Hi! This is my first attempt at posting a question.....hope it works. I started Atkins about 3 weeks ago and i can't honestly give a start weight because I was afraid to step on the scale! I have done weight watchers in the past and lost quite a bit of weight only to gain it back. i started Atkins and I have to say I am really discouraged although I am committed to continuing. Usually when starting a weight loss plan i loose 5-7 pounds the first week. I am not sure what the scale shows, possibly a loss of anywhere from 6-20 pounds. I really feel more awake and less tired but I still don't feel and less puffy as I did in other types of plans. I can't really say I notice a difference in my clothes. My ketostik have gone from neg to trace to maderate to trace again. I guess here are my questions...........
1. Does it take some people longer to get started losing on this plan like 3 weeks or is that a sign that I'm doing something wrong?
2. If The stix show trace is that still acceptable?
3. Can too many carb free snacks with sugar alcohols affect your loss?
4. Will I gain a tonm of weight if I stop this and go to WW again?-But I really still want to stick with it!
I'm sure Ill have more later!! THANKS!!

You probably are doing somethin wrong.
Keto stix MEasure Excess Ketones. Anything trace and above if fine.
Carb free snacks are really bad. "Franken foods" Sugar alcohols (maltitol etc)
Will slow and even stop some people.
WW is fine if you like to go around hungry all the time.
How many calories are you eating a day?
What is your Basal Metobolic rate?
How much water are you drinking?
Any aspertame (equal)?
Jagbendr
We can help!!!

If you havent' read the book, check it out, or check out www.atkins.com and check out the Induction section. Induction is strict and you need to follow it to the letter to get the toxic stuff out of your system.

Reading the book and researching these boards are the best way to get the info you need to lose weight.

Low-Carb is a way of life, not a quick fix, and it will take some time to lose the weight. Since you and I both have a lot to lose, you have to give the commitment to at least a year to get to your goal..........

Dr. PHil's Weight Loss Solution is a great book too, even though I don't agree with his low-fat, low-calorie way of eating, he has a lot of great information in it.

I can take longer for some to "get started' than others. How about listing a typical day's menu for us and we can have a look?

Here's yesterdays meal:
2 hardboiled eggs 3 slices bacon
chicken breast, 4 ounces swiss cheese, 1/2 cucumber, carb options ranch dressing
broiled shrimp, butter, garlic, 1/2 cup cauliflower
Carb options ice cream bar 2g net carbs
and I'm up to about 6 glasses of water and 1 can of diet rite 0 carb soda
Thanks for your help!!!!

I see you're a bit short on veggies. Don't be afraid to get the full amount (you're allowed another 2 cups of salad greens) or even a little more if you count the carbs.

I'm going to be a killjoy and suggest you hold off on the ice cream bars for a bit. Some people do have trouble with the sugar alcohols, and it would be wise to set them aside for a couple of weeks and see if it helps.

I calculated your Basal Metabolic Rate using your data you supplied on your profile. Your resting BMR rate is 1998 calories a day. 30 Yrs, Female and currenty weight and height.
Doing a rough calculation of your calories posted you are right around 2000 calories. In order to lose weight you need to create a caloric deficit. I would recommned 1800 calories max a day. Also, what is your physical acitivty level?
Jag

http://countcarbs.com/advice/making_the_case.htm

Making the Case to Count Sugar Alcohols

The Atkins Diet has been with us since the 1970's. Over the years many changes have come along - more vegetables, more salads, changes to artificial sweetener options, limiting caffeine, etc. - all for the better.

One major change, appears to be for the worse...that is the introduction of sugar alcohols as "acceptable" and "deductible" from total carbs for carbohydrate intake during Induction.

In the article "To Count or Not to Count?" we offer a few different ways you may want to count these polyols. However, during Induction on Atkins, not using these products and/or counting them completely minus only the fiber they contain is what we recommend for your greatest potential for losing weight during your first two weeks.

It is during your first two weeks that you'll measure your capacity to lose weight. Including polyols (sugar alcohols, glycerin, etc.) may reduce your losses significantly (or stall your efforts completely) so you will not have an accurate measure of your "resistance" to weight loss. Without knowing it - because you have included polyols in your daily eating - you may lose less than you could if you didn't eat any of these products and may even think - due to poor results - that you're more resistant than you really are to losing weight.

What prompted Atkins' Nutritionals to include polyols where they once forbid them?

For one thing, by 2002, Atkins had a growing line of products - as did a number of manufacturers in the market using sugar alcohols and glycerin. Within 2002 there was also the research specifically into Atkins and weight-loss with results to be released in the summer - results Atkins and others had to know was going to be positive.....imagine the potential of these products with more people paying attention to low-carb eating and finally buying-in to the idea that limiting sugars/starches results in weight-loss?

In the 1998 version of the book, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, it states:
"Sweeteners such as sorbitol, mannitol and other hexitols (sugar alcohols) are not allowed, nor are any natural sweeteners ending in the letters -ose, such as maltose, fructose, etc."

Where in the 2002 version this was eliminated and the recommendation now read: ..."Although it is important that you eat primarily unprocessed foods, some controlled carb food products can come in handy when you are unable to find appropriate food, can'’t take time for a meal or need a quick snack. More and more companies are creating healthy food products that can be eaten during the Induction phase of Atkins."

