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  #1   ^
Old Tue, Dec-29-09, 09:30
cnmLisa's Avatar
cnmLisa cnmLisa is offline
Every day is day one
Posts: 7,776
 
Plan: AtkinsMaintenance/IF
Stats: 185/145/155 Female 5'5
BF:
Progress: 133%
Location: Oregon Coast
Default Advice for the Newbies

I have a feeling that the traffic will be picking up substanially starting Sat/Sun/Mon.

Soooo.....

Let's list some of the most important things for these newcomers so that maybe we don't need to repeat ourselves 12 times. We could just refer them to this thread.

I'll start off with:

1. Read the book. Know your plan. Follow your plan thru all the written stages.

2. Weight loss is not linear. DO NOT expect to lose weight every day. Weight loss comes in fits and spurts.

3. Measure before starting. Although you may see no loss on the scale, you could still be losing inches.

4. If you are at this again, I DO NOT believe in the one golden shot theory. If that were so, I would not be here at goal after the third time having a re-do. I do believe that the more you repeat, the more you are doing the plan by memory which is not such a great idea--you become a bit fast and loose with the plan when you're doing it by memory. In addition, you're older, you may have health or metabolic/hormone issues, you may be taking medication that makes it harder for you to loose, but not entirely impossible.

5. Stay away from bars, shakes, and other foods that are packaged as low carb, particularly in the beginning. Although perhaps labeled induction friendly (I'm thinking Atkins products) they are NOT. Don't be fooled.

6. Dieting is hard--don't let anybody try and tell you it's not. Being fat is hard. Pick your hard.

I could probably go on but I'll let some wise LC participants chime in here.

To all you newbies good luck!

Lisa

Progress not perfection.
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, Dec-29-09, 09:36
Kim8461 Kim8461 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 929
 
Plan: Atkins (What Else??)
Stats: 245/143/145 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 102%
Location: NW New Jersey
Default

Very well said Lisa
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  #3   ^
Old Tue, Dec-29-09, 10:08
FreyaAZ's Avatar
FreyaAZ FreyaAZ is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 122
 
Plan: VLC
Stats: 212.2/203.2/140.0 Female 69 inches
BF:41%/41%/23%
Progress: 12%
Location: Pinal County, Arizona
Default

Very good Lisa...

Just a couple more came to mind as I was reading yours:

1. The first three days of induction can be very, VERY difficult. You may go through "carb withdrawl" and experience flu-like symptoms. Stick it out. It's worth it. Once withdrawl is over, you will feel wonderful -- probably more full of energy than you've felt in years.

2. To repeat what Lisa wrote, I cannot stress enough the importance of staying away from packaged "low carb" bars and (even worse) candies. These WILL slow your progress substantially and your cravings for carbs will return.

3. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! If you have a question, no matter HOW strange you think it is, come to this forum. There is a real brother-and-sisterhood here, no matter how "alone" you may feel in what you're experiencing, physically or emotionally, the folks on here have been through it.

FreyaAZ
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  #4   ^
Old Tue, Dec-29-09, 10:14
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Good job Lisa!!
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, Dec-29-09, 10:52
LC_mermaid's Avatar
LC_mermaid LC_mermaid is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,737
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 374/297/168 Female 5ft 2in
BF:Um yes
Progress: 37%
Location: Eastern U.S.
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by FreyaAZ
1. The first three days of induction can be very, VERY difficult. You may go through "carb withdrawl" and experience flu-like symptoms. Stick it out. It's worth it. Once withdrawl is over, you will feel wonderful -- probably more full of energy than you've felt in years.
FreyaAZ


1.This also needs repeating; After a week or so you will at least be back to normal. I lose alot of potential Atkins buddies because at day 3 they jump ship because they think they will always feel like crap. Hang in till the next week, just knuckle under and do it.

2. Also ingnore people who tell you Atkins will kill you or mess up your metabolism and lots of other crap. If possible don't tell anyone what your doing until you have gotten the plan under your belt and have no lingering doubts yourself.

3. Keep getting back up, it is very hard to get off of the national diet, it takes some practice to get your mind in gear. I can't count the number of times I started induction and re-started it again.

4. Remeber that those of us who are doing good or are at goal are not perfect and it hasn't been easy. Some of my fore mentioned friends have thought that I was just humming along right from the begining. We all have bad meals,days and even weeks.
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  #6   ^
Old Tue, Dec-29-09, 11:33
AZDweller's Avatar
AZDweller AZDweller is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,132
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 271/269/154 Female 5 feet, 6 inches
BF:43.7/..../24.9
Progress: 2%
Location: Arizona
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LC_mermaid
2. Also ignore people who tell you Atkins will kill you or mess up your metabolism and lots of other crap. If possible don't tell anyone what you're doing until you have gotten the plan under your belt and have no lingering doubts yourself.


