Support thread for those on a low carb diet.

[Massagegirl]

Sorry everyone, this is for those who are watching their carbs so I`m going to have to ask those who disagree, or disbelieve to post in this thread instead...Atkins discussion Thanks

So those that are still with me, what stage are you in? I am on day 2 of Atkins since I cheated on Saturday, with a Mikes Hard and a shot of Baja Rosa. I had previously been on it for about 2 weeks and have lost about 8 pounds. I am going to stick to the 1 carb Mikes from now on, can`t wait til bars get something besides diet coke for mix. I tried the low carb Margarita mix but it needs extra strawberries thrown in to make it perfect.

Today I had a good low carb poppyseed muffin from the Market here in Victoria, that had only 2 carbs(better warmed up). I haven`t had enough protein today, just a pork/cheeze/tzatziki low carb wrap, that contained about 4 carbs. Add that to the muffins 2 carbs and I still have 14 carbs to splurge on. I think I`ll have a shrimp cocktail (I mix in a little low carb chili sauce) with a fresh herb salad with low carb thousand island, that`s 6 carbs total. Still 6 left, what to do, what to do? Mmmm fresh strawberries with cream and a little real sugar ought to do it!

Anyone who has a recipe or a recommendation for a low carb treat, please post it here! That reminds me, I had a bit of delicious low-carb cheezecake today too, almost forgot, better nix the strawberries and have a diet jello instead.

 

[Massagegirl]

It's easy Lisa especially once you break the addiction to carbs. (They are so euphoric as they course through your veins.)The book has a little test to see if you are a carb addict, that will let you know how hard this is gonna be. I'm a moderate one, but once I don't have it for a week I lose the craving. The best thing is since meat takes longer to digest and enters the blood stream slower you will never feel hungry or have the munchies again!

The book helps a lot to determine exactly what you can eat per day cuz too few carbs make you feel yucky, thats what happened to me before I read the book. Skin and mouth felt greasy, so I quit until I read it.

PS Put some chicken or shrimp on that salad with a hard boiled egg and some cheeze.

Also my advice is get to a low carb store cuz everything there is Ok! I have replaced everything in the house -ketchup, BBQ sauce (some reg has 18 carbs per tbsp), peanut butter, bread, jam, jelly beans, pasta(not that great), spag sauce, cream sauce, dip, choc , cookies et cetera I could go on...

 

[spaceghost]

I have replaced everything in the house -ketchup, BBQ sauce (some reg has 18 carbs per tbsp), peanut butter, bread, jam, jelly beans, pasta(not that great), spag sauce, cream sauce, dip, choc , cookies et cetera I could go on...

Ahh yes... many people forget about things like ketchup and BBQ sauce, which is loaded with sugar.

My friend doing Atkins (has had tremendous success) mentions that there are Atkins chat sites where those involved can exchange info.

If you want I can ask the url for these sites?

 

[DDawGG]

Please do SG

Low carb chocolate from Walmart (green bags in the candy section)

Low carb ice cream bars from save on foods

 

[spaceghost]

Please do SG

I will ask my friend which chat boards she uses.

Google reveals two sites right now (more actually, but I'm only posting the first two):

Low Carb Friends.com

Low Carb Cafe Chat

 

[Massagegirl]

I use Atkins message board

PS my hairdresser just told me Thriftys has low-carb bagels now that are quite good! How exciting, something that looks like white flour but isn't!

And Ddawgg, I never heard of the low carb bars, are they popsicles or ice cream? Are they good or just ok?

 

[DDawGG]

Ice Cream

They are Westwern Family brand like a revel or DQ dilly bar

The label reads 10 grams of carbs pe bar but of course when you do the math...

minus sorbitol etc it works out to 1.9 grams pere bar

They are pretty good. I wouldn't say I can't tell the difference, but better than another Ceasar salad.

 

[spaceghost]

http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=81

I think that is one of the chat sites my friend uses... thanks VL

I have friends in low carb places

 

[zlmmm]

"Yeah, but bacon tastes goooood..."
- John Travolta (Pulp Fiction)

I am back on it and I can do without the bread, chips, potatoes, sweets, etc. in favor of tasty meats & cheeses, eggs, etc., but I have a hard time doing without the sauces (ketchup/bbq sauce). I used to have a grocer back in the Bay Area that carried a fruit sweetened ketchup (no refined sugar), which was a fairly good substitute, but I can't seem to find a similar product here. Maybe Choices or Urban Fair will have a ridiculously priced version of this...