Where prior to 2002 Atkins' specifically restricted any use by those on Induction of these ingredients - they were now allowed in the 2002 revision.....there was no new science to show properties of the ingredients to suggest they should be dismissed as having a carb value to count. The only real change going on was that Atkins Nutritionals and other companies (like EAS, Think Thin, etc.) were all growing their lines of controlled-carb products.

This at the same time the FDA was clamping down on the labeling practice that was growing within the controlled-carb food industry - that is they were not even listing any carbs from sugar alcohol ingredients like maltitol or glycerin - the FDA clamped down and mandated the carbs must be included in the label since they are in there!

With the mandated requirement that these companies had to include the carbs for glycerin & sugar alcohols - so too came the new explanation as to why they don't count - that one was allowed to deduct them because they did not impact blood sugar levels.

But the logic used to dismiss the carbs doesn't hold up.....we're told these ingredients don't impact blood sugar significantly -- so what? Neither do the carbs in green vegetables, nuts, seeds, cantaloupe, cherries, etc......the carbs from all of these foods are counted so why aren't the carbs in these products counted? Do they have a magical property about them, like no calories? No. Do they pass through the body like fiber? No. Do they not get used for energy? No. Do they not turn into some form of glucose? No.

Impact on blood sugar is NOT how we decide to count or not count a carb! Low impact on blood sugar is what low glycemic-index and low glycemic-load choices do - and they are still counted. Low-carb eating revolves around making your best choices from those things that are low glycemic-index and low glycemic-load -- but the carbs still count!

Overall these products are "controlled-carb" products - that is they offer a unique taste without impacting blood sugar (in most people) -- but they have carbs in them -- and the manufacturers have created a smokescreen to try to convince us that they don't count, even though other low-carb items must be counted!

If a carb is metabolized, it needs to be counted - period.

There is no unique property to a sugar alcohol or to glycerin that makes it indigestible or not metabolized.....the body doesn't dismiss it, why should we when we're counting carbs?

Fiber isn't metabolized - not only does it not impact blood sugar, it also isn't digested by the body - it doesn't count.

Can the same be said for sugar alcohols or glycerin? NO.....both are metabolized in the body - they may not impact blood sugar, but they are metabolized - you cannot exclude the carbs in there because they are in there and they do get metabolized.

Many of the protein & candy bars out there have upwards of 20g of carbs when you include the sugar alcohols or glycerin - typically 200-240 calories also. They also typically have 1g to 2g of fiber - leaving upwards of 18g of carbs that you're told to dismiss.....for convenience? for a meal replacement? because it doesn't impact blood sugar? Does this make sense to you when you really think about it?????

If you chose instead to have a 1/2 cup of cantaloupe, wouldn't you count the 6g net carbs it has? Why? They're there! They aren't going to send your blood sugars spiraling up, but you count them because they're there!

The choice about counting the carbs that are in these products is still your choice - but forewarned is fairwarned!

Found on the web

If anything I guess it must be the sugar alcohols.....I guess i knew they were too good to be true!! Thanks for the article it really puts things together. I heard people argue different ways but that article really makes sense of the science involved. I think i've been afraid to add more veggies for fear of "messing up"!! The only reason I did the Low net carb thing is because I was a sucker for the advertising! I would feel much better about this as a way of life if I added more veggies. Thanks a Bunch!!!

The right veggies are great! Look at it this way. How can natural low carb vegtables be bad for you. And how can manmade stuff be good? Eat foods closest to the way nature grew them and you'll be fine.
P.S. I do eat very limited amounts of Sugar Alcohols. It is nice to have something to eat at a birthday party or a wedding!
I just don't do it everyday.
Hang in there this really works!
Jag

Hey Jag,

Thank you for that article. Maybe you should post it as a new thread, titled "The Real Impact of Sugar Alcohols" or something to that effect. It completely cleared up the whole sugar alcohols mystery for me, anyway.

Liz

Thanks and I'll keep ya posted!!! By the way i work at a hopspital and I printed the article and shared it with all my Atkins co-workers!!! Its really helpful!!

I hope it helps!
I asked Tamarian to sticky the article if she felt it was worth while.
Jag

Hiya! I can understand the confusion going around with Atkins now. I personally think the Atkins business is doing more to screw up Dr. Atkins' diet than anything else.

My suggestion is to start fresh with Induction, and this time weigh first! LOL Then cut out the sugar alcohol stuff. I know it's great to have something as a treat, but there are some good reasons for cutting this kind of thing out of your diet, and mainly it's to help get you away from those kinds of foods. I don't think most of us want to have to rely on junk foods for the rest of our lives. I know I sure don't.

Once you're past Induction, there are some awesome natural foods you can add back to your diet (berries and nuts, for example). And when you feel the need for something sweet, or just something nummy, eat something like berries and cream instead of the frankenfood-type stuff. Like many , I am a chocolate addict. But I can still eat great chocolate goodies without the sugar alcohols. Sure, I have to make them myself (or farm the chore out to someone else in the house), but this way we don't tend to over-eat them, and it beats the sugar alcohols to pieces nutrition-wise.

We do have the occasional sugar-alcohol treat, but after reading that above article, those are going to be few and far between. It just becomes all too easy to grab a piece of sugar-free candy, and they get quite habit-forming.

Good post Lilacotton