Starting New Atkins tomorrow

[mrsboogie]

I am starting the new Atkins diet tomorrow - it's a bit less full-on than the old Atkins in that you are not just supposed to eat bacon eggs and steak three times a day forever.

Have been trying to lose weight all year -I last three weeks, plateau and then give up. This time I have to stick to it as I am a bridesmaid at my sister's wedding in June. I have already had to tell her that I cannot wear a traditional bridesmaid type dress (I am 5 stone overweight and have a 48 inch boob measurement) but there is still time for me to look a bit less massive if I go full on from here in.

She is slim and has the most beautiful dress - I dread to think what I am going to look like in the photos.

Wish me luck (and will power - no more Friday night wine)!

Wow, looks delicious! I've been eating really plain fare compared to this - time to get creative. Thanks msboogie.

oh I have been getting creative! I made a lasagne with slices of courgette instead of pasta. Was very nice.

if you can make nice things that seem like "normal" food you won't feel deprived and fall off the wagon, I reckon.

me too.

I don't like the transition back to ketosis after falling off the wagon. Its yuck -you feel all hungry and bloated.

Well I managed to lose another lb or so this week, so only 4lbs left to go now. But off on hols on Fri to all-inclusive place with parents to babysit the kids... this was what I was dieting for really, so trying to be as good as poss this week so can have a little time off while away and not end up worse than I started.

I actually quite enjoy the food when I get going, am loving the eggs and spinach for breakfast (had duck eggs today, wonderfully creamy scrambled, v light and fluffy, yum!) as I never liked cereal anyway. A hot meal seems to set me up well. It's the 4-5pm lull, getting kids tea ready, another 3 hours until my dinner, feeling hungry and tired and desperate for a biscuit!!!

Anyone found anything that gives a good crunch (like a cracker, toast, crisps) that is Atkins friendly?

penona - for crunchy things you could try the marks and spencers packs of cooked crispy bacon - it comes in smoked and unsmoked and is a bit like eating smokey bacon snacks

for the afternoon lull I usually eat a piece of cheese to keep me going - its very filling

duck eggs sounds lovely - must get some

yup i too have found duck eggs and suddenly breakfasts are yummy again

bored this week to be honest. just wish i was naturally thin and could eat - life really would be soooooo much easier!!! however i do think i'm never actually hungry - properly hungry. i struggle when feeding my ds pasta and pesto not to finish it for him but that's more habit and yummyness rather than hunger.

msboogie - have you tried on your bridesmaids dress recently? how is it fitting?

penona - well done for losing some more. i think the good thing about going all inclusive is you can have bacon and eggs for breakfast without it being a hassle. then cos you're in the heat you won't mind meat and salads? maybe just be a bit flexible with measuring out salad - ie have what is served. u then won't feel like you're going without but hopefully won't put on any weight. also - remember - swim swim swim, that'll burn off lots as well. have an amazing holiday

Hey everyone, I'm an old hand at Atkins.
Old hand at falling off the wagon and an old hand at getting back on AGAIN !!!

So far I've lost 2 stone 10 pounds with 2 stone to go until my first target but a further 4 stone overall.

I've found I can drink alcohol but must be 'low carb' versions.
I usualy go for a Vodka and sugar free Red Bull (well the supermarket version of it) or Blossom Hill do a lower carb wine. They actually show the carb content on all of their wines and I think it's the Pinot Chardonnay that works out around 2 carbs for the whole bottle !!!! Hurrah, Friday drinkies don't have to be a thing of the past .

So they are my Atkins saviours, what are yours ?

Hi everyone, just been catching up on the thread. I'm a diet newbie - never really tried before as very fussy eater and hardly like anything - don't usually eat a particularly varied diet but really needed a kick-start. I do like my meat though so that's why I thought I would give low-carb a go.

I started last monday and did really well until Friday (can't believe the number of eggs I've consumed - good job Edwina Curry isn't around!) then had massive sugar cravings all day Couldn't explain it - also made the mistake of weighing myself for the first time on thursday, then twice more thursday eve/friday morning and had put on 2lbs!! Anyway, I came on Saturday so that is probably why. At a friends party Saturday night and it was just too easy to eat all those lovely carbs but climbed straight back on the wagon Sunday.