 

[brocketrocket]

Hmmm... artificial flavours, artificial colours, artificial sweetners - how can you possibly think that stuff is good for you?!

Since this is a support thread for Atkins Diet I won't ramble on, but Jodie is completly right, the side affects of all of those chemicals are VERY VERY bad for you. Do you know that you can actually get a chemical poisoning from eating too much artifical sweeteners such as Aspartme? Be very very careful when comsuming any man made chemical!

 

[Massagegirl]

Aspertame is indeed bad, they usually use maltitol or sugar alcohol now, it's the most similar to sugar but doesn't get broken down and affect the blood sugar. Most things use lots of fiber/whole grains which also isn't broken down. I just went to the fridge and read the ingredients on a few things and they all sound really good, I don't understand how the carbs are taken out, but they aren't replaced with artificaial color or flavor. The ingredients were quite normal actually, except for "wheat protein isolates", whatever that is?

Did you know that a hundred years ago the average person ate a pound of sugar/year and now the average is 144 lbs/year? Huge difference, and it explains obesity!

I confess I just got back from 2 days in Van where I totally fell off the wagon. I was staying with friends and brought my own low carb mikes, thinking to grab a steak later, but they served spaghetti for dinner, so I was polite. That is total carb overload though, I was bloated, then gassy, then bunged up for 2 days.

But... then the next day I was seduced by sushi, so pigged out on cones and gyozas and sunomono salad, all a lot cheaper than here in Vic btw, where we are sorely limited in Japanese restaurants. Carbs well spent, but I paid later in gassyness and tummyache again.

Anyone else have that result with carbs? They are the devil.

I can't wait to get back on Atkins, with my whole grain 6 carb bread and soy products, let alone a 1/2 pound of shrimp on a nice fresh herb salad with low carb 1,000 isl and chili sauce. I am craving that now, so tomorrow, I'm back on the wagon! I think I'll make devilled eggs too! Yummy!

PS Jodie on your comment "But however can you fill yourself with processed, artificial "diet" and "low-carb" substitutes, and think they are doing you any good?" The answer is for an oral fixation mainly!! Screw doing it for good, I'm doing it for the feel of decadence and to not feel like I am missing out on things!!! The low carb jelly beans for example, taste the same so you feel satiated, not deprived. When I reach for the candy jar as usual, there is no guilt, only the sweet candy goodness...mmmmmmmmm.

 

[Massagegirl]

If ketosis is a form of starvation then SIGN ME UP! Says the girl who just binged for 2 days...

Your whole grains are very low in carbs, does that make them bad? So are most green vegetables, and most milk products, does that make them not good for you? I eat a large salad(spring or herb) every day and at least one serving of asperagus, beans or broccoli with my protein, it's really not all meat. It just eliminates the enriched white flour that pasta and bread contain, that are known to plump people up and keep them that way. At least the low carb breads, muffins and bagels give you the feel of decadence without contributing to the problem. BTW anyone know if soy protein isolate is bad for you?

You must be blessed with a high metabolism Jodie, and it sounds like you avoid simple carbs and sugar, good for you. Now if I could stop my friends from bringing yummy drinks and deep fried/pastry goodness to our get togethers I would be better off. Starting today I am bringing low carb alternatives so I am not tempted anymore. Like a vegie plate or swedish meatballs, or non-breaded chicken wings. Or a stick of butter.................KIDDING!!!

 

[brocketrocket]

Low carb bread, pasta and junk food is just plain wrong!!

Amen Jodie!

 

[Massagegirl]

Yes Jodie, but you must subtract the fiber from those foods and it would equal a lot less net carbs. You must keep your fat consumption to under 30 grams a day, to eat that many, or have a high metabolism.

