Hey everyone,

Well after pushing losing weight off for a while im finally mentally prepared to now start the Atkins diet here in the next few weeks. Shoot for Janurary 1st. I just got the book today and plan on putting some reading time in to learn how to do the diet.

I have tried many diets in the past and had good success the first time on Herbalife. Though when I started that again I passed out due to lac calories coming in vs what I was burning.

I chose this method after seeing great success with my father, my boss and a friend of a friend.

I plan on coming to these forums alot now especially when I get started. Especially for recipes and such.

What I was wondering though is with reading the book now, do you all have any advice/suggestions with just starting out? Just looking for anything that might make this a little easier from the beginning that maybe you all found out one day and might of said "Damn if only I knew this earlier." Something like that.

TIA all,
Whiteice

The one piece of advice I can offer you is make sure you eat. I know sounds silly. But it will help fight of the carb cravings you will go throught with withdrawl if you keep yourself on the fuller side. Plan nice big breakfastes with a good amount of eggs and bacon. (I like cheese in my scrambled eggs) I made nice filling meals with pot roast and such. This way at least I wasn't hungry.


I still do this when I know there will be a big temptation, like birthday cake or something. I just make sure I fill up on what I can eat!

My first advice would be to stay away from low carb convenience products (bars, shakes, low carb candies, etc..) for at least the first 2 weeks. Concentrate on eating whole, unprocessed food as much as humanly possible. You might even want to go as far as avoiding any artificial sweeteners completely during those two weeks. It's hard, but it will help you get rid of those sweet cravings.
Good for you on reading the book and getting a good understanding about what it is that you are planning to do first.

My main advice is that a person really needs to undertake a low-carb diet as a lifestyle change.........not just a way to lose some excess pounds. My wife and I have done this since April and are down a combined 135 pounds. We plan on being low-carb for the rest of our lives. We have another 100 pounds to go. If you follow it correctly........the weight will come off..........it will only stay off if you continue to follow the lifestyle. Go back to old habits.....the pounds will find their way back also.

They key (at least for me) is to:
1) Stop eating when you are full. I always use to clean my plate, now I'm more careful.

2) Eat any time you feel hungry. Have low-carb friendly snacks handy at all times, especially during induction.

--nw

Start Now!!!!!
Tomorrow never comes. With induction you are only allowed certian foods so It is not hard to learn.
Stay away from SF candy
Exercise at least 15 mins a day to start and work yourself up to at least 45 mins to an hour .
Take vitamins--multiday, calcium and potassium
Don't expect to lose too much in a short period of time--give your self time to lose and let your body get used to it. Most people lose fast at first but slow down later.
It is a lifestyle for the rest of your life and not a short term thing.
These are my words of wisdom after being here for 3 months. Good luck in your weight loss and I hope I will see you around here.
angie

Congrats on your decision!

Atkins recommends getting blood work done first I think that is a very good idea. Also the supplements are very helpful with cravings etc.!

My advice. Don't give up. The scale will tell the tale and drink lots and lots of water and then drink somemore. This is the only diet I have stuck with and now it is the way of life. But you have to have your water! Keep eating the good stuff and you won't crave the bad stuff. Definetly do induction at least 2 weeks and longer if you can. It keeps getting easier and easier. Good Luck!

Get rid of anything in your house that is not on the allowed list. You can't be tempted if it isn't there. And the reverse as well. Stock your house with allowed foods that are easy to grab when hunger strikes such as sliced meats, hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, celery sticks.

Write down everything you eat.

I got a little notebook and took all my measurements the night before I started. I also wrote down what I ate and the carb totals, along with a checkmark for vitamins and exercise and what I weighed each day (and notes about TOM since that was an issue). This really kept my goals in front of me and it was very easy not to think about cheating.

After awhile, it all became second nature and very easy.

Good luck!

