Please Review My Menu

[Suga_Britchess]

Please help me to review my menu as I seem to be in a stall. First let me say that I started Atkins on Dec. 15th, and the only regular medication I am on is Wellbutrin and Chantix.
Ok I am sure to drink at least 64oz. of water everyday.

Breakfast:
1 cup of decaf coffee with 2 tbls. powder creamer and 2 teasoons Splenda
3 eggs fried with cooking spray or scrambled
1/4-1/2 pound of ground beef or sausage seasoned with garlic salt & garlic pepper

Lunch:
2 cups of lettuce
15-20 olives
2 tbls. of bacon bits
2 baby dill pickles
3oz tuna fish
3 tbls. ranch dressing (the dressing nets me 3 grams of carbs)

Dinner:
6-8oz grilled or fried pork, chicken, or beef seasoned with garlic salt & garlic pepper
1 cup of cauliflower boiled
3 oz cheddar and /or cream cheese
1 tbls. bacon bits

Any help here would be appreciated.

[OzLover]

Re: Please Review My Menu

What is the carb count in the powder creamer? I think you would be better off to use heavy cream...1 Tbsp=0.4 carbs.

Are your dill pickles sugar free??? Check the ingredients.

There are numerous brands of salad dressing with less carbs in it. For example I have one that is my grocery store brand & it has only 1 carb per 2 Tbsp. Walden Farms dressings are sugar free/carb free.

Have you tried less salad greens & using some cuke, peppers, mushrooms,raw broccoli etc...Use more of the salad veggies vs lettuce.

Just some thoughts!!
Glenda

[ValidRouge]

Re: Please Review My Menu

I would wager that the powdered creamer has high fructose corn syrup in it. Most of them do. Even in small amounts this stuff is EVIL.

I was "stalled" for loooooong periods of time for almost a year. I even GAINED weight at one point. Come to find out the UNSWEET tea mix I was drinking had HFCS in it as a "stabilizer"!! As soon as I dropped that tea, I started losing.

I would also suspect your bacon bits. Unless they are real bacon cooked by YOU and broken up into 'bits', they aren't a "REAL" food. Bacon, in and of itself, is bad enough with the nitrates, but the imitation bacon bits are most likely made with starches and refined carbs and isn't bacon AT ALL.

Heres what my google search found. OMG this stuff is HORRIBLE. Don't eat any more of this artificial fake food that is full of corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fats!).


Coffee Mate sugar free powdered creamer INGREDIENTS:
Vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated coconut or palm kernel and canola, hydrogenated palm, soybean, cottonseed, and/or safflower), corn syrup solids**, natural and artificial flavors, sodium caseinate (a milk derivative)***, dipotassium phosphate (moderates coffee acidity), monoglycerides (prevents oil separation), salt, sodium aluminosilicate, sucralose, datem, acesulfame potassium (non-nutritive sweetener), yeast.
** Adds a trivial amount of sugar per serving.
***Not a source of lactose.

Here are the ingredients for McCormick's Bacon Flavored Bits:
http://www.mccormick.com/productdetail.cfm?ID=6398
Ingredients
TEXTURED SOY FLOUR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, CORN STARCH, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, CARAMEL COLOR, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, CORN GLUTEN, AND WHEAT PROTEIN, FD&C RED 3, AND AUTOLYZED YEAST.

[Suga_Britchess]

Re: Please Review My Menu

What is the carb count in the powder creamer? I think you would be better off to use heavy cream...1 Tbsp=0.4 carbs.

Are your dill pickles sugar free??? Check the ingredients.

There are numerous brands of salad dressing with less carbs in it. For example I have one that is my grocery store brand & it has only 1 carb per 2 Tbsp. Walden Farms dressings are sugar free/carb free.

Have you tried less salad greens & using some cuke, peppers, mushrooms,raw broccoli etc...Use more of the salad veggies vs lettuce.

Just some thoughts!!
Glenda

Glenda the carb count on the creamer is a bit extravagant 1 gram per tsp. and I will switch back to the heavy cream if that is what needs to be done but the powder is soo much cheaper. The pickles are sugar free and I have actually just used the last of the ranch dressing and switched to Caesar which is 1 gram per 2 tbls.
I have tried cukes in my salad but honestly except for the cukes all those other items you mentioned are an "absolutely not" for me. I cant stand them.

[Suga_Britchess]

Re: Please Review My Menu

I would wager that the powdered creamer has high fructose corn syrup in it. Most of them do. Even in small amounts this stuff is EVIL.

I would also suspect your bacon bits. Unless they are real bacon cooked by YOU and broken up into 'bits', they aren't a "REAL" food. Bacon, in and of itself, is bad enough with the nitrates, but the imitation bacon bits are most likely made with starches and refined carbs and isn't bacon AT ALL.

Heres what my google search found. OMG this stuff is HORRIBLE. Don't eat any more of this artificial fake food that is full of corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fats!).

Ok I just checked the powder creamer and yes the first ingredient listed is corn syrup...not high fructose but still it's corn syrup. So I have just thrown that in the trash.
As far as the bacon bits goes.......it is bacon that I made and crumbled into bits.

