new, MANY questions!!

[miss drea]

hi all. im andrea and this is only my third post (pls refer to my intro post hehe)

currently im on day #8 of induction and its going ok. i started at 163, got to 158...and then today it said 159.4 but trying not to focus TOO MUCH on the numbers, as i am also working out 3-4 days a week.

anyways, i have A LOT of food related questions. i feel there might be a few things i am doing wrong...not bc im cheating, but bc im not positive of what im supposed to be doing. so many thanks in advance for any help you all can provide me

i have a lot of questions in my head, so im gonna kinda just list what i can think of...



1. okay. so HAVE read the book. but i am a little confused on HOW MUCH food i am allowed per day. a few things i DO know:
- 3 to 4 oz of cheese per day
- 2 cups of raw veggies, 1 cup of cooked (but only if you didnt have more than 2 cups of raw?)
and the thing i am confused about:
- i says you do not have to limit your poultry, fish etc. but does that truly mean you dont have to limit it? bc those things can still count as carbs in some situations. i just dont know how much i should TRULY be eating.

2. im a bit confused on the idea of net carbs. now i know the definition of it...and i know its supposed to be carbs minus fiber...but i had this atkins bar the other day...and i did that calculation. the bar said it was 2 net carbs on the package, but the calculation worked out to WAY more than that. so am i doing something wrong? it is ALWAYS carbs minus fiber?

3. how bad are deli meats? and by deli meats, i mean baked ham. i love to snack on it, its fast and easy. should i not be eating this during induction? is i am able to have it, should i only do maybe 3 slices a day? this plays into the problem with me not knowing how much protein i am actually allowed to consume.

4. is my signature appropriate? hehe. i see you all have such fancy signatures with lots of info. anything i should add to mine?


okay thats all i can think of right now...i know i will think of a bunch more. thanks in advance!!!

[FatFighters]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

Hey, like you I'm new and starting induction from today, this is a great site for getting the answers I cant answer as well but I do know that the Atkins Nutritional Bars contain the sugars that the body apparently doeant produce insulin for hence it doesnt use them, so they dont count. Basically they are okay according to the last Dr Atkins book.

But from what I have read alot of people ate them found it stalled them, including my partner, I am gutted because I bought some of this stuff and now wont have it But I guess its trial and error.......have them if you stall dont.

I'm keeping mine for true emergencies after induction, so that way if I cheat I'm not cheating lol

Anyway I'm sure some excellent answers will follow

Ros x

(For those in the UK there are some bars from Asda not atkin, but low carb, there in a black box with redish pink edging on the top and bottom (I forgot the name!) They dont show there carb count but they do read that they have more fibre that carbs in total and they are rasberry creme flavour, there £2.50 for 3 (next to the slimfast stuff etc)

[miss drea]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

yea thankfully i only purchased like 2 or 3 of them hehe. they definately tasty, and good to have when youre DYING for anything SWEET!

[*Emma*]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

The bars are a no no i'm afraid, they cause like 95% of people to stall... Dr Atkins never recommended them, they have only appeared since he died.... money making scheme me thinks!

Whats in the deli ham? i know they cure it with sugar here (majority of brands anyway)

You dont need to limit your protein, BUT its recommended that you go on something like www.fitday.com and track what you eat, you need to try and get your percentages to 65% fat 5% carbs and 30% proteins.

If your more of a white meat eater you'll be best to cook your foods in butter to get the fata count up.

In regards to net carbs, those bar minus sugar alcohols too, thats how they get such a low count, i really would stay away, along with the shakes too.

Fatfighters - those bars are just as bad im afraid frankenfoods are not good!

emergencies is a way i guess, but i always find that its better to have cheese sticks or pepperoni instead of chocolate.

Atkins is about fresh wholesome foods, not anything premade, its makes this WOE more expensive but it works better if you follow this.

ummm... what else was i gonna say... oh yeah, i found that when i craved something sweet, something spicy works better, jalapeno poppers is a good one, always worked for me! cut in half, de-seed, fill with cream cheese and wrap in streaky bacon!

I think i need to PM you about the smoking though... may just do that!

