Dumbing it down.

[Meringue]

Hi, I'm new here. Sorry if it is rude not to introduce myself in the specific area.

Anyway, I had a few questions about the starting period. If someone would be so kind as to humor my ignorance I'd be really appreciative! I'm sure they're covered in the multitude of FAQs, but I'm pretty dense, and would prefer to turn it into somewhat of a conversation anyway, hehe.

I decided on this diet as it seemed ideal to pair with a lower, reasonable (but filling) calorie intake and lots of exercise. Although to be blunt I mostlyt want to shed post-school days weight I've accumlated in a timely manner and adapt to an eating plan for life. I've never really had a diet prior to this.

So, on to the questions!

1. What "simple" foods and meals should I consume? I've heard of poultry, fish, nuts, eggs.

Any other big groups in specific for the intro period? I'm not one to really prepare fancier foods on an eating schedule. Just simple stuff like salads, or grilled chicken, ect. Any basic tips?

2.) What items should I look for on nutrition labels to avoid entirely? Obviously carbs, items with sugar seemed to be mentioned. But I've also heard of like sugar byproducts like dextrose or whatever?

3.) Is it ok to go in right away? I was thinking of starting tommorow, but I've had a fair ammount of carbs yesterday and earlier today in some fruit and the such. In fact, I still wanna finish off the green grapes I have in the fridge, lol :sadblinky

4.) What is an acceptable lower calorie intake for this diet? I've been on some wacky, unfocused diets lately and due to that I haven't eaten much and it takes very little to fill me up. I'm still very healthy and energetic, I just haven't needed to eat much even with all the exercise.

5.) Before I start, once I get towards the end, I don't have to absolutely freak out about cheating, right? I'm not like totally forbidden to have a subway sandwich or a slice of cake in rarity or on special occasions am I?

Thanks a bunch!

[290wannabe150onAtkins]

Hello and welcome. I am on day 13 of my 14 day initial induction. The first thing I can tell you you need is the Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (DANDR) 2002 Edition. Secondly for induction there is a list of acceptable foods you can have. There should be a sticky at the beginning of this forum that says "wallet sized acceptable foods list", or somthing to that mannor. Here should be your creed, "If it isnt on the list, it wont pass my lips." No nuts on induction, that comes later, in the rungs of OWL. As far as cheating, yeah you arent going to jump off a bridge if you cheat however, the purpose of a clean induction is to rid your self of bad eating habits and addictions. I will find the induction rules and post a link, I know they are on here somewhere. Veggies: two cups of salad greens and a cup of veggies (if your salad greens dont exceed two cups a day) are allowed a day. Yes of course no pasta, flour, cereal, bread, ect ect. Sugars are also a big no no. We are allowed Splenda (three packets a day) and I must say, as a sugarholic, this tastes just like sugar. And I didnt start using it until the end of my induction. I will try and find some info for you, in the mean time I hope this helps.



Holly :wave

[290wannabe150onAtkins]

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/viewtopic.php?t=66739

This link is the link to the wallet sized list.


I am looking for the other stuff, Ill get back to you. Feel free to contact my on YAHOO AOL or MSN.



Holly :wave

[apollo]

i would just like to add that cheating on atkins is different than cheating on other diets , if you are on , lets say week 4 of atkins and you have a day off extra carbs , you need to drop back to induction phase , and 1 day might set you back a week! , so i wouldnt suggest the subway sandwich :]

exercise is half the battle , so living a active life can only help you while on atkins

i think your other questions were answered in the proper manner ..

welcome to addb and good luck to you on atkins!

[2big4mysize]

can't dumber down in any more then read the book DR ATKINS' NEW DIET REVOLUTION 2002 or newer printing and read it cover to cover so you understand what you are doing.

I'm sure you didn't expect a classmate to tell you how to do your course work without reading the text book for any of your school classes. Cliffsnote version of Atkins gets Cliffsnote results.

HAppy low carbing.

