I'm very fearful

[maxima]

I'm waiting for my Adkins instructional book to come in, but I'm on a very quasi Adkins diet anyway, my neighbor had told me that I could have all the meat, eggs and cheese I wanted plus a list of the approved salads. She stressed the carb count and I've been most careful. I'v ebeen doing fine this way and thought that basically, that was the diet.

I found out in the "introduction" forum that this is not the way to do it at all, that Imust have the book, so I did order it yesterday.

I've spend a LOT of time reading on this site and to tell you the truth, I have no problem at all with staying on this diet - I feel so much better and am never hungry at the 20 carb max, so that isn't an issue.

But, I'm honestly afraid that I'm never going to understand the rules of the diet to follow it correctly and in order. I am just lost during most of the threads. I'm learning disabled in math and have other learning disabilities (not a joke) and I saw some formula someone offered to figure out something and it was like I was reading a language I didn't speak. I have found that in a lot of the answers to questions.

Do I need to just let it go and wait for the book, or is this a seriously complicated diet - I'm not talking about the food itself, I'm talking about the understanding about being able to figure out the when, what, where how much on a daily basis. I just hate for any diet to have me focus on what's going into my mouth now and again in a few hours.

Maybe I'm simply overwhelmed at the information flowing here - that until I read the book I will just remain confused. Has ANYONE reacted to the directions for following this diet this way or is it just me.

It seemed SO simple just to stick to the meat, eggs, fish and the veggies and fats on the allowed list and the amounts allowed. I understand about the need for the fats too - but now, it all seems to be weighed, calculated and measured to the n'th degree.

I'm fine on the diet, don't get me wrong. It's so complicated though, I wanted to get away from being focused on what I would next eat.

Please don't think I'm being critical - I'm worried I will simply never grasp all of this.

I'm really feeling quite alone and like the odd person out in my reaction - everybody else seems so enthused about the process. I'm enthused about what I can eat (and not eat) but I'm petrified that I'm going to be a mess when it comes to figuring it out and thinking about it to keep it all straight.

If anyone else has had this reaction and is now doing ok I would surely appreciate hearing from them.

[2big4mysize]

Re: I'm very fearful

Hi again. You will do fine. have you fixed your veggies so they are measured out and ready to eat at each meal? if not that would be a good habit to get started with. Then you don't need to worryabout did I have .2 or .7 cups of X and how many do I have left cause you have those 3 cups all set aside in your frig ready to eat any time during the day you are hungry. You will want to have them along with your fats and proteins so you don't spike your blood sugar.

after doing that for a few days you will be good to go until it is time to do OWL and then you just do the same thing but with 5 more grams of carbs worth of those yummy veggies.

Once you master that and you can take as much time as you need to either a week or a month or more if you need to go real slow.

then you are ready for the next change and all you do is the same thing you were doing but add 5 net crams of fresh dairy to your pre measured containers so you have veggies and say some yogurt or cottage cheesesitting there ready to eat with your healthy fats and proteins.

I'm sure you will be just fine after all you were doing well with your foods to this point.

[Desertthorn]

Re: I'm very fearful

Its absolutely not complicated at all. While in Induction, keep your carbs below 20 and thats after you subtract the fiber. Print off the list of acceptable foods and don't eat anything that is not on that list.

Have you tried fitday.com? Its rather time consuming to use at first, but once you plug in the foods that you generally eat, its quick and easy to see what your eating.
DON"T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE. DON"T COUNT CALORIES, Dont worry about percents, just keep to the list and eat your veggies, drink your water

If you need some ideas for Induction menus, we have some on this board.

Good luck to you and happy reading

[pinkfusion]

Re: I'm very fearful

OP it does take a while to really get in the swing of things but dont be intimidated. You'll be just fine!

[liv]

Re: I'm very fearful

Nice post Maxima
I chose this diet over others because I wanted something simple. And you are right it is simple - eat meat, fish, fats and some veggies and only eat from teh allowed lists. That is really what it is about.

I think some people are used to hyper relulating what they eat some they enjoy making it more complicated - that works for them

And in some of the posts here we try to trouble shoot when things are not working and them maybe we will use some math or something to help but it is far from necessary.

You are doing the right thing. Wonderful that you ordered the book

[brandywine1241]

Re: I'm very fearful

I strongly suggest you use FitDay to log your food. As Desertthorn said, it can be a little time consuming at first, but it gets easier with practice. And the main advantage for you is that it will do almost all the math if you use it right. If you have questions about how to get specific information, just ask.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: I'm very fearful

>>now, it all seems to be weighed, calculated and measured to the n'th degree.>>

It doesn't really.

Some people need to do that if they're struggling. Some people like to do that.

When I started, I looked up foods in my carb counter (there's one in the back of the book), and kept a notebook.

I really only use Fitday to problem solve.

[Elizellen]

Re: I'm very fearful

As the others have said, keep it simple to start with
When I started Atkins all I had was the book (Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution) and no-one around who had ever heard of Atkins, so I worked with the carb counts in the back of the book and a notepad for 6 months or so. In fact for the first few weeks I wrote down my record of carbs on the blank pages of my book till I realised that I would run out of space!!

It was not till I ventured onto the internet looking for support 6 months or so into induction and 30 pounds lost that I discovered ADBB and learned of the percentages and the websites around where you can get them to work out the numbers for you

You seem to have been eating pretty much to plan so far, and though you might find you need to 'tweak' some details once you get your 'bible' I am sure you will be fine

[maxima]

Re: I'm very fearful

Thank you all very much for your support. I think I got very overwhelmed by details I can't understand until I get myself informed by reading the book, when it comes in.
I felt MUCH better the next morning and very positive that I would understand it and if I don't, then I know where I can come to ask the questions! You all are very patient.

I also want to say that the two contrasting pictures here of the before and after diets are simply AMAZING. What a job well done! Congrats, you must love going clothes shopping!