It's easier not to tell anyone except those who live with you for a while. When people start noticing your weight loss and asking about it (around 20-25 pounds depending on your start weight), then you will be comfortable with it. I tell most people that I've given up processed white flours and sugars -- that is actually the truth and it's acceptable. Mention "Atkins" or some other diet and they'll find ways to speak the devil into your head. You know this works -- don't let any nay-sayers win.

Join a challenge or a forum. Write a journal. Become part of the community that can help you when cravings start to get to you. And don't be afraid to take a walk or a bath when you get those cravings. Any activity that takes your mind off eating is good. Sorry, TV is connected to eating for me, so it does absolutely no good!
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Dec-29-09, 11:38
Citruskiss Citruskiss is offline
I've decided
Posts: 16,864
 
Plan: LC
Stats: 235/137.6/130 Female 5' 5"
BF:haven't a clue
Progress: 93%
Default

A few from me:

1. - As much as possible, try to avoid processed meats (deli meats, packaged stuff with a bar code, bacon, ham, hot dogs etc.). Meat isn't supposed to have carbs in it, and if the meat you're eating has any carbs in it at all - then you're racking up unnecessary carbs - using up your allotment on something that shouldn't have carbs in it in the first place. This isn't to say you'd never eat hot dogs or deli meat - but save these for on-the-road emergencies or once-in-awhile meals. Cook up your own giant roasts for sliced roast beef, or roast up a whole chicken for lots of chicken slices etc.

2. - No matter what plan you're on, and no matter what your carb allotment is, make sure that most of the carbs you're getting are coming from low-carb vegetables. Don't waste your carbs on sauces, too much cheese or salad dressings.

3. - Speaking of salad dressings, one of the nice things about low-carb eating is that you can have stuff like creamy ranch dressing or blue cheese or any favourite, full-fat dressing. That said, most store-bought dressings do contain carbs - and a good trick is to make your salad, and put it into a large-ish mixing bowl. Measure out your tablespoon or whatever serving, and then stir up the salad like crazy with a wooden spoon or a spatula - this helps those wonderful dressings go a lot further, and reduces the chance of gooping on too much blue cheese dressing. The idea is to mix/toss the salad as if you're making a caesar salad. This will help you keep the carb count in check.

4. - There's going to be a lot more cooking than you're used to. To minimize the hassle factor, when you cook - cook way more than you'd need for any one particular meal. Make a whole pan of roasted chicken breasts and put the rest into the fridge for quick/handy food - you can dice it up and do a stir fry, toss it into a salad, make chicken salad etc. Also, consider doing this with cooked vegetables too. I didn't do this for a long time, and nowadays, if I'm going to make roasted broccoli florets for my dinner meal, I'll make extra and then toss those roasted veggies into a morning omelet or into a lunchtime salad. This saves a lot of time/prep/fuss.

5. - Don't head out to the mall or anything without eating something first. This'll minimize the chances of caving into the fast food at the food court or what have you. If you're going out, either bring some food, or eat something beforehand. This isn't to say you won't eat out, but you can head off potential problems by eating before going out. It's a heck of a lot easier to order the right thing in a restaurant or fast food place if you've already had a couple of eggs for breakfast. Don't let yourself get caught feeling hungry at the wrong place and wrong time.

6. - You'll likely eat way more food than you think is reasonable in the first several days of a lower carb eating plan. You'll feel really hungry and have lots of cravings. The way around this is to let yourself eat as much 'on plan' food as you need to get past this phase. Within a few days, the carbs will be out of your system, you'll have gotten past the withdrawal and the cravings - and your appetite will diminish quite a bit. In the meantime, eat as much as you need to stick to plan. It's not unheard of to have *two* bunless burgers, or need/want second helpings of roasted chicken or what have you. This is all ok - your appetite will normalize in just a few days. Whatever you do, do NOT cave into the cravings that are sure to be experienced in the first several days, and if it takes eating what seems like too much food (all low carb of course), then do it.

Good luck!
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, Dec-29-09, 14:29
MommyP's Avatar
MommyP MommyP is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 347
 
Plan: Atkins/Leptin Hybrid
Stats: 150/131/130 Female 62
BF:
Progress: 95%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Citruskiss
5. - Don't head out to the mall or anything without eating something first. This'll minimize the chances of caving into the fast food at the food court or what have you. If you're going out, either bring some food, or eat something beforehand. This isn't to say you won't eat out, but you can head off potential problems by eating before going out. It's a heck of a lot easier to order the right thing in a restaurant or fast food place if you've already had a couple of eggs for breakfast. Don't let yourself get caught feeling hungry at the wrong place and wrong time.


