I'm just finishing Week 1 of Atikin's Induction, and to be honest I don't feel this plan is for me. Quite simply, I don't like (or can't tolerate) a wide variety of foods.

For protein, I'm eating up to 6 eggs a day and getting quite tired of them. I can eat beef, chicken and most pork, but am allergic to shellfish (though finfish is ok). I also really, really don't like root vegetables, no matter how much I dress them up with sauces or butter or what have you. In short, I just don't feel RIGHT on this WOE and my body feels very much out of balance. For the first time in my life my heart is POUNDING just from walking across the room and I have to wonder if it's from all the fats and cholestrol.

This is me, 35 years old, and I'm just not about to suddenly start liking these foods for the sake of this plan, so I am looking at some flexible way of getting around this. Tonite I've been reading about the CAD and it seems much more balanced and in tune with my natural food choices.

I think my veggies might still be somewhat limited, but at least the salad would be the opener for my dinner, and not a full half of my meal, which it is with Atkins. Half salad, half meat...that's about as creative as I can get it.

I realize that the Atkins plan is probably one of the most strict and rigid of all the low carb plans, and I like the balance and flexibility of CAD. Also, CAD says to balance your food by porportion size which appeals to me, rather than running to the computer or a book to figure out my carb count down to the smallest detail.

I guess my question is, though it seems most people here are on the Atkins WOE plan, can anyone relate to what I'm saying and switched to something else? And has it been successful?

I'm not looking for an easy out, I am commited to a healthier diet and hopefully some weight loss, but my body is not agreeing with this and I need an alternative.

Thanks for any input you can give me.

Hello!
I think all WOE are based on the individual. It is a total life style change to do this. Have you checked out the recipe section of this site? It gives many ideas for dishes to make.
The first week is the toughest.. but at the end of my first week, I was down 6 lbs. I personally try to eat minimal fats... I've been on this WOE for 20 days now and have lost 12 lbs. I do not use a carb counter. I just read the back of the packages and stay away from starch.
Regarding the paragraph, half salad, half meat... ATkin's allows you to have as much meat as you like... green veggies in the salad with sugar free dressing.... (Not low fat).
Have you tried the Protein Shakes? better than eggs all the time... .
I was discouraged the first week myself, but I've done quite a bit of reasearch and have come to love this WOE.
But it's all in the individual!
Good Luck!!!!

Hi, Dalou!

In my opinion, there's no point choosing a low-carb plan (or any eating plan) you can't stick with over the long haul. We don't give brownie points for suffering here! Although many of those on this site do Atkins or Protein Power, ALL low-carb plans are welcome here. Many people have great success with CAD. One of my friends has lost 75 pounds over the past year or so on it. Give it a try, why not?

Rachel

I keyed into your word "natural" -- if you really want a plan that involves natural eating, look at Audette's Neanderthin (or the paleolithic diet by Cordain--much harder to find; or perhaps --I haven't read it -- Eat Like A Caveman). The food is limited to meat, eggs, fruit, veggies, and seeds, but variety within those categories is strongly encouraged. Don't confuse "normalized" with natural, though--grains are not natural food.

No modern western person gets what apparently is natural and healthy variety in their foods. Because we rely on mass farming, we eat only one variety of many veggies (if you're a home gardener with a penchant for collecting heirloom seeds, then you get an A+!) and darned few veggie species. Hunter gatherers, though, eat over a hundred different plants in a typical summer. I think these ideas are fascinating, and suspect the "paleo" people are really on the right track for most of us (though a LOT of us probably need a year or two of LC first).

I'm not a doctor, etc, but...Your heart pounding may well be a reaction to a drop in blood pressure, possible due to potassium deficiency. Buy some Lite Salt and mix it half and half with regular salt--then don't skimp on the salt--and take extra potassium pills.

Also, your ct. about root veggies confused me--they are high in carbs and generally not eaten on LC plans. But don't eat anything that doesn't "feel" right to you. (pork and cream cheese don't to me, though they are staples for many LCers)

A final thought--you might try the self-designed LC plan a cyberpal of mine uses. All the green veggies she wants, but no more than 10 ECC of carbs beyond that (dairy, coffee, fruit, eggs)

Best of luck!