Hi Guys!
I was wondering if anyone here has ever used this plan and what might have been your opinions on it.

I am having a really bad time with Atkins, Grey Sheet from what I have read is Low-carb and its used by (or was) OA..

I have a very limited income for food about 180.00 a moth for 3 people and Atkins I find rather exspensive and now with my Mom in the hospital as well, I need something with more structure and more PLAN meaning.. I am anal as people call it about having to have a set PLAN (diet program) and this on and off Atkins is not doing it for me, because I fing it so hard to follow...

The Grey Sheet goes something like this..

Breakfast

1 protien (4 oz meat, 2 eggs, 2 oz cheese excetra)
1 fruit ( any low carb fruit from a list)
1/2 cup oatmeal which I dislike lol so thats out!
coffee if desired

Lunch
1 protien (same as above)
1 fruit (Same)
1 salad ( 2 cups w/dressing)
3 finger salad ( like 3 raw brocoli spears)

Dinner
1 protien
1 salad
and dont remember lol sorry

But Im sure you get the idea, and no snacking is allowed bettween meals and this is followed daily....

What do you think? to me it sounds wonderful for me, maybe I need to do this for awhile then maybe consider atkins all over again later, but I MUST have a low-carb plan and this sounded great to me...


And comments would be appreciated.

TheGoddess 76 pounds gone, but struggling!

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Hi Goddess!

What are you finding hard to follow about Atkins? Can I give you a hand?

The OA gray sheet is very similar to a low carb plan if you do this to it:

Breakfast
1 protien (4 oz meat, 2 eggs, 2 oz cheese excetra)
1 salad or vegetable
coffee if desired

Lunch
1 protien (same as above)
1 salad ( 2 cups w/dressing)
3 finger salad ( like 3 raw brocoli spears)

Dinner
1 protien
1 salad
1 vegetable

I think you would be a little hungry on this plan without upping your protein and fat a little.

There is no eating plan in OA anymore because at one point it was deemed to go against the principle of choice, but the eating plan did work in conjunction with the 12 Steps.

Sugar, flour and carbs are very addictive and feeds compulsive eating behaviour, because they make us temporarily a little "high". So eating addictive foods when we are stressed, angry, depressed, afraid, etc. creates compulsive eating behaviour. By cutting out these things, it creates a better path to abstinence - and the bottom line is OA is abstinence. In OA, everyone decides what abstinence means to them. It may mean not eating between meals, stopping eating when just satisfied, or not eating trigger foods.

I think any low carb plan would work extremely well with the OA 12-steps. The only requirement to become an OA member is a desire to stop eating compulsively. That's it!

But, any plan will not work if you can't find a way to stop eating compulsively. OA with low-carb would be able to show you the way.

Karen

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Karen
[B]Hi Karen Thank you for your reply!

What are you finding hard to follow about Atkins? Can I give you a hand?

I Do not seem to be able to stick to it at all... I have been on for 14 months <ashamed to admit it but mostly off cheating> I have lost these 76 pounds and it seems no matter how much I want to continue I fail, and then finacialy it kills me.
I know ATKINS WORKS maybe I am looking for a way to have a guideline to go by. like this is a meal plan >>>> and stick to it, 3 meals a day with out question. I guess its compulsive of me to need structure, you know how you go to a diet doctor and they give you a format to follow, I guess thats what Im looking for.
Don't know if this makes sense, and I know given free range to eat I will do just that a 2 pound roast can be one meal hahahaha
I dont think I know what a NORMAL meal is!
I want this to work I want this weight off, and Im willing to work for it..I just need structure <sigh> and something my budget will allow for errrrr


The OA gray sheet is very similar to a low carb plan if you do this to it:

Breakfast
1 protien (4 oz meat, 2 eggs, 2 oz cheese excetra)
1 salad or vegetable
coffee if desired

Lunch
1 protien (same as above)
1 salad ( 2 cups w/dressing)
3 finger salad ( like 3 raw brocoli spears)

Dinner
1 protien
1 salad
1 vegetable

I think you would be a little hungry on this plan without upping your protein and fat a little.

Would going to say 8 oz protien per meal do this? Maybe I can use this as a guide like Im looking for and make meal plans on a notebook and buy my foods that way. Do you think 24 oz of protien is too much a day?

I have never been one to use cream and such even on Atkins, I just dont care for it and like things simple, I drink only water with a occassional diet soda (1 a week)

I drink lots of water usually 300 oz a day once Im in the flow of things.

Butter I use on vegtables and I use frozen because I dont own a stove to cook fresh unless there is a way to do it on a GF grill.

Thank you for the information on OA Im well aquainted with 12 step programs but never OA . I just dont want to give up and I feel myself slipping away from losing weight back into my old frame of mind *I was just ment to be fat*

Thanks , Trina

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Hi Trina,

How about 6 oz. of protein with each meal, and keep putting butter on your vegetables?

