Julianna...
Sample menus are difficult to give because what works great for me may not work so well for you. As far as calories go, one member posted recently that the folks at Atkins support told her that 1,800 would be about the max but many people here eat more than that and do just fine. Many people suggest that you eat between 10 and 12 times your current weight in calories daily and this works for a great many people, but not everyone. A lot depends on you; your daily activity level and how active or slow your metabolism is. My daily intake ranges from 1,500 to about 2,000 depending on how hungry I am that day (or not). To be honest, I really don't measure much of anything anymore. I eat my meat and veggies in quantities that satisfy me and stop eating when I'm no longer hungry (not stuffed). After 18 months, I've also developed a pretty good eye for what a cup of veggies or salad looks like on my plate. I'll try to give you an average example of what I eat daily, but as I said what works for you could look completely different.
Breakfast: 2 eggs, fried or scrambled in butter, 1 slice Atkins white bread, toasted, with butter or some leftover meat and veggies leftover from dinner or some homemade flax cereal with cream, butter and Splenda with my eggs.
Lunch: Leftover meat and veggies from dinner (if I didn't eat them for breakfast) anywhere from 4-6 ounces of meat and about a cup or so of veggies OR I get a salad from the local grocery's deli with whatever protein they have to put on it (chicken, pepperoni, cheese, chopped eggs, etc...) and bleu cheese or ranch dressing.
Dinner: Beef, pork or chicken (again, between 4 and 6 ounces) with salad and/or a cooked veggie with butter. I often make gravy from the pan juices with a little heavy cream or some Guar gum to thicken.
Snacks: I don't snack much, but if I do it's things like a few berries with heavy cream and Splenda (I grow raspberries in my backyard) or a handful of macadamia nuts or a few ounces of cheese. Occasionally, I will make Atkins muffins or have a low carb chocolate bar but not often as the low carb chocolate really slows down my weight loss.
If you're interested in determining how much protein you need as a minimum, I'd suggest checking out Protein Power; they give very good directions on how to go about calculating that but it's basically 0.6 grams of protein for each pound of lean body mass. In my case, I have 130 lbs of lean body mass, so I need a minimum of 78 grams of protein daily. I don't worry too much about percentages of fats; I just use some when I cook and put butter on my veggies and that usually gives me about the right amount.
Bottom line is that you're really going to have to determine how much YOU personally need to fill you up. Low carbing really isn't about measuring portions (except for carbs) or counting calories. If you're hungry, eat. Just eat something that's part of the plan.
Don't skip meals if you can avoid it. Even if you're not hungry, eat a little something to keep that metabolism chugging along.
Hope this helps!
|