Not everyone can eat like that, some of us are metabolically resistant, especially those who have dieted in the past. Actually I'm not that overweight, but I want to nip it in the butt, and I do eat that many on a regular non-diet day. However it's the carb addiction and love of deep fried and pastry that slowly adds to my weight, just a 1/2 pund a month is 6 a year. The main thing I like about this diet is it breaks my addiction to carbs, you know the euphoria that washes over you 5 min after eating them? Then 10 min later when the blood sugar ebbs, you get another craving to eat more. Kinda like that Lays commercial where the guy says "betcha can't eat just one."

For me it is better to stay away from excess carbs or I get the perma-munchies, as well as bloating, heartburn and gas.

But to each their own....

 

[spaceghost]

Don't really want to jump into this one 'cause I don't know enough about it...

But Jodie, like massagegirl says, just because a product lists itself as '28g' of carbs does not mean it has 28g of carbs for the Atkins thing.

It has something to do with factoring in fiber, etc.

Your '28g' of carbs might only have (is it 'net' carbs?) 2 grams of carbs that count toward the limit for a day.

This is a good debate... and a lot of the things Howee and others have brought up are actually included in the Atkins thing IF people who really want to follow it READ the whole story behind the plan.

My friend stresses to me that the concept emphasises that those who wish to loose weight cannot do it by following the diet alone... they MUST excercise (surprise!)

Before starting... the concept stresses seeing a doctor (good for you SC) as anyone should before starting ANY diet or excercise plan.

As I understand it... it is a concept that stresses excercising... watching what you eat (cut down on pasta, bread, potatoes and high sugar desserts and high sugar food) and eating vegtables.

It also stresses only eating until you are satiated... not FULL.

Gee... excercise, watch what you eat, and don't stuff yourself when you do eat.

Hmmm... Seems to me, the main controversy is about eating meat (such as bacon - and I am told even bacon is limited to a couple of slices a day... not eating a whole pound or something) and some higher fatish foods.

Why is it we don't jump all over people when they want to get their bodies ripped up and stuffed with plastic baggies of saline so that they can have bigger tits... but we are going apeshit over a couple of people adopting, what some might consider bad eating habits, as part of a diet they are only going to follow for a few months... especially when that diet seems to create weight loss in those who follow it?

If you gonna dump on their choice of diet plans... why is it no one dumped on these people as they gained the original weight in the first place?

Jeepers

 

[Massagegirl]

Very eloquently said SG! That has been my point all along, there are far worse choices to be making. BTW You subtract the grams of fiber and sugar alcohol from the total carb count to get net carbs.

I don't believe that millions of people who did Atkins will drop dead any earlier than if they haven't changed their diet for a few months, especially if it means cutting out more bad foods than good.

And please, will everyone stop saying that awful word *cringe*-"excercise"-*cringe*. You're going to give me nightmares!! If I was willing to do that I wouldn't need to diet!!

You guys want to know a weird way to lose weight, it's this new treatment called Mesotherapy, where a cocktail of vitamins, minerals and plant extract is injected into the middle layer of the skin to liqiufy fat which is then burned or excreted. Each session is up to 500 needles and costs hundred of dollars. Sometimes you need 15 treatments!Mesotherapy
More info
and Third one

Note to self, that sounds easier than dieting and less invasive than liposuction....

 

[sanityclause51]

To kill a mockingbird OR... what is the goal anyway

As a follow-up from my post in the other thread, I want to share a few things about my involvement in the diet I am presently following.
One of the reasons I opted for the Atkins plan is that I wanted to change the way I ate. To live from day to day on pastas, cakes, donuts, ice cream, french fries, fast food and think that this is good for me was a merely telling myself a big fat lie. I wanted to lose weight on this diet... and I have and will lose more. But I wanted to acquire new tastes and foods for consumption and NEVER go back to a diet that consisted so consistantly in my former choices.
So when I started Atkins, I went on "induction" for 4 weeks and did not vary from the strict plan. Only after this period did I add the occaisional few almonds, low carb bread, low carb bran muffin, low card cookie, low carb cereal (morning start by Atkins) and fresh strawberries. However I stress the word occaisional... as I know these treats are higher in carbs and higher in ingredients that I would prefer NOT to toxify my body with. I know that some of the foods (like bacon) that I am eating contain enough nasty elements that Im not totally free from taking in toxic ingredients to my system. However, it is a staple of my breakfast and once I have finally achieved my goal weight... I will reduce or eliminate bacon from my diet altogether.
I hate exercise too...it hurts to walk and is so embarrassing to go in public in a bathing suit, so I dont swim. But without walking, I dont lose my weight fast enough and I feel sluggish. I feel amazing after Ive walked and feel stronger, mentally and physically. So I walk, 3-4 times a week, briskly and longer each time I get out there.
One of my goals about losing this weight is so that I can be agile enough and physically trim enough to enjoy sex more with some of the ladies on this board. I cant enjoy missionary or many other sexual positions knowing that I look fat or that I am heavy to be under. As for postions that woud cater to my girth, seems that I am only fooling myself to enjoy these rather than having the whole menu. Besides, if I like slim, well porpotioned girls, why shouldnt I be half as attractive to a girl I want to be with too. So girls, while I mainly am doin g this for me... to live longer, to live healthier.... I am also doing it to be my best for you/us when we bargain for some time together.