[miss drea]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

okay well so far ive gathered that in general, i should stay away from the bars/shakes. that will be fine....i will just slowly finish up the 3 that i have and be done with them.
secondly, im not sure whats in the ham. i got it over the counter at the deli...all i know it its baked ham. should i stay away from this? and if baked ham isnt good bc of the sodium, how is it okay for me to eat pepperoni? (mmmm yum haha)
jalepeno poppers sounds pretty good....so just buy the jalepenos, cut, fill with cream cheese and wrap with a cooked peice of bacon? sounds good!
i will check out fitday.com. so i DONT need to limit my protein? interesting.
one big problem for me is i dont eat any kind of fish, so i know that limits me a lot. i do take fish oil capsules daily though. otherwise, i eat a ton of chicken. but i do like beef as well. i dont really know how to cook steak, but i could try to learn hehe. what are the best proteins to eat to help me get in my fats? or what are good ways in general to make sure youre getting 65% fat. i am not sure ive been getting that much, hmm

[*Emma*]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

Dont finish them up, save them for emergencys, certainly dont eat them during your first 14 days.

Pepperoni is generally ok but again check the label

I just checked some deli ham my housemate had in the fridge, it has 1.3g of sugar in it. i'd steer away or at least ask at the counter what they cure it with.

Yup jalapeno poppers rock!! and they really do cure a sweet craving - you might wanna scrape the seeds out though!!

you dont need to limit as long as your percentages are right, you'll find by day 5 ketosis has kicked in and you dont need to eat much anyway.

I dont eat fish either, its gross IMO lol, to get fats you want a red meat, to eat chicken you may need to cook it in fat.

why dont you sign up at www.fitday.com and plug in one of your usual menus, see how it comes up?

[julirama723]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

You DO have to watch how much protein you eat. Or rather, you have to make sure you add enough fat to what you're eating. A pat of butter or veggies tossed in olive oil is usually enough to add a sizeable amount of fat to your meal.

The reason you need to be careful about how much protein you eat is because an excess of protein in the body will convert to glucose, which ultimately will be stored as fat. Many people find that if they eat too much protein, they will stall or gain weight. So, just be sure to eat enough fat, and don't overdo it on the protein. If you are hungry, by all means, eat, just make sure you're eating fat with your meals.

[*Emma*]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

Well theres the experts opinion

Was just going by the book as you shouldnt really worry about it on induction. And as i said, by day 5, your appetite will of supressed anyhow.

It states

Eat liberally of combinations of fat and protein in the form of poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs and red meat, as well as of pure, natural fat in the form of butter, mayonaise, olive oil, safflower, sunflower and other vegetable oils (preferably expeller-pressed or cold-pressed)

[julirama723]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

Yes, it says that, but it is SOOOOOOOO easy to overeat lean meats and it would be a shame to defeat the hard work. Just something to keep an eye on.

[miss drea]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

okay well tomorrow started my 9th day of induction. i think i will continue it past 2 weeks.
i was wondering if i could post a typical meal plan for me on any given day...and have you guys sort of critique it? tell me what to add/take away, what im not getting enough of? thanks so much!!


Breakfast - 2 eggs scrambled with 1 slice american cheese melted. 3 slices of bacon

Lunch - 2 cups lettuce, bacon bits, grated cheese, salad dressing (what kind of dressings do you guys use? what is off limits?) 1 beef burger, no cheese, no ketchup.

Snack - 1 oz chedder cheese

Dinner - 1 turkey burger, few slices of cucumber raw.

[Hopeful1]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

just wanted to chime in as another non fish eater. I can't even force myself to eat it. I think it's psychological with me my husband tried to get me to eat a piece of breaded shrimp (pre atkins) and my mouth was practically glued shut and I had tears in my eyes. lol
I feel like I'm probably missing out on a lot by not eating it but it's something I just can't do. Maybe it's because I'm a water sign.


With dressings it's good to read the labels because some have insane amount of carbs. I buy some from the store for emergencies. I bought some creamy italian and some ranch I think they have 1 or 2 carbs per tblsp.
Otherwise I make my own dressing from some of Linda's recipes. She has the best ranch recipe (better than store bought IMO) ***check out her site, I linked above***.

Good Luck!

[Kawispice]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

I wasn't much of a fish eater myself either, shrimp makes me break out in hives...but then... two years ago I went scuba diving for the first time and I took some bread with me to feed the fish like my scuba instructor told me to. The fish ate the bread and when I ran out they started nibbling at me! Since then I have had no problem eating fish occassionally, I even it it raw as in sushi and sashimi.

[miss drea]

Re: new, MANY questions!!

I wasn't much of a fish eater myself either, shrimp makes me break out in hives...but then... two years ago I went scuba diving for the first time and I took some bread with me to feed the fish like my scuba instructor told me to. The fish ate the bread and when I ran out they started nibbling at me! Since then I have had no problem eating fish occassionally, I even it it raw as in sushi and sashimi.

AHAHA. that made me laugh. what a cute story :]