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Mpls
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 8:14 am
Ok, got the book. Glanced through it for the basics. I'm day 2 into the introduction stage. I know I can eat generous portions of meat, fish, fowl. I can eat some raw salads/veggies. Question for those who've been here, done this. What did you guys do when you went out for lunch/dinner? Say for instance if I went to a Red Lobster. Can I have generous portions of Shrimp Scampi? I suppose if I go to a hamburger joint I can have the burger, onion, lettuce tomato sans the bun? Any help at all will help.
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Llkoolaid
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 8:27 am
Mpls, I am in the same boat you are, got the book and am reading it but would love some input before I start. I don't want to eat all that stuff and then mess it up eating too many carbs so I too would love some help.
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Mpls
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 8:43 am
Welcome to our new lifestyle LlK, and good luck to you. See, I'm a divorced/single guy, so I usually never do any elaborate cooking. I will fry or broil a burger, no problem. I can throw a hunk of beef in a crock pot, no problem. But I'm not down with all that fancy other stuff in the book. I'm a stone cold carnivore which is why I feel I can do this. However, I just want to know if while I'm eating outside the home if I'm doing things right. Another question. Can I have spareribs from a restaurant if they were not sauced?
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Zules
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 8:48 am
Mpls, the best advice I can give you is to read the WHOLE book. It's easier than you think to mess it up. For example, the hamburger you want to eat without the bun, cannot have ketchup on it either because ketchup has alot of sugar in it. The first two weeks you can have 3 cups of vegetables. So, even the onion, lettuce and tomato on that burger need to be counted. Here's a great message board with people who have been living the Atkins way a long time. But fair warning, if you haven't read the book, they may kick your butt a bit. http://www.escribe.com/health/atkins/bb/ I hope this helps! Good luck!
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Secretsmile
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 8:56 am
I admire you both for starting a diet, both my husband and I have done the Atkins' diet and I feel I need to put my two cents in here. Please, please, please, read the whole book before starting it. The true Atkins diet starts with very few carbs at first, then adds them slowly. It also recommends supplements ( vitamin and mineral). My husband had huge success with this diet, but I thought I could get away without reading the book and just eating what he ate. This was a mistake since our bodies are different. I ended up in the ER for electrolyte imbalance, and it was rather scarey. The worse part of it is, that I could have avoided this if I had read the book and took the supplements I needed to take.
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Costacat
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 9:58 am
I have a question for those of you "in the know" about Atkins. Unlike Mpls, I'm mostly a vegetarian (I'll eat chicken or fish once or twice a week, but only cause I'll feel like I need the protein). So what do you do if you don't eat much "meat," if at all? I do eat a lot of veggies, cheese, beans, and the like, though.
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Maris
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 10:03 am
This is a good link for those of you in the induction phase. http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-464579.html
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Zules
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 10:11 am
Costacat, Atkins is possible for vegetarians but difficult because your food choices are so limited. I know beans come later on Atkins because although they are high in protein, they are also very starchy. I would check out the Atkins website or the link to the message board I gave above for more info.
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Mpls
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 10:42 am
Maris, Thanks for the link.
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Maris
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 10:43 am
From the atkins site: Can a vegetarian follow the Atkins Nutritional Approach? Animal proteins are a vital component of doing Atkins and it is difficult to follow the program without them. Meat, fish and poultry contain many essential amino acids that cannot be found in any other sources. However, if you are willing to eat eggs, cheese and tofu for protein, it is possible to do Atkins. Nonetheless, the limited options would make it a boring program to follow and most vegetarians do not stay with it long term. If you are willing to also eat fish, doing Atkins becomes more enjoyable. A vegan cannot follow Atkins. A pure vegan diet could never be low enough in carbohydrates, because there are no plants that are carbohydrate free.
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Texannie
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 10:47 am
Costacat, if you are looking into a specific program, you might check out the South Beach diet.
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Tabbyking
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 12:14 pm
for me going strictly atkins raised my cholesterol from 184 to 229 in less than one month! but i have friends who have lost several pounds and even gone off insulin if they were diabetic, etc., so obviously, it works really well for some! i am signed up for the 'challenge' on another thread, but i have lost some weight just by watching carbs on my own. this new challenge seems closest to what works for me. and i never lose weight unless i also exercise daily. i haven't skipped one day on the treadmill or long walk in over 2 months. seems different diets work for different people!