I'll be following this thread and be open to responding to any thoughts or questions anyone may have about my adventure. Once again, after 2 months on my diet I have lost 35 lbs... down from starting at 292 and presently 257. I'll also keep you posted on my progress once a month. Next weight update... July 19!

SC

 

[HoweeMeeker]

SanityClause

Good luck with your continued lifestyle change. For your long-term health benefit, I assume you are consulting your physician and working with him/her closely considering the dramatic weight loss experienced to date and that still anticipated.

Make no mistake, being that heavy was a huge health risk. Just ensure that the weight loss doesn't magnify the issues and/or create all new ones. Keep losing the weight but keep it medically sensible as you only get one set of organs in life - a few of which are pretty essential. One plus is the diet you have chosen, while risky for many individuals, is less risky for men than women for some reason(s) (perhaps calcium metabolism) and less risky for those who start off obese than those who start of just somewhat overweight.

Good luck!

 

[sanityclause51]

The Power of Elimination

This thread wouldnt be complete if it only spoke of injestion. Digestion and elimination are as important to dietary health as benefical eating.
For this thread let me share with you my experience with elimination when I commenced the Atkins diet.
I experienced mild forms for diarrhea, loose bowel movements and constipation. Concerned I went back to my physician (who checked me out at the outset of my diet) and told him what I was experiencing.
He spent a long time explaining how important it is to set up a condition called PERISTALSIS/HYDRATION. This is the wavelike movement of the colon which when functioning nomrally moves food through the digestive system in less than 24 hours. The most important way to achieve this is through proper hydration of the colon... lots of water intake (1/2 glass of water for every 10 lbs of weight per day). He told me that I should want to achieve at least one good bowel movement a day, but 2-3 per day is ideal for optimum health.
To stimulate this action appropriate amounts of fiber are necessary. On the Atkins diet, fiber isnt present in the fats and meats consumed. So a fiber suppliment is necessary! (One cannot possibly eat enough fiber in the foods we are limited from eating. Therefore, my physician recommended that I go to my health store and purchase a FLAX based fiber suppliment with added EFA's (esstential fatty acids sourced from flax, borage, and fish).
I acquired an excellent fiber suppliment called FIBERWORKS made by Acentia. It provides about 50% soluable and 50 % insoluable fiber and it lubricates the colon. Psyllium based fiber will swell and dehydrate the colon... so stay away from that kind of fiber.

So the key steps to good digestion and elination are:

Drink lots of water daily
Suppliment with lots of good fiber
Exercise (it massages the colon and aids in digestion/elimination)
Lubracate with EFA's (omegas 3-6-9)
Lower the CRAP (Coffee, Refined sugars, Alcohol and Processed foods)

Enjoying the food as it goes IN is super... but only if you can be healthy as its on its way OUT in the pooper~ ;-)

SC

 

[Massagegirl]

(that is a joke, right?)

Ummm, yes it's a joke if you count dancing, shopping and massaging people. No, if it has to be sweaty, exhausting and time consuming. Plus Asthma kinda takes the fun out of things when you can never get enough air to do aerobic stuff. Even dancing I can only last 10 min without having to break for air. Thats why Atkins helps me lose weight faster than excercise ever would.