Ohhh... Good one!
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  #9   ^
Old Mon, Jan-04-10, 19:19
Momjeans's Avatar
Momjeans Momjeans is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 186
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 191/174/150 Female 72" (6 ft)
BF:
Progress: 41%
Location: USA
Default

6. - You'll likely eat way more food than you think is reasonable in the first several days of a lower carb eating plan. You'll feel really hungry and have lots of cravings. The way around this is to let yourself eat as much 'on plan' food as you need to get past this phase. Within a few days, the carbs will be out of your system, you'll have gotten past the withdrawal and the cravings - and your appetite will diminish quite a bit. In the meantime, eat as much as you need to stick to plan. It's not unheard of to have *two* bunless burgers, or need/want second helpings of roasted chicken or what have you. This is all ok - your appetite will normalize in just a few days. Whatever you do, do NOT cave into the cravings that are sure to be experienced in the first several days, and if it takes eating what seems like too much food (all low carb of course), then do it.

Good luck![/QUOTE]

OMG! Citruskiss! The above quote is exactly how I have been feeling! Thank You. On day 4 of induction, and the amount of fat and what I have been trained to think of as "bad" foods that I have been consuming has been wigging me out- I feel stuck and blocked and like this is all wrong! I have been having huge guilt. I needed to hear this Thank You, Thank you!

MomJeans
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  #10   ^
Old Mon, Apr-02-12, 14:04
gnuvision gnuvision is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 35
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 185/179/150 Female 69 inches
BF:
Progress: 17%
Default

THANK YOU for your posts here. I am new to the forum and new to beginning my path on Atkins. What LC vision notes along with Lisa's initial post is so very helpful. I will continue to read along. I suspect I have found a new home and a wonderful source of support buddies. TYVM

gnuvision
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  #11   ^
Old Sat, Jan-02-10, 08:12
BruceInAla's Avatar
BruceInAla BruceInAla is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,403
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 182/145.5/140 Male 66 in
BF:11
Progress: 87%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by FreyaAZ
2. To repeat what Lisa wrote, I cannot stress enough the importance of staying away from packaged "low carb" bars and (even worse) candies. These WILL slow your progress substantially and your cravings for carbs will return.
FreyaAZ


Also, these are usually sweetened with sugar alcohols which cause significant flatulence for many people. Unless you are always in a place where letting gas out is not a problem, you might be careful with this stuff.
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  #12   ^
Old Sat, Jan-02-10, 15:12
GlendaRC's Avatar
GlendaRC GlendaRC is offline
Posts: 8,787
 
Plan: Atkins maintenance
Stats: 170/120/130 Female 65 inches & shrinking
BF:
Progress: 125%
Location: Victoria, BC Canada
Default

Quote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by FreyaAZ
2. To repeat what Lisa wrote, I cannot stress enough the importance of staying away from packaged "low carb" bars and (even worse) candies. These WILL slow your progress substantially and your cravings for carbs will return.
FreyaAZ

Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceInAla
Also, these are usually sweetened with sugar alcohols which cause significant flatulence for many people. Unless you are always in a place where letting gas out is not a problem, you might be careful with this stuff.

If you happen to be one of the "fortunate" ones who has no gastric reaction to sugar alcohols, be warned that your body very likely is processing the SAs the same as it would real sugar. I found that my fasting blood sugar was reaching pre-diabetic levels until I cut out the sugar-free chocolate and candies. It's back to normal now that I really limit sweets!
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  #13   ^
Old Sun, Jan-03-10, 10:15
svince6's Avatar
svince6 svince6 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 646
 
Plan: HighFat/LC
Stats: 160/158/135 Female 5' 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 8%
Location: Missouri, USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by glendarc
If you happen to be one of the "fortunate" ones who has no gastric reaction to sugar alcohols, be warned that your body very likely is processing the SAs the same as it would real sugar. I found that my fasting blood sugar was reaching pre-diabetic levels until I cut out the sugar-free chocolate and candies. It's back to normal now that I really limit sweets!


And if your body is processing this as real sugar then that would account for any resulting stall and/or weight gain that occurs wth these LC processed sweets.
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  #14   ^
Old Fri, Jan-08-10, 10:22
FreyaAZ's Avatar
FreyaAZ FreyaAZ is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 122
 
Plan: VLC
Stats: 212.2/203.2/140.0 Female 69 inches
BF:41%/41%/23%
Progress: 12%
Location: Pinal County, Arizona
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceInAla
Also, these are usually sweetened with sugar alcohols which cause significant flatulence for many people. Unless you are always in a place where letting gas out is not a problem, you might be careful with this stuff.


Yeah, no kidding Bruce. And not JUST flatulence. I think back to 2003 when DH and I were doing Atkins together. I "discovered" Breyer's sugar-free ice cream -- I thought, what the heck and DH and I had 1/2 cup, then another 1/2 cup, then another...and spent the rest of the night in the bathroom -- thank goodness we have more than one toilet in our house! LOL! At the risk of being very gross, I must say that I don't think that my colon has ever been so well-cleansed.

Yuk. No more sugar alcohols for me.

FreyaAZ
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  #15   ^
Old Sat, Jan-28-12, 13:36
pebz pebz is offline
New Member
Posts: 5
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 185/179.5/130 Female 5'0"
BF:
Progress:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kim8461
Very well said Lisa

wow, ur weight loss is great
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