[tabekat]

finding your integrity

Meringue, Atkins is designed to heal your body and allow it to function the way it was always meant to fuction - that means without using over-processed packaged foods. when you get on Atkins you are putting your body into a state called ketosis - your body will burn up your extra fat stores if you stick to the approved food lists but you can't hop on it and hop off it in a cavalier fashion as it will knock you out of ketosis.

sugar, cake and bread are just poisen for you if you are a person who is addicted to carbs and gain weight on them.

there is no middle ground here. if you choose to do Atkins the program requires honesty, sincerity, humility, and a committment to embrace the lifestye completely.

cheating is something to avoid. just like an alcoholic cannot toy with one drink, those of us who don't respond well to carbs cannot toy with high carb food without gaining weight.

simple answers to your questions:

1. what should you consume? only the items on the approved food list. nuts are not allowed until the third level of owl. never on induction.
we do eat meat, fish, poultry, VEGGIES, cheese. In specific amounts. You must read the DANDR. You cannot wing it. If you do, you will fail.

2. You stick to 20 carbs per day on induction. thats your carb intake for the entire day. you avoid pre-packaged food and instead eat wholesome fresh food. If you stick to the foods on the approved food lists, you won't go wrong and you won't have to sort through very many labels.

3. You can start immediately. But I would advise you read the book first, clean the frankenfoods from your kitchen, and buy the healthy wholesome food you need before starting induction. Preparation is important.

4. You don't count calories on Atkins. You count carbs. You track your food percentages in FITDAY (see the sticky) and work with your menus to have the appropriate percentages.

5. Cheating will bring you nothing but weight gain and sorrow. Integrity is everything. If you love yourself you will eat just as healthy on special days just as you would any other day. It isn't hard to do either. If you stick to Atkins and mean it, you won't desire poisen anymore.

[Meringue]

Hm, well, I like some of the things I hear, and don't care much for others. I apprecaite all the input though, so don't think I'm trying to be rude in any area. :no

As far as cheating goes, I won't during the course of the diet. I have incredible will power and it's unlikely I'll falter in the smallest ammount.

I'll check out the book as well, honestly, I could care less about the science behind it or any sense of preaching or life morals it entails but you folks are so persistent there's obviously something I'm missing.

I now have lists of foods, items and ingredients to watch out for, a plan and goal weight, exercise regimine and an idea of how to follow the plan.

I guess I just don't take food and dieting all that seriously. It's no problem to set an iron will plan for me, I became overweight because I chose to actively be stupid and negligent for a portion of my life that is now coming to a close. I'm now choosing to shed it in a timely manner while adopting myself to a more healthy eating plan.

I intend to take the diet until the end, and pretty much follow the guide lines as possible. That said, I agree with edging out such things (sweets, carb heavy items) almost entirely, but I'd be lying if I said I never intended to have the rare sweet or eat out without thinking and as a treat once in a while when I'm all finished off of the true workhorse portion.

I respect your commitment and stance, but I don't find carbs or the rare takeout to be entirely "evil", just fun little indulgances, and that's always gonna be part of life to me.

I do think that refering to it as poison is a bit much though. I'm doing this diet to shed some excess weight, develop a steady eating habit and ultimately have a healthy diet. Not to become some health food junkie that scares my friends away. ensive

[cleochatra]

Hello, Meringue and welcome! The advice given at this board is based on the 2002 Atkins book, so reading the book saves everyone a lot of time and gets you going quickly. Also, because I'm a bargains queen, I bought mine ages ago at Amazon.com, used, for $.50 (plus shipping). You just can't beat that!

The only thing that'll surprise your friends is them seeing you drop weight quickly without the hunger. Then they'll ask the questions and won't care how excited you end up sounding about this way of eating!

You're going to love that.

*hip bump*

[2big4mysize]

once you get into low carbing you can make yourself physically ill because of the body reaction the the blood sugar spike you will give yourself when you cheat if you use sweets. reading the book you will come to understand how your body is working wioth the fats you are eating to keep your blood sugar stable and your insulin production low to allow your body storage fats to be consumed for fuel and not muscle proteins but you can do whatever you want. we try to make you an informed consumer following the Atkins plan but if you want to not know what you are doing and how it works that is your decision and you will end up doing your own plan and not Atkins which may or may not work for you based on your metabolism and genetics. As DR Atkins said in chapter 11 any program where your cals in are less then your total cals burned will allow you to lose weight just his plan gives you many metabolic advantages if doen right like losing the same amount of weight eating 1560 cals of his plan food ratios as you would get eating 1200 cals of the USDA high carb fod plan. But again it is your choice what you do and don't do. With the book you know what to eat and why so the next time you are in the same situation like craving candy you can immediately take the steps to squash thatcraving something you can't if you don't know how.

