Confused about where to start
I'm new to atkins. I hear it's bad for the heart. I have high cholesterol but I heard recently a lot of things I heard are a myth. I'm confused at how to make a meal plan that I won't be hungry on. I feel like I eat all of the time. I weigh 352 and really want to lose weight but don't wanna feel hungry. I read somewhere you don't feel hungry on this diet but not sure if that's true
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Hello, and welcome to the forum. First off let me say you have found a great place for support and info, while I cannot offer any medical advise, there are lots of members that will point you to articles and study's that will prove the benefits of this way of eating, I will say that at 352 pounds you are already not doing your heart any good....please don't be insulted, I don't mean that as a criticism. If you are concerned about your health, I for one believe that following the Atkins Plan can only make you healthier...but, for sure discuss it with your Dr. Please take your time, poke around the forum, and read, read and read some more. I wish you all the best in this journey, and congratulate you on wanting to make a change. Good Luck, have a positive day.
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Welcome,
Glad that you found this forum which has 15 years of low carb related information well organized into sub-forums, as zoo girl wrote...look around at the different topics to help you understand why low carb is a healthy way to lose weight and to live well. Read some success stories and milestones for inspiration. http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=86 Check the health topics if any apply to you. http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=81 since you are worried about cholesterol, the DrHarcombe post in the heart disease forum is a classic. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=466506 There are many other resources in that topic. If you would rather read a book, the 2010 edition of Atkins written by 3 doctors delved into the science more than any other edition, My favorite for a general introduction is Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. These two books may help you understand why low carb is healthy. Another website for good low carb health information is https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb. This one page with all its details is an excellent introduction, also check under the Health tab for more specific information. How LC works section answers some of your questions. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/how-it-works The free part of the site offers everything needed, but a free one month trial of the membership side would add more video explanations. Read the success stories on his site too...that lack of hunger when doing low carb correctly, and the increase in energy, is one of the first results most often remarked on. The lack of hunger is one reason why I like Dr Westman's clinic plan to start, based on what Dr Atkins used in his clinic, and in Why We Get Fat. https://www.dietdoctor.com/se/wp-co...starch_diet.pdf. You can eat fat and protein "to satiety" as long as the carbs are kept below 20g total carbs, and no trigger foods like nuts are allowed. The DietDoctor intro plan is also based on it if having recipes would help you, but you can also buy whatever "allowed foods" you like and eat them until full. Dr Westman video course under How it works. I completely agree that you need to feel comfortable that this way of eating is the healthiest diet for your conditions. Read, and then read some more. Ask questions. Let us know how we can help you. All the best, |
Welcome! I find that reading material like what Janet posted above has been a great way to get started, there are many options, its important to do some research and figure out what direction you want to go. I also know that a very important discovery for me has been 'real hunger' versus the cravings caused by eating more carbs. FOr me its been important to get the carbs OUT!! All the best, and I'm looking forward to seeing you here often! :rheart:
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Until you feel comfortable with the information people have guided you to, and come up with a plan, you can't go wrong with the dietary advice that just about everyone agrees on: less (or no) added sugar, less (or no) refined carbs, less (or no) processed food. They all contribute to weight and health problems.
What you can eat more of is vegetables, especially green veggies. They'll help fill you up. |
Welcome!!
I too have a crazy amount of weight to lose, but I'm doing it, maybe we can do it together... "As close to nature as possible"is my mantra, if it tastes sweet, it has carbs. The most important thing is to be prepared, boiled eggs, lc veg and plenty of meat on hand at all times. Do not allow yourself to get too hungry, this is sure fire failure if you are not prepared. Good luck, you CAN do this... |
Thanks for all the advise! Question though I see every one is saying eat lots of veggies but isn't that a carb?
