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OK... Someone asked me to write a post about Atkins targeted towards the new folks who might show up after the first.
BEFORE YOU START
1. Buy the Book.
2. Read the Book. Yes, the whole book. Don't start until you do.
3. Print out a copy of the acceptable foods list. Write it out if you don't have a printer. Carry it with you all the time. Don't come to the board and ask "is this OK?" unless it's on the list- we cannot change the rules and most of us will not even try to assuage your guilt. If it's not on the list, don't eat it. There is ONE misprint on the list in some versions- Spinach should be on the same part of the list as lettuce- not with onions.
4. Decide that you will NOT cheat, come **** or high water, until you've been on for sixty days. Don't give yourself the option. Giving myself the option to cheat has been a major problem. Stop saying, "I can't live without coffee" or "I could never stay on this eating plan for three weeks!" because you could do either. What if you crashed onto a desert island and the only food was cows and leaves and the only drink was water? That's kind of what's happened- and you could happily live on that and you can delightedly live on the acceptable foods list.
5. Before you start, decide what exercise you'll be doing and it should be at least 20 minutes, 3 times a week. You must exercise. If you think you're too heavy for exercise, you're wrong. Try a Walk Away the Pounds video- or just walking in general-- or just waving your arms around. Get your heart rate up- it feels good, it increases your metabolism, and it will accelerate your success.
6. It's the night before The Big Day- the day you've decided to start- so what do you do? you do two things- you clean out all the food you are choosing not to have on Atkins (everything that's not on The List) AND you're going to make sure that you ahve enough food to eat (all things that are ON The List) for at least four days. This way you don't have to surf the temptations at the grocery stores like candy at the checkout! If you cannot toss out all of the food you aren't eating anymore, at least segregate it from your food- put it a certain cabinet or on a certain shelf that way you can more easily get to just the stuff you want.
7. Make sure you have a good multivitamin (Dr. A tells you what he thinks should be in it)
8. Figure out how you're going to get in about 100 oz. of water a day.
9. If you don't pack your lunch (and I find it's easier to do so) have a concrete plan for what you're eating tomorrow. It's easier to eat what you've packed than face the gauntlet at the SuperSize Shack.
10. Because sometimes you will lose inches, not pounds, measure yourself. I find that FitDay is the best place to do this b/c they keep the list digitally AND they give you instructions about exactly where to measure.
BEFORE YOU START
1. Buy the Book.
2. Read the Book. Yes, the whole book. Don't start until you do.
3. Print out a copy of the acceptable foods list. Write it out if you don't have a printer. Carry it with you all the time. Don't come to the board and ask "is this OK?" unless it's on the list- we cannot change the rules and most of us will not even try to assuage your guilt. If it's not on the list, don't eat it. There is ONE misprint on the list in some versions- Spinach should be on the same part of the list as lettuce- not with onions.
4. Decide that you will NOT cheat, come **** or high water, until you've been on for sixty days. Don't give yourself the option. Giving myself the option to cheat has been a major problem. Stop saying, "I can't live without coffee" or "I could never stay on this eating plan for three weeks!" because you could do either. What if you crashed onto a desert island and the only food was cows and leaves and the only drink was water? That's kind of what's happened- and you could happily live on that and you can delightedly live on the acceptable foods list.
5. Before you start, decide what exercise you'll be doing and it should be at least 20 minutes, 3 times a week. You must exercise. If you think you're too heavy for exercise, you're wrong. Try a Walk Away the Pounds video- or just walking in general-- or just waving your arms around. Get your heart rate up- it feels good, it increases your metabolism, and it will accelerate your success.
6. It's the night before The Big Day- the day you've decided to start- so what do you do? you do two things- you clean out all the food you are choosing not to have on Atkins (everything that's not on The List) AND you're going to make sure that you ahve enough food to eat (all things that are ON The List) for at least four days. This way you don't have to surf the temptations at the grocery stores like candy at the checkout! If you cannot toss out all of the food you aren't eating anymore, at least segregate it from your food- put it a certain cabinet or on a certain shelf that way you can more easily get to just the stuff you want.
7. Make sure you have a good multivitamin (Dr. A tells you what he thinks should be in it)
8. Figure out how you're going to get in about 100 oz. of water a day.
9. If you don't pack your lunch (and I find it's easier to do so) have a concrete plan for what you're eating tomorrow. It's easier to eat what you've packed than face the gauntlet at the SuperSize Shack.
10. Because sometimes you will lose inches, not pounds, measure yourself. I find that FitDay is the best place to do this b/c they keep the list digitally AND they give you instructions about exactly where to measure.
ha 
lost -9.2 on induction.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life
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