Brand new with some ???'s

[Kar68]

HI everyone. I stumbled across this forum, and all I can say is WOW! There is so much information and inspiration here!
Anyway, I am 38 years old, 4'11", and have gained ten pounds since Sept, putting me at my all time high weight of 138lbs. I desperately want to get back to 110 which I have not been since before I had my third son almost 4 years ago.
I have decided to give Atkins a try, as it makes so much sense, and works so well (I am a nurse and was recently at a conference where this diet was discussed as a way to stop seizures in kids who don't respond to medicines- they call it the Ketogenic diet, but it's basically a very strict Atkins induction phase diet. They went on to say how many other diseases/disorders can be helped by this type of diet, and there were many!).
Anyway, I am on day 3 of induction.
I feel like I am eating a whole lot of salt these days, with the lunch meats and cheese, and I don't know how to combat that.
Also, I have been using the Advantage bars as one meal per day, usually breakfast, because no matter what I eat for breakfast (today it was 2 eggs, 2 slices of ham, and one slice of cheese), I seem to be very "shakey" and hypoglycemic after about 2 hours. The Advantage bar helps me make it through with no problem till lunch. The website says these bars are okay in induction, but I have read here that they are not allowed. I can't say whether they have countered my weight loss yet because it is too soon to tell.
Also, how about natural peanut butter? A yes or no on induction?? I LOVE peanut butter, and again it is one of those foods that keeps me going so much longer. I think I have dieted so much in my life that I have messed up my insulin production, which causes me to have really bad dips in my blood sugar causing sweats, shaking, dizziness, etc, which I can get almost every day when I am eating a lot of carbs (hence the reason this diet is so helpful for me).
I am sure I will have more questions, so I hope you all don't mind putting up with me!!
Glad to be here, you are some inspirational people!!!

Karen
start 138/current 136.5/goal 110

[Rein]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

I have to write this quick because I am leaving for work ... Peanut Butter is a no until the nuts rung of OWL and then it is NATURAL peanut butter! Thanks for joining!

[ValidRouge]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

Karen, its great to hear the medical community recognizing the ketogenic diet for what it is, and its benefit to our health when done right. There is another thread today where someone said how there are far too many people doing a cheese and diet coke diet and calling it Atkins. Or, how about those that do an egg and bacon diet and call it Atkins as well? grrr!

At any rate, welcome to ADBB!

Processed deli style meats do have a lot of sodium in them. I typically don't eat that much of them, but will do so in a pinch. Most of the time I like to cook extra meat at my dinner and take leftovers for breakfast and lunch. That way, i have real meat to eat with my fresh vegetables as well. (This is such an unhealthy way of eating, isn't it?) The key is being prepared. Do big cooking on the weekend so you have lots of choices prepared and ready to go throughout the week.

As for the bars, the Atkins Nutritionals company (and the official Atkins Web site) was formed AFTER Dr. Atkins death. They, of course, are out to push their low carb diet products. Brook, another member here, so perfectly tells us "low carb junk food is STILL junk food!". Dr. Atkins addressed the bars and shakes BRIEFLY in his book when he said that in an absolute pinch or emergency the bars and shakes would be better than going off plan. He does NOT say that they are a good meal replacement AT ALL. That is 100% the Atkins Nutritionals company. However, there are members here who have used them and had success.

I, personally, would rather eat whole foods that I prepare ahead of time and without worry of some "food product" that was artificially created in a lab. Why give all my hard earned money to some company when I could put it towards fresh LOBSTER and BUTTER. Yummy.

Low blood sugar symptoms are going to happen until your body switches over to using ketones for energy instead of glucose. We call it induction flu, and it will pass in a few days. Be gentle to yourself, but do stay on plan...it's SO WORTH IT. You might want to make sure that you've got some higher carb veggies on hand to eat when you get to feeling that way. Tomato slices and Provolone or Mozzarella Cheese slices would be a great snack....or some Jicama and Gouda. You always want to eat a fat with your carbohydrate.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

You can have peanut butter in a few weeks. The first two weeks of Atkins is the most restrictive, but you'll do yourself a huge favor in doing it "by the book" and setting yourself up with a solid foundation and free from the carbohydrates.

After the first two weeks, we start adding foods back in starting with more vegetables, then dairy products, then nuts, then berries, then alcohol, then legumes, starchy vegetables, other fruits and finally whole grains. We eventually get everything back except white flour and sugar.

[soliwit]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

Just wanted to say welcome aboard !
Great to hear that this diet seems to be more and more accepted in the medical community!

[julirama723]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

Welcome to ADBB! I'm so glad to see that this way of eating is starting to be accepted as a healthy choice by more groups!