You have probably seen discussions here on keeping your calories so your body does not go into starvation mode, and eating enough fat and calories will prevent this.

It's not compulsive to want a meal plan. People either need a little assistance with one, or they figure out one themselves. Trial and error is part of the learning experience of this WOE. It's how way of eating becomes way of life. Your ideal meal plan is the one that works for you.

You have done very well so far, and just need to figure out the next step. No one was meant to be fat. The key is in figuring out what was meant to be.

I have a similar story to yours. I did extremely well for the first 6 months, and then I was afraid to continue. Going from fat to thin scared me. I was still LC, but I plateaued myself for over a year. I figured out a few things, lost more weight, and then my compulsive overeating returned. I compulsively ate artificially sweetened desserts and whipping cream. I recognized that I was an addict - actually I recognized it in the first week of LC, but it took me a long time to understand what to do about it. I'm a notorious slow learner.

I didn't know what real hunger or thirst was. Now, I take a much smaller portion of foods, almost never take a second helping, don't eat between meals and have three or four meals a day. I was so out of control!

If you want to have a look, this is the link to OA:

OA

Take heart! You WILL get everything sorted out and be able to look back and see how far you've come. You have already come a great distance. Keep it up.

Karen

Just wanted to encourage you as well, Goddess You've done great so far, and it's no shame to want a structured eating plan. I myself have to really structure mine, or I find that I turn into an eating machine, where everything is up for grabs.

Karen's modifications to your gray sheet seem pretty good to me, as well as upping the protein somewhat so you don't go hungry. As for fruit, I would suggest that you avoid it during the day, as it can trigger cravings for more carbs. If you want a piece of fruit, I'd eat it later in the evening as a snack - that way, you sleep through any cravings I stick with berries, as they tend to be lower carb (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), and avoid apples and bananas (though I have heard that because of the fiber content in apples, they release insulin more slowly, which can be beneficial).

I like frozen vegis as well. I tend to stick with leafy salad vegis if I buy raw.

Keep up the good work! You're doing great!

Shalom,
Sh'ra

Thank you very much to both of you

Im not going to give up just yet, I am going to spend the next few days till I can go grocery shopping making out a menu for 2 weeks time planed around this meal plan guidelines and I think okay 6 oz would be plenty protien per meal. and the fruit can go for now because I will make it as close to Atkins as possible just controled more,

I no longer have access to a scale The scale I used was at my Moms work and she is in the Hospital for the next 2 months.. Only good thing about her being there is I go to see her and have to walk everyday to do so. So I get a little excersize.


Thank for the Link Karen. I will look in awhile when I get home from the Hospital. I use to go to the on-line meetings a few times thru AOL but seems they are closing down AOL A&R so it will not be there much longer.


Sh'Ra Thanks you Hun your doing great too!! And I will keep the Fruit ideas for when I am able to add in some fruit to my plan. Maybe keep it for when I want to do something sinful hhahaha,
and I can sure relate to the eating machine ..thats me sometimes and other times I have to force myself to eat ick..

Thanks
TheGoddess aka Trina

You should square everything listed below with your physician, or at least get more than a few in LC community to agree.

For your weight, you should have 240 ounces of water a day on average. For your lean mass, you should eat at least 90 grams of protein (and could increase this to near 190 without hazard unless you suffer from gout). You should continue to get no more than 30 to 40 grams of carbohydrates. You should consume about 10 times your goal weight in calories (say 3500 calories), until you get within spitting distance of the goal. So, given these parameters and assuming you do not have gallbladder disease, most of your food will be fat.

3500 Calories
Protein 190g x 4 760 21.7%
Carbos 30g x 4 120 03.4%
Fats 291g x 9 2620 74.9%

A sample of a diet that would not satisfy you for long, but is bound to be towards the inexpensive end is:

grams listed are (carbs)/fats/proteins
1 salad ( 2 cups) a day (4g)/0g/0g
3 oz. cashews (27g)/39g/12g or 6.5 oz macadamias (26g)/143g/13g
26 oz. ground beef (0g)/156g/173g
If cashews are chosen above, must supplement with 1-1/4 cups of whipping cream for (9g)/110g/6g
1 tsp. sweet n low

Even selecting the cheapest LC food around, bad news is that this will cost about $7 a day if you select cashews and whipped cream, and just over $9 a day for the macadamias option. Good news is you can ration down as appetite decreases.

substitute 8 eggs a day for 56g of protein from meat (8g)/40g/56g leaves 8.5 oz ground beef for (0g)/51g/57g, requiring an increase to 2 whole cups of whipping cream (makes a whole bunch of whipped cream (can someone say tijuana brass?)) for (14g)/176g/10g

That saves you about $1 a day.

Let us know how you do on expenses for your shopping trip given your modified Grey sheet, and can you calculate the caloric intake for your selected plan?

I did a rough calc, and the Grey Sheet adopted plan is like 1400 calories a day using ground meat.

