Living on cheese & bacon-not good.
 

I am so terrified of going over on carbs that I've been living on cheese, bacon, pepperoni, & eggs. You can imagine my digestive system. My body was very resistant to ketosis when I did this 10 years ago, & pushed me out if I had over 10 carbs. I'm only on day 8. I'm definitely down in weight. Any suggestions to help alleviate this fear? I have an addictive personality & feel like if I give myself an inch, I'll try to take a foot. Thanks for any suggestions

You have to make a plan and stick to it. You should be eating 20 carbs a day. Don't worry about last time. IT is not just about ketosis it is about teaching your body to handle the right kind of carbs and in the right portion.
It sounds to me that you have done a panic Atkins in the past. You can't be out of ketosis at 10 carbs. That does not happen til about 50 total carbs.
So I think for you the goal should be eating Atkins correctly. You will lose weight but better, you will heal your body and your mind.
Cheese and bacon are not an issue. But if you want long term success and health you need to learn to eat in Atkins balance.

I know the feeling. But like Baylor suggests. Make out a menu for the day and stick to it. Remember, all the items you listed have carbs as well and chees is limited to 3/4oz a day. I think if you just eat those things, you probably won't have much success. Because of the amount of sodium for one thing. But the lack of variety would also drive me to binge (that's me though). I understand about the addictive personality thing. Just plan out some meals and try to stock your home with good foods. I make it a point to either have a large mixed green salad with cucumber, red pepper, jicama, and a protein source IE Turkey and shredded cheese with dressing every day. If I don't have a salad like that at lunch then I make sure I have vegetables with dinner. Branch out! There are so many good low carb foods. If you don't make this enjoyable...I don't think it will last. Just my humble opinion. :)

Welcome my friend to the one minute flax muffin!
https://www.atkins.com/recipes/muffin-in-a-minute/165

Three grams net carbs (from what? The sweetener which I don't use..) and 13 grams carbs total including fiber....
https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/rec...p?recipe=195576

No, it's not, and it is not Atkins. It is highly unlikely you are "resistant to ketosis". You were successful before and if you were only using urine sticks as a guide, they are basically worthless. A good explanation in this thread on the three types ketones, http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=463436. Or why your body did not push you out of ketosis...http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2016/0...-a-ketard1.html

Even early versions of Atkins like ’72 or the Westman version included 3 cups of veg as 2 c. Salad and 1 c. Non-starchy vegetables. As already mentioned a limit if only 3-4 oz of cheese...an oz is about the size of a dice...not much, sadly. There are also limits on most dairy that has carbs...only 2-3 T of cream.

I occasionally have a piece of bacon, but mostly avoid any type of processed foods. Make up larger amounts of proteins like pork roast, chuck roast, in a slow cooker or ground beef, so you always have some protein with its natural fat combo available in fridge to add to the veggies.

Spinach? I buy it in those frozen nuggets. Each nugget is about an inch wide. Even if you take a foot, that's only about 4 grams of net carbohydrate.

How are you checking ketosis? Urine strips? They can tell you that you're in ketosis, they can't always tell you that you're out. I do some intermittent fasting, in my last two 24 hour fasts, my urine ketones actually went down, back up to deep purple, gradually, over days of refeeding. The probability that my blood ketones went down during the fasting is low. Urine ketones are regulated by the kidneys. If you are wasting sodium, ammonia, etc. in your urine, that's alkaline, something acid needs to balance it, ketones fit the bill.

Restricting to 50 grams of carbohydrate might be sufficient for some degree of ketosis in many people. But for me--very likely I'll be too shy or depressed much of the time to even make comments like this online, and I'll be much more prone to binges. Not everybody needs to be in a deeper ketosis, it's not necessary to weight loss, but it is worth pursuing for some people.

Eat some real food. A base of greens, real meat, and olives as croutons; add some real dressing, like red wine vinegar and olive oil.

Now that's a meal that satisfies! And just as low carb as the ones you've been eating.

The "addictive personality" expresses itself in extremes. It has a switch instead of a dial. You need a dial.

You need to be comfortable making decisions.

Instead of telling yourself that you are an addictive personality tell yourself that you are a person who is capable of change despite past behaviors. Or tell yourself that you can become addicted to beneficial behaviors. Plan out how you are going to eat as people here have advised and stick to the good habits you have chosen rather than the harmful ones.

Jean

I agree with the suggestions to reduce all that processed meat, and to include the veggies.

Personally, I would find meals that suit you, then try switching out things that similar. For example, if you find a chicken Cesar salad works well for your weight loss/cravings/etc.... Try switching to a shrimp Cesar salad and see how that goes. If steak with broccoli suits you, try steak and roasted Brussels sprouts.

By trying one new thing at a time, it might be less scary.

Unless theres something I missed if this is what works for you and the only way you can stick to the diet and you lose weight I don't see a problem. It is definitely better than the typical american diet. Of course getting to a keto diet with more variety would be best but I am doing something similiar to what you are doing except I just eat beef or pork and spinach with butter and sugar free bbq sauce. Its very limited as far as selection but its simple and it works for me. Nothing wrong with simple.

I think that you need to start making a long term plan for eating.
Your nature is addictive and that comes with pitfalls especially if you don't have the right things at your fingertips.

The best thing is to eat in balance. Good fat, protein and veggies, Especially if you are going to call it Atkins.
Atkins is structured low carb and a progressive plan that will help you lose weight while teaching your body how to work correctly again.

Don't be terrified. If you go over in veggies one day that is not the end of the world. Veggies won't make you fat. It is a learned process. Just take it one day at a time.

Thanks for all the great tips! I realize the urine strips have their pros/cons, however for me they are a necessity. I love them. Had a big salad for dinner with baked chicken, olives, & cheese on it. Delicious! Guess I should head over to the recipe section as well!

Sounds like you are discovering just how delicious Real Food is. Congrats!