Starting again

[Griselda]

Hi there. I am not sure how to post on these pages... couldn't get on to introduce myself, but seem to be on here!
I started on Atkins' with the help of a friend and lost about 25 pounds over a year, but have relapsed and gained about six pounds since my holiday in October, and now with Christmas.
I am dismayed by the hostile accounts of low-carb diets by various experts. Who is right?
Meanwhile my doctor says my 'good' cholesterol is 'fabulously high' and my 'bad'cholesterol is very very low, so I don't feel uneasy on the health scores, but I DO need my resolution bolstered and I want to know if there is a simpler way of understanding the processes, as I find Dr Atkins' book quite technical and difficult in a lot of it.
Thanks
Griselda

[Smurfy]

Hello,

I am glad to know I am not the only person that had trouble with the book. My trouble is that I get discouraged because I can't figure out WHEN to come off the induction. Is it after the 2 weeks or until I come close to my final weight loss. I know it is hard, especially when you stop the diet and start again. I have just realized that all the rest of the food is really starting to make me ill. As far as all the doctors go, I don't put too much credance into what they say, without illness, they wouldn't have a job, so are they really there to take care of us. I just say to do what it is that makes you feel good and I know, as do you, from experience, that being on this "diet" makes you feel better than you have ever felt!

[Griselda]

I know what you mean about food being bad for you. I LOVE eating bread, always have done. But I think it is bad for me - makes me very windy and bloated.

On the other hand, it is very hard to find what to eat instead of bread, as (apart from the nice taste) it provides:

a) a very desirable bland background taste while the other Atkins' food tends to be very strongly flavoured, and

b) also it provides a solid physical platform for other foods to rest on, for instance, poached egg.

any ideas?

[SlimGin2B]

I worry that the induction phase is overused and that people need to follow the method as it was intended to make sure the vitamins in fruits and vegetables are not left out of the diet. Pills don't do the same and from all the reading I've done, Dr. Atkins didn't intend this to be the "bacon" diet teased about in television commercials. I believed this man when I started 10+ years ago. I just wish I hadn't given in to the candy cravings when I got pregnant. I was readdicted immediately and haven't had the energy or will or excercise since. I am going back on this for me this time. But at 44, it seems alot harder to kick-start ketosis. Any ideas?

[danabear]

I just finished reading the book and I believe this could go to either healthy or unhealthy. In the new version he does recommend nitrate free bacon & ham, you can always use lean cuts of meat & veg oils. Of course there are plenty of healthy veggies. I've found that I can stay in ketosis with a few extra of the allowed veggies, and I'm feeling better. I agree it's hard to find a subtitute for bread. My lettuce sandwiches just aren't the same- but it's worth the sacrifice.

[minimom]

welcome and cheers for starting a healthy woe; as a nurse i can tell you that doctors are trained to push pills. they are paid to prescribe pills by the pharmeceutical companies and given great amounts of free samples to push on their patients. i was told i needed a hysterectomy when all the time it was my kidneys that were in trouble. just because i am a middle aged female the doctors standard method was to take everything out! well i refused the hysterectomy and started on Atkins much to his horror and am now healthier and symptom free! this way of life is very healthy if you eat fresh fruit and vegetables, and stick as much as possible to unprocessed foods. i eat an organic Atkins diet and feel great! you are going to have to give some things up in order to acheive your goals. there is no way around it. after you have been on induction for the prescribed time you can have low carb tortillas or low carb bread. it is worth your health and weight loss to go without for a few weeks. remember, induction is not forever. you can do it!

[sirlarry]

Welcome fellow "newbies" :wave: keep in mind that this is more than just a diet it is a new way of eating. Also there are tons of recipes to try out that will keep you from getting bored. Induction last for two weeks unless you choose to extend it. If you do then of course the restricted menu might discourage you. Also as far as health is concerned We have been programed to feel low-fat=Good, Protien+Fat=Bad. It will take a some getting used to. The true test will be in your numers.... scale, bloodwork, inches loss. Make sure you get them done so tht you can compare.

We are all here to support you hang in there :)