Thank you all for such wonderful support and advise..

I have been thinking about this all day and I am embarking upoun a solution I think.

Is there a such thing as a dysfunctional eater?? Hahaha Because If Not I must be one of the first.. But truly I think it is common.
I can go one day and eat very little *even weeks at a time* and then other weeks eat myself out of house and home.
Does this make sence? like today I may forget about food and not remember to eat untill I have to cook for the kids, and tomorrow I might be on an eating binge with everything in site! Ughhhh

I have considered all your ideas and I think the simplist will be too plan 2 menus for a 2 week period and rotate them every two weeks. Taking into consideration protien and food allowed, i want to stay away from whipped cream no way am I eating 2 cups of that nasty stuff a day hahahhaa.

I think my fat will have to come from meats and cheese and Bacon and Butter.

I can buy bulk meat here like chicken, pork chops, and ground beef, I also get 5 pounds Ribeyes for 13.99 and T-Bones same price. So I think if Im careful with money I can do it. Ground Beef is 5 pounds 5.99 so thats not bad either

I think with some good planing I can do this again!!

I will up-date when I get a plan together here is my first day menu:

Breakfast:
8 oz Ground beef ( I like cold patties)
2 oz cheese


lunch:
Deil meat roll ups
salad vegies
2 oz cheesee
(Can I do a protien shake?
I know this isnt an induction item)


Dinner:
1 ribeye (8-12 oz)
Large salad with dressing

cream cheese and davincis



My Goal weight is 180 which 10xs that is 1800 calories.

TheGoddess

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It looks like a great plan Trina and I think that calculating your calories on lean body mass is a good idea!

We had a discussion about it here that you will be interested in.

You really don't need the protein shake. Your menu is complete as it is. A less expensive alternative to cream cheese and Da Vinci syrup is sugar free Jell-o if you think you need something sweet.

Karen

Good going, Goddess! You did some give and take on the meals, and got some of that much needed variety. If you can, drizzle butter on either your hamburger or ribeye, or both.

On goal weights and calculations for caloric consumption. I took your interim goal weight of 375 as the basis for calc, because cutting down to near 1800 calories might cause your body to over react to the restriction and slow your metabolism for conservation sake.

It would certainly be beneficial to split the difference, and target about 2600 calories, especially if you experience any hunger. It would certainly be ok to pop in 3500 calories (of right food) in one day followed by 3 days at 1800. If you must keep calories at near 1800, I suggest you add cayenne pepper, cinnimon, paprika, and other "warming" spices to the various meals to boost metabolic rate.

I gather the others you feed are children, which makes getting costs down easier. How is your mother?

Thanks guys I think I can do this I am going to go grocery shopping This weekend and Im making my meal plans now to go shopping for and I will start into re-induction at midnight Sunday Not that Im going to binge till then but just try to be as low carb as possible till then and kind of weed out all this junk I have been doing this past week.

I really appreciate your help and links and making me think about what I was about too do to myself without even thinking what I was doing.

I will just have to make this work one way or another and I have this web site as my homepage so I know when I come online I have to face the music hahahha and I am going to journal everything. Im still working on my web site and trying to get it up and running. When i do I will put a link in my signature as well as do a journal here Im ready and excited to look forward to better days!! Thanks Trina

Mom is still in rehab and doing okay she says she is ready to come home but they say no for another 2 months or so.

Yes I have 2 children but they eat at school 2 meals a day I only have to worry about one and weekends for them.

WE CAN DO THIS!! Trina

Hi Trina,
I'm so glad there are helpful folks here that don't mind helping you do the MATH for your plan. I can imagine trying to keep on plan and only being able to spend a small amount for groceries must be frustrating. But you sound like you know how to cut corner's and where to get the best deals. I buy lots of cans of tuna for backup when my cupboards are bare. And lots of chickens when they are on sale.

You can do this...I know I struggle with compulsive eating, but now at least I eat the right kinds of foods if I eat too much of something. Sometimes it's not about being hungry, but being emotional about something and turning to food for comfort. Each day is a new start, and an opportunity to try again. This way of life really helps with controlling compulsions that come from eating carbs. But we all still have to deal with the compulsions that come from stress, anxiety, frustration and anger. I really appreciate Karen's input in this area. I hope you find success in your new plan. Victoria

Thanks guys !!!!


Im back on day 2 headed into day 3 in about 2 hours hehehe
This is my last 2 day meals

breakfast:
Ribeye wrapped in Bacon (2) about 12 oz total

Lunch:
Chef salad w/ ham, provolone, salami,capacoli

Dinner:
2nd half of the salad for lunch plus extra meat



Breakfast:
Ground beef patty w/cheese

Lunch
Chef salad same as above


Dinner
Steak and cheese with onion, green peppers



And Breakfast tomorrow I have no idea hahahaha
THANK YOU ALL!! Im back on track
Almost caved tonight and ordered Pizza Yikes...


Hugs, Trina