Good idea?

[DuchessOfDork]

Hey I was wondering if you guys think that an Atkins shake might be a good snack in between lunch and dinner. I've got a nice six hour gap between meals so I thought it might be okay.. thoughts?

[Zarabelle]

Re: Good idea?

I would personally have real food rather than the shake. Some cheese or a slice of cold meat?

I used shakes and low carb products and just found they stalled me and induced cravings.

Zx

[Evermind]

Re: Good idea?

Absolutely NOT.

Causes a myriad of problems. Do NOT do it.

Take the time to bag up small snacks. My choices? A baggie with 12 olives. A baggie with a couple of devilled eggs. A tiny tupperware container with one chopped cucumber and some dressing. String cheese. 1/4 cup of guacamole with a stick or two of celery.

Pick 2 or 3 and have them, instead.

[Outback Jess]

Re: Good idea?

Take the high road and use real foods. The Atkins foods are processed and create cravings. You are smart to ask, but many people on these boards find that they start to stumble and loose control after engaging in the atkins things....and many will take a very hard line on this topic, so hold on tight, this could have opened up a can of worms!
The higher road is little prepared foods you have cooked in abundance. Alot of people cook and cube chicken breasts and always have a baggie available. I too use olives and chicken to grab when things are tough...

[snap]

Re: Good idea?

I feel a bit differently than most folks on the board about this issue. Actually, I had an Atkins bar for breakfast this morning. I ate them occassionally when I did Atkins the first time around. They never stalled me at all. I lost 62 pounds or so back then. But, each individual is different. What stalls one may not stall another and vice versa. So, for someone to declare that they will stall you may or may not be correct. Just because they had an adverse effect on one person does not mean the same would hold true for you. The only way you would know is to try it and see if it does.
Jess, is right. There are many on the board that are absolutely opposed to using the bars or shakes. And, when it comes down to it, it is better to have 'legal' snacks on hand to munch on.

[julirama723]

Re: Good idea?

Go for real food. Trying an Atkins bar or shake might be the worst thing you could do. "A taste of honey is worse than none at all." Stick with real foods, don't even consider those shakes and bars to be an option, if only for the fact that they are ILLEGAL until the upper rungs of OWL. Check the ingredients. Generally they contain milk (rung 2), nut (rung 3), soy (rung 6) and sometimes grain (rung 9) ingredients, and are NOT LEGAL until the highest rung of the ingredients listed.

[chicamarun]

Re: Good idea?

I'm all for real food when you can - but at the same time I couldn't live without my protein shakes or else I woud completely forget to eat anything and I wouldn't get enought protein in the day. I have sugar-free granola bars.... they just make me poop - LOL - but they tie me over when I am in a hurry (like before the farmer's market)

However with that said - the Atkin's BRAND shakes never filled me up. I have to make my own and that doesn't do as well if you are on the move - but I will make a large 32 oz one and take it with me.

[kate58]

Re: Good idea?

Snap, I don't mean to belittle your great weight loss at your last go round, and I'm sure you'll do great this time too, but I have to wonder if eating stuff like this was part of the reason you didn't maintain your losses the last time?

Atkins isn't only about what you eat, even if it doesn't stall your losses. It's about how you eat, and what you use food for. Using snack bars/shakes is to me just contunuing to use sweet food as a comfort, and that's a dangerous road that fails to really break old habits. It makes it all too easy to go back to using carby sugary foods as an emotional prop when life gets tough. For me anyway that connection HAS to be broken, or I have no hope in the long term.

I'd go with the people who say stick to healthier snacks. They definitely won't harm you, why jeoparise your progress for something that even might?

[I_Luv_Pugs]

Re: Good idea?

I'm for real food BUT I'd rather have a shake or a bar than go totally off the plan. I do think they stall me and are too easy for me to start depending on.

[DuchessOfDork]

Re: Good idea?

Snap, I don't mean to belittle your great weight loss at your last go round, and I'm sure you'll do great this time too, but I have to wonder if eating stuff like this was part of the reason you didn't maintain your losses the last time?

I actually never gained back the weight I lost. Turns out that 10lbs was just water retention. All I've been trying to do lately is lose more.

The shakes haven't really stalled me, either, but I was worried that they might. I just didn't have anything else in the house to grab at the time. Boyfriend keeps eating my snacks.. I gotta get him to start paying me back by buying me food.

[sadie147]

Re: Good idea?

I'm on both sides here, kind of lol.

When still losing, I'd say unless it's an emergency, I'd try to plan and have 'real' food for your snacks rather than a shake. Personally I'm not a fan of the Atkins shake, like chicamarun I never found they filled me up.

That said, I love my protein shakes (i'm in maintenance but have used them since OWL). I buy a whey protein isolate powder, with very few ingredients, I blend it with berries etc and I find it makes a nice milkshake or smoothie that ties me over till lunch/dinner etc between meals. I also use them when i need something quick when my protein is low too.

It's definately going to be a YMMV thing...like everyone has mentioned, try to stick with whole foods when you can, and keep in mind they may stall your weight loss.

[snap]

Re: Good idea?

Snap, I don't mean to belittle your great weight loss at your last go round, and I'm sure you'll do great this time too, but I have to wonder if eating stuff like this was part of the reason you didn't maintain your losses the last time?

Actually...there are several reasons why I failed miserably at this last time. I personally feel like an occassional bar had absolutely nothing to do with that at all. What about other people on the board who have tried and tried again? Were they all eating bars and drinking shakes? I doubt it. I realize that I made mistakes last time around. I think the biggest one was not embracing the idea that this WOE is a lifetime commitment and not just a quick fix. I have an entirely differet mindset this time around. That is why this time I KNOW that I am going to succeed. I bet if 4 years ago had I reached for an Atkins bar instead of a snickers bar I would not find myself in the situation that I am in today. For someone to assume that my failure was a result of an occassional Atkins bar is just wrong.

[Outback Jess]

Re: Good idea?

I agree with you, reaching for that bar is better than reaching for the real thing. I know for me, I completely failed for the sheer reason I did not accept how my body handles food and I thought this was a diet, not a way of life, a way of eating that causes the pounds to melt off. I have a 4-pk of shakes in my closet and have never wanted one, and I have used bars every so often...
Again, there will always be different responces to this question because we are all different...
What is important Snap, is you are with us now, changing your life and getting healthy! That's what we all want for ourselves, to gain health and control in the realm of food! How you get to where you are going, well it will be YOUR journey, and I've got my journey! Asking the question will definately bring about different answers, as expected....

[neihu]

Re: Good idea?

Boyfriend keeps eating my snacks..

This drives me nuts - my husband now asks 'can I eat this?' which also drives me nuts -"sure you can eat the last boiled egg - make some more - the last of the almonds/ cheese / celery / whatever - go buy some more !!!!!"

Absolutely drives me insane! If you eat my food - replace it! I don't eat your stuff! And we've been together for 11 years!

OK rant over.

[snap]

Re: Good idea?

Yeah... my pork rinds are always disappearing. And, all my smoked turkey slices are gone. But... I figure if my lil family munches on my food that is a good thing. Least they aren't eating junk.