I'm kind of confused ~ can you help me out?

[jabberwocky]

Hi all,

Let me apologize in advance for the length of this post!

I began the induction phase on May 1st ... I was armed with a copy of DANDR (1992), "The Atkins Essentials", and the support of a good friend who succesfuly lost 65-70 lbs via Atkins. I was ready to roll, right? Not so...

I told my friend that the 2 books seemed to really contradict each other, and asked for help ... unfortunately, his "help" (well intended as it was) included lots of the Atkins bars and other non-legal foods. After a week of that, I decided not to eat any of the processed weird stuff and try induction from scratch.

I made it almost a full week, and then Mother's Day happened. My iron will crumbled under at the sight of the home-made mousse my daughter & friends made for me

So here are my questions:

** I'm at the tail end of my 2nd or 3rd week of induction (depending on how you count it with the cheats & mistakes) should I begin adding a few more veggies/carbs, or stick it out another week so that I've got a full 2 wks of clean induxtion under my belt?

** Which is more important - sticking closely to the 3 total cups of veggies, or hitting 20 net carbs of primarily veggies? Cause as it stands, I'm adhering to the 3 cups, but that's not hitting 20 carbs/day. (and I am taking in enough calories to meet my BMR)

** What's up with the sugar alcohols? Do I subtract them or not? My friend told me that these ( http://www.lowcarbchocolates.com/peerless3.html ) sugar free candies are ok, cause the sugar alcohols cancel out the carbs. I've stayed away from them, but I'd really like an Atkins friendly sweet treat.

Thanks in advance for your help!
~Drea

[Elizellen]

Re: I'm kind of confused ~ can you help me out?

hi Jabberwocky I love your nickname
Welcome to our ADBB family!

** I'm at the tail end of my 2nd or 3rd week of induction (depending on how you count it with the cheats & mistakes) should I begin adding a few more veggies/carbs, or stick it out another week so that I've got a full 2 wks of clean induxtion under my belt?

With about 30 pounds to goal I would suggest starting on the first rung of OWL, which is to add 5 net carbsworth of your induction veggies.
Check oout the stickies in our OWL forum for advice on how to do this.

** Which is more important - sticking closely to the 3 total cups of veggies, or hitting 20 net carbs of primarily veggies? Cause as it stands, I'm adhering to the 3 cups, but that's not hitting 20 carbs/day. (and I am taking in enough calories to meet my BMR)

the 20 carbs is the maximum net carbs on induction, with over half of whaT NUMBER YOU REACH TO BE OF VEGGIES.Darn that pesky capslock button!!

** What's up with the sugar alcohols? Do I subtract them or not? My friend told me that these ( http://www.lowcarbchocolates.com/peerless3.html ) sugar free candies are ok, cause the sugar alcohols cancel out the carbs. I've stayed away from them, but I'd really like an Atkins friendly sweet treat.

~Drea

I would suggest leaving those fake sugar 'goodies' till you have reached goal if at all. Some people have terrible 'bathroom issues' with the effects of sugar alcohols, and they do actually get absorbed to some extent, so many people either count all or half of the sugar alcohol carbs if they do eat them.

I notice they have maltilol as the sweetener - here is a link that discusses using SA's http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips010.html

Instead of eating these synthetic products why not take a look down the list of forums to find some dessert recipes for an occasional addition to your menus, but remember - Dr Atkins considered dessert not to be an everyday routine!

We are supposed to count one carb for every serving of sweetener no matter what the actual count is, and we can have up to 3 servings a day - so if you drink sweetened decaf coffee for example you might be using all your limit in drinks and not have any to spare for desserts.

Hope this helps

[jabberwocky]

Re: I'm kind of confused ~ can you help me out?

Thanks for your reply, Elizellen!

I think I might like to move on to the next rung of OWL. I typically eat quite a bit of produce, and increasing my veggies might help me to feel more 'at home' on Atkins.

Somehow, I didn't realize that 1/2 of your carb intake is supposed to come from veggies ... but again, I found the different books * really* confusing. In fact, I'm thinking of chucking the ones that I have. Is there a single, most up to date Atkins book that you could recommend?

And the recipe/dessert forum is a real treasure trove! Thanks for suggesting it

[Atkid]

Re: I'm kind of confused ~ can you help me out?

ADBB goes by the 2002 edition. Get that one and you can't go wrong! Good luck on your journey.

[2big4mysize]

Re: I'm kind of confused ~ can you help me out?

welcome to ADBB funy your friend would suggest bars as they were not legal for the 1992 book and are emergency use only in the 2002 book.

We are 2002 all the way here. You will love OWL and discovering how your metabolism reacts to the foods of easch rung and even to different foods and/or brands of the same food on each rung.

Many folk are shocked to learn how much Atkins is really a veggie eating plan with according to Dr Atkins on his last TV appearance stating Goalies eat 6-8 cups of veggies a day. Far cry from the meat and grease portrayal of the program many folk think Atkins is.

So what you doing for the mandatory exercise partr of your Atkins? we got lots of exercise challenges going on and all ADBB challenges are open enrollment so if you see one you like post and tell them you are new and the memebers of that challenge will inform you what to do as a new member. Watch out for those telling you to send money

Happy low carbing

[jabberwocky]

Re: I'm kind of confused ~ can you help me out?

Hi 2big -

I Yeah, I think my friend pretty much made up his own version of Atkins. He's 6'2, works out regularly, and when he started he was 85+ lbs overweight and had a horrible diet ... so I think his body would've welcomed/responded to any change in eating.
The flip side of the coin is me - I already eat healthily, my body is v-e-r-y slow to shed weight, and I don't have a very large amount to lose. I suspect I'll need to follow the plan pretty strictly to see a change.

As for exercise, I really slacked off over the past few months, so I'm starting again slowly ... lots of long walks on the beach and/or hikes in my local park. Going to buy some new free weights (mine are wimpy ) and start incorporating them, and when I can afford it, a gym membership. The challenges sound great! Once the eating part is more comfortable/habitual, I might join a few

Thanks!