OK, I'm unexpectedly back. kids are occupied watching CBBC and eating TicTacs, the other is having a nap - bliss! I took one look at the state of my kitchen and decided I'd rather go back on the computer.
Without going into mind-boggling details, I'll just tell you about the 14 day induction part of the Atkins diet as this is what you must do first to get that lard shiftin'.
Here goes:-
1.You must have no more than 20 grams of carbohydrate a day (that is 170g of salad veg or 120g of salad veg and 130g of cooked veg - will telll you exactly which veg you can have later)
2.You're not on a quantitive diet so should eat to suit your appetite. Eat until satisfied but not stuffed (as if we would!).
3.You are on a qualitative diet, so if the food is not on the list of allowed foods you must not touch it with a barge pole.
4.Your diet will consist of pure proteins, pure fats (ie. butter, olive oil & mayo) and combinations of protein and fat. But definitely NOT protein/carb or fat/carb combinations.
Free foods are all meat, fish and fowl. Also, all shellfish, eggs and cheese (but not low fat varieties)
Salad veg you are allowed are;-lettuce, chives, parsley, cucumber, radishes, fennel, peppers, celery, alfalfa sprouts, mushrooms, olives (and a few other weird sounding things, so I've left them off!)
Ok herbs are;- dill, basil, rosemary, thyme and oregano.
Other veg you can have;- asparagus, string beans, cabbage, cauliflower, aubergine, leeks, spinach, courgettes, summer squash (not sure if this is butternut squash) courgettes, okra, pumpkin, turnips, broccoli, kale, tomato, onion, rhubarb, avocado, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, snow peapods, celeriac, brussel sprouts, artichoke hearts & yet again anything with a weird name I've left off!
For salad dressings, you can use desired oil plus vinegar/lemon juice and spices. Add grated cheese or chopped eggs aswell.
Drinks;- water, decaff tea/coffee, diet fizzy drinks (only artificial sweeteners allowed are saccharin, aspartame and acesulfame-k), herb tea and cream (whipping or single).
You also have to supplement your diet with a broadbased multivitamin (I'm taking Multibionta), chromium picolinate (helps the action of insulin), L-Carniture (helps with fat mobilization) BTW, Boots have a product called Chromaslim which has these 2 in it, so I think that I will get that. Also, GLA and EPA oils (I think Efamol contains these) Also co-enzyme Q10 can be a useful one to have. There are some others he suggests, but I think that these ones are the most important ones. I've noticed from reading some other Mumsnetters' postings that they have taken some of these supplements when trying to lose weight.
I think that is just about all that you need to know about the Induction plan. You just have to try to be creative with the foods that you can have to try to make exciting meals (atleast there's no calorie restriction, even if it is a bit boring!) He also recommends getting some ketosis/lypolysis testing strips, but really only to prove to yourself that you are excreting ketones in your wee and therefore burning up your fat.
Hope I haven't made it sound more complicated than it is. What do you think, might you give it a go? I think it does shift fat quite quickly which is why it really appeals to me. If I can see visible results quickly, I'm more likely to be spurred on and stick with it. Speak to you later!