I'm new--and addicted to carbs!!!!

[ssibtain]

Hi all

I've been battling my weight for quite some times, and finally decided to try Atkins. This is VERY challenging for me, as I'm not much of a meat eater, fats/oils cause me heartburn, and I'm addicted to carbs! I never thought I was until now--when I can't have them. I'm on day 3 of induction, doing pretty well except for the sugar-free (w/aspartame) jello and the occasional splenda in a cup of decaff tea. i'm hoping this will work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Maurice]

Hello ssibtain, Welcome to the board. Yoy will get lots of encouragment and support from these good folks. I have been her for almost a week, and have some results already. Like you I had no idea how addicted to carbs I was until, I decided to quit. But the good news is that, the craving and hunger pangs go away, if you follow the plan.

Remember lot and lot of water, and be sure to understand the four diet phases of this program. Induction being the first. Look on the orange menu bar under low carb tips, lots of good advise. I look forward to watch your success,

Welcome

[Maurice]

Hi Againm ssibtain, try this link for rules of induction.

http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-325810.html


Talk to you later,

[ssibtain]

Hello ssibtain, Welcome to the board. Yoy will get lots of encouragment and support from these good folks. I have been her for almost a week, and have some results already. Like you I had no idea how addicted to carbs I was until, I decided to quit. But the good news is that, the craving and hunger pangs go away, if you follow the plan.

Remember lot and lot of water, and be sure to understand the four diet phases of this program. Induction being the first. Look on the orange menu bar under low carb tips, lots of good advise. I look forward to watch your success,

Welcome
Thank you Maurice!!!! Yes, i've read and re-read induction guidlines. it's just a matter of finding enough foods to make this easier. :-) i just look forward to when the cravings will go away.

[gilibel]

Hello ssibtain! :wave:

And welcome to this WOL (Way Of Life) and WOE (Way Of Eating.)

As for the carb addiction, most people report that the cravings actually go away after a very short while. I never thought I could live without my beloved beer and rice (love Asian cooking), for instance. Now I never even think about it! And this "chemical change" in my metabolism just took a few days! (Expect a few hog days in the beginning of Induction though, just ride through it and you'll feel much better soon.)

As for heartburn. I have never been troubled by that myself, but the issue has just been discussed on a mailing list I'm on and the general opinion is that heartburn goes away quickly with this WOE! It's the *combo* of carbs and fat that causes it. The less carbs you combine with your fat intake, the less risk of heartburn. Isn't that nice! :D (There are even some - non-Atkins, but "Inuit" etc "extreme" diets - people on that list who eat purely animal-based (no carbs whatsoever) and their heartburn is totally gone.) So, although you definitely need your veggie fibers/roughage acc. to Atkins plan, an idea might be to have them separately from fatter foods. (NB! I'm not a doc or expert, it's just a suggestion to relieve heartburn acc. to the info I recieved. Someone else might have another solution.)

Best of luck with your new you!

/gil

[ssibtain]

I'm looking forward to this WOL!!! It takes a lot of work, though. Gil, is there such a thing as consuming too much fat on this diet? Also, will I ever be able to enjoy a cookie again? Or is that something I should just forget about for the rest of my life? Thanks for the reply!!!!

[gilibel]

Hi ssibtain,
as for too much fat, no not really. But the general consensus is that the fat intake should be around 60-70% of your daily values (use www.fitday.com to track your nutritional intake), and with a 20g of carb intake plus a decent kcal intake/day (not below 1500-1700kcal for your weight, probably a bit more than that in order to avoid your body to slow down it's metabolism) you'll do just fine.

Oh, and for cookies... hehe.

Eventually you'll be able to enjoy a couple. Certainly not during Induction, but later on, when you've become more accustomed to this board, you will find tons of nice LC alternatives. Cookies can be made LC, you know!

:)

/gil

[BeccaResRN]

Welcome and Good Luck...I'm glad you have found us here its a great place for support and advice!!!

About 65%-70% of your calories right now will come from fat....If you eat until satified not stuffed I don't think you could possibly exceed that fat level right now.

And cookies they do make low carb ones that will fit into your diet much later in ongoing weight loss or maintance.

[ssibtain]

You guys are amazing!!!!! Thanks so much for all of your help. A new WOL will be made much easier to get accustomed to with wonderful people like you. Oh yeah--until the heartburn goes away, is it okay to take OTC heartburn reliever/acid reducer?

[gilibel]

Acid relievers often contain carbs in the form of starch and sugar, so I would personally try to avoid that and see if nature will balance it out instead. After all, you're right now changing your whole chemistry in your body and the fastest way to do so is to strictly go by the textbook.

On the other hand, as I have no experience of heartburn, maybe someone else can give a better answer. Also, try the "search" option (up right, just below the orange bar) of this board and see if there are other threads about "heartburn" "acid relievers/reducers" etc. There might be some good tips already mentioned.

Oh what the heck... ;) did it for you. Here's a great thread for example:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=34375&highlight=heartburn

And here are 24 other threads about it:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/search.php?searchid=115162

Some extra magnesium supplement might help (you will need that with your higher intake of water anyway) but I think you will quickly notice your heartburn will go away naturally.

Cheers! :)

/gil

[Tedmom]

Best wishes on your low carb journey. I found that during the first week or so of induction, I was carb crazy and compensated by eating cheese and turkey slices rolled up in lettuce leaves when I was tempted. After the first week or so, however, my cravings for carbs ebbed significantly and I often now even have to remind myself to eat. Once you're out of induction, there are a lot of non-meat alternatives to check out, such as macaroni and cheese made with tofu, the flaxmeal cereals that are available and a wider range of vegetables. LC does not necessarily mean eating nothing but bacon and meat roasts. Good luck to you! Julie.

[gilibel]

As Tedmom mentioned (I don't know what you mean with not being much of a "meat eater", but if you mostly regard Atkins a "red meat diet"), don't forget that you - in order to get your protein - also can eat loads of fish like canned or fresh tuna, salmon, my favourite lunch snack - mackerel in tomato sauce (great sources of vitamin D all of them!), eggs in all shapes and forms, wheyprotein powder as supplement in pancakes etc, poultry...

There are wonderful recipes in the recipe section (see orange bar) as well as on the atkins.com site!

/gil