HAppy low carbing.

[ttdriver]

I don't mean to sound rude here, but if you *don't* take this seriously, it won't work long term for you.

There are no shortcuts to success. Its a life long commitment you must make if you want to be healthy for life.

I guess what it comes down to is, "how bad ya want it?"

Betty

[bizzlekitty]

There's a definite difference between doing "low carb" and Atkins.

What you listed and seem to be looking for it "low carb", meaning you still eat the occasional item that may be higher in carbs when you like and not quite following Atkins and the OWL rungs etc. This works for some people to help them lose weight and eat better than they did. Good for them.

Most of the people here will tell you that they have found great and better success (myself included) in doing Atkins, which is a very detailed plan that not only has helped us lose weight, but has permanently changed our way of eating and health through better eating (veggies?) and having control over our eating permanently. But you need to do it right, and not by eating the occasional treat or cheat that is outside the plan. You also need to understand how and why it works, and why those "cheats" can be bad.

How you lose weight is up to you. The key is to help yourself become more healthy by eating better and sticking to it.

Most people need to permanently change their eating habits to do this. Atkins tends to work better for that (if you read the book, you'd understand why).

Good luck!

[Meringue]

I see, I see. I'm so apprecaitve of all the information. I just started today, and I'll pick up the book over the weekend and decide from there.

If I may ask again though, how many calories/grams of fat should I be looking to consume?

I'm really trying to make an effort to knock off that weight well with a lot of exercise and carefully watching what I eat even of the healthy stuff.

The problem is I find myself entirely full, stuff like chicken and salads fill me up fast, and yet my daily calorie total is currently set to...775? And I'm just not hungry.

That seems too low, and while I would like to keep it low, I don't want my metabolism to backfire on me more than it should.

So far my list is to have two scrambled eggs in the morning, a chicken breast with a small tomato/lettuce salad for both lunch and dinner (until I can get some peppers and fresh fish from the store, luckily enough though there was a lot of leftover frozen chicken in the freezer from recent sales)

The eggs...I'm not an egg person, plus they're so fatty. I can only mildly enjoy them scrambled. Chicken...I love chicken, I could eat mostly chicken for the rest of my life and be content. Any tips?

[2big4mysize]

see you don't know how to do Atkins at all. Atkins will blow your mind because it is a ketogenic plan and that means it is based on eating high fat 65% of your cals should be in the form of healthy fats. 30% as proteins and then the 3 cups of the induction veggies for your carbs for the next 2 weeks.

It only takes a bit of fat to get your cals right and your program going adding a full fat sugar fre dressing like blue cheese, italian or ranch will do your lunch you did eat the chicken skin didn't you? those eggs are a near perfect Atkins ratio foods too so don't worry about the fat content of them.

cook your vegies and meats in a little olivew oil or butter and you should be at the correct ratio in no time.

The number of cals you take in will be determined by your body. We eat only enough food to satisfy our hunger at the time we are eating and if that is a few bites or the whole plate thatis what you eat and then stop. When you get hungry again you eat again or if 6 hrs have passed you eat again for blood sugar stability. you will learn to eat nutrient dense foods to keep your cals up and not feel so stufed.

Reemmber to drink all your water ansd many folk confues thirst for hunger and this plan is a natural diuretic. check out the FAQ topic on water and you will be chugging it toi assist your weight loss and health.

Happy low carbing.

[290wannabe150onAtkins]

I agree with 2big and Cleo, you MUST read the book, even if you dont want to know why this way of eating works, you must be knowledgable. Like it was stated earlier, you need to know why those cheats are bad, and what they will do to your system. And to refer to them as poison is accurate, because that is what you are doing to your body when you havent had those triggers in such a long time, not only with things you once love taste completely different, your body will revolt against you, making you feel very ill, and unlike your normal self. And if you dont think this way works (and I mean this way, refering to the books way), I just finished my initial induction and lost 12 lbs. Yes it does work, if you stick to it, read the book, excercise, and drink your water.

Happy Atkins!


Holly :wave