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A good study published in a Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets Section on CVD. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3826507/ |
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Yes, but.. a pound of spinach would give you about 6 grams of digestible carbohydrate. A pound of romaine, about the same. By choosing the right vegetables, your carbohydrate intake can be very low. |
In post #3 the Duke clinic diet linked has a list of "allowed vegetables" . Stick to those in total 3 cup amount and it will be under 20g TC. For me, didn't measure all that precisely and most days ate more than 3 cups, mostly salad, but it still worked.
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About your hunger issue... I hear you on that. When I weighed over 400 pounds if I wasn't sleeping I was eating or thinking about eating. If I had a moment of satisfaction it was after eating a ton of food and even that didn't last long. That is the norm when you eat lots of carbs and have a screwed up metabolism. The greatest thing about eating low carb is that this will all change. It takes a little while to adapt, but you will stop being hungry all the time. You will discover what it is like to have long periods of time between meals where you are fully satisfied and not even thinking about eating. When your metabolism straightens out your body will start using your fat reserves to feed on. You will WANT to eat LESS FOOD. You won't be fighting hunger while you lose the weight and get healthy.
If you are like me the diet will get kind of boring for a while. You will be tempted to cheat or take a break. I always did on low carb diets of the past. That was my mistake. If you stick to your program the cravings will fade. If you keep entertaining those cravings they will intensify. It is cheating and planned 'off-plan eating' that make stay on a low carb diet a real struggle. Stick to LC foods no matter what. Eventually low carb foods will feel like normal eating and you won't even be tempted by the old favorites you are no longer eating. You will gain the upper hand in your eating. The food will lose its power over you. That is a terrific place to be. So remember this... being bored is better than being hungry on a diet and even the boring phase will come to an end. You just need to outlast it. About this being an unhealthy diet. Read my 1000 days of healthy eating post (see my footer below). If this way of eating is so unhealthy, why did EVERYTHING that was wrong with me get better. This is a healthy way of eating. It is how I need to eat. My doctor was not so convinced in the beginning. She became a fan of low carb by the time I was done. She had never seen this kind of turn around in someone's health. If I can do it, you can do it. Do it. It will be tough at first, but you will be so glad that you did. I got my life and my health back. That is worth so much more than a donut, slice of pizza, or a candy bar. |
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Also essential nutrition. I was just reading this: Quote:
If I knew the connection of electrolytes to insulin resistance, I forgot it so this was a good reminder for me. I don't like green vegetables much, but I'm going to start making a green smoothie every day and literally choking them down. :lol: |
About the hunger - you will feel hungry, but it won't be the crazy, mad-dog, gotta-eat-right-now-get-out-of-my way kind of hunger from the carbs. I think it's odd that even tho I am now eating a lot less food than ever before, I've never gotten so hungry that my stomach growled. I'm wondering if the old growly-hungry stomach was from eating too many carbs.
Do eat real food. I made the mistake early on of eating Atkins bars & shakes. If you have questions about cooking low carb foods, lots of people here can give advice on that. Best of luck to you! :wave: |
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In the end, you need to figure out what works for you. But there are a ton of stories on here of people who've travelled the path you're about to go down. I'd recommend checking out the journals and starting one of your own. The advice and inspiration here has been invaluable to me. You can do this. |
Hi there and welcome.
The possibility of NOT being hungry exists. It does really, seriously. Keep in mind that on a low-carb diet, you cut sources of high-carb foods, not necessarily calories. If you are hungry, eat. But not carbs. It might be helpful for you to just get used to cutting out high carb foods (pasta, rice, grains, seed-vegetables, potatoes, root vegetables, sweets, sugars) first, without thinking about the amounts you eat or calorie counting. Replace those carby-foods with leafy green things that you dress up with excellent sources of fat (I call that sauce and bacon bits). Plus protein. Read the atkins book (or another). If you are not a reader there is a good, 15-minute video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ Perhaps if you look at some of the "post what you ate for lunch threads", or the recipe section, you might get some idea of the great stuff low-carbers eat. |
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