Not excited about rung 1

[Bettestress]

From the loosening of the pants and other signs, I'm not anticipating having any issues with resistance, so I expect to move out of induction and to rung 1 this Saturday.

Most people would be "YAY, MORE VEGGIES!". I'm thinking "more veggies..UGH." I'm just not a huge veggie fan. I'm doing ok with what I eat now, but the thought of adding MORE veggies is giving me the wrinkle nose.

Any other people out there not that fond of veggies??

I was reading the "How to do OWL" sticky, and they made it sound a little more flexible. Anyone ever skip rung 1? LOL

Any suggestions?

[mitzimarie]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Hi, Bette

Prior to Atkins, I was NOT a veggie eater... I thought they were gross. And on my first time around, I did not make myself try new veggies, and most of my carbs came from rungs higher than that. That caused a few things... the main one being, that I stalled out at 155 for months. I got to where I couldn't lose any more weight than that. I gradually lost focus, and strayed from plan altogether in late 2004. By the time I decided to try Atkins again, I had re-gained 32 of those 60 pounds. I started again on 2/25/07, and decided that THIS time, I was going to do it by the book, and open my mind to veggies. And you know what? I LOVE them now. Seriously, I don't just tolerate them... I love them.

This has been the key to my success! It has allowed me to get down to a weight, that I didn't even dare dream that I could ever weigh. Dr. A states in the book, that at any given phase of Atkins, most of your carbs should come from veggies.

Many people, myself included, found that even though our bodies could tolerate foods from the other rungs at first, they eventually "turned" on us, and started stalling us, bloating us, or caused cravings. So, it's a good thing that veggies are something that I love now, because it turns out that they are almost the only carbs that my body will tolerate. I could eat up to 45 net carbs and lose steadily, but most of those carbs had to be veggies, or there was trouble.

It comes down to a choice... do you really want to make Atkins work for the rest of your life? The only way to do that, is to make a lifestyle change. If you do what you always do, you'll get what you always get. Meaning, you can't keep eating the way you used to, and expect different results. While it is true that you can skip rungs, I've never heard of anyone skipping the veggie rung, and be successful for the long haul. Examples of rungs that are skipped... dairy or nuts, because of allergies or food intolerances, or alcohol, because a person doesn't drink.

Do NOT skip the veggie rung! If you do, you are not really doing Atkins. You absolutely need the vitamins, minerals, and fiber that you get from veggies. It's not healthy to skip them, and it's the people who shun veggies, and get sick, that give Atkins a bad name.

If you haven't checked out Linda's website yet, please do. It's great! Also, don't forget to use the recipe forum on this board. There are some amazing things that can be done with veggies. Here is the link to Linda's website:

http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html

It is time to take a hard, honest, look at how commited you are to this WOE. How about it? What are you willing to do, to lose weight and be healthy?

Best wishes to you!

[ValidRouge]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Great advice, Mitzi!

Let us help you learn to love your veggies, Bettestress. Have you ever tried jicama? Pumpkin? A fresh, sweet red pepper? Maybe we can give you some tips on how to prepare them that TASTES good so that they are more attractive to you.

[mitzimarie]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Great advice, Mitzi!

Let us help you learn to love your veggies, Bettestress. Have you ever tried jicama? Pumpkin? A fresh, sweet red pepper? Maybe we can give you some tips on how to prepare them that TASTES good so that they are more attractive to you.

Thanks, Joy!

She's right, Bette... maybe you haven't looked in the right places to find veggies you like. Most of the ones I eat now, I had never ever seen before, much less ate.

And Joy... today I had jicama, pumpkin, sweet red pepper, sugar snap peas, sliced portabello mushrooms, and spaghetti squash. Yum!

[ValidRouge]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Mitzi, that sounds yummy!

I had cauliflower "grits" with my eggs for breakfast. Fajita salad with lettuce, tomatoes, green bell peppers, onions, jalapenos for lunch. Pork stir fry for dinner with asparagus, sugar snap peas, green beans, broccoli, carrots, onions, and squash.

[mitzimarie]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Joy, can you believe that I have never done stir fry? I need to, because your food sounds really good! Do you use a wok?

