Atkins/Low Carb/High Protein - Anyone doing it?

[FrogBellyRatBone]

Lost 2st on Atkins but have since veered more to GL type diets. Unfortuntely don't seem to be able to stick to them like I could with Atkins.Still want to lose 3 stone (have put back on nearly a stone of the weight I lost) and am debating whether to go back on Atkins. Any opinions welcomed

BTW if you can build tomatoes into your carb allowance they are a good source of potassium

And Moonfrog??? Where are you??? Have you hopped to the moon??? I miss you!

ggirl - it could be potassium defeciency. Use lo-salt in your cooking - that helps (so I'm told). However it could just be the beginning of ketosis - you can get some real aches and pain and tiredness when that happens.

Breakfast - Grilled back bacon and mushrooms? If you are allowed 40g (is it the Clarke plan?) could you have one slice of soya and linseed bread with tomatoes/mushrooms on it? Low-fat yoghurt with some fruit? I have to admit that breakfast is the worst meal for me - I love muesli and toast and honey

emotionalwreck... well done on not slapping his chops! though he'd deserve it! What happend to being a supportive oh? and even if the scales don'thave you down... clothes are a better indicator anyhow

ggirl - yes the eggs for breakfast are wearing a bit thin here too. I'll be chomping down on ham, cheese, tomatoe in creme fraiche with chives tomorrow morning. I used to be a 2 slices of toast for bf person. Don't miss it too much, yet Make sure you drink enough and take vitamine supplement. I haven't had aching yet well not more than usual after only about 4h sleep a night thanks to ds

thanks everyone for your replies-I feel truly welcomed
I'm not too good at counting carbs ,so I've basically been having,scrambled eggs for brekkie,no milk.Lunch salad with tomatoe/pepper/alfalfa/mixed leaf salad and 110 gm of protein ie chicken,mackerel and sausage so far,dinner cooked veg and meat.
So I may be going over I don't know.
I was thinking of doing the atkins thing and eating cheese and fats more ,but unsure.I don't really want to cut out too many veg .
I must go and buy a carb counter book tomorrow.
Joeallie,no it's not the clarke plan(what's that?).I just read a book on how to lower your cholesterol in 8 weeks(that's the title and there is a chapter on low carb dieting ,not much really but a feew guidelines.
MRs bigd,how long have you been on it?

May aswell confess my weight,I'm 14st 10 and would like to get to 13st 7lbs by half term as we're going to Dubai .I have about 4 stone to lose altogether though

ggirl I'm in week 2, i.e. still induction phase. Not sticking to it rigorously though as I'm not just having 1 or 2 cups of salad leaves, also have a bit more tomatoes than on my plan and in the evenings instead of my so far usual chocies or ice cream I drink a large glass of milk. Despite this I have now lost 3 kg already!!! from 66.2 down to 63.2 this morning. I'm so chuffed, especially as I'm flying out to Greece on Friday... so if you decide to go on Atkins I'm sure you can reach your first goal by 1/2 term. I had plateaued for ages and it really kickstarted the loss again

I'm using ediets as I'm useless just going by a book, find it to tedious, but I love computers and that it lets me chop and change my daily menu.

ggirl - Atkins does permit veg but it's quite limited during induction. If your plan works for - accepting lower fat for more carbs - then I should stick to it. I was referring to the Charles Clarke plan - allows up to 40g of carbs as well as fat on induction but discourages snacking. He's British so the book isn't quite so American in tone. It's a good plan but I prefer the strictness of Atkins as I feel I have my eating under control. Might move to it later It might be worth a try if you want to move to something different.

Joelallie you are the low carb dieting guru - you know every plan going!

Might have a look at that Clark plan in a few weeks. I think Moonfrog must have fell off the wagon or into a saucepan of buttered mash potatoes!!!!

