Give me the low down on the ATKINS diet please.

[bigknickersbigknockers]

I need to lose weight and have realised that I eat an awful lot of carbohydrates. What do you use as a substitue for carbs and can you also give me some suggestions for breakfast and lunch time meals please

I need to shift the lbs... I dont want to be called bigknickersbigknockers anymore

Anyone please, or is the atkins diet a pile of crap

It's great, but it's more of a way of eating rather than quick fix diet. Very, very badly reported in the media!

First stage is induction - a 2 week, very strict period which is designed to wean you off your addition to/reliance on carbs. Here you are only allowed 20g of carbs a day, which have to come from green veg and salad. No alcohol.

After that you gradually increase your carbs - the idea being that you find the level at which your weight loss stops, so you know how many grams of carbs you can take a day - everyone is different.

The theory behind it is very interesting, and as well as helping with weight loss/maintenance, it can also help deal with all sorts of other medical conditions, including diabetes, IBS, asthma and eczema.

It's really worth reading his book to find out more!

sorry addiction to

thanks becauseimworthit, is it difficult to follow and do you not seem to have less energy because of the very limited amount of carbs you are allowed to eat?

Not difficult, once you get used to it. You do have to re-programme your brain a bit though, to overcome years of being told 'fat is bad' because fat is good on this way of eating!

Never had a problem with lack of energy (some people report this during the first 2 or 3 days of induction, along with headaches - all a sign of withdrawal from carbs), and enjoy lots of lovely food.

Hardest thing is coping with the diet when out and about - if you look around you, everything available to eat or snack on is carb-based - sandwiches, cakes/pastries, crisps, sweets ....

You probably have to be a bit more organised about what foods you have in the house/to hand, but it does become second nature after a while.

I also use another forum which is really helpful and informative, and you might like to visit this for more ideas/inspiration

www.low-carbdiet.co.uk

sorry - thought I could do links

Allow me - here (you had a space after the text )

www.low-carbdiet.co.uk

Trying again!

whoops - x post!

thanks!

thanks becauseimworthit and oggsfrog, I cant do links either. I will have a look there later when kids in bed

I dont have time to make bacon, sausage and eggs in a morning so would it be ok to eat yoghurt and fruit whilest the children eat cereal?

Yoghurt and fruit are not allowed in the first stages of Atkins.
This really is the sort of diet that should only be embarked upon with a good working knowledge of the theory behind it.

I'm not keen on the full Atkins version tbh. There are other versions based on the same principle that are much easier to follow.

Charles Clark has written some good ones.

so are there any quick and easy breakfasts that are allowed then?

Boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes, cooked meats, cheese.....

Please read up on this type of diet before starting it though. You need to understand the principles behind it.

The best things is to avoid refined carbs and don't eat any carbs at all after 5pm IME.

You have to completely rethink breakfast and lunch which in our culture are generally bread and cereal based. After you've got induction out of the way my favourite breakfast is defrosted blueberries and greek yoghurt. If you feel flush you could have smoked salmon and cream cheese. Sometimes I have celery and/or ham and cheese. Sometimes I find a cold sausage and scoff that. Have been known to eat leftover salad for breakfast but receommend taking the spring onions out for first thing in the morning...

Lunch - I rely on tuna or chicken salad generally. Or omelette.

Dinner - usually whatever DH is having but without the spuds/pasta/rice. eg if we are having curry I have mine with shredded fried cabbage which is actually rather nice. Quite often slow cooked red cabbage with onions which is lovely with sausages. Much broccoli and cauliflower...Have just had smoked haddock and veg.

Lots of water. No processed foods. But definitely get a book and plough through it first as you can't half do this way of eating. The India Knight version also seems to work for people and isn't as hard core as Atkins.

Just had bacon and eggs for breakfast. It took no longer than 5 minutes to cook.

How hard can it be??!!

And definitely agree with the others - you have to read up about this way of eating to understand why it works and what won't work.

'The Idiot Proof Diet' by India Knight and Nerys Thomas is a very good read because it also deals with the psychological aspects of food/eating. It's very inspiring/motivating and has some good ideas for meals as well.

They also have their own website - pig2twig (can't remember if it's .com or .co.uk) which is worth having a look at.

I'm a fan of Atkins. I do it a couple of times a year when I have weight to lose - I find its the only diet that works for me. Here is what I eat:

B/F: Cheese omelette or scrambled eggs. At weekends I cook bacon & sausage.

Lunch: Tuna mayonaisse (full fat mayo), chicken or ham with a small Greek salad.

Dinner: Steak, pork chop, cheeseburger (no bun!) with fried onions & mushrooms. I also fry left over caggage (delicious).

You can also make Chicken Korma by frying chunks of chicken breast & onions, add curry powder & fry for a few mins, then finish off with cream & butter. Serve this with stirfried pak choy or bean sprouts.

I make Chilli with minced meat, chopped onions & red pepper. Add chilli powder/flakes, cumin & paprika. Next add passata or chopped tomatoes (chose ones with no added sugar). Simmer for approx. 40 mins. I serve this with fried onions/mushrooms and top with a big dollop of sour cream, chopped spring onions & grated cheese (mmmmm!).

Dessert: Sugar-free jelly & cream!!!

You definately need to read the book but the basic principles for the induction are:

• You can eat as much meat, chicken, fish, eggs as you like.
• Only full fat cream or sour cream allowed (no milk or low fat creme fraiche).
• You can have any full fat cheese, but there is a limit on cheese (as with cream) so check the book for amounts allowed.
• Butter & olive oil (not margarine) - no limit.
• 20grms of veg allowed per day.

I love Atkins because you never feel hungry and you are eating delicious food - it doesn't leave you feeling deprived.

It's not 20g of veg per day - that's less than one ounce! It's 20g of carbs per day.

Of course it is !!! See how important it is to read the book

I have had a look on the pig2twig site becauseimworthit, and think i will try and get the book from the library. It seems quite severe, and I dont see the diference between this and Atkins. But then maybe its just me being a hardened carb addict thet makes it seem severe. I am going to try to really limity my carbs from tomorrow and see how it goes

After 3 days you will cope fine without carbs until boredom sets in along with egg phobia - that will be the testing moment!

Go the whole hog tomorrow - it will be easier.

I need a book to give more info about low carb diets newlife so in the meantime shall just try my best. I hate eggs so already have egg phobia