Hello everyone I am so happy I finally decided to start healthier eating. A little background story of who I am and my history with battling weight.

I am now 27 (almost 28), female, 5ft. 4in. Ten years ago at 17 I was diagnosed with PCOS and as insulin resistant when I jumped from 117 lbs to 130lbs in just a few months. I was put on 2000mg of glucophage to help control my weight. The next fall I went away to college and stopped taking the glucophage and this same time is when I became a vegetarian. I have been a vegetarian for 9 years now. I do eat dairy and eggs (although eggs gross me out and I rarely eat them) and occassionally I will eat fish or shrimp. That is usually only when I go to a restaurant and can't find anything else to eat. Being a vegetarian my diet is probably 70% carbohydrates...terrible for someone insulin resistant and with PCOS.

Yesterday I stepped on the scale and my weight was 163.8. This is the absolute heaviest I have ever been and when I saw that I was in the 160's my heart sank and I wanted to cry. I decided I have to do something. I went online and read a lot of your posts and everyone on this site seems so very helpful and nice, not judgemental.

After my first day on the diet I weighed myself again and this morning I was 163.2. I know it's going to be a long road to get me to my goal but I dedicated to feeling healthier, hopefully getting my levels under control to help fight my hirsutism, and not hating myself when I try on clothes or look in the mirror.

I know it's hard to keep the diet interesting as a vegetarian. Here is what I ate yesterday (please note I do know that I didn't eat enough calories and also I know that alcohol is a no-no so please don't judge that I can't cut that out just yet.)

Day 1: 4/26

Breakfast:
Coffee (splenda, non dairy creamer)
--I didn't have any food. I know....bad.

Lunch:
1 whole bag (3 servings of Edamame which is about 1 lb) which was 15 carbs I seasoned it with a little olive oil, butter, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, basil, cayanne pepper and topped it of with a sprinkle of parmesean cheese.

Dinner:
3 bowls (probably 6 cups?) of homemade soup. What I did was sautee garlic and onion in a pot with olive oil and a little butter. Then I added a 14 oz can of tomatoes and 6 cups of low sodium chicken broth and blended it together. Then I added frozen spinach that I thawed in the microwave first. Then added lots of dried spices as well as a cup of fresh parsely and 1/4 cup of fresh basil. Let that simmer for about 1 hour then served it with just a little parmesean cheese ontop.

Night time:
I did have 3 plain white rum and diet pepsis (splenda).

So thank you for taking time to read my introduction and letting me be part of this forum. I really look forward to any suggestions you might have, especially tips for doing this vegetarian. I know I might go over the 20 gram carb limit because of some of the extra vegetables I will be eating, but I am going to try my hardest.

Welcome! My only suggestions at this point would be to watch the salt and try to cut out sweeteners and alcohol completely at this point. Glad to have you here and good luck!

Welcome!

I wish you the very best trying to do this as a vegetarian! I am not going to judge you on your alcohol consumption, but I will say that if you don't see alot of weight loss at first, this is probably the #1 culprit standing in your way. So maybe, just reduce it down at first if you can't cut it cold turkey.

Other than that, I would recommend that you look into some supplements to make sure you are getting the proper nutrients that you can't get from food.

Oh, and I'm not sure you have to worry too much about salt right now. Salt is a friend on induction because you will be losing alot of water weight and thus, electrolytes.

Good luck!

Thanks Raven and PinkClouds for your hellos! I am doing good so far today. I had leftover soup for breakfast and then made lettuce wraps for lunch. I ordered the Atkins book on Amazon so until that comes I'm going to have to guess and use the internet to look up carbs.

I'm still trying to figure out how to start a journal or upload photos. The site is a little difficult to navigate as a beginner.

I'm thinking you're going to need more fat, I didn't see hardly any on that one day.