Ggirl you are more or less the same weight as me, I was 15st 3lb two weeks ago but have got below the 15st mark now. But I would like to lose a total of 5st as my long term goal. Weigh day is tomorrow for me so we'll see what this week has brought!

joelallie-,yeh I think I'll stick with my current plan,seems to be doing the trick at the moment as I already feel my clothes are looser.
emotionalwreck-good luck with the weigh in tomorrow,my weigh in day is monday,can't wait,although a good friend is visiting for the weekend and I know I'll be drinking.....errr lots!

ggirl wouldn't worry about 1 alcohlic night, I did that on Friday and did expect either gain or at least no loss on the Monday but was pleasantly surprised

Well its weigh day and I know you'll all shout at me because I'm disappointed. I've lost another 2lb so now 14st 11lb. And I know its great but I lost weight really quickly when I did atkins before and I'm going to the gym 2-4 times a week. Feel a bit disheartened

emotional wreck muscle is more dense than fat so of course your weightloss will slow down but you'll be firmer so don't be disheartned

well done emotionalweck! I know it seems slow but I agree its probably an increase in your muscles.I started going to the gym 10 months ago and I didn't lose a lb.However my shape changed and people did ask if I'd lost weight.Maybe you should start measuring yourself as an incentive.
Also the added muscle will help with the fat burning.

mrsbigd-I'm planning 2 nights drinking but am hoping if I stick to gin the damage will be less.Will it take me ages to get back into ketosis?

I got some ketostix today and the result was dark purple.I seem to recall someone saying that wasn't good?

you're actually testing for ketosis? Never occurred to me

Gosh you get up early mrsbigd!
Yeh I got the sticks from ebay ,but I think you can ask for them at boots.I find it helps my motivation and stops me cheating .Nice to know I'm burning my wobbly fat away

Now what to have for breakfast...don't feel hungry at all.

Hi
I've been looking at this thread, as I'm doing the cambridge diet which is low carb and very low calorie.fast results though-which is what I need.
If at ketostix goes dark purple it can mean you are dehydrated. It should really be dark pink/light purple.
Lots of water helps flush everything, so if you have an extra litre of water re test and see if it helps.
HTH

As far as I know alcohol only stops fat-burning temporarily which why it isn't totally forbidden on lc diets. Once the alcohol is out of your system you return to ketosis immediately - assuming that you weren't drinking beer by the litre in which case the carb content will do for you! It is the easiest fuel for the body to burn so will be used before fat or carbs.

Spirits and sugar-free mixers are the best although dry white wine is OK too. But beware that you get p*ssed quicker whilst in ketosis and if you overdo it you will get the worst hangovers. Try alternating water with the alcoholic drinks and make sure you knock back at least a litre of water before you go to bed.

now that would explain why I felt so awful after my debauched night, well besides me since having given birth to dd and ds being a '2 glasses and I'm anybodies' girl anyhow LOL so now I'm even less tolerant to alcohol, and going on holiday with out dh and kids... oh boy!

ok,I'll make sure I'm drinking enough.seem to spend half my life on the loo!

Thanks for the support girls. I just need a big kick up the ass (mentally speaking!!)

Did step on the body fat analysis scales six weeks ago so I suppose if I re-visited I'd see a diffenece in my lean mass. Will try next week.

On the alcohol front my favourite tipple is gin and slimline tonic - Pip pip old bean! And Wisp, cambridge diet is fantastic for crash weight loss but beware when you stop - it can crash back on!

Anyone else finding their bowels slowing down.I'm thinking of taking a laxative.

GGirl - that will happen. But drinking enough water and eating plenty of green leafy veg will help. I usually find that the first few weeks are really bad but it stablisises after that and I become more regular and (sorry if this is TMI )much less smelly . DH used to suffer from IBS - a few weeks on Atkins sorted it out for him completely.

If you still have a problem Atkins suggests physalis husk as a laxative but it's really expensive! And anyway it's sold in huge packs and generally you find the problem is only temporary so you don't need that much. Try senna tablets for a day or 2.

thanks joelallie,I'm eating loads of green leaves,but I think I need to add another litre of water per day as I calculated I'm drinking about 2litres a day,may need more??

Yep! You should be on 3 litres a day - more if you are very overweight (sorry don't know if you are). I can't remember the ratio but at least 3l anyway.

So besides helping me poo why 3 litres a day ?