hi! I'm new!

[silvia]

Hi everybody!
I'm Silvia, I'm a new low-carber and I'd reeeeally like to get in contact with other low-carbers!! I live in Italy and here the Mediterranean diet is the THING!!! If you don't eat pasta twice a day you're going to die and the docs are really against low carbing although low carbing has saved my life. Truly!! I discovered low carbing on the internet and I bought the big 3 (Atkins, PP and CAD). So far the one that works best for the way I feel is CAD (any carb in the day causes symptoms) but the weightloss is really slow and if I eat a lot my weight does go up! Any suggestions? After all you should be able to eat anything. Not? I don't have much to lose but the ontrol issue is very important to me. Anyway, I'm sure you all know what I mean because all the newbies probably ask the same things so... please tell me CAD isn't just too good to be true.
I'm so pleased to be here
Bye
Silvia

[NNN]

I am on Atkins and it has worked well for me as it is rather simple. I have many net friends who have lost this way. here is an article that can tell you pros and cons on both diets
http://www.ivillage.com/fitness/experts/wlcoach/diet/qas/0,5090,33153,00.html
NNN

[LCSue]

Hi Silvia,

Welcome to low-carbing. I'm a beginner, too, and am doing the Atkins diet. Three weeks into it now and I am sure enjoying that feeling of control you were describing. No more cravings ... this is heavenly.

Good luck to you on your CAD!

Sue

[Cheral]

Hi Silvia - I have all 3 books too - so you're not alone there. I've very new to this so all I can offer is support. I was concerned about the RM on CAD - although it felt good, I wasn't sure about the concept behind it. I just don't believe that you can eat anything you want for 1 hour - their CALP book talks about balance in your RM. However, there are lots of people that have great success with it. I think you have to find what works for you - physically and psychologically. And - can you stay with it?
Good luck to you - and keep on reading the board. I'm finding that the most helpful.
Cheral

[atomhockeymomm]

Hi Silvia.... I am new too. I am more of a lurker tho...lol I am not new to Low Carbing just new to this board. I have fallen off the wagon so many times my hubby says I need a crash helmet, but here I am back on again. I really enjoy this woe and wol. I would do much better if I could remember all the nice comments I got when I was thinner. I was on the famous Redux pill, and might I add loving every minute of it? My doctor put me onto this way of life style after the recall of Redux. I will admit I liked the pills better for weight loss but this is working too.

Oh goodness I started to wander there didnt I?

Enough out of me. A big Ontario Welcome to you and I hope to see more posts from you in the future.

Stephanie

[debbiedobson]

mrs. atomlevelhockeymom. i wondered if you were from my neck of the woods. my son didn't play organized hockey, but my nephews do. we live in ajax, ontario. where are you located?

[doreen T]

hi Silvia,

Welcome aboard! Whereabouts in Italy are you? To those of us freezing our butts here in Canada, it sounds wonderful.

You seem very keen and eager to learn. Normally, I would suggest you borrow the various lowcarb program books from the library, so you can read all of them and decide which one is best for you, your body and your lifestyle. Since you probably can't do that ... pay a visit to our Tips page .. http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips.html .. lots of great info there ... in the Lowcarbing Basics article, you will find links to the official lowcarb websites, and a list of uaeful books. Since lowcarbing truly is a Way of Life (WOL) .. Information is Everything.

Thousands of people have had wonderful weight loss success with Carb. Addicts. As long as you are able to maintain the control to limit your carbs to that one hour Reward Meal. Others find that it just triggers more night-time cravings... everyone is different. For me, I find it best to distribute my carbs more evenly throughout the day.

Try to fill up on lean proteins... poultry with the skin off, fish, seafood, eggs, tofu if you can find it, lean cuts of red meats...... keep an eye on the dairy - cheese, cream, sour cream and the like.... it can cause problems for some lowcarbers if overindulged .. Eat lots of green, non-starchy and non-sweet vegetables.... asparagus, rapini, rabe, broccoli, aubergines (eggplant), spinach, mushrooms, etc.... Use olive and vegetable oils as dressings and dips for veggies and meats.

It's true about the doctors... they are not gods, and do not have power over your food choices. It would be so wonderful for you to be able to go back and say, "Look, here I am healthy and I lost weight, and I did it lowcarb".