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Kappy
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 12:37 pm
I agree with Zules that you really need to read the book. I began having muscle cramps by the 4th day and read in a later chapter why it was happening. It turned out that a medication I was taking was already depleting certain vitamins and then being in ketosis was making it worse. The vitamins recommended (potassium, magnesium and calcium) did fix the problem but it bothered me to have to take anything more then a daily mutilple vitamin. So I agree with Tabby that different diets work for different people. I have a brother who has been very successful with this diet. It didn't work for me because I do not exercise daily and I acknowledge that I overdid the amount of meat and other items that you can eat. But I did learn alot as to which fruit and vegetables are better to eat, carb wise, so I don't regret trying it. I am also now caffeine free due to trying this diet and have given up adding rice and bread to meals where I really don't need it. I am going to give Weight Watchers a try since with that, I would truly have to limit my portions but can add in the fruit and veggies which I miss from my daily diet. I hope to incorporate what I have learned about carbs into that plan and make them work together. Good luck to everyone!
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Way2prissy
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 1:03 pm
If you haven't tried Atkins you will love the results! I have lost over 100 pounds on it and have been very happy with the way I feel on the program. READ THE BOOK! It became my food bible! Also, the Atkins website is awesome for inspiration and motivation. Good luck!
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Rslover
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 3:12 pm
MPLS, I swear by Atkins so feel free to ask me anything you need. I'll try and help. But, you should finish the book. The purpose of the induction period is to how much weight you lose so you can judge your metabolism level so I suggest stictly following it. I wouldn't eat out in a restaurant during this period. You really don't know if there is sugar in a dressing or marinade. Anyway, it is only for 2 weeks. Later on, when you find the level of carbs you can have, then you can eat in a steak house and have steak and salad, certain veggies. I was very strict when I first started and had very little fruits and vegetables, if any. But, I lost a steady 3 lbs. a week for 12 weeks. Now, it may seem unhealthy but, it is just as unhealthy to be overweight. I take a good deal of vitamins. It is important to take fish oils too which would help with your cholestrol. You don't have to eat a pound of bacon and 2lb steaks every day. You have to find the diet that works for you. This may not be for everyone but its worth it to at least try it for a month. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, I could see it possibly becoming boring. Costacat, since you only eat fish or chicken once a week it could be hard for you. Although, I have made some great low carb tofu dishes. Two things that kept me going on the diet: 1. I was losing weight and that kept me motivated. (I know they say only lose 2 lbs a week, but realistically that doesn't keep your motivation going.) 2. I wasn't constantly starving because my insulin level was stable, not rising and dropping as it does when you eat carbs. My friend on WW is always hungry. She eats cheerios (22 carbs) for breakfast and snackwell cookies for snacks. You can snack on almonds, walnuts, pistachio nuts. All have lots of good vitamins and minerals and fiber. As for cholestrol levels, my numbers all dropped. It is important not just to look at the cholestrol number itself. If your good cholestrol is high and the ratio is 4 1/2 to 1, you are fine. The reduction of carbs usually automatically reduce your triglyceride level. There are myths about this diet such as 1. You lose weight because you are eating less. Not true, chances are you are actually eating more calories. 2. You are not getting enough fiber. This is also a misnomer. If you are eating nuts, cauliflower (which makes great faux potatoes), broccoli, spinach, the GG Bran crispbread crackers,he recommends) you are getting plenty of fiber. Also, remember that you can subtract the fiber grams from the carb total. Something I never even bothered to do. So, I was actually taking in even less carbs. Also, remember coffee is actually .8 gram and an egg is .6 gm, so if you want to be precise count these too. You gradually add carbs after the induction to a level that keeps you in ketosis (usually 30-60grams per day). If you get the urine test strips it really helps you to figure out your level. It should stay at a purple color. This means you are in ketosis and losing weight. Bear in mind, it will most probably never be the darkest on the strip. It is just a range. Mine would remain in the middle color range even if I had 5 carbs that day. If it starts to get lighter you lower your carbs a bit. The hardest thing for me was to eliminate coffee during the induction level. By, the 4th day I thought I was going to die! Then by the end of the induction period, I added my one cup per day back. Atkins believes that coffee and some artificial sweeteners can effect your insulin levels. I personally didn't find a difference when I added them. Though, eventually I added more carbs, I found I never did go to the 450 carb level that the average person eats per day. I started to see how these carbs (the bad ones)wy really do make you tired. I started to be able to sleep about an hour less a night and was not tired. There are tons of great recipes and low carb sites on the web. As in any diet, it is important to excerise too. If this diet seems too hard to do then just try eliminating the white culprits-sugar, pasta, rice, bread, flour (akin to the sugar busters diet)and you will see a big difference. Also, as we get older our metabolism changes so you can lose at a slower rate. Poor Atkins, I'm glad the medical community started to recognize his work right before he died. Hope this helps and good luck.
