new here and need your help

[gdd]

Hi
I just started on Tuesday and it's Saturday and I think I am doing ok but maybe you can let me know.

breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs 4 slices bacon and 2 cups coffee with heavy cream
lunch - 3 small burgers with tomatoes, mayo and side salad with ranch dressing
snack - fennel and salami slices and sugarless gum and diet coke
dinner - romanian steak with onions and mushrooms and tuna salad
snack - sugarless gum
I'm drinking lots of water and took vitamin.

what do you think? I am so missing vegggies and fruit

thanks

[liv]

Re: new here and need your help

You lost 4 lbs already. That is good. And that is what counts.
I think it looks good there. There are some things I would not do on induction (I am an induction super purist)
Coffee - Atkins says caffeine may be a problem.
diet coke and sugar free gum - again caffeine and then sweeteners - aspartame in diet coke is one of the sweeteners Atkins wanted us to avoid. Sugar free gum - again a sweetener and sometimes sweeteners - artificial or not - may get our bloodsugar going. You are allowed three sweeteners a day though.

So I thought that was a pretty good menu. Are you getting your 3 cups of veggies? You feel that is not enough?
How about if you tried more "fruity" vegetables like peppers? I love peppers.
Good news is that after induction you can start adding more veggies - lots more if you wanted to. And fruit will come to later on. Keep hanging in there.

[gdd]

Re: new here and need your help

Thanks Liv for your reply. Yes I am getting veggies.
You said you are an induction purist, can you please give me an idea of a daily menu for you? I feel that I am struggling to find things to eat. For example the other night I was trying to figure out if I can have chinese food like chicken and broccoli in brown sauce? I know you can eat lots of meat and fish, I just get hung up on how they are prepared.

[imagood1]

Re: new here and need your help

hi gdd -- I agree with Liv -- I'm a purist also because that's where you get the basis for the rest of the plan.

Regular coffee isn't allowed if you're going to do a clean induction but Dr Atkins said you can have decalf coffee and decalf tea but within reason. I have a cup and sometimes two cups of decalf coffee in the mornings then I start drinking water. I drink 150 ounces ofpure water a day -- once I am through with my morning coffee I don't have time or room for anything else. Before I started Atkins I drank between 1 and 2 pots of decalf coffee a day - we changed to decalf after my husband's triple bypass 3 years ago.

I have had 3 Diet Rite cola's since I started Atkins -- they don't taste good to me anymore and even though there isn't any sodium, carbs or calories in a can I can feel the effects of it and choose not to drink it any longer. I use to drink 6 - 8 cans of Diet Rite a day so it's a big change for me.

We are allowed 3 packets of Splenda a day -- if you feel the best way to "spend" your sweetner is with gum it's your decision. Instead of chewing gum why don't you grab 2 or 3 sliced radishes and chew them -- you'll get a peppery flavor and 11 radishes are the equivalent of 1 carb. I've never eaten 11 radishes in a day but it's just to show you how you can eat a lot of something and have very few carbs used.

Make sure you are eating enough veggies everyday -- 3 cups of veggies is more than most people were eating before starting Atkins. Do you know the ingredients in the Romanian Steak you ate - other than onions and mushrooms?

Check the recipe sites and pick out 2 or 3 recipes to try. By trying new things you won't get bored eating the same things over and over. Good luck to you

[Georgiana]

Re: new here and need your help

For example the other night I was trying to figure out if I can have chinese food like chicken and broccoli in brown sauce? I know you can eat lots of meat and fish, I just get hung up on how they are prepared.

The brown sauce usually has sugar and starches, so it is not allowed. It is best to avoid sauces at all when you eat out, unless you are certain they do not contain any "illegal" ingredients. Most restaurants add at least sugar to them.

The thing with sugar free gum is that it has sugar alcohols. Some people metabolize them and thus have to count them towards their net carb intake. Others don't, but then they get some nasty bathroom issues... If they cause you bloating/diarrhea, then it's your choice whether you want to suffer or not. But if you have to count them as net carbs, then things get a little more complicated because 1 chewing gum has, I think, 2 g of sugar alcohols. So if you eat 2 pieces, that's 4 net carbs. Since you should get over half of your net carbs from vegetables (which are limited to 3 cups), having 4 net carbs from chewing gum will force you to reduce the carbs you are consuming from other foods like eggs, cheese, cream, spices, etc.

If you are missing veggies and fruits, I'm sure you'll love OWL.

[liv]

Re: new here and need your help

With super purist I mean I follow the rules in DANDR page 122-124 to a T. I see what you mean about prepared. Have you checked the recipe section of this board. There are many ideas out there. Experimenting is a good idea. Trying new things. One thing I have enjoyed is to getting to know real food.
There is also this great resource here
Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Home
And this tread which has many wonderful recipes.

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...n-recipes.html (Never ending induction recipes) (Never ending induction recipes)