Progress! Advice welcome :)

[Bopt]

Hello everyone.

Post number 1(Sorta)! here, first of all I'd just like to say what welcome forums the site has. Makes a difference.

OK so I'm 25 years old and weighed 14stone 12lb (94.3kg) and my height is 5'11 or there about and I started Akins diet 2weeks ago (Wednesday). So far I think I've done very good, I have previously done atkins before and it worked but I thought it was slightly expensive so never really finished induction properly. Now I'm back on it and I don't think it's that expensive, now that I know how to budget and what to eat certain days etc.

So yeah 2 weeks is nearly up and I'm down to 14 stone dead (88.9kg), 12lbs in two weeks. Is it advised to go further than 2 weeks in the induction as 12-15g of net carbs per day, or is it only 2 weeks and then on to stage two? I'm leaning towards doing maybe 3-4 weeks induction but not sure that's advised, although I think it should be as I've probably been eating the healthiest I've ate in a long long while and feeling great. Most amount of water I've drank in my life (2 litres+ a day) and I really don't miss carbonated or sweetened drinks at all! I feel really good about myself so far, once I got past the tired, sluggish, headache 2 days or so .


Advice is welcome also questions too would be appreciated if you asked them from more experienced no carb dieters. Just to see if I'm on the right tracks etc, 2nd (3rd, 4th..) opinions always help!


Thanks! David.

Edit: How come my post is all squashed together when I put paragraphs in it? hehe
Edit: Never mind fixed it, no script ^^

[Aradasky]

Congratulations!!! Great start! It is good to hear that you have managed to fit this Way Of Eating into your budget and life.

You can stay on induction for as long as you like. In the new Atkins book, it is even suggested until you get 10 to 15 lbs from your goal weight. Adding back in certain carbs and raising your carb count per week, is done so you can look at it carefully and find out what triggers you have, and what level will cause weight gain.

Keep letting us know how you are doing.

[Bopt]

Thanks!

I actually went out with friends today and we ate out. It was a chinese buffet so wasn't my first choice, because everything has batter on it or it's sweet and sour (or close to it!). I had salads and cold meats, and some cold meatball things which were kinda nice. I wanted something hot afterwards though, the only option was to pick the chicken out the chinese curry sauce or the satay sauce, maybe not the best idea but everything else has way more sugars in it or carbs coated around it .

Hopefully it won't affect anything. I'm going to have grilled cajun chicken with salad, soft cheese, tuna and salad for my dinner now

[Aradasky]

You are even making the right choices out to eat with friends. Good for you! You will do well here.

[Bopt]

So it's been just over 3 weeks and I've lost from 14stone to 13stone 8lbs. That's 6lbs lost in the 3rd week, not too bad I hope!

Atkins is going well for me so far, there is only one small problem. Salads with everything or near enough everything is really starting to bore me. Don't get me wrong I make my own vinaigrette for my salads which makes them better on their own. I also don't eat salads every day I have vegetables like cabbage, onions, peppers, etc. I'm just wondering what are nice snack meals for lunch etc instead of having to cook that much. I'd usually have a chicken/tuna/shrimp/ham/omelette salad for lunch.

Any ideas are welcome!

Thanks!

[Claremac08]

What about a homemade veg soup... I make a big batch at the start of the week and freeze in portions. Its a nice change from salads at dinner.
Heres the one i make: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/sou...ainbowsoup.htm
If your on the induction like me i take out of carrots and peas!
i also hand blend mine xxxx

[Aradasky]

Hard boil a dozen eggs and use them. Make up a roast or other meat and have it ready to make lettuce wraps. Go here and do other searches. There are tons of ideas out there for quick meals. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/menus/a/lunchmenus.htm You are doing so well and you do not want to get bored. Some people say that is why they quit so take a few mins to really look at new ideas.

[Allie58]

I like to fry up strips of chicken breast in butter and louisiana hot sauce and keep them in the fridge. They are great on salads but also great to snack on and I dip them in a carb free ranch or ceasar dressing. Also the breakfast eggs in ham pockets recipe that is on my progress thread is good. I make a muffin tin of them to have hot or cold for any meal I chose.

Good luck and don't get bored....check out all the suff online & the links the girls are sending you. There are so many great ideas! No excuse for getting bored!

[Bopt]

Thanks for the ideas, I've been using them .

I'm also wondering that certain sauces, for instance heinz tomato sauce is fairly high in carbs probably because of the sugar content as well as tomato. Anyway would you say completely stay away from this as I've past my induction period? I've been on Induction for 4 weeks now and feeling the fine, actually better than I have in about a year, or so. I'm able to fit in my old jeans and stuff again, yay lol

I'll update weights tomorrow or so in the morning, I quite bad today and had a little bit of chicken wings which i think had some crispy batter on them. Hopefully it won't be too bad, or will it!?

[Analog6]

Thanks for the ideas, I've been using them .

I'm also wondering that certain sauces, for instance heinz tomato sauce is fairly high in carbs probably because of the sugar content as well as tomato. Anyway would you say completely stay away from this as I've past my induction period? I've been on Induction for 4 weeks now and feeling the fine, actually better than I have in about a year, or so. I'm able to fit in my old jeans and stuff again, yay lol

I'll update weights tomorrow or so in the morning, I quite bad today and had a little bit of chicken wings which i think had some crispy batter on them. Hopefully it won't be too bad, or will it!?

I avoid anything processed - it triggers off cravings and does me no good at all. don't sweat the small stuff like a bit of Chinese or battered chicken, so long as you go back to the right foods again quickly.

A frittata is also nice for lunches, you can heat it in the microwave or eat it cold.

Or make 'pasta' using zucchini strips as the pasta (see my Primal blog) with your favourite (home made) sauce.