A few questions about Atkins

[10weeks]

I'm going to give it a go for a while and see how I get on although I know it doesn't suit a lot of people.

I've been looking on the Atkins website and have the list of foods I can eat but have a couple of questions (and probably more before I start!)

Is there anything else apart from eggs that is suitable for breakfast?
Can I have a little milk in my tea? (only have 2 or 3 cups a day at the mo)
Are eggs free (as I thought) because one of the recipes on the Atkins site is 2 poached eggs and it gives a value of 1.2 carbs?

You can have bacon, I think tomatoes and mushrooms

IMHO - I've done the Atkins and it is grim! It's very limiting food wise, and it sounds great, a big fry up for breakfast, but after 2 weeks, that breakfast isn't so great in fact you're sick of it. OK so you think you have a good weight loss of something like 7-10 lbs in 2 weeks, but you feel bad because of it. it is very unhealthy.

If you look at slimming world red (although you lose just as much on green if you want to change and menu is shown there) You can have similar to atkins, (although no fat) but you can have as much fruit and veg as you can eat and have limited carbs so a whole lot user friendly and much healthier and again you could lose 1/2 a stone.

Thanks.. I like the look of slimming world.

I probably wouldn't follow Atkins religiously. I want to cut out bread, potatoes, rice and pasta for a couple of weeks because I really feel addicted to them! Not sure I can cut out fruit as well though!

If you really want to do Atkins, it's worth reading the book.

It's not unhealthy, either. The first two weeks (induction) are the most strict, and you are limited to 20g of carbohydrate a day which has to come from veg and salad. (Actually you can eat quite a lot of veg or salad for that!)

After that period, you gradually increase your carbs until you stop losing weight. Again, veg/salad (and some fruits) should be the source of your carbs.

As far as breakfast is concerned, you can eat whatever you like as long as you count the carbs. Eggs are great - if you like them - otherwise, thnk about things like smoked salmon or ham rolled around Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat), plain yoghurt (full fat) with some blueberries/rhubarb - or just use up leftovers from the night before.

You can have milk in your tea, as long as you count the carbs. They do add up surprisingly quickly.

Might give it a go then and see how I get on. Will def have to have a little milk although only have 2 or 3 cups of tea a day.

I was thinking...

eggs for breakfast and salad for lunch (with cheese, egg and dressing.) Dinners will include a lot of chicken (with salad again!) Is it right that chicken with bacon and cheese is completely carb free?

Need to find some soups to make that are practically carb free

BecauseImWorthIt - can I ask, have you followed Atkins and how did you get on?

I've never followed Atkins, as I couldn't be bothered with weighing/calculating the carbs! But I've low carbed on and off for 4 years. I lost half a stone pretty quickly, and enjoyed the food - made a real, pleasant change after years of low fat/calorie counting.

However, I'm in a bit of a rut at the moment because I have realised that I just miss pasta/bread/potatoes too much to really sustain this for ever.

I don't have a huge amount to lose, in the great scheme of things, but I'm dithering at the moment about what best to do!