Go to the web site www.atkins.com and print out the allowed foods list. Tape it to your refridgerator. That way when you have a question on whether something is allowed or not you can check at a glance.
http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-464579.html
Also read the rules for induction which give good tips
http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-325810.html

I agree with stay away from the bars, shakes and fake foods. Induction is to break the carb cravings, not just find substatutes.

I also agree with emptying the house of junk food. If you have a family or someone you live with, explain to them what you are trying to do and you would appriciate thier support. Later when you have gotten control of your carb cravings things can come back in and you won't even look twice. Reducing the amount of sugar and refined flour they have will help thier health as well. If they don't want to fully have LC make LC meals for you just with side dishes or slight alterations for them. If you try to make 2-3 different meals each time you'll go nuts

Get an account at www.fitday.com it will help you with keeping track of foods easily and to find the carbs in things like eggs and shell fish most people don't think about.

Get a water pitcher or stock up on bottled water. It is extreamly improtant to drink alot of water while trying to lose weight. Having it refridgerated and on hand at all times will really help. Keep a water bottle or large glass with you to sip off constantly instead of trying to pack in all your water in one sitting.

Remember the first two weeks the weight loss will happen fast. After that though there may be a small stall and it will slow down. This is natural though. Too m any people get discouraged when the weight slows down and either quit, or just get really depressed.

Average weight loss is around 10% of what you need to during induction and 5% each month after. The less weight you have to lose the slower it will go. Weight loss also isn't alway steady. It is very common to not lose at all, or even gain, then suddenly lose a few pounds all at once. Patience is very important. When weight loss comes off steadily and in a healthy manner, it is more likely to stay off for good.

Watch your sodium levels. Limit processed meats such as bacon, lunch meats and ham. These not only have high salt, most are also full of sugar.

Learn to read lables. You will be amazed at what they add sugar to. Look not only at carb count, but also at serving size and ingredients. A product can have up to 0.9g of carb and say 0. If you eat more then one servnig you could be having mroe carbs then you relize.

Get your veggies in. It is extreamly important to have the nutrients found in veggies. On induction you need at least 2-3 cups of salad greens and 1 cup of the other allowed. If you don't have much carbs from other sources, load up on even more veggies. You may be amazed how your taste buds change and you can go from a veggie hater to a lover.

Check out the recipe forum on here for induction allowed recipes and meal idea. Boredom can be the kiss of death to any way of eating. Get creative with your meals and you won't miss high carb days at all.

Eat enough. When ketosis kicks in many people just aren't hungry. Eating too few calories or skipping meals can slow your weight loss greatly. If you can manage it, small frequent meals through the day can help with loss and keep digestion easier.

Suppliments can be very important. Take a good multivitamin free of sugar, yeast, and starches. Calcium, pottasium, and magnesium may need to be added if you suffer a lack of energy or leg cramps.

Most of all remember that this is a way of life. When you reach premaintanance and maintanance you will be having a musch wider variety of foods, but hopefully still staying away from foods loaded with sugars and starches. Eating in an unhealthy manner is how most people gain the weight in the first place. It is unrealistic to expect that returning to that way of eating won't have the same effect again.

Congratulations on starting!! I think that's the hardest step!

The first week of induction may be a bit difficult. That's when people have a lot of cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Take supplements like L-carnitine and chromium picolinate to help with this. Just keep telling yourself that for most people it passes within 7 days. Make the committment to get through that, and the rest is totally easy!

Get yourself a bottled water bottle that you can refill. I got myself a 32 oz. bottle of Aquafina. I know I have to drink 4 of those per day to fulfill my water quota. It's a heck of a lot easier than counting glasses! Also, it doesn't spill if you keep the cap on!

Visit the recipe section and learn to cook with variety. There's nothing worse than having to eat the same thing over and over. Before Atkins I hardly cooked, but now my husband said he's quite impressed with this whole new side of me! He loves my dinners, and he's not even on this plan!

Good luck to you. I look forward to hearing how you're doing when you start!
Take care,
Bonnie