.

[Striving2B160]

I am living in Germany right now. I have been here for a year and a half and I have another two years. My biggest hurdle in Germany is going out to dinner. In the states it's easy to go out to dinner and order a salad with american dressing or order a steak without any added stuff to it. Here everything is different. I can't order something without knowing for sure how many carbs are in the meal. So needless to say I have stayed away from eating out!! If I do go it will be a cheat day.

[diddy]

international

just little ole blighty (england) love reading all the posts, am starting on induction tommorrow, failed last time , lost 1/2LB in three weeks but felt fantastic in myself and i want to feel like that again, so here goes! :flowerki:

[Flaxfan]

I live in Chile. (South America)

It took me a while to find Splenda. It's available only at homeopathic pharmacies under the brand name Feliz Sweet. It's the only product with sucralose I've been able to find so far. Most of the "diet" or "light" products are low fat and have Aspartame.

Every single salad at the salad bar close to work, has potatos, carrots and corn in them. So I have to go the supermarket near by and buy the cucumbers, lettuce, tomatos, etc and fix my own salad at the office. I bought a small fridge I keep next to my desk.

I've been eating roasted chicken everyday, it's cheap (1 chicken breast or thigh+drumstick goes for $.80) and available everywhere.

It's summer now and the fruit here is delicious! It's been very hard to stay away from the peaches, watermelons, grapes, etc. In fact my only cheats so far have been a few strawberries and apricots here and there, and a small piece of canteloup I had yesterday. I don't think it's that bad because those are the lowest on the glycemic index.

[Sharni]

Greetings forom Jamaica

We have Splenda here and loads of fresh veggies BUT it is so hard to pass up the delicious mangoes, papaya, bananas, pineapples (you get the picture). The other issue is that our diet is based on starchy foods such as plantains, green bananas and yam. I have not been able to get a reliable carb count for these. Rice and many types of peas and beans are also part of our diet so this has been very difficult to modify. But with 20lbs lost, I feel quite content.

Sharni :flowerki:

[mistoffelees]

Hi, I'm from the Netherlands.
There are almost no Atkins products over here, and so far there is just ONE restaurant in this entire country that is willing to put special low carb products on the menu.
Yet, it is no problem at all. Of course, I could buy online to have some Atkins products, but I won't. I just don't need it, I can do this WOL without, having such a choice in meats, veggies, cheese and what not.
The only problem is the artificial sweeteners, as we still do not have access to splenda or sucralose over here. I use another sweetener, liquid, made with saccharine and cyclamat (sp?) which I use very sparsely, and fortunately it does not stall me.

Eating out IS difficult, but still, I just say I cannot eat sugars or carbs, and more often than not they will bring me a salad as a side dish with olive oil and such to make my own dressing.

What I would say the biggest problem over here is the full lack of understanding from people, like co-workers. They see me lose weight and want to do it too, for a few weeks or months. When I tell them it is not a diet, but a WOL, they think I'm sick. General, here people have much less knowledge about Atkins, and explaining is very difficult, for WOL's are entirely out of the question.

That said, even here more and more people jump on the Atkins bandwagon ! And of course, sometimes it will get discussed in the media - and, just like in the UK, it will be "advertised" as very bad for your health etc. No wonder, the sugar industry over here is very important for the economy.....

Yeah, I'd say the biggest problem over here is that it is not possible for me to recommand this WOL to anyone - I am finding myself explaining about it all the time, and warning people against it as they see it as a quick diet, which it is NOT at the best of times. Oh, it can be quick, the first few weeks in induction - but that is just starting with this WOL, and when you think that is your goal, quit and start eating the way you used to B.A., you'll put the lost pounds back on quicker and even might gain a few.

But I do not want to make this a negative post, I love doing this WOL, it has improved my health so much that I am very thankful it exists.

[northern-star]

Born and bred in Germany It is really hard to live Atkins here Noone knows about it, and the ones who do know, only read about negative aspects

Typical response: "Oh my god, how can you do something like that!?!"

Luckily, my OH is in the forces (he is british), therefore we have an english address here and can order products from England! (Like Davinci or Atkins Products!)

[Shirah]

I'm in Israel and I haven't started atkins yet i just decided today that I want to try it. I'm hoping I'll be able to get the book here!! Can anyone tell me what else I might need?

[Desertthorn]

Welcome, Wow wouldn't it be cool to have a world map that we could all pin our home town on.

[ditien]

just wanted to represent myself greeting from the lovely land of Kenya!!!!!

[u2_girl]

Hello everyone! I live in England (london to be exact). It's amazing that so many people from all over the owlrd are getting to gether to do atkins. I understand it' sbeen around a long time. I can't wait to get started.

[jeric35]

Scandiavia

I want to represent both Norway and Denmark, since I'm a Norwegian living in Dk and travel extensively in both.
Good luck to everybody!

[HHH]

I'm from the Netherlands

Hi,
I live in The Netherlands and my husband and I started Atkins mid last year. We're very happy with this way of eating.

We don't encounter many difficulties. Luckily my husband is retired and he cooks (I don't). He actually loves cooking and he spends days figuring out what to eat and how to prepare.

Also, some of my colleagues are on Atkins or other low-carb diets. I work in an international environment, so people are aware.

The only thing that is perhaps a little more difficult is that there aren't any low-carb products around. But I travel to the UK a lot and I get stuff there. Also, this morning I heard Unilever is going to produce low-carb stuff for the US initially, but perhaps for Europe/Holland eventually.

Hilde

[Danica_38]

Austria

Hi, i just found out about this international forum.

I´m from Austria. Started Atkins about 10 days ago. I absolutely love it.

I want to especially greet the dutch people (all others forgive me !) but i adore Holland and envy ;-) everyone living there !

[healthandharmony]

:grinangel I am from Scotland and love the atkins diet. I was a little stuck but after reading all the tips ect. I have taken them on board and have been angelic the past few days. so here hoping.

I am so glad I was told about this website.