And OMG! Fresh asparagus is my new passion, lately. I love to sautee/fry it in a big skillet on the stove, in butter and olive oil. I enjoy the whole stalk, but I love the way the top end of it gets crispy... I'm drooling just thinking about it.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Mitzi, I just use my regular frying pans to do the stir fry.

I LOVE asparagus too. I usually drizzle olive oil on it and put some sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and roast it under the broiler. I love the crispy tips too!

Most of the time whenever I cook any veggie, I start out a frying pan with meat drippings (pork works best, chicken is yummy too) OR a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and butter. Then I put my veggies in and let them cook.

I'm still in my calabaza (spanish pumpkin) obsession. And, jicama is a staple for me.

I've gotten very creative with the cauliflower too. I use it as I said earlier, a substitute for grits, mashed potatoes, rice, and potatoes in fauxtato salad. Man, I'm drooling just thinking about it. Goya and Knorr spices make "Sazon" for rice...it's a yellow rice seasoning. I steam the cauliflower and then shred it with a fork until it's the consistency of rice, add butter and the sazon. Voila! Yellow "rice". Pair it with roasted chicken and some red pepper and onions. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm!

[Mirya]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

I love vegatables buit good god.... so yah i totally feel your pain I am on rung one and think Im oing back to induction or something cause something just isnt right. Anyway eating more veggies even for me being a veggie lover realyly does just turn my stomach.

[Bettestress]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Thanks so much for the advice! There are some veggies I like, but not enough to offer much variety, and most of what I do enjoy are starchy. I was just becoming concerned that my dislike for most veggies might completely sabotage this diet for me, period.

I'll definitely make an effort to find different ways to jazz up the veggies that I DO like. I wasn't exactly serious about skipping rung 1, but more like wishful thinking.

I usually have a garden salad at lunch, then a cup of "other" cooked veg for dinner. I do find ways to prepare asparagus, broccoli and zucc/summer squash. But I'm sure here are great suggestions on the website that will help me mix it up.

I appreciate the info!!

(cauliflower is NO CAN DO.. lol)

[inhisgrip]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Hey Bette, Don't rule cauliflower out just yet. It is DELICIOUS when you use the recipes from Linda's website. My favorite is the "Just Like Stuffed Potatoes." They are so good you won't even know you're eating cauliflower. I promise! Try it.

[Brook]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

LOL. I don't think you're going to find many people around here that got fat because they just loooooooooooooooooved veggies.

However..if you take a look around you at those that have been successful with the plan- especially the long-timers, you'll see that they learned to incorporate tons of them into their daily eating and they really, really enjoy them!

You've been given some incredible advice - work it. It does work!!

[Bettestress]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

Hey Bette, Don't rule cauliflower out just yet. It is DELICIOUS when you use the recipes from Linda's website. My favorite is the "Just Like Stuffed Potatoes." They are so good you won't even know you're eating cauliflower. I promise! Try it.

Ok, I'll give it a try! I'm trusting you! lol

I do realize to be successful I have to incorporate veggies, it's just going to be harder for me than other folks.

Since I have quite a bit to lose should I do the 2 week rung method instead of the 1 week?

[Brook]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

I do realize to be successful I have to incorporate veggies, it's just going to be harder for me than other folks.

Bette- I assure you, this isn't true. It's not any harder for you than it has been/was/is for anyone else around here.

You'll do just fine if you decide you will!

[sadie147]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

I hated veggies before this woe, especially cauliflower! I still can't eat it just cooked, i need to mash it, rice it etc in order to get it down (i love it these ways!), if you check out Linda's site, in the ground beef recipes, the Italian caserole is awesom over riced cauliflower.

I will second the pumpkin suggestions, as well as jicama (we can't get it here anymore ...i miss it terribly!), and another i find is good is rhubarb! I liked it cooked (but still chunky) and sweetened with a dollop of whipped cream.

[Bettestress]

Re: Not excited about rung 1

I will second the pumpkin suggestions, as well as jicama (we can't get it here anymore ...i miss it terribly!), and another i find is good is rhubarb! I liked it cooked (but still chunky) and sweetened with a dollop of whipped cream.

The pumpkin idea does sound good, don't know how I missed that on my veggie list.

I'm not giving up by any means, just trying to tackle my weaknesses up front so I can do this WOE.