Hello, I was wondering if anyone else is having a hard time with this, I tried to up my carbs without upping my calories too much. Not to mention I'm not hungry for more carbs than I'm getting, I recently just started getting 20g, and I'm on day 18 of starting Atkins. I have two salads that only consist of a few carbs a day, ( I don't like alot of stuff in them) and broccoli, anyone have any ideas on how to raise the carbs without too many calories, I do eat olives once in a while, I know that nuts are good, but I'm not too big on them, except cashews but I'm afraid I'd over do them, I LOVE cashews!
Tammy

Maybe add some (or more) tomatos? A little onion will add a somecarbs and a lot of flavor. Neither will ad ungodly calories.

Why are you worried about controlling your calories tho? Atkins isn't about calorie control. At least, not in the beginning. Jagbender has a great link that will tell you how many calories you need to be consuming. Too few and your body will think it's in starvation mode and you won't lose anything! Help me out here, jag!

If you want to up your carbs in OWL without adding a lot of calories, besides more veggies, start slowly adding fruit back in to your meals. This is a great time to get fresh berries. Try an extra 5 carbs for a week of berries and if they don't cause any problems/cravings you could add in other fruits and melons too. Good luck

Marie

I usually up my carbs by using peppers and onions, sauteed in olive oil. Then I add that to my steak or italian sausage. Even chicken.....like fajitas.

I also have some bread from Healthy Life I believe that is 8 gross and 5 net carbs per slice that I will use under emergency measures to kill a sweet tooth. I toast one piece and slather it with Real brand peanut butter. Kills my sweet tooth immediately without killing my carb count.

Tomatoes sound good for a way to up the carb count. I really miss tomatoes, mostly because I love marinara and fresh salsa. I know there are low carb versions out there but I can't stop at just a little with those things. I could eat a whole omelet stuffed with just fresh salsa and cheese. Yum!

It isn't really hard to do but you need to substitute things you were eating before with stuff that had more carbs. For example instead of my LC roll (3g) with cream cheese I will eat a slice of Wasa Crispbread (5g) with cream cheese instead. Not really more calories, just more carbs. I think if you just eat MORE food your body won't like it and may store weight.

What's in your salads? I put tons of veggies in mine - lettuce, celery, radishes, peppers, onion, cauliflower, cucumber, etc.

I added berries in week 3 (still staying at net 20 carbs or less). My salad dressing had a carb or two. I had my daily espresso with cream/Splenda, cup or two of veggies at dinner. Around week 5 or so, I added in some nuts and sunflower seeds.

PLain yogurt in morning protein shakes (got sick of eggs).

There are lots of ways to get your carbs up a bit without having to eat a lot more. Just try to add some variety. Check out the recipe forums.

An avacado is another good one -- make guacamole and use it for taco salads. Or remove the pitt and stuff with shrimp salad.

Get creative! Good luck!

P.S. Yes, you can add in low carb breads, etc, but be aware that in some people these can cause more cravings. YMMV. I found them to be trouble for me, but others eat them regularly no problem.