Everytime I start to eat cheese (not fat free) I get scared that this is not gonna work! I understand the concept from the book but this is my first week and I just can't get it in my head that it's ok. Anyone had this problem. I feel like I am scared to eat!

Honestly, those scientists and supporters of the lowfat way of thinking have taught us all to be afraid to eat. Well, make yourself a goal to eat this way for 2 weeks. Once you see that it does work, while improving your cholseterol, you will begin to change that mindset.

Take it from a big loser - it really does work. Just trust in the book. When I had my cholesterol checked the last time, it was my best ever.

Good luck!

Yep, been there. All those years of "low-fat shoved (literally) in our faces - it is a hard to break that cycle in your head.

Cheese is your friend! And all of us here too of course! Welcome to the forum!

A lot of people here had the same problem, including me What worked for me was to tell myself that I would follow the plan wholeheartedly for the entire 2 week Induction and not question anything and just do it -- ignore the fat, etc., and just follow to the letter. Two weeks and 10 pounds later....

I Felt the same way. I was on WW's a few times and I found it hard to switch my way of thinking. However, I've been quite successful with Atkins - Lost about 20+ pounds since January and really feel quite good. Had my blood work done two weeks ago and my cholesteral is down and my triglycerides were very low. I know this way is working for me. Keep trying and try to let go of the "low fat" way.

ditto to all the above!

I worried too, but decided to follow the plan...I was a convert, and thankful for it!

I hated the low-fat diet, and I love a fat and protein diet!

much happier now

I ate low fat for ten years. I remember thinking what a change Atkins was...everything I'd been told about food was inside out and upside down!

I ate an average of 125 grams of fat a day...and lost 40 pounds!

So I'm living proof. They were WRONG. It is that simple.

After all, if they were right...we wouldn't have weight problems, would we?

As others have pointed out, not only is it possible to lose weight with higher fat, some of us find that only with higher fat can we lose weight. If my fat intake doesn't get high enough, I slow down and sometimes even gain a little. I have to remember to keep my fat up. Last time I got a woosh I had just eaten eggs with goat cheese for breakfast, sliced rare roast beef smeared with butter wrapped around cheese slices for lunch (with a plum and some blue berries in heavy cream), and a fatty ribeye steak with butter and brocollini roasted in olive oil for dinner. The next day I lost two pounds off of my latest low.

It takes a re-adjustment of the brain, and a willingness to give yourself permission to eat this way. We've been so brainwashed to think that we're being "bad" or "over indulgant" to eat any fat. I seem to find it even worse in women then in men, but it was also difficult for me at first, as well. It had become an automatic reaction when making food choices. Now, it's become the opposite automatic reaction, and I love it.

Even though my stats say I've lost almost 50 pounds, I've definitely lost much more than that because I've also gained a fair amount of muscle along the way which slows down my weight loss but speeds up the inches lost. I was a tight 42 in pants last February, and now I'm at a loose 38, almost a 36. I thank fat for it. You will too.

Plane Crazy

I've been seeing this 70-25-5 percentage thing going all over this forum. How do I eat 70% of fat. I've been told if im in induction then i'm doing that, but really I dont see it all that well. What do you guys eat that gives you that ratio? My most common foods are eggs, alil pork or turkey bacon, alil cheese, lots of chicken, beef, pork, and my 3 cups of salad a day. I guess when I see it written down it seems like alot of fat but I also dont eat all that stuff in one day, LoL. Well anyways, i'd still appreciate some info on what you guys eat! Thanks

example:

3 strips bacon and 1 egg for breakfast, cooked in butter
mocha (coffee with heavy whipping cream, da vinci sf syrup and 1 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder)

2 burger patties with cheddar cheese and either sf ketchup or sf bbq sauce
celery sticks or cucumber slices dipped in ranch dressing or mayo

chicken grilled on bbq with stirfried pepper, zucchini and broccoli in olive oil and soy sauce...

Just try to have fat with every meal (either dairy, animal or veggie oil) and protein and keep the carbs low at each meal.

above menu:

1673 calories
74% fat
21% protein
5% carbs (exactly 20g ECC)

Thanks for this thread! I had put my menus into Fitday and was trying not to freak out at how the "fat" slice of the pie chart was so ... fat. It is so difficult to get rid of the low-fat mindset. (I spent 10 years on a Foods and Nutrition quiz bowl team -- I could recite the food pyramid backwards in my sleep! "Fats, oils, and sweets: use sparingly.")

I came to ask what the recommended fat-protein-carb ration was, and found it! *spreads the forum love*

Well today my menu was:

No breakfast (I wake up at like 3pm on the weekends LoL)

Lunch: 3 scrambled eggs in alil butter, and 3 lil hormel sausage links

Dinner: 1 large chunk of pork country ribs and 2 cups caesar salad

Snack: couple of spoonfuls of SF Jello

My numbers came up as follows:

Fat = 77%
Protein = 21%
Carbs = 2%
Calories = 1051

Is it ok to have my fat percentage that high (I know 70% was recommended)?

I'm too new to say it definitely works (but it sounds like it does, considering what many, many people say), but what I can say is that low-fat DOESN'T always work. I see you've had a few "BTDT" answers in this thread. Well, add me to the list. Oh my, when I went nuts on the carbs my mouth did NOT want to stop. And I was starving all the time. I mean literally. But I did not eat fat! And I worked out as instructed and gained (gasp) 30 pounds. That was a long time ago...now I have weight to lose again (post-partum weight) and I'm trying low-carb. It feels a lot more filling to me overall. When I eat some protein and some fat, I'm much less hungry than when I've eaten something sugarey, starchey or just overall carbohydrate-rich. So I say...give this a wirl. It could be the answer for both of us. I hope so.

GL!

Oh, and by the way...

START EATING BREAKFAST!!!

Please eat, honey!