[OzLover]

Re: Please Review My Menu

Suga have you tried drinking your coffee black? I'm gradually decreasing the amount of cream I use in my coffee hoping to get to that point. I'd rather use the carbs for something else!!

Have a good weekend!
Glenda

[Suga_Britchess]

Re: Please Review My Menu

Suga have you tried drinking your coffee black? I'm gradually decreasing the amount of cream I use in my coffee hoping to get to that point. I'd rather use the carbs for something else!!

I'd rather go without!
I already went to decaf and I seriously only drink 1 cup a day........do I have to skip this too?

[Mirya]

Re: Please Review My Menu

See if the below menu changes help.....Also I was on wellbutrin for some time ad itis one that causes the body chemical to interact oddly with the metabolism and in turn causes weight gain. May want to watch the salting of foods as it will cause water retenion

Please help me to review my menu as I seem to be in a stall. First let me say that I started Atkins on Dec. 15th, and the only regular medication I am on is Wellbutrin and Chantix.
Ok I am sure to drink at least 64oz.- 128oz <aka 1 gallon the more water the better it also helps if you drink 16-20oz 15 minutes before a meal to curbs the appetite> of water everyday.

Breakfast:
1 cup of decaf coffee with 2 tbls. heavy cream and 2 teasoons Splenda
2 eggs with butter or scrambled
1/4 pound of ground beef or sausage seasoned with garlic salt & garlic pepper


Lunch:
1 cup of lettuce
15-20 olives
2 tbls. of homemade bacon bits
2 baby dill pickles
3oz tuna fish
3 tbls. ceasar, walden farm dressings, or home made atkins dressing recipes


Dinner:
6oz grilled or fried pork, chicken, or beef seasoned with garlic salt & garlic pepper
1 cup of cauliflower boiled
3 oz cheddar and /or cream cheese
1 tbls. homemade bacon bits

Any help here would be appreciated.

Hope this helps a bit. I hate to come off like a teacher putting i red marks so you got pink

[OzLover]

Re: Please Review My Menu

I'd rather go without!
I already went to decaf and I seriously only drink 1 cup a day........do I have to skip this too?

NO!! As much as I try I can't give up the coffee...down to 2 cups now. Decaf just doesn't cut it for me.

Glenda

[Suga_Britchess]

Re: Please Review My Menu

Today I tried decaf tea with splenda and no creamer......it was ok but not my usual thick and rich and creamy coffee

[*Emma*]

Re: Please Review My Menu

you can have heavy cream in it!

[purplecat]

Re: Please Review My Menu

Hey Suga. Start slow when cutting things out. Different things make different people stall (i.e., I can eat peanuts when it makes a lot of people stall). Start by using heavy cream in your coffee, instead of the powder and see how you do. I use ranch dressing daily (about 3 tbsp.). I love it. I started out using some other dressing that had less carbs and when I posted my menu was told it was ok to use the ranch versus the other dressing because we need the fat in it for this diet. I will try to find that post and send it to you. Of course I was happy (didn't care too much for how the other dressing tasted). Also, I fry my eggs in butter (measure it so I can factor it in on fitday.com). Again, it's so we can get that fat in there that we need for this diet. I use fitday so that my percentage of fat is around 65%; carbs 5%; and protein 30%. It must work because when my percentages are seriously off I stall or gain. Best of health to you.

Oh, btw, I was on Wellbutrin for chronic fatigue and it made me lose weight; when I stopped using it, I gained weight. Again, meds affect different people in different ways.

[Suga_Britchess]

Re: Please Review My Menu

Thanks Emma......I know I can use heavy cream it's just that it is soo expensive here, its almost $4.00 a quart here and with 2 of us using it, it can add up. What about half and half? It is a bit cheaper. Frankly I really would rather go without coffee if I cant have my creamer and I prefer my tea without it.

[Bluebelt2007]

Re: Please Review My Menu

Hey Suga. Start slow when cutting things out. Different things make different people stall (i.e., I can eat peanuts when it makes a lot of people stall). Start by using heavy cream in your coffee, instead of the powder and see how you do. I use ranch dressing daily (about 3 tbsp.). I love it. I started out using some other dressing that had less carbs and when I posted my menu was told it was ok to use the ranch versus the other dressing because we need the fat in it for this diet. I will try to find that post and send it to you. Of course I was happy (didn't care too much for how the other dressing tasted). Also, I fry my eggs in butter (measure it so I can factor it in on fitday.com). Again, it's so we can get that fat in there that we need for this diet. I use fitday so that my percentage of fat is around 65%; carbs 5%; and protein 30%. It must work because when my percentages are seriously off I stall or gain. Best of health to you.

Hi Suga, many good post here, but I really agree with Cat here. Start slow, to figure out what's good for you.

[Suga_Britchess]

Re: Please Review My Menu

Thanks purplecat, I have used fitday for my food intake but just in the beginning to make sure my carb count was where it should be and to get a feel of how my menu was working out. Im gonna go have another look at it.