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

hello stoko,
just wanted to say hi and welcome.hope you,ll be happy here.look forward to speaking to you soon.

christine

WELCOME STOKO

Where abouts in the UK are you?

Hi Stoko

I... er... probably ought to have introduced myself before launching in to posts too eh?! Oops...

Still, welcome! And thanks for reassuring me the headaches, fatigue, etc were to be expected.

I'm a coffee drinker, but if its any help I've found a mix of sugar-free soya milk and cream make a nice, slightly lighter, additive to hot drinks.

Also folk who follow Dr Atkins' advice to only drink "decaf" coffee should be aware it is, at best, still 50% caffeine... plus a whole host of chemical nasties they had to use to take the caffeine out.

Best brand I've found so far for purity is Lavazza... which I drink full strength with no problems at all. (Probably helps I only have 2-3 a day and a glass of water constantly on the go!)

Great that you've got your tea back though! It does seem to take a few days to adjust to the new tastes doesn't it?

Hope you find the forum helpful anyway!

Welcome Stoko and Gypsy.

I new here myself. (a few weeks).

It's a really usefull and friendly place here !

Thanks for the welcome folks - and thanks for the tip about de-caff coffee Gypsy - I rather naiively assumed that there would be no caffeine in it - doh!
I also tried an unsweetened soya milk substitute from the local co-op in my tea - but it just made the whole thing taste of flour so I had to chuck that away! At some stage I can hopefully start re-introducing a bit of milk into my tea - but I don't think I'm ready for that yet.
Something I have also noticed since starting Atkins is that my skin seems generally in better health. I used to suffer from occasional mild excema on my arms - however that problem seems to have gone away.

Ebbie - I'm in Worcester.


Cheers

Hi Stoko - I am Angie and live in south Cheshire. I went on the atkins diet about twenty years ago, I felt fantastic and lost load and load of weight. The diet seems to have changed slightly, in those days the only cheese you could have was cottaaae cheese - I now notice that it is hight in carbs than lots of other cheeses. I started the Atkins again a few weeks ago but keep falling off the wagon so have to get back on and start induction all over again. One of the main reasons is my perchant for red wine. On Monday after being very very good, I had put on 2 lb so consoled myself with several reds. Hey presto this morning down 4 lbs!

Aldi sell a lovely fizzy cranberry and plumb I think it is. Nil carbs and v refreshing.

All the best

Welcome Stoko

Great to have you on the forum. Looks like there have been a lot of UK people join this forum in the last couple of months.

Worcester is a nice part of the UK, although I do not know it well. You might like to amend your profile, at the top of the forum, to show you come from the UK. It makes it easier to identify other UK members.

Really like your introductory post, particularly about the fact that you are now eating a more healthy diet and want to spread the message far and wide. I could not agree more.

I've been low carbing for 2 years now and know this is my way of eating for life.

Look forward to seeing you around the forum.

Hello Stoko

Your experiences on Atkins sound very similar to mine. I am really, really chuffed with myself for sticking with this programme for 2 weeks. I've lost half a stone of the one and a half I need to lose. Weight loss is much harder whe you have'nt that much to lose as friends and family all scoff (I'm a tall woman, 5'9", so the fat doesn't show) Nevertheless, I know it's there and never been able to shift more than a pound or two with low fat eating. I find that as well as the weight loss and energy and lack of hunger, my skin is looking good - not all dry the way it gets with low fat dieting. I take 10mls of high strength cod liver oil daily as well as the calcium magnesium and potassium Dr. A recommends. I did get the leg cramps at first!
Who else lives near/in Brighton? Where can we buy low carb.products. I tried Harmony foods but drew a blank.

Hi And welcome

Ive only been on the Atkins plan for two weeks (and also this forum) and I cant beleive how friendly and supportive everyone has been !!

Im very much like you, im eating far healthier than I was prior to starting this, and I cant beleive that im never hungry or craving sweet stuff - its great !!

I must admit I was a real cynic before I began, but my boss was folling it and he let me borrow his book and once I had read it it all made sense, and ive given it ago !!

hope to speak to you soon

Lisa

Hi Thinpin

You will see that if you score the UK forum that Jamie and Ebbie both live in and around Brighton.

Welcome to this forum.

Hi all,

I too am fairly new - I di dtry a few months back but got advised to come off the plan but you are right I felt fantastic loads of energy and for once I didn't have to think about what I was eating.

The weight had literally gone from my shoulders and I felt like a young women

Still in the first week of induction so now news to share, but I do know I will start to feel great (although I don't seem to get the withdrawls - I ain't complaining!)

I have yet to let my family know what I am doing, as they general don't listen or are un helpful saying I am depriving myself.. but hey I hate being this fat so not eating carb is an easy target to accept...

Good luck to everyone
Sarah

Dear ThinPin,

Indeed I'm in Brighton. Town centreish. How far outside are you ? GNC has some low carb stuff I haven't looked in infinity foods yet though !

Regards,

Jamie

hi and welcome everyone!
this woe is brill for me...i feel great on it. Just can't understaand why people are so negative about it (fault of the media i suppose) My dad (who's 70) went on it a couple of months ago, he did it for a week and felt FANTASTIC, lighter, less gassy, less bloated, generally great, unfortunately though he happened to go to the doctors and mentioned in passing the fact that he was doing atkins...BIG MISTAKE...the doc then proceeded to put my dad off completely by going on about heart attacks, blood pressure, strokes, cancer..the lot...atkins causes all of these things!!! - how daft is that? - hey doc i guess that eating pies and chips and endless junk is better then is it?! - ridiculous.
ax

WAYHAY!!! Now we are giving Sunderland a run for their money.

Welcome Thinpin!!! Good to have another local here.

Jamie, i want some of that chocolate spread! i didn't realise there was a GNC in Brighton, Where abouts is it? Mind you i have been avoiding Brighton as much as i can due to the weather i bet it's busy! I realised at the weekend i haven't been on the pier for 6 years!!! Used to go at least once a month when i lived in London LOL