RachelBB...
Thank you....I was wondering about that too today. This afternoon I made veggie wraps (vegetables including celery, garlic, onion, parsley, a little green peppers, and pickles all wrapped in cabbage because somehow I was out of lettuce. To that I added some dijon mustard (1 carb) and olive oil. I was going to add Mayonnaise but when I looked at what I had it was Reduced fat with Olive Oil Mayo so I didn't know if that was allowed. So really my only fat came from the olive oil. I was going to add avocado but I know you can't have that in induction. As a vegetarian I usually get my fat from beans, nuts, avocados, etc. but those are all no-no's right now! Any suggestions you might have would be AWESOME. I am going to have a little cheese for an afternoon snack.

Welcome to the forum. I love veggies, and they constitute most of my diet. I did induction almost entirely vegetarian, and it's definitely possible and enjoyable to do Atkins as a vegetarian. I ate a bit more cheese, especially cottage (curd) cheese on induction, but otherwise I stuck to the induction without difficulty.

Coconut oil and olive oil are pretty good. You'd be hard pushed to get better.

The reason reduced fat isn't allowed is because that type of product tends to substitute the fat with carbs. You can make mayo very easily with just an egg, lemon juice, mustard and oil. Gordon Ramsey has a demonstration on Youtube.. However, if it's just a teaspoonsful, just check out the carbs, and you might find it's OK for one time use.

You can eat a load of vegetables on Atkins, and I'd suggest that you allow a little extra cheese - up to 6oz daily instead of 4oz - plus seeds and sprouted legumes etc. for your protein. Maybe you could find a way to incorporate eggs in a disguised form, because they are a tremendous food, and a great source of lecithin and great fats for your heart.. Really - it would be worth trying to find a way you enjoy them. Try making a chinese veggie stir-fry using the usual chinese flavours, such as star anise, ginger, Chinese vinegar and soy sauce, then at the end, break an egg in and stir until it is cooked. It makes the stir-fry quite creamy, and being combined with the veggies, spices, soy sauce, etc., you don't really taste the egg.

Here's my shopping list.. I will take out my meats, and add in other ideas instead. I won't add tofu as some people don't eat that.

VEGETABLES
I get an organic vegetable delivery, strong on greens, from a local farm co-operative. The contents vary according to what's in season. A recent delivery included:

kale
3 lettuce
Spinach
Spring cabbage
red cabbage
Pak choi Chinese cabbage
Mixed green salad, including watercress, mustard greens, etc,
mushrooms
aubergine (eggplant)
purple broccoli
cucumber
radishes
cauliflower
onions
leeks
celery

We'll add:
red and yellow bell pepper
garlic
ginger
hot chilis
tomatoes
lemon or lime
fresh herbs out of the garden
rhubarb from the garden
In summer, I'll have organic wild strawbs, rasps etc., fresh from the garden or the farm.

PROTEINS:

Free-range organic eggs
Fish/shellfish varies, but my top choices would be fresh sardines, smoked salmon steaks, king prawns, squid and any other oily fish

Here are some more ideas for proteins:
lentils & chickpeas etc. for sprouting; sunflower and other seeds; whey protein isolate, which you can add to your food, or make shakes with, to get extra protein
If I was you, I'd add nuts in straight after induction, but keep the quantities low. Yoghurt made from coconut milk

PRESERVED FISH (vacuum packed)
oak-smoked salmon: nice wrapped around soft cheese for a treat
oak-smoked trout: heavenly to eat straight from the pack.
smoked mackerel: we mix it with curd cheese for pate

DAIRY
Butter
Cheese (blue cheese, extra mature cheddar and parmesan).
Cottage cheese
Cream cheese - 1 tsp of luxury as an occasional snack, plus good mixed with mayo for salads
Goats cheese for cooking, and occasionally as a snack

TINS:
coconut milk
tomatoes
tuna steak
sardines
mackerel

OILS: good quality fresh olive oil, organic quality coconut oil, sesame oil, and a cheaper oil for occasional deep-frying (lard, ghee or coconut oil seem to get the best health thumb's up for frying )

