Thanks! I'm not against having a large supper...I'm just a bit worried about eating too much before hitting the hay. I've made that mistake before, lol.

Sounds good, happy to see that you are planning ahead and getting closer to the start. The only thing I see with that menu is make sure the jerky isn't loaded with sugar, preservatives, whatever. Snacking on the usual convenience store jerky all day might not be best. How about some cut up veggies or Hard boiled eggs? And once you are fat-adapted your need for snacks should reduce...eat only when hungry, not when bored driving. Also make sure you have a source of salt with all that water to prevent "induction flu". Btw, do you listen to podcasts while driving? Many health related ones now to reinforce commitment to LC.

Thanks Janet! Yeah I was thinking about extra veggies but I was worried about going over my limit. There will be veggies in my lunch/thermos meal, and I'll have that salad at night so I think I'll get to my 3 cup limit pretty quickly...what do you think?

Planning is great ("A failure to plan is a plan to fail") and I fully understand not wanting to start a major dietary endeavor under circumstances such as the NFL playoffs (Go Pack Go! ) but is there anything you can start doing right now? I only say that because from experience, planning can feel intoxicatingly like making a change, but of course, it's not.

Good point! The whole NFL playoffs are a non factor in my start date now. The biggest thing affecting my decision is that my groceries, etc will be bought this coming Wed the 20th. So starting the following Monday seems to make the most sense.

So just for the fun of it tonight I made one of my recipes I have planned. The Yummy Chicken Alfredo. Holy crap is it amazing! I pretty much followed the original recipe. At the end I just added my steamed broccoli right into it. Hard to believe that eating something like that will help me lose weight lol.

I can tell that it will probably only give me about three days worth so I will have to make a larger recipe on Sunday. And I will add a little less broccoli next time. But two thumbs up here! See pic...

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Yum, that does look great. I finally got a spiralizer (not big on extra kitchen gadgets but that and an immersion blender have been fun additions) and trying sauces myself...on veggies.

My history with LC was Starting with the 2010 New Atkins book which counts net carbs, and requires that a boatload of them come from vegetables. Then I met Dr Westman at a book author event, made an appointment for his clinic, and told him I was not comfortable reducing my salad and veg to 3 c. Since I had been doing OK for six months by then, he agreed, though I did eliminate all nuts, alcohol, reduced dairy and other foods that are on the strict Atkins/Duke plan. I didn't get fat eating 3 extra cups of lettuce. So...if you want to follow the strictest induction level, veggies are 3 cups total. But my view is snacking on some cucumber and celery isn't the end of the world either.

Yeah, that chicken and broccoli looks great!

I second the advice to "start starting" right away. Go 100% full speed on your chosen start date, but if you start cutting carbs now, you'll be a lot less likely to feel like crap from the withdrawals. Start each morning with a LC breakfast. If you stop for coffee, switch it over to real cream and sweetener if you haven't already. Save any carbs for the evening.

Do a kitchen clean out - are you doing yourself a favour by eating some of that stuff instead of just throwing it in the garbage? If there are semi-sensible higher carb foods like starchy veggies, I'd probably go ahead and eat them if it were me, but the really junky stuff I'd give away or throw out.

I also agree with Nancy on the pitfalls of being so organized and planned, that you're screwed when chaos happens. I was blindsided this week by a situation at work that now has me working brutal shifts for the next 3 weeks - 3:30 am - 3:00 pm. I'm sleeping like garbage and generally feel like crap. Sound conducive to grocery shopping and cooking? Ha. Not. Yet I'm in perfectly good shape. My freezer is loaded with individual nuke-able meals and always is. Every time I make soup, chili and other freezer-friendly foods, I make enough to freeze.

Thanks guys I appreciate your thoughts. I will tell you that the type of person I am is if I don't have a very strict calendar of what I'm eating and when, then I will fail. At least I have in the past. That does not mean I don't like your ideas! Yes having my ingredients for my planned meals around is a must but also having extra of this and that is definitely something I want to do.

On a good note, I almost always eat a LC breakfast. Eggs, bacon or sausage, occasionally I've had a bowl of cereal but that is rare. One of the toughest things that will be for me to kick will be milk. I love milk! Eating eggs with water is something I'll have to get used to lol. And I do not drink coffee. Never have.

Now, all this talk about soup? What kind of soup could we possibly have while doing low carb? I love soup! And keep in mind I'll be doing fairly strict induction.

I was looking at the Gretchen Rubin Habit Change thread, and re-read her "manifesto". Last one is:

12. Once we’re ready to begin, begin now. Just saying'

Soup! Start here: http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=124 I make hearty ones like chilis and stews in winter.

And here: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/soup_recipes.html


Dr. Westman allows the unsweetened Almond Milk (Vanilla flavor is good) or water down cream.

Oh heck, what kind of soup *can't* you have? You generally have to skip anything packaged, but it's easy to make your own. Anything with LC ingredients. We have many, many soup recipes here. If you see something that's not induction-friendly like carrot, you could skip it.
- Cream of cauliflower or broccoli - pureed cauliflower is a good thickener. Cream and/or cream cheese helps make it creamy.
- Chicken or beef stew
- Seafood chowder of some type
- Chili
- Potato bacon is one of my favorite soups, and it's easy to make with cauliflower instead
- Pumpkin soups. Sounds weird, but it's a fantastic soup base because it's thick, rich, and induction-friendly to boot. Pumpkin sausage soup is fantastic. Very rich and filling. Pumpkin curry is nice, too.

Soup, to me, is one of those things that's so flexible, it's hard to completely screw up even if you're not the best cook.

If you're a big soup fan, you'll probably want to pick up a cheap immersion blender if you don't have one already.

Waterboy, Blue Diamond brand "Almond Breeze" unsweetened almond milk has 1 carb for 8 oz and 0 sugar. We use it sometimes for whey protein shakes (3 carbs) when we don't have time for a proper breakfast or the cook (me) is not in the mood. It stays fresh for a long time. HTH

You guys are a wealth of info! Wow! Thank you so much!

I started a separate thread that talks about something that is important to me. It is behind my motivation and a lot of the things that I've been able to accomplish the last couple of years. Maybe you too will find inspiration here.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...940#post9083940

Tried to answer you, but got this: