Hi All,

As I'm new on this board I thought I'd take the liberty of introducing myself. I realise that there is a specific zone on this forum for intros, but I wanted to keep it UK specific - I hope that's OK.

I've been on Atkins now for just over 6 weeks. Been very pleased with the results so far (1lb shy of a stone lost) even though I don't really have a massive amount to lose (target is between 1.5 and 2 stone).
Mind you, it took me a week to read through the Atkins book before I could even get going - he doesn't half go on a bit!

I've tried losing weight before without success, mainly by trying to reduce calorie/fat intake, increase exercise and cut out snacks - but it never really seemed to have much effect (other than making me feel a bit fitter). I guess I can see why now after reading the Atkins book.

The first week went just as expected. I had the headaches, fatigue at first, then noticed the ketosis kick in after about 5 days (bought my ketostix from Superdrug - no problems) & weight strating to fall off.
Toughest thing for me was having the will-power to not drink alcohol in the first two weeks, plus I also found it difficult to find drinks I liked which didn't have caffiene or sugar in, not to mention not being able to have milk in my tea. I tried de-caff tea with lemon and a bit of Splenda, but got fed up of that quickly - ended up switching to de-caff black coffee and splenda, but is still not my preferred bevvy, plus I like to get the antioxidant benefits of tea. Now I have found de-caff tea with single cream to be quite pleasant.
The only soft drink I feel comfortable with though is caffiene-free diet coke (although I guess Dr A - would not have approved of the Nutra-sweet).

Now I'm moving into the next phases of Atkins, my staple booze is red wine, plus I find that the occasional beer doesn't seem to upset my programme (thanks to this board I've also bought some Miller to try - although I've never been much of a fan).

Food in general hasn't been a problem - fortunately I love most of the stuff that's ok to eat, such as meat & cheese, and I was never much of a potato or bread eater. In fact I now realise that I am eating a much healthier diet than ever before, with plenty of fresh salad & veggies, plus a reasonable breakfast each day (never used to eat brekkie).

Lunchtime is still a bit of an inconvenience though - not being able to quickly pick up a sarnie or sub from the local deli - I find I have to be much more creative.

The worst thing though is that I have to keep biting my tongue as I have the constant urge to preach to people about how good this way of eating is & how everyone else should stop stuffing carbs down their gobs! I'm sure my friends and family are fed up of hearing about it ... just as anyone readin this must be fed up of my prattle - so I'll stop right here.

Thanks for listening - hopefully I can join in some meaningful discussions in the coming weeks.

All the best to you all
Cheers