Getting Started Menu

[Debi2007]

Hi... I am just getting started. My memory of Atkins was that I didn't have to weight or measure anything. I did well on it for a few weeks a few years ago, but now... giving it another go. I see that weighing and measuring is important, so I would love comments on how this looks.

Most likely I will eat basically the same breakfast and lunch during induction and just rotate meats and veggies for dinner.

Breakfast:
2 eggs (scrambled)
1/2 cup ground meat
1/4 cup salsa


Lunch:
4 slices turkey
4 slices cheese
4 slices pickles
(made into wraps)
1 cup fennel

Dinner:
6 oz meat
2 cups vegetables
(stir fry)

Snack: Can I do Atkins bars during induction?

Thanks to anyone that gives me advice or comments. It will be much appreciated.

[Monroe]

Re: Getting Started Menu

Hi... I am just getting started. My memory of Atkins was that I didn't have to weight or measure anything. I did well on it for a few weeks a few years ago, but now... giving it another go. I see that weighing and measuring is important, so I would love comments on how this looks.

Most likely I will eat basically the same breakfast and lunch during induction and just rotate meats and veggies for dinner.

Breakfast:
2 eggs (scrambled)
1/2 cup ground meat
1/4 cup salsa


Lunch:
4 slices turkey
4 slices cheese
4 slices pickles
(made into wraps)
1 cup fennel

Dinner:
6 oz meat
2 cups vegetables
(stir fry)

Snack: Can I do Atkins bars during induction?

Thanks to anyone that gives me advice or comments. It will be much appreciated.

I don't think salsa is allowed, doesn't most have sugars? Unless its made yourself.

Are you using cheese singles? I don't believe you are supposed to have them either. Pickles are not allowed either on indction, maybe down the road i'm not sure, but not induction.

Try to stay away from the atkins bars, Dr Atkins said its best to get the sugar cravings out of your body, so I wouldn't.

I hope im right on this, and also im not even sure what fennel is.

[Debi2007]

Re: Getting Started Menu

Hmmm... I think I am a bit confused now. I did go and check the induction menu on the website. It is the two week menu. That is where I got the idea for the dill pickle wrapped in meat/cheese. I was going to use sliced cheddar cause that is allowed on the induction (not the sliced singles... just actual sliced cheddar).

Here is the ingredients list from the salsa... I figured it was all okay as per the list of acceptable foods.

Tomatoes, Water, Tomato Paste, Green Chili Peppers, Red and Green Bell Peppers, Onions, Red Chili Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Cilantro, Garlic, Black Pepper, Citric Acid

I did actually notice that on the two week induction diet there are Atkins bars listed as snack. I didn't see that earlier.

So... does the board follow the website plan or is there another book that you guys are following?

[kate58]

Re: Getting Started Menu

This board follows the 2002 book - the last one written by Dr A before he died. It makes little mention of using Atkins bars and shakes, and none of using them during induction. They cause problems for a lot of people.

You need to check the carbs in the salsa, not just the ingredients. It may be fine, but remember that during induction you are quite restricted - only 2 cups of salad veg and one cup of the other allowed veg and only 20g of carbs in total. So in the case of your two cups of veg at dinner it would be important to know which list those veg are coming from - but I'd guess that you are actually using up your entire cup of extra veg already in the salsa, not to mention the pickle.

Also be sure your chicken and turkey slices have no carb additives, many prepared cold meats do.

Your menu seems a little low in fat. I find fitday.com extremely useful for making sure my proportions are right - you should be getting 65% minimum of your calories from fat, 5% max from carbs and the rest protein.

I plugged a rough estimate of your menu into Fitday and it was quite a bit too high in carbs (albout twice what is allowed, but that's just an estimate) and too low in fat. Having said that, I don't know what veg exactly you are having at dinner and how much fat you are using to stir fry it, which might make a big difference.

[Debi2007]

Re: Getting Started Menu

Thanks Kate. Clearly I need to rework the menu. I am used to low fat from Weight Watchers... will take a bit to shift gears I guess.

The salsa is 8 carbs total for the amount I have. I think I actually have an old account at fitday. I will give it a try.

Thanks to both you and Monroe for helping me out! I actually don't think I did Atkins right before because I didn't do any of this weighing and measuring. I lost 20 lbs in two weeks, but I am sure that was because I have alot to lose and I didn't stick with it long after that. I am seeing this board is going to be a lifesaver and a major motivator, inspiration and learning experience!

[kate58]

Re: Getting Started Menu

You're welcome Debi. Yes, changing from WW is quite a leap, I'd never done Atkins before this and was not coming from any diet, but the low-fat mantra was so ingrained in me that I felt pure guilt for the first few days about what I was eating - that's well past now!

I found on induction that when sticking to the allowed veg I averaged about 12-14 net carbs a day from veg, and even getting it that high meant careful choosing from the lists. I believe many people would fall about there. With additional odd carbs from cheese and eggs and elsewhere I ended up with still just under 20 a day. So although 8 carbs from the salsa seems low, it isn't all that low really. Your cup of fennel has 6 carbs. I don't know about the pickle - too many variables - but one way or another there is not going to be anything left for dinner!

[Debi2007]

Re: Getting Started Menu

Ugh! I pulled up my fitday account and am reworking the whole menu. It was wayyyyy off...lol. It is hard to get the percentages just right. I will figure it out by Monday and get a new menu posted. Thanks so much for the help!!!!!

[Debi2007]

Re: Getting Started Menu

Okay...

This is much more complex than I imagined and I find it hard to get the percentages right, but I am sure that will get easier with time.

So, now here is a menu that I did through fitday so I could see the percentages as I added foods.

Breakfast:
2 Eggs Scrambled w/
1 cup ground beef
1 oz cheddar cheese

Lunch:
I cup chicken
3 tsp mayo
1 small tomato
1 cup fennel

Dinner:
8 oz Pork Chop
1 Cup Broccoli
1 Cup Cucumber

Hopefully that looks a little better to start. The first week I will probably stick to the same menu, only substituting different meat and vegetable for dinner. That will give me time to create more menu ideas with things I enjoy.

[cgdat136]

Re: Getting Started Menu

you can do pickles on induction??

[Debi2007]

Re: Getting Started Menu

Well, I did pickles on induction and I lost 16 lbs. I didn't eat a lot of them. However, I think the book says that they are not allowed. I have not read the book yet. Someone check it out from our library and kept it and they won't replace it. (nice) I haven't been able to afford the book so I have been following the program from the website, which is a bit different. On Dr. Atkins induction menu online... he has pickles listed as a snack.

[tacfla]

Re: Getting Started Menu

I tend to stall with the Atkins bars while on induction. Just something to think about.

Robin