One Piece of Advice to Newbies
 

Fellow posters: What is the ONE thing you regret not doing on your LC journey? Rather than keep copying and pasting my advice to those who are just starting Atkins or to those who will be starting soon, I thought it would be better to start a new thread.

My one piece of advice: For Atkiners just starting out, try to take some key measurements. This is the one thing I really regret not doing. Because it can come in handy during those times ahead when the movement on the scale is more like an unwelcome "hover" than the much-preferred "downward movement." Happy LCing!!!

Hiya All!

Day 7 today of Induction...so I am a newbie!

Regret not doing: I have several small ones but my ONE biggie is:

Not having bougth Atkins Revolution book PRIOR to starting. (Is ordered from Amazon.com and should arrive very soon)


BEST thing I did:
Find this forum and ALL you WONDERFUL people who guide, nurture and tend to the soul of others. I applaud each and every one of you!

Good thread, THANKS!

Best to all;
Jake

BTW: every time I see Happy "Lcing" or lcing as some write it...I think of CAKE. (as in ICING) LOL

Well, I am a newbie, but I have some advice. Bring a cooler with some veggies, cheeese and/or meat anywhere you go................................... Yesterday we went out and were longer than expected ( about 3 hours) . I never imagined I would get so hungry in that short of time and we ate right before we left. My stomach started growling so bad and I told my dh I have to stop now at the store . So, I bought string cheese and pepperoni .. I didn't want to eat the whole package so we went home to eat. I will never forget my cooler again.

Jake: LOL. I will sign off now with "Good luck on your LC journey"!

IS OK...I can TAKE IT!

Several pages back, on Topic "Very frustrated with me body"...poor dear broke down and had 4 pieces of Cake...
to which I replied:

Cake.
I want cake.
Maybe 2 cakes.

But I suppose I better lose another 75 pounds or so before I even think about cake.

although....you do have me thinking about cake.

Hmmm....

I will now go to the kitchen and make a cake using tuna and mayo...it will be a fish-cake of sorts. I think I will decorate it with little bits of radish, just for color.

I am swallowing a packet of Splenda as I am writing...I suppose there are those that would "snort" it...

I loved cake...and deep in my heart I still do.

But, I suppose I will never have that relationship with cake again.

Damn.... War is Tough.

Best to all;
Jake

My advice for newbies -

Try recipes! There are great ones posted online. Or try your library, low-carb cookbooks seem to be coming out daily!

After induction -
get LC products which add versatility, Atkins muffins, tortillas, etc.

I think the biggest problem in this WOE is boredom, if you're eating the same things everyday.

I agree about the measurements. But also, take a picture. Leave it undeveloped if you have to but it'll be great to look at later.

Good luck!
Amy

My one regret is not getting blood work done BEFORE starting Atkins. I never thought it was relevant to me so I never got it done. Then my cholesterol came back high (both HDL and LDL) on my physical, which is not a bad thing, but I have no baseline for any valuable kind of comparison.

Wanda

I wish I had measured myself!!! I've heard people sometimes stall on weight loss but continue to lose inches.
Also - wish I never found the ATKINS bars and candy - seems to have stalled my progress.

I agree - always have a snack available!!!

I think my piece of advice is that the most important thing is to get your head right!

If you haven't really committed yourself to doing this WOE, you will have problems.

It took me a while, but once I got mentally ready, it has been easy. I've been doing this for 2 months, without any cravings.

Not kicking the artificial sweetener habit soon enough after starting up with it. For me, it was as dangerous as the real thing. I always justified to myself by saying "but it is low-carb!"

Oh, what a fool I was! :rolleyes:

Karen

My advice is to avoid all th efake foods (like bars, shakes, LC muffins, LC candy etc) durring induction and for as long as possible. They just keep your body wanting things it used to have, and you need to get past that to be successful.

Jamian

Not a regret, but a piece of advice.

K.I.S.S (Keep it simple, stupid)

For the first 2 weeks, stick to simple, basic foods (meat, cheese, eggs and veggies). You learn to count carbs and eat better when you stick to the basics at first. After that, experiment your little heart out with all of the great LC recipes!!

~Angi~

It has been said before, but <b>Getting The Book</b>!
I thought I understood the plan from casually listening to aquaintences discuss their eating habits. I tried and put on 20 LBS in a month!
Then I got the book and lost 70 LBS in the next 6 months or so.

Actually everyone I meet who is just starting Atkins, or thinking aobut it, and some who have been on it for a while, I give them this sites address! As much as I tell them how great low carbing has been working for me, I tell them how much of a help this site has been :D

Thanks everyone!

Something that has been helpful to me was to understand what the size of a serving looks like. Having done this for so long, it was hard sometimes to be out and estimate later whether I had one cup or two of a vegetable. Now I know that a cup of food or 3 oz of meat is visually about the size of my fist. Makes it a lot easier to add the carbs up when eating out.