Hi everyone, I'm new to the Atkins diet and I had a few questions.

First off, would the Atkins diet be more effective if I were to eat the recommended amount of vegetables? Say I ate none at all, or just a salad(equating to around 4 carbs a day), would I still lose the same amount of weight as if I were to eat 3 cups of veggies? I figured maybe if I only ate 4-8 carbs instead of 20, then the weight would fly off faster...


Secondly, has anyone had any experience with filling their 20 carb limit with one slice of bread? I was eating a bowl of tunasalad and it tasted too weird so I had to tear half a slice of whole grain wheat bread to go along with it.

Thanks for your help in advance. I'll be looking forward to visiting this forum more often!

Well in my understanding and findings reducing your carbs that low will not make you lose any faster...in fact it may hinder your weight loss

Also It may lead to feelings of deprivation and cheating and constipation

Well I have never filled my carb limit up with on 20 carb item so i am unsure on this...but if you are in induction you should not be eating any wheat, flour or bread during this time

Ok Bye ya

Hi!

Please check my The wrong way to do Atkins link below. All I can say - do it right. Perhaps you should read the book again?
Best of luck!
Alina

Congratulations on starting Atkins. The best way to start Atkins is by reading his book Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. It will tell you how to do "induction". It is a 2 week program that detoxes the carbs from your body and takes care of carb cravings (like the bread you wanted). You will need to eat 2 cups of salad plus 1 cup of veggies daily or 3 cups of salad. The bread is a no-no. You will start to become a believer that this is not a diet, but a way of eating for life. Stay with this forum and you will learn how to get over those cravings by eating some really yummy low carb food. I found Atkins' paperback book at my local grocery store and a little cheaper at Walmart. Best wishes. Christa

I agree, you will lose quite a bit of weight on 20 grams of carbs. On the 20 grams your body will have symptoms of carb withdrawal. Overdoing a good thing is not a good thing. Remember, by being on the Atkins way of eating you are regulating your health. The weight loss is a perk.

Black57

I am not big on veggies either and I have been doing fine. Try and get as much as you can and take a vitamin supplement.

Also - once you get past induction, run out and buy some low carb tortillas. They are a great substitute for bread.

http://atkinscenter.com/Archive/2001/12/15-285697.html

Please read rules of induction and follow them. This diet gets a bad rap from folks not doing it properly and failing. It works but you have to do your part and not cut corners.

My advice (who asked??!) is to pretend Dr. Atkins (RIP) is your cardiologist and follow his advice to the letter. Look at this as your prescription - you wouldn't just take heart medication willy nilly (hopefully ).

Best of Luck in LoCarb.

Your new buddy,
Jinx

There's lots of room for tweaking this WOE once you are through induction. If you are doing Atkins induction, you are not allowed bread of any kind for two weeks. Besides, you don't get the same nutrients from 1/2 slice of low-carb bread that you get from the prescribed amount of veggies. If Atkins induction is too strict for you, there are many other plans that work very well, too. The best course is to pick an approach and stay with it. As you learn more and more about your body on low-carb you will be able to make some adjustments.

Good luck!
Cindy

For induction, get all your carbs from Green veggies. I never quite understood how anyone was expected to reach 20g on 2-3 cups of veggies anyways. On induction, I ate the full 2-3 cups and rarely exceeded 10g/day.

After induction (if you can handle it,) Nature's Own makes a Reduced Carb bread, that has only 5g Net Carbs a slice. It tastes/smells pretty good, which is amazing considering it contains soy flour, which by itself is probably the worst smelling (non-rotten) food on the planet.

I too had problems eating things like tuna and chicken salad without bread in the begining. The key is to get creative, eat the tuna salad using celery as your fork, and take a bite with each spoonful. Or use cucumber slices as your fork with chicken salad. Or if you really can not be without the sandwich idea put a slice of cheese on the plate, put your salad on it flod it over and enjoy (I know that dairy is restricted in induction, but if it helps get you past the sugar cravings I say do it!)

Remember these cravings will pass, give them a few days. Once you get past it you will see how much better this WOL is!
Lisa