Hi everyone!!

I am so glad I found this website as I was surfing the net for lowcarb tips, recipes and advices...

I am french, I arrived in the US 3 years ago...and within one semester I gained 10 pounds impossible to lose since then. I've tried everything healthy: high training (gain volume... ), diet with reduce amount of fat and sugar...it works ok when I'm back home in france, but as soon as I cross th atlantic ocean: i bloat, gain all the volume and fat back. I was a person very thin, small face and breast, ok hips...but since then, I am a lot more imposing....and I hate it.

So I finally decided to try a low carb diet with atkins powders. But I have no access to a nutritionist (don't have health coverage) so I try my best to gather hints here and there from the nature's stores...

I hope you could help me getting on the right track on what I can eat and what I should banish. I know there are some vegetables and fruits you shouldn't eat, just don't know which they are.

Thanks for your help,

A bientot!!!!

Hello Beyotte!

To help you with the veggies and fruits, I am first going to tell you what veggies are high carb!

corn
potato
artichoke
brussel sprouts
carrots
*onions
*leek


Now instead of making a list of what fruits you can't eat (there are just too many!) I am going to give you a list of what fruits you CAN eat!

berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc)
melons (watermelon, cantelope, etc)
*papaya
*pineapple

*you can have some but not many!

Hi Beyotte!

Welcome! Just getting rid of the sugars and starches will do wonders! This is a list of some of Atkins acceptable vegetables:

asparagus, avacado, bamboo shoots,bean sprouts, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, eggplant, kale, mushrooms, okra, onions, peppers, pumpkin, rhubarb, sauerkraut, snow pea, spinach, string beans, summer squash, tomatores, turnips zucchini.....Celery. chicory, cucumber, lettuce, olives, radishes, pickles (sour or dill), etc. ....
Check the carb count....Some are better than others..But, they are lower than the others, such as potatoes, carrots, etc.

The fruits: The lowest....berries (strawberry, blueberry)..canteloupe..some melons .but, check....

go to www.fitday.com for some carb. counts..... You're half way there by cutting out the sweets & starches...Do you have the Atkin's book?.... That would help!....I wish you luck! This is a good site to seek help...

She says the American diet is so different from the French one. Her English is good but she still says something in not quite right: she says "I am fattening" instead of "I am gaining weight" or "I am getting fat". She sounds so cute, I don't correct her. In American English, we fatten the calf, not humans.

It must be difficult to manage all the cultural shocks AND a diet shift.

Just a suggestion: Atkins suggests a two week "induction" period which has a much more limited set of foods. In this "induction" period he excludes all fruit. I was not clear from your post if you are still in induction.

Also, you can go to library and read Atkins books for free. You can even sit in some bookstores and peruse books for hours.

You can find what you need to know here, I am sure, but since you mentioned no healthcare I also projected you were light on funds. The library is our friend.