Please review - does this look ok?
 

Hi all,
I am returning to Atkins/LC after 10 years gone. Just starting today. My meal plan for the day is:

breakfast - 1 cup egg beaters, cheddar cheese, two turkey sausages

Lunch - Salad mix (from bag) - added veggies such as cucumbers, celery, onions, small tomatoes, olives.

dinner - protein such as chicken or fish (tonight will be Cod) and a veggie such as cauliflower or broccolli.

Snacks - cheese cubes, pepperoni sticks if needed

notes: I have the egg beater already, will use eggs when I finish using the egg beaters. Same with sausage - will go to regular breakfast sausage. I will also be adding spinach to the eggs when I can get some from the store (I am out now).

Any comments appreciated,
Rob

Looks good Rob, try it for a while and see what happens. Since you've been low carb before you've probably heard to keep your salt level up initially if you feel crummy.

Rob, welcome. This menu looks fine to start. The snacks are ok, but be careful with cheese, as it's easy to overeat certain foods (dairy and nuts were the suspects for me) at the beginning. Note that while calorie counting isn't necessary for many, it's also important to not overeat as you're making the transition. One of the best guides for early days on low carb is the brief set of recommendations from Dr. Eric Westman. He has very effective guidelines for beginning low carb/ keto that is known as "Page 4." He cautions to eat no more than 4 ounces of cheese per day. You can purchase it here:
https://store.payloadz.com/details/...age-4-diet.html

However, https://www.dietdoctor.com/ is also a great site for beginners and long-timers as well. Membership per month is around $10, with the first month free. It also provides much information without requiring a membership. The good thing about DD is that there are no ads as it's not affiliated with any low carb "products," some of which can be questionable about health benefits and ingredients. You can join and cancel without any issues.

Enjoy your journey, and be aware that if you consistently follow a low carb way of eating (WOE), you will make adjustments and course corrections over time as you learn how you react to whole foods. At some point, you may realize you no longer need snacks, as you're no longer hungry between meals. Yeah, it happens. All the best.

One pro-tip many of us use is a ban on snacks. This practice was seemingly invented from the blood sugar roller coaster high carb eating does to us. So people reach for snacks to try to deal with perilous dips, only to create more. This keeps insulin constantly circulating, and the extra fat locked in our cells.

The work of Dr. Fung, fasting fan, is a good place to start understanding this process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d7KkyXnyB4

Once you are settled into the low carb groove, you'll find snacks are counter-productive. We want to keep our insulin low as much as possible. Most of us find fewer, larger, and more satisfying meals work much better than many small meals.

Speaking of which, dressing for that salad? Fat is crucial for the best absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and many of us find it satiating, as well. I'd try throwing some cheese and pepperoni on the salad, and skip it as a snack. Top with some olive oil vinaigrette, and you could be on the road for No Snacks before you know it.

Your salad, as described, would last me about 20 minutes. TOPS.

Adding protein & fat to the salad would keep you full so that you don't need snacks. 30g protein per meal and enough fat to be satiated for 6+ hrs; part of that will come from body fat once you are adapted to burning fat instead of glucose. Ideally all or most of the protein should be unprocessed. Eggs are often cheaper than Eggbeaters.

Yesterday went fine - 23 carbs according to the Atkins app on my phone. Had no snacks, didn't need any. Lunch was a grilled chicken salad with generous amount of moz cheese - very nice.

I am eating egg beaters since I already have cartons of the stuff but will switch to eggs when needed. Are eggs still 1 carb?

I am thinking of adding fish oil as a supplement to add some healthy fats.

Rob

if you're counting animal product carbs I recall eggs (large) reporting in a .6 per egg - roughly 1 per 2 eggs - I'm not counting carbs for 90 days for practice. Good work yesterday, many never come back after that initial post ;)

FYI - as of today I am down 10lbs. Things are going OK. Had a "thing" with Burger King's carb count (see other thread).

I think my big weakness right now is iced tea. The stuff I am drinking is Arnold Palmer - either Diet or Zero depending upon what I have in stock. The Diet is 2 carbs and the Zero is 1 carb.

Thanks,
Rob