CONDIMENTS, etc.:
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
tomato puree
Chinese vinegar or balsamic
Mustard (either dry spice or made in a jar)
Varied dried spices/herbs, always including coriander, cumin, chili, ginger, sage, mint, rosemary & either oregano or marjoram, plus a curry mix and herb blend for speed.
green tea for my breakfast
Stevia, used to sweeten rhubarb
Mayonnaise (we buy some for convenience, plus make it ourselves when there's time)

OCCASIONALLY FOR ENTERTAINING OR SPECIAL OCCASIONS:
cream (this seems to go for my blood-sugar, but we cook with it occasionally)
brandy or other cooking alcohol
greek or plain yoghurt
berries
sparkling mineral water (I limit this because of water retention)
occasional fruit for cooking with

THINGS I'D LIKE TO ADD:
Dried seaweed: I already cook with it, and everyone likes it. I am trying to find a good North Scottish source at present, as it'll be more healthy.

I can eat a load of vegetables every day and keep my carbs at induction levels by emphasizing leaves, buying fresh, buying clean (no additives apart from salt, spices, etc.), and avoiding coffee (1g carb per cup), cream (more carbs), nuts and too much cheese. I am always stuffed and my calories stay low - I often up the calories by pouring olive oil over the food.

I am eating this way for my health, but I have never enjoyed my food more, and we have never prepared delicious food faster.

Here's a lovely curry recipe - it's normally made with prawns, but you could use vegetables instead, such as cauliflower, broccoli and sugar-snap peas

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=433350

I make a fabby butter curry, all vegetarian, by starting with a tin of tomatoes, onions and a variety of spices.. then adding a variety of veggies, water and nuts (optional), then before serving stir through yoghurt (you can make it from coconut milk, or use a real Greek yoghurt which is lower in carbs). If you want an approximate recipe for the amounts, let me know in my journal, and I'll write it down for you.

Good luck. The Atkins diet is great, and I have the highest regard for that wonderful man, the late great Dr. Atkins.

Kirsteen.....you post was awesome and SO helpful. I printed out your grocery list. I am going to try to eat some eggs tomorrow...probably egg salad. I have my hubby picking up some on the way home. I never made fresh mayo before but I am going to go look up Gordon's recipe....he is one of my favorites!

I do love chickpeas (mmmm hummus) and lentils but those are not allowed during induction correct?

One question, doing the induction phase as a vegetarian did you allow yourself to eat more than the 3 cups of lettuce plus 1 cup other vegetables as recommended? I just don't see how I will be able to get up over 1000 calories if I'm not allowing more veggies to suplement since I'm not eating meat.

Again, thank you SO much for your insight.

Also I do have whey protien mix and love to mix it with water but that is also a no-no during induction, right?

I'm glad it was helpful.

Start to cook with plenty of butter. Slather extra butter on your veggies, use liberal olive oil on your salads, and buy the coconut oil for putting in curries and hopefully cooking with. Full fat cream cheese is a great choice, and once you're beyond induction, you'll be able to add small quantities of full-fat Greek yoghurt, which is made with cream.. However - check the carbs, and don't buy "Greek STYLE" yoghurt.

The lentils and chickpeas are for sprouting only.. You couldn't add them in their normal form for induction.. but sprouts are allowed I love to stir-fry kale with a few sprouts, a shake of chili and a splash of chinese vinegar and soy sauce - I have that for my supper often and the sprouts go crispy.. It's great.

I think if you're careful with your veggies you could probably eat more than the Atkins recommendations as long as you keep your carbs low.. If you do decide to eat more veggies, avoid onions, broccoli and avocado, as those are too carby. You'd have to track your carbs carefully in MyPlan if you added extra because if you consume too many it will work against you going into ketosis. In honesty, however, you just need to do a mental change to stop being scared of fat and oil in order to get your calories up.. Also, get hold of the whey protein isolate and that will add some calories, as will the seeds.

I make a big, big pot of soup with leeks, plus celery or mushrooms.. finished off with some blue cheese to enrich it.. follow that with a stir-fry and it's good filling lunch.