Still on my period and feeling tired and washed out. Don't like veggies much but oddly am missing fruit (I think it's the sugar craving). Seem to be living on eggs and chicken, mostly.

Can't figure out what to have for breakfast as I'm eating plenty of eggs later for lunch or dinner. I don't have time to cook in the mornings. Can have brunch when not at work so that's ok. Was very pleased yesterday to find out that olives are zero carbs!

I'm not going to weigh myself now until Friday morning. That will be a week since last weighed and should also have finished my period by then. Off on holiday Sunday so looking forward to swimming every day. Just need some energy....

Ooopps! did I kill the thread?

Didn't have internet access this weekend so have been silent.

Mummy3610 - i think that's why all diets say don't weigh yourself regularly cos dependent on time of month, amount of water consumption, exercise blar blar blar will depend on weight loss. my greatest ever (not actually on a diet) was i put on 6 lbs in a day - obviously there's no way i could have put on 6lbs of fat but you can imagine how i felt!!!)

No weight loss but been staying with grandparents - they just don't seem to understand the meaning of "i'm trying to weight, no, honestly, i really can't eat that!!!" AND i had i tried to be flexible and said to myself no pots, pasta or rice but other than that within reason but somehow they just made me feel seriosly seriously guilty!!! anyway, i'm going to stay strong and not weigh myself til next sat cos i KNOW i will have put on weight but hopefully by next sat i will have lost it again

i'm thinking however if i don't put on any this week (due to the weekend) i'm going to move onto the next stage. I'm really really struggling without my fruit (i also have 2 kids who LOVE fruit so it makes it all the more harder). Anyway, i'm getting scared that i'm on a diet that i cant keept to. I'm finding no bread, pots, rice or pasta very very easy but no fruit a struggle and worried that i will get down in weight but put it back on so this weeks job is to research fruit and carbs and maybe a few that i can eat just to have a bit of a balance. i know not with the rules but i need to balance it out a bit. - has anyone else tried playing with rules - am i being stupid?

how's everyone else going?

xxx

I would quite like to join you all if ok?

I am starting today! Haven't bought the new atkins book but have the old one so I am just going to stick with original for a few weeks and then if going well fork out for the new book.

What do you usually dress your salad with?

I am away for a girls weekend on Saturday so I am really hoping that alcohol won't kick me out of ketosis if I stick to vodka and diet coke/slimline tonic.

hello all and welcome to newbies!

I have been awol all weekend - had my sister visiting and as usual lots of wine was consumed so have put 2lbs on but stuck to the food side of things.

I have to say that I have stuck to this diet much better than any other, obviously alcohol is cheating but hey ho.

pebbles - if you really want your fruit there's no point depriving yourself - I know that berries are supposed to be low carb so you could start there. The other thing is to try not to eat fats and carbs within 3 hours of each other. Eating fruit and no bread pasta etc is bound to still have an effect!
I don't think full-on Atkins is sustainable in the long term because I certainly do not get enough fibre so I intend to play with the rules when I have lost a bit more weight. Am not too bothered about fruit but would like to have more veggies and different ones.

Ewe I use THISto dress salads - it is expensive but very nice and low carb.

Hi All.

Well I've shifted another couple of lbs but it's certainly not the quick weight loss I thought it would be when first embarking on Atkins.

Pebbles, I can totally relate to where you're at. I think this diet gets to you like that at times but I've been eating 170g of raspberries a day and it seems to have made no difference to my weight and it makes me feel better!

Like you MsBoogie, I've found this diet much easier but again my downfall has been the booze! I guess it's all the sugar in it.

Welcome Ewe!

That does look yum MsBoogie.

I don't feel too bad although have had a few headaches. Lost 4lbs since Monday though so I am currently still feeling quite motivated. Especially when I did an ideal weight calculator that said I needed to lose 50lbs! Long way to go... How long have you all stayed on induction for?

