Hi! - I'm new to low carb-ing.

My weight has been steadily rising for over 12 yrs now.
I used to do a lot of cycling, and when I was fit, my weight used to fluctuate between about 11st 7lb and 12st (depending on the time of year, and therefore, how much cycling I was doing).

I'm now approaching 40yrs old, and at 18st 7lb, I'm really starting to feel the extra weigth I'm carrying. So I've finally decided to bite the bullet, and make a concerted effort to get my weight back down somewhere near where it was years ago.

I saw some of the 'Diet Trials' progs that have been on recently and decided to give 'Atkins' a go. Now, having read the book, I think I know what I'm doing but would appreciate any tips, or pitfalls to avoid early on.

If I take up cycling again, will it help me to lose weight even quicker? (I read that exercise isn't neccesary on 'Atkins', but surely it will help)

Anyway, sorry it's a long-ish post.

Wish me luck!

Karl

Go for it Karl!

Exercise is not necessary, but can only be good. And the more weight you lose the easier the exercise will be.

My advice: It's all in the shopping really. There are aisles in the supermarket that will become strangers to you. Sliced meats and cheeses will become a way of life. Stock up on plenty of all varieties so you can have them for breakfast when you can't face yet another fried breakfast.

Be sure to get the regimen right in the first couple of weeks and you're likely to see great results.

Hi Karl,
I'm not much of an expert on the diet yet, though I have found a lot of useful advice on this site.
I am not starting Atkins yet. doctors orders as I'm having an op next week, but when I do, I know I'll be in good hands.
I can't wait.....
Good luck,
Sara

Hi Karl, welcome to this forum and to the world of low carbing. I wish you every success.

As Mark has said getting the shopping right is the first thing to do and making sure that you are eating enough is the second.

I have been low carbing for 20 months now and simply love it. I've enjoyed watching Diet Trials and I am not sure how many programmes you have seen, but you may have seen both the good and bad bits.

Glad you have brought the book. It is worth reading it a second time as you miss so much when you first read it.

If you are able, throw away food that you can no longer eat or put it in a cupboard that you would not normally use. I'm lucky, living on my own I don't have temptation at hand. Buy in plenty of meat, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, cooked meats etc. I love having eggs and bacon at the weekend and during the week I have a cold breakfast at work, low carb sausages, chicken wings, cold beefburgers, pate, ham, cheese, etc. I also pack a salad for lunch.

If you are just starting out then you might find the first week a bit up and down. I know I had no enegy for a couple of days. Make sure that you eat plenty and drink lots and lots and lots of water. Your body needs more water to process the extra protein you are eating and therefore you need to ensure that your body is fully hydrated at all times.

Cycling is a great form of exercise. You may want to wait until week 2 before you go back to this as it takes your body a while to get used to burning fat rather than sugar. The more exercise you do the more calories you will use up and therefore the more fat will be needed. It will also keep the muscles toned and give you a better body shape.

One word of advice. Make sure that you eat enough. I would encourate you to eat at least 2,000 calories a day. Do not try to cut down your food intake as this can be destructive and make your body go into startvation mode.

Every success.

Well, that's the first week over and I can't believe it!!
I've lost 5lbs and I've not felt hungry once.

Thanx too for the support.

After about 3 days I even seemed to get a burst of energy, it's the most lively I've felt for years.
I've been eating lots of cold meats, boiled eggs, cheese and the occaisional cold sausage or burger. I would imagine that this might get a bit boring after a few weeks but I've got hold of the 'Atkins new Diet Cookbook' and there seems to be a lot of stuff in there to play around with.
Tried the Jelly & Blancmange idea - it was great.
(Get those sugar-free powdered jellies, make up one sachet as normal, leave to set, then make up another sachet but substitute a half-pint of whipping cream for the cold water)
I even added a few chopped strawberries to the jelly before it set and it still only came to about 18g carbs for the whole thing. (4-6 reasonable sized servings)

The only things I might miss will be Ice-cream and bread, but I've been checking out a few low-carb breads too.
Heinz do a weight-watchers brown bread. It's a bit small but only 3.3g per slice. That might be worth trying after a few weeks when my carb allowance gets above 20 a day.

Anyway, I'm well pleased with things so far.
If things continue like this I'm gonna love this diet.

Regards all, Karl.

Dear Karl,

You could try some clotted cream with a little powder type sweetener stirred in it. Chill in the fridge and eat - beats ice-cream.

You could also try mixing some soya flour or better 90 percent protein powder with an egg and a little cream, fry it like a pancake and serve with clotted cream and a small dollop of strawberry diabetic (sugar free) jam. Voila - Devon cream teas - and low carb! Heaven.

The little pancakeas are also good for spreading marmite, pate and other stuff on.

Cycling would help and you ought to do it ... it's better not to think of fast weight loss however - think in the long term, you need to make this a comfortable way of eating you can live with - if you ever go back to how you ate before you'll put it all back on plus more guarenteed.

You don't have to go without so much on this way of eating if you are a bit inventive.

Good luck,

Robert

Hey welldone,
You should try and be a bit more inventive or you're gonna get sick of it sooner or later. I got sick of bacon and eggs after day 3, the food is so rich and I wasn't used to it. But now I make all sorts and have some staple food items in all the time. I haven't got enough time at the moment but I will write back soon, or I shall post them in your journal (if you have one).
Keep on keeping on, Hev