I have a pressing question..

[ceecee29]

In the atkins book it says that one cup of lettuce has 1.3 grams of carbs. So why are we only allowed to have 3 cups of lettuce per day? Is it because we are allowed to eat eggs, meat and cheese "liberally" and these all have some carbs? But so then do we measure salad by grams of carbs or by the 3 cup allowance? I'm so confused...

[Elizellen]

Re: I have a pressing question..

Actually we are allowed to have 3 cups of a variety of vegetables - over 90 I think - not just lettuce!!

If you choose only lettuce (aka chewy water) you are seriously depriving yourself of nutrients and fibre.

try to choose other more nutritious vegetables from the 'salad' list and the 'other' list and your body will thank you I am sure.

[Adena]

Re: I have a pressing question..

There are also some limits around cheese.... you might be working from an older version of the book. Make sure you have Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution, 2002 edition. Pumkin is a great, filling veggie. Lots of nutrients, and feels like a nice "treat." Just be sure you are eating 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling! I mix mine with butter -- some use cream cheese -- and splenda and cinnamon. Give it a try!

[blue996]

Re: I have a pressing question..

When I first started Atkins I never ate veggies and just had lettuce. Over the past few months I have come to love veggies (this is a huge change for me) and now focus on veggies with lots of fibre. I rarely eat lettuce now as I know I am not giving my body enough nutrients. I think it is part of the reason why I am so satisfied with my diet. Asparagus with butter is so much more enjoyable than lettuce.

[ceecee29]

Re: I have a pressing question..

whoops, I didn't mean to imply that I was only eating lettuce- I'm just confused about the cups versus grams of carbs measurements. For example, if I have two cups of salad greens and 1 cup of zucchini and tomatos then, according to the carb measurement in the atkins book, I will have had 2.6 grams in the lettuce and perhaps 7-8 grams in the other veggies. So then where are the rest of the carbs supposed to come from? Atkins says "the majority of carbs should come from vegetables", so does that mean I should be eating higher carb-count vegetables while on induction? Or do the rest of the carbs come from like cheese and eggs and things?

[kristi2578]

Re: I have a pressing question..

so does that mean I should be eating higher carb-count vegetables while on induction? Or do the rest of the carbs come from like cheese and eggs and things?

You should be eating 12 to 15 carbs a day from veggies, and the rest from those other sources. Try using veggies other than lettuce, such as bell peppers. They are in the "salad" veggies group and contain several carbs. I learned that from Mitzi, and boy did it help me out tons! I was having the same problem as you in my first few days.

[kate58]

Re: I have a pressing question..

On induction you eat a maximum of 20g of carbs, and most should come from veg. That automatically puts a limit on the amount you get from other sources, like eggs and cheese.

If you are eating say, 8g of veg carbs, and 12g from other sources, then you are eating too much of the other sources - you should trim them back to about 6-7g daily, to keep the veg in front.

Many people don't manage to get more than about 8-10g of carbs from the 3 cups on induction, it actually takes quite a bit of effort to get more. This means that if they are eating a total of more than 15-17g of carbs a day, they are overeating the other carb sources.

It's a low level, but is only for 2 weeks. After that, on the first (veggie) rung of OWL, you stop working in cups and add 5g of carbs from veg in addition to whatever carb level you were having on induction - so if you got a total of 15g carbs on induction, you would pick it up to 20g, if you are 20g you'd move to 25g. BUT it's important to note that the extra 5g are all from veg and are in addition to the amount of veg you already ate on induction.

So in other words the amount of carbs from other sources will stay the same as it was on induction, while the veg carbs increase.

I am certain the Dr A did this on purpose. Many carb-addicted overweight people are not brilliant veg eaters - unless you count potatoes! - and he wanted to create the good habit of eating a LOT of veg.