I am going to try and avoid wine/champagne this weekend and stick to spirits but we are going out to a Chinese on Sunday - any ideas what I might be able to eat?

Hello ladies

Well I put on 3 lbs on my hols, not too bad really, and pd due so that is probably part of it. Plus I ate tons of bread every day as it was so delicious (french crusty mmmmmm) and alcohol every day. So suspect alot is water retention. Just finished a bottle of champagne with Dh so back on wagon tomorrow!!

mummy3610 - blackberries are v low carb, a 150g box is usually about 7g carbs I think but also high in fibre and vit c so good for you. raspberries next best, then blueberries, strawberries etc. I think apples/pears are about 10g carbs each, so OK for later stages of atkins. I think about 50g carbs a day is a max for slow weight loss, but that is loads more green veg than you could humanly eat!!

In a chinese, I would avoid the rice/prawn crackers/battered things/sweet things. So you could have the duck with a little plum sauce but no pancake, chicken with cashews and some greens on the side? Prob easier than pizza or somewhere with fab puddings!!!

Hows everyone else doing? Going to try and have a good week and weigh in again Fri when pd should be over and can get a better idea of what's going on!!

hello all

Well I have just been on my sister's hen weekend, so I won't be darkening any weighing scales for a few days. Ate bread, pasta, chocolate,cheesecake,among other dieting crimes and drank gallons oh and curry chips at 3am stood in a doorway!

My belly is massive. it's boiled eggs and steak for a week now

....

after the ahem Green and Black's in the fridge...

only 3lbs on your hols penona? that's good going - I will have put on twice that since Friday...

Md Dh tells me each extra lb of fat is the equivalent of about 3000 calories. So to put on 3 lbs of fat would be overeating 9000 calories, which is quite alot if you think about it. Even Olympic rowers struggle to eat 5000 calories a day! (Although admittedly they are eating it healthily, not gorging choc and alcohol!!!!!)

Of course it is clearly much much easier and quicker to overeat 3000 calories than undereat.... (says she, munching quietly on a chocolate cookie while DD sleeps in the pushchair next to me, oops!)

when you put it like that penona....

I have come out of ketosis this weekend - am bloody starving! not good. not good at all.

and worse, I couldn't resist the urge to weigh myself - am 6lbs heavier than I was on Friday.

plus have seen photos of hen night - I looked hideous and huge .

oh mrsb, that is rather glum. Although must mostly be water surely? You can't possibly have laid down that much fat in a weekend. That would be eating 18,000 calories over normal. Which over 3 days would mean eating around 24,000 calories. Which is an awful lot, and I would think not really possible. Perhaps we should try it, for scientific purposes of course!

Am on first day back on Atkins today. Kids screamy and whiney and squabbling so there was lots of irritated shouting from me and no chance to console myself in the biscuit tin. Which only made things worse. Am wondering if I can ditch the diet in favour of being a nicer mum??

PS, Riven, if you are still around, I have been working out some low-carb breakfasts that don't need eggs!! Mostly yogurt and berries though, but a change at least.

penona, there's no scientific basis for the calories in = get fatter theory, so the gain will be mostly water.

Try this: planned-diet.com/the-calorie-myth-explained/

mrsb, I've been reading your posts, well done on your loss so far, try not to beat yourself up about it!

thank you lilac21

sorry i've been silent - too many things happening and not enough time allowed for mumsnet

msb - pls pls pls stick with it. u have done absolutely amazing so far, those 6lbs will go easily - pls don't lose heart and give up cos you will continue losing i promise.

reason i haven't been posting is i've been training for last 6 months for a triathlon and it's happening this saturday (oh my god i'm so so so nervous) anyway what it's meant is that for last 10 days i have been eating pots and pasta - mainly just over lunch but still been eating them. i didn't think goign into my first ever thign like this without carbs would be a good thing. so.... i'm eating carbs however i have promised myself that i would weigh myself until week after the race cos i would only get depressed when it's something i feel i have to do. so am still stalking you all but won't be weighing in til next week

keep it up everyone

xxx