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Urgrace
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 4:40 pm
<local news had a segment on how many restaurants are now offering hamburgers without the bun because it was being ordered so frequently>
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Not1worry
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 4:57 pm
There are interesting web sites out there if you Google "low carb". I found some good recipes at www.lowcarbluxury.com and http://www.camacdonald.com/lc/LowCarbohydrateCooking-Recipes.htm. I wouldn't say that I do Atkins. But I do eat low carb and try and keep it below 25-30 grams a day. I have Atkins carb gram counter pocket size book that is an immense help. There's also an online one at http://atkins.com/global/carb-counter/. I've lost 10 lbs. in 5 weeks (to include 3-4 days that I ate almost whatever I wanted. Hey, it was Thanksgiving for one!) I did almost no exercise, but I'm starting to do aerobics now. Losing the weight has been motivating. My too-tight jeans were loose and comfy today.
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Landi
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 5:22 pm
in-and-out burger does one called "protein style", once you eat 'em that way, you'll wonder why you ever needed a bun! i get mine with mustard and no ketchup.
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Maris
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 5:26 pm
Fridays which is a chain restaurant here in the east coast has a section on their menu devoted to Atkins FYI. I didnt lose weight on Atkins but my family is currently in the induction phase of Atkins so I am preparing atkins menus at home.
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Kappy
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 7:24 pm
Subway now has some new lunch wraps that are "Atkins friendly" although they note that they are not appropriate for the induction phase. The local news did a story the other night about how less bread is being bought and how it's effecting stores and bakeries. I couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't due to the Atkin's craze, lol. Rslover ~ sounds like you have done great. The one thing I could not find when I started were the urine test strips. Can I ask at what store you found them? I always thought that would be a good motivator, just to know you were in ketosis.
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Not1worry
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 7:28 pm
Kappy, you usually have to ask at the pharmacy or GNC for the ketone test strips. I bought mine online, did a search for them and found what I assumed was a decent price. It does keep me motivated or warn me that maybe my portions were too big that day! I read something about how the orange growers business is suffering since orange juice consumption is way down. I do miss a glass of juice in the morning.
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Rslover
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 8:04 pm
Kappy, You should look for the cheapest price. They are all the same. But make sure you check the expiration date. They only last for months once opened. Also, very important only test your urine at night. No need to do it every day. If you do go out of ketosis, don't expect it to turn purple the first day you are good. It will take 3 days to get back into the groove. This site has interesting medical studies about the diet: http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm?code=24137&article_id=7585
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Rslover
| Friday, January 02, 2004 - 8:24 pm
More articles and recipes http://www.atkinsfriends.com
http://www.trulylowcarb.com http://www.lowcarb.ca I can go on and on about this diet - and I AM! LOL 
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Kappy
| Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 11:12 am
Thank you, Not1 and Rslover for the info on the ketone strips!
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Konamouse
| Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 2:25 pm
If you are prone to gout or pancreatitis, do NOT do the Atkins diet. If you have any history of renal disease, do NOT do the Atkins diet. If you are at risk for osteoporosis, do NOT do the Atkins diet. Please have baseline cholesterol labs and if you do stay on the Atkins diet for more than six months, have a follow up lab. Most people will notice a drop in total cholesterol as a result of weight loss during the first three months - but after six months, it goes back up. And most people have a drop in triglycerides with the removal of simple sugars, fruit sugars, processed white starches and alcohol from their diet. Good luck. And, when you are ready to go back to eating a more balanced diet (high fiber, plenty of fruits and vegetables, adequate dietary calcium, and reasonable low fat protein sources), talk to a registered dietitian. 'squeek' (an RD who has seen some good, but also the bad, from the latest incarnation of the high protein craze)
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