Joy has given you FABULOUS advice! Another thing about those bars and shakes--if I would eat one, I'd want ANOTHER one, or more food, or more anything! I'm glad I gave them up immediately--after reading threads on this board! I haven't had one since, and I fully embrace the idea of eating whole foods if at all possible.

Yes, lunchmeat does have quite a bit of sodium, so I do what Joy does--when I cook, I make EXTRA so I can eat it for lunch during the week. I'll buy a large package of chicken tenders, grill them all at once, and bam, I can put them on my salad, eat them as a snack, or have them as part of a meal. The same goes for hardboiled eggs. I also like to wash and cut all my veggies right when I get home from the store, and put them into serving-size baggies. That way I can just grab a bag and go!

[Kar68]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

Thanks so much for the info!

The thing about the Advantage bars is that they work so well for me- I don't crave more, and feel so much better for hours afterward.
This morning before I went to the gym (which I have done for the past 4 days now, doing 60 minutes of cardio/swimming), I had two fried eggs, one slice of lunchmeat ham, two slices of cheddar cheese. That's a pretty big breakfast if you ask me (maybe because I have done Weight Watchers in the past, and that would be half my "points" for the day!), and yet about 90 minutes later, I was shaking and feeling very hypoglycemic. Now, the other three days I have had the advantage bar, and felt great, worked out, and was able to make it till lunch without feeling very hungry.
I think I may stick with eating the bars for a while until my body adjusts. Unless I don't lose weight, then I will switch.
Eggs just do nothing to satisfy me in the morning!
Oh, one more thing: do I have to use dipsticks for Ketones? I would be very surprised if I was spilling Ketones right now, I have had a few too many carbs I think- I have used about 2 tablespoons of skim milk in my tea the past few days- didn't have any cream in the house, but I am willing to buy some next time I am out. I can't drink my tea black (decaf is bad enough, but black-yuck!).

Thanks for the help!
Karen

[soliwit]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

I never even saw a ketostick upclose, LOL
I don't think you need them, it's about losing weight not how many ketones are swimming through your pee, hey you know when you got them, you taste and feel it in your mouth (metal taste and cottonmouth) ehm, and you notice a difference in your urine. (it get's kinda 'foamy' and well, let's be honest, it stinks way more)
If I were you I would still ditch the bars and see if you can find some other choices for in between snack, like how about grilling a big load of drumsticks so you can nibble those in between, and then together with some sticks of celery for example, hey you can always try....in the end it will be healthier and cheaper too.

[Elizellen]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

Before deciding to keep the bars for induction eating, Karen, I would suggest looking at the list of ingredients to see if it contains anything not on the allowewd foods list
I just googled the Chocolate peanut butter Advantage Bars and found this

INGREDIENTS: PROTEIN BLEND [SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, HYDROLYZED COLLAGEN, WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE (MILK), SODIUM CASEINATE], GLYCERINE, POLYDEXTROSE, DRY ROASTED PEANUT, PEANUT FLOUR, PALM KERNEL AND PALM OIL, CELLULOSE, COCONUT OIL, COCOA POWDER (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, OLIVE OIL, BUTTER OIL, SOY LECITHIN, MALTODEXTRIN, SALT, GUAR GUM, CITRIC ACID, SUCRALOSE, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM. NUTRITION BLEND: TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, ASCORBIC ACID, SODIUM ASCORBATE, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, CYANOCOBALAMIN, ALPHA TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, NIACINAMIDE, BIOTIN, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, ZINC OXIDE, FOLIC ACID, CHROMIUM CHELATE, PHYTONADIONE, SODIUM SELENITE. CONTAINS: SOY, MILK AND PEANUTS. THIS PRODUCT IS MANUFACTURED IN A FACILITY THAT USES PEANUTS, OTHER NUTS AND SEEDS.

So in my book this particular bar would be 'legal' once you reached the legumes rung as it contains peanuts and soy.
So look on your particular bar to see which OWL rung yours would be allowed. As far as I know NONE of the Advantage bars contain only induction-allowed foods.

Another thing to keep an eye on is the amount of protein in any bars, as Atkins is a highfat/medium protein/low carb regime and if you eat too much protein your body will convert it to glucose and hence into fat!!

Many people use a site like www.fitday.com to keep track of this to balance their input throughout the day and on induction we aim for 65% fat/30% protein/5% carb and keep our protein around the 30% mark throughout all t he Atkins phases.

[cincywbbw]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

I am able to keep my protien/carb ratio within the guidelines but my fat is somewhat higher. It is anywhere between 70/75 percent. Maybe thats why I dont seem to be loosing as fast as others?

[moonwish]

Re: Brand new with some ???'s

You don't seem to eat any vegetables with your breakfast, so you don't get very many carbs in this meal. So you feel hypoglycemic a bit later. Try to eat a salad or something with or instead eggs/meat/cheese.

Other than that - welcome aboard!