Good luck to you, please keep us posted of your progress ... it's good for the weight loss efforts! ..:D

Doreen

p.s. - Stephanie, nice to hear from you too! Happy lowcarbing.

[Edited by doreen T on 24-02-01 at 08:30]

[silvia]

I was really amazed at the warm welcome I have received from all of you lowcarbers!! Thanks!! It's really nice to know that someone's really listening. Thanks for your advice. I suppose though that all I have to do now is really go for it!!!! It's good to know though that I'm not the only person whose weight goes up and down. In the diet books all the case histories are of people who are so good and perfect and never go off. I was starting to feel like an undisciplined alien! Living in Italy (I live in Turin in the north and the weather isn't so great: miserable in winter and muggy in Summer so Canada sounds just as great to me as Italy does to you!!!! :P ) is really trying if you consider the food in this country!!!! Pasta, lasagna, tiramisu etc etc is wherever you turn, not to mention cappuccino and croissant!!!! Total torture. And of COURSE my boyfriend hogs it all and doesn't put on an ounce. Anyway I'm glad to be able to chat to people who have an idea of what I'm doing. Everyone around me here is convinced I'm going to die of cancer tomorrow because of what I'm eating!!! Especially now that we have the Mad Cow Syndrome to contend with. I'll be going : thanks again to all NNN, LCSue, Cheral, Atomlevel and Doreen.
Write to me soon and tell me how you guys are doing.
Silvia

[debbiedobson]

hi silvia. this is amazing, being able to talk to someone in italy. i'm still relatively new to computers. you've done the right thing by buying the books. my heritage is irish/italian. i was raised on pasta and potatoes. i understand how you feel. i've been lowcarbing about almost 2 years now and i don't miss my old carbs at all. we used to eat pasta almost daily. it will get easier for you too. although not being able to eat beef would be hard for me. oh well there's always chicken! good luck lowcarbing. you've made the right choice.
debbie

[silvia]

Thanks again to everyone for your support. It's nice to know you're out there.

For those of you thinking about Italy's wonderful weather: this morning I woke up to a metre of snow!!! Real frek weather it's supposed to be spring. Maybe I'm actually in Canada!!!!!!!

Bye for now!
S

[Sharon]

Ugh...a metre of snow...they called for 10 cm here and I thought ugh! I try to convince myself that all this snow we've been shovelling this winter is good for the "waist line".

Here's to hoping that if spring comes in like a lion, (like they predict this morning), that we can get this over with and finally get spring! It's been a long winter for some of us.

I agree with Debbie, the longer you eat low carb, the less you even think about the old way of eating. Last week a guy I have worked with for 25 years celebrated his 50th birthday, of course with a hugh cake. I wasn't going to have any, but he insisted I just even taste. Ugh...It was awful....it tasted like 110% proof sugar.

Have a great day and hopefully your snow will be gone soon too.

[Sharon]

You don't have to give up Tiramisu, did you check out Karen's recipe (check out the link on the home page)? There's other recipes around also that are low carb, which I have made. I'm anxious to try Karen's though as I'm sure it's the "cadillac verison of Tiramisu".

[r.mines]

Mmmmmm!

It's BETTER than the high carb version!

Rachel

[silvia]

Hi Ladies!!
I definitely will try out the tiramisù... and give you an Italian opinion!!! Just kidding, I'm sure it's great!!!

I seem to have found a sort of openmindedish doctor who is insisting (because of my really strong symptoms) that I should do that awful blood test with sugar levels and insulin response. If I understood correctly Dr. A. says that the diet itself should sort it all out so I thought maybe I could avoid it it. What do you think? I also keep going off my diet because I keep deciding to do it (you have to load on 4 days of heavy carbs for the test to be accurate) and then changing my mind, which is obviously wrreaking havoc with everything. I'm very undecided. I think maybe I'm a bit chicken of both the test and the results. Also because I know that 4 days of high carbing is going to really make me feel dhaky and awful. Let me know your opinions girls!!!

As far as the snow is concerned I'm more worried about how my bikini will look when it does!!!!

I still can't get over all the answers a chats from you guys. I'm really happy!
Affectionately
S.