it s not that bad

[leelouise]

i have started my first day today n this morning i thought i would n t manage one hour with the usual food, like some people i wake up n have a coffee n to be honest i drink tea n coffee all day but i am just drinking water in stead. i had sausages for breakfast and saved some to snack on, through the day i normally eat at least three chocolate bars n lots of crisps. i am struggling already with the sugar thing as i have at least 4 in one cup of tea but i can do it just dreading the days a head as i heard it can have some pretty bad side affects n i just hope i dont give in

[Georgiana]

Re: it s not that bad

Yay! It's not so bad! Good to hear that after your "Spotlight" post.

Since you seem to be on the same time zone as I am, are you in the UK? If you are, then check those sausages for fillers like bread crumbs, diary products (anything with milk in there?), soybeans and other non-Induction ingredients. Always check the list of ingredients and not just the nutritional info, even for foods which you believe should be perfectly "safe" to have.

If you can't find sausages that are "legal" for Induction, an alternative would be unprocessed meat or quiche (you can even make these as muffins) or boiled eggs, soup, left overs from dinner, etc.

[leelouise]

Re: it s not that bad

it is a lot harder than i thought then my diet has gone wrong already only start 4 hours ago why is it so complicated

[Georgiana]

Re: it s not that bad

Got your message, but I'll reply here as it might help others as well and you'll also get some suggestions from members in the UK.

If a food contains ingredients that are not on the Induction acceptable foods list, then that food is not allowed for Induction. For example, if sausages contain wheat flour, they are not "legal". If some dressing contains high fructose corn syrup (sugar), then it is not "legal" either. This is why it is important to check the list of ingredients.

Now if you ate some sausages which had whatever stuff in them today, no need to worry too much. Just stop eating them from now on and you'll be fine. No tragedy.

But since you "lost" your snack, you need to find something else to snack on in case you need a snack. You should only eat when hungry or when 6 hours have passed since your last meal. So no mindless eating.

Do you have a food plan for today? If you post it here we can take a look over it.

Good job for sticking to water only!

Regarding the "Induction flu", some people get it, others don't. In any case, it doesn't last long and if you get a terrible headache or something you can always take an Advil until the symptoms go away.

Are you taking a multivitamin?

[Georgiana]

Re: it s not that bad

Oh, and by the way, check the links I gave you in my previous reply (to your "Spotlight" thread). The information in those stickies will help you avoid many mistakes.

It's not so complicated. It just takes a while to get the hang of it.

[leelouise]

Re: it s not that bad

thank u for ur help i didnt realise i could just write on here then u would recieve it, i dont have my meals planned i arn t a big eater through the day only have one main meal at tea time maybe a sandwich at dinner it is all a lot more complicated than i thought i was going to have chicken brest for my tea with broccoli i dont like any other "legal" veg on the list am i allowed gravy, it doesnt say ny thing about sauces n things thats all sorry to be a pain.

[Georgiana]

Re: it s not that bad

As I've said before, you should be eating when hungry. If 6 hours have passed since your last meal and you are still not hungry, then have just a small meal/snack. In any case, make sure you get all your 3 cups of veggies in---don't leave them for tea. You should spread your veggies throughout the day (e.g. have some for lunch and the rest for dinner OR have some for breakfast, some for lunch, some for a snack and some for dinner OR whatever combination you like) to avoid a blood sugar spike which could trigger cravings and cause you to cheat.

Chicken breast and broccoli sounds good. Broccoli is on the "Other Vegetables" list and is therefore limited to 1 cup per day (measured raw). Just figure out what you'll have for lunch and get some veggies there.

The gravy is probably not "legal" because it usually contains "illegal" ingredients. Doesn't it have a list of ingredients? I think it should have the ingredients listed somewhere.

How much weight do you have to lose? Maybe you could edit your stats in the signature or your profile info. That would be very helpful. Here's an example of how to do this in your signature:

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/1088130-post2.html

[Elizellen]

Re: it s not that bad

Hi Welcome to our international ADBB family

As Georgiana has mentioned, once you get used to reading the list of ingredients in foods you buy/cook it isn't too complicated.

Even though you are not used to doing so it would make your first few weeks on Atkins much easier if you were to plan in detail the foods you intend to eat in advance.

To get your 3 cups of veg spread through the day does need planning if you are not going to find yourself either undereating or overeating on carbs at the end of the day.

We had a member whose signature 'mantra' read

Failing to plan is planning to fail

which I always have taken to heart.

Apart from planning making it easier to decide what groceries to stock up on, if you have worked out what you intend to eat in advance it makes it easier to stick to as you won't have the excuse to grab something off-plan because you are unprepared.

If you are not good at lists or sums to work out your carbs each day you might find using one of the websites which allow you to log all your foods (and measurements/exercising etc) and do all the sums for you.

The one I use is at www.fitday.com but there are many others around.

I look foward to sharing your Atkins journey along the way towards a slimmer figure and better health

[leelouise]

Re: it s not that bad

i had a good look at the food list n i have found it helpfull. i thought i would feel left out at tea time as my children and partner can eat what they like but i just give them the same apart from they have more veg and gravy n things. i thought i would be having to cook lots off different meals but i dont apart from when i do spaggetti bol which i love so much but never mind. i have started to feel a bit tiered is this normal i arnt feeling ill though like most people do so thats a good thing i suppose.

[Georgiana]

Re: it s not that bad

Yep, it's common to feel a little tired at the beginning of Induction.

Good for you for reading the list and learning what you can and can't have.

[Georgiana]

Re: it s not that bad

BTW, if you find spaghetti squash, you can make a substitute for "real" spaghetti. And similarly you can substitute lasagna with thinly sliced zucchini.

[Elizellen]

Re: it s not that bad

Another sub I often use is to make 'cauli-rice' which is just grated raw cauliflower that I microwave for a few minutes to make the consistency of rice. I serve stuff like chilli or curry over this but I bet it would work for bolog sauce too!