Cabbage stir-fried like noodles is good with chili and cheese stirred through it. I add some smokey bacon, but you could add toasted sunflower/pumpkin seeds or similar. I'm buying smoked paprika to give me that yummy smokey flavour. I only discovered such a thing existed a few days ago.

This cauliflower salad is fabby. You'd just have to leave out the bacon:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=441735

I suggest that you eat 1/4 recipe at one sitting, along with something else - it's so good it's hard not to eat it all. My BF and I ate the whole recipe in one sitting one night, and it's a bit carby to do that, lol. I was stuffed.

If you could stretch to adding in some fish, then it's a really great addition to the diet. Our most recent discovery was little kippers with butter which can be boiled in the bag.. So simple.. and so delicious. Even tinned sardines, fried in olive oil with garlic, chili, oregano or marjoram and sliced tomatoes are soooo tasty - eat the whole tin for one person!

Protein is the thing which will make you feel satisfied, so you must include protein in every meal. Start to track how much protein you are getting and ensure that you're getting a minimum of 50g protein a day, spread over all your meals.

Finally, I'd recommend the supplement L-Glutamate. It is a form of protein which is good for the brain, and since you're not eating many animal products, etc. I think that would be a good choice for you.

Does that answer your question? Sorry I am a bit long-winded.

I think a whey protein mix which includes other things is probably not good for induction. They add all sorts of stuff like artificial sweeteners. You're better with the unadulterated protein, I think

P.S. Alcohol is not possible on induction, I'm afraid. It actually slows the metabolism for days after you drink it. I broke the diet last Saturday for a champagne fueled special function, and I still haven't got back on track yet. Splenda can cause stalls, and the granular type is seemingly 75% sugar (!), so when you get started on induction, you'd have to stop the alcohol. Try drinking fizzy water with a wedge of lime and maybe a touch of stevia for sweetness, if you need it. Diet soda is notorious for causing stalls :0(

I cannot stress enough how much you'll benefit from reading Dr. Atkins' book and all his wonderful advice, garnered from following a low-carb diet all his life, plus running a weightloss clinic with thousands of patients for years. He was a cardiologist, so the diet was developed with a close eye on heart health, he read all the latest research into many different areas of health. He was quite a genius, and very far ahead of his time.. It is only now that science is beginning to catch up with him, and the latest cutting edge rigorous scientific studies on fats are proving that he was right about fat, the safety of a low-carb diet, and the role of carbs on blood sugar and insulin resistance.

I found this extremely interesting interview about nutrition and vegetarianism / veganism, in which the speaker explains about the difficulties created by subsisting largely on vegetable sources.. The speaker was a vegan for twenty years, so she really knows her stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNON5iNf07o

Hello - you know what works for a faux-drink is Seltzer water with a little rum extract over ice - you can add a twist if you like and some stevia or something...that has helped me a lot
Or a mock mojito - Seltzer water with fresh mint and lime and stevia or some LC sweetener.
Kat

Kirsteen, I will watch this...I have a new Vegan Planet Cookbook from the library and have been toying with the idea of a lot more vegan food in my diet. I was a vegetarian for 3 years but a really bad one... I'd be waving to Elsie the Cow on the way to work and sneaking a burger later that night...I still eat a lot of vegetarian food - prefer it. I was in on a War zone discussion on soy - and was really surprised to find out how anti soy many people here are - I'd like to learn more about that as well.
Kat

Kirsten, I'm not vegetarian, ieat some chicken and fish.
Let me say how much your poster boosted my morale!
I can't have egg yoke but there you go , I thought soy sauce was off limits and you are the first one to say that you can actually have coconut milk.
I have never seen almond milk or stevia, how do you make it?
Have bought some cheddar today for extra fat and protein... I have always cooked with olive oil hope that is ok.

All I need now is a breakfast idea... I had nothing today because you aten't supposed to have tea, milk or cereal. Not even water porridge. I have twice eaten just a capsicum with a bit of garlic... But today I just couldn't face it